Author Topic: my lil chicken critters. (Read 34082 times)

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #20 on:** February 24, 2014, 04:55:51 pm »

An old fellow up the road sells eggs for 75 cents a dozen, so theres not much purpose in trying to compete with that. We give them away to friends and neighbors about the time we hit 6 dozen in the fridge.. which is about 7 days now they started laying again with spring approaching. I try to eat all I can to save on groceries but a man can only eat so many eggs!

iddee · « **Reply #21 on:** February 24, 2014, 05:32:23 pm »

I break them into half pint and pint canning/freezing jars and freeze them. They last a loooonnnngggg time.

G3farms · « **Reply #22 on:** February 24, 2014, 05:46:41 pm »

Lazy see if you can beat Cool Hand Luke's record for boiled eggs. I double dog dare ya!

mamapoppybee · « **Reply #23 on:** February 25, 2014, 08:14:41 am »

i have a dehydrator and make my own powdered egg with the extra. They hold over for ten years that way.

Marbees · « **Reply #24 on:** February 25, 2014, 08:59:08 am »

That's great mama, powdered eggs are used as one of main ingredients for pollen patties, you can sell it to beekeepers

blueblood · « **Reply #25 on:** February 25, 2014, 09:07:01 am »

Mama, I want to keep a few chickens. Wanted to do it last year but never got around to building a chicken tractor. What would be the simplest start up advice you could give to me to have a few chickens for personal egg production? In regards to a portable coop, watering, basic nutrition/needs and breed?

Perry · « **Reply #26 on:** February 25, 2014, 09:17:48 am »

Pickled eggs! Yum yum.
I have thought about having a few (3-4) hens, no rooster, that would have my neighbours up in arms.
The only problem I might have is the neighbour directly behind us. They have a Valley Bulldog (sort of pitbull) that goes haywire when ever it sees us (or Rosie RIP) in the backyard. They have a underground electric fence that stops it from coming into our yard. I have a hive right on the property line, and a couple of times when I worked it, it got too close and the jolt knocked it on it's back. I'm thinking with chickens, all the commotion their dog would create would probably stop their egg laying.

tefer2 · « **Reply #27 on:** February 25, 2014, 10:24:02 am »

seeing those chickens would probably send him through the electric fence, yelping as he decides it wasn't so bad after all! Chickens taste good!

mamapoppybee · « **Reply #28 on:** February 25, 2014, 11:16:10 am »

well chicken tractor hum you need to look at where your placing it chickens like sun for the vitamin d for egg production but also consider if its in the heat of the day. look at if the area your putting the tractor is on a slopped hill cuz you know what they say rolls down

I would work from bottom to top giving the earth time to take back the um organic matter. With chicks you will want a crumble starter. once they hit around 5 1/2 months i would move to a laying pelet of 16 to 18 percent protien with scratch ration as well. It takes each chicken 1/2 a cup of food per day. they drink around half a gallon per bird depending on temps. You should check out byc back yard chickens they really have lots of cool coop ideas.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #29 on:** February 25, 2014, 11:28:39 am »

Cool hand Luke... uhh, that makes me feel ill just thinking about it!
I once ate 7 prime rib steaks, and the record for Maine lobster is 23, but those days are gone.

I like the idea of making powdered eggs from them. Have a dehydrator. I will look into that!!! Thank you for bringing it up MommaP

Perry, I used to have a Bluetick Hound. His daddy was ranked second in the world. He was an AMAZING coon hound. But something was missing.... my wife wanted him to be able to run about the yard so she put the collar on him, walked him around the fences etc.. Our Springers, and later our Dobermans learned to stay away from that fence VERY quickly.. Tango, my Bluetick just never figured out that fence.. he would stand on TOP of it, collar beeping, his tongue hanging out his tail wagging... his tongue woulkd curl up against the side of his face, his face would squinch up, and his tail would never stop wagging as the collar zapped him. I didn't believe the wife when she told me this, had to see it myself. I laughed so hard I almost leaked..
If you had chickens, they would become accustomed to the noise. The difficulty is keeping that dog and other critters away from them. I have had dogs and coyote literally tear the chicken wire to get to the chickens. I have had something begin digging under the wire etc.. so when I built my current pen, I folded 2x4 dog fencing under and burried that part of it, and clipped the chicken wire to the dog fence around the bottom. critters might tear the chicken wire but they cant get past the dog fence. They can dig until they hit the dog fence too. they arent smart enough to dig further away, or to try to tear the chicken wire higher. My family call it the chicken fort. if thees a will theres a way.

