Chickens

 So, I'm back!  It has been a busy couple of months.  I would like to say things are slowing down, but as you get older, life seems to go by quicker.  Our farm is doing well.  We have lots of chickens and they are laying some eggs.  One issue we have is that the ones outside of chicken runs tend to lay where ever they want to.  Then, it is like Easter egg hunt.  When you find hidden eggs, you have a 50-50 chance of it being any good.  I found a nest of 10 eggs or so.  I tossed them to the chickens.  There were some that had a green color inside.  I built another run.  Soon, we will be able to catch a few more and have them in a secure spot.  With egg prices going crazy, I am glad we have the chickens.  I went to a farm store recently.  They had no chicks for sale.  They were all gone.  The price was 7.99 and you had to buy a minimum of 4.  One has to have a set up.  Chicks need heat until their feathers come in.  Then you have at worry about Pasty butt.  That is where a chick poops and it does not fully come off their body and dries up.  If it blocks their anus, it will kill them because they will not be able to poop.  Don't even try to introduce new chicks to older chickens.  I did that once.  I thought the mother chick would take it in.  She killed the chick.  The other thing people need to know is whether it is a rooster or a hen.  If you want eggs, you do not need a rooster.  You also have to depend on the store clerk to identify hen or rooster.  I guess there is a way to tell, but I have not looked it up.  I know when they are older.  They have their crow and if they jump on the back of a hen.  A lot of places do not want roosters.  They will crow all the time.  Not just at dawn.  If you decide to get into chickens do the research.