Farming Friends

There are two ways to check if an egg is fresh.

1. A fresh egg is heavy because none of it’s moisture has evaporated through the shell, so if you put a fresh egg in a bowl of water it will sink to the bottom. A less fresh egg will rise in the water because of the air in the shell and a stale egg will rise straight to the top. A stale egg does this because so much of the moisture has evaporated through the shell and has been replaced with air making it lighter.
2. If you break a fresh egg onto a plate, the yolk will be firm and prominent. You should be able to see two different parts in the white and the inner part of the white will be thick. If the white is watery and thin then the egg is not very fresh.

• Protein
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin B2
• Iodine
• Calcium
• Iron

The colour of an egg shell makes no difference to the food value of the egg.

Poultry love to peck and spend their day doing so. Toe picking and feather picking (cannibalism) are common vices in chicks and adult birds. Chicks tend to peck at other birds toes whilst adult birds peck at the necks and rumps of other birds.

Causes Of Feather Picking

• Poor nutrition (lack of protein).
• Lack of greens in diet.
• Overcrowding.
• Over heating the birds.
• Lack of floor space.
• Lack of feeding space.
• Lack of drinking space.
• Very bright lighting.
• Increased daylight hours.
• Boredom and idleness.

Action To Stop Feather Picking

At the first sign of feather picking, take action to stop this bad habit because the birds will continue to feather pick and once blood is drawn the birds will pick even more frequently and this could result in the death of the attacked birds.

• Change the environmental conditions.
• Provide more floor space.
• Provide more feeding space.
• Provide more drinking space.
• Ensure better ventilation.
• Cut back on the amount of light the birds have.
• Change the lighting in the coop to red as this will make the blood more difficult to see.
• Improve the birds comfort.
• Change feed - from crumbs or pellets to a mash feed that will require more time at the feeder.
• Give the birds more greens in their diet.
• Free-range the birds as much as possible as this will divert their attention and also allow the victims to get away from their attackers.
• Provide toys to divert attention such as scraps of food.
• Hang a cabbage by string from the roof of the run or hut to provide a diversion. The birds pick at the leaves instead of each others feathers.
• Remove the attacker from the group.

Alternative Methods To Stopping Feather Picking

• Apply anti-pick ointments or powders to the birds, the taste is supposed to discourage further picking.
• Mount shields or specs onto the top of the beak to obstruct forward vision - the disadvantage of this is that it can catch on things and come off.
• Beak trimming.

Beak Trimming

• Beak trimming is cutting off a proportion of the upper beak (last quarter inch).
• The lower beak can be blunted but it must never be trimmed along with the upper beak because then the bird would not have anything to scoop grain up with and would starve.
• The trimming is best done before the birds start to lay, preferably by 16 weeks of age but it can still be done at any age.
• Chicks can be beak trimmed as early as 1 day old using a beak trimming machine.
• Incorrect trimming can lead to mortality due to starvation.
• Most beaks don’t grow back if trimming is done at an early age but in older birds it can grow back after about 6 weeks.
• A beak trimming machine has an electrically heated blade that cuts and cauterizes at the same time to avoid bleeding.

Chickens are bred for different purposes. Some are breed solely for their meat, others their egg production and some for dual purpose.

Dual Purpose Breeds

• Rhode Island Red
• New Hampshire
• Plymouth Rock
• Wyandotte
• Orpington
• Light Sussex
• Australorp
• Marans
• Dominique
• Houdan
• Langshan
• Dorking

Layers

• Leghorn
• Wyandotte
• Araucana
• Minorca
• Australorp
• Marans
• Dorking
• Langshan
• Dominique
• Delaware

Meat Birds

• Cornish
• Orpington
• Cochin
• Brahma

• Cow health - lameness, old age, parasites and disease will reduce fertility.
• Bull fertility - must ensure that bulls are healthy and fertile. Young bulls may not be fully fertile even though they are well sized.
• Bull health - Hoof care is important to reduce lameness.
• Cow nutrition - peri-parturient (before and after calving) nutritional status effects conception rates. High phosphorous mineral supplementation has been shown to increase fertility.

Cows can successfully rear one calf per year. If the gestation period of a cow is 285 days, then she must be mated and in calf within 80 days of giving birth to maintain the calving interval.

Each season brings a different set of sights and sounds with it. There are many signs that tell us that Spring is fast approaching on and around the farm.

Lambs in the fields.

Snowdrops in flower.

Greater varieties of birds appear.

Buds start to grow on trees and shrubs.

Length of daylight increases.

Hens start laying.

Cows calving.

Bulbs start to grow.

Guinea Fowl are part of the pheasant family. They have beautiful plummage and unusual heads. Their behaviour is fascinating to watch.

1) Guinea fowl like to flock together and hang about in a group.

2) They do not like to be alone.

3) These birds like to eat together.

4) Male guinea fowl like to chase each other about - one will be the chaser and when the chased guinea fowl is caught, they then turn around and reverse their roles.

5) Guineas prefer to run rather than fly.

6) In a small group, the male guinea fowl is generally monogamous but can form a group with two or three females.

7) When the female is laying the male stands guard.

8) Female guineas often share nests.

9) They are very noisy, vocal birds.

10) When confined or crowded they will run up and down repeatedly.

11) Guinea fowl sometimes like to look at their reflection in a window or mirror.

12) These birds like to dust bath in soft, sandy soil.

13) Guinea fowl love to stand in the sunshine.

14) My guinea fowl are not afraid of the cats or cattle.