Now THAT'S some serious chicken math happening!
Backyard Chickens?
- Thread starter Dragonborn
- Start date
Nice to see you back @NeuValley and how cool you were able to move back out to the country!
Rits
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Eggo is doing great in his new home. He even came with manners, haha.
We open up the electric fence for the flock only when we can watch them 100%. Next door dog is a chicken killer. A few years ago he killed 2 wandering chickens from our neighbors flock on the other side of us, so we have the electric fence to keep them safe. From this pic, I am sitting between them and about 100ft behind me is the neighbor where the dog lives. He isn't out when we let them out. It's nice to let them fully free range the entire property. Though they tend to stick to just one acre of it. You can see about how big their fenced in area is. From the coop to 10ft past the white triangle (that's their shelter for the back of their range) is the length and then about 15 ft wide across. We then move that fence over once a week. Just wanted to show a pic of Hunter and the chickens!
We open up the electric fence for the flock only when we can watch them 100%. Next door dog is a chicken killer. A few years ago he killed 2 wandering chickens from our neighbors flock on the other side of us, so we have the electric fence to keep them safe. From this pic, I am sitting between them and about 100ft behind me is the neighbor where the dog lives. He isn't out when we let them out. It's nice to let them fully free range the entire property. Though they tend to stick to just one acre of it. You can see about how big their fenced in area is. From the coop to 10ft past the white triangle (that's their shelter for the back of their range) is the length and then about 15 ft wide across. We then move that fence over once a week. Just wanted to show a pic of Hunter and the chickens!
I love it! I love your setup!
Rits
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Thanks!
Hunter likes to boss the chickens around if he's walking back to the water and they are in the dry lot dust bathing. Like Hunter, they are 5lb chickens!!! Fortunately it's just some ears pinned and they scatter.
@GennyB @Rits @Ravenbird
I have a question on eggs. People have told me that farm fresh eggs don't have to be refrigerated. I'm not sure for how long or if it's forever. But is that true? Something about if they are not washed? Also how long can eggs be out in the hen house without spoiling? I mean what if they're sitting out there for a week in 90 degree heat? Are they still okay to eat? if you picked all the eggs in the hen house and brought them into your house but didn't refrigerate it? Would it be any different if it was sitting out in the hen house at 90 degrees for a week? I need some facts on this kind of stuff.
I have a question on eggs. People have told me that farm fresh eggs don't have to be refrigerated. I'm not sure for how long or if it's forever. But is that true? Something about if they are not washed? Also how long can eggs be out in the hen house without spoiling? I mean what if they're sitting out there for a week in 90 degree heat? Are they still okay to eat? if you picked all the eggs in the hen house and brought them into your house but didn't refrigerate it? Would it be any different if it was sitting out in the hen house at 90 degrees for a week? I need some facts on this kind of stuff.
Rits
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@GennyB @Rits @Ravenbird
I have a question on eggs. People have told me that farm fresh eggs don't have to be refrigerated. I'm not sure for how long or if it's forever. But is that true? Something about if they are not washed? Also how long can eggs be out in the hen house without spoiling? I mean what if they're sitting out there for a week in 90 degree heat? Are they still okay to eat? if you picked all the eggs in the hen house and brought them into your house but didn't refrigerate it? Would it be any different if it was sitting out in the hen house at 90 degrees for a week? I need some facts on this kind of stuff.
Good questions! Since I sell my eggs I've done a lot of research to keep them fresh the longest and safe. I would not eat eggs that have sat outside for that long. They will start to have a weird flavor and the yolks probably will be extra runny.
Unwashed eggs have a protective coating on them called the bloom. This helps keep bacteria from entering the porous shell. Unwashed eggs can sit on the counter at room temperature (so think 60-70s) for up to a month, but best eaten within two weeks.
Eggs stay freshest the longest if they are unwashed and refrigerated. Not only does the bloom protect them but the cool temp preserves them longer. They say these can be eaten up to 6 months but typically you want it eat within 3. Always store them in a container and pointy end down. This leaves the air cell in the proper place (the blunt end) and helps with moisture loss.
Washed, refrigerated eggs general recommendation is no older than 2 months.
