Backyard Chickens

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Comment by Rick Nichols on May 12, 2013 at 12:50am

Correct! As the infertile egg ages the albumen, or white of the egg, shrinks, as the air pocket grows.  The egg becomes lighter, and will sometimes float as a result. One other thing that happens as the eggs age is that the whites lose the carbon dioxide that gives the uncooked whites both a white tint, and much of the firmness. An old egg will run all over the skillet, while a fresh egg sits prime and proper in the center.

Comment by Dawn Mezurek on May 11, 2013 at 9:00pm

does anyone know the art of ageing eggs? its something to do with floating the egg and if it floats its old i think....

Comment by Ellen Peavey on December 12, 2012 at 12:11pm

Hi Mary Elizabeth            You might think of the Black Jersey Giant also, I like the RIR had a big rooster and a hen they are surely big and plump, she laid a big brown egg. So are you going to start with chicks or hens? I have only been able to get one egg to hatch out of six so far, when the hens go broody in the spring . I'm hoping to be able to have more hatch out this coming year because I have young hens. This is one of my young rooster's Road Runner. Good luck with the chickens.  Ellen from Georgia

Comment by Mary Elizabeth on December 10, 2012 at 11:11pm

I'm in North Georgia, in Dahlonega. Thanks for the info! I think I'd like some large breeds-maybe Australorp, Rhode Island, or Orpingtons.

Comment by Ellen Peavey on December 10, 2012 at 12:40pm

Hi Mary Elizabeth,    I like the white leg horn because they lay the big white egg, but I'm going to try some Red Star in the spring. My good friend gave me the 7 white leg horn hens, plus 8 chicks. I lost most of my chickens in 2 years to predators, racoons and chicken hawks. But have fixed the problem with chicken hawks a bird nest went up over the run. The racoons have to be trapped or shot. No problem with the racoons this summer a big dog named Bandit keeps watch over the hens he is outside and at the bottom of the garden. The chicks are grown and now all laying 3 Black Jersey Giants and 2 white leg horns and 2 roosters. Forgot I have one duck named Pablo who lays every day she is in with the hens who free range . This is the coop it  looks big from the outside but once inside you can see how small it is. It is divided in half and that is where  I store the chicken feed in a garbage can and some bags of cement for the new coop. What part of Georgia do you live in? I live in Colbert, it is 20 miles from Athens.   Ellen from Georgia

Comment by Mary Elizabeth on December 9, 2012 at 5:43pm

Thanks Ellen. I'm from GA too! What breeds do you like best for this area?

Comment by Ellen Peavey on December 8, 2012 at 9:14pm

Hi Mary Elizabeth,  I have some better pictures of the chicken tractor ready for the winter. These are the hens and the duck that stay in the tractor every night, the wind and the rain is kept off of them. This is a temporary shelter until spring and a new coop is built.    Ellen from Georgia

Comment by Ellen Peavey on December 8, 2012 at 9:10am

Hi Mary Elizabeth  we have slopping area also and have a chicken tractor out in the front have made it into a permanent shelter until the coop can be built. The chicken tractor works really well in the summer and spring and even fall. I have five hens and one duck who call it home, I use straw and  many leaves as the bedding for the winter months. I also have a small            ladder inside for a roost and a small dog crate for the duck. The duck  Pablo lays an egg every day in the crate, the hens go to the nesting box I built outside. The pictures aren't showing what it looks like now will take some better pictures and send them. It is covered on three sides by tarps so the chickens and the duck stay out of the wind and rain.  Ellen from Georgia

Comment by Mary Elizabeth on December 7, 2012 at 9:55pm

I'm looking to get chickens next year, 4 or 5 layers. Now, I'm trying to come up with a plan for shelter. I have looked at the garden coop and some tractor type coops. I really like the a-frame type tractor, but our yard is pretty sloped. Anyone have suggestions? Links and pictures would be very much appreciated!

Comment by dawn hughes on September 7, 2012 at 11:08am

Thank you to all of the people who responded to my question about my rooster. I know zero about roosters b/c I never intended to get one. Unfortunately, he was not culled out with the other chicks and I had no way of knowing that I had a "roo", as some of you veterans call them, until he started crowing!!! I was not aware that spurs could be trimmed. That's how little I know about roosters. Can anyone explain how this is done? Maybe I can find someone in the area who has done this before and wouldn't mind helping me out.

As for the "holding" him, we can't catch him at all. Even as a chick, and this probably should have been my first clue, he was extraordinarily evasive about being held and I handled them numerous times during the day every day.

He always seems glad to see me. He knows I bring treats but, as soon as I turn my back that's when he attacks. He has a healthy respect for the squirt bottle and cuts a wide swarth around me when I hold it up for him to see but still, I can't turn my back on him b/c he's waiting for his chance.

He's really good with the hens and they seem to like him a lot. He stands back and lets them have bugs he finds and he clucks to call them over when he does find something. So, he's not really horrible but, he's young. I hope I can train him out of this behavior. That's my preference. I have tried to find farms willing to take him but, no body really wants roosters around here.

Anyhow, thank you for all of your help. I really appreciate it.

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