Recent content by Birdielee

I read something once that the pigment gets overlaid on the shell last thing in the egg-making process. So if it travels faster, less color is put on the eggshell. If it travels slower, there is more pigment. I have not verified this info.

I have a hen who lays eggs with thick deposits, too. Not quite as extreme as your photo though. The thing is, the same shells are weak. I attribute it to lack of calcium in my case, or inconsistency. I feed their eggshells back to them, but I’m not very disciplined about it. Since the garden...

Tractor supply sells fly traps called “trap and toss”. They work really well. You can just dump some dead flies and add more water a couple of times before you think about throwing it away.

We had 17 barred rock chicks. I didn’t do too well picking pullets out by white head spots, silver ruffs, dark legs, or chicks who run away. But when their tails grew a bit, i leg-banded all the ones with no tails. It was pretty accurate. Only one un banded chick was a rooster. All the...

I ate my australorp cockerel at 8 weeks. We used him for soup but I was very pleasantly surprised at how much breast meat he had. I thought there wasn’t going to be anything. I plucked him, right there in the garden, fresh. No scalding. it was not hard at all. My plan was to skin him...

They eat mushrooms, too. And roadkill. And their tails are umbrellas.

Awww. I had a baby flying squirrel for one night. He died, but he was so cute. I think he flew into a tree and got hurt. Super duper cute

Yeah i felt sortof dumb when I figured out she wasn’t a man. I’m not sure what photo she used when i started, but it was something else! Or I thought …she … was…. His wife? I don’t know. I was confused. Doing chicken surgery.

Squirrels are nice when you prepare them decently. My first one was meh. Not too good. Second one was really nice. Worth eating

@Overo Mare ?!!! No way! She was super helpful when i had a hurt hen. (Although I was shocked when i finally figured out she wasnt a man! I think i saw mare and my brain read male…) And i like @aart

Safflower seed comment was interesting. Ill test it out next round of ratfighting. Squirrels are useful as “other food” for predators. There’s less reason for a hawk to go for a chicken if there are squirrels at the birdfeeder

The same cockerel, with yellow arrow, at 11 days old

Cockerel on the right. Almost 5 weeks. Edited age (younger than I thought)

I guess you know by now. I expect she was a pullet. My Black Australorp chicks are about 6 weeks now. I had 12, sold all but 2. My last 2 are a cockerel and a pullet. The cockerel’s comb and wattles are RED. The pullets’ combs were pink, mild colored. He “crowed” (squeaked) at 5 weeks...

I have 5 austalorps I’m interested in sexing. What us the deal with the feet? Mine are 3 1/2 weeks