Commercial eggs are washed, and take a while to arrive to the store + sitting on the shelf so that is why they don't last as long. They wash them because of fear of salmonella. Salmonella wouldn't be an issue if they had better chicken keeping practices. Backyard flocks don't typically have to worry about salmonella. I believe the same goes for Europe. They focus on eliminating salmonella beforehand by keeping the chicken areas clean and no crowding.
You should always wash your eggs in water that is at minimum 20 degrees warmer than the egg. The reasoning is the warmer water will cause the egg contents to expand and push out rather than suck in, thus reducing chance for bacteria to get sucked into the egg.
Storing Info
https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/should-i-refigerate-farm-fresh-eggs-zm0z16aszsor
Egg Washing Protocol
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAKegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw2774IMe6UNitnoGWO_4aAt
@MyBuddy - everything @Rits said. I get about 5 - 6 doz per week from spring to fall, If there are any dirty eggs I wash and put in fridge for my own use. Others I store in a cool room, date each carton and they get sold every Monday. I let all buyers know that the eggs are unwashed. Also I pick up eggs every afternoon. Eggs that stay in the laying nests will get warmed when the hens sit on them to lay their own, thus several times a day it will get warmed to over 100 degrees. Over a couple of days, that would get funky, and if there's a rooster in the mix it would, ahem, start developing. So no. Pick those eggs up every single day!
Rits
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Exactly this for us here too! Dirty eggs are for us or dog food.
obbanner
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From the Whaathe... files.
Taiwan 'Chicken Little' meets fate despite cute helmet
Taiwan 'Chicken Little' meets fate despite cute helmet
China Post
22:05 UTC+8, 2020-07-24
Many people in Taiwan raise chickens in their backyards, including some amateur farmers who are always worried that something bad might happen to their beloved “pets.”
To support this argument, a Canadian recently posted on his social media account some screenshots from an earlier post by a poultry farmer’s son who shared some tips on how to protect chickens from being crushed by durians.
The Twitter user wrote: “This is really Taiwan! That’s really going to kill me!”
The original Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of some chickens wearing helmets with the caption: “Every year, my grandpa’s chickens are killed by durians, so I brought him a gift this summer.
China Post
China Post
China Post
However, as the last photo of the post revealed, even a chicken wearing a helmet can’t avoid a durian’s unexpected “attack.”
“Unfortunately it didn’t really make a difference,” the post read.
The Twitter user reposted the comment and wrote: “This post on Facebook is killing me. It’s so Taiwan.”
Many commented on this story: “I’m dying,” while another said, “OMG, this is both hilarious and sad.” Another commented: “Happily, Issac Newton was not born a Taiwanese, or the law of gravity may never have been discovered!”
Source: China Post Editor: Liu Qi
Taiwan 'Chicken Little' meets fate despite cute helmet
Taiwan 'Chicken Little' meets fate despite cute helmet
China Post
22:05 UTC+8, 2020-07-24
Many people in Taiwan raise chickens in their backyards, including some amateur farmers who are always worried that something bad might happen to their beloved “pets.”
To support this argument, a Canadian recently posted on his social media account some screenshots from an earlier post by a poultry farmer’s son who shared some tips on how to protect chickens from being crushed by durians.
The Twitter user wrote: “This is really Taiwan! That’s really going to kill me!”
The original Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of some chickens wearing helmets with the caption: “Every year, my grandpa’s chickens are killed by durians, so I brought him a gift this summer.
China Post
China Post
China Post
However, as the last photo of the post revealed, even a chicken wearing a helmet can’t avoid a durian’s unexpected “attack.”
“Unfortunately it didn’t really make a difference,” the post read.
The Twitter user reposted the comment and wrote: “This post on Facebook is killing me. It’s so Taiwan.”
Many commented on this story: “I’m dying,” while another said, “OMG, this is both hilarious and sad.” Another commented: “Happily, Issac Newton was not born a Taiwanese, or the law of gravity may never have been discovered!”
Source: China Post Editor: Liu Qi
I actually have that shirt.
I actually have acquired a very large tee shirt collection. I think they all have chickens or dobermans on them.
