I have sent two emails and have been really surprised that I have not heard back. Have always had excellent response times. I hope everything is OK. Just does not seem like him.
Is ocd OK?
- Thread starter Vicshalls
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Weather is nicer. Perhaps he is out having fun instead of sitting in front of his computer?
Hi Everyone, all is well here. We have been extremely busy and yes I have been negligent in my email duties this week in large part due to the warming weather and so many things that need to be done "now".
I apologize to those who have been awaiting responses and promise I will get to them soon.
I apologize to those who have been awaiting responses and promise I will get to them soon.
Really better than good on the life front, do appreciate your concern though and honestly am sorry that I have neglected my email duties last week.
As some know last year we started gardening and got a few chickens. We we had half a dozen hens of various breeds, a couple of them lay not so regular and a couple of them broody all the time though two (Black Sex Links) are absolute egg machines. They have just about kept us in eggs since they all got old enough to lay so it has been good. We have learned that the Black Sex Links have various parents but a very common mix is Plymouth Barred Rock and New Hampshire, these are important in keeping the egg to feed ratio high enough for the hens to earn their keep. The Mrs also wanted some other breeds so she will have blue (Cream Legbar and Americauna) and chocolate brown (French Black Copper Marans and Welsummer) eggs in the mix and to have enough of each of them for hatching her own both for others and for the eventual replacements so I built (still building actually) a large coop for her sized for 100 and she now has 50 little ones out there. The Mrs tells me this is quite normal and is known as 'Chicken Math', I am pretty good at regular math but this stuff is very confusing to me but any good husband knows what to do in this situation
Part of my own motivations for supporting this are a bit selfish as I add up the 4oz a day of fertilizer they make and multiply it across the masses. Looks like we should see 2 1/2 tons of chicken goodness next year. We have nutrient poor sandy soil so having this as an amendment for our composting will be a huge boost to the garden. If anyone has seen that commercial with the big pile of compost and the two guys standing there talking, well lets just say I am jealous of that pile of dirt.
The garden also took on a huge expansion, we are now closing in on half an acre in garden. I have hauled in over 50 cu yds of horse manure and been shaping/cultivating the ground for the coming growing season. We also started both mealworms and redworms for both the chickens and the gardens. As mentioned our ground is sparse in fertility being mostly sand so all of these additions will be much welcomed.
Anyhow, I know it is a poor excuse for my absence. All of the above presented itself over the last month as must be finished now though and it has been quite consuming, lately at the end of the day I feel like there is nothing left but get back to it each morning somehow. Hopefully very soon the heavy hauling will all be done and we can enjoy the fruits of our labors. I just wish there was sone way we could share the bounty when we begin to realize it here but I suppose stuffing a zucchini in with and order as a surprise might be a little too odd
As some know last year we started gardening and got a few chickens. We we had half a dozen hens of various breeds, a couple of them lay not so regular and a couple of them broody all the time though two (Black Sex Links) are absolute egg machines. They have just about kept us in eggs since they all got old enough to lay so it has been good. We have learned that the Black Sex Links have various parents but a very common mix is Plymouth Barred Rock and New Hampshire, these are important in keeping the egg to feed ratio high enough for the hens to earn their keep. The Mrs also wanted some other breeds so she will have blue (Cream Legbar and Americauna) and chocolate brown (French Black Copper Marans and Welsummer) eggs in the mix and to have enough of each of them for hatching her own both for others and for the eventual replacements so I built (still building actually) a large coop for her sized for 100 and she now has 50 little ones out there. The Mrs tells me this is quite normal and is known as 'Chicken Math', I am pretty good at regular math but this stuff is very confusing to me but any good husband knows what to do in this situation
Part of my own motivations for supporting this are a bit selfish as I add up the 4oz a day of fertilizer they make and multiply it across the masses. Looks like we should see 2 1/2 tons of chicken goodness next year. We have nutrient poor sandy soil so having this as an amendment for our composting will be a huge boost to the garden. If anyone has seen that commercial with the big pile of compost and the two guys standing there talking, well lets just say I am jealous of that pile of dirt.
The garden also took on a huge expansion, we are now closing in on half an acre in garden. I have hauled in over 50 cu yds of horse manure and been shaping/cultivating the ground for the coming growing season. We also started both mealworms and redworms for both the chickens and the gardens. As mentioned our ground is sparse in fertility being mostly sand so all of these additions will be much welcomed.
