Washingtonians

[FlyRobinFly]

Robin - if you have enough, could I buy 8 from you? Only if you have enough. Would $10 cover the cost? Between now and Christmas I want to deliver eggs to the neighbors that completely surround my house as a goodwill gesture for them putting up with my birds singing their lovely egg songs.

No, you can't buy eight from me, but I will give them to you!

 

[pettec63]

O my gosh Robin!! how are you?? good to see you too my friend!!! missed you!!

 

[hallerlake]

We just ate the two teensy tiny Exchequer Leghorn eggs. Perfectly formed with amazingly thick and hard shells and small but extremely dark yolks, they were the most robust yet complex of all the backyard eggs we've tried! Sooooo delicious. We both really love eggs so this is the most rewarding part for us. YUM!!! I really do think that the Mediterranean breeds' superior foraging tendencies make a significant difference in the taste of pastured eggs.

There are lots of older breeds that were bred to forage, not just in the mediterranian. My Spitz were bred to forage in the Alps. Any of the landrace chickens like the Icelandic chickens or Swedish flower hens would be good foragers. In fact, I'm inclined to believe most of the really old breeds were left to forage for themselves. Chickens kept in yards is a modern innovation.

 

[pettec63]

Quote:

very true!! awesome resource !!

 

[pettec63]

Well, today, we have to get all the kids together and vaccinate again and deworm, and move them out to the big pasture, I spent Monday nite getting all the buckeye hens together, banding them and trimming wings, they were moved to my older coop. Everyone has been running amok all summer, it's time to put each to their own breed and start weeding out the ones we won't use.

Anyone need some meat ducks!! I'll give ya a good price!! LOL! the 2nd cousin price!

 

[hallerlake]

If you can make a couple different "barrels" for the sifter... 1 fine screened, 1 medium and 1 large....... Some places I just wanted to get the larger stuff and let the pea sized stuff go but I only had the fine grade screen on so spent so much extra time sifting to much rocks out lol....
Also if you have projects where some pea size gravel or something up to a inch is good (for pouring a concrete floor or path or stepping stones) it is nice to choose what size rocks you want sifted out.....

I am reminded of visiting Wiiliamsburg, VA where I watched a guy digging this lovely black dirt. I commented that I had to take lots of rocks out of my soil. He asked if I took ALL of them out. I said only the ones bigger than a golf ball. He said he'd never seen a rock bigger than a golf ball. Life is not fair.

 

[FlyRobinFly]

Those are AWESOME! I wonder if I can convince DH that it would be a worthy project for a technically-minded 10-year-old to help build.

Just tell him it's a robotics project and will count towards his 4-H program. Good stuff!

 

[pettec63]

Quote:
I've been there too! It's a cool place!!

 

[jenreinke]

Anyone on here have zebra finches? I am having a couple of issues with my 3 and am not sure whether to take them into the vet or not? Essentially they caught a bug that resembled cocci and I treated them for that and then they started panting a bit so they went on tetracycline. It has been about a month now. I thought they were finally doing better so I put them back nto the main part of the house without the heat lamp and one of the boys started ripping feathers off the other male finches back. They are now back under the red heat lamp as the plucked finch was bloody and the plucking has stopped. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: Some day, when I'm rich, I want you to do pictures of some of my pretty chickens.