I was hoping for a broody hen all summer and thought it wasn't going to happen until finally in August Gretchen wanted to set eggs. I was happy & gave her 9 eggs & day 21 would be Sept 7, Labor Day. Well, day 7 of setting I looked at her eggs and one had broken and almost all the remaining 8 had dried egg yolk stains. Gretchen had cleaned up the best she could, but I didn't have much hope as eggs are porous and the bacteria would likely be too much. I decided to let Gretchen decide if she needed to keep setting. Fast forward, Monday one chick hatched, one hatched and died, the others never developed. So we have a One-sy. I called Tractor Supply and they are getting chicks either Wed or Thurs, so hatch date probably within a day or two of this one - I'm tempted to get a few and tuck them under Gretchen. Pretty sure she'll take them, she's raised 2 clutches before this one. She has her own pen next to the other chickens so everyone sees each other, but they can't bother her. Haven't decided yet. Big weather coming in tomorrow, that cold front and rain. Anyhow, here's some pics:
Please explain. I thought a broody hen was not something you actually want. ? Or is it because you were looking for chicks and not just eggs? Non Chicken Person here but love them! Shes really beautiful!
Exactly. Broody hens quit laying, so not good for egg production. But I'd rather a hen raise chicks and integrate them into the flock than me having to raise them under a heat lamp. And later introducing to the flock is harder than if a hen does it all along. Last summer I didn't want any more chicks and had to break broodies all summer long. This year I realized my hens will be 3, 4, and 5 years old next year and I need some young ones (age 1 and 2 are the most productive egg laying years). Thus, hoping for a broody. Gretchen is the best of the 3 that I let raise a clutch, so I was happy it was her, but now just one chick and have to cross my fingers it's not a boy....
This morning Gretchen the hen with the one baby chick (now 7 weeks old) was killed by a hawk. Didn’t see it but I'm pretty sure... No need for details, unless you want to know. So “One-sy” as we’ve been calling him (and I’m 90% sure it’s a him, not a her, yet another strike against him), really is getting the books thrown at him. I’ve been observing chicken nature since the first load of baby chicks were ordered 4 years ago and they are fascinating creatures. For the first few hours One-sy was lost and peeped a lot, not wanting to integrate into the adult flock. On another note, within a few hours, Stuart the rooster strolled around and found a good place for a nest and talked and talked to himself - no hens were around - about how this would be a perfect nest place. He does this a few times a year but always in the early summer and always in front of a hen or two, when his hens should be sitting on his eggs and continuing his lifeline via chicks. But right now there are only 3 hens still laying and it isn’t the time of year to sit on eggs and he had zero attention from the hens. Was he aware that some hen should be taking care of One-sy? It made me want to cry. By this evening though, One-sy came with the flock for chicken scratch and no one pecked him. They all acted like he was OK to be there, so I’m thinking they will accept him at least until he begins to cluck instead of peep. When I went after dark to see what he did, he'd gone to the coop with the hens and roosted alone, but close. As of last night Gretchen had still been nesting with him in the broody pen nest, they hadn't started roosting yet. I've processed & eaten our chickens so I'm not totally a softy, but I feel so sorry for this little one & not to mention Gretchen had earned her Never-Process star, she was a favorite.
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Rits
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Oh I'm so sorry for the loss of your sweet Momma. It never is easy to lose a chicken, especially one you have grown to like and know all it's quirks. 
I'm with you on that Onesy is a cockerel. At 7 weeks that's a mighty strong red comb. I have two Ameraucana roosters that are separated and are their own two man flock. Well I have some chicks that I recently added with them until the chicks are big enough to be separated by pullet/cockerel where the Cockerels will stay with the two roosters to grow out. The chicks have been away from Mom for a few weeks now and at 13 weeks, the two bachelor roosters will tid bit and they'll all come running, even the boys. It's pretty cute. I'm sure that'll stop as the boys get more mature.
I'm with you on that Onesy is a cockerel. At 7 weeks that's a mighty strong red comb. I have two Ameraucana roosters that are separated and are their own two man flock. Well I have some chicks that I recently added with them until the chicks are big enough to be separated by pullet/cockerel where the Cockerels will stay with the two roosters to grow out. The chicks have been away from Mom for a few weeks now and at 13 weeks, the two bachelor roosters will tid bit and they'll all come running, even the boys. It's pretty cute. I'm sure that'll stop as the boys get more mature.
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