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Post by brownrexx on Mar 23, 2015 17:43:00 GMT -5
No that is definitely not true. These eggs are gathered the same day they are laid and no development can have occurred. It an egg is fertile you can possibly see a white spot on the yolk called the chromosome disc if you look very close but the casual observer is never going to see that. The eggs do not taste a bit different either, fertile or not.
I do know that blood spots can occur as the result of small broken blood vessels near the ovaries when the egg is forming. Possibly my rooster is liking to play rough? I had him last year though and never noticed this problem.
I may take some time and investigate the Backyard chickens Forum and see what they have to say.
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Post by ncgarden on Mar 23, 2015 18:11:13 GMT -5
Yes, I have had more than usual also
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Post by mrsk on Apr 2, 2015 9:32:51 GMT -5
I think they are called meat spots, and will not hurt you. Use in baking if you want. Usually they go away, and I think your weather may be stressing them a bit.
Yep that is him, isn't he pretty. I am hoping Butter will go broody soon, I have high hopes for a speckled flock that is mostly orange/red/yellow in years to come.
Mrs K
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Post by mrsk on Apr 2, 2015 9:38:52 GMT -5
So yesterday morning, I head down to the girls. The coop is at the top of a hill, where the bottom of the hill is a crick. It gets great updrafts , and I often see eagles and hawks hovering overhead. I noticed one on my way down.
As I am done with my chores, I am deciding if I will let them out, I look up and there were 12 golden eagles, all hovering above me, some so close, I felt I could almost reach out and touch them, in reality, they were probably 15 feet off the ground. It was perfectly silent, they hardly flapped, just swirled and floated in the sky, hang gliding.
I left the crew locked up. I love watching the eagles, but I am not buying them lunch.
Mrs K
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 2, 2015 17:10:55 GMT -5
What a beautiful sight but "everyone likes chicken" so it's good you kept the ladies indoors. Cooper hawks are what has gotten a few of mine but none since we got the rooster.
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Post by ncgarden on Apr 2, 2015 17:36:15 GMT -5
So far no hawk losses this year, although my daughter brought her dog over and he took out my Rose (the most beautiful hen I have ever known, a black orpington). No blame to the dog, but my daughter knew better than to let him off leash (he is less than a year old and has not quite gotten the message).
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 2, 2015 18:48:38 GMT -5
Oh, what a terrible loss NC. I'm so sorry to hear that. I know how attached you become to your hens.
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Post by lisaann on Apr 3, 2015 12:04:49 GMT -5
I finally make it to the chicken chat, and what do I read:
Rose is gone! Dang............. sorry.
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 3, 2015 16:08:10 GMT -5
Not only that - Red went to chicken heaven today. She looked kind of lethargic yesterday but we thought that she might get better if we just left her alone but today when we got home she was standing in the outside pen all alone in the rain. She looked awful so hubby helped her along to her final rest. I had to go into the house and hide.
Bye Red, you were a good hen!
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Post by Veggie Gal on Apr 3, 2015 16:30:36 GMT -5
So sorry about Rose and Red.........
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Post by ncgarden on Apr 3, 2015 18:11:57 GMT -5
Oh no brownrexx - not you too! Since I continue to mope about Rose, I will add Red to my list of reasons to cry quietly and you can go on about a normal life knowing I'll take care of the grieving. I wonder if this is part of getting older - I do not ever remember being this morose in my younger days....
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 3, 2015 21:49:51 GMT -5
Thanks NC. Red was probably our favorite along with the little banties that we have had for about 5 years. She really had a personality and actually seemed to like us too. I will miss her.
Still it's easier to let them go when they are ill than a sudden loss like Rose. Sorry for you too.
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Post by desertwoman on Apr 3, 2015 22:07:08 GMT -5
oh no, BR. She was quite the hen.
RIP Red
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Post by OregonRed on Apr 4, 2015 8:47:33 GMT -5
red was the rescue one w/ the trimmed off beak ?
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 4, 2015 9:24:57 GMT -5
Yes, that was Red. We used to feed her right out of our hands and she just scooped the feed up. Her lower beak was intact, just the top one was trimmed. She always just dove on the food but hubby told me that 2 days ago she stopped being so excited about eating. Yesterday she looked really sad with her tail drooping and just standing out alone in the rain.
I don't know what happened to her. She had no obvious signs of disease or injury so I guess that it was just her time. She avoided going to the soup factory by falling off a truck and had almost 2 good years of living here and getting to free range and be happy.
We will miss her.
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