What are the white things that hang off an egg yolk?

So before we being lets get some idea whats in the egg! Egg yolk is basically a bag of concentrated food for the development of a chicken embryo if the egg is fertilized. It doesn’t float around freely inside the clear egg white, but is anchored to the shell by two little twisted ropes called chalazae (pronounced cuh-LAY-zee), and these are the white things you are talking about. One chalaza connects the yolk at the more pointed end of the egg and the other at the rounder end. This tethering ensures that the yolk is protected against hitting the inner walls of the egg if the egg is moved around.

A lot of people pick these things out when they crack an egg, but they are quite safe to eat. They can also tell you something very useful. As eggs age, these structures start to disappear, so clearly visible chalazae are a good sign your eggs are fresh.

You can also see the spot that could develop into a chicken as a little white region on the yolk which is not one of the chalazae. This is called the germinal disk. If the egg were fertilized, it would have genetic information from the mother hen and from the rooster’s sperm, but it wouldn’t actually be rooster sperm. Anyway, most chicken eggs are unfertilized.

Some people wonder why chickens keep laying eggs that aren’t fertilized. The way to understand this is to realize that humans ovulate once a month, and that happens regardless of whether or not the egg will be fertilized. Chickens are similar, but they ovulate about once a day and then push the eggs out of their bodies.

This article taken from here.

FLIGHT: The Genius of Birds - Embryonic development

Know Your Eggs!

Eggs and air bubbles

[This is a post taken from this page]

This morning I put some eggs in a pot of warm water and I noticed a faint whistling sound, as though from the worlds tiniest teakettle. When I looked in the pot, I saw tiny streams of bubbles coming from some of the eggs:

This is just one of the bubble streams. Of the five eggs in the pot, I think four had bubbles coming from them, and on one of them, the bubbles came from three spots — literally. These fancy brown organic eggs occasionally have tiny dark spots on them. After a minute or two, the bubbles stopped.

My first thought was that they were nucleation sites for air bubbles to form, like a little scratch in a beer glass, or one of those spots in a pot of boiling water where bubbles keep coming up from. But the water wasn’t even close to boiling — it was a mix of a little leftover water I had just boiled for coffee, and maybe four times as much cold tap water, so it was merely warm.

My second thought was that the fancy organic eggs had tiny little holes that let the air out of the air pocket. On the spotty egg, the bubbles came from the top, bouyant, side of the egg, which seems to confirm this theory. But on the other eggs, like the one in the picture, the bubbles came from the underside, which isn’t where the air pocket is. I also thought that if there were holes so tiny that I couldn’t see them, air bubbles wouldn’t come out that quickly, if at all. But then again, maybe the warm water caused air inside the eggs to expand and push out of any tiny cracks. Still, that wouldn’t explain why they came from the underside of some eggs.

Back to nucleation: maybe it can happen even without boiling water or carbonation, with just aerated water from the tap? After all, there are a lot of little air bubbles visible on the surface of the pot and on the eggs.

One way to test these theories is to take eggs that have “run out” of air bubbles and put them into a fresh pot of water to see if they’ll emit bubbles again: if they do, then that rules out the tiny hole theory, leaving nucleation in aerated water as the best explanation. To be tested another time…

Update: Instead of actually testing this, I used the power of the internet to find out the answer. Eggs do indeed have lots of tiny air holes so the chick inside can breathe. This is probably one of those facts that, as children, we learn, and as adults, we forget.

Have you hugged your chickens today?

This has such AWEEEEE!

And I have indeed hugged my chickens today ♥

Saddles for Hens

Back in 2012, one of our new baby frizzles didn't have any feathers on her back.  She was getting quite the sunburn!!! Now, chicken saddles are mainly used for when roosters start hurting the hens during breeding or as a hawk deterrent with certain patterns on the saddles!

These can easily be made as long as you have some fabric, elastic, thread , and a needle!
Be careful of what kind of material you use though~ as some may make the chicken too hot. (So steer clear of dark colors, thick fabrics, and plastics)

I used some simple cloth for my saddle. I cut out two pieces and sewed them together. Then I added two elastic bands to cross across my hens chest to hold it on her.

