The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lazy gardener]

Ohio brooder looks interesting. It also looks like it would save on the light bill. any one using a brooder like this? I'll be brooding in an unheated garage this spring. I have a thermo cube that might be useful to help with temp regulation. I'm wondering if I could do 2 x 3 adaptation in my 3 x 6 chicken tractor to provide similar results.

 

[RedRidge]

Question of the day... How many days old have you consistently set eggs successfully?
I have had no trouble with eggs up to 10 days old but have never tried to hatch eggs older than that. What are everyone's experience with pushing this envelope? I'm talking eggs collected daily but stored in temps between 50-70 degrees.

 

[mlowen]

I ran into something unexpected the other day. I had an egg freeze and crack and I brought it in to cook for the girls. I didn't get around to cooking it for several days. It was just in a bowl in the fridge. When I got it out to cook, the crack was sealed up. I couldn't even tell where it had been cracked. (It was definitely cracked!) I broke it and cooked it, with the shell, and fed it to them. The white seemed a little thicker than usual, but nothing bizarre. I'm sure the refrigerator dried it out & shrunk it, but it was really weird to go from clearly cracked to clearly smooth. Anybody else run into that, or am I the only one lazy enough to wait long enough for the crack to seal?

 

[lalaland]

I ran into something unexpected the other day. I had an egg freeze and crack and I brought it in to cook for the girls. I didn't get around to cooking it for several days. It was just in a bowl in the fridge. When I got it out to cook, the crack was sealed up. I couldn't even tell where it had been cracked. (It was definitely cracked!) I broke it and cooked it, with the shell, and fed it to them. The white seemed a little thicker than usual, but nothing bizarre. I'm sure the refrigerator dried it out & shrunk it, but it was really weird to go from clearly cracked to clearly smooth. Anybody else run into that, or am I the only one lazy enough to wait long enough for the crack to seal?

its normal! I've had so many frozen eggs this past month, and it seems about half the time, the crack disappeared. I am guessing in these cases the membrane doesn't tear and is intact, and my theory is that when the membrane does tear and the egg cracks, those eggs don't "seal up".

The eggs that have sealed up do so as soon as they warm up, and this is at room temp as I don't refrigerate them.

I've also had frozen eggs that aren't cracked until they have been in my hand when they spontaenously break open. Not sure if the heat of my hand is making the difference or not, but I quit holding them while on the egg hunt.
With the new pullets laying in their very own nests in strange places, I have to hunt eggs each day.

 

[lalaland]

oops

 

[lindz8504]

Breakfast!




Dust bath! There are 11 chickens in that hole!





18 week old Buff Cochins.

18 week old FBC Marans

 

[TeaChick]

Breakfast!




Dust bath! There are 11 chickens in that hole!





18 week old Buff Cochins.

18 week old FBC Marans

Great b-fast!!!
The dust bath looks like fun!!! (but I think I'll pass. lol)
You have beautiful birds. =) But you know that already, don't you? lol

Also, I like the new avi! =D

 

[nicole63021]

Took some pics of the birds out in the yard and thought I'd share! They are all right at 6 months old. 3 GL Brahmas, 2 Salmon Faverolles, 1 EE, 1 Cream Legbar, 1 Barred Rock, and 1 Columbian Wyandotte.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Love all those eggs! And both of y'alls chickens

 

[lindz8504]

Great b-fast!!!
The dust bath looks like fun!!! (but I think I'll pass. lol)
You have beautiful birds. =) But you know that already, don't you? lol

Also, I like the new avi! =D

Thank you! The avi is from a day that me and my oldest daughter went and raked leaves and bagged them for bedding for the chickens this winter! She had more fun jumping in them, and made me and my mom jump in them as well.... LOL.