Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[Chaneys Ranch]

Free Range today was fun. lil OEGB, aka Brutus, can range with the big boys no problem! in fact, he gets along great with Royce and Carl... but the time came to put the big boys away and give the rest of the flock some time. I decided to leave Brutus out and watch. nothing happened. he ranged peacefully all day. Max avoided him early on, then went about life as normal. phew. I'll take it one day at a time with him... we didn't get rain until just before dark, so it was a full afternoon out for the gang. the little boys still try to mount the big girls, but honestly, they do quite a good job of keeping track of everyone. I love their tiny crowing.

Peachy's chicks are getting noticeably bigger, lots of feathered feet running around! one of the Marans has a neat little tufty crest developing. I will take pictures of them tomorrow - up close and detailed...

Mylee was terrific all day, no grumpy troll....! we played hide and seek outside in the rain, she's too easy to find, she carries a flashlight, which also makes it really easy for her to find me! I had a couple of good hiding spots, but my red t shirt gave me away every time... aw Nuts! then she cracked all the eggs for supper and taste tested all the ingredients for our homemade chocolate cookie dessert. she claims to like bakers chocolate, but she wouldn't take a second taste... her bitter face is pretty cute, but alas, the camera battery was charging...

10 Eggs today! Blu is fully feathered finally, hope she returns to laying soon, it's been at least 10 days since her last egg... the rest of the molting ladies have lots of new feathers or sprouts of pins... except for Isis and Betty, they are so ratty looking, Betty was filling in from the edges, and she does have 2 new little feathers today... but it's so slow...

Cheeka I love reading about her, Mylee is a treasure

, I bet she will grow to be an amazing young woman.

Quote:

GOOOO OK! you can win!!!

Congrats!!! and very pretty variety, love the colors!


We got 2

2 eggs today

We have been so busy here, clearing and reclaiming land, getting rid of so much stuff (JUNK). Have got so much done the last few weeks with the cooler weather.
Have a small mountain of scrap iron collected, DH will take it in when truck and trailer is full and price is right. Going to have a huge bonfire from all the brush too!

Bo still goes out to the fence lines with me daily but i now tether him out of reach, he is all "billy".
If I don't pay attention to him when he wants it, he lays his horns on either side of my ankle or calf and SHOVES! Down we go, and pinned to the ground til he stops

He is at least 70 lbs and very bold, horns are getting huge! Bo is getting that musty billy smell too

and a cute lil beard! I still just love him dearly and he knows it.
Mabel, Bunny and LilX all need aprons, and a break! 2 eggs today, Mabel and one of my Australorps. LOL ~ Don't hate me. Gonna say it.....
I want more barred rocks

Am really thinking about partridge or white rocks too, my last 4 partridge were big, friendly and laid well.
Red is terribly molting and looks just awful. going to cage him a few weeks too. The hens are pecking his bald tail and am worried he will get sick.
Rebel remains in JAIL and he pecked me HARD today on my arm, just flat out attacked and drew blood!
We promptly went for a walk to the main coop, handing by his feet and holding by the base of his neck, embarrassed him for all the flock to see!
He making me nuts.Pushing my patience to the edge!

Gee my gander was biting the fence, he really hates him. we walked by the goat pen, then on to the duck & goose pen, and back to the Jail cages in the shed..
One more week for Rebel to improve his attitude, or he will be on the menu too. Shame, he is a such a big beautiful boy, but I can't risk losing my hens.
He all but attacks them pecking them after he does his thing. He severely injured one of my oldest GLWs (gertie) and we wound up losing her.
He punctured her with his claws and just ripped her up. I did everything i could with baths and electroytes and antibiotics, but she just dd not recover

The longer I keep roos, the more I think once they are mature, they get mean. Tell me I am wrong, please.

