The NFC B-Day Chat Thread

[N F C]

Or maybe if you go at the "wrong" time you should wear your animal feeding clothes, especially the boots. People might just make a path when they smell you coming

Got 3 eggs yesterday, none white. All the > 6 month old girls have moulted or are now and have quit for the year. That means either Betty or Trill finally started laying. Not sure which but the egg wasn't as reddish as Veronica's, more like shiny tan, so I suspect Trill laid it. Good size for a first egg at 56g. Good thing I didn't keep making bets with @sunflour on when Betty will lay compared to her next one in line! Like Oreo, Mint seems to have quit, last egg was on the 5th though she still has a red comb. Those Exchequers Leghorns better lay their little butts off come spring. Every other pullet I've had laid through their first winter.

Congrats on another pullet laying. My 3 Welsummers are still free loading .

But Debby is laying regularly and her eggs are now up to a light medium egg weight

My Wellie has quit for the time being But I am still getting almost an egg a day from Bonnie, the Sapphire and an occasional one from one of the 3 Legbars. Who would have thought a person would get tired of seeing only blue eggs?

Bruce, congrats on another one of your girls laying!

 

[bruceha2000]

Veronica is also being quite steady, 26 so far. 2 made it into the low range of UDSA Large She runs 5-6 in a row, then a day off. Not exactly a trend one would bet money on since she's only been laying for 1 month. Cassie tends to be 1-3 in a row, then a day off.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Good morning Debbie and all! We must have your same weather pattern here. I just dug out my lease recipe so I think I’ll make that tomorrow. I did 2 pans of lemon bars last night. My oldest is on the fire department and they have turkey bingo tonight so he needed a pan of bars and since I’d have a mess anyway I made one for us. My egg supply is getting less due to molting so maybe should have done something else... oh well! I got 2 out of 23 yesterday. I got my new furniture yesterday. It is so comfortable.

Pictures?

 

[CapricornFarm]

I am getting jealous with all the egg talk! I probably won't see any eggs until February! Then i will have loads i hope!

 

[bruceha2000]

That is why I got 7 pullet chicks at the end of April since I didn't expect my 2015 girls to lay past moult this year. I was EXPECTING them to all lay through the winter as all of my 2012 and 2015 girls did. So far 1 was a cockerel (rehomed) 2 started laying and quit, 1 hasn't started yet.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Well @bruceha2000 I'd sure ship ya some, but don't have a lot of confidence in them getting there uncracked....free of charge of course....

 

[ronott1]

That is why I got 7 pullet chicks at the end of April since I didn't expect my 2015 girls to lay past moult this year. I was EXPECTING them to all lay through the winter as all of my 2012 and 2015 girls did. So far 1 was a cockerel (rehomed) 2 started laying and quit, 1 hasn't started yet.

Get ones that you want to lay over winter in March. That gives them time to establish laying. I also helps to get breeds that are known to be winter layers

 

[bruceha2000]

Ah but you see @ronott1 the 2012 girls were hatched the 2nd week of June, the 2015s the first week of June. They ALL laid through their first winter, even the Cubalayas which are WAY far from being described as a winter layer. I got these that hatched the last week of April so they would start sooner than the other groups did and I wouldn't have the Fall gap that I had in 2016. But I did save and freeze some last fall so I didn't have to buy eggs for Christmas cookies, etc. It helped that Nuit kept going until mid December last year. She's just finished her moult this year, it will be interesting to see if she does start back up but I don't add light so I expect she will hold out until February.

With regard to "Winter laying breed" it might be somewhat like "All season tires". Yeah, all seasons where there is no snow! Could be the "winter layers" do so better in other climates. One of my Faverolles laid pretty well her second winter, the other didn't lay from Oct 5th to Feb 14th. Not the greatest summer layers either, they keep going broody. Similar situation with my 2 Partridge Chanteclers. One laid really well her 2nd winter, the other not at all. The second started up the end of February, laid 1 every 3 days for a month then dead of no known cause.

Well @bruceha2000 I'd sure ship ya some, but don't have a lot of confidence in them getting there uncracked....free of charge of course....

Thanks for your kind offer but I'm good. I have 4 dozen in the refrigerator. And that is after using a dozen to make "Grandma Wall's eggnog" (BYH reference).

 

[N F C]

@bruceha2000 can you share your Grandma Wall's eggnog recipe? I'd like to see how it looks compared to mine. If it's a family secret, that's fine (I'll just assume mine is better )

Hey, it's snowing a LOT outside! Anyone want to come over and we'll build a snow chicken?

 

[bruceha2000]

It isn't my Grandma's recipe but it isn't a secret either since it was posted by a member on BYH:
https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/devonviolet-acres.30335/page-260#post-524015

Note the reduction of booze. Great Grandma Wall must have had a lot of people staggering around on Christmas Day! We've not determined what size shot "Grandma" used. I put in 6 of the larger side from a 2 'sided' jigger ~1.3 oz each. Potent enough for us! I replaced the "missing" liquid with DW's nonfat Lactaid milk.

It is really smoooooth, especially after a couple of days in the refrigerator though it does lose some of its "loft". It also separates (no surprise) so a good shake is necessary.

Here are the pictures I posted when I made it:
https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/devonviolet-acres.30335/page-266#post-526196