Brown Egg Science

It all started when Mary noticed that brown eggshells are not brown on the inside. I looked into this and found brown eggshell color is a polygenic trait (Many genes have been proposed to account for the wide range of brown eggshell colors). The brown pigment is primarily on the outside of the shell and you can even scrub it off with warm soapy water and a kitchen scrub pad. Eggshells are not brown through and through. This is only surface pigmentation.

Where the brown genes are on the chromosomes and how many there are, is not known. There is a sex-linked gene that inhibits the expression of the brown eggshell genes (it may be that Leghorns have this gene. Leghorns seem to have an ability to suppress brown eggshell color when you breed them to a brown layer.)

We have read conflicting reports on egg coloring and age. Some indicate egg color lightens with hen age. Other reports indicate eggshell darkening with age. It may well be that both are correct depending upon the hen and its particular genetics.

Care of Baby Chicks

When we first started with chicks we did a lot of reading to try and get some of the basics down. This list is a good starter.

FOOD

Use a high protein chick starter feed for the first 8 weeks. We made sure ours was not medicated feed since we dont want to be eating antibiotics with our scrambled eggs. Put the feed in troughs low enough so the chicks can find and reach the feed easily. Never let the chicks run out of feed. After 8 weeks you can use grower feed.

WATER

Provide chicks a gallon waterer for each 50 chicks. Chicks are thirsty when they arrive in the mail. A taste of water right away helps them to seek more water right away. Most baby chick loss is caused bacause the chick doesnt start to eat or drink. Never let chicks run out of water.

HEAT

A drop light with a 75-100 W bulb will work - hang as many as you need no closer than 18 inches from the floor. If too warm raise the light higher. The temperature should be 90-95 degrees for the first week. Reduce the temperature 5 degrees per week until you reach 70 degrees (which may or may not happen in this part of Texas). They shouldnt need much heat after that. Large heat lamps might be a good idea if you encounter very cold conditions. By the way, they recommend a night light for chicks too.

SPACE

Try to provide 0.5 square feet per chick at the start. A draft shield can create a perimter to contain the chicks. 50 chicks require a circle about 5-6 feet across. 100 chicks will need an 8 foot circle.

DRAFT SHIELD

Corrugated cardboard 12 inches high encircling the chicks helps reduce drafts. Be sure the circle is big enough to allow chicks to get away from the heat lamp if they are over heating. With wide temperature swings you have to watch the chicks a bit closer.

LITTER

Sawdust or wood shavings make good litter. Sand, straw and dirt will work but not as well as others. Put the litter all over the floor at least 1-2 inches thick.

REAR END PASTE

Sometimes stress in shipping cause the manure to stick to chick rear ends. Remove this daily by pulling off or washing off with warm water. Chicks thankfully will outgrow this. If birds are droopy use a sulfa drug in the drinking water.

DUCKS AND GEESE SHOULD BE RAISE SEPARATE FROM CHICKS AND TURKEYS

NEVER MIX QUAIL OR OTHER GAME BIRDS WITH CHICKS

DUCKS

Baby ducks will drown in water if left unattended. To be on the safe side do not turn out ducklings into ponds until fully feathered.

Training Wheels

A friend asked why ceramic eggs are deployed in nesting boxes. to answer this one first has to realize the fact that hens peck at everything - especially new things. We want to make sure their first peck on an "egg" is not fruitful. If hens find the contents as tasty as we do, we will have a problem on our hands.

I guess the easiest way to explain it might be to say ceramic eggs are sort of like training wheels.

Flip Flops

Mary took great care to make sure her toes were painted. She doesn't usually go for the gaudy or flashy nail colors - I am sure it was a subdued tone. She tries to look nice and take care of herself.

She didn't think anything of walking across the pasture this morning to feed the chickens in her flip flops until she opened the chicken coop's old red door. She is always greeted by pullets eager to express their fondness with a peck and some poop.

This time she was not disappointed in their rush of affection. Those shiny colored nails dangling there on her toes through the flip flops was an overwhelming hit with those birds. The pullets rushed her with bruising speed and laid some rather painful pecks on her feet and legs.

Thankfully she survived to tell the tale and all is forgiven.

But probably not forgotten.

PS
Mary wanted me to add that shorts and chickens don't mix either.

First Egg

Most folks never realize the first eggs laid by pullets are small. It stands to reason, but it is an obscure fact - great to share at parties if they are really dull. Matilda #78 is probably responsible for the smaller egg on the right. The larger "egg" on the left is ceramic.

Our pullets are 4 months old now - we suspect that within 3 -4 weeks most will be laying.

Mary where did you send the kids' shoes for bronzing?

Egg Freshness Test

This chart from Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens is great for determining egg freshness - regardless of source. The older the egg, the greater the air cell which will increase egg buoyancy.Have you ever wondered if significant difference exists between eggs of free ranging hens vs supermarket eggs? While I don't presently have hard data to argue either point, I can attest to the superior texture and taste of free range eggs. Freshness while significant, is but one factor affecting egg quality.

#78 comes of age

#78 aka Matilda, a Black Australorp pullet is the first of all pullets to have matured to the point of exhibiting mating behavior. Her comb and wattle are a bit more pronounced and reddened than her sisters at 3 months 21 days of age.

Earlier this week while feeding we noticed Matilda falling into a nesting position when touched. Today I picked Matilda up when she fell into this nesting position. After placing her back onto the ground she violently shook every feather on her body - from head to tail. This photo was taken about 10 days earlier.

These postures are a bit misguided towards me - but instinctive nonetheless. It is fair to note the presence of these behaviors in maturing pullets do not demand the presence of a rooster.

We don't have a rooster but egg production does not hinge on the presence of a male. In fact eggs are produced at the same rate with our without a rooster. The only difference is that with a rooster a certain percentage of eggs would be fertile.