However... she did manage to wiggle out of the saddle I made her. It was my first attempt but it stayed on her long enough for her feathers to grow back! :]


So if you have roosters hurting your hens, have a threat of hawks attacking your flock, or your hens need protection from the sun,rain,or snow: Consider making one of these for them ;]


Oh!! I almost forgot! If you are interested in making a saddle here is the outline I used :] Pretty straight forward!

Chickens are so messy

We have them get in paint, glue mouse traps, mud, and everything else!

Hatching Eggs | Farm Raised With P. Allen Smith

The Hazards of Backyard Hens!!!!

Sick Chicken: 1/31/2014

The details!

So I removed about 3ml of fluid out of the hen's abdomen.

I pulled the needle out and the fluid kept flowing out!!!!!

I panicked and kept wiping up the liquid but it wouldn't stop, it kept flowing all night.

I kept changing her bedding and kept a heat lamp on her most of the night.

By morning, she had lost about ALL of her weight.....

Good news though!!

She is like 100% better! 

She is breathing great, she's lost like all the fluid (I was worried her body would go into shock from such loss) and her legs are not straddling anymore. She's even pecking other hens and hopping up on some of the roosts.

I have her outside at the moment but she will be back inside tonight!


Before/After Videos

Informative Links

Check out these websites I found some helpful info on!!

• DO YOU HAVE A HEN WHOSE ABDOMEN FEELS LIKE A FULL WATER BALLOON?

• WHAT TO FEED YOUR CHICKENS?

• Poultry Show Tips on raising chickens

01/31/2014 • Can chickens eat THIS?!

Smilax - Photo by Ken Moore.

So today I caught Bo jumping up about 1 foot in the air to nibble on some berries hanging from a vine.

Thinking they were poisonous I freaked out and quickly took them away!

Come to find out they are not really that bad of a berry! :D

Thank goodness!

Here's the info I found out:

"The fruit stays intact through winter, when birds and other animals eat them to survive. The seeds are passed unharmed in the animal's droppings." 

"Besides their berries providing an important food for birds and other animals during the winter, greenbrier plants also provide shelter for many other animals."

"An extract from the roots of some species – most significantly Jamaican Sarsaparilla (S. regelii) – is used to make the sarsaparilla drink and other root beers, as well as herbal drinks like the popular Baba Roots from Jamaica."

( Pictures and information Wiki )

So can Chickens eat this? YES.

Sick Chicken: 1/30/2014 *Graphic*

1) What type of bird , age and weight?

This is what she looks like. Possible a Rhode Island Red (?) We do not know how old she is because she just showed up at our house one day (she is AT LEAST a year old though), her weight was the same as other hens, but now she is VERY heavy from the liquid in her abdomen!

2) What is the behavior, exactly.

Hasn't been laying eggs, waddles around.

Is perky, eats, drinks, and poops normally.

She clucks and coos from time to time.

When she is moved or startled her breathing gets worse (E.G. She can breath with her beak closed or wide open and straining her neck)

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?

She has been like this over 2 weeks now.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?

I have had other hens like this and they died. She is the only one like this right now though.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.

Prior to me bringing her inside she only had the swollen abdomen.

Now she has a small split in her back end. (not sure if from the syringe hole, a rooster trying to hop on her and mate, or if ripping from the liquid build up)

I have just put some Betadine on this cut.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

At first, I thought she might be EGG BOUND. I felt for an egg- Did not feel one-, lubed her up, and soaked her in Epsom salt water and massaged her belly. So I am not sure if she is egg bound or if something else.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.

She has been drinking some water and a little olive oil I added to it. She has been eating cracked corn, starter feed, and laying pellets mixed. I have also let her snack on some bread and gave her about 2 Sardines.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.

The poop looks normal, maybe even a little dry?

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?

I have soaked her for 30 minutes in Epsom salt water- about 5 times so far.

​Used a small Insulin Syringe to remove some liquid- about 200cc removed.- not much.

I have lubed her vent with vaseline.- felt my finger inside her for egg- felt nothing.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?

I feel like I can treat her myself. 

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use

I currently keep her inside, in a box, with newspaper on the bottom. She has a heat lamp I turn on above her. And 24/7 feed and water.

Notes:

I recently bought five 21g x 1.5 3mL Syringes I plan on using to remove more liquid. I feel like its causing pressure on her lungs and that's why shes breathing so bad.