Funny how its just the 2 girls laying and they are in with Bruce my new BA roo. He is about 7 months. Not mean to the girls I gave him, and producing very healthy chicks.
Time to reduce numbers in the main coop again, processing the extra roos this weekend.
Going to process another BBW turkey too. They get more aggressive every day.8 left and SOOOO not doing them again!
One of my older guinea keets flew into their pen and I had to run and save it, I know they would have killed it.
My Royal Palm turkey pair are so sweet, they are just very friendly turkeys. I swapped 6 of my hens eggs for 6 Bourbon red turkey eggs and 1 has hatched so far.
We tried turkey eggs and WOW they are very good, really rich like duck eggs. My oldest DD used 3 for a cake and it was very moist and heavy.
I am going to just order Bourbon red poults in the spring, and some mini- white poults too, from Porters. I hear very good comments and no negatives about their stock.
Having very poor luck with shipped turkey eggs, but the few left from my RPs almost every one hatch.
Guineas are easier to hatch than chickens, just my 2 pairs I have hatched 53, sold a few so far. Traded a LOT of eggs and chicks too.

nite everyone, busy day tomorrow

 

[lindz8504]

I find hatching eggs on craigs list too and keep peoples phone numbers and what kind of eggs they are selling in case I need some eggs they have. If the are selling [COLOR=FF0000]BR[/COLOR] eggs be sure to flag them

So are you telling me not to get the BR bantam eggs from my cousin? Lol..... SHE wonvt be happy about the negativity... and you are already going to be in trouble for all the attention RKbroody is getting!

[COLOR=FF0000]BR[/COLOR] = menace to society

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Alrighty guys, I have another question! LOL, imagine that!
My chickens are very segregated when they are out free-ranging and roosting, although they share the same coop. I have my 6 black and mottled cochins in one "mini-flock", my 7 Golden Comets in a "mini-flock" , my Buff Cochins Clarabelle and Amelia (which included Doodle and Bertha until the other day's tragedy), and then 2 rogues that are on the outskirts. Since Clarabelle is broody and we lost Doodle and Bertha the other day, Amelia has been lost and wandered around drifting on the edges of the other "mini-flocks". Tonight, when I went to close up the coop and do my head count, I opened the nesting boxes and was surprised to find not one broody hen in the box but two! At this point, I am not sure if Amelia just pushed Clarabelle out of the favorite nesting box to lay her egg and then it got dark so she decided to stay there, or if she decided since she was by her lonesome outside that she would join Clarabelle in Broodyville. Either way, she had pushed Clarabelle out of her nest and was sitting on 5 eggs. There were only 4 there this morning! So.... my question is, IF Amelia is broody can I take some eggs out of the refrigerator that are 6-10 days old (the last 5 days worth are already being set on!) and let them warm back to room temperature before giving them to her? Will they hatch? I have the option to go to my cousins and get some Barred Rock bantam eggs as well, but I would really like to hatch some more Buffs since my flock was cut in half! Have any of you all ever hatched refrigerated eggs with any success?

It really surprised me, but I know folks who successfully hatch refrigerated fertile eggs from the grocery store. They try to get the freshest eggs possible to get better hatch rates. It's a very inexpensive way to practice with a new incubator. So give it a try, not much to loose! Definitely have to let them warm to room temp first.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

We got 2

2 eggs today

We have been so busy here, clearing and reclaiming land, getting rid of so much stuff (JUNK). Have got so much done the last few weeks with the cooler weather.
Have a small mountain of scrap iron collected, DH will take it in when truck and trailer is full and price is right. Going to have a huge bonfire from all the brush too!

Bo still goes out to the fence lines with me daily but i now tether him out of reach, he is all "billy".
If I don't pay attention to him when he wants it, he lays his horns on either side of my ankle or calf and SHOVES! Down we go, and pinned to the ground til he stops

He is at least 70 lbs and very bold, horns are getting huge! Bo is getting that musty billy smell too

and a cute lil beard! I still just love him dearly and he knows it.
Mabel, Bunny and LilX all need aprons, and a break! 2 eggs today, Mabel and one of my Australorps. LOL ~ Don't hate me. Gonna say it.....
I want more barred rocks

Am really thinking about partridge or white rocks too, my last 4 partridge were big, friendly and laid well.
Red is terribly molting and looks just awful. going to cage him a few weeks too. The hens are pecking his bald tail and am worried he will get sick.
Rebel remains in JAIL and he pecked me HARD today on my arm, just flat out attacked and drew blood!
We promptly went for a walk to the main coop, handing by his feet and holding by the base of his neck, embarrassed him for all the flock to see!
He making me nuts.Pushing my patience to the edge!

