# ISO advice on raising laying hens...



## CWS4322 (May 9, 2011)

Okay, we've decided this is the year to raise a few chickens. I can get 'ready-to-lay' pullets (with their beaks trimmed), and I think that is the route I'm going to take--I'd probably kill the day-old chicks. And, I don't want to wait 6 months before I can start collecting eggs.

We have a barn that has a "dog pen" in it. I was thinking of converting that area to the coop. The two gardens are fenced, so I thought I'd put the hens out there during the day. Silly question, are chickens prone to fly away? Do people overwinter chickens or do people butcher their laying hens in the fall? Do you have to trim their beaks again? I can bottle-feed orphaned puppies, but know nothing about raising poultry. 

Another question, would the hens get along with a duck or two?


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## pacanis (May 9, 2011)

"Silly question, are chickens prone to fly away?"
They tend to stay close to home. I know folks that free range their chickens and lock them up in the barn at night. They need a place to roost though. Home needs to feel like home to them or they will look for a better one.
And laying hens more hop than fly. They are to heavy to truly fly any distance.

"Do people overwinter chickens or do people butcher their laying hens in the fall?"
I keep mine over winter. That way I get eggs year round without having to start from scratch again. They take a few months off now that they are older, but I could cure that with artificial light if I wanted to. I'd just as soon they get a little break, rather than "using them up" quicker.

"Do you have to trim their beaks again?"
Mine have never had their beaks trimmed. That is more done if you are overcrowding them. If they are overcrowded or bored they can get testy with each other.

"I can bottle-feed orphaned puppies, but know nothing about raising poultry."
Yikes, get a book. Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens is a good one. And THIS is a good website/forum. You shouldn't go in blind any more than a dog owner should get a dog without prepping for its arrival.

"Another question, would the hens get along with a duck or two?"
Sure, they can co-exist. You do know that ducks need water to eat, don't you? Like a pond, spring or something?


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## Kayelle (May 9, 2011)

I have no possible way of having chickens, but this makes me smile.
I have such lovely memories of my grandparents with their chickens.

If Kathleen sees this Frank will be hounded again. Bruuuhaahaa....


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## PrincessFiona60 (May 9, 2011)

Kayelle said:


> I have no possible way of having chickens, but this makes me smile.
> I have such lovely memories of my grandparents with their chickens.
> 
> If Kathleen sees this Frank will be hounded again. Bruuuhaahaa....



I think I'm PM it specifically to Kathleen and bring it to her attention.


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## taxlady (May 9, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I think I'm PM it specifically to Kathleen and bring it to her attention.



Muahaha


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## Aunt Bea (May 9, 2011)

I miss the dark orange yolks from the eggs we had on the farm when I was growing up but, that is all I miss about it.  I cannot understand why a farmer would do all that work for a retail price of $1.69/doz.

Like the old farmer that hit the lottery said when asked what he would do now, I quess I'll just keep farming until its gone.


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## sparrowgrass (May 9, 2011)

I have had chickens here on Sparrowgrass Hill for almost 10 years.  

The best place for chicken info is your University Extension Office.  I work for U. of MO Extension--here is our publication on the home chicken flock.G8350 Small Flock Series: Managing a Family Chicken Flock | University of Missouri Extension

Do you have a picture of the dog pen?  Hens need a roost up off the ground, they need to have a varmint-tight area in which to spend the night, and they need nest boxes. If you are in a cold region, they need to be enclosed in a smaller space than a barn, a space they can warm with their body heat.  They don't need to be really warm, but their combs will freeze if the temp drops really low.

When you say 'gardens' do you mean a veggie or flower garden?  Neither one benefits from the presence of chickens.  The hens will eat anything and everything, and they scratch and dig all day long.

Chickens don't fly away, but they can fly.  Yep, chickens can live to be 10 years old--they peak in egg laying the first year, and commercial operations only keep them for a year.  You could butcher your hens at the end of a year, but it would be a waste, in my opinion.