Are these okay to use? I worry the needle is too big :[

I wanted to use a catheter on her but worry that will be too uncomfortable for her..

Rooster's Time out!

What happens when you have a lot of roosters?
Yeah, they fight.
Annnd go in "Rooster Time Out"

Rooster Time Out!

The two behaved so they got let out!

Sick Chicken: 1/25/2014

1/25/2014

So it has been a few days and my sick little hen has had 2 more Epsom Salt spa baths. I have noticed she has different stages of breath:

• Closed beak
• Slightly open beak
• Wide open beak
• Wide open beak and heaving chest. 

This all depends on the fluid build up pushing against her lungs and/or the stress of moving her.

Anyways, I have decided to try and remove the liquid in her abdomen myself! I was given some insulin needles, they are very tiny but it was a good start for me.

After her last soak, I dried her off, and let her cuddle up to me. She buried her head on my lap and I began with the first needle. She did flinch but I don't think it hurt her. The liquid that came out was a clear/ brownish fluid. I was hurried to use the other 2 on her as well because she started to close her eyes and her breathing got very bad!

I used the last 2 needles and got 100 units cc full of liquid out of her, no blood!!! 

( I'm not sure if those measurements are right but that's what it said on needle barrel)

So I did it! She survived! And we will do another liquid removal when I get some more needles :D

I'm going to try and get some bigger barrel needles though, these hardly got any liquid out...

Although, I would like to add on a happier note:

She is doing WAY better!!! She has been breathing with her beak closed and still is very alert and eating!

On a bad note, she had a clear liquid draining from her all night.. I don't think it is from the needle holes I left, they were very tiny.

Perhaps she had water in her vent? Or was passing some liquid inside her?

Not sure...

I will update with a new post when something changes

Sick Chicken: 1/22/2014

1/22/2014

Today marks the 2nd week I've been treating a sick hen of ours.

I think she is unable to pass an egg; it's stuck inside her and causing her to swell with fluid, making her become very heavy, and hardly able to walk. Or it could be something else..
(Tumors or Cystic Oviduct)

Pros:
She is eating, drinking, and going 'potty' all normally.
She's been eating sardines (for calcium) and olive oil (to help her digestive flow).
She can waddle around and clucks to you.


Cons:
She doesn't move around too much.
He abdomen is VERY swollen.
You can see her opening her beak and breathing heavy.
She hasn't laid an egg in a while.


Okay so for the gross part:
Many sites have suggested that you... Lube up your finger and feel inside your hen to see if there is an egg inside her. This also helps lube her insides to help pass an egg if there is one stuck inside her.

So I have done ..that *points up* It was super nasty and so far I have done felt for an egg 3 times... But no luck, no egg...
Egg bound help sheet

2013 Baby Chickens Sunbathing

The daily life of chickens:

Eat, Sleep, Eat, Dust Baths, Eat, Sunbathing, more eatting, and laying eggs/ crowing.

This is my 2013 batch of babies Sunbathing ♥

Our Chicken House

First off let me say, My mom is AMAZING! She build this all by herself!!!
Here are the pictures of the chicken house being built- Enjoy~

The Flock: Roosters

We have a lot of chickens, like 45+ chickens. Just to give you a slight idea..

• 1 is our oldest hen from a batch of chickens long, long ago. Shes like 2+ years old! - Momma Chicken
• 12 are from my 2010 batch I had at my Dad's house.
• 12 are from my 2010 Mom's batch she had at her house.
• 12 are our newly hatched babies ♥
• 10 are from our March 2012 batch.
• And the rest are chickens we were given or that just showed up at our house!!

We almost had 60 at one point but we gave a few away, a few died, and a few disappeared. They all have their own names, and we actually have a list of them all!
Anyways, I thought I'd post picture of my roosters first since we have few of them (well less than hens haha)
We also had 3 roosters, who we no longer have:

1. Diablo
2. Speckles
3. Sour Pea

Willie (white Frizzle)

                                                      Re-Re/ David Bowie (black and white Poland)

KFC  (giant white Plymouth Rock)

Jonathan and Nathan (red/black/brown Cubalaya)

Bo (White with brown and black spots Plymouth Rock/mix)

Billie (white Frizzle)

Lover Boy and his Twin (black Cochins)

Dizzle (black Frizzle)