Modern Vespa

At the beginning of the month I got three new hens (replacement for previous small flock). Three brown hybrids at POL (point of lay) age.

Today Marilyn, Margaret & Myrtle provided me with a real Easter egg! One of them has started to lay eggs (at last..).

Fabulous!

I'll have to give them some treats this afternoon - extra-sweet sweetcorn I think.

waffly,

My chicks LOVE superworms......superworms are like extra large mealworms, and are purchased at a local pet store.....makes for some happy hens!

The yolk's on you.

Raisins.

Grapes.

Watermelon.

Blueberries.

All of these things will make your hens quite happy.

The girls are currently chomping down on sweetcorn and fresh spring cabbage greens. They are making lots of happy hen noises.

Their other favourites include:-

spaghetti in olive oil & black pepper
grapes
apple
peach
pear
strawberries
lettuce
cabbage
kale
mealworms
cat food

Never know what your going to get when one opens a thread.
Superworm:
POL (point of lay)
My neighbor up the street is part of a local family which is a major egg farm. My son worked there in junior high school.The eggheads up the street are all Cornell University Ag. grads and are into chicken S#%^ fertilizer. We get quite a wiff when the wind is from the north or east as the farm is less than a mile away. So chickens would not be our first choice in productive pets.
But there are a ton of people around here and across the country into having home chickens, we feel we are out of step with the urban grow it yourself
cycle nowdays. Been there, done that,
With the farmers market and roadside stands real close its easier for us to get lazy and not garden much anymore.
Did you color the egg for the festive event. ?

forgot to add that the shep got a hold of a few of our chicks(don't ask)

so no more americana's....they had such pretty blue and green eggs.....

Turned out to be a double-yolker!

Smell.. I clean out my hens every morning, plus I only have three, so I can honestly say they don't whiff. Industrialised hen farms are an entirely different kettle of fish (or stinking poo in vast quantities..)

Lovely natural brown shell, so the perfect colour anyway

I came very close to buying two chicks the other day. I've been wanting a'coupla chickens for fresh eggs for a few years, and now that I live in the country, the want is growing.

This is making me think that if we ever move outside a city, maybe I'll get a few hens, myself. Reminds me of my aunt and uncle's farm out in east Texas. They bought some chickens, and rescued others from local chicken farms. At some points, they would collect up to 4 dozen eggs every day from them! Once they ended up at the farm, they were completely free-range. We got white eggs, brown ones, blue and green... it was awesome. We supplied like 3 local churches with their Easter eggs, and some of them we didn't even dye.

It spoiled me, I tell ya. I have not enjoyed eggs since having them from the farm. The store-bought ones are just.... ugh.

I took a gamble and picked up 6 chicks today. No particular kinds and leaving sex to chance. They're hanging out with me at work, quietly peeping from their toasty spot at the main server.

Very excited about this new venture. I've always wanted some free range chickens but never had the space.

Fingers crossed

Everybody knows easter eggs are waid (or is it wayed) by wabbits

That's a nice menu for the 3M's! Especially the spag/w/olive oil. What day do you serve that? Did I just hear the dinner bell?

'Tis true. There's a world of difference in flavour & texture of a shop-bought egg and an egg laid a matter of minutes ago. MrWC was not a fan of eggs until we got our own hens. Shop-bought eggs are ok as an *ingredient* in say a cake mix, but for flavour and as a main part of a meal, there's nothing beats a properly fresh egg laid and eaten the same day.

Let's hope they don't turn out to be cockerels then, as all you'll get with those is a lot of noise and no eggs!

No, you're mistaken

From http://icanhascheezburger.com/2009/04/11/funny-pictures-get-all-the-glory/

heh..

Not that I spoil my hens at all, but whenever I cook pasta I always do extra as 'a little bit for the girls'

I love this thread.

I do not own our chickens anymore, the largest Hen started eating the eggs and it just became a nightmare. As soon as one of the other girls laid one, she would peck it.