If you are not raising chickens in a crowded pen, you don't need to trim beaks.  I never have, and my chickens only pick at each other if there is a wound. 

Hens and ducks will get along fine.


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## justplainbill (May 9, 2011)

My neighbor has 3 - 4 Rhode Island reds.  They produce enough eggs, usually over 20 per week, for both us and the neighbor to be well supplied.  Nothing like a fresh egg from a contented chicken.  We've been getting so many that I've started making custard ice cream.  Biggest problem so far (3 years) is that the feed can attract pests.


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## Uncle Bob (May 9, 2011)

I used to keep my laying mash in 55 gallon barrels with a lid....A garbage can might help Bill


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## justplainbill (May 9, 2011)

Uncle Bob said:


> I used to keep my laying mash in 55 gallon barrels with a lid....A garbage can might help Bill


.22 longs are also helpful.  Galvanized cans are becoming somewhat hard to come by.


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## pacanis (May 9, 2011)

I haven't run into the pest problem yet. I don't have a walk-in coop though, so my girls are in one area and their food another. I read where some people have a problem with their chickens attracting rats and I was very concerned with this, as I hear rats are in the nearby vineyards, but so far so good.


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## sparrowgrass (May 10, 2011)

I keep the feed in the the chicken house, and have never had a problem with varmints.  My chicken house is on blocks, about a foot above the ground, and that is supposed to keep rats from nesting under the house.  Seems to work.  

Heaven help the mouse who ventures in--extra protein for the girls.


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## CWS4322 (May 10, 2011)

Thanks! We have an old (unused) freezer in the barn where I was planning on keeping the feed. I'll try and get some pics of the barn and pen. The dog pen is 12' x 12' chainlink, the floor is concrete. I was thinking of putting 3 wire crates in the pen and put dowels in them for roosting, and putting nesting boxes in them (I guess these should be off the pan of the crate?). I have 48" dog crates (and 54" crates, but the Saints use those). I also have 48" varikennels...would the hens get too warm in those at night?

I guess the DH will have to put up the dog run panels for the chickens...I thought the fenced veggie gardens would be ideal, but I don't want them eating the veggies!

Someone told me that the eggs get bigger as the hens age? True or false?

I've read about raising day-old chicks, but I'd have to get 10. I don't need 10 laying hens! But, I can get a few ready-to-lay pullets, so thought I'd go with those (and, I don't want to do the heat-lamp, incubator thing). I also thought I could house them in the basement if it gets too cold...the house is set up so the dogs can't get to the basement...there's a door between the main part of the house and the basement, and the woodstove is down there, so it isn't cold. And, it is empty and there is a spare room where I used to keep the cat at night because I'm allergic to cats and she came with the DH. 

I'm going to clicker train mine <g>. Has anyone done that?


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## pacanis (May 10, 2011)

Crates? Crates are fine if someone needs quarrantined, but I don't understand how you plan to use them otherwise, as the birds like to nestle together when they roost. And dowels are technically too small. 2x4s layed flatways with the corners beveled off are ideal. The hens can warm their feet when they roost when it's cold that way. I've seen people use ladder sections and the birds using the rungs, but that's not really good for anything but banties, which are smaller (and can actually fly pretty well).

Once you do some research and looking at others' coops, you'll see what I mean.

And no sense bring them in downstairs. If you get cold weather breeds, which have short combs and waddles, they should do just fine. Provided they can generate a little body heat.

Mine come when called because I trained them with treats.


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## sparrowgrass (May 11, 2011)

I think the hens would be more likely to roost ON the dog crates rather than IN them.  

You don't want chickens in the house--you know how much mess a little parakeet can make, with seed hulls and teeny poops?  Magnify that by 100 for each hen.    Your house would be smelly and dusty, no matter how many doors you have between you and the birds.  

