Chickens and eggs, beautiful eggs!

pularvik

Active member
Jan 2, 2011
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About a year ago I started a thread about raising chickens for eggs but there was not much response. However, one of my friends became very interested and today we each have a few chickens and get the most marvelous eggs!
Her chickens are confined to a coup as she has big dogs, mine also have a coup but once they spent a month in there they are now free roaming. They are fed and watered in the coop and lay their eggs in the nesting boxes there. She has 11 hens and no rooster. I have 11 hens and one rooster (my gardener says the hens are happier and the rooster is estatic!)
With food and care these are the most expensive eggs we will ever eat! But once you have experienced fresh eggs from happy chickens you will never touch those unrefrigerated stale eggs with thin white shells again.
 
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malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
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I agree.
I too have them in a huge coop ( maybe 20m x 6m ), nesting places, hospital/isolation units ( wait to u get to know the mokio and ciwella-----please note I have no idea how it is written ), other fenced in part for ewly borns and their mothers, other pen for the xtra roosters ( or they fight all the ti e ).
A bit over a year ago, 5/6 hens and a rooster. Now a 100+ in all stages of devolpment....... quite a handful.
Meat and eggs are plentiful. 15+ eggs a day. Eat the roosters.
We love it !!!!!
The dogs are happy, lots of meat ( modongo, heads, bones.......).

P.S. watch out for totally free roaming chicken as they will eat ANYTHING. Often next door's chickens come and eat the dog poops ( erhhhhh.....).:bored:
 
May 29, 2006
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They go for the fly larvae in the poop. Some good videos out there on making "chicken tractors." Chickens can forage in open bottom cages about 20'x20' , but you have to move them every three days or so.
 

tommeyers

On Vacation!
Jan 2, 2012
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I live in Santiago
One of the causes of thin shells is DDT. In India where it is permitted I found very thin shells. Here where it is not legal i find some thinness so I am speculating that it I'd still used. In the US thick shells.

Please describe the color of the yoke.
 

pularvik

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Jan 2, 2011
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The yolk is deep yellow and stands high. The shells are brown (the hens are all dk brown or black). The shells are very thick compared to the white ones available in the stores/colmados.
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
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The yolk is deep yellow and stands high. The shells are brown (the hens are all dk brown or black). The shells are very thick compared to the white ones available in the stores/colmados.

You can find crellola eggs in colmados, ie the darker ones compared to the white ones....... but much more expensive ( well everything is relative :paranoid: ).........
There was so much demand for my eggs that I stopped giving them away ( less molesta, no jealousy.......) and believe it or nor, they make for great visiting gifts....:bored:
 

WillsonCori

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Jan 28, 2015
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Filjpino eggshells are also very thin, I never thought about it. They dont withstand the squeeze test
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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personally i am not into animal husbandry. it's bad enough that i bake own bread and make cheese with further plans for hams and sausages. but my FIL has few farms in the area and occasionally we enjoy the benefits of fresh eggs, milk, meat and veggies. i've had eggs from ducks, geese, chicken and guinea. all excellent.
 

WillsonCori

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Jan 28, 2015
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Yeah theyre quail eggs. I havent ever tried thek but theyre very common and well liked. Weirdly, mostly on bus rides.
 

chic

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Nov 20, 2013
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i've had chickens(ha) most/long time...my last foray was in santiago...
first build a coop...lumber, nails, wire ,:ermm: feed brother of wife...and cousin . buy wood etc....then buy fence posts and 100' of wire...staples, oh yeh, gate costs also...then the chicks. actually forgot what/where purchased cost etc..but want chics. maybe 50 of them ..first had to buy starter food.....special trips every two weeks...then i found out to go to the produce mkt and tip a guy there to fill up 6 bags of lettuce /cabbage leafs...to put in my (car)/ acting like a truck...buy the sacks....etc...lost the expensive dog cage for airlines because wify thought it was good for water...////then when we got eggs it was never any for sale...she (wify) couldnt grasp the concept of feeding them at 6pm so they wood all be in the coop...and eggs there im morning...no my neighbor figured that out...he made a whole in fence and 5-10 ladies would sleep in his yard...lay.eggs there and then come to my place for breakfast lunch and gabbing with all their friends...
finally the neighbor made an offer on all of them...lock stock and eggs...good thing i wasnt counting my pennies...
but even today i will screech my brakes and pull over, pay rediculous prices for fresh eggs.....chic chic chic...
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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Gald to read this.