Anyhow, I know it is a poor excuse for my absence. All of the above presented itself over the last month as must be finished now though and it has been quite consuming, lately at the end of the day I feel like there is nothing left but get back to it each morning somehow. Hopefully very soon the heavy hauling will all be done and we can enjoy the fruits of our labors. I just wish there was sone way we could share the bounty when we begin to realize it here but I suppose stuffing a zucchini in with and order as a surprise might be a little too odd
I had a suspicion it was chick related. Sounds like The Mrs. is having more fun than you sir. But you know my feelings on that. Tell the girls I said hello and be well my friend. As always, Enjoy the day!
Hey buddy, I saw this when you posted and didnt have time to respond then I promptly forgot.
Yes, most certainly chick related You know those little guys and gals are something else. I had been around chickens when I was very young but remember very little of it. Having these now, most of them shipped as day old chicks but a few of them hatched by The Mrs (she used an incubator though sometimes she can be a bit broody). It is simply amazing how fast they grow and the character many of them take on.
The Barred Plymouth Rocks have to be the most outgoing and friendly of the lot, The Mrs has buddied up with both of the BPR roos and they will come up to you sticking their chest out so you can slide your hand under to either scratch their belly or pick them up for a bit more personal cuddle. Nice seeing this in the roos because that is probably one of the toughest things in dealing with chickens, having a not so friendly roo that is. So far the New Hampshire and French Black Copper Marans keep their distance but at least they are not aggressive. Mean roosters get sent off to freezer camp
Not worried in the least about having too many eggs as we already have quite a few folks who want them once they all begin laying. I just hope they produce enough to pay their feed bill.
Heres a crazy thought I had along that line though. Feeding 60 chickens means about 15lbs of food a day. Say six of them are boys and you know you dont get many eggs from them, half are not so great layers but you have them because The Mrs wants pretty eggs like the super dark brown and the blue ones mixed in there but the other half are egg layin machines, I mean hens that will give you 300 eggs a year and not break a sweat.
That works out to about 2 1/2 dozen eggs a day averaged over the year. Now feed is about $0.35 a lb so just over $5.00 a day to feed the flock even those freeloadin roos and that doesnt count any offset you see with the bounty from the garden. A little over three years ago we were spending over $10.00 a day smoking Marl Burrito Reds. So you can see, even if they dont cover their feed bill there is much worse things we could be doin with that money and this one makes The Mrs happy so this it is. A big side benefit is that it makes us breathe better.... Hmmmm, Spendin your cigarette money feedin chickens makes you breathe better. Now thats some science I could get behind.
Yes, most certainly chick related
You know those little guys and gals are something else. I had been around chickens when I was very young but remember very little of it. Having these now, most of them shipped as day old chicks but a few of them hatched by The Mrs (she used an incubator though sometimes she can be a bit broody). It is simply amazing how fast they grow and the character many of them take on.The Barred Plymouth Rocks have to be the most outgoing and friendly of the lot, The Mrs has buddied up with both of the BPR roos and they will come up to you sticking their chest out so you can slide your hand under to either scratch their belly or pick them up for a bit more personal cuddle. Nice seeing this in the roos because that is probably one of the toughest things in dealing with chickens, having a not so friendly roo that is. So far the New Hampshire and French Black Copper Marans keep their distance but at least they are not aggressive. Mean roosters get sent off to freezer camp
Not worried in the least about having too many eggs as we already have quite a few folks who want them once they all begin laying. I just hope they produce enough to pay their feed bill.
Heres a crazy thought I had along that line though. Feeding 60 chickens means about 15lbs of food a day. Say six of them are boys and you know you dont get many eggs from them, half are not so great layers but you have them because The Mrs wants pretty eggs like the super dark brown and the blue ones mixed in there but the other half are egg layin machines, I mean hens that will give you 300 eggs a year and not break a sweat.
