The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Nickeyo]

Wat breed is she, is she bantam or LF

 

[delisha]

Her eye is improving...is her other behavior improving as well?

 

[mlowen]

Nugget is just SO cute!!

Eggs & below freezing temps question: I'm in Maine. I leave for work before 8 and get home after 5. I think my leghorns mean to lay all winter. Do frozen eggs' shells always break? Will I have to bring them in, thaw them, and give them back to the chooks? What y'all do in deep winter, when you can't gather right after they're layed?

 

[aaggjg]

Wat breed is she, is she bantam or LF

She is a Bantam Cochin .... Cutest thing EVER!! and so sweet!

 

[aaggjg]

Her eye is improving...is her other behavior improving as well?

Yes she has stopped walking backwards and was hopping up the garden steps today! So I think her eye is feeling better. After she is out for a little while she goes to rest & hide in a corner but I think that is due to her hard molt not her eye.

 

[aaggjg]

Oh and just some funny silkie pictures I took today .... Penelope sizing me up!






3 little silkies sitting on a wall..... Hear no evil, see no evil and SNACK!!!

 

[Nickeyo]

Ah ok, so she's a pekin, I love them, so cute

 

[lalaland]

I would not worry about her keel..it could be from lack of nutrients or hereditary and should not in-peed her progress. It sounds like she is on the mend.

huh, probably from the vitamin deficiency that almost killed her as a chick, then. she is on the mend

Eggs & below freezing temps question: I'm in Maine. I leave for work before 8 and get home after 5. I think my leghorns mean to lay all winter. Do frozen eggs' shells always break? Will I have to bring them in, thaw them, and give them back to the chooks? What y'all do in deep winter, when you can't gather right after they're layed?

I'm often away 13-18 hours in the dead of winter, I just gather them when I get home. Eggs don't freeze as fast as water does, and most often they aren't cracked. If not cracked, i just set them in the egg basket on the counter, they are thawed by the time its morning, and I never notice any difference. If cracked, I might cook them and feed back to the girls, or use them myself right away, depending on the size of the crack, the cleanliness of the egg, etc.

 

[delisha]

Nugget is just SO cute!!

Eggs & below freezing temps question: I'm in Maine. I leave for work before 8 and get home after 5. I think my leghorns mean to lay all winter. Do frozen eggs' shells always break? Will I have to bring them in, thaw them, and give them back to the chooks? What y'all do in deep winter, when you can't gather right after they're layed?

see below

Quote: In deep winter whn they are frozen ..I put them in a bowl after washing the shell. They crack with the deep freeze and I just put them in a glass bowl with a cover and use them first. I do a lott of egg recipes during the winter like custard. Yum

 

[Leahs Mom]

Well, it looks like tonight may be the beginning of the end for mamma and chicks. I went out to be sure everyone got in tonight and mom and one kiddo were on the roost. One of the others was in one of the nest boxes and the other sibling was on the perch in front of that nest box. It was dark. I moved them both to the roost next to mamma, but not sure it that was a good idea or not. Hope they don't get disoriented and fall off!