Production is up

[RED333]

With the warm weather egg production is up a bit, getting 18 to 24 eggs a day.

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Today this was waiting for me in the nest boxes!

The little one was layed on the ground, had been there a bit before I found it.

Brown and blue weights 2.5 ozs, the big white eggs comes in at 4 ozs!!! :woohoo:

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[hipower]

Man I sort of miss getting eggs from the hens every morning....NO. I do miss it. I lived with my grandparents growing up.

 

And egg gathering was the first of my daily chores. It was fun and pretty easy.

 

Until the day that nasty, wild, and crazy rooster clawed and pecked me for invading his henhouse.

 

We had rooster and dumplings the next day.

[felinesNfreedom]

Good lord thats a lot of eggs! The wife and I have been talking about getting chickens for about a year. I just don't know if we have the time to deal with them. 

[RED333]

Once you get the coop built it is about 15 to 30 mins a day to feed and water, winter is a bit more but very easy work for eggs.

Be sure to check local regs, in town crowing is a no no.

Edited April 2, 2015 by RED333

[Dirtshooter]

Man I sort of miss getting eggs from the hens every morning....NO. I do miss it. I lived with my grandparents growing up.

 

And egg gathering was the first of my daily chores. It was fun and pretty easy.

 

Until the day that nasty, wild, and crazy rooster clawed and pecked me for invading his henhouse.

 

We had rooster and dumplings the next day.

My wife was a little girl when a rooster attacked her and to this day and she is 62 she carries the scars on her thigh. I think they had rooster also!!

[FUJIMO]

Now that's some good eating !

Neighbor dropped a dozen off and it amazes me the difference in flavor and richness vs store bought. The yolk was a lot more golden.

I spy some Aldi sugar in there too !!

[JWC]

I'm getting half a dozen a day average from my 7. My kids like the hens and the eggs add up. Good thing they did cause I just said a month back if all them beetches don't start laying again we gonna eat chicken n dumplins.

[felinesNfreedom]

Once you get the coop built it is about 15 to 30 mins a day to feed and water, winter is a bit more but very easy work for eggs.

Be sure to check local regs, in town crowing is a no no.

 

 

I'm in the county and only have a neighbor on one side that would love for me to get chickens, they know they would get eggs too.

[maroonandwhite]

We just put 5 more outside since their feathers have come in for a total of 7. I look forward to more eggs. I plan to do alot of pickled eggs. I LOVE those.

 

I will probably be giving some away to the neighbors too. That's a good way to get the neighbors on your side.

[JWC]

I live in a neighborhood. My neighbor asked me to get chickens. She passed away last summer though.

[BigK]

I was just studying on getting me a coup and some hens earlier today. I'd love to have fresh eggs. I heard an idea today that sounds smart to me...it suggested buying Australorps first then a year later add Rhode Island Reds then a year later add Leghorns. The idea was that after 3 years their egg production drops off and you can tell by color which ones to eat. What do you guys think about that idea.

 

I'm concerned about one of my dogs terrorizing them every time she goes out to do her business. She can't get at them, but she can sure scare them and when I was growing up my grandpa said hens won't lay when they're under stress. 

 

I'm also concerned about keeping them warm in winter months. Anyone got some advice/info?

[maroonandwhite]

I was just studying on getting me a coup and some hens earlier today. I'd love to have fresh eggs. I heard an idea today that sounds smart to me...it suggested buying Australorps first then a year later add Rhode Island Reds then a year later add Leghorns. The idea was that after 3 years their egg production drops off and you can tell by color which ones to eat. What do you guys think about that idea.

 

I'm concerned about one of my dogs terrorizing them every time she goes out to do her business. She can't get at them, but she can sure scare them and when I was growing up my grandpa said hens won't lay when they're under stress. 

 

I'm also concerned about keeping them warm in winter months. Anyone got some advice/info?

I built a coop based off of purina plans and have had really good luck with it. I initially had a run built onto it but just let them free range now. I hang a heat lamp in there during the winter and they do fine. On the really cold snaps we had I just stapled some cardboard over the door to keep out the draft and open it in the morning. My outside dog does "play" with them every now and then when they try to eat her food but otherwise she leaves them alone. I have two at the moment and usually get an egg a day. I'll post some pics of the coop and a link in a minute.

[maroonandwhite]

 

 

 

I have closed off the bottom door and made one out of the side since I took this picture. They didn't want to go up through the bottom.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 2, 2015 by maroonandwhite

[maroonandwhite]

Follow this link and click on the image for the basic plan. I think I modified mine a little but it's pretty self explanatory. I spent somewhere around $350 on everything on mine but I used good treated wood and that treated plywood ain't cheap. It should last a loooong time. I'm sure you could build it alot cheaper with recycled material. It doesn't have to be this robust either. I call this the storm shelter because it's so heavy. It took four grown men to lift it into the trailer when we moved with the roof OFF.

 

http://www.mansfieldfeed.com/news-updates/build-your-own-chicken-coop-2014-02-3056

[RED333]

Had 26 eggs today

Here is my tractor, had 8 birds at the start, now only 4 left.

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Wheels for moving it around the yard.

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Coop that dont move, 25 birds in it.

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The grass in all gone, and my girls are all grown up.

Edited April 2, 2015 by RED333

[RED333]

To keep them from freezing is wrap the coop up in a tarp as best as I can.

Stop the drafts, and keep the water wet.

As cold as it got this past winter I did not have a bird get into trouble.

[musicman]

I was just studying on getting me a coup and some hens earlier today. I'd love to have fresh eggs. I heard an idea today that sounds smart to me...it suggested buying Australorps first then a year later add Rhode Island Reds then a year later add Leghorns. The idea was that after 3 years their egg production drops off and you can tell by color which ones to eat. What do you guys think about that idea.

I'm concerned about one of my dogs terrorizing them every time she goes out to do her business. She can't get at them, but she can sure scare them and when I was growing up my grandpa said hens won't lay when they're under stress.

I'm also concerned about keeping them warm in winter months. Anyone got some advice/info?

Check out regulations in LaVergne just to be sure. I don't think chickens are allowed. :-(

[BigK]

Check out regulations in LaVergne just to be sure. I don't think chickens are allowed. :-(

 

I hadn't gotten that far into the thought process yet. Glad you mentioned it, because sure enough...there is no poultry allowed inside the city limits. I guess I won't waste any more time thinking about fresh eggs.

[maroonandwhite]

I hadn't gotten that far into the thought process yet. Glad you mentioned it, because sure enough...there is no poultry allowed inside the city limits. I guess I won't waste any more time thinking about fresh eggs.

bummer

[BigK]

bummer

Tell me about it. I had the wife convinced it was a good idea and everything.

[maroonandwhite]

Tell me about it. I had the wife convinced it was a good idea and everything.

So I guess the question is will you get caught???  :pleased: Mine don't make much noise.

[bud]

. Edited August 7, 2015 by bud

[hipower]

My wife was a little girl when a rooster attacked her and to this day and she is 62 she carries the scars on her thigh. I think they had rooster also!!

 

Most roosters are rather docile, but sometimes they can get pretty rowdy.

 

I was luckier than your wife. But I still don't like chickens.

[JWC]

Tell me about it. I had the wife convinced it was a good idea and everything.

Get the neighbors on board and no one will squeal. don't let the gubment push you around. 'Specially a pseudo govt like LaVergne