January 28th
Another slow egg collecting day! But we did get 9 chicken eggs and 1 duck egg! I’m sad to say that it was possible that there were actually two duck eggs but one was probably smooshed and then eaten by the ducks/geese. But hey! I got one!
I probably check on chicken eggs way too often! By 1-2p I had only gotten 4 eggs! I was appalled after being spoiled with 10+ for a few days in a row! Haha I’m an ungrateful chicken keeper!
Did some chores around the house, outside, and did a lot of cuddling with kitty and squeakers today. The gucks got new water in their pools and fresh bedding in their hut. So far the ducks have been laying in the hut prior to be let out for the day!
Tried doing some research to figure out which breed of turkey we’d like to add to our farm. Need to do more research on how exactly to care for them and make turkeys work at our place, but I like the idea of a smaller breed called “Midget Whites”.
Candled 4 dozen eggs in preparation to sell! We have three people at Dan’s work wanting eggs tomorrow. Only have to sell 7 dozen eggs to cover a bag of feed...
January 29th
It was a beautiful day today with a 62f high temp! It was pretty windy, but man was it warm! The sun felt amazing! We got one duck egg and ten chicken eggs today! Today the duck laid after 8am but before noon (ish).
The rogue layer decided to lay somewhere new because Dan ruined her rose bushes. Haha so she decided to lay under the wagon thing. I could list off at least 7 other places that would have been way better... ah well, at least I found it! Haha
The little huntress.
Squeakers found a dead bird today, which really surprised me to be honest. Mostly I was surprised hat she was the one to find it and not Koodge or Dutch, or even the chickens! It had been dead for some time now. But still, really surprised at least Koodge hadn’t been found eating it. Ha, nope, just little old Squeaker lady. I joked that since her hearing and sight isn’t great, maybe her smeller is on point! (Sorry for the icky pic I’m not sure why I feel completely compelled to share it. It’s just part of my life I guess).
January 30th
Didn’t get any blue eggs today even though there were Easter eggers in the nesting box today! Hmm. I think one is trying to go broody. But I’m not ready for chicks!! I need a bigger coop first! Lol We got one duck egg and 11 chicken eggs today! I’m wondering when the quail will start laying...
I realize I don’t give much camera love to the geese and ducks, but that’s because the geese mostly try to bite me. Ha. Jerks. Don’t they know who feeds them?! Mostly husband, but really, me too! Haha
Today the winds were coming from the north and west directions... they were cold winds! How completely different than yesterday! I hate when that happens. The soon to be full moon mist have been messing with the birds because Crossbeak the rooster tried attacking me today. He doesn’t do that! Not usually the one I have to keep an eye on! The bestie came over today and he fwapped her right in her boots! We all were surprised! He didn’t hurt her, but he’s also never seen boots before? Then the white rooster tried getting her too! But once we turned around he stopped in his tracks and tried wooing her instead?? Crazy day with the chickens!
Benji boy played with, then at a spider today! Good boy! Haha
January 31st
Well we got one duck egg and I think ten or nine chicken eggs. For the month of January we got over 200 eggs! We’ve sold 7 dozen eggs to Dan’s coworkers. And our eggs are costing us a little under 68 cents each. Haha shrug
The white rooster and Crossbeak rooster have been high strung the last few days. White rooster actually tried attacking me! I must blame the moon because this isn’t typical behavior!
Did January feel about 5 months long to anyone else?? It was awful. I am so glad it's over!
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- January Week 4 - Part 2
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I noticed you had chickens, ducks and geese. Have you had them for long? Is there one that you prefer over the others?
Hi! I have bobwhite quail too! I most prefer the chickens myself but of no real basis for it.
The geese are jerks and try to bite me all the time. The ducks are fine, they’re pretty funny. The quail are really easy to care for.
Anything specific you’d like to know? I’d be willing to answer based on my experience!
I’ve had chickens for a year now, the geese and ducks since late spring 2017 and quail since summer 2017.
I'm just curious. I have a little bit of experience with chickens but not with any of the other fowl. I'm trying to decide what to start with when we get the homestead set up and it's good to hear different opinions.
The Bob White Quail are a larger variety?
I guess it all depends on your goals and what you want from them. Haha. We didn't know, so we were trying them all out kind of.
Bobwhites, it really depends on the variety. I got them cause they're native to parts of the US - and because a friend of mine was selling them. I don't recommend them personally because they take just as long as chickens to mature and start laying eggs. So I plan on getting the Jumbo Coturnix this year. The Coturnix mature at 6-8 weeks and lay then as well, where the Bobwhites can take 20+ weeks, just like chickens. So I don't feel they're super sustainable for what we want (eat/sell eggs, eat meat - though we haven't harvested any yet). But they're easiest to care for, in my opinion.
The ducks and geese... I guess husband isn't a fan of duck/goose meat - though I haven't tried it myself. Our ducks didn't start laying until either the end of last month or the beginning of this month, though they were old enough maybe in October/November. I find ducks to be funny, but am unsure if they are a great fit for us because they love their little kiddy pools and water. They make holes in the ground, which is annoying. They love mud. The geese and ducks are good at lawn mowing though, so that's a plus. Haha. But they are messy messy and they eat more than chickens.
Wow thanks for all the information!
I definitely will be avoiding the Bob Whites, the Jumbo Coturnix Quail sound like a good option though. I have heard of them before but I forgot what they were called.
I think from what you have said and my other research I will probably start out with chickens. I have some experience with them already and they lay a lot of eggs if you get a laying breed. Ducks have a lot of attributes I like but I am not sure how I will care for them and give them water in the winter, it is frozen here about 5 months a year...
There is a reason chickens are so popular I guess.
We had to get a heated water dish for them, we have only 4 ducks and three geese so this works out decently enough. But the frozen water does suck! They miss their kiddy pools! Haha
I like your daily chicken blog! Fresh eggs are the best. It's so difficult to make any money selling eggs anymore. If I were local to you I would pay top STEEM for a dozen of those beautiful eggs! @ironshield
Oooooh! Hahah yeah we’re not trying to profit from it - just trying to cut costs. We’re getting $4/doz, selling 7 dozen covers a bag of feed! Haha
Aw, look at that precious photo of Benji! Your sky photos are beautiful too. You got over 200 eggs for January? Way to go! I remember when you got your first ones. And I am so happy that you have buyers for them. The candled eggs were so interesting to see and to read about. Yes, January didn't seem like it would ever leave!
Benji is so cute. Hahah I miss him being a kitten tho. :( Haha.
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