I have about 20 chickens in a 6 by 8 coop--big enough for a couple of two by fours for roosting, and 8 nest boxes.  They roost near the ceiling (heat rises) and their body heat keeps them warm enough for a Missouri winter.  My rooster with the big comb did have a little frostbite this winter--part of his comb turned black and then sloughed off.

Chickens do NOT like to spend the night on the floor--they are more vulnerable to varmints down there, and they instinctively want to roost as high as they can.

I don't know how cold your winters are, and I don't know how big your barn is, or how high the ceiling is, but if you can enclose the birds, they will stay warmer.

Yes, eggs do get larger as the hens age--pullet eggs can range from the size of a marble on up--some of the earliest ones might not have a yolk.  Takes them a while to figure things out, I guess.

Clicker training (with accompanying treats) will work--as long as you aren't trying to teach them anything too complicated!  The phrase 'bird-brain' is founded in fact.


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## sparrowgrass (May 11, 2011)

Don't make your enclosure too tight--chickens don't mind cold, but they get sick if they are in a damp area without ventilation.  Each chicken produces moisture in their breath and if they are outdoors in the rain or snow, they bring that water in.  If that moisture can't escape, you can have problems.  

Now that we have told you all the troubles you can have, let me add that my chickens are most carefree livestock I have ever had.  As long as you keep the waterer and feeder full, they are happy and healthy.

I use the deep litter method in my coop--I put a foot or so of straw on the floor, and when it gets damp or dirty, I sprinkle some 'scratch feed' on the surface, and the girls dig and toss the straw around, mixing the damp with the dry underneath.  When that layer starts to diminish and get too dirty, add another 6 inches of fresh straw.  

My chicken house doesn't stink, unless we get a week of rain and everything gets damp.  I clear that straw/manure mix out once a year and put it directly on the garden.  Because it has so much straw, the manure does not burn the plants.

You will need a thresh hold board to keep the straw inside the coop.


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## medtran49 (May 11, 2011)

My girlfriend keeps 10-12 laying hens, I can't remember exactly as she added to her flock a few months back, in her "urban homestead" that is located in the burbs of a major metropolitan area. Legally, she's not supposed to keep chickens but she does and most of her neighbors don't even know they are there as she doesn't keep a rooster. She has them in the backyard, bought a nice coop for them as she and her husband aren't handy enough to build one themselves though they did manage to assemble the one they bought. They have their own little fenced in area around the coop as my friend has dogs that use the backyard too. 

She grows veges in beds in her front and back yards. In the summer, since you can't really grow anything in the heat in S. Fla, she lets the girls have the run of the back yard, except when the dogs are out. Deadly Dachsunds who managed to kill one of the hens when hubs forgot the hens were out and let the dogs out. Anyway, the hens keep her vegetable beds weeded and naturally supply fertilizer, as well as keeping the dirt broken up thru the summertime. 

Down here, of course, we don't have to worry about the cold except on rare occasions but she did have to get a mister for a chicken cool spot and has provided a lot of shady areas for the hens. 

She's right now in the process of growing up a bunch of meat birds. Since she's a little squeamish about the dispatching part, she made a deal with a friend. She grows them and her friend will dispatch, pluck, clean, and butcher some when it's time, then get half for her share. 

She keeps her feed in sealed containers and hasn't had a problem with rats. Believe me, she would hear about it if the few neighbors that know she has hens saw rats. 

They did, however, have something either get in or almost get in the coop that upset the girls for days, they quit laying. It had chewed/dug a hole thru the bottom of the old coop. So, the new one they got for the layers has a metal exterior on the bottom so nothing can get in that way.

Oh, she also told me that when the dogs are gone (they are all getting up there in age) that she thinks she'll just keep chickens for pets as they like to sit in her lap, follow her around, etc.