That works out to about 2 1/2 dozen eggs a day averaged over the year. Now feed is about $0.35 a lb so just over $5.00 a day to feed the flock even those freeloadin roos and that doesnt count any offset you see with the bounty from the garden. A little over three years ago we were spending over $10.00 a day smoking Marl Burrito Reds. So you can see, even if they dont cover their feed bill there is much worse things we could be doin with that money and this one makes The Mrs happy so this it is. A big side benefit is that it makes us breathe better.... Hmmmm, Spendin your cigarette money feedin chickens makes you breathe better. Now thats some science I could get behind.
My wife and I have 6 chickens, too. We enjoy hanging out with them while enjoying our 3.0 ohm cartos from IBT. They are the best. PLEASE tell me you will always carry them (smok 3.0 ohm, single coil, XL). Da Best!
Hey Ace, we will certainly keep them as long as we can since these are also our own favorite. We never did get the itch for the hotter vape of lower ohms so the 3ohm area puts us into middle ground of 4 volts or so on most devices.
Another chicken person Man I cant even begin to express what a journey that has been for us starting with just a few then exploding to the 60 we now have. The older ones are getting to laying age now and by the end of next month they will all be there so they can start paying their own feed bill. Most sources say 16lbs of feed to maturity so thats nearly 1000lbs for this number of poultry before the first egg.
The other huge reason why chickens piqued my interest was our growing garden area. Here in the high desert we dont have much in the way of active nutrient sources so turning sand to soil is a tough go. Well all of that feed ends up having a great secondary use once the hens are done with it. Every year that goes by the life in our soil will just keep getting better and better.
There are a lot of parallels in all of this that go along with our switch to vaping, giving up the self destructive habit of smoking has not only changed that downward spiral mindset but also allowed the reallocation of those resources (monetary and physical) previously spent smoking. Bonus points as we go along in having greater mental and physical ability to do these things that again promote further improvements through healthier food for ourselves.
Another chicken person
Man I cant even begin to express what a journey that has been for us starting with just a few then exploding to the 60 we now have. The older ones are getting to laying age now and by the end of next month they will all be there so they can start paying their own feed bill. Most sources say 16lbs of feed to maturity so thats nearly 1000lbs for this number of poultry before the first egg.The other huge reason why chickens piqued my interest was our growing garden area. Here in the high desert we dont have much in the way of active nutrient sources so turning sand to soil is a tough go. Well all of that feed ends up having a great secondary use once the hens are done with it. Every year that goes by the life in our soil will just keep getting better and better.
There are a lot of parallels in all of this that go along with our switch to vaping, giving up the self destructive habit of smoking has not only changed that downward spiral mindset but also allowed the reallocation of those resources (monetary and physical) previously spent smoking. Bonus points as we go along in having greater mental and physical ability to do these things that again promote further improvements through healthier food for ourselves.
I'm late to this conversation, but I just wanted to wave and say I'm a chicken person, too! And a cow person, so there's no shortage of compost around here. I wish I could share some! LOL! I know firsthand how hard providing good healthy food is. My garden gets away from me every year, including this one, but not for lack of good fertilizer, just lack of me having enough time to spend on it.
I had a batch of Easter Eggers (still do, in fact, but they're old ladies now) that laid green eggs, but only in their pullet year. After that they were light cream colored. I was very disappointed, but hey, it makes no difference what the shell color is, it's the egg inside that counts.
For the first several years we had chickens, we supported the local fox population. It was "Chicken Buffet at Love Acres" every day. One family of foxes decimated my flock in one month, and I'd have to start over. Finally, we decided we needed guardians, and found our female Pyrenees (Kiara, that's her in my avatar), who did a very good job of keeping all the 4-legged bad guys away, but when we added the male (Jasper), that was the end of the foxes. We haven't lost a single bird in the last 5 years, except to old age or drowning in the horse or cow trough. It's amazing how stupid those chickens can be... the funny thing is, Jasper leaves our property every night (he's not supposed to but he has a "secret" escape hatch which I haven't closed off) and runs off every fox and coyote in a five mile radius. So we live in a predator-free zone now. We'd have been totally out of the chicken business by now if not for my bestest pardners, the "White Woofs" as we call them.
It's nice to see other farm types here. Even if it's just a few hens. It still counts! LOL! (Tootle-farming, maybe?)
~Lannie
I had a batch of Easter Eggers (still do, in fact, but they're old ladies now) that laid green eggs, but only in their pullet year. After that they were light cream colored. I was very disappointed, but hey, it makes no difference what the shell color is, it's the egg inside that counts.
