Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Hooray, First Egg From The Young Hens

Let them sit on the counter for a day or so prior to hard cooking them. Don’t boil.

Letting them sit out allows enzymes in the egg to work on the membrane between the shell and the inside, weakening it. We’ve all seen that membrane when peeling.

They will not spoil sitting out for a day or two.

How old are they - 18-20 weeks?

2nd year hens get expensive here in the winter. BTDT.

I used to keep chickens, but I started losing $ so they had to go. I found that it you take a thumb tack & barely pierce the pointed end of the shell they peel easier. It seems to break the shell from the membrane somehow. What type of chickens are they Hawkeye?

Nineteen weeks, about.

I have around 2 dozen laying hens right now, and 4 roosters, but decided I'd incubate and sell some chicks this year. I did incubate about 40, in 2 separate batches, but I didn't sell any. Will get rid of all but the breeding roosters this fall and I guess see how many hens to keep but I already know it'll probably be all of them.

Barred Rocks. First time with that breed.

I started in the Spring of 2010 with 14 Rhode Island Reds. Then, after losing some to hawks, I replaced three of them with Delawares (huge). After that, I pretty much replaced with Black Sex Linked. Got down to two of those and a rooster when I got these Barred Rock chicks. Soon after that, the rooster was hit by a car, and one of the Black Sex Linked hens failed to return to roost (presumed dead). So I was left with one Black Sex Linked older hen and the new five Barred Rock pullets. After they got old enough to start looking and acting like little hens, the older hen accepted them as her flock and took charge.

Here's the rooster that got run over a couple months back.



He was cool because he lived like a wild bird. At dusk, he'd fly straight up into the trees, and roost on the highest tree branch that still provided cover against hawks. He'd get way up there, then start cockadoodledooing till dark. Then, at first hint of morning, he'd start again, till the sun broke over the horizon, at which point, he'd fly down and wander about till I let his hens out. He'd then join them for the day.

The hens all put themselves away at dusk on the roost inside the hen house, then I lock them in to secure them from night predators. I've always found it easy to train hens to do that from pullets. Cogburn wouldn't have it, though. He had to sleep in the treetops.

The rooster he replaced was awesome, too, name of Rodrigo. He was a Black Australorp, and was HUGE. Twice as big as the biggest hen (much bigger than Cogburn, the rooster illustrated above, who was himself of substantial size). Rodrigo, due to his great size, intimidated most people.

Rodrigo died of old age a few years ago. Hens loved him. He was everything you want a rooster to be. He was super protective of the hens and would literally go hungry while the hens ate something he found in the pasture. He'd point it out to them, and they'd all come running over to eat what he found. I didn't lose any hens to any predators while he was alive. Also, unlike Cogburn, he'd always sleep on the roost with his hens in the hen house.

Here he is. You can see the very solid roost perch is bowing under his enormous weight.

We started out with 6 to have a few eggs to eat.
Now we have 24ish laying hens. We give eggs to the neighbors,trade for other goods like salsa,etc and sell a few.
We have a menagerie of breeds, Barred Rocks,Rhode Island Reds,Red Sussex,Americauna,Orphingtons,etc.
We have a 2 acre strip pit in the front yard and a 47 acre strip pit about 100 feet from the house,they sure do
wonders for mosquitoes,bugs,ticks,spiders,etc.
Thinking about some Jersey Giants next spring for meat birds.

Wow, I just remembered. My new hens are Barred Rocks not Plymouth Rocks.

That's a nice looking Rooster that got run over.
I don't have Chickens, but my Son next door here has 6,and I eat 3 eggs pretty much everyday.

Recently, a Rooster from down the road (10 years old) decided he wanted to live at my place here, I found out he was getting beat up by the other Roosters or some shyte and ran away. He would let us pick him up and would hang out with me when I was doing something, or nothing lol, pizzed me off when a Raccoon got him.........theres a couple dead coons.

Most of mine were White rocks, & a few barred rocks. I think they're relatively the same. My neighbor had white leghorn & they laid like crazy til winter, then shut down. The Plymouth rocks lay all year long just a little less in winter.

Oh that's cool.

My experience has been that my hens (regardless of breed) would lay all year the first laying year, and after that from late December through late September, then no eggs October, November, and most of December. But I'd usually have accumulated about six dozen to get me through that period, assuming I didn't have any first year layers in the flock that fall to carry me through.

I got Rodrigo from a neighbor who had two roosters who were always fighting, too.

Only have meat birds now - Freedom rangers. Far better than the CornishX.

Killed 20 this past Saturday. Chopped the head off my 8 pound cock, I did.

Back before meat birds were a thing, folks usually just slaughtered their extra roosters, once full sized, for the dinner table.

Can’t imagine why anybody would want him dead.

My neighbors loved him. They asked me when I was going to get another one to replace him. Working folks, I guess.

PS I still hear rooster crowing at all the correct times, just a little more distant. Lots of people around here maintain flocks, to include roosters.

Clearly.

The driver wasn't a neighbor. One neighbor witnessed it, and reported it to me. Just someone being mean spirited. Can you account for your whereabouts at that time, Deflave?

I would never run over another man’s COCK.