Chickens

arbilad · Head Chef

Chickens

salesortonscom · Wise and Revered Master

Are you sure it was the catfood or the warm weather? We used to raise them on the farm and never heard that one before. I do know that if you are not careful with what you feed the eggs will taste funny. I knew some folks that fed their chickens grass clippings. The eggs were really hard and tasted bad.

arbilad · Head Chef

The cat food definitely contributed a lot. Even before the warm weather they were starting to lay better. And even when we had warm weather earlier, they weren't laying as well.
Our chickens do forage, so maybe that would affect the taste of the egg. But I think they generally taste great.

bokbadok · Senior Bucketkeeper

Arb, do you have a light source to regulate day length? I can't remember

arbilad · Head Chef

Nope, no light source, and I'm sure that affects egg production. Still, we went from one egg a day at the nadir to 10 eggs a day now. Weather and available light affected that, I'm sure, but they're not the only factors in an increase like that. I have Buff Orpingtons, Australorps, and Rocks. They're all supposed to be good layers even when it's cold. The two Aracuanas didn't lay in the cold, but that's not surprising, since, as a breed, they're known for being warm weather egg layers.

bokbadok · Senior Bucketkeeper

When did it bottom out? How many weeks from nadir to now?

arbilad · Head Chef

I didn't keep track of dates, but I think the nadir was in early December. We started feeding some cat food right before the blizzard we had near Christmas, and even during the blizzard we started to see some egg increase. That is one reason why I am sure that the cat food has helped. The blizzard happened almost on the winter solstice, and it was definitely cold, but we still saw an increase.
But the other factors definitely have had an influence. Only now as it has gotten warmer have all the chickens begun to produce.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

One of our hens got broody last year and raised 3 chicks we weren't expecting. As a side note, the rooster had been taken to a new home and the timing was such that we know for a fact that hens can incubate sperm inside them for at least 8 days.

We now have 3 hens and 1 rooster. My 4 yo girl comes in from the backyard and says, "That rooster is doing bad to the hens! He bite them! He's naughty!" I said, "I know.

It's what roosters do."

They didn't lay all winter, but that was fine with us. It gives them a break and lets them live longer, I think.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

(cue happy loving music) Love your chickens... (cue sinister music) until they give you Avian Bird Flu...

--Ray

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

No, it's part of our immunity preparedness plan.

Don't you have one?

arbilad · Head Chef

We lost all our chickens over the summer to the neighbor's pit bull and our friendly neighborhood skunk. So we've started afresh. We have two black cochins right now. Unfortunately, one is a rooster. Soon he'll be mature and the only hen will have no feathers on her spine. So I just ordered 12 araucanas and 13 barred rocks. They probably won't start laying until winter is mostly over, but hopefully soon the black cochin hen will be able to have friends to share the rooster's attention.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

What did they do with the neighbor's pitbull?

Out there there's legal grounds to have them put down when they do that sorta thing...

--Ray

Poncho29 · Senior Bucketkeeper

You are getting 13 barred rocks?
My brother had a few barred rocks when we were teenagers (he raised alot of chickens) and I remember the rooster we had was smaller than all the other chickens but he had attitude.
I never saw a rooster protect his women (hens) like that rooster with an attitude did.
Funny thing was though he was the smallest of all the chickens we had at the time and he strutted around like he was the lord of the pens!

This is assuming I am thinking of the right breed of chicken. We had so many over the years.

Oh wait, it isn't! I just remembered I think the rooster I am thinking of was a Bantam or something. So, never mind.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

We've had a skunk the last week, too. He's taken all our eggs. Even right out from under the broody hen, little jerk! We've set two traps and he's out-smarted both of them. Bait's gone, trap's set, and no skunk.

arbilad · Head Chef

rayb wrote:

What did they do with the neighbor's pitbull?

Out there there's legal grounds to have them put down when they do that sorta thing...

--Ray

We could have the neighbor shut down easily - he breeds pit bulls in a town where you're not allowed to have over 5 dogs, I think it is. But I keep wondering whether it would be worth essentially declaring war with my neighbor.

arbilad · Head Chef

Cocobeem wrote:

We've had a skunk the last week, too. He's taken all our eggs. Even right out from under the broody hen, little jerk! We've set two traps and he's out-smarted both of them. Bait's gone, trap's set, and no skunk.

Yup, why do skunks have to be intelligent?

I also learned that, even though skunks can't jump, they're great climbers.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

arbilad wrote:

But I keep wondering whether it would be worth essentially declaring war with my neighbor.

You're kidding, right?

Oop-sorry.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

Has your neighbor offered to compensate you for the loss? Are they nice? Are they at all apologetic? I agree that often the battle's not worth the possibility for casualties, but if the dogs are getting loose and getting into your yard, then chickens may not be the only thing they hurt... seeing as how pitbulls can be pretty dangerous... I'd definitely consider some sort of action, were they not putting some effort into being responsible (after all, this isn't like they've got brown grass)... :)

--Ray

-- Edited by rayb at 13:03, 2007-09-21

DoubleD · Senior Member

I'm buying boards and wire today to make a makeshift chicken coop.

Where do you order chickens and are they usually chicks when you get them?

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

We buy our chicks at a local farm supply store and we hand-pick the ones that look good. We've never ordered them online like I think Arbi does...

arbilad · Head Chef

DoubleD wrote:

I'm buying boards and wire today to make a makeshift chicken coop.

Where do you order chickens and are they usually chicks when you get them?

I ordered this time from www.mcmurrayhatchery.com. Usually I've bought them from the local farm supply store. But they get them from McMurray Hatchery as well. It's just that this late in the season the farm supply store doesn't have any.
This is the first time I've done mail order chicks. They're shipped when they're a day old. They're shipped to your post office, instead of directly to your house. I think that that's probably due to some law.

Jen · Senior Bucketkeeper

I hate pit bulls.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

arbilad wrote:

This is the first time I've done mail order chicks.

That's not what I heard!

arbilad · Head Chef

Coco, leave it to you to find the worst interpretation of my words.

I didn't even think that my words could be twisted that way when I posted it.

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

busted!!!!

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Well, you know... once a mind is stretched to a certain size, it just can't go back.

arbilad · Head Chef

My wife really wants to buy some Pavlov chickens. Maybe if we go to Russian next year we'll pick some up.

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

Arbi... do you show chickens???

arbilad · Head Chef

Nope, but if we got these chickens, we'd probably get into showing chickens.
As if we needed another hobby besides showing cats

Poncho29 · Senior Bucketkeeper

You show cats? I've never understood the appeal with cat shows and dog shows. Oh well.
To each is own I guess.

arbilad · Head Chef

I don't like cat shows. My wife loves them. It's both advertising for our kittens and a chance for my wife, who is a stay at home homeschooling mom, to get out and associate with other adults. And she's pretty successful at it. We have several champions and one Quadruple Grand Champion.

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Your wife is pretty successful at associating with other adults? Hey kudos to you both!

(sorry couldn't resist

)

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

I think dog shows are a blast! But horse shows are even better!

Hey, arbi, if you go to Russia, would you mind dropping into the Orthodox church there in Chechersk and taking some pictures of the graves in the cemetary for me?