Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[Scrambles55]

Eight birds down. Two Jersey Giants to go. Someone said she wants BCM. She lives near me, and will be stopping by next week.

 

[mortie]

OK you chicken nipple users. Let me know how those work out for you. I bought some but never used them.

OK, here is a detailed account of my experience with these things...

when my chicks hatched, I started them on the waterer by putting a nipple into the cap of a gatorade bottle and hanging it upsidedown. They pecked at it but over all seemed disinterested. After a few days I figured it out. The darn things don't work in a vacuum. They will dispense a little water until there is a vacuum and then they quit because they don't allow enough air to go in via the nipple. I cut a small hole in the bottom of the bottle (which made it tricky to fill) and after that it worked great and they took to it right away. With 15 of them though, I was having to fill it like twice a day. So I bought a 96 oz bottle of juice, enjoyed the juice, and then converted that by again installing a nipple in the cap. This time I cut a large hole in the top so I could refill it easily with a pitcher from the top without taking it out or anything.

That's where the trouble started. A few days later, I noticed the chicks were constantly pecking the waterer. Constantly. I checked it, and water wasn't coming out. I removed it for investigation and found that the little stick part that is on the inside (inside the plastic shell they have a stick, a ball, then another sitck that the chickens peck at) was stuck. This didn't allow for any water to get through. I cleaned it out and put it back and it was fine for maybe 2 days and then it happened again. I noticed the water level wasn't going down like it should so I checked and again the little stick was jammed. There was no debris that I could see so I figured there must be chicken dust getting in through the filling hole on the bottle (I had cut almost the whole bottom out to make it easy) and settling at the bottom and even though I couldn't see it, it was just enough to mess up my waterer. While they were in the garage, I had to clean it carefully every couple of days.

When I moved them outside, I took one of my many, MANY buckets I have laying around because my aquarium salt comes in them and drilled 2 holes in it and installed 2 nipples, in case one gets jammed. With only 4-6 chickens one would have been enough but I am hoping if one jams the other will still work until I either notice or clean it out. I have the lid on it to keep debris from getting in with just a tiny slit unsealed to allow air in to avoid a vacuum. I have not had them clog yet, but every 5 days or so I rinse it out really good and refill it. I have not had a problem since I did the bucket version. The lid part is key. You need to be able to keep dust and dirt out in my experience.

I have figured out how to tell by watching the chickens as they are drinking, whether or not they are getting water. They make a little um...lip smacking (if chickens had lips...) motion after every couple of pecks if water is flowing. So far so good. Like I said, avoiding getting any dust in there is really the key I have found. I LOVE not having to deal with poopy water.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

w4w thanks for that info. these girls came with a certificate that they could be shown, and my granddaughter may show the reds if i can ever tame them well enough to handle. yet between the 2 i tell them apart (at least for now) because they seem to have 2 different body types. Lucy tall and slimmer, Ethel kind of short and round. They are quiet different from the Rocks who I only tell apart from each other by the fuzzy feathers on Thelma's cheeks that Louise doesn't have. And personality as Thelma is the smarter and friendlier, still wouldn't call them tame yet.

Since you just got them recently, they will be extra skittery, but like CLindz said, they will calm down quite a bit once they start laying. Until then, tame them with treats! Also, as far as egg laying goes, many breeder quality birds develop more slowly, and so you may have even longer to wait for those eggs.

Is your granddaughter going to do showmanship? If so, and she is young/small, a bantam breed might be easier to handle. Otherwise, the BRs tend to be tame and easy to handle and noisier gregarious, but don't give up on the NH. The NH are one of my favorites. Went to a large state show and met a man from Oregon with the most gorgeous NHs; he won 1st place for breed with them. My hatchery girl looks like a different species compared to those birds!

I've never heard of a certificate for showing, unless it is some sort of health cert? Chicken showing does not require pedigrees, so you can enter just about any bird, even mine, as long as it is healthy. Not going to win anything, but I can still enter her!

 

[Scrambles55]

THREE... THREE... Whee hee!! I got THREE!

Where the heck is everyone?? I just made a batch of triple berry jam with wild Huckleberries, blueberries and raspberries. Yummy!!

Next on the list is bell pepper cherry jam. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.............

 

[cheeka]

drum roll! seriously... I want everybody to be making some noise - clap your hands, make whooping hollers... it's only 5:15 and I don't have to go back out to collect eggs for the rest of the day!!! there won't be anymore, there can't be... because...........




EVERYBODY LAID TODAY!!!

37 EGGS!

it's an all time record! technically... there's one who didn't lay, but she's excused for sitting on those eggs... today is the close of day 8 and she's looking gorgeous! I can tell she took a quick bath today, the earth by the kennel is hollowed out in a chicken shape.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Holy cow! 37 eggs!!! Congratulations Cheeka!

That is one happy looking turtle.

 

[Scrambles55]

HIP HIP HOORAY for Cheeka and her Hens!!! Congratulations!!

 

[gilcamp4]

cann't wait to get 21 and you got all them, i also have peeps 6 that are 2wks old still in the house, we hatched them, then have 4 10wks and 15 8wks they are all in the screen house which looks like a hot house all closed up with the heavy plastic on the sides

 

[Scrambles55]

cann't wait to get 21 and you got all them, i also have peeps 6 that are 2wks old still in the house, we hatched them, then have 4 10wks and 15 8wks they are all in the screen house which looks like a hot house all closed up with the heavy plastic on the sides

 

[mortie]

Way to go, Cheeka's crew! Extra pie for you!