Chicken laid its first egg

[Darklyte27]

the winner is the Ameraucana *tan chicken* which lays 4-5 a week green blue eggs.
the other two will lay large brown eggs about 5-6 a week

[ElvenSoul]

So did you eat it?

[Darklyte27]

haha not yet! well eat it tomorrow night, ill take a pic of the yolk and compare it to costco eggs.
this egg is smaller of course but its going to be packed with a lot more protein and healthier.

[Dubious_Beans]

Awww, you must be a proud papa. Congrats on your first egg!

I had a nice blue Ameraucana egg with my breakfast this morning. One of my moms friends has a couple of Ameraucanas in her flock.

[xgi1991]

Originally Posted by Darklyte27

haha not yet! well eat it tomorrow night, ill take a pic of the yolk and compare it to costco eggs.
this egg is smaller of course but its going to be packed with a lot more protein and healthier.

awesome, the first are always small, they will get bigger though. We find that the blue/green eggs taste better than the brown and the store bought whites

[chris]

are you going to have ham with that since you have a green egg?

[Dubious_Beans]

Sam!
If you will let me be,
I will try them.
You will see.

Say!
I like green eggs and ham!
I do!! I like them, Sam-I-am!
And I would eat them in a boat!
And I would eat them with a goat...
And I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They are so good so good you see!

So I will eat them in a box.
And I will eat them with a fox.
And I will eat them in a house.
And I will eat them with a mouse.
And I will eat them here and there.
Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am

[spetsnaz]

any problems having chickens in the winter time??

[Darklyte27]

Pretty proud, took a few days of work and my uncle helped me put our coop together.

for info mypetchicken.com

there are many types of breeds, some do well in cold weather ie snow. some do well in heat.
the ones I got do well in both. Just got to make sure they have plenty of water and food. You dont need a rooster for eggs, you can get chicks for 2-3$ each at feed stores only during certain part of the year. I have a small yard so I built a 5x8 chicken run thats all covered with chicken wire to protect them from predators and then a 3x4 coop for them to go in at night.

Some lay a few eggs a week some lay more.
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-...aucana-B5.aspx
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-...alorp-B14.aspx
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-...sland-B97.aspx

[Darklyte27]

heres when i first started back in May

[controlled_burst]

Hmm...Guess we now know which came 1st.

Congrats!

CB

[Darklyte27]

[xgi1991]

Originally Posted by spetsnaz

any problems having chickens in the winter time??

not at all, chickens are very hardy birds, the only winter problem we have had are coyotes but that is nothing a 12g can't fix

[Dutch3]

Congrats on your first egg! A definitive moment, for sure.

Here is our first egg back in June.




This one was the smallest we have seen, from another hen that started laying a couple of weeks later. Perfect in every way, although a bit on the small side. Tasty!

[rooster85]

I can't even remember the last time I ate store bought eggs. Get yourself some barred rocks, great layers and they're dual purpose chickens.

[ElToro]

they get bigger as they start to lay. dont worry. also when they first start to lay, double yolkers are common
my kids have eaten a backyard fresh egg everyday of their life since they graduated from formula. Funny thing when they recently stayed overnight at my moms, my 4 year old said "Grandmas eggs dont taste like our eggs"

you location says Eastern Bay area, Livermore feed downtown has good prices and i like to make a mixture of a bunch of seeds and corn in a 5 gallon bucket to feed them for a treat on top of their layena. throw them a handful or 2 every day or so. they also love pumpkins. get some cheap after halloween and crack one open for them. it will be gone in a day.

My easter egger ( americuana) is our best layer. the cuckoo marin has the best tasting eggs.

[chknlyps2]

Originally Posted by spetsnaz

any problems having chickens in the winter time??

I am over 4000 foot elivation and once in a while we get winter cold spells in the high teens, the chickens fluff up and roost together and stay warm. Just gotta keep the coop closed up to cut down on the drafts.

[mcmikeblues7]

I AM SO JEALOUS THAT i LIVE IN AN APARTMENT
I'm gonna go back to tending my spice garden

[Darklyte27]

I go to Concord Feed, they have a shop in pleasant hill and livermore too.

I feed layena and chicken scratch. the scratch is a mix of corn and seeds.

