Silky hatch-along and OdoBan on eggs experiment

[Antiocheggers]

See, with my fiance, I eased the blow because I already had received one as an Christmas gift many years ago. But now that I'm looking at incubators again - I want one with an auto turner and less trouble than my Little Giant ^^ - I think I'm going to buy it as a birthday gift to me!

As for the chicks, my go to line is: I couldn't help it! I don't want them to get bullied because they don't have similar looking friends!!



There's parts to help the rooster mount the hens?!

I'm afraid to ask....

 

[2ndTink]

Oh, he and his brother (Wally and James, Wally is in the photo) were stunners. But mean, mean, mean! Their temperament was so horrible (and very out of the blue, their parents were easy to handle) and of course, the JG showed up much more than the Silkie, so they were huge too!


Only double that? That's good. I told him if any turn out to be roos or particularly mean, we will have a busy time processing them. Otherwise, we already have our starter flock for when we get our own home of this latest batch of chicks.

Our EE roo isn't very nice, he's got a ticket to join us for dinner, he's just waiting on my hubby to punch it I have been putting off processing any chickens, I've been needing to, but just haven't gone through with it yet. I have a flock of egg eaters that are slowing down in production and I can't add more chickens in with them to be taught to eat eggs, and I can't move them from the coop they are in to another coop as they require the rollaway nesting box. Can't rehome them to have them teach someone else's birds to eat eggs...

 

[QueenofKings]

I'm afraid to ask....

This is one secret I am definitely keeping to myself.

Our EE roo isn't very nice, he's got a ticket to join us for dinner, he's just waiting on my hubby to punch it I have been putting off processing any chickens, I've been needing to, but just haven't gone through with it yet. I have a flock of egg eaters that are slowing down in production and I can't add more chickens in with them to be taught to eat eggs, and I can't move them from the coop they are in to another coop as they require the rollaway nesting box. Can't rehome them to have them teach someone else's birds to eat eggs...

I would schedule a day for it - just so that it's on the calendar, you know? Especially for those egg eaters. My fiance's big upset with our last processing day was that he didn't get a bowl of the chicken soup we made from them. Oops.

 

[Debbie292d]

I'm afraid to ask....

Doesn't he ever want to buy anything you don't exactly agree with? If so, remind him of those times. If he doesn't, suggest he needs something....then it's even!

 

[Nomadicus]

I mean sure, but back when I had Black Jersey Giants and Black Silkies, they figured it out on their own and I said, never again! LOL You can see my resulting roo in my icon.

Perhaps that roo bred back to silkie would be interesting too.

 

[TwoCrows]

I have a flock of egg eaters that are slowing down in production and I can't add more chickens in with them to be taught to eat eggs, and I can't move them from the coop they are in to another coop as they require the rollaway nesting box. Can't rehome them to have them teach someone else's birds to eat eggs...

Got egg eaters? I did too, until I added curtains to the nest boxes! Curtains make the boxes dark, it stopped others from cruising for eggs...nothing to see here! Hen slips in, lays her egg, it's dim inside, she doesn't bother it, others don't see it either. BUT you must collect eggs often at first and you need ceramic eggs in the boxes as well. They will play with eggs at first and ceramic eggs will teach them that eggs are impenetrable. I use cheap kitchen curtains, with a industrial staple gun, I stapled them to the top, a small slit in the middle for hens to slip into. Took a couple of weeks and egg eating was cured for good. Make sure to collect eggs often. It works, just give the curtains time!

 

[2ndTink]

Got egg eaters? I did too, until I added curtains to the nest boxes! Curtains make the boxes dark, it stopped others from cruising for eggs...nothing to see here! Hen slips in, lays her egg, it's dim inside, she doesn't bother it, others don't see it either. BUT you must collect eggs often at first and you need ceramic eggs in the boxes as well. They will play with eggs at first and ceramic eggs will teach them that eggs are impenetrable. I use cheap kitchen curtains, with a industrial staple gun, I stapled them to the top, a small slit in the middle for hens to slip into. Took a couple of weeks and egg eating was cured for good. Make sure to collect eggs often. It works, just give the curtains time!
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I did the curtains and it helped quite a bit. These girls are determined, with the rollaway box they would xomehow fish their heads under and into the tray, pull eggs back up, ans eat them. Interestingly though, since they started laying this winter after molting, they aren't eating eggs. I originally had them on 16% layer feed (Naturewise) then did the Feather Fixer "as needed" then basically full time, in December I moved everyone to a 20% Organic All Flock. I'm wondering if the 20% is the magic threshold that has satisfied them and curbed their egg eating? I'm trying not to say they stopped eating eggs too loudly, as it may remind them of their old ways and start them up again

 

[TwoCrows]

I did the curtains and it helped quite a bit. These girls are determined, with the rollaway box they would xomehow fish their heads under and into the tray, pull eggs back up, ans eat them. Interestingly though, since they started laying this winter after molting, they aren't eating eggs. I originally had them on 16% layer feed (Naturewise) then did the Feather Fixer "as needed" then basically full time, in December I moved everyone to a 20% Organic All Flock. I'm wondering if the 20% is the magic threshold that has satisfied them and curbed their egg eating? I'm trying not to say they stopped eating eggs too loudly, as it may remind them of their old ways and start them up again

Egg eating becomes a habit, they have such a hard time stopping. Sounds like you are on the right track though, maybe over time your birds will let it go? Keep working on them!

 

[GreenJay]

good morning little chickies grow!
Go Zoey-Joey-CocoaPuffs!

 

[QueenofKings]

Good morning little eggs!!!

I mean, isn't 20% the threshold anyway for food. Maybe they were eating their own eggs due to lack of protein