It is time tfor you to stop all of your crying

May I take a moment and not snivel about this winter?

I don't have a two car heated garage. In fact I have no garage period. I SHOVEL my driveway when I feel like it. It's 80 ft. to the house. I don't have a running snow blower. It's another 300 ft to the pole barn. I don't bother shoveling that!

Since Dec 1st, we've celebrated Christmas and new years. We have celebrated 3 birthdays at least, w/ another tonight. My 87 yr. old mother drove 20 miles through a State of Emergency (foolish!) after the worst storm of the season.

I installed a pull down stairway and insulated my attic. The chickens are laying a LOT of eggs. No complaints there.

Business wise we are getting some work done: One full roof replaced, building a pole barn, servicing our customers, stopping leaks and estimating jobs.

Oh wait.........we did NOT watch the Super Bowl. But I have spent quite few really good hours home schooling the Joe & Sam.

WinterFest at Camp Topeeneepee was a really good winter morning. A very sparse turnout. I hope they did not stay home & snivel...... We also Did a sledding adventure at Rogers-Lakewood.

Along with a trip to the museum we took, I am ready to go bowling! I suppose I'll start some indoor activities come spring time........

Did I mention the Christmas Party in Bremen? They had more snow than us! And yes........ my 87 year old mother went

B)

I prefer that chicken to Pantera B)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgeWxYyY1HY

Yolk color is another example of aesthetic quality that has nothing to do with health, nutrition or safety: it depends on the hen’s diet. Yellow-orange plant pigments known as xanthophyllis affect yolk color: hens eating yellow corn and alfalfa meal lay eggs with darker yolks than those eating white corn, milo, wheat or barley. Yolk color can be enhanced by adding marigold petals to feed. Interestingly, yolk color is like shell color in that different cultures have different preferences.

This is from the following link: http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/7-5/determining_the_quality_of_backyard_eggs/

I got me a weasal in the live trap last year. Crazy animal.

We've had 3 different chicken breeds......yellow Buff Orpington, & black ones last year and now the brown ones. Same eggs I think. Maybe it is a breed thing on the yolk colors Mike. IDK. Restaraunt and grocery store eggs sure seem yellow and pale.

I do know there is a difference in feed. We have a feed mill here in town. I bought a bag there that was not organic feed. Just chemical/ hormone free. "Larry" said the organic I had been buying 5 miles up the road could not be had for $15 / bag. "Larry's' was cheaper, but I don't think he had the right information.

We like our birds out & about too. The biggest threat is our own dog. I think he got four of our 1st flock. I think a hawk snagged one and maybe one by another predator.

The chickens themselves killed 3 of each other.

We were losing some capons (castrated roosters) one year, and could not figure out how. There was a "rat hole" in one corner of the barn. Finally put a trap in there. Knew there was no way anything big enough to kill a 12-15 lb chicken could get in there..... Caught a weasel. No more dead chickens after that. If you've never seen a weasel in real life. They is tiny, but wicked critters.

I've often wondered if the deeper colored, and richer tasting yolks is a function of the chicken, or the feed?

I've never had leghorns, all my layers have been brown-egg breeds. I can't imagine that the feed I buy at the store is all that different from the feed they get in the laying houses.

To me there's something romantic about chickens in the yard. My wife thinks I'm nuts. Especially when they start coming onto the porch and pooping all over the place.

I found some interesting stats recently. A productive hen will lay a min. of 250 eggs per yr About 20 dozen. Chicken feed about $30 per yr.

So if the eggs are worth $3 a dozen (?) you'd be a head before other expenses caught up with you.

Obviously this is not something we do for the money.

However my free range eggs have such deep orange color in the yolk. Store bought organics are not even close, almost as yellow as the chemical laced bird eggs

Exactly.

I had some other parallels to his post, but I'm still bitter about not having fresh eggs.

I built my coop 3 years ago, has about a 9/12 pitch roof. I put titanium on it and there it sits today! I had planned on splitting my own wood shakes to install on it, which I've never made or installed before. The cedar log I had turned out to be rotten so I tried oak. I gave up two shakes in.

How did a nice thread about living with winter turn into a discussion on eggs?

Squirrel!

I know a guy who started with chickens recently and he went and bought a yard shed to put them in. Great Idea!

I built my coop w/ pressure treated lumber and plywood. Paid 2 guys to build it. So I ended up at about $1,000 plus change when i figure in the run.......mostly leftover items, but I did buy some fence.

Yard shed is a real good idea

5 eggs hah, a mans gotta eat! I have two on toast ALMOST every day.

Yea I've been seeing a mangy lookin red fox around. I hate to kill a fox. I have a trail cam now though, so when we get more I'll be doing some surveillance. Also, I didn't close up the house every night and the pen wasn't exactly tight either. I like a free rangin yardbird.

We just decided to use a 8x16 shed I have to grow 30-40 meat birds this spring. This will either be awesome or horrible.

So you need to stop a predator?

This is a new flock we got late summer flatbed. We did not expect any eggs until spring, then-VOILA!- they started trickling out. Now it's a flood. Good girls!

I had 5 eggs for breakfast today. Is that wrong? :dry:

I wish mine were laying eggs. They stopped in November, then something invaded and took all 10 of them in a matter of a week.

Glad your winter has been action packed, but I'll bet your ready to get back to the daily grind. From what I gather, we didn't miss much on the Super Bowl. The usual ass slappin.