CHIMBY - Chickens in My Back Yard

[The Bacon Junkie]

You wouldn't believe that this weekend all 3 of our dogs horses and 11 hens where roaming and hang'n out in our backyard together   The dogs horses made no aggressive actions toward the hens!  

fixed it...  

[triangleforge]

Ours were undaunted by snow last year, but refuse to walk on it this year (unless bribed with treats as in the photo below). We've had an unusually cold January (hard on the heels of AZ's warmest December on record) and so the snow that fell just before New Years is still on the ground - usually, it's mostly gone by noon the next day. With a little melting this past week (and me shoveling a path to get the Duc from the garage to the street), their world is finally getting bigger than their chicken run & the little trail from there to our back door.



Something screwy in the genes of the scrawny Wyandotte in the back told her body to molt right around Christmas time, so when the nighttime temps dropped into the single digits and we got an 18" snowfall, she was nearly naked.    

[ducpainter]

<snip>  So they're stuck in their coupe until April? 

What do they drive?

[The Architect]

What do they drive?

Before the coupe they had this.  But the gas mileage sucked.  



 I shouldn't post so early in the morning.  And with the cold my brain takes awhile to fire up. 

[Polpetta]

  Very nice!

[Vindingo]

I got 3 more hens on Sunday from a guy who was thinning out his flock.  I have 5 hens and 2 roosters now.  He had about a dozen chickens and all of them stopped laying for the winter, but I took a few anyway.  I don't think he was feeding his birds enough, and maybe that is the reason they stopped laying.  He mentioned it was a pain to get to his coop because of the snow, so they may go a few days with no food or water.  They look a little tattered and one has a broken beak, but hopefully I can get them in good spirits again.  My hope is that seeing my birds lay and actually feeding them will get these girls back into production mode.      

The new birds don't seem too thrilled, and they don't like my birds very much.  It is funny how they have segregated themselves to different ends of the coop.  I'm sure they will become friends in time...  

... or I will eat them.      

[ducpainter]

I can't believe you still have those roosters...

[Vindingo]

I can't believe you still have those roosters...

I know!  I was going to do the deed yesterday but I got lazy. 

I have also started to enjoy the crow, so I am going to keep at least one. 


How are your turkeys?  The guy I got my last hens from had 3 turkeys in the cage with his hens.  They were 3' tall. 

[ducpainter]

I know!  I was going to do the deed yesterday but I got lazy. 

I have also started to enjoy the crow, so I am going to keep at least one. 


How are your turkeys?  The guy I got my last hens from had 3 turkeys in the cage with his hens.  They were 3' tall. 

I only have one tom left. He was supposed to be New Years dinner, but it didn't happen.

Now there's too much snow out behind the barn and the water is frozen to do him in.

I'm gonna let him free range for the summer and we'll see what happens in the fall.

He may get a pardon.

He's huge.

[triangleforge]

Had a weird phenomenon this spring when the hens started laying again in earnest -- about a third of the eggs were broken and left behind a thin, rubbery remnant of a shell left in the puddle. One appeared to have been "laid" with no shell at all, much to the dog's delight. 

I set up a small feeder we used to use when they were chicks and filled it with crushed oyster shells that I picked up at the local feed store so they can supplement their calcium intake. I've read it can also be a sign to boost the protein percentage in their feed. It's only been a few days, but so far no more squishy eggs!

[cokey]

hey question..  do ya and if so how do you clean the eggs before consumption..

[SacDuc]

hey question..  do ya and if so how do you clean the eggs before consumption..

First, don't clean them until right before you use them. Eggs have a natural membrane that does not allow air through and delays spoilage. The ones you buy at the store are washed then coated with mineral oil to replace the natural membrane.

I just rinse our hen's eggs under cold water, nothing more.

sac

[triangleforge]

^^^ Same here, for the same reason.

[ducpainter]

Had a weird phenomenon this spring when the hens started laying again in earnest -- about a third of the eggs were broken and left behind a thin, rubbery remnant of a shell left in the puddle. One appeared to have been "laid" with no shell at all, much to the dog's delight. 

I set up a small feeder we used to use when they were chicks and filled it with crushed oyster shells that I picked up at the local feed store so they can supplement their calcium intake. I've read it can also be a sign to boost the protein percentage in their feed. It's only been a few days, but so far no more squishy eggs!

That should do it.

Are you feeding them a commercial layer pellet/crumble or something else?

A layer pellet should have all the calcium they need.

[triangleforge]

They're on Purina Layena, which should have enough calcium & protein in it. If the problem re-emerges, I'm going to cut back a bit on the chicken scratch that I give them as a treat (since it's lower in both), but since it's a key part of my strategy for getting a motorcycle on the outside of the fence without chicken escapees, they'll still be getting some.