The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: greenfingers on November 26, 2008, 08:38:39 pm
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We found our first egg today. We are not sure which hen laid it as Clarissa and Phyllis are now both cockerels, as Phyllis crows very well most of the day and at least 2 of my baby light Sussex are cockerels, so it may have been either Betty the mummy, Dilys who is about 7 months old now or one of her babies, who are only about 16 weeks old. Any suggestions who it may be.
We have worked it out that this one egg has cost us so far around £300, so we are owed alot of eggs to make ends meet.
We are looking forward to many more and hope they are tasty.
Unfortunately we shall be having Phyllis for New Years day as she is turning out to be a bit of a nuisence in the run with Clarissa and keeps escaping, plus she will not lay eggs and we only want one cockerel, also the light Sussex babies will be in the freezer also. Our neighbour is getting us some ex battery hens next month so we hopefully will have more eggs from these. Things are beginning to look up despite of this credit crunch.
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Congratulations! I suspect it is Betty the Mum that laid. I love my ex batts. I've had them since September and I'm now reliably getting 2 eggs a day from 6 hens although it's anybody's guess where they will be laid. Just as well they are in a net covered run or the magpies would get them first.
Annie
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It's great to think the hens are laying after all that expense, I thought that myself after all the money I paid out but in the long run they are grate to have around, I now keep making cakes and freezing them but in the summer I will not have enough so may eventualy get some more...Well done whoever laid the egg...many more to come, Sandy
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Congratulations! You will be almost as happy as if you had laid it yourself!
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maybe the next egg will be gold!, its no yoke when their not laying this is eggsactly what you want (groans)
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It is Betty that is laying the eggs, yesterday when I let them out, she was in the corner where we have been finding them and there was another under her, so far we have had 4 eggs and they taste really lovely.
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So we're down to £75 an egg now then? ;) That's almost as good a rate as me - I got four ex batt eggs today , 2 or 3 a day for the past week now - them posh light Sussex ain't even thinking about it yet!
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Even at £75 per egg its still the best you will ever eat. (Said by one who has never dared count the cost of her eggs 20 layers 3 eggs a day, and one very satisfied cockerel).
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Egg number 6 this morning, so we are down now to £50.00 per egg, they are getting cheaper now.
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Need an envy smily :D really good going this time of year....
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We had three eggs this morning and two yesterday - four of them were Maran eggs and one a Black Rock pullet by the size of it. I don't count the Sussex and the RIR any more - I regard them as pensioners now. Glad the Marans are hitting their stride.
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Even the dear ducks have gone off lay here. Message goes out on the hen hotline "MOVE TO LE BREUIL NEVER LAY ANOTHER EGG"
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I also have some light sussex I was going to raise for the table, at what age are you going to 'do' yours? I have 4 and am tempted to keep them and put them in with my other hens for their eggs, however we get a bit overrun with eggs, very good bartering tools though. I barter eggs for both partridge and phesant, and also for wood, its great! I also have 3 Welsummer chicks I was raising for meat but am not sure what age they should go, any advise anyone?
:)
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So happily envious of you guys who have eggs.. even at £50 per egg!! I have 6 hens and 2 cockerels (one to be rehomed shortly) and never had a thing. We have a mixture including a light sussex, a black rock, an orpington x, a black rock x, a welsummer and a barred plymouth rock :'( My OH thinks this is funny... sympathetic fella he is! All our hardwork building them somewhere safe and warm to live, feeding them the best we can get... letting them run free round a chook paradise and still nothing. The day i get my first egg i will be so excited i might actually go bang! A few people have said its common for them to start laying 10 days after the shortest day of the year.... makes it about New Year... is this true? Please tell me it is!!! I so want eggs from my girls to prove to the OH it is all worth it!
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We now have had about 8 eggs, it seems to be miss a day then one two running, then miss a day etc.
The Sussex chicks were born at the end of July, they were 5 days old when we got them, at least 2 are cocks so they are going in the pot when we think that they are a good size. I didn't know age came would come into it, we thought just size.
We may be getting some ex battery ones this next week, our neighbour has a contact. Question, could we eat the battery hens, some one said that there is not a lot of meat on them, but not alot is beter than nothing, any answers or suggestions?
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Elaine, I wouldn't eat the battery hens - eat the non-layers instead! ;) (I've had my ex batts two months and they are getting quite sturdy now but they were skin and bone when i got them)
I am getting 4 eggs a day from 6 ex batts and absolutely zilch from my 3 light sussex and cockerel. I paid £1 each for the rescues and average £3 each fro the LS - no contest! I won't eatr mine but I might give them away to see if a change lof surroundings and diet starts them off laying.
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They will come into lay - once we're past Christmas and the nights lighten, they'll start.
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OK, any advance on £37.50 an egg ;)
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;D Just wait until Feb/March you will be inundated. Start searching for egg recipes now.
