| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| K-Falls Farmgirl |
Posted - Jan 21 2009 : 4:45:40 PM
Three of my four ladies are laying Now .only one lazy one I think.. because I found 3 eggs this morning.. They are so muchh fun to watch..cluck cluck cluck!
http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
Come visit the barn at http://barndoorcreations.blogspot.com/
Cheryl
Farmgirl #309
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." Maya Angelou |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Annab |
Posted - Feb 14 2009 : 09:48:18 AM
Here's a funny.......
Ever notice that when you pick a chicken up and walk with it its head still bobs?
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| K-Falls Farmgirl |
Posted - Feb 10 2009 : 7:34:41 PM
Yes i noticed different shades of brown frommy girls. Some days they are darker than other. Today one was kinda speckled.
It was really cold today. They stayed pretty much inside their "studio" with the warming light. It snowed too.. I wanted to make them some felted hats & booties.. brrrrrrrrrr I worry so much about them..
Cheryl
Farmgirl #309
Almost daily posts at:
http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
Come visit the barn at http://barndoorcreations.blogspot.com/
Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise',
I wash my mouth out with chocolate.
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| Annab |
Posted - Feb 08 2009 : 03:08:51 AM
Did a really stupid thing the other night and forgot to bring the day's eggs inside
Remembered before leaving for work yesterday a.m. and had to throw out 9 due to having been cracked from the extreme cold.
Such a waste and so pretty this time.
For those of you with the borwn egg layers isn't it neat to see the varying shades?
So simple yet thrilling every day. |
| K-Falls Farmgirl |
Posted - Feb 07 2009 : 10:01:25 PM
I am hoping that "rosy" our RIR is just waiting for warmer weather.. I have seen her stretching her neck to see what the other hens are doing up in the nest. The nest is about 30 inches of fthe floor on a shelf that my Dh built. It is fullof straw and the other 3 lay nice brown eggs and we get at least 2 daily. She appears happy & healthy keeps up with the other 3 around the yard. We can hope...
Cheryl
Farmgirl #309
Almost daily posts at:
http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
Come visit the barn at http://barndoorcreations.blogspot.com/
Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise',
I wash my mouth out with chocolate.
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| frolicnfibers |
Posted - Feb 07 2009 : 8:32:17 PM
We got our first egg in months today! Woo hoo! I was so excited that I gave everyone scratch and petted them on their little chicken heads! I don't think they enjoyed the pets but they sure liked the scratch!
Diana
Please come visit my animals and my Etsy store on my new blog!
http://www.frolicnfibers.blogspot.com |
| ranchetta |
Posted - Feb 07 2009 : 7:55:26 PM
Now I really am envious and can't wait to get back to Washington State for the spring/summer to see how my 24 girls are doing...oh by the way..one of them crowed like a rooster, according to our caretakers so it might be 23 girls plus a guy!
http://curlywillowsranch.blogspot.com/
http://alteredshots.blogspot.com/ |
| harmonyfarm |
Posted - Feb 04 2009 : 1:20:03 PM
Cheryl...wouldn't that be HENOPAUSE?
I have 35 Barred Rock Hens that I adore. We keep a light on them for the extra hours of sunlight. My hubby built a concrete and wood house for them in 1999. We scrounged all the materials and only paid for the shingles out of our pocket. They don't get to free range but they have plenty of room to roam and my egg customers fight over an egg....I get $2.00 a dozen for eggs and that more than offsets the cost of taking care of them. I make enough money from eggs to buy the chicken feed, goat feed, and dog feed and we eat all the eggs we want. I even whip up a yolk on occasion and smear it all over my face and let it dry and then wash off with warm water....it feels soooooo good!
Debbie
"If you can't find the time to do it right...how will you find the time to do it over" |
| K-Falls Farmgirl |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 08:16:56 AM
Thanks Kristin, I have and will continue to go there. I think my RIR is just a weird breed( not in a bad way) she is just different from the orps.. She loved her dust bath yesterday. We shall see what the warmer weather does for her hormonal clock..
or heck, maybe she is in early menopause!
Cheryl
Farmgirl #309
Almost daily posts at:
http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
Come visit the barn at http://barndoorcreations.blogspot.com/
The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age... Lucille Ball |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Feb 01 2009 : 3:10:07 PM
Cheryl, check out the chicken hiney thread.
