Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[Chaneys Ranch]

RR, I'm sorry too, poor Sneaky Chimi.... but Dozer was just being a dog... it's unfortunate, but OK's right... if he was eating a fox, we'd all be cheering... I would try a training program before making any hurried decisions... Chester is pretty good around the chickens, and he's always leashed, my wish is that he stop peeing in the house... he peed on the new floor tonight... I could cry. I walk him and walk him, he will only take one pee towards the end of the walk. I've never known a male dog that didn't pee 28 times around every block... pee on each rock, tree trunk...

Sully, you have such a nice setup... I'm getting great ideas for what to build when I move!

I wanted to go back to the fair this afternoon, but Mylee was so grouchy and I swear her ears are made of cloth sometimes! so we both took a nice long nap and went to the fair at 6 pm. She got her face painted like a rainbow kitty - so pretty! and we went on so many rides, over and over - it was great, but we didn't get home until 11 ! She got a pony ride, and to feed carrots to a fabulous giraffe, she fed the goats again and totally fell in love with the Percheron horses - the people who own them were terrific, really sweet to Mylee and gave her a special tattoo of a horse named Ice. Mylee is so gracious (when she wants to be...) big thank you's to all the ride operators and the concession people - the guy who runs the small roller coaster that she loves actually stopped the ride so she could get on, then instead of 2 trips around, he let it run for 4! she made so many friends on the lines, then they would ride together, and I would have to sit by myself... lol... I overheard people say how adorable she is when we were waiting to get in the fun house... cuz we were dancing, and she got so into it... I'll post some pics tomorrow. I want to go back again tomorrow, but she actually wants to go climb "Vrooman's Nose" - a really nice small mountain that looks ... like a nose. and we'll have a picnic up top of hard boiled eggs, peaches, cheese and crackers and juice. Maybe she'll change her mind. the fair is gone by the weekend, and Vrooman's Nose is there forever...

9 Eggs today

Mylee is such a treasure! Sounds like she burns out but wants to see it all. Oh my I so miss a lil girl her age.

SIX

SIX.....Thursday We Laid SIX Eggs......No BR Eggs Today......One Is Broody And One Is .........................................Roger

Mabel (My sweet BR) Has moved over to Bruce's (My new BA roo) coop, she told me is tooo handsome to ignore. Sorry RED, u are losing your ladies...

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

RR, I'm sorry too, poor Sneaky Chimi.... but Dozer was just being a dog... it's unfortunate, but OK's right... if he was eating a fox, we'd all be cheering... I would try a training program before making any hurried decisions... Chester is pretty good around the chickens, and he's always leashed, my wish is that he stop peeing in the house... he peed on the new floor tonight... I could cry. I walk him and walk him, he will only take one pee towards the end of the walk. I've never known a male dog that didn't pee 28 times around every block... pee on each rock, tree trunk...

Sully, you have such a nice setup... I'm getting great ideas for what to build when I move!

I wanted to go back to the fair this afternoon, but Mylee was so grouchy and I swear her ears are made of cloth sometimes! so we both took a nice long nap and went to the fair at 6 pm. She got her face painted like a rainbow kitty - so pretty! and we went on so many rides, over and over - it was great, but we didn't get home until 11 ! She got a pony ride, and to feed carrots to a fabulous giraffe, she fed the goats again and totally fell in love with the Percheron horses - the people who own them were terrific, really sweet to Mylee and gave her a special tattoo of a horse named Ice. Mylee is so gracious (when she wants to be...) big thank you's to all the ride operators and the concession people - the guy who runs the small roller coaster that she loves actually stopped the ride so she could get on, then instead of 2 trips around, he let it run for 4! she made so many friends on the lines, then they would ride together, and I would have to sit by myself... lol... I overheard people say how adorable she is when we were waiting to get in the fun house... cuz we were dancing, and she got so into it... I'll post some pics tomorrow. I want to go back again tomorrow, but she actually wants to go climb "Vrooman's Nose" - a really nice small mountain that looks ... like a nose. and we'll have a picnic up top of hard boiled eggs, peaches, cheese and crackers and juice. Maybe she'll change her mind. the fair is gone by the weekend, and Vrooman's Nose is there forever...

9 Eggs today

Mylee is such a treasure! Sounds like she burns out but wants to see it all. Oh my I so miss a lil girl her age.

SIX

SIX.....Thursday We Laid SIX Eggs......No BR Eggs Today......One Is Broody And One Is .........................................Roger

Mabel (My sweet BR) Has moved over to Bruce's (My new BA roo) coop, she told me is tooo handsome to ignore. Sorry RED, u are losing your ladies...

