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I just wondered if there is anyone on this board that actually ends up MAKING money at raising animals. So far we are going in the whole on our chickens and ducks. We had planned on buying some cattle this Spring along with a few goats. I'm just wondering if we can make any money off of them. Georgene

The problem is that I don't know which hens are pecking at the eggs. They don't eat the hole egg they just peck a hole about the size of a quarter in the top of the egg. I'm going to try and put curtains up like you suggested. It's worth a try! Thanks Georgene

OH, Sis! Can I please get the recipes for these when you get a chance. Chocolate Pecan Pie White Chocolate Pecan Pie with Cranberries Apple and Cranberry Streusel with homemade Caramel Sauce I don't visit this website weekly so could you email me when you post them? georgene_girouard@yahoo.com Thank you so much! Georgene

We moved this summer and have been in our new home since July. My hens are still not laying but maybe 2 eggs a week. (I have 8 hens). Plus, if we don't get out to get the egg right when they lay it they will peck the top off the egg. Do you think they are missing some ingedient? We give them laying pellets and scratch plus scraps plus they have grass and roam in a pretty large area. Any ideas? It's too expensive to feed these chickens and not get any eggs for it.

Did your friend say how well it cleaned her clothes? I wonder what this comes out to costwise? Blessings, Grammy G

What does the vinegar do? Hugs, Grammy

Is Puff Pastry the same as Phillo dough? Your recipes sound wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm wondering how much cider vinegar I would put in a bucket of water? Well, the hen healed and I let her out. I've checked on her for a few days and there seems to be no fighting. Another weird thing is that we are getting hardly any eggs this past month and when the hens do lay by the time we go get the eggs (we gather them daily), we find the top of the shell has been pecked so we can't use the egg. What would cause this? I thought maybe they need calcium so I started throwing them oyster shell but the pecking still hasn't stopped. Is this behavior something that happens when they moult? (sp?) Georgene

I let my hen out and she seemed to be doing fine. I went back the next day and she was a bloody mess again so back in the cage she went. I remember last year these two hens did the same thing. I'm going to find a good home for one of them. I just can't figure out what these two have it in for each other. They were from the same batch of chicks. They are in a very large area. Thanks for the help! Georgene

I found one of my hens with a bloody head last week. I thought maybe the rooster did it. I put her in a large cage to let her head heal. Tonight I let her out of the cage since her head had cleared up. When I turned around I realized that one of the hens was fighting her. I had to take a second look because it looked like two roosters fighting but I know they're not because they lay eggs. :-) So what's up with that? Blessings, Georgene

Do any of you live in California? And if so, how are you preparing for a hard winter? We rarely have severe weather here.

A stocked pond sounds neat but we are near a marsh and there are lots of mosquito eaters. I wonder what type of things would deter mosquitos? Hugs, Georgene

Hello! What part of what state? (For safety's sake, make it general! ) - We live in middle of California. Mild weather. What's there now? (what kind of plants & trees, is it clean farmland or a former dump) - It's bare land. There are blackberry bushes to the west and South but that's it. What do you and your family like to do? (garden, raise animals, watch trees grow) All of the above. What's in the area? (near a city with a farmer's market, farmland with people who might want eggs & chicken, etc.) - We do have a Farmer's Market about 30 minutes away and there is farmland all around. There's so many wonderful choices! Fresh vegetables and/or herbs, longer-growing low-maintenance crops like pumpkins, egg production and/or meat chickens (Cornish Cross are ready to eat in about 6 weeks!), goats (certain ethnic groups want goat meat, if you can stand selling them!)... and so much more! - I couldn't bare selling animals to eat even though I eat meat. Dh and kids want to raise cattle to eat. I'll have to stay 'unattached.' I have chickens, ducks and a goose right now but only for eggs. So, I probably would only want to raise things (like Nubian goats,etc. ) for milk. Do your homework and see what IS there and what might be your *niche* to fit into. _Okay. We've been trying to keep our eyes open. We may move a mobile on the property to rent out, too. We could get 500.00 a month for that. Give me more info & I'll help! _ Thanks so much. We're packing today so I'll check back tonight. Thanks, Georgene

Hi Ladies, I'm wondering if you gals have any ideas how you would use 10 acres to either support yourselves or bring in extra cash? The water table is VERY high so it's going to be challenging as far as raising crops or tress, but not impossible. I've heard that most use drip systems instead of irrigating. We really only have 6 usable acres since our home, shop, kids,etc. are on the other 4 acres. Sure would love to hear your ideas. Thanks, Georgene

Hello ladies! We'll be moving to our 10 acre parcel we bought back in January. We need to build a chicken coop. I'm pretty sure there are coyotes. We're also not far from marsh land so I'm not sure what comes with that territory. Any ideas how to make a coop coyote free? Thanks, Georgene