For the first several years we had chickens, we supported the local fox population. It was "Chicken Buffet at Love Acres" every day. One family of foxes decimated my flock in one month, and I'd have to start over. Finally, we decided we needed guardians, and found our female Pyrenees (Kiara, that's her in my avatar), who did a very good job of keeping all the 4-legged bad guys away, but when we added the male (Jasper), that was the end of the foxes. We haven't lost a single bird in the last 5 years, except to old age or drowning in the horse or cow trough. It's amazing how stupid those chickens can be... the funny thing is, Jasper leaves our property every night (he's not supposed to but he has a "secret" escape hatch which I haven't closed off) and runs off every fox and coyote in a five mile radius. So we live in a predator-free zone now. We'd have been totally out of the chicken business by now if not for my bestest pardners, the "White Woofs" as we call them.
It's nice to see other farm types here.
Even if it's just a few hens. It still counts! LOL! (Tootle-farming, maybe?)~Lannie
Hi Lannie, I would love it if our dogs were chicken people but they tend to act like they would rather eat them. We are lucky in that we dont have a huge predator issue here, we do have many of the usual characters that would wreak havoc given the chance like coyotes, raccoons, hawks ect... but they tend to stay away for the most part plus we really went all out securing the chickens coop and runs. We only let them in the run during the day and most of that is covered with shade cloth. It has 8' tall fence all around and buried a foot to boot.
We have learned that deep litter on a dirt floor is just about carefree here as it is so dry. We just toss their bedding a bit from time to time if they are not keeping up with it themselves and add some fresh shavings or straw every month or two.
I think one of the biggest things is giving them enough room for each bird, our coops are 10 x 12 inside and 12 x 24 for the run and this houses 20 birds though I think it could go more. Seems there is a bit of a sweet spot with chickens though and it is not near 25, fewer or greater is fine but around 25 they have a hard time determining a pecking order.
Our new hens from this year are just beginning to lay, The Mrs checks them several times a day as with new hens you want to know if there are any having trouble and also to make sure they done begin a liking for eggs before they get into the routine.
We have half a dozen Americauna which many call an Easter Egger, never heard of their shell color going away though I do know they can lay cream or pink eggs along with Blue or Green. The Mrs also tried hatching some Cream Legbars this year but only one hatched and she has a wry neck so we call her Crooky. The Mrs has been giving her vitamin E as this is symptomatic of a vitamin deficiency, the same person we got these eggs from we also got some Swedish Flower Hens from and a couple of those ended up with curly toes, again the vitamin thing. We did get one handsome Roo and half a dozen hens on this breed so She will give them a go next year on the hatching.
We have some Welsummers and a few French Black Copper Marans for the super dark eggs and the rest of the flock is Barred Plymouth Rock, Black Sex Links and Australorps for the heavy egg production to make up for the low production of the pretty egg makers. The idea is to have a colorful and varied carton but also have decent production so it doesnt end up costing us to sell eggs. The Mrs loves taking care of them and we do a lot of our gardening on their behalf, since they will be returning the favor in terms of garden goodness it only seems fair.
Here is a picture of BlackBeak our FBCM Roo taking a bath. He has been having a little trouble with his backside that only a soak would help out. The Mrs says next time he is getting trimmed as she thinks maybe he likes the bath and doesnt keep himself clean just so he can have another
And completely unrelated but this little fella was just so cool. I have never seen a Horned Toad so small.
We have learned that deep litter on a dirt floor is just about carefree here as it is so dry. We just toss their bedding a bit from time to time if they are not keeping up with it themselves and add some fresh shavings or straw every month or two.
I think one of the biggest things is giving them enough room for each bird, our coops are 10 x 12 inside and 12 x 24 for the run and this houses 20 birds though I think it could go more. Seems there is a bit of a sweet spot with chickens though and it is not near 25, fewer or greater is fine but around 25 they have a hard time determining a pecking order.
Our new hens from this year are just beginning to lay, The Mrs checks them several times a day as with new hens you want to know if there are any having trouble and also to make sure they done begin a liking for eggs before they get into the routine.