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Thank you everyone for your insight on the free ranging stuff. Today I let them FR while I was doing chores and most of them were in the run by the time I was done! I only had to wrangle a few. They must know when I don't have time to chase them around!
Only 1 egg today, but it is pretty dark compared to the others I have been getting. At least it was in the nest box! I am putting some nest boxes in the run too. Sometimes I find them in there.
SBMom-Those are some nice dark eggs! You will have a beautiful assortment of eggs in your basket!

W4W-Good luck with your girl. I am learning so much about chickens from all of you!

Here are the photos that wouldn't load last nite!


Run with a few chickens actually in it.


The two mini's with a not-so-mini.

Wow, your place looks great! I have a serious case of green grass envy... nothing but dry, dry, dry here. That run is awesome, but I bet the hens would like a nest box out there rather than venture back across the open yard.

My girls range in a 60 x60' fenced off portion of the yard that has a few large fruit trees. I planted some strawberry guava and a loquat to give them more cover. They mostly stay under cover. Not sure if they are attracted to the shade or if it's self preservation. I've got some pomegranate starts ready to go in this fall when it starts raining (if it starts raining

).

Waiting for eggs.... again! My quail are all at 8 weeks so should be getting eggs any day. I have around 60 quail now, and will be processing some of the scrappy boys in a few weeks. Doing a "practice" hatch for a BYC member in Indiana. We went thru all the steps, including the shipping! He plans to sell/ship quail eggs, and sent me 56 eggs yesterday. arrived today! Not a single crack, and will be checking air cells later tonight. Fun stuff, and I get to keep the chicks too!

My girls are still not laying, 3 eggs again today. Very odd. Using Purina flock raiser on all the birds and free choice oyster shell. Still fermenting also. Rebel went to rooster jail for the week (more, really angry with him!) he is getting too aggressive with my hens. He is pecking them after he "does his job" and doesn't let them stand up! Just stands on them, pinned down. He actually had one of the BAs head bloody by time I ran and grabbed him away

This made the 3rd time. So he gets jail and will meet the freezer if he does it again! Will be a shame because he is very people friendly.
My baby doeling, Sophie is doing great, happy little energetic baby. Sugar is an excellent Mom and frets, fusses and will not let her out of her sight. Sophie has started to eat pellets a little so I plan to start milking once a day very soon. Bo is insanely jealous, and is really becoming an ornery billy. He gets to go out to the fence line with me every day, But he has started to butt a lot. Hind legs standing up, full on! His back goes all spiked up, so I see it before it happens. When he does his "attack", I catch him midair by the horns and pin him to the ground. If he keeps at it, he gets his water bucket dumped on his head, and locked up in the livestock trailer. He will be pastured with the cows once I get the fencing done. I almost think it would have been easier to run new fence, taking forever to replace the bad posts, fix the fencing etc, then run the wire for electric fence (top, middle and bottom). DH is driving me crazy wanting to get cows like yesterday, last year even

told him he needs to help with the fence first, otherwise not happening till its done. They are too big to "make do" and am not dealing with an escaped cow. The poor guy last month that had his bull get out told me its a nightmare to deal with. I don't know if he ever found the bull.

Is Rebel an adult rooster? Just wondering if his hormones have settled yet. Does he treat all the hens the same, or is he just picking on a few? Very strange, and so unnecessary, for him to be so aggressive toward the hens. Glad he's spending some time in the clink!

RR, I'm sorry too, poor Sneaky Chimi.... but Dozer was just being a dog... it's unfortunate, but OK's right... if he was eating a fox, we'd all be cheering... I would try a training program before making any hurried decisions... Chester is pretty good around the chickens, and he's always leashed, my wish is that he stop peeing in the house... he peed on the new floor tonight... I could cry. I walk him and walk him, he will only take one pee towards the end of the walk. I've never known a male dog that didn't pee 28 times around every block... pee on each rock, tree trunk...

Sully, you have such a nice setup... I'm getting great ideas for what to build when I move!

I wanted to go back to the fair this afternoon, but Mylee was so grouchy and I swear her ears are made of cloth sometimes! so we both took a nice long nap and went to the fair at 6 pm. She got her face painted like a rainbow kitty - so pretty! and we went on so many rides, over and over - it was great, but we didn't get home until 11 ! She got a pony ride, and to feed carrots to a fabulous giraffe, she fed the goats again and totally fell in love with the Percheron horses - the people who own them were terrific, really sweet to Mylee and gave her a special tattoo of a horse named Ice. Mylee is so gracious (when she wants to be...) big thank you's to all the ride operators and the concession people - the guy who runs the small roller coaster that she loves actually stopped the ride so she could get on, then instead of 2 trips around, he let it run for 4! she made so many friends on the lines, then they would ride together, and I would have to sit by myself... lol... I overheard people say how adorable she is when we were waiting to get in the fun house... cuz we were dancing, and she got so into it... I'll post some pics tomorrow. I want to go back again tomorrow, but she actually wants to go climb "Vrooman's Nose" - a really nice small mountain that looks ... like a nose. and we'll have a picnic up top of hard boiled eggs, peaches, cheese and crackers and juice. Maybe she'll change her mind. the fair is gone by the weekend, and Vrooman's Nose is there forever...