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## Kayelle (May 11, 2011)

medtran49 said:


> My girlfriend keeps 10-12 laying hens, I can't remember exactly as she added to her flock a few months back, in her "urban homestead" that is located in the burbs of a major metropolitan area. Legally, she's not supposed to keep chickens but she does and most of her neighbors don't even know they are there as she doesn't keep a rooster. She has them in the backyard, bought a nice coop for them as she and her husband aren't handy enough to build one themselves though they did manage to assemble the one they bought. They have their own little fenced in area around the coop as my friend has dogs that use the backyard too.
> 
> She grows veges in beds in her front and back yards. In the summer, since you can't really grow anything in the heat in S. Fla, she lets the girls have the run of the back yard, except when the dogs are out. Deadly Dachsunds who managed to kill one of the hens when hubs forgot the hens were out and let the dogs out. Anyway, the hens keep her vegetable beds weeded and naturally supply fertilizer, as well as keeping the dirt broken up thru the summertime.
> 
> ...



*Wooooooo Hoooooooo what a great report*, Med!!

Look out Frank, Kathleen has some real ammunition now.


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## sparrowgrass (May 11, 2011)

My grandma had a garden twice as big as she needed, that was adjacent to the chicken house.  It was split in two, and one year the chickens would be in one half, and on the other side the next year.  That method added fertility and cut the bug and weed seed numbers way down.  I am trying to figure out how to do that with my girls.


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## medtran49 (May 12, 2011)

My friend actually blogs on her urban homestead, although they've bought a small farm up in northern Fla and will be moving up there soon.  I'll post the link if anybody is interested.


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## Sprout (May 13, 2011)

Sorry to be useless, but at first I thought this said "advice on laying hens." My first thoughts were:

1. It helps if you're a chicken.
2. Call me crazy, but I think they come out as eggs, not as hens immediately.

I'm glad most people aren't as dim-witted as I am at the moment, so you've managed to get some real advice! I think it's time for bed!


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## CWS4322 (May 13, 2011)

You're good. I should have phrased that differently! Can you tell I know nothing about laying hens?


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## PrincessFiona60 (May 13, 2011)

Sprout said:


> Sorry to be useless, but at first I thought this said "advice on laying hens." My first thoughts were:
> 
> 1. It helps if you're a chicken.
> 2. Call me crazy, but I think they come out as eggs, not as hens immediately.
> ...





Smart aleck!


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## Sprout (May 13, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> You're good. I should have phrased that differently! Can you tell I know nothing about laying hens?



Nah, i just missed the key word: "raising."

and yes, PF, "Smart Alec" is one of the nicer labels I've been given.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 13, 2011)

We had a busy day yesterday. We drove east 1 hour to pick up 4 2-month old barred Plymouth Rock pullets, and I caved. I had to have a rooster. I wasn't going to get a rooster but I fell in love with how handsome the Barred Plymouth Rock rooster is. Another reason for me to get additional cards for my camera--I need to take pictures of them. They've settled in very nicely. It is too cold and wet to put them outside in their "chicken run" (a 4 ft. x 12 ft. run that has a top and a bottom, as well as "roosting boards" and I guess what you'd call a coop. I won't be leaving them out at night, they can go in the barn. Which is where they are now. Each has it's own personality. They are quite fun to watch. And, they are very people friendly, which the breed is known to be. 

After bringing the livestock home, we turned around and headed south-west for an hour to pick up the new rototiller in New York. The same model was 50% more here in Canada, so we paid the HST (which would've been less than the HST would've been if we'd bought it here). All in all, we saved about $250 getting the rototiller in the States. It is so much quieter than the other two we have (one of which breaks down more than it runs...the other is too light weight to do all the rototilling we do). So, all in all, it was a busy day at the farm...and a lot of time in the truck.


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## sparrowgrass (Jun 13, 2011)

Oh, you will have such good breakfasts.  And lunches and dinners, too.

Fried rice and egg drop soup are so good when you have real eggs to go in them.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 13, 2011)

I can hardly wait until they start laying eggs...right now, they are just fun to watch! My DH is back in the city for the week. He'll probably be surprised by how much they will have grown during the week.

