First layer.

Penelope wins the race

So penelope has won the race for my first layer for my new maran trio. Her first egg is a new brown color with darker spots of brown on it. Im hoping it will darken up a little more but this is her first eggs so we shall see how dark it gets.

Penelope

Storing your fresh eggs.

Storing those eggs.

How do you store your eggs? Well did you know that fresh eggs do not need to be refrigerated. A large majority of countries do not refrigerate there eggs. Eggs can sit out on the counter for weeks if not months at a time if your house doesn't get to hot, and they aren't washed. If you was your eggs after collecting them then you are rinsing off the protective coating the hen puts on it as its laid that keeps bacteria out of the egg. If you do this then you will need to keep them refrigerated so that they do not have the chance of becoming infected with something harmful.

I find that many chicken keepers, whether hobbyists, breeders/showers, or just for fresh eggs keep theirs out on the counter or in the pantry. If you do this it gives you the opportune chance to use a decorative basket to store your eggs so that your guest can admire them. In my questioning i learned that some that do keep them out will usually put them in the refrigerator during the summer so they do not get so hot. I like to keep my eggs in the pantry in cartons and after 2 or 3 weeks if i haven't sold them i will put them in the refrigerator.

Those that refrigerate there eggs usually do it cause they were raised doing so, or the whether forces them to do so. Extreme heat can cause the eggs to spoil faster then usual. It can also cause the eggs to start developing if left at a high enough temperature for to long. Sometime they refrigerate just out of habit. I asked a close friend whether she refrigerates or doesn't and why and her response was " i do it out of habit". 

Then there are the hatching eggs. They are usually keep them out for 5-10 days on the counter some use turners some turn by hand  and then start up there incubators. These eggs are not washed since the incubator is the best place for germs to thrive in and they will spoil your eggs. I keep my eggs in the pantry and turn them several times a day. If i'm not setting my eggs after a week then i will moved them to the eating carton. 

The USDA recommends refrigerating your eggs because it helps prevent salmonella from infecting the egg but if the egg is already infected with it then you would need to cook the egg completely and for those of us that love to eat eggs sunny side up will think again and that also means no more eating cake batter or cookie dough, (not like any of use do). If you know where your eggs are coming from and know how those hens are feed and treated then there is no need to worry. It is true that refrigerating eggs will keep them fresher for longer but eggs left out on the counter are good for a few weeks to months depending on conditions. If you have eggs that are sitting out for longer then a few months then i think you should start selling your eggs. 

Where to go for helpful chicken keeping advice.

Where to go when you are in need of helpful advice.

Have you ever been in need of advice and not sure where to look for it? Are you just looking for a place to talk chicken with other chicken enthusiasts. Or have you ever just been curious about something and not know where to find the answers or who to ask? 

Well there are many places you can go to find information and answers to those every day questions and comments, if you know where to find them. I started my expedition in chickens with only a box and i had many questions. After spending 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there, 10 minutes here over a few days i came a cross the website backyard chickens, http://www.backyardchickens.com/. You can surf this site for free and you can register for free. There is unlimited amounts of information from peoples experience and people can be very helpful. They even have a section in there forums where you can talk with others in your area and most areas even have meet ups were you can meet up and talk with people in person and just talk chicken. 

If you are on Facebook there are also groups created for poultry keeping. Since i'm located in California i belong to California poultry people. We post about issues we are having and people help us out, we share pictures of our birds whether they are show birds or just a nice pet to have. It has a wide array of people from those that show there birds and those that keep them as a hobby or just for eggs. There is one downside to these groups on Facebook. There are some groups that you will need to be added to by people in the group. So if you don't know anyone in the group you might have an issue finding a group. CPP (California Poultry People) is a private group to stop people from joining it just to spam it with things that are completely irrelevant to chicken/poultry keeping. For those of you that are in California and are wanting to join CPP the you can contact a few people to join. You can contact me through my Facebook or you can contact the CPP admin and creator Tricia Olvera.

There are also the ever so helpful blogs people create with amazing information and tips on everyday chicken keeping. One day i hope to get my blog to such a point where i have loads of information that people can just search through it to fine helpful and much needed help but at the moment its not there. But there are other amazing blogs, like Feathers on the ground blog where she talks about keeping poultry, Nigeria Dwarf Goats and much more. Also I love watching for Kathy's new topic on her blog. (http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com ) There are so many exciting things going on on her blog you could never get bored. She does decorating idea's for your coop to keep it looking exciting. Ideas/recipes on cooking, home decorating, crafting and much much more. Not only does she have her blog but she also does give away events that are never items that would couldn't use/need. She also likes to keep us all updated on how her flock is doing and what new clutch of eggs freida is getting to hatch since she always seems to be either sitting or raising chicks that are the size of her.

And finally there is Youtube. There are many users on youtube that vlog about there experiences and there day to day life. One of my favorite channels to watch is Michiganshowpony, who talks about homesteading and the little things she does that make life simpler and trick to keeping her animals healthy and entertained. 

So the information is out there if you just sit down and spend the time to search for it and be patient, sometimes the first site us not the best one for you. As a word of advice, i suggest that before you have any emergency need for someones help, spend some time to find a site that you like so when the time does come that you need urgent help, it will be all that much quicker. 

Storing your feed.

Best ways to store your feed.

Do you leave your feed out just in a bag? If you do, there are some things you should know about doing so. Open bags that are not in a sealed container invite rodents, pests (which will feed on it causing a lose in feed which makes you have to buy it more often) and if out in the weather will get wet and moldy. I like to store my food in a metal trash. It keeps it away from pest and rodents and and it stays out of the weather. Metal trash cans start in the high twenties and go up from there but if spending the money you are saving money in the long run. If you get a big enough can you can store two 50lbs bags of feed. I like to store one scratch and one layer crumble. 

I do not suggest using the plastic cans since rodents can easily chew through them and then your feed bin is damaged and the money you spent on it was just wasted.  

There is also the method of storing your feed in the feeder method which many people also do. The build a feeder with a large storage unit on top so the feed comes out as the chickens eat it or they will use a big pvc pipe with a curve at the end and a small section with a whole cut in it. The feed goes in the large tube and slowly comes refills the small section as the hens eat it. I think the PVC pipe is a great idea but the large feeder i think can lead to a lot of waste if its placed to low since they can kick out a lot of the feed and it will just keep coming out. If you want to do more research on type of feeders google has tons of pictures of peoples own inventions on how to store and feed there chickens. Hope this will help you out and get you thinking on if you are storing your chicken feed in the best possible way that fits your needs and liking's best.

 Feeder with a large feed holder.

Picture courtecy of BYC user with details on building one.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/homemade-wood-chicken-feeder

A type of PVC feeder with a try on it instead of a bend.

Picture courtesy of fowl Vision

http://www.fowlvisions.com/?p=633

New beginnings.

I found myself at the beginning of this year, back in southern California close to my family and friends. So i figured what a  great time to start a new. I am looking for a new job, rebuilding my breeding plans for my birds and those to come.  I knew i was going to be getting a lovely wheaten marans rooster from my cousin who is getting out of chickens, but little did i know that she would be calling me two days before she was going to come and drop him off, saying she also had some hens from the same lines and that i could have if i wanted. So of course i couldn't pass that up so the day came and i got my lovely new trio of wheaten marans. So now the new project is wheaten marans.  Since my hens are starting back up laying and im starting to sell eggs again i figure what a great time to start up a website. Now people can come to it, to see what is available and whats not and when it should be.

So here is for a great start for the 2013 year.