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CHICKENS

tree said:
This isn't so much about chickens, I guess, as it is about people. He told me that he 'didn't have time to take care of chickens.'
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Some people just have no Karma for animals and pets.:rolleyes:

I keep the light on all night and the calcium level high by mixing a certain amount of it in mash my egg rates run close to maximum.
 
Our chickens are laying really well, even though it's winter, which is a pleasant surprise. We're getting about four eggs a day, from eight chickens.
ImageUploadedByAspiesCentral.com1453337867.473754.jpg
My little white "chicken":)
 
tree said:
My brother-in-law concluded that the
chickens were worthless if they weren't laying eggs. He doesn't seem
to realize that there is a time of year when they don't lay, if they don't
have lights in the coop...
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tree said:
...the only point of having a chicken is
for her to lay eggs. Oddly enough, he doesn't regard himself as
worthless for not constantly producing [work] or reproductively.
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Maelstrom said:
I keep the light on all night and the calcium level high by mixing a certain amount of it in mash my egg rates run close to maximum.
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Tree, your brother in law is clearly a nincompoop! I wonder if he feels the same about female humans. Is our only purpose to pop out kids for our men???

I prefer to let my hens have a rest. As a female of my species, and one with endometriosis, I know the toll that female hormones can have on the body. Of course chickens' reproductive systems are not quite the same as humans', but the winter break is nature's way of letting hens' bodies rest. I think it's respectful to honour them for the eggs they give us by giving them some annual leave. :)

I've read that chooks who don't get a winter break tend to live shorter lives. That's certainly true of the hybrids created for intensive egg production.
 
Cosmophylla said:
Tree, your brother in law is clearly a nincompoop! I wonder if he feels the same about female humans. Is our only purpose to pop out kids for our men???

I prefer to let my hens have a rest. As a female of my species, and one with endometriosis, I know the toll that female hormones can have on the body. Of course chickens' reproductive systems are not quite the same as humans', but the winter break is nature's way of letting hens' bodies rest. I think it's respectful to honour them for the eggs they give us by giving them some annual leave. :)

I've read that chooks who don't get a winter break tend to live shorter lives. That's certainly true of the hybrids created for intensive egg production.
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I will think on what you said Cosmophylla, I was leaving the light on to make up for the lack of sun, and so they could see to eat to fight off the cold. It is quite cold here and the chickens might freeze if they don't eat enough at night. The light is also positioned just above the roost and they like to sleep under it to keep warm. My heated water tower is positioned just under the edge of the nesting box so heat from it curls up under the roost to warm their feet too.
I have to keep the egg rate high enough they don't get sent off to some pot of chicken noodle soup somewhere. I treat them very well here they get cucumbers and swisschard and clover and grass, and sometimes even cracked melons and apples to eat. It is as close to chicken heaven as I can make it.

Best wishes Mael :)
 
Maelstrom said:
It is as close to chicken heaven as I can make it.

Best wishes Mael :)
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Hey, Mael, I hope you don't think I was admonishing you for your choices. :) I'm just talking through my view of it. Where I live is much brighter and no doubt warmer than where you are in winter. So the circumstances are quite different. I have the luxury of being fairly sure my chooks won't die from frostbite, although it does get very frosty here on winter nights. The chances of it snowing here again are remote, thanks to global warming. But in the northern hemisphere, the climate is very different and if your ladies need a heat lamp to survive in winter, then you go give them one! :D ( I know you look after your birds, my friend. :) )
 
Mia said:
Odd that, know frogs and some other animals will change sex under certain circumstances. First I've heard of a chicken doing so. Interesting.
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Yes. Fish, do under some circumstances.

I read a very short piece about physical appearance
of a chicken contradicting its actual gender, due to
temperature change on the egg, before hatching.
http://www.sciencefocus.com/qa/can-chickens-really-change-gender

But feed altering the hormones is after the fact.
Plausible, but unexpected.
At least, I didn't expect it.
 
tree said:
But feed altering the hormones is after the fact.
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It makes sense that absorbing hormones or hormone disrupters in any way (through the skin, blood stream, gut wall, or lungs) is going to affect chooks in the same way as in humans. Makes you wonder about beef production, huh...
 
We have chickens, 4 older Ameraucanas and 8 new (unknown as of yet) pullets.
They are fun to watch and we love the fresh eggs. If you're really looking for something funny, feed them spaghetti :)
 
When someone gave me several pounds of white spaghetti
because she didn't want to eat wheat anymore, I found out
that cooking the spaghetti wasn't necessary. Just soaking it
in water will do.

 
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