They are really attractive:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Rock_(chicken)

Although, the how to raise chickens book I have has a picture of a PURPLE chicken--but there's no caption identifying the breed! Being that I love purple, I'd like purple chickens!


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## sparrowgrass (Jun 14, 2011)

When that first egg shows up, you will be so proud, you will crow just like you laid it yourself!!

The first ones will probably be small, even teeny, and some may not have a yolk. When I get a teeny one, I leave it on the windowsill to dry out. Don't worry, they won't go rotten or explode, the water content will gradually evaporate. I use the little ones in decorative nests or pile them in a bowl.

Some of the girls may start out with big eggs, or double yolkers. Takes them a while to get regulated, I guess. You will also be surprised, as time goes on, to see very oddly shaped eggs ocasionally--long and pointed, wrinkled, or with little bumps and knobs of calcium. 

Commercial producers pull all those oddly shaped eggs and send them to bakeries.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 14, 2011)

I'm picking up two Rhode Island Reds that are 27 weeks old on the weekend. They are already laying, but I anticipate that they won't lay for a few weeks once they get here. Figured if I wanted to add to the "flock" I should do so sooner than later. The chicken coop and chicken yard is big enough to have up to 10. I don't know that I could handle that many eggs.

Have you ever frozen dggs from your hens in the shell? I read you can do that and use them for baking...friends say they want eggs, but I doubt they will come to the farm to get them. I am not about to start delivering eggs...

Ironically, the first house my DH and I rented when we were first married was known as "the eggman's place." I guess we've come full circle 23 years later.

Any suggestions on introducing the Rhode Island Reds to the barred Rock Plymouths?


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## medtran49 (Jun 15, 2011)

I saw something in my Internest travels about preserving eggs using salt, you might want to Google it.  

My friend that has the hens sells eggs and people do come to her to pick-up so don't rule that out.  There are people that want freshly-laid eggs that badly.


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## Claire (Jun 15, 2011)

Amazing what you can learn on this web site!  I know next to nothing on the subject, but will say that a camp site we used to frequent  in northern Florida had a flock of Muscovy ducks and one chicken (a cock).  He used to herd the ducks and was, without a doubt, "cock of the roost" even though he was smaller than them.  So I assume ducks and chickens can live together.  But, then, maybe this was a demented flock.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 15, 2011)

I know that people who live on sailboats preserve fresh eggs in salt. I've got a cookbook/food guide for those sail around here s/where and that is included. Getting fresh eggs is sometimes a challenge when you are out at sea <g>. If I remember, the eggs in the salt can keep for up to 12 months.


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## sparrowgrass (Jun 15, 2011)

You will NOT have any trouble getting rid of your eggs.  I keep friends and family supplied from my 18 hens, and often have to tell folks that they have to wait for a couple of days for eggs.

Eggs last a long, long time--if you don't wash them.  Washing eggs takes away a protective coating.  If you do have to wash them, and sometimes they are really dirty, wash them in warmish water with just a drop of dish soap.  (Cold water causes the shell to contract, and bacteria on the surface may be drawn into the egg.)  

Store washed eggs in the fridge.  Unwashed eggs keep just fine in a cool place.  If you want to hardboil some of your eggs, use washed ones, and let them sit in the fridge for at LEAST 3 weeks.  If you use them sooner, you will not be able to peel them.

If your older hens are already laying, they will probably continue to lay after you move them.  I wouldn't worry too much about how to introduce them--they will probably sort things out themselves in a day or two, especially if they have room to get away from each other.  If you notice serious fighting (blood, especially) separate them with a piece of chicken wire, so they can still see each other and try again in a couple of days. You could also put the 'ringleader' in a big wire dog crate for a while.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 19, 2011)

I decided to pick up 2 Rhode Island Red laying hens (28 weeks old) yesterday. They are so tame. Lovely birds. I anticipated that it would be a couple of weeks before they adjusted to their new environment and laid eggs. One of them gave me an egg tonight! It was so cool to see the egg in the nesting box! Clean, perfectly shaped, and the size of a large egg. Wow! The shells are really porous when you take the eggs out of the nesting box. I knew that, but I didn't know the shell was that porous. I coddled that egg all the way back to the house (and probably had a grin from ear-to-ear--I was so proud of that hen and to be carrying that egg to the house).