mamapoppybee · « **Reply #30 on:** February 25, 2014, 11:39:01 am »

you can also run a trench of quickkreat round the bottom critters dont like scraping their claws on it be it dog or who knows what.

Slowmodem · « **Reply #31 on:** February 25, 2014, 12:09:06 pm »

Quote from: LazyBkpr on February 25, 2014, 11:28:39 am

Cool hand Luke... uhh, that makes me feel ill just thinking about it!

I think about that movie every Thanksgiving, because we always have deviled eggs and I eat of ton of them.

Slowmodem · « **Reply #32 on:** February 25, 2014, 12:09:34 pm »

Quote from: mamapoppybee on February 25, 2014, 11:16:10 am

You should check out byc back yard chickens they really have lots of cool coop ideas.

Yep!

blueblood · « **Reply #33 on:** February 25, 2014, 12:19:32 pm »

Thanks for the info mama...

mamapoppybee · « **Reply #34 on:** March 12, 2014, 08:46:56 am »

they're here theye're here!

these are just a few the others spread to the other side but such cutties!

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #35 on:** March 12, 2014, 08:54:03 am »

Well done! Bet they will be some interesting looking adults!

Beeboy · « **Reply #36 on:** April 16, 2014, 12:38:05 pm »

When my wife & I moved out in the country about 3-1/2 years ago, she stopped me & said...your not going to get chickens are you?

Fast forward 2-1/1 years, & with the price of everything in the grocery store, we decided to get some chics down at the local Atwoods store. We chose Black Sex Link chickens, & they are the funnest animals to have around. It just makes our farm, well...a farm. Plus the eggs we get are what all eggs should taste like.

They have been laying since January, & they very consistent. Four eggs everyday for about 2 weeks & then we get 3. They do this over & over again.

We liked them so much, we bought 8 more a few weeks ago. 6 BSL, & 2 Americauna. That will make 12. I will be excited to be getting 12 eggs, but that won't happen until late summer or early fall. My wife actually wants to have 20 chickens. She thinks she can sell the eggs, & make a few dollars. Maybe.

minz · « **Reply #37 on:** April 24, 2014, 02:38:11 pm »

Neighbors Rottweiler tore a hole in the side of the coop and ate another chicken. I seen he was out wondering the neighborhood before I left and did not give it any thought. I didn’t see him but I have a pretty good idea it is the only thing large enough to tear chicken wire that is nailed down like that. That dog eats more chicken than I do. I am thinking of a 60 grain partition from a 22-250 my curb his apatite but that girl really barks when it goes off, the entire neighborhood would know what happened.

G3farms · « **Reply #38 on:** April 24, 2014, 03:08:31 pm »

22 short sounds like a fire cracker at best.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #39 on:** April 24, 2014, 06:34:49 pm »

If there are no kids about, put a 330 conibear over the hole, cleat the chain to a post or the building, be ready to wrap in capet, put in truck and go find a bridge... LOL.. Kidding on the carpet and bridge..

When I start getting things torn up, the trail cam comes out, so I know what, when and where... Pics from a trail cam are great proof if taken to a neighbor, and it is explained to them that the chickens need replaced.. However, if the dog vanishes AFTER the warning, well, it just opens a whole nother can of worms.
My neighbors are good enough that I know I only need to do is say something, without even having proof and they will take care of the problem. So its OTHER critters I usually have to worry about.
I think the wife has noticed in the past... our troubles would suddenly just "stop" and never return... but she never asked so I never told.