We have half a dozen Americauna which many call an Easter Egger, never heard of their shell color going away though I do know they can lay cream or pink eggs along with Blue or Green. The Mrs also tried hatching some Cream Legbars this year but only one hatched and she has a wry neck so we call her Crooky. The Mrs has been giving her vitamin E as this is symptomatic of a vitamin deficiency, the same person we got these eggs from we also got some Swedish Flower Hens from and a couple of those ended up with curly toes, again the vitamin thing. We did get one handsome Roo and half a dozen hens on this breed so She will give them a go next year on the hatching.
We have some Welsummers and a few French Black Copper Marans for the super dark eggs and the rest of the flock is Barred Plymouth Rock, Black Sex Links and Australorps for the heavy egg production to make up for the low production of the pretty egg makers. The idea is to have a colorful and varied carton but also have decent production so it doesnt end up costing us to sell eggs. The Mrs loves taking care of them and we do a lot of our gardening on their behalf, since they will be returning the favor in terms of garden goodness it only seems fair.
Here is a picture of BlackBeak our FBCM Roo taking a bath. He has been having a little trouble with his backside that only a soak would help out. The Mrs says next time he is getting trimmed as she thinks maybe he likes the bath and doesnt keep himself clean just so he can have another
And completely unrelated but this little fella was just so cool. I have never seen a Horned Toad so small.
The way *I* understand it, and it really is a confusing subject to me, but... The original breed was Araucana, and those are the ones that lay the blue eggs. Mixed with a brown egg layer, they became Americauna (or Easter Eggers), and the brown tint overlaying the blue made a greenish color, anywhere from a light green to a dark olive green. I don't think I've ever heard of an Americauna laying a blue egg, so if you get some, POST PICS. But that would mean you probably have the more rare Araucana, rather than Americauna. See how confusing it is? LOL! OR, and I don't see many of these, but IF you had mutts that were white egg layers crossed with the original Araucauna, I guess you'd get a light blue egg. So maybe you WILL get some blue ones. That would be so cool to see!
I thought mine would lay green eggs for as long as they laid, but alas, they didn't. Maybe it's their diet (we don't feed commercial feed) or the fact that it's so cold in the winter here, their "blue dye" froze and never thawed. It could be ANYTHING! A couple of them are still laying, though, in spite of being 6 or 7 years old, and that's an incredible feat if you ask me. The ones that don't lay anymore still have an honored place in our coop because we're stoopid and we'd rather enjoy our chickens having a wonderful life than eating them. I know that's "bad management" practice, but I love my little featherheads. Now that pack of teenage roosters, on the other hand... It's about time to say, "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" LOL!
~Lannie
I thought mine would lay green eggs for as long as they laid, but alas, they didn't. Maybe it's their diet (we don't feed commercial feed) or the fact that it's so cold in the winter here, their "blue dye" froze and never thawed. It could be ANYTHING! A couple of them are still laying, though, in spite of being 6 or 7 years old, and that's an incredible feat if you ask me. The ones that don't lay anymore still have an honored place in our coop because we're stoopid and we'd rather enjoy our chickens having a wonderful life than eating them.
I know that's "bad management" practice, but I love my little featherheads. Now that pack of teenage roosters, on the other hand... It's about time to say, "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" LOL!~Lannie
We got those as day old chicks from a reputable hatchery so just going by what they are sayin... The first egg we suspect that came from them was a cream/yellow color then we got the first blue/green one. They are a light color. I hear you on the confusion with the Easter Egger/Olive Egger gang and none of them are recognized by the show crowd because of all the variation. The Cream Legbar lays a very Blue egg but unfortunately as I mentioned of the eggs we tried to hatch we only got one hen. We will probably end up buying some day old chicks next year on those as The Mrs really loves that mix of color in the carton.
We have commercial feed free choice for them at all times but so far they have been averaging around 2 oz a day because of all the extra stuff we provide. Each run has a compost pile in it and we add weeds and garden trimming every day along with comfrey I started growing last year. I have planted a lot of beets and swiss chard along with pumpkins, cucumbers, squash and melons in excess of what we could ever use for the chickens.
We have also been fermenting scratch grains which they get twice a day for a total of about 0.75 oz each. As I understand it the fermented grains are somewhat like probiotics or the cultures in yogurt in promoting digestive health and the fermenting also helps with the availability of the nutrients that are in the grains. We are really just learning all of this as we go but they seem quite healthy and happy.
