Eggs

[muddstopper]

Sent an email to a bresse breeder yesterday. I asked for 4 dozen hatching eggs, but I will settle for a dozen if thats all I can get. I found a list of breeders in different states and there are several around, but not in every state. One thing I found fustrating is most of the breeders dont list any contact info other than email. No website or phone numbers. Also most of the breeders are growing less than 100 birds. Some as few as 20-50 hens. When i was raising hatching eggs, I think the most I had at any one time was around 60 birds at different ages. I raised 3 main breeds but I didnt consider myself as a serious breeder, but i did manage to sell pretty much every egg I didnt eat or hatch as replacments.

 

[sean donato]

We don't heat the coop, or do artifical light. I've never seen a reason to disrupt their natural cycle when you're not in production.
We had a wild turkey once, he was great till he wasn't. Liked to chase people and vehicles. He would jump up and try to spur you. The end for him was when he trapped mom in her car. He did magically learned how to behave after a lead treatment. That was the last wild turkey we had. In his defense, he was about the best gaurd dog we every had. Didn't loose a single hen while he was around.

 

[JRM]

Bad night in the hen house. Nasty little SOB wiped out all but 1 of my egg layers.

 

[GenXer]

Bad night in the hen house. Nasty little SOB wiped out all but 1 of my egg layers.

View attachment 1240847

I haven't seen a weasel here this year.

 

[pdqdl]

Bad night in the hen house. Nasty little SOB wiped out all but 1 of my egg layers.

View attachment 1240847

So how did you get him?

... and is the pelt worth anything in your area? I've never done any fur trading, but I'm sure someone buys 'em.

https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/u...nts/wildlife/permits/dow-list-fur-dealers.pdf

EDIT: I suppose considering taxidermy would be an option, too.

 

[bucketofguts]

Everything has enough brains to tan it's on hide except a chicken and a teenager. Take that with a grain of salt. I was told many years ago by a chicken farmer. Big laying houses are a messy undertaking. I picked eggs in the late 70's and it was almost like war. That pit covered with tin we put the dead birds in to liquefy. Summers were very hard. I have been in a state of the art Laying house. Where did not even wash our hands. Now it is like going on a mission to space. Boots,white suit, foan to wash gloves hands. Step in a solution before you go in. Fancy incinerators for the dead birds. The eggs come to you. My bud has 25 girls that almost all my eggs come from. Did you know store bought egg have the day they were put in the carton. 001 is Jan the first. 365 is Dec 31 give a day or two for leap year? You need to look for 039. They were todays eggs.

 

[Stonesforbrains]

Bad night in the hen house. Nasty little SOB wiped out all but 1 of my egg layers.

View attachment 1240847

I lost all but three of my layers to raccoons. They were pulling the poultry wire loose from the run frame over several weeks at night and in different spots and getting them when we were in town during the day. I would repair the run and search for any loose areas and fix them as well but a week later we would loose another. Always during the day while no one was at home. I sat up for several nights and shot three raccoons while they were working on loosening the run wire. Crafty little beasties. I’m sure glad I don’t have any weasels in my area! The three I have left decided to start laying again a week ago, been getting about 9 a week. I ordered new birds for this year. Going with Wyandottes instead of Marans.

 

[JRM]

I haven't seen a weasel here this year.

Actually a mink, but little difference. Same family. Weasels molt twice a year and will have a lighter fur this time of year to blend in with the snow. Mink do not molt and keep the same coat year round. Mink also have webbed feet. They are more aquatic than weasels and will hunt fish, frogs, etc. Both are nasty buggers. Elusive as all get out.

 

[JRM]

So how did you get him?

... and is the pelt worth anything in your area? I've never done any fur trading, but I'm sure someone buys 'em.

https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/u...nts/wildlife/permits/dow-list-fur-dealers.pdf

EDIT: I suppose considering taxidermy would be an option, too.

My coop is all steel siding. Heavy Chicken wire buried to prevent them from digging under and in the eves to prevent them from climbing up the steel siding and gaining access. Yes, I've had problems in the past! In my experiences mink/weasel/fisher cats are hands down the worst predator to have on your hands. Weasel and mink are small enough to fit in a hole previously created by a rat with just a little fine tuning but are nasty enough to wipe out your entire flock in a single night. They don't just kill one and get their fill. They rip the heads off, drink the blood and go for the next until there is no more movement. Something about an animal flailing around in a panic that sends them into an uncontrollable blood thirsty frenzy. Nasty SOB's.

 

[JRM]

So how did you get him?

... and is the pelt worth anything in your area? I've never done any fur trading, but I'm sure someone buys 'em.

https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/u...nts/wildlife/permits/dow-list-fur-dealers.pdf

EDIT: I suppose considering taxidermy would be an option, too.

Sorry. Got carried away and forgot the question. This happened over the course of 2 nights. The first night I found a large hole in 1/2" plywood covering an old hen door and assumed he gained access there. I patched that hole and covered it with heavy Chicken wire. Thought I had it figured out, not. Open the door this morning to be met by a horrible stench (they really do stink) there he is in the corner peaking at me, 2 more dead hens laying at the door trying to get out. I shut the door and ran back to the house for the 10-22. Back to the coop I locked myself in with him and waited for a shot. He came out from behind the hen box and i put one right behind his ear. He was doing the death flop but I wasn't taking any chances so he got another for good measure.

In hind sight the hole in the plywood was his exit the first night. I didn't pay close enough attention to the evidence in front of me. He was able to gain access through one corner of steel siding that was loose. He could push his way through it but once inside couldn't get back out, so he chewed through a 10 year old piece of plywood. I fixed that area so he couldn't get out the 2nd night, and was a sitting duck.

 

[JRM]

And yes their fur is worth a decent buck. I gave it to a neighbor down the road that traps. He is on a limited income and happy to have it.

 

[pdqdl]

I'd be interested in finding out what it brings. It looks like the fur trade isn't going to ever produce another Aster. The first millionaire in the USA. Back when that much money was unimaginably wealthy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jacob_Astor

"In proportion to GDP, he was one of the richest people in modern history, leaving behind an estate worth 0.9% of US GDP at his time of death, roughly equivalent to $276 billion in 2025. This was previously popularised by Nathaniel P. Tallmadge remarking "one in every 100 dollars in this country ends up in J Astor's hands""

 

[Dude270]

Glad you got that mink. They are one of the worst when it comes to chickens. Doesn't take much of a hole for them to get in.