Chickens Archives - Page 6 of 6

Dealing With a Surprise Rooster

January 15, 2021 BrassEgg Chickens

When it became obvious that we had a rooster I hastily built a chicken shanty (calling it a coop would be a dishonest spin on this huge ugly thing I wired together) and moved the whole flock out to the land we hope someday to build a home on. A barn was under construction near the chickens and I visited them everyday. Then I broke my leg and wasn’t able to build any appropriate winter housing for Sunny.

Sunny is the original rooster requiring a ransom. Sunny was a “Surprise Rooster” who got mixed up in a clutch of little chicks that was supposed to be all laying hens. We debated for months as they grew up if we had some roosters in the batch. Some of our hens are quite aggressive, and Sunny was so sweet we didn’t suspect him. We’ve since learned that if a Plymouth Barred Rock chick has a large defined yellow spot on the head it is probably a roo. You can see the big yellow spot that earned Sunny his name in the photo below.

Although I could smuggle my laying hens past the HOA (at least so far so good), a crowing rooster would surely blow the whole covert operation. A good friend came to my rescue and took our Rooster in for the winter. The hunt began for an appropriate gift…but I struggled to find the elusive “Wine Advent Calendar” she so badly wanted. So, I designed and printed out a special label for several larger bottles to let her know how grateful I was. I wasn’t quite satisfied though, and almost bought a quick solution to fill and gift, but decided to go a few steps further (cause she really saved our bacon). This gift hunt made me think about how important it is for us to thank the rare Homesteading Heroes we know who help us out with this somewhat odd hobby. I also realized how different the wish list of a homesteader or chicken enthusiast is. I love to encourage people to pursue self-reliance…and we might as well enjoy it.

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The Perfect Egg Basket Is Farm Tested

January 14, 2021 BrassEgg Chickens, Featured Favorites, Worth The Money

I tend to have romantic notions about things. I know they hardly ever work out like in my head, but at the beginning I am always convinced that everything will be straight out of a movie scene. So, when I got this cute basket over a year ago I was so excited to have such an “authentic” and “patinaed” item for gathering eggs. Sheezzz…

Look at it! It is super cute, but it wasn’t built for farm use…that is a decoration, not even a reproduction. When you find authentic antique farm equipment it is robust and made for work. I knew that, I just got really excited and romanticized the idea. In just a few weeks of my kids using it the chicken wire began to break free from the wire frame. No self-respecting grandma would have purchased such a flimsy thing to pick up her eggs!

It felt like admitting defeat, but I swung by the Farm store and got a real egg basket. This is what I love about buying farm grade items…there is no messing around here. Look at the dark green rubber coating. Mine does tip over pretty easily though. In the store I’ve inspected this version that has a wider base, but not a thick rubber coating. Depends on what you value most.

There is no place for grime or chicken fertilizer to hide. Unlike the innumerable hiding places on the decorator basket that constantly got chicken feathers and other ‘chicken gifts’ stuck in the tightly wound cracks. The same problem would have happened with a wicker basket (which was my first idealized vision, complete with little white tea towel inside to cradle the precious eggs).

Here’s the truth: Chickens produce a lot more gifts than just eggs, and you really want as much division between your ‘chicken coop stuff’ and your ‘living area/kitchen’ as possible. No tea towel, no wicker basket with tons of crevices and hiding places for grasshoppers, leaves or even more unpleasant things. I even leave my chicken shoes (especially shoes!) and coat in the garage and change into other shoes before walking into the laundry room. I hang the basket in the laundry room (that hat hasn’t been worn in years, but I probably should give it a wash and store it somewhere else).

Then I can wash my hands right there in the laundry room. I try to never set the basket down in the kitchen and just transfer the eggs to a bowl to await washing. I have a system for when the eggs are muddy or otherwise unclean, but the over-arching theme is to try to have a system that keeps things so clean that my husband never freaks out.

Lazy Hens?

January 14, 2021 BrassEgg Chickens

I have 6 hens here at the house right now, but I only get 3-5 eggs per day. I know hens don’t lay every day, but come on!

Then yesterday, among the nice big eggs I get every day, this little gem showed up. Looks like I have a late-bloomer in my flock that is just now beginning to lay pullet eggs. If I’m lucky she will be so fresh into laying eggs that she will have a very good winter – translation: she will keep laying eggs even though the other hens may tapper off.