The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Sally8]

I just asked my mother about this. My grandparents sold eggs back during the depression. Mom said grandma used a soft steel wool and would lightly rub the dirty ones. She never washed them.

 

[aoxa]

I just asked my mother about this. My grandparents sold eggs back during the depression. Mom said grandma used a soft steel wool and would lightly rub the dirty ones. She never washed them.

I should figure out a better way.

I'll try this. I'd rather not wash them. I package all the clean ones first and do not wash/

 

[Shan30]

I find this a bit confusing. I understand that the bloom protects the egg from possible bacteria etc. from passing through the porus shell. Now if the egg is washed and stored in a fridge in a clean container it seems unlikely to me that any dangerous bacteria would be present or able to grow. If the egg was unwashed, sanded or scrubbed, isn't it far more possible for pooticules (yes particles of feces) to fall off the shell and into the food while cracking the egg?

Purely curious, I eat unwashed eggs all the time haha! Pooticules and all! But I do wash what I sell.

 

[mlowen]

Pooticles!!!

Why, yes, I am an adult...why do you ask?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I find this a bit confusing. I understand that the bloom protects the egg from possible bacteria etc. from passing through the porus shell. Now if the egg is washed and stored in a fridge in a clean container it seems unlikely to me that any dangerous bacteria would be present or able to grow. If the egg was unwashed, sanded or scrubbed, isn't it far more possible for pooticules (yes particles of feces) to fall off the shell and into the food while cracking the egg?

Purely curious, I eat unwashed eggs all the time haha! Pooticules and all! But I do wash what I sell.

For me last spring, I did not have room in the family fridge for the egg customers. I had one customer that liked to pick up 6 -10 dozen eggs at a time. It was a lot of space in the fridge, when I could just make sure the nests were clean and collect mainly clean eggs from my 20-25 hens.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
I like the idea of a hot wire & I want to say I have seen it posted somewhere else on here of someone who does that. Maybe the heritage breed forum.

Me? I probably would forget & touch the fence.......yes I have been zapped by my electric netting

AFL - it doesn't electrify the whole fence. The hot wire is not attached to the fence thankfully! Just close to the fence right below the top of it so that when they climb up and hit that wire or grab that wire, they get shocked.

The only time I've heard about people using hot wires like that was around the base of their hoop coops. They'd build a wood frame if the coop was moveable, or just use permanent posts if it wasn't and run a hot wire a couple feed up from the ground. Same idea that it would stop the predator before it got far.

I had just never thought of putting one near the TOP of a fence like that.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Purely curious, I eat unwashed eggs all the time haha! Pooticules and all! But I do wash what I sell.

Me too

. But my chickens have nice, clean pooticules They have ff

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have a question for those of you that are talking about lots of mud.

Is the mud you're having in a fenced run area/fenced area? If not, where is the mud?

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I have been having a minor sparrow issue that turned into a major sparrow issue while I was away for a few weeks on honeymoon. I am rebuilding my run to permanently solve the problem. But, since I have been back my older leghorn (4+ years) is looking not so great and I am considering worming all 6 birds as I know I have had a biosecurity issue. I haven't actually seen in worms in their poop so I also feel concerned about treating for something they may not have?

Do you worm? What to you use?

Check out the book Fresh Eggs Daily - by Lisa Steele. She has some good ways to keep the GI tract healthy and worm free using herbs and other natural things.

I would get their poo looked at before doing anything.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I have a question for those of you that are talking about lots of mud.

Is the mud you're having in a fenced run area/fenced area? If not, where is the mud?

the majority of our mud is in the covered run, also fenced in. Turns out it was a low area of our yard but we did not realize that when we put the coop there or we would have designed the fencing and gate better.
We have mud in other areas of our yard as most of our yard sits low. We kind of knew that from mowing, but we are not big on short grass and mowing every 3 days. So for the most part we were clueless as to how many puddles were in our yard until we started walking in our yard every day to feed or water the chickens.
We have 2 spots in our front yard that turn into temporary ponds after a heavy rain. We have added dirt in the past but it still needs so much more. The spots are not supposed to be ponds / lakes. But 2 houses down his entire front yard turns into at least a ft deep of water in heavy rain or snow melts. So we are at least on higher ground than he is.