The person I bought the hens from has had chickens for years. His brother works for one of the large egg producing facilities in the area. I was shocked when he told me that the eggs are sometimes held for 12 months in the warehouse before they are shipped to grocery stores. In our area, farm fresh eggs go for $2.50-3.00 / dozen. The last time I checked, eggs in the grocery store (not on special) were $2.87/dozen.

I'm hoping the other hen will start laying again soon. This having laying hens is fun.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 19, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> I decided to pick up 2 Rhode Island Red laying hens (28 weeks old) yesterday. They are so tame. Lovely birds. I anticipated that it would be a couple of weeks before they adjusted to their new environment and laid eggs. One of them gave me an egg tonight! It was so cool to see the egg in the nesting box! Clean, perfectly shaped, and the size of a large egg. Wow! The shells are really porous when you take the eggs out of the nesting box. I knew that, but I didn't know the shell was that porous. I coddled that egg all the way back to the house (and probably had a grin from ear-to-ear--I was so proud of that hen and to be carrying that egg to the house).
> 
> The person I bought the hens from has had chickens for years. His brother works for one of the large egg producing facilities in the area. I was shocked when he told me that the eggs are sometimes held for 12 months in the warehouse before they are shipped to grocery stores. In our area, farm fresh eggs go for $2.50-3.00 / dozen. The last time I checked, eggs in the grocery store (not on special) were $2.87/dozen.
> 
> I'm hoping the other hen will start laying again soon. This having laying hens is fun.



So...did you have an egg tonight?


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## pacanis (Jun 20, 2011)

Wait until you get your first soft egg... it will freak you out. Very weird. It looks perfect sitting in the nestbox, but it's like handling a water balloon when you pick it up.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 20, 2011)

And what is the cause of that? Not enough calcium in the diet?


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## pacanis (Jun 20, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> And what is the cause of that? Not enough calcium in the diet?


 
I don't know. Maybe. I've only seen two (in four years from five hens) and both times it was early Spring, so it was a first egg after their winter break from just one hen.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 20, 2011)

Speaking of which, I probably best go let mine out of lock up <g>.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 20, 2011)

My other little red hen laid an egg for me, so now I have two. I'm having an aspargus-mushroom-cheese omette made with FRESH eggs for lunch!!!! I also got a card for my camera, so maybe I'll take pictures of the eggs, and the omelette cooking...and when it's done...but probably start with a picture of the girls...


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## pacanis (Jun 20, 2011)

One of mine died this morning. Oh well.
That'll teach me to not cull her from the flock at first sign of distress.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 20, 2011)

Oh--I'm sorry to hear that.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 20, 2011)

the omlette was great. There are pics of my chicks (and their eggs) in today's  "what's for dinner" forum.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 20, 2011)

pacanis said:


> Wait until you get your first soft egg... it will freak you out. Very weird. It looks perfect sitting in the nestbox, but it's like handling a water balloon when you pick it up.



Oh, I want to see her pick that one up!


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## CWS4322 (Jul 2, 2011)

I'm new to chickens--but I have to say, the Rhode Island Red hens are so entertaining. We were out digging a spot to put down a concrete base for a "walk in chicken coop" (that would be walk in for humans). Oh my gosh, were the two girls interested in what we were doing. The big cutworm--that probably rivaled a snake as far as they were concerned. 

They were in their enclosure, but every time we dug up some earth worms, we offered the worms to them. OMG, do they love earthworms. 

