Jacob, Do you have a light on in the coop?
al
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Liz sorry to hear that! I could never free range here.. too many neighbors with dogs and we have too many predators..
game cam at the back of the coops...
coyote
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fc8c59e5_h.jpgIM_00099 by Al Sabetta, on Flickr
opossum
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...739d0702_h.jpgIM_00131 by Al Sabetta, on Flickr
raccoon.. this one has raised kids under the shed thats one of my coops... she got one hen a few months ago.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d1c08da7_h.jpgMomma Raccoon by Al Sabetta, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6f2458b6_h.jpgMomma Raccoon by Al Sabetta, on Flickr
We also have bobcat, fisher cats and foxes.. Everyone in my area has fenced in runs..
My neighbor tried free range, the predators were very happy, but they lost a lot of poultry..
al
Nope! I let them have a rest in the winter (so lack of eggs is expected). They will ramp up a bit pretty soon now that the days are getting longer. I'm OK with the recharge period of them. A hen can only lay so many eggs anyway. :) And if the old ones are just eating feed and hanging around... *eh* the backyard isn't a business, and I don't need chicken soup that bad. :D
I've killed three possums in their run, the first two never got anything. But one this fall got one of our silkies. But I got him. They've only ever been an issue in the fall/early winter. They wake me up raising a stink sometime between 12:30 and 2 AM.
We run the lights in the winter here..Dual purpose as they are heat lights this time of year. I know it shortens the production /life of them but with feed as expensive as it is, going the winter months here without eggs would hurt the wallet and my egg ham and cheeses:) .We do see a drop off in eggs in the fall before we run the lights and when they are moulting. Our hens are usually peaked out at 2-3 years... we rarely have them longer than that.
I havent lost a hen yet to a possum but have had them in the run.
Al
Decided to hatch out another batch of eggs. This round will be F2 easter eggers from our previous batch of chicks. These give us light blue and light green eggs. They are pretty stocky chickens. All of the them have beards including the rooster (Red). Be interesting to see what we get here. The other half of the eggs we are using are from our new ideal poultry hens of various breeds .. these are the white eggs and brown eggs.The rooster for these is Ozzy.. our blue Ameraucana ... he is the father o "Red" and his flock. In theory Ozzy should give us more easter eggers.
Eggs were collected over the last 3 days and stored at room temp point down. INCUBATOR was setup yesterday and now we wait 3 weeks. It will be interesting to see the hatch rates here. Red only has 4 girls in his flock so I am guessing most of the blue green eggs will be fertile.. "Ozzy" has many hens in his flock as they are the main coop.. he is still a fairly young roo at about 3 years old but does his "job" well.
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:) about 3-4 hours per night and catnap when I can. Been like that most of my life.Quote:
Dude, do you ever sleep??
You are so lucky. All my life I've needed 9 hrs. My mother was the same so I guess there's a genetic component. Now that my spine wont hold me up without pain drugs I even need to lie down in the afternoon. My father had a bad back, too. I miss having the ability to work hard all day long, but my pain doctor says that I'd be worse if I'd sat behind a desk for all those years. I built up muscle strength from all that physical work. The muscles help hold me up.
I hear you... I get 8 hours now but could probably do just fine with 7, and just getting up earlier and working more focused rather than allowing distractions. It's obvious Al is organized.
Liz, you might look into the benefits of an inversion table. I have one and love it for my back issues.
Thanks Greg. it doesn't work for degrative disc disease. I bought one a few years back and gave it away.
Liz I wish something could be done for your pain.. I see someone daily here with that same condition and see her pain.
As for me.. Im not superman. Burning the candle at both ends isnt smart.... but Its just who I am. I slept normal hours until college. College came and I worked full time at a construction supply company to pay for my business degree at night ... slept 4 hours and drank 10 + cups of coffee a day. .. It was the only way I could do it . I have long since decreased the coffee intake but the.sleep schedule never changed. I am sure one day I will pay the price. Theres always a price tomorrow for what we do today.
Al
Thanks, Al. It's OK. I enjoy what I'm still able to do. I planted potatoes today, and I still change water every day. I'm still able to care for a horse, a cat, five dogs and a spoiled rotten chicken who comes in the kitchen begging for left overs. She's like having another spoiled dog.
So we candled last night.. looks like a good batch of eggs.. we had two clear duds... and one got fat finger cracked..:(.
But at this point we have a good 19 eggs that look fertile. . Clock is ticking ..we candle again in a few days as there were a couple questionable ones.