[rromeo]

Originally Posted by spetsnaz

any problems having chickens in the winter time??

Not really.

[ElvenSoul]

I heard in San Diego you can keep chickens in the city.

[Darklyte27]

So our home was broken into if you havent read already Tuesday morning around 10am.
you can read more about it here http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=635355

otherwise, we got another egg Tuesday, and one today Thursday.

So far its only the Americauna with the blue green eggs.
Astralorp and rhode island red isnt laying yet.

3 eggs in 4 days not bad, about to eat it tonight ill show pics like i said.

Doh wife cooked the eggs before i could take a pic.
the eggs were smaller though ill get the next one.

[Darklyte27]

we got another today, thats 4 eggs in 5 days from the easter egger.
safeway vs our own

[DavidR310]

I did read that and am sorry to hear that. You should put something in your sig line about it.

[Dubious_Beans]

4 eggs in 5 days sounds really good for this time of year.
Nice "army green" color.

What size is the safeway egg? Large?

[Dutch3]

Originally Posted by Dubious_Beans

4 eggs in 5 days sounds really good for this time of year.

Yes, they do drop off in production as the days get shorter. Some people add extra light to simulate "summer days", but I just collect the eggs every day.

Anywhere from 1 to 5 eggs per day, I don't really care. We eat them all.

[bruceflinch]

I didn't know the OP was a good ol' Midwestern boy like me..

[meaty-btz]

my god, 2-3 a chick? I have been out of chickens too long. We used to get peeps by the rack, 10-20 for what.. 20 bucks? Lose about 4 peeps per rack, the rest were hardy and were good layers.

[Darklyte27]

Safeway dozen large whatever the grey carton are.

Bruce I guess you could say that! and a "realist"
I think I tend to be logical and for good reason i think.

All we have are 3 different breeds.
the black and reddish one are suppose to lay up to 5 a week but havent started yet.

the tan color one should do 3-4 a week

[ExAcHog]

Congrats!!!
I fondly remember when we got our first egg. That night the kids actually begged us to fry it up and all four of us tasted it!
Good for you guys.....

[Darklyte27]

Late update, about the beginning November while we were out of town my mom whos staying with us found our Rhode Island Red chicken dead in our yard. No sign of blood or anything. She said she heard some noises at 3am but didnt see anything. We had left the run open.

She was the one that was sick for a bit and we recovered her with meds and electrolyte drink. She was fine for a month after the recovery.

Quite sad but thats how it goes.

[Mitch]

Sorry to hear about that Darklyte. My brother keeps chickens and they are like family members to him. When you go into the coop and sit down they jump up on your lap and compete for attention. Really surprising. A lot of personality, too.

[Sanderhawk]

My chicken is also a family member. She lays 3 eggs about every 4 days. I have them for breakfast. I always say She always makes me breakfast but she will never be dinner

[jeffrice6]

So ready for chickens..... My only concern is how much attention do they need? Can you "set it & forget it" or do they need constant watching (As in predator control) ?

[kcjr1125]

AWWWW MAN I WANT CHICKENS SOOO BAD!
i have dual back yards at my place both separated by fences. i was thinking of having a chicken coup in the top half and my doberman in the second half.

DO you think my dog would destroy the chickens? you know eat them?

[Mtn folk]

Originally Posted by kcjr1125

AWWWW MAN I WANT CHICKENS SOOO BAD!
i have dual back yards at my place both separated by fences. i was thinking of having a chicken coup in the top half and my doberman in the second half.

DO you think my dog would destroy the chickens? you know eat them?

I have 4 jack Russell's. 2 don't bother chickens at all while the other two are efficient killing machine. Not so much about the breed, but luck of the draw I guess. I keep them seperate. Hawks and coons give my birds trouble though. Especially the seramas.

[sargenv]

We're still waiting for our 6 to start laying.. There are right at the age that they should start laying.. We have 2 each of Black Star, Americauna, and Rhode Island Reds.. The dogs don't pay the any attention other than the chickens seem to freak any time the dogs run or walk past.. likely just a startle response.. We go to Concord feed too.. We use the organic feed and organic seed mix.. We find that when we let the free range, they like to nibble on the grass coming up in the back yard.. so they are doing a fine job keeping the weeds at bay.