Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[vickiw]

Wow! Just when I thought my big hen that hasn't been laying was going broody on me she lays a nice big egg!

She had been jumping in the nest every day like she wanted to do something, would sit for a while and then pop out again. Early this afternoon I watched her in the nest, arranging things, really settling in, and I thought here we go

and then she kicks out broody butt! Oh goody, well at least I will only have one at a time brooding because, surprisingly, Broody butt goes pretty easy. She hops out and outside she goes.

Didn't stay out too long but if she scooted that easy, I think she is about ready to give it up. Anyway, I go outside a little while ago, and, there standing on end, is a nice big (could always tell her eggs because they are huge) Soup egg! There was a bit of blood on the outside so I need to check her vent this evening (can only handle her on the roost without MAJOR drama) to make sure things are ok, but looks like she may be back in business. I can't be certain this is the total cause, BUT I AM NEVER EVER EVER BUYING PURINA LAYER AGAIN!!!! I have been fighting thin shells with the other girls and had to up the protein because soup was starting to go after butt feathers again.

Dr Ha Ha~ was it you or Unkadan that mentioned increasing the calcium? How did you do it? My girls aren't too wild about the oyster shell although they will pick it up if I scatter it on top of their feed. I've thought of crushing calcium pills into some scrambled egg, what do you think?


SC~I just read your post~ I am so sorry!

Can you talk with your dad? Maybe he is just getting nervous about such a big life change.

boy, do I love

all of you chickie gurus and your wisdom

! If I haven't said it before, I greatly appreciate each and every one of you!!!!

 

[Terri O]

Good evening! Raining here now too...was just a little but now it is coming down more. DH needs to go out and grill the chicken--he is procrastinating. We got the hay unloaded just in time!
CS--I think that you should talk to your Dad...yes he is helping you with the down payment but guess who is going to be taking care of him in his old age? Maybe if you approach it right he will reconsider.

I hope you didnt tell the realtor the deal was off already....

BigFam...what can I say...you really should not be thinking those things...you might act on it and then you'd have ANOTHER boy!

We were sitting on the porch cooling down after unloading the hay and the blue Ams were chasing a black AM. DH said his eye was bad so he brought it in the house and I cleaned it out and applied some antibiotic eye ointment. Man it was GROSS! I saw that he was having trouble with that eye but hadnt realized it was that bad. Maybe it will close up and heal now.
Tiki--thanks for that link! I read the thread and went and ordered the bottle right away. I have another chick I brought in that I caught before they eye was completely closed. Since the VetRx didnt work on the last one I am trying Tylan on this one. It definitely is not looking better...maybe even a bit worse! I sure hope that stuff is the miracle that they say it is! Maybe, just maybe, it can save my babies!

SO DrH--when you make the spears; do you soak before or after cutting th m into spears? I want to do it right this year....H&R--any luck with the crock pickle recipe yet?

Guess I better go and light a fire under DH's chair...we wont be eating until 9 PM again!
Later--Terri O

 

[raimnel]

HI everyone!
I FINALLY HIT 20 LBS! GONE FOREVER!
Tomorrow we have another family reunion #2of3 for this summer (all my side)

The kids are now able to once again go outside without whinning cause of the mean roo. 7 butchered this morning. did I ever tell you I hate that part of owning chickens.
anyone want some duck? 1 scovie girl had 11 hatch. and the other girl, who failed this spring, is sitting on 13 eggs.
still need hay. although the goats love being on their leash and tied out in the yard to eat everything.
guess that's all. I haven't been keeping up. sorry. I did see that some have lost birds. I lost one this summer so far, I figured the heat got to her.
later all
WAIT! TO what is the eye stuff u are talking about? and what eye problems is it for? I HAD a girl that had something wrong with her eye.
PS TO what is the RIGHT hay to get for goats?

 

[jvls1942]

Vicki, If the oyster shells are there, that should be enough.. you will hardly ever see a chicken eat any, but they are.. If your using laying formula, it should have enough calcium in it.. maybe they are not getting something else that enables them to use the calcium.. ??

............jiminwisc............

 

[bigzio]

Late Afternoon All... Oh My Bigfam...I just spit a perfectly good old fashioned on the screen! Knock it off.

Hope the big crock works well Doc

...I know my friends each use a little different method...keep us posted as to what's up...keep this increase in savin the harvest goin and you'll be uppin the freezer count too!

I have 3 and tell suzie no more all the time...we need to downsize.