There is definitely a dominate girl. When we put them in the barn for the night, I was wearing my dog clogs: Birki's Woodby Dog Blue

The dominant hen was chasing me around the barn and pecking at the "dog" on the right clog. I was busy trying to get water and feed for the barred Plymouth Rock chicks--she was chasing me. She was hilarious. She was also the one that did a piroette when a butterfly flew over her head. They are so funny. When I go out to see them, they come "running" to me. I didn't know chickens moved that fast. My dog clogs are beat up--I'm ordering another pair for "dress up" when I go to MN--and fighting the urge to get the panda ones and the hippo ones...if they had chicken ones, I'd get those. But, for the entertainment factor, I might just start wearing the old dog clogs out to the barn (once I have a "dress up" pair). When I wear my crocs out there that have holes in them, they peck at those, but nothing like the one was chasing me around re: the dog clogs.

I don't plan on eating these two RIRs any time soon. They are too funny. And way too friendly. I'll take the eggs and I haven't told them I ate chicken last night...


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 2, 2011)

Those shoes are great...Shrek is going to kill me...


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## CWS4322 (Jul 2, 2011)

Which are you getting? I'm using my "tutoring on line" money to buy more...I think I have enough bucks in my account to get the pandas, the hippos, and another pair of the dogs...too bad they don't have chickens. I'm having mine shipped to MN...or CT when I go down in September...I just have to control myself...I already have 14 pairs of Birkies....


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 2, 2011)

I'm thinking the cats and hipppos...they should be fun at work.  Oh, I can't wear them to work, they are heel-less...I'll go visiting off the clock!


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## CWS4322 (Jul 2, 2011)

Actually, they have ones that are for healthcare workers...you'd have to call and ask.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 2, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> Actually, they have ones that are for healthcare workers...you'd have to call and ask.



Probably not with the pretty colors, cats or hippos...


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## CWS4322 (Jul 2, 2011)

Whenever I wear my doggies, they are conversation starters. And FUN. But I will definitely "coat" the next pair with varnish (or something) because they scuff.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 2, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> Whenever I wear my doggies, they are conversation starters. And FUN. But I will definitely "coat" the next pair with varnish (or something) because they scuff.



The fun part.  So many of my patients miss the fun in life...I like to bring it in when I can.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 3, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The fun part. So many of my patients miss the fun in life...I like to bring it in when I can.


A friend who is a physiotherapist and animal rehab therapist has the dogs, the cats, and the horses. She wears them to work all the time--but when she is wearing her animal rehab hat, she always wears the pair that represent which species has the most appointments that day. At the vet clinic where she does her rehab work, the female vets have all bought either the dog or cat clogs!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 3, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> A friend who is a physiotherapist and animal rehab therapist has the dogs, the cats, and the horses. She wears them to work all the time--but when she is wearing her animal rehab hat, she always wears the pair that represent which species has the most appointments that day. At the vet clinic where she does her rehab work, the female vets have all bought either the dog or cat clogs!



Cute!  I have a Slinky Dog, I take him to work and drag him behind me, cracks them up!


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## CWS4322 (Jul 5, 2011)

Okay, those of you who have more experience (and knowledge) about chickens, one of my Rhode Island Reds lays 2 eggs each morning. She lays the first one around 7 a.m. and the next one around 11:00 a.m. When I bought the hens, the guy said he had one, didn't know which, that was a double yolker. I haven't heard back from him if he still has that hen. Could it be that she was the double-yolker and is now laying 2 eggs / day? I'm not complaining, 3 eggs from two hens isn't such a hard thing to take--especially since the 2 I collect at 7 a.m. are still WARM. (How much fresher can you get?). Everything I've read says they can lay 2 eggs in 24 hours, but that this shortens the time that they will lay eggs over their lifetimes. Anyone know why this hen is laying 2 eggs in such a short period of time? Or is she just "Fertile Myrtle"? Or, is it because she's only ~30 weeks and hasn't regulated yet? These are nice sized eggs, btw. And tasty <g>.


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