With backyard chickens eggs, the flavor is way better and they have more nutritional value.
Once you have seen and tasted the difference, there's no going back.
That makes the cost effectiveness a moot point for me.
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Chickens 2023/2024
- Thread starter Knob Creek
- Start date
Once you have seen and tasted the difference, there's no going back.
That makes the cost effectiveness a moot point for me.
We will never break even. But I didn't get them hoping to save money on eggs. I got them for tick removal and better quality eggs. I like having them in the yard. We get way more eggs than we can use. I sold them for a while. Now I just give them to friends. I buy organic feed and scratch so that's pricey. I rinse out the egg shells, dry them, crush them and feed them back to the chickens for a cheap calcium supplement.
Seven mice caught in the Rinne Trap in the coop.
Gutted them open and put them in the maggot farm.
Romokid
NES Member
Wife just got 10 more egg layer chicks last week ( a variety of chicks from easter and olive eggers to blue and black copper marans). We go out Sunday am and there is a dead chick (either an easter or olive egger) and the brooder was on but no heat from it. WTF. Hook up the other one and everything is fine. 2 days later the other person who got chicks with her also got basically the same ones had a dead chick too and same breed. Last night her co-worker called her as she got some from the same place said she had a chick that didn't look like it was gonna make it, just laying down with its head turned around almost 180 degrees. Told my wife don't waste money buying from that place again. God I hate chickens.
NHCraigT
NES Member
Round one meat birds and a half dozen new layers. Cornish cross and leghorns. They seem so much more efficient than other breeds.
71montess
NES Member
What’s the juice ?
Just some apple cider vinegar with their water. I heard somewhere it is supposed to be good for the chicks. But I honestly do not know. I give it to them for a day or two. I generally have very few losses for what it’s worth. I lost two of these 40 or so and they came all the way from IA.
Romokid
NES Member
Well Friday I had let the chickens free range in the backyard and heard some of the them cackling and squawking real loud. Ran around the corner of the house and on the other side of the fence(its a white vinyl picket fence but the chicken can slink under the bottom rail) was a fox with a silver laced in it's mouth. I grabbed a canoe paddle as the canoe was right there and started after the fox but it dropped the chicken and took off. Chicken ran back in the yard and straight to the coop. Upon inspection there were a bunch of feathers missing and a small section of skin that got ripped off. She has been living in the garage in a large dog crate so the other chickens don't peck at her. So far doing well and getting sprayed with vetericyn (I think that's the stuff) twice a day and it seems to be doing well. Then Saturday my son came in and said I know where the fox is coming from.. the is a freaking den in the front of the house in the slope. We saw 6 kits there Saturday. I can't believe we haven't lost a chicken yet as last weekend 5 of them were free ranging and the bottom of that slope. Wife won't let me shoot them so look like this is going to be an ongoing issue until they get a little bigger and we can try to scare them off or she will change her mind after losing some chickens.
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Ah Yes!! Ma**h***chusetts!! It will only get worse. The folks in that state voted to prohibit the best way to solve that problem. The folks down there were warned that this would happen. Sorry, But you folks deserve all that happens.
Romokid
NES Member
I agree. Instead of people paying for trapping licenses and the state getting a little revenue, now people have to pay someone to come and trap the critter. This is one reason why I like living out in the sticks as I’ll just shoot the bastards before I pay someone to trap them.
The Silver should heal up fine. If she's running around eating and drinking, you're basically good to go. You can apply a topical for the first 2-3 days to help it glaze over like Neosporin, but they are hearty birds.
Romokid
NES Member
Yes she is eating and drinking like normal. I was worried the others would peck her to death if left in the coop with them. She is also pretty heavy too so maybe that’s why the skin tore as the Fox was trying to grab onto her but who knows.
Tallahassee
NES Member
I just bought some of those traps yesterday!
Tallahassee
NES Member
Not sure what the best way to solve that problem would be, but I would feed them some lead for sure.
Just be sure to keep the flip clean from chicken poop, bedding , and other debris.
Kill, them, all.
Can you put something out there to encourage mama and the kits to move out faster? Like some ammonia? Or Maybe some electric fencing that's live when the chickens aren't out? A few zaps and they won't keep trying.
Romokid
NES Member
Well it appears that the kits have all moved along. The wife put a Blink camera out there on Sunday and there has been nothing since Monday. I did read about things to put out there to make them move along and we have put a few things out there crushed garlic at the den areas as well as a radio playing and I may or may not have pissed in one of the den entrances.
ETA: the garage chicken laid an egg in the dog crate this am so it appears she may be getting moved out with the rest of the flock soon as her wound is looking better.
ETA: the garage chicken laid an egg in the dog crate this am so it appears she may be getting moved out with the rest of the flock soon as her wound is looking better.
Romokid
NES Member
That was my first option, but unfortunately I like to sleep in the big bed so it got moved to option 3.
NHCraigT
NES Member
Segregating her is the right move because pecking can be an issue in confinement. If they are free range it becomes less of an issue as they will distance themselves to recover. We've been known to spoil a bird or two.
I've already been thinking if they can get the Avian flu scam o go the way they want then they will outlaw backyard poultry. In the UK there were Avian flu concerns so people with chickens were not allowed to let them out of their pens to free range.
Dodge Grain in Salem tracks their poultry sales for the NPIP. I was annoyed at myself for filling out my info in their log book.
If I had been thinking I would have put a fake name and address.
lancecolonel
NES Member
I had no idea that’s why they asked for my address. Guess I’ll look to a couple other sources next time I get pullets and if they ask for an address I’ll live on main st…….I've already been thinking if they can get the Avian flu scam o go the way they want then they will outlaw backyard poultry. In the UK there were Avian flu concerns so people with chickens were not allowed to let them out of their pens to free range.
Dodge Grain in Salem tracks their poultry sales for the NPIP. I was annoyed at myself for filling out my info in their log book.
If I had been thinking I would have put a fake name and address.