Gee my gander was biting the fence, he really hates him. we walked by the goat pen, then on to the duck & goose pen, and back to the Jail cages in the shed..
One more week for Rebel to improve his attitude, or he will be on the menu too. Shame, he is a such a big beautiful boy, but I can't risk losing my hens.
He all but attacks them pecking them after he does his thing. He severely injured one of my oldest GLWs (gertie) and we wound up losing her.
He punctured her with his claws and just ripped her up. I did everything i could with baths and electroytes and antibiotics, but she just dd not recover

The longer I keep roos, the more I think once they are mature, they get mean. Tell me I am wrong, please.

Funny how its just the 2 girls laying and they are in with Bruce my new BA roo. He is about 7 months. Not mean to the girls I gave him, and producing very healthy chicks.
Time to reduce numbers in the main coop again, processing the extra roos this weekend.
Going to process another BBW turkey too. They get more aggressive every day.8 left and SOOOO not doing them again!
One of my older guinea keets flew into their pen and I had to run and save it, I know they would have killed it.
My Royal Palm turkey pair are so sweet, they are just very friendly turkeys. I swapped 6 of my hens eggs for 6 Bourbon red turkey eggs and 1 has hatched so far.
We tried turkey eggs and WOW they are very good, really rich like duck eggs. My oldest DD used 3 for a cake and it was very moist and heavy.
I am going to just order Bourbon red poults in the spring, and some mini- white poults too, from Porters. I hear very good comments and no negatives about their stock.
Having very poor luck with shipped turkey eggs, but the few left from my RPs almost every one hatch.
Guineas are easier to hatch than chickens, just my 2 pairs I have hatched 53, sold a few so far. Traded a LOT of eggs and chicks too.

nite everyone, busy day tomorrow

Good heavens, Janet, you have been so busy and sounds like there is still a lot left on your plate! I have an idea... I think you should pen Rebel and Bo together and let them duke it out. Mano a mano. Maybe they can teach each other a lesson! Or you could just invite Rebel to dinner.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
Ok I lied still awake

Trader joes eggs, if you have the store available I have heard a lot of hatches from there. Kuntrygirl (BYC) had turkey eggs in the frige 2 weeks, and they hatched!
W4W, Rebel is probably a goner. I wont keep a mean roo anymore, if Red acts like his old self once healed he is going too. All his sons are just as bad, at a very young age. 3 of his boys were so aggressive at 5 months I processed them. My Lavender orp roos are still sweet but are only 26 weeks. I would rather sell them, but may be processing them too I have too way many.

 

[cheeka]

yep lindz, according to a lot of Old Timers, you can use refrigerated eggs. just let them warm up first!

wow Janet, sounds like a super busy week!

it's a lovely cool morning here... wish I didn't have to go to work... but I'm going.

 

[lindz8504]

Ok, so Amelia was one of the first ones out this morning, and she went about her day foraging and trying to figure out the new pecking order.... So Clarabelle is still Miss Broody by herself! She has 5 eggs under her, but is having a hard time keeping them all covered really good. She really has to pancake herself!


Wow, in the middle of writing I glance out the window and see a hawk in the treeline! A BIG HAWK! Are Red Tailed Hawks big enough to carry off a full grown Buff Orphington? We still haven't seen any sign of Bertha.... Anyway, out the door I go to check on everyone. The Golden Comets and Amelia run out from under the porch and walk with me back down to the coop. I felt like a security detail! LOL..... Everyone else was crammed underneath the coop. Clarabelle and the brooder babies were oblivious in the coop. Once I got down there, everyone chilled out and came back out to forage. I made a bunch of noise and threw rocks and sticks in the area I saw it land, and didn't see it anymore. Clayton is now watching out the window on Guard duty (which he is taking very seriously for a 5 year old!)