9 Eggs today

Your fair sounds so nice and wholesome. A lot of the guys that run the carnival rides out here are pretty unsavory characters, and I'm generally hard to intimidate, but I would not allow young teens into the carnival without keeping an eye on them. Oh, that and the gang activity in the evenings.

They've really cracked down on this, but these days it's like going through airport security just to get into the county fair. What a world! Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong century.

Keep up the Mylee updates. That's how it should be!

Looking into one of these to brood chicks. Free range with no problems

Haha! Good doggie. Those ducklings grew in the bottom pic, and so many! They're so vulnerable on the ground at that stage and need a good protector. Mustacheio wants ducks now,

the little Call ducks that are so adorable. We'll see how his grades are this first quarter...
Looks like an Akita or a white GS?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

The local ducks come by for a swim! Plus, I have all sorts of wading birds that visit too! Quite the menagerie! My mother calls my place the funny farm!

I have a really odd one I thought was a pekin egg.

Quote:

I candled tonight cause I was bored. It's day 12. All 4 eggs have bright veins and wiggly large black spots/sections and you can't see through them.

YAY

Week one is behind us now. RK broody is locked down on her eggs and I need to check the incubator to see how my eggs are doing.

This contest is so unfair to RK Broody. I set them and forgot them. She has been sitting on eggs for going on three weeks now. When should I candle the eggs in the incubator? Humidity has been just a little high in the incubator. Guess that's OK?

I candle at lock down only.now. Less i mess ith them hatch is better.

 

[cheeka]

Sally, certain settings on the camera will give the use the option of choosing the size of the file, the larger the file, the better detail, but it needs to be compressed afterward on the computer to upload to certain sites. if you hunt around in the program you use for photos, you should find the compress function... or crop the photos into several smaller shots and they will be smaller files automatically. I have issues with uploading once in a while, but it usually doesn't have to do with file size... unless it's a video. I love the Chicken Chick too... she's so thorough... and her birds are gorgeous...

 

[Sallysec]

Woowoo Cheeka, I followed your suggestion and here is a picture of the little ones.

 

[cheeka]

very cool Sally! he looks like (3rd pic) he's saying "c'mon you can do it"

Mylee is throwing a tantrum because she's overheated and overtired and I won't let her go back outside for an hour. she's stomping around upstairs screeching... it's so hard to ignore... but if I pay the slightest bit of attention, she gets worse. she'll fall asleep soon

 

[lindz8504]

Well, I went out this morning and before I could get from the back door of the coop, over to the nesting boxes, Clarabelle was out in the yard! I took advantage to check for eggs, and there was still just the 2 that I put under her last night. Then went back down at noon and there are no more eggs in the other boxes....hmm..... check under her and there are 3!!!! Two small and a large, plus Amelia was hanging out close to the coop like she was wanting to lay, but there was already a small egg this morning.... I guess we shall see if someone is being sneaky and laying without us knowing! Looking at the black cochin chicks, the larger 2 are already as big as Clarabelle and their combs/wattles are redder than Amelia's so I guess it could be them laying.... Not really sure ages on them anyway just knew they were this springs hatchlings, so it was going to be a big surprise when they laid from the beginning!

 

[cheeka]

my new little OEG is a mean little guy. he's great with people and with his little buddy the Dutch something or other... and he's decent with the large fowl hens, but he is true to his breed... he was fighting with one of the feather footed banty boys, Mylee came running to get me, saying they're fighting Omi! come save the day! well, both are exhausted and both have bloodied combs, but the feather footed boy lost the battle, he was overheating fast. I put him directly in their drinking water bucket, if I dipped his beak, he would drink, but otherwise he just floated there with his eyes closed. after a full minute, maybe longer... he snapped out of it! he took a great long drink and then he really wanted out of the bucket. so rather than have him waste precious energy... I carried him to the apple coop and he's resting in the coolest corner. I dunked the OEG just for good measure... but I used Mylee's kiddie pool water - it was a lot colder than the drinking bucket (which has been refreshed...) he seemed to like it... and he's locked back up. Mylee knows not to let him out anymore. don't know if I can keep him... I'd like to... I might try free ranging him with the big boys. he has room to escape if they come after him. knowing him, he'll start the fight.

 

[lindz8504]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/817030/using-hamburger-grease-in-suet-cakes

Ok, I posted this into the feed and watering forum, but wanted ya'lls advice as well! With all the PIE making that goes on around here I thought maybe someone has done something similar!