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Our black rocks are storming ahead! They are about 30 weeks old now and sem to need to lay practically every day. Only 4 at the mo as a chuffin big buzzard got one a few weeks ago (I know this as I was working from home & staring out of the window laughing at their daftness when she was snatched!!).
They seem to not realise that they should be slowing down for winter, much ado when one is hogging the preferred nest box and others can't/shan't/won't use any of the other boxes - dumb but fun birds as they say! :)
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:D :D Really funny , you have made me laugh so much about the ex battery hens. They have no meat whatsoever , really skin and bone and I can guarentee do not look at all appetising! I have 10 rescued from the battery hen welfare trust and they are very very special ladies indeed. much friendlier than our normal hens, under your feet the whole time! I fully think its a great thing to do and you get eggs thrown into the bargain!!
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I think we have 2 hens laying now as we are finding them in different places. I have just had one fried with some local cured bacon, MMMMMMMMMMMMMM lovely.
Phyllis does not yet know her days are numbered. ie 31st December ready for New Years Day, please do not tell her. (She is a he and crows and does not lay)
At the moment I am saying I can eat her (he), but time will tell when my raise my first forkful up to my mouth.
My Mum won't eat her as she has seen her, so I have also got some pork from my friend who has just had his pigs slaughtered, rare breed black somethings? We had some chops last week. I have never tasted pork like it, I even sucked on the bone they were that goooood!
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Must be something in the air as our 2 light sussex have just started to lay at last. Maybe it was the fact I mentioned it being xmas next week ::) anyway went out to them yesterday morning and found 2 eggs in a cardboard box that was waiting to go in the bin.... You give them a nice warm run with loads of space, nice fresh shavings and a loverly warm nest box full of straw and thet prefer a cardboard box ??? Oh well at least thats 2 laying just have to wait for the other 12 buff orpingtons and where laughing. Has anyone else had any more yet?
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well I hate to say it but my girls havent really stopped, I get 6-7 eggs a day and either swap them or have even taken to pickling them, I guess mine are a bit older than yours though as they are probably 9-10 months old now. having said that with my ex-battery hens I am down to one a day out of 10 hens, bur I am putting that down to the fact they only came out in october and it has been very cold since. roll on the spring... after last weekend we have mud mud and more mud!
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No eggs today, I still have 5 in the bowl though, I want some more by the weekend as I need to do some baking ready for next week. I must admit though these eggs are very very tasty and the yolks are a wonderful golden orange colour with very little whites.
Am I being greedy now in asking them for some more ??? ???
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Greedy no! Its why we keep them after all.
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Me too, very excited this morning to find 4 eggs all from new stock who hatched since spring. A very special birthday pressie today, they must have known!!! :)
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It's sp nice to get your little gifts, next year I want more chickens but need a better hutch as mine was both expensive and small, my three Black Rock Hens lay and egg each day but in the summer, we get busy (B&B) and need more eggs so am looking forward to getting some ex battery ones or point of lay birds... :chook:
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Sandy, register with the battery hen welfare website and you'll get on the list for rescue hens - believe it or not there is a waiting list!!! Here's the link www.bhwt.org.uk
Annie
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We have 6 ex batts coming on Saturday at a pricely cost of 50p each. We went to B & Q in Elgin today and bought a shed in the sale dept, it has bits missing including the screws etc, but we have it nearly assembled in the garage, but with a lot of modifications, it will be very palacial for the ex batts, I hope much better than what they are used to.
We have 2 laying now, Betty and Dilys so we are getting sometimes 2 a day, it does us just fine , but with the ex batts we should be getting more, but I already have orders at work for free range eggs, so hopefully I should soon be able to reclaim some of my outlay back.
We have the new shed for these to keep them separate from my hens I have already. They should all fit in the original shed once some of my cockerels are in the freezer, and the new shed will be used for some ducks.
Elaine
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I had my first eggs from my Light Sussex yesterday. They are very small compared to the ex batts though - is this normal or will they increase in size as they lay more? They are like little eggs for a child's breakfast, not much more than pigeon sized.
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Hello there,
our first eggs were small, the odd one was a little soft and then we would get an xlarge double yoker. It just takes them a little while to settle in to the laying, my black rocks seem all to be consistent now, but i am still waiting for the light sussex to start again following their moult.
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Wee eggs are normal to start but they'll soon be fullsized.
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our silky cross gang that were hatched out by a golden silkie have just started laying speckled green eggs
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Ooh, I'd love different coloured eggs - I can see me passing some of my girls on just so I can get other breeds with coloured eggs - what fun!
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I have an aracana who lays the most beautiful blue eggs, they are great ! :chook:
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Our cream crested legbars lay pale green eggs. Very pretty.
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one of our ducks (I think she's a Swedish Blue) lays greyish blue eggs, smaller than the others, but then so is she lol
I still marvel at the little wonders every morning, the Campbells have been going none stop over the winter!
I admire your calculation skills - never worked out the ratio between cost of their feed and the value of the eggs...