Anyway, back to my original post, should I candle the eggs and see if any are developing? And if so, when? And how do I do it? Will she get rid of any bad ones herself? I am really not sure how all of this works!

 

[lindz8504]

"Gotta keep these eggs covered!"


"Hmm... this looks interesting! What did she bring out for us this morning?"


The brooder babies were ravenous this morning! They kept arching up attacking my hands as I was trying to feed them. They wouldn't even look up for pictures! LOL

Bertha's egg- Fertile?




Amelia's egg- Fertile?



I fixed 16 eggs this morning for breakfast... I didn't get a bite of them. My 4 kiddos ate all of them! If they are eating 16 eggs by themselves and the oldest is 6 and youngest is 15 months , what are they going to eat at 16?!?!?!?!?!?!?! At this rate, I don't think I have enough chickens! Although, we don't usually eat eggs everyday, it is a quick and easy breakfast, so I may start fixing them some eggs before school.... hmm, something to ponder...




OH!!!!!! I sent hubby by a Ollie's Bargain Outlet, and had him pick up some linoleum for the floor of the coop... He was able to get a 6'x8' piece for $18.... Here is what the roll looks like! I can't wait to clean the coop this weekend and get it put down! I think it will be alot easier to keep clean than the plain plywood! Hmm... wonder if you could put it on the walls too? They have made a huge mess since they want to roost on the top of the wall rather than the actual roosts we put in...



Cheeka, you are flooring the house, and I am flooring the coop! Now which one of us has a chicken problem? LOL

 

[Reina Rana]

Have had an interesting day today with several firsts....

Pretty sure that we got our first duck egg today....son found one of our duckhens sitting on a small pile of eggs with this one. It just looks and feels different than all the other eggs; smoother, less visible pores, shinier.
-first day with more than 18 eggs (19)

First ginormous egg...we've had a few xl and jumbo...some that are almost round. For reference, one on the right is at least an xl.

Part of today's loot. Enormo-egg is bottom left, may not. Be tall, but sure is wide!

Oh yeah, and....

First cast ever...! Stress fracture (with a few *itises" in there) from walking...yes, walking. Sigh...this won't fit in my chicken boot.

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Ok, so Amelia was one of the first ones out this morning, and she went about her day foraging and trying to figure out the new pecking order.... So Clarabelle is still Miss Broody by herself! She has 5 eggs under her, but is having a hard time keeping them all covered really good. She really has to pancake herself!


Wow, in the middle of writing I glance out the window and see a hawk in the treeline! A BIG HAWK! Are Red Tailed Hawks big enough to carry off a full grown Buff Orphington? We still haven't seen any sign of Bertha.... Anyway, out the door I go to check on everyone. The Golden Comets and Amelia run out from under the porch and walk with me back down to the coop. I felt like a security detail! LOL..... Everyone else was crammed underneath the coop. Clarabelle and the brooder babies were oblivious in the coop. Once I got down there, everyone chilled out and came back out to forage. I made a bunch of noise and threw rocks and sticks in the area I saw it land, and didn't see it anymore. Clayton is now watching out the window on Guard duty (which he is taking very seriously for a 5 year old!)




Anyway, back to my original post, should I candle the eggs and see if any are developing? And if so, when? And how do I do it? Will she get rid of any bad ones herself? I am really not sure how all of this works!

Regarding the hawk. It won't carry off a large chicken. However it can kill any chicken you have. The hawk will eat what it can eat and leave the rest laying there. The fact that it is hanging around should alarm you. It intends to kill one of your chickens for a meal. Just waiting for the right opportunity. Now here is the problem. Watching out the window will not keep the hawk from killing a chicken. When he decides who will be his next meal he will kill the chicken when he makes his strike. You won't get outside in time to save the chicken. The force of the hawks strike will kill the chicken upon impact usually by breaking its neck. To compound the problem hawks are birds of prey and are protected. So you are not supposed to shoot them. However from my understanding most veteran chicken keepers say their chickens are protected too. They don't go into details. I won't guess.