I hear ya on the attachment aspect, we have a few that have wormed their way into our hearts and gotten themselves names. Buddy is a Plymouth Barred Rock Roo who will come up and peck your leg until you pick him up then he lays his head along your arm. Now Stan is the second Roo of the same breed and we only want one, Stan is a better looking specimen but a little mean, our rule is mean roosters go off to freezer camp The hens for the most part will cycle through at 2 1/2 years, that will be two full years of laying with time in there for one molt. By the time they come around for their second molt they will go off to the freezer for replacement by younger hens. The exception here will be those who might be identified as exceptional (large eggs often) or those we only have a few of and they will be kept a little longer for collecting fertile eggs. Extra Roos will all go at 9 to 12 months unless they really push us earlier on, most all of our breeds are Dual Purpose as we are looking at the broadest usefulness.
It has been decades (Since we were children) since either of us has eaten real chicken so we are looking forward to it coming, we will just have a few of the extra roos this year but in the coming years we are looking forward to supplying our own chicken rather than the supermarket modified idea of what a chicken is. It does make sense that an animal just doesnt have time to develop the flavor it should have in the 8 weeks or so that commercial chickens are now speed grown in.
I will get some more pictures to put in here... well probably start a new more aptly titled thread for the Fowl Talk
We have commercial feed free choice for them at all times but so far they have been averaging around 2 oz a day because of all the extra stuff we provide. Each run has a compost pile in it and we add weeds and garden trimming every day along with comfrey I started growing last year. I have planted a lot of beets and swiss chard along with pumpkins, cucumbers, squash and melons in excess of what we could ever use for the chickens.
We have also been fermenting scratch grains which they get twice a day for a total of about 0.75 oz each. As I understand it the fermented grains are somewhat like probiotics or the cultures in yogurt in promoting digestive health and the fermenting also helps with the availability of the nutrients that are in the grains. We are really just learning all of this as we go but they seem quite healthy and happy.
I hear ya on the attachment aspect, we have a few that have wormed their way into our hearts and gotten themselves names. Buddy is a Plymouth Barred Rock Roo who will come up and peck your leg until you pick him up then he lays his head along your arm. Now Stan is the second Roo of the same breed and we only want one, Stan is a better looking specimen but a little mean, our rule is mean roosters go off to freezer camp
The hens for the most part will cycle through at 2 1/2 years, that will be two full years of laying with time in there for one molt. By the time they come around for their second molt they will go off to the freezer for replacement by younger hens. The exception here will be those who might be identified as exceptional (large eggs often) or those we only have a few of and they will be kept a little longer for collecting fertile eggs. Extra Roos will all go at 9 to 12 months unless they really push us earlier on, most all of our breeds are Dual Purpose as we are looking at the broadest usefulness.It has been decades (Since we were children) since either of us has eaten real chicken so we are looking forward to it coming, we will just have a few of the extra roos this year but in the coming years we are looking forward to supplying our own chicken rather than the supermarket modified idea of what a chicken is. It does make sense that an animal just doesnt have time to develop the flavor it should have in the 8 weeks or so that commercial chickens are now speed grown in.
I will get some more pictures to put in here... well probably start a new more aptly titled thread for the Fowl Talk
Oh, REAL chicken is SO GOOOOOOD! We have 15 (yes, you heard that correctly) extra roos right now, and I've been after Rich to lop off their heads so we can put them in the freezer, but he's having an emotional problem with killing right now. I can understand totally, because we've had our fair share of death around here recently... but on the other hand, they're running in gangs, and although they're not mean to US, they harass the hens terribly. Maybe when the weather cools off some. One thing, though, about butchering a rooster (or a hen, for that matter) after they're more than a few months old is that the meat is very tough. You'd want to can them or make some crock pot type thing, or just boil and boil and boil some more to get some DELICIOUS stock, and meat for Annoying Rooster Pot Pie, which is very tasty. I'll give you the recipe when you get to that point if you'd like it.
Cream Legbar is a breed I've not heard of yet, so I'll have to check them out. I'd love to get some different colored eggs again. I decided not to go with the EEs after the batch I got only laid green eggs the first year, and I'm happy enough with my various shades of cream to brown (especially the Welsummers' dark brown). But some light blue ones would be cool.
