The Freeloader Diaries - Freeloading Revisited

[Wildsky]

You are going to have to write a book.

"Chicken Soup for the eggless soul"

(once its published leave a copy in the coop)

 

[Chellester]

DIARY ENTRY FOR THE DAY OF 01/31/08:

A very rainy and somewhat windy day today... we've definitely had worse days than this weather-wise, but it was still one of the wetter days we've had so far this season.

I hope you all got a kick out of my little joke yesterday!

Obviously, one of my D'Uccles finally laid an egg. I know which one it is too... one of the girls has been fussing quite a bit (making that noise that makes them sound like they're real worried about something) and checking out the nests. Yesterday morning when I went out to throw scratch, I walked around the corner to go into her pen, and saw that she was actually sitting in one of the nests! I froze, then slinked back around the corner in hopes that if I didn't disturb her, she might actually lay an egg! Well, I checked back about an hour later, and she was off the nest, but no egg to be found.

I went about my business figuring it was going to be another null-egg day, but when I went back again, lo and behold, there was a perfect little egg in the nest. But I felt bad for my poor little hen; there was a little blood on the eggshell.

That and her getting on and off the nest like she was, she must have been having a hard time passing that first egg.

Tonight, when I went to lock up the coops, I went to check on the D'Uccle pen and I found another egg! This one is smaller and much pointier than the one I found yesterday; I am wondering if it's from the same hen, or if the other hen as started laying as well? Usually, a hen will take the day after off after her first egg, so who knows. I'm just happy to get eggs!

Since I have chickens laying now, many of you may be worried (or hoping!) that this is the end of the freeloader diaries. Well, I hope I am stating the obvious here when I say that I though I did start this because my freeloading chickens were not laying, it is meant to be tongue-in-cheek and I am (usually) not serious about my angst about my chickens not laying. All of them but the three D'Uccles and the two broody Silkies are really too young to be laying, and with the weather the way it's been, I can understand the delay with the D'Uccles. Also, I am quite happy about my two Silkies being broody... I have eggs in the bator that are due to hatch next week, so I am going to use the Silkies to brood the chicks. Hey, if they're not going to lay, might as well put them to work!

With all that said, I do plan on continuing the freeloader diaries as long as people continue to find it fun and entertaining! After all, I may have a couple of hens laying, but most are still lazy little freeloaders!

Maybe others who have freeloaders can post diary entries here or start their own threads to vent (there's that pun again!) their freeloading agnst.

Okay, enough with the disclaimers; back to the fun!

Oblio13, I like your thinking about mentioning chicken soup.

I think I feel a cold coming on... *cough cough*

mom'sfolly, glad to hear at least one of your hens got their act together. I suggest you lavish praise on this hen while giving the others dirty looks.

CovenantCreek, I love your idea about flouresent lighting! I can even hook it up to solar power so they don't cost me any more money and I can be a greenie to boot!

wooden_pony, I think it's actually only 42 to go now... WAY better than 43!

MissPrissy and Churkenduse, I haven't eaten it or the one that was laid today yet... it usually takes 3 banty eggs = 2 standard eggs, so I'll wait until they lay another one and make an omlete.

Wildsky, I love it! Maybe we should start a thread like that to help other poor eggless souls with their lack-of-eggs agnst.

ChicknGurl, sara, hcammack and TheMartianChick, thanks for your condratulations and humor!

Stay tuned for more exciting freeloading follies!

 

[Bawkadoodledoo]

day bajillion of my freeloaders

no eggs today, got the roos out, door blew closed and i put them back in.