Kris
Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. Maori proverb |
| K-Falls Farmgirl |
Posted - Feb 01 2009 : 10:29:12 AM
Kris, yes three are laying and two everyday. I noticed that they are not using the perch I set in their house to sleep on.I have two of them inthere.. one is a smallladder the other a dowel pole higher than the ladder.The nest they lay in is up on a shelf about 3 feet off the ground. I have two lights in the coop, one that provides heat a red infrared one 250 watts and another clear one that is on a timer it comes on at 5 pm..That is when I put them back in the coop from letting them free range in the fenced back yard. It goes off at 8pm comes back on at 5 am and goes off at 8a.. when the sun shines on the coop..So think they are getting plenty light. The temp in the coop is maintaining abover freezing so their water is not freezing. I let them out at 8:30 am. They can come & go in Out their own fenced yard attached to the coop. I have RIR that seems to stay away from the Barred Rock and the buffs. She is not being pecked, just the loner and has not laid eggs yet. I open the door so I can see inthere during the day & have seen the other three all using the same nest for laying. I think the RIR is the same age as the Barred and she is only laying a couple times during the week.. Giving them layer mash, scratch oystershell.. and scraps from kitchen, bread & lettuce they love.. the eggs are delicious and I am amazed at how clean they are.. So do you think the ones not laying everyday are just waiting for warmer weather? & why would the RIR be such a loner... I have lots of questions, each day I think of another.. I love these chicken and want to make sure they are healthy and happy..???
Cheryl
Farmgirl #309
Almost daily posts at:
http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
Come visit the barn at http://barndoorcreations.blogspot.com/
The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age... Lucille Ball |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Jan 31 2009 : 5:05:46 PM
Cheryl, I am just going to have to get some more chickies. I am having chicken withdrawals. And my poor Russell Crowe is so loney. There is an auction place in Chatt. and on Fri. nights they do poultry. So I think I am going next Fri. to see what's out there. In Ga. we have a market bulletin that people can advertise their farm stuff and animals. Chickens are selling for $10 a piece! Yikes! That's way too much. So I thought I could get some a little cheaper at the auction. Maybe 10 or so. Just for us right now. Plus all these scraps we have! I kind of wish I still had the pigs. But no, not really.
Are yours still laying good? Isn't that the neatest thing to go out to your own chicken house and get eggs? I miss that so much. And I am going to have to find a goat to buy that's in milk, too. I am having goat milk withdrawals. It's awful. And mine won't be kidding til the end of April and May.
Enjoy the girls! Kris
Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. Maori proverb |
| K-Falls Farmgirl |
Posted - Jan 31 2009 : 3:26:16 PM
They certainly are entertaining.. I barely open the back door & they come running, (to get their treat, scraps of lettuce or bread.) Sometimes they eat out of my hand...I love watching them & could sit for hours watching them run is something else. I wish they would let me hold them...maybe later after they get to know me better..
Cheryl
Farmgirl #309
Almost daily posts at:
http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
Come visit the barn at http://barndoorcreations.blogspot.com/
The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age... Lucille Ball |
| Annab |
Posted - Jan 28 2009 : 12:14:46 PM
Beth! That's it! The bigger hens like orpingtons are very funny when they run!
Whenevr we pull into the yard, all the hens run to us as fast as they can. What a greeting! |
| K-Falls Farmgirl |
Posted - Jan 28 2009 : 11:58:52 AM
Kris,You know you could be right.. I do know the two buffs (golden girls)
are laying an egg a day.. And I am thrilled. Yesterday The barred rock laid another .. The RIR just isn't. I suppose she will whenshe gets darn good & ready to!.
Beth, Yes they do resemble little ladies running to the bus stop with their grocery bags.. I love watching them.. & Buster our dog is so funny with them..
Cheryl
Farmgirl #309
Almost daily posts at:
http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
Come visit the barn at http://barndoorcreations.blogspot.com/
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." Maya Angelou |
| MotherLodeBeth |
Posted - Jan 25 2009 : 12:45:26 AM
quote:
Originally posted by K-Falls Farmgirl
Three of my four ladies are laying Now .only one lazy one I think.. because I found 3 eggs this morning.. They are so muchh fun to watch..cluck cluck cluck!