Small tip...which my hens use to love...yoghurts...in pots (opened obviously) they absolutely loved them and made the eggs lovely.

for all potential chicken owners...owning them is easy, preventing Mr fox from having his tea is the hardest

Happy Easter to you all

Ah yes.. do not get between a hen and her yoghurt for if you do, you will find out that the velociraptor is not extinct after all

I have the fox problem solved as the girls have the hen house in a big secure run. The run is weldmesh sides, tall enough for me to stand up in, it has a roof, to stop wild birds getting in and it means Mr Fox can't climb up and over.. Plus the base is entirely paving stoned over - so Mr Fox (or Mr Rat etc) can't tunnel under and get in that way. The base is topped with a deep layer of wood chip, so the girls can still scratch about in there. I've also got perches in there as well as their food & water. They are allowed out into the garden to free-range when there's a 'hoomin' in the garden, as the human presence deters the foxes, and the mink... so far, I've not lost a single hen to a fox (or other predator) in the nearly four years I've been keeping hens.

I've been lucky as I've not had any egg-eaters, but I have had a cannibal hen which killed two others and maimed three. Cannibal hen was rehomed to a bigger flock and where she was controlled by a cockerel. Apparently she settled in well and obviously the poor dear must have been aggressive through frustration because as soon as she had the attention of a couple of cockerels, she stoppped the aggression (Hurrah!). What it is to be a frustrated old biddy..

Witch,
check your local laws, or do it on the DL, as we are!
they don't make too much noise...just gotta watch and get ones that are cold hardy, low-flying, and some are more noisy than others.....and really don't take up much space.....you can order pullets online, and you know(well 99%) that you've got hens, and not a rooster!

I'll try and get you a pic of the superworms today, for those that may not be familiar...

The real Easter Bunny is passed out from all the Easter baskets he passed out last nite. He's also shedding Happy Easter everyone.

Waffly you are a good parent providing great food and a lovely safe chick house.....any vacancies? I have been known to cook a "little extra" for my 4 legged friend. Tis love

Judy, love your bunny! Snuggly and cute

Indeed it is love

Margaret laid her first egg today, so it went to the little girl next door (who adores hens and wants her own) as a special Easter egg just for her. She did get a big chocolate one too...

A lovely bunny!

SKY thanks. He was a rescue. Karin my vet called me almost 4yrs ago and wondered if i could take him. He had very little hair,was skin and bones. She honestly didn't think he would live because they hadn't given him water and it was summer here. They "claimed" he got that bad because the person they had caring for him while they were on a weeks vacation did it. I guess their conscious kicked in when he looked that bad. At least they brought him in otherwise i wouldn't have gotten to enjoy him all these years. My vet told them they had 2 choices, give the bunny up to her or she was going to call the police. They gave him up. He was also dropped and kicked in the backside as well as starved. He's still a little skittish but will come up to people and loves his water. Hence the name Nemo. When i first got him he would run in the bathroom and watch me take a shower Little perv The sound and smell of the water intrigued him. Now he's the fat sassy ruler of "his" house. How can somebody abuse anything is beyond me, he's such a cute loving little guy. I'd still love to put his previous owners in a cage and not feed them or give them water, and see if they like it. Thanks WAFF.

Wow, that's some kick butt info right there! Angry is not what I feel when I hear reality stories like this! I remeber when I was younger my brother (charmer he is) gave my bijon pup a swift kick because he greeted him too long. My reaction was the same to him. I briskly walked up to him and kicked him in the shin full swing! Then asked, "how did that feel?" Brother was Fuming, I walked away, took my dog and left Him to moan.
So very nice of you to adopt Nemo the water bunny! Is he having any special flavored H2O today? It is a holiday after all Carrot juice perhaps?

SKY he's rockin ice water. He LOVES it. In fact he'll sit up and beg when i bring him fresh water with ice cubes in it. 8) If he hears the ice maker and i go into my bedroom (where he lives but is still free range anywhere he wants to go) he'll be sitting beside his water dish waiting for his ice.

Adorable. Now before the very last minute left of Easter for your Nemo....(correction to above)....hows about a carrot juice "Ice Cube?"

He got some extra ice water today and a stuffed bunny friend from the head Easter bunny (me)

Three eggs this morning! One each from my three new girls

+1

Very coo WAFF. I'm no a huge egg eater but like hard boiled ones. Fresh ones don't make good ones tho We have wild chickens and they get on my last nerve. Always getting into my garden when i had one downstairs. I have a deck one now. 8) Very eggciting.

Congrats! 3 M's are doing their job! What time is breakfast (or brunch) ? 3 eggs should make a nice quiche (o;

Hard cooked steam technique.

Thanks T. Thumbs up. 8)