 

[ncgnance]

I just finished reading this thread, and enjoyed it very much. We have quite a few good writers here. I was making the same threats to my 4 bo's about hatchets and soup. Well, I followed through last weekend. Plus, I had one too many cockrels, so I figured it would be a good learning experience for myself and my daughter/farmhand. None of the hens had laid since the Oct. moult. First, I checked their vents, and lo and behold, one of them had the moist, plump vent that says "layer." She laid the very next day, smart hen!! The other 3 were white and puckery. When I cleaned these hens, there were no eggs inside, but there were HANDFULLS of fat between their legs and elsewhere on their bodies. Now I feel very guilty for feeding them so much corn scratch. I think they were eating that and not enough layer feed. The little hen that is laying is the low one in the pecking order, so she probably didn't get as much scratch. I have cut WAY back on the scratch.

 

[Redfeathers]

Well since this is the place for the suffering eggless, then I want to rant as well. I have two that are 25 weeks old and three Orps that are 21 weeks old. Nothing yet from anyone. One of my Polish girls squats for me and is tearing apart the nest boxes, she pulls everything out of there, circles around, makes a big racket and then leaves the nest and goes about her day. She is as ready as a girl can be and yet she makes me wait. I check three times daily because I know the little stinker has one in her just waiting to pop out....but no. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[Chellester]

DIARY ENTRY FOR THE DAY OF 02/01/08:

Happy February!

February means we're getting closer to spring, which means our freeloaders are getting closer to having one less excuse for no eggs.

Now that my D'Uccles (well, 2 out of 3 of them, and you know the old saying) are laying, I am focused on my freeloading standard breeds. Their faces are reddening up, but their combs and wattles are still small, so I know it's probably going to be a few weeks before I see any eggs out of them. I want to get standard eggs so I don't have to do the "egg math" with the banty eggs anymore! If you don't know the egg math, here's the formula: 3 banty eggs = 2 standard eggs. That's all fine and dandy if you got a recipe that needs 2 eggs, but wonder if you got a recipe that only needs 1 egg? That's 1 1/2 banty eggs, and I hate fractions!!! It also means I gotta crack and scramble 2 banty eggs, figure out how much of it makes one standard egg, and dump the rest down the drain. And you don't even want to get into a recipe that needs "1 egg yolk" or "1 egg white". ACK!!!!!!

Bawkadoodledoo, I do feel your pain! The only words of confort I can offer you are: the more more you believe they will be freeloading forever, the more likely they will start laying. It's the Law of Egg Karma.

ncgnance, wish I had the nerve to do what you did. As it is, I can only throw empty threats at my birds, but you mean business! Can I tell my birds you're coming over for a visit?

Also, I'd like to be able to eat my roosters instead of having to bring them to auction... I hear they'res nothing like farm-raised chicken dinner!

Redfeathers, I went through the same thing... my hens looked so ready that I thought eggs would start shooting out of their rears like a machine gun at any second! Their faces and combs were so red, I honestly thought they'd explode! And I did the same thing you are doing; check-check-check all day long. I think the old analogy "a watched pot never boils" shoulda been "a watched hen never lays!"

 

[Fancy Feather Poultry]

, Now we need to bribe the silkies into laying

 

[Chellester]

DIARY ENTRY FOR THE DAY OF 02/08/08:

Since some of my freeloaders had stopped freeloading, interest had died down in the freeloading diaries for obvious reasons.

Well, PSYCH!

They quit laying! They just up and quit for no apparent reason! AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!

You're probably thinking to yourself: "Well, there has to be some reason for it; the weather must have gotten bad." I wish, then they'd have an excuse! The weather has been beautiful for the past three days! When they first started laying, it was raining like crazy! Maybe the only lay when it rains. Maybe I should install a sprinkler system on top of their coop. Maybe I should just make soup out of them so I don't have to worry about it anymore.

So, I am officially eggless again.

Sigh.

 

[Bawkadoodledoo]

day gjfsgbfisgbfsgillion of my freeloaders

opened door, fed bantams, they're outside right now.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I'm down to two free loaders as one started laying again. I whispered soup several times, and the fraidy hen took it to heart. Little does she know that she has as little chance of being turned into soup as the cats do.