Washingtonians

[TheReidHomestead]

I have a question....one of my girls is laying an egg at night while on the roost. It drops on the poop tray and breaks obviously. What causes an established layer to do this? This is their second laying year and I don't get it. Any ideas? It's happened a couple of times now. Not everyday though.

I have no idea why, but we have a Silkie who we got as a chick last spring, and she started doing this as well for about 2-3 wks. Then the eggs stopped and she sat on her roost all day. She's always in the same spot, so we know the eggs were hers. It took us awhile to realize that she had gone broody! On her roost! We thought she was sick and had her isolated for a few days but she had no symptoms and was eating and drinking fine. When we shut our incubator down earlier in the month because only one egg was fertile and growing, we gave it to her and she is the happiest little momma now! It's due to hatch tomorrow and if it's successful will be our first broody momma chick. But we say behind her back that something ain't right with momma for her to lay and go broody on a tiny little roost!

I'm dying to hear if other's have experienced anything like that, or even just the laying of the egg on the roost. Very strange!​

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
Sometimes my birds have laid while at roost, usually it is in the wee hours of the morning, the sand on the poop tray has helped prevent breakage, and now my theory on why it happens:
There is so much light that they are used to, or get used to, and so that establishes their lay time.
Then the light burns out unnoticed (it has happened) or a 4 day dark storm blows in and cut their light hours back, and presto!
The chicken is still on sunlight hours, waiting for the light that does not appear in the storms.
So out plops the egg...in the dark, that used to be light.

 

[TheReidHomestead]

Robin, can you give me a time table of how you deal with your Kefir?

I'm still struggling to get the timing right. I've had one good batch, the rest have been sour. I took out a tiny bit of grains last night and added a bit more milk.

Like, do you measure the grains and the milk and have some type of proportional thing you do? I feel like I am totally guessing! And how long to you let it sit before you strain it?

 

[blueducklings]

Quote:
Congrats!!

OOhhhh you must be feeling those butterflies big time.

It seems like an awful long time but I got my bator 3 weeks ago and hatchatitis has caught on big time in this here household. OK just me.

Just not sure what I'm going to do with all the duckies I'm going to have. I save all the eggs I get from my 2 ducks in a shoebox and incubate them every saturday.

The last batch I had 13 eggs!!

I should have about 18 eggs in my bator now.
& yesterday my DS & I put a whole bunch of sand filled easter eggs in the bator to help keep the heat in the bator.
It looks cool. Orange, purple, pink, blue & green eggs.
You have a brooder yet? 21 days comes really quickly.

Mine takes 28 days so I have an extra week.

I got to build the brooder this week though.
Too cold in the garage, even with the heat lamp.
Share pics of your incubator!
Here is mine.

You can see the eggs + the easter egg temp stabilizers.

Here is the hatch box I made out of stuff I found at the local good will & what I have in the garage. $5 bucks later.

Here is what it looks like inside. The light , fan and temp control. the insert on the left is where the ducks will hatch out. Thanks to CL for the idea.

Here is my duck tractor. Cant push it anywhere now cause it is stuck in the snow.

Here is where they will live when it is all done.

The little black blob on the right is the duck coop and the bigger blob on the top is my shed.
I got the space between that all wired off. Just need a gate & bird netting.
Hi ho hi ho its off to building a coop I go.

 

[Chickielady]

Sun came out, then black clouds have come in from the ocean, and it is getting darker, maybe have several eggs on the poop tray today!!
Birds are down inside the coops feeding, but some have decided the roost is the plcae to be, despite all are in insulated coops with heat lamps on..56 inside the coops...OK, more snow is falling, looks like stage #2 of the bliz-zard is upon us...another couch potatoe day.
But I have a lockdown incubator to clean, sterilize and set up for W & BW Ameraucana hatch lockdown on Friday, about 29 eggs altogether, some are my blue Ams, man it is very chicky in here !!

Golly ! Gee Whiz..it is looking very applesaucey outside, darker and darker.
Wish I had my sewing machine and all my scraps and quilts starts, I would not give a hoot what is going on outside...later guys!


NOTE TO SELF: Call son in Monroe and ask if I can stay over night Fri of the Show weekend, coop in Fri night..and sleep over at his place, and coop out Sat afternoon ?
That'll work, won't it ?

NOTE TO SELF:: Figure out to get the giant r/c snow cock in the little sink to wash his white butt off !!!

 

[blueducklings]

Quote:
Sounds like you need to bring in the nylon netting to catch that egg.

 

[Ogress]

Quote:
That is the coop?

It is fancier than a KOA cabin. Lucky chickens.
My duckies only got 4 sheets of ply.

Shhh don't tell them about the chicken palace or they might go on stirke.

I'm only getting the one egg now as it is.

A bear tore down my neighbor's chicken coop - and it was a fairly sturdy cabin. I'm hoping they can't tear this one down.

I will have some large plywood scraps and lumber scraps ... I need to first build some benches for my greenhouse, and then I will post what I have left here. We have some formerly gorgeuos large wood beams that were cut the wrong size when we built the house ... they are covered in moss now. Sad to see them waste. I need to find someone with a planer who can use them.

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
I take the grains out, strain the liquid, then add 2 cups warm milk..and let it sit.
The sweeter you want, add more milk more often, like 2 X a day instead of one.
Or more even, you have to adjust it to your tastes.
Just remember, the less often you add milk to it, the more sour it will be.
The more milk, the more often, the sweeter it will be.

Edited to add::: Tam did I forget to give you the instructions ?
If you do not use it, and do not want it to get too sour, refridgerate it.
If you have too much sour, make sourdough bread, it comes out excellent !
Have extra whey ?
Give to your birds in small shallow bowls.

 

[TheReidHomestead]

I take the grains out, strain the liquid, then add 2 cups warm milk..and let it sit.
The sweeter you want, add more milk more often, like 2 X a day instead of one.
Or more even, you have to adjust it to your tastes.
Just remember, the less often you add milk to it, the more sour it will be.
The more milk, the more often, the sweeter it will be.

After you pour in the milk, how long to you let it sit before straining?
And after you strain it, how long to you let it sit before using?

I had been putting around 4 cups of milk in, letting it sit about 24 hrs before straining it. Then putting the kefir back in the fridge for a day or two to sweeten it. But it was sour and grainy, except for my 2nd batch. Last night I took out a little grains, added the same 4 cups of milk and I'm thinking about straining it now, it's been about 15 hrs since I did it last..........​

 

[TheReidHomestead]

No you gave me directions, and I thought I was following them just like they said. But now I'm thinking maybe I'm not interpreting them right....

Just wondering what you do so i can compare what I'm doing to someone who's doing it successfully!!!