 Ever notice that when hens run they look like little ladies running to the bus stop with their grocery bags?
~MotherLodebeth- I was born in the wrong era~ |
| Annab |
Posted - Jan 24 2009 : 03:49:56 AM
Well. Most of the chicken stuff is for hobby farming anyway. The hens also provide great pest control, comic relief and turnover in some places in the soil.
They go through 100 lbs of feed every 2 1/2 weeks. This consumption goes down in the summer.
I have started a savings fund at one of the local banks. Can't say how much has been raked in, but eventually it all adds up.
Time investment is very minmal too. Two of the coops have just the grass flooring and can be easily relocated via wheels. The biggest one has pine chips that are scooped out once a month. |
| peachy |
Posted - Jan 24 2009 : 02:53:40 AM
Acouple of my hens are laying too! Just started last week, they're only 8 months old and it's cold here and no light but we've been getting about 3-6 eggs a week! YEA, finally!!!
Melissa
Farmgirl Sister #360
Life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain! |
| StarMeadow |
Posted - Jan 23 2009 : 7:05:23 PM
I know there would be an initial outlay of funds to start, but do they really pay for themselves with the feed/electricity/work involved? I don't want to get myself hip-deep in the "romance" of chickens and fresh eggs...if you know what I mean. |
| Annab |
Posted - Jan 23 2009 : 4:43:10 PM
We have a hodgepodge of hens, most of which are red sex links and a few RIR's. BOTH have been laying their fool heads off. Right now there are close to 8 dozen in the frige! 'Course, I have 45 chickens anyway. When some aren't laying on a particular day, the others pick up the slack. On really good days we get up to a little over 2 dozen. And this is good since we sell ours. For once over Christmas, I was able to keep up w/ all the demands for eggs for everyone's baking needs. UNLIKE last year when the ladies decided to molt at the same time, and didn't resume a good lay until way into February.
Water and the correct food make a HUGE difference.
That, and I think becuase we get up before dawn and turn on a flood light that shines into the coops may make everyone rise 'n shine enough for decent egg production.
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| Ms.Lilly |
Posted - Jan 23 2009 : 10:03:53 AM
StarMeadow-There is a little more maintenance in the winter. They need 14 hours of light to lay eggs so all you have to do is add a timer to their coop light and you are set. I find that I have to unthaw the waterer if we have extended freezing temps. Easy fix on that one, you can buy a heater that prevents their water from freezing. Our older chickens have heat tape on their waterer but the "new" chickens were supposed to be for eating and I changed my mind, so they didn't get the luxery of heated water this year. Hope you get some chickens-I know mine are worth the trouble.
Lillian |
| StarMeadow |
Posted - Jan 23 2009 : 09:51:39 AM
I've been thinking about getting a couple of laying hens. Is it difficult to take care of them in this weather? |
| frolicnfibers |
Posted - Jan 22 2009 : 7:04:15 PM
Our gals quit laying about 3 months ago. I'm hoping they pick up again in the near future. I hate having to buy eggs from the grocery store...it just makes me crazy!
Diana
Please come visit my animals and my Etsy store on my new blog!
http://www.frolicnfibers.blogspot.com |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Jan 22 2009 : 2:50:12 PM
I am so glad your girls are laying. But you know what? They are all probably laying but just not every day. I don't think they lay every single day. They may go every other day. So she's not lazy, really. You're so lucky to be getting eggs!
I just bought 4 dozen from my egg people today. That's all they had today. I am so glad to get them roght now.
Kris
Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. Maori proverb |
| Bellepepper |
Posted - Jan 22 2009 : 06:28:45 AM
My girls arn't likeing this weather either. I have 9 young hens and 2 old hens. I have been getting 3-4 eggs every day. They are Rhode Island Reds. Last winter the RIR laied real good all through the winter. I bought these from a different place. Going back to Murry McMurry for my spring chicks. |
| windypines |
Posted - Jan 22 2009 : 04:14:41 AM
Hope soon you get 4 eggs!!
Beverley, have you tried having a light on in your coop over night. keeps the hens laying.
Michele |
