Washingtonians

[Chicken Rustler]

I also have some that are going into moult. Isn't this the wrong time of year for that? And of course a couple broody including one of the crows.

 

[Chickielady]

Also got to show you this monster LF Cochin egg...it is longer than my hand!!

On a large mouth mason jar:

It is HUGE!!!!
Don't have a scale to weigh it..but it is a double yolker, I candled it.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
I've suddenly stopped getting eggs, too. I thought maybe it was because the darn broodies won't let anyone use the nest box. I've started looking for nests outside the coop.

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
Oh don't let the crows go broody!
They can go broody & just starve to death.
They go into trance and it is hard to get them out of it.
I have had birds usually moult in late fall, like November -December, when it is really getting cold, but they did & all was well.
They had fresh feathers for winter.
None of mine are moulting.
None are sick.

 

[Chickielady]

I thought they were laying outside the coop, too.
The pile of eggs that Zgoat found outside her coop comes to mind..what did she find, a pile of like 48 eggs?
But mine are penned right now, as if I let them loose they make like a bullet to the garden.

Got to be this dreary weather dragging on?

 

[Chickielady]

Well, I am going out to work, ya'll take care now, and I'll be back on later~~

 

[broodytood]

Hey guys, I have a quick Q for anybody who might know.
The last chick out had an open abdomen. It's about 8mm long but when I peeps it put a lot of pressure on the hole. I think it has closed some but will this close all the way eventually? Should I do something to protect the hole or help in some way?

I don't want to lose the poor little thing.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Quote:
I've got nothing to say in the face of all these questions about life, the universe, and everything: somehow re-strained my bad hip last week and as of this morning most of my mental processes are "Ow!owowow OW!! ow ow ow ow OUCH !!!%@&???!! so don't expect much brilliant insight from me, also I am outside all of my areas of expertise, couldn't you have a problem with roses or cows for me to solve?

Or fences: today we should be able to wire up the coop and paint the exterior, plus I hope, start on the run fence. I've got a series of "fence against" matters to deal with; the south side of the run shares a fence with the orchard, which is in the Bovine Zone (watch where you step) and thus has a livestock panel to keep the cows and especially the bull from pushing the fence down to get to the chicken feed in the dry months (fencing as if we will never have a dry month again is not a great idea when you've got cows on two sides and two outside corners to be pushed in). Fence against varmints on the lower levels with that flimsy stuff that passes for hardware cloth now, and against larger birds on the top with 1" poultry mesh, against owls and hawks a'top with heavy plastic fencing until I can afford real bird-net. I'll have a winter roof of greenhouse cover but am having to think long and hard about wind load for that: the way the ground lies means that the Wyandotte coop sticks about a foot above the near slope, and while it's tucked firmly in the lee of the hill SW of me, it will still catch a bit of wind now and again.

The whole thing has a basic structure of 2X3 40 inch tall yard wire, double tall. And if I were rich, I'd build all my pens out of that heavy plastic-covered mesh they use for the pheasant pens at Woodland Park, including the airlock style entries and proximity alarms for raccoons. Possibly raccoon exploding devices, although if I had that level of technical ability I would have long ago perfected the subwoofer seeking missile and gotten rid of the boom cars which occassionally roll by and make my head throb in tune.

Ow. ow ow ow OWWWWWW!!!!!!

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote:
That's a big opening, and even if it would close, it would likely die of infection. I would put it down.

 

[Ogress]

Quote:
Out of 12 hens, I get 6-7 eggs per day, but 3 of the 12 are broody, and something in wrong with the non-broody BO. I don't know if she is drained from when she was broody, or if she is egg-bound, has worms, cocci, plant poisoning, or what. She looks healthy, acts just like the other hens, but she does everything in very slow motion, especially walking. I wormed the hens yesterday and cleaned/dusted coops for mites. She is in isolation on one of my Eglu Cubes where she stands by the run door wanting out. No respiratory issues, not much in her crop, white poo that is only slightly runny. Eyes are bright and alert, she pays attenetion to everything around her. Not sure when she last laid, though I think Saturday as I had 8 eggs that day. I suspect she is eggbound, but I don't feel a mass.