We had a little White Leghorn that came as a "packing peanut" in our first batch of Light Brahma chicks, and she was the most adorable little hen! She was less than HALF the size of the bigger Brahmas, but she had guts that wouldn't quit. She'd push her way through those big chickens to get her share of the treats, and she followed me absolutely everywhere. We called her Bridget (for Bridget the Midget), and of course, her eggs were white, but she laid for quite a few years, which I thought was amazing. As she got older, her shells got thinner and thinner, and finally disappeared, so her eggs were just covered in membrane, and broke in the nestbox, fouling the other eggs, but I just didn't have the heart to dispatch her like any NORMAL person would have. As it turned out, our male Pyr "played" with her and scared her literally to death. I was SO MAD at that dog, but he was only 6 months old when we got him, and didn't know any better yet. It's always the favorite ones that go sooner than they should, isn't it?
It sounds like you've got a good feeding program going on for your girls. I haven't had time to get out to the garden much yet this year, so I never did get the squash planted, but I usually plant some for the chickens because they love it so much. Kale is something else they love. THAT I've planted twice and still haven't gotten to eat any because they break into the garden and eat it all down before I harvest it. And tomatoes! OMG, tomatoes are their MOST favorite, with kale being second, and then the squash! LOL! The problem with chickens being omnivores is they like all the same stuff we like!
I know this thread has really become a non-vaping (in ANY sense of the word) thread, but it's nice to find someone else who's into some of the same farmy kinds of things we are. OK, here, here's some "vaping" subject matter. When we're out doing chores morning and evening, as soon as all the work stuff is done, we always sit for a while, with the cows in the morning, and the birds in the evening, and vape while we relax. In fact, I have Tootle-Puffing cows! One in particular just LOVES the smell of my strawberry, chocolate, and mint flavors, and she practically tries to climb into my lap to get her vapor. I take one hit for me, then one to blow in her face, then one for me, one for her, etc. It's hysterical! Anything chocolate drives her WILD! LOL!
~Lannie
Cream Legbar is a breed I've not heard of yet, so I'll have to check them out. I'd love to get some different colored eggs again. I decided not to go with the EEs after the batch I got only laid green eggs the first year, and I'm happy enough with my various shades of cream to brown (especially the Welsummers' dark brown). But some light blue ones would be cool.
We had a little White Leghorn that came as a "packing peanut" in our first batch of Light Brahma chicks, and she was the most adorable little hen! She was less than HALF the size of the bigger Brahmas, but she had guts that wouldn't quit. She'd push her way through those big chickens to get her share of the treats, and she followed me absolutely everywhere. We called her Bridget (for Bridget the Midget), and of course, her eggs were white, but she laid for quite a few years, which I thought was amazing. As she got older, her shells got thinner and thinner, and finally disappeared, so her eggs were just covered in membrane, and broke in the nestbox, fouling the other eggs, but I just didn't have the heart to dispatch her like any NORMAL person would have. As it turned out, our male Pyr "played" with her and scared her literally to death. I was SO MAD at that dog, but he was only 6 months old when we got him, and didn't know any better yet. It's always the favorite ones that go sooner than they should, isn't it?
It sounds like you've got a good feeding program going on for your girls. I haven't had time to get out to the garden much yet this year, so I never did get the squash planted, but I usually plant some for the chickens because they love it so much. Kale is something else they love. THAT I've planted twice and still haven't gotten to eat any because they break into the garden and eat it all down before I harvest it. And tomatoes! OMG, tomatoes are their MOST favorite, with kale being second, and then the squash! LOL! The problem with chickens being omnivores is they like all the same stuff we like!
I know this thread has really become a non-vaping (in ANY sense of the word) thread, but it's nice to find someone else who's into some of the same farmy kinds of things we are. OK, here, here's some "vaping" subject matter. When we're out doing chores morning and evening, as soon as all the work stuff is done, we always sit for a while, with the cows in the morning, and the birds in the evening, and vape while we relax. In fact, I have Tootle-Puffing cows! One in particular just LOVES the smell of my strawberry, chocolate, and mint flavors, and she practically tries to climb into my lap to get her vapor. I take one hit for me, then one to blow in her face, then one for me, one for her, etc. It's hysterical! Anything chocolate drives her WILD! LOL!
~Lannie
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