I brought the subject a few years ago with my main man...
he said it wasn't worth the trouble...... food, sickness, etc

BTW, he says the same thing about rabbits

Glad I missed that bus....
 
May 29, 2006
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It's all about economy of scale. Ten chickens and everything is expensive. Ten thousand chickens and the costs are :::cheep::: :)
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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yep. like my bread baking. i hear all the time that i should sell what i make. ummm, nope. i use high quality ingredients, lots of them imported. i pay 225 pesos for a 5 lb bag of flour, minimum. spelt/rye/oat flours are even more expensive. now, if i had enough money to start a panaderia i could import large sacks of flour and price per pound would go down.
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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South Coast
yep. like my bread baking. i hear all the time that i should sell what i make. ummm, nope. i use high quality ingredients, lots of them imported. i pay 225 pesos for a 5 lb bag of flour, minimum. spelt/rye/oat flours are even more expensive. now, if i had enough money to start a panaderia i could import large sacks of flour and price per pound would go down.

Yeah, 225 pesos a bag IF you can find it. I gave up. Don't laugh, but I shipped down 50 pounds of wonderful bread flour that I buy at Sam's Club. At 4 cups of flour for each loaf, it goes fast.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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Yeah, 225 pesos a bag IF you can find it. I gave up. Don't laugh, but I shipped down 50 pounds of wonderful bread flour that I buy at Sam's Club. At 4 cups of flour for each loaf, it goes fast.

preach, sister. miesposo scans few supermarkets in SD every time he goes there. recently i saw king arthur flour in la sirena. over 400 pesos. god help me. we may end up getting big ass bags too. i'm a bit concerned about storage though...
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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South Coast
preach, sister. miesposo scans few supermarkets in SD every time he goes there. recently i saw king arthur flour in la sirena. over 400 pesos. god help me. we may end up getting big ass bags too. i'm a bit concerned about storage though...

I have a zillion plastic containers here, large ones with good seals. When we open a 50 pound bag of rice, or the 25 pound bag of flour, it goes right into them and gets sealed. If I had a big freezer, I'd put them in there, but have never had an issue - at home I put the flour into 2.5 gallon ziplock bags and throw them in the freezer, but here some critter would undoubtedly get into a plastic bag in record time because no room in my little freezer.

The big bags are so economical - we pay about $8 for 25 pounds of commercial bread flour, and the mundanzas ship them outside the boxes for free. We wrap two bags together with the stretch film.
 
May 29, 2006
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One thing I'll bring down are a bunch of Gamma Seals. These are lids you put on food grade five gallon buckets that twist off easily when you want to get to the contents and are essentially vermin proof(rats could chew through the bucket eventually). I bought a dozen lids a couple years ago online for around $6 but you can also get them at Home Depot for about $10 each. I use one now for 25 pound bags of my professional baking flour(GM Superlative). Fits perfectly inside without having to take it out of the bag. They would also be good for beans, rice, etc..

Amazon.com : The Gamma Seal Lid, White : Pet Food Storage Products : Pet Supplies

GAMMA SEALS WAREHOUSE DIRECT. GAMMA SEAL LIDS
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
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I agree.
I too have them in a huge coop ( maybe 20m x 6m ), nesting places, hospital/isolation units ( wait to u get to know the mokio and ciwella-----please note I have no idea how it is written ),

Malko your spelling cracks me up! mokio methinks is mosquillo which is distemper or pip in chickens - like a cold really, and I assume by ciwella you mean viruela which is small pox. We vaccinate our hens against the latter. We now have 5 different coops as Him Indoors is now breeding fighting cocks although doesn't fight them - sells them. By the way - it is criolla - meaning free range in this case. We still get eggs, although I can't eat any of the so called 'quality' ones as those get sat on to make chickens. This is the latest batch which was moved into the study yesterday as it is apparently too cold outside.

5ums1e.jpg


Matilda
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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buy some quale eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are really great!!!!!
Just boil for about 5 minutes.
Cool under running water, and peel right away!
The yolk to white ratio is high, so you get a lot of yolk!
I can eat a dozen, still warm with a little salt.
Haven;t fried any yet, but I will!
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