Picked a pail of pickles today...Angie is coming to pick up more stuff...the beans need picking, beets are ready, broccoli needs cut, and lots of maters to share...I think she will have plenty to take home...it truly is a blast sharing and saving the harvest. Life is good. We are Blessed.

Hens need to lay a few more..down to 4 or 5 a day....didn't help the fox grabbed 2 good ones. I'll just bet they were lickin their chops.

The U.S. is doin good in the summer games...hard to beat the best nation.

bigz

 

[Terri O]

Vicki, If the oyster shells are there, that should be enough.. you will hardly ever see a chicken eat any, but they are.. If your using laying formula, it should have enough calcium in it.. maybe they are not getting something else that enables them to use the calcium.. ??

............jiminwisc............

That's what I was going to say Jim (but I forgot) THere is something like the ratio of calcium to phosphorus(?) that has to be in balance and that is why you dont want to feed too much calcium without also upping the other.

THey eye was infected and I put some salve in it that we had for the pony. Maybe poly-neomycin or something like that...dont know if it will help but it cant get any worse for sure!
Congrats on the weight loss! Whoo-Hooo...

Man I just had the biggest Deja-vu! Weird....time to eat! Terri O

 

[tiki244]

sorry chickenscratch Nothing like getting your hopes up eh?

 

[vickiw]

thanks Jim and TO

I'll check into the calcium to phosphorus ratio thing. My problem started when I switched to Purina Layena crumbles

since I only have 4 hens right now they were on it for full month before I realized (thanks to all you knowledgeable folks) that that was where my thin shells and feather plucking problems were coming from. They are back on Nutrena layer pellets, no more switches! Now the past week or so I have been working to get them back into balance. Must be doing something right since Soup is starting to lay again, no more feather plucking out of everyone's butts and my thin-shelled girl's eggs are improving. Oh, and they all get just a little "treat" in the evening now of a few shreds of boiled venison to help with the molt that's beginning.

So glad all you southerners are getting some more rain! We sure didn't need any more up here right now. The skeeters are getting big as hummingbirds!

Should get down into the high 40's up here tonight after this front slides thru so that should knock em down I hope.

Congrats Ramnel!

Now I think I am going to go check out Tiki's link. Good Saturday eve everyone

 

[babylady4]

Looooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnngggggggggggggggg day (and it is not even close to over yet).

I wish the rain would hit my in-laws. They have not gotten much if anything. All the storms seem to go around them, their dirt is like cement.

After I came home from work I headed to the farm stand and picked up a doz ears of sw corn, and then veggies for our stir fry tonite (zucch, onions, beans), plus a few pounds of those lovely little new potatoes. YUMMY!

BigZ, I bet you make a good old fashioned.

Chit-chatted with my neighbor about the whole chicken issue, thankfully she wants chickens so I let her in on what the opposition thinks. I should do a little scouting on Tuesday and ask directly what it is about keeping chickens in town they are so against.

With Appleton, I was surprised they allow people to keep pigeons. So please explain to me that logic! You can have pigeons (carry the same diseases), but not chickens???????

I have a photo shoot tomorrow. Friends of the family are holding a fundraiser for our theater. A special dinner out on the Chain of Lakes; they are flying in all the fixings to do a clambake. Everything will have been caught fresh tomorrow morning. I cannot WAIT to see how it is! I may even have to throw caution to the wind and try some...... hopefully there will be a few docs at the party with epi pens...

BigFam, what is your head count for your southern bash?????

 

[Celtic Chick]

Check out this chicken tractor.

http://www.keepingchickensnewsletter.com/Newsletter/august2012/keepingchickens_page10.htm

I was working on a chicken coop in my driveway when a passer by stop and asked me if I could build a chicken tractor for 20 broilers. I built three more chicken tractors that year, when I got the Idea for the John Deere chicken tractor.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I'm not really a fan of farm equipment or JD tractors. I just thought it would be cool to have a tractor parked next to the barn and silo. There is nothing real about this tractor other then the tires. I knew very little about size or shapes of real tractors so it's not based on any model other then it looks like and is painted to look like John Deere tractor. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Materials: 5/8 plywood, metal roofing, 2X6 studs, used windows and lots of parts and pieces. My son helped make a chicken coop video tour, you can find it on Youtube or here's a link for you to watch [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]http://www.facebook.com/KeepingChickensNewsletter/posts/308278619267724[/FONT]​