LFG

Hey Petee, how many eggs are you getting? My girls still aren't in full production yet, but I'm getting two or three a day from eight young girls, and the color is getting darker. The eggs are also gaining a little size. For anyone interested, we started a new website for the farm this year. It has pictures of some of our other birds, and the "about us" page kind of tells the story of how we got into the chickens in the first place. I'm going to post the link, but I'm not sure if Steve allows links to other websites on this site. Steve, if you need to delete it, that's fine. If you Google "Magnolia Marans" it's the first search result. https://www.magnoliamarans.com/

Yeah, at those temps I'd worry about frostbite before I'd worry about throwing off their sleeping cycle. A red light wouldn't bother them as much, but would use a much higher wattage. Have you tried putting petroleum jelly on their combs and wattles, especially the roosters? That's pretty effective. We've been in the teens here the last few nights, and a couple of my boys are even showing signs on the tips. The few shows we do have here are the opposite, they usually do them at the end of summer or early fall, and even in October temps can be well into the 80s. That's a pretty warm day in the barns

Oh yeah, I forgot about the dates. Isn't it something like 1400 degrees below zero up there right now? Have you seen The Empire Strikes Back? You know that scene where Luke Skywalker slices open a Taun Taun with his light sabre and crawls inside to stay warm? That would be me in the cattle exhibit

Took some new pics of the breeders this weekend. The first pic is Petee's nieces with the blue rooster to make blue chicks for this season, the last 3 are the parents of Petee's birds

If there were any attraction to bring me to PA, that would be it. I would absolutely love to see an Ag show with that many exhibitors. There are rural parts of SC, but the Ag shows here are severely lacking. You have to go to TN to even start getting into the big time chicken shows. I could spend days walking round a show like that

Here are last week's eggs before they went in the incubator. The regular sized lighter ones are first year layers that won't molt this year, it will be spring before the color comes back. The XXL, darker eggs are second year layers that came out of molt about month ago

Are you guys in the northern part of the state? I have a friend in northern WV that breeds Pekins, but that may be too far of a drive

Yes, that's the other thing, the eggs are very heavy for their size. People always ask me if the white, brown, blue, and green eggs taste different. The only ones that taste different to me are the black coppers. The yolks are so rich, and the whites are so thick and firm. They are fantastic for baking

I can't help you there, we don't get below freezing much, and rarely below 20. I'm thankful I don't have to deal with the lows y'all do. How often do you clean the floor of your coop? I know that you know about composting and the heat it gives off. I clean my coops once a year, in the spring. I start with 4 inches of leaves and grass clippings, then add as it gets soiled. That layer of compost on the bottom of the coop keeps the temps warmer inside, but I don't know if it would combat the cold you see

That's great! That's very typical of my girls' first eggs. See the darker flecking all through the egg? After a few months that pigment will even out and that will be the color of the egg. I may have mentioned this before, but I liken it to a paint booth that isn't fully functional yet. By year two, many of those eggs will be so large that it will be hard to close the carton over them

I have some early Christmas babies hatching this weekend. I always sell the most chicks from December-February. People that are actually breeding are stocking up for the next summer. I don't ship, so I have a woman driving down from east TN after Christmas for a dozen chicks, about a 3&1/2 hour drive. You've got some good stock there

Those pistachios add a ton of flavor. Sometimes baklava can be too dry, but this isn't at all. I gorged myself on the caramel corn. My fingers are tingling, and I can't feel my left foot, but it was worth it

That was incredibly sweet, Petee, thank you. I love baklava, and that is a very good one. I know that's not easy to make. Now, the caramel puffs (I don't know what you call them) are to die for. One of my absolute favorite flavors in the world is caramel popcorn, but I'm not wild about the popcorn. I've never had puffs like this, they are one of the best things I have ever eaten. LFGal might not hear about these That was very thoughtful, thank you.

I gave you the PO address at work, it doesn't open until 12. I just sent one of my guys to get the mail

Oh really? I'll keep an eye out

How in the world did they teach her to do that? You can see something stuck to the keys, but no way to control the sequence

I used to do that when I had a small flock, but now I just dedicate a section of the winter garden to the chickens. It's easier here in SC Kale seems to be the biggest hit. Ok, this is very typical of one of my Marans' first eggs. Almost round, and not that dark to begin. You can see the darker flecking, and as they get older that becomes the color of the egg. They will lay nice and dark through the end of March, then they start lightening up gradually until the fall molt. Some of my molters have started laying again, and I'm getting some of my darkest eggs of the season.

At my site that would be my decision and mine alone

Oh, I wasn't rubbing it in, I was just letting you know you may get some soon. That's my first egg from 6 girls. Usually after the first egg the rest will start laying within a couple of weeks I had to buy eggs at Thanksgiving. So emasculating

Hey Petee!!! Got my first egg pic won't upload from mobile, I'll get it Monday

Hey Steelnut, this recipe is from the Orion site, so cook times would be different on a traditional smoker, but this has been my favorite rib recipe Hush Yo'Mouth Baby Back Ribs Contributor: Lizzie Powell - Atlanta, GA Serves: NA Calories Per Serving: NA Preparation Time: 1hr 30 minutes Difficulty: Easy Ingredients: • Baby Back Ribs (1-6 racks) • Cayenne Pepper (1 tsp) • Orion's Dry Rub Garlic (2 cloves) • Apple Cider Vinegar (1 cup) • Salt (to taste) • Ketchup (1 cup) • Mustard (5 tbsp) Cooking Instructions: Remove the ribs from the package, rinse, and pat dry. Apply Orion's Dry Rub evenly. Affix the ribs to the rib hangers and place in the cooker. Then, fire up your Orion Cooker and cook for 1 hour 15 mins*, or until done. Best if cooked with mesquite chips. Barbecue Sauce (optional): Mix vinegar, ketchup, and mustard until it's a light orange color. Add the cayenne pepper, garlic, salt and Tabasco sauce to taste. Apply before and after cooking.

Can't wait to see what goodies from DooBwa My Marans' first eggs are a little lighter than the adults, but still darker than average and often speckled. They are also less oblong. I really hope we get some soon

No eggs yet, Petee? This is driving me crazy, we're at almost 7 months now. Combs and wattles are nice and red, I'm really expecting them any day now, but still nothing. My first year layers always lay a few straight through the winter. It can't be the weather, either, it's been in the 60s and near 70 here for the last few weeks. Some of my 2 year olds have even started laying again after the molt, beautiful chocolate eggs. I keep checking in hoping you've gotten one...

I think Steve will forgive me for this one quote. That is the public statement link, but the report itself goes into much, much more detail. I don't know if it is publicly available, I can't find it, so I'm not going to post it, but someone who knows how to scour the internet may be able to find it As far as my remark about contamination, that is why I edited your post like I did. Not before, but after...

I was provided a copy of that report. Due to past accusations, I'm not going to break it down here, but there are many, many things in that report that the lawyers will have a field day with. To the locals, I would be asking questions about contamination...