Monday, April 5, 2010

Too Big!

Remember when I told you that I had Maggie up on the stand and she fell/jumped off? On Sunday I really cut back on the feed for her so this morning she was really wanting her grain. She watched me put the grain in her food bowl on the stand and she just cried and cried and tried to get back into the stall with JuJu who was eating her grain.

I then took her and led her to the stand so that she could jump up on it and she started to tremble and struggle against me. I ended up putting her bowl on the lower part of the stand and sat next to her while she ate there. I will try that for a few days till I try again to get her up on it. She is getting very big with child.

I will need to also get JuJu used to getting back up on the stand. She's bigger then Maggie! I am wondering just how am I ever going to milk them. This is their first time to have babies and they have never been "touched" in that way! JuJu will let me put my hand on her udder but Maggie gets very offended when I try that with her.

On the chicken front. Still no eggs. Can you end up with chickens that just don't lay eggs? My friend Kellie and I did a little Cochin chicken research and they lay about two eggs a week. I wonder if they might be laying them outside?

11 comments:

  1. You could try keeping them inside for a few days and see how that works.

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  2. Poor Maggie, maybe she is a nervous mother?

    Can u leave your chickens in the coop until about noon? I think most chickens lay in the morning...

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  3. Hi Krissy... hopefully your does will settle down after they have their babies.

    I wouldn't let my chickens out until noon and most of them would lay before that time. I have also had chickens that never laid even after they were over a year old. I suspect they were culls and I should have put them in the stew pot.

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  4. Maybe that's why the lady sold them at the animal market. She knew which ones didn't lay and thinned out her flock. Too bad about the goats, I hope you get them back to where they need to be or you'll be getting your milk from the goat lady again.

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  5. Darn, I guess this means I won't be buying any eggs from you in the near future.

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  6. Here's farmer Tim's advice: only feed goats grain on the stand. Then they don't have a choice.

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  7. I will do that in a few days. It's kind of like "Don't pick up a crying baby" Easy to say, but hard not too!

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  8. I like farmer Tim's advice and hope your chickens weren't that gals culls.

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  9. Strange that the girls don't like being "touched". My little half-pints don't really care and none of them were handled much at all before me.

    Contrary to what Annie said, most chickens lay in the late morning/ afternoons. It's not unusual for mine to lay after 5pm.

    You *just* moved them. The hens will be a little stressed and that will effect the laying rate. I'd give them another week before you worry. And yes, look around and see if they're laying outside. Also, put a couple plastic easter eggs or golf balls in the nesting boxes. That will help the ladies figure out what they're supposed to do where.

    Check their combs and waddles. Better yet, send me a good picture (close up) and I'll tell you what I think. The comb and waddle should be a deep red color if they're in laying condition.

    Another possibility is that they're young enough that they didn't start laying before last winter. In which case, give them a little bit of time yet if they're young. Chickens won't start laying over the winter and winter production slows WAAAAY down unless you keep them under lights, which I don't like to do anyways.

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  10. oregonsunshine said... "most chickens lay in the late morning/ afternoons. It's not unusual for mine to lay after 5pm."

    Mine almost always laid by noon, rarely did they lay later. I think perhaps it is different for different chickens.

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  11. Different for different chickens makes sense. I don't have cochins. I have what seems like a good chunk of the most common breeds and grew up with several others. But perhaps it varies by the individual?

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