26. Blunted affect, CAE, homo sapiens?

Do chickens cry?  Do they get emotional attachments’ to each other and or people or do they just show a sort of like a blunted affect (scientific term describing lack of emotional reactivity)?  I've actually never seen a chicken act upset really. I love studying their behavior. It's so neat. So, I think they just show a bunted effect, but if I witness something that changes my thoughts on it, I'll let you know.

So I am learning about CAE on your projects page.  I woke up this morning wondering if you had a goat that was pregnant and discovered that she had CAE.  When she had the kid, is there some form of treatment or something that you can do to essentially kill the virus that is in the body fluid and colostrum so the kid could still get the essential colostrum from it mother and not become infected? No, that's never happened to me. You could pasteurize the colostrum, but that would defeat the purpose of it since it would destroy the helpful bacteria and stuff. You would have to just give the kid a substitute or maybe colostrum from another milking doe.

How easily can the virus be killed once it is actually outside the goat if it can at all? I'm not sure what you mean. Could you elaborate? It doesn't get outside of the goat. Once a goat is infected it always has the disease since it is currently incurable. It spreads through bodily fluids.
 

I know that people drink goats’ milk and make goats’ milk cheese etc.  If a goat has CAE but it is dormant and you do not know the goat is carrying the virus because it has shown no symptoms, are there any effects that humans can have from that?  It would be in the fluids from the goat right? So I know that this is not anything a human can get but can we as Homo sapiens be effected negatively from CAE at all? So far there have been no reports of humans being affected at all by CAE.

*fun fact:  Uncle Sam is said to have originated from a man named Sam Wilson during the war of 1812. Sam Wilson was a meat packer from New York. 

I like this quote by Albert Einstein.  “A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.”

kk

25. Feeding, hamsters, showing?

Thank you for the compliment.  As you get older you are going to find out/realize  that you are, and are going to be and have the potential to be much smarter then I.   I love you and this blog is just wonderful.

 Here is a weird question but how often do the chickens and goats need to be fed? They eat all day long actually, but we just give them food in the morning and the evening.

 

Ok, so I asked Lauren this morning if she has any question she wanted to ask you.  She asks, are snakes harmful to hamsters?  And would a hamster be safe in a running ball on your ranch?  Haha, love her!!! Haha! Yes, snakes are very harmful to hamsters. Garter snakes aren't but Bull snakes definitely are. A hamster would probably be safe in a running ball, as long as it didn't roll into a pond or something.

 

I want to know more about showing the chickens.  What does it really mean to win first for showing a chicken? Chickens: Winning first or champion would mean that it was the best representative of it's breed. So, say you were showing a silkie. To win first it would have to have the correct toe spacing, the right coloring/variety and pattern of feathers(so a blue would have to be very fluffy and plain blue without any other color spots or something), a good crest(the feathers on it's head), etc. Goats: For goats it's basically the same. However, at our fair all the breeds are judged together. So, the judge can't pick the best Nubian, the best Alpine, etc. They will pick the goat that looks as though it would be the best milker or breeding animal. This is determined by their health, condition, and body shape.

 Does that make your chickens and their products more valuable?  Chickens: Yes, in a way. The chicken would sell for more and one of the things they are judged on is their body shape and health. A healthy chicken will be a better layer than a sickly one. Goats: Yes, because when buying a goat you try to get a good milker most likely.

What exactly do you do to show a chicken?  i.e.  How do you show a chicken?  I have those questions about showing animals about the goats as well. Chickens: To show a chicken we first prepare it. That means bathing and cleaning it. Then we take it to fair and it stays in a crate while being judged. The judge walks by and examines the chicken and sometimes will take it out to look more closely. Showmanship is different. That is when one holds the chicken and shows it to the judge. It is based more on how you show it than what the chicken looks like. Goats: Showing a goat is way different than chickens. You have to walk it around a ring, stopping it when the judge says to do so and then positioning it(more on this in my video). Also, you do basically the same stuff during showmanship, but you're being judged, not the goat.

 

·         Happy that you like my fun facts. Henry IV said “I want there to be no peasant in my kingdom so poor that he cannot have a chicken in his pot every Sunday” 

·      In 1928 the republican party campaign slogan was "A chicken in every pot" Haha! Woah!

kk

24. Rain, names, sicknesses

Oh man so I guess I have to be patient.   I am going to love reading it.  I love reading research and such on subject that I know nothing about.  I think it’s exciting and mentally stimulating to read about a new subject.

So off that subject since I am going to wait to read it.  How often does it rain there on the ranch?  Just asking because since school ended up here we have had rain almost non-stop.  We even had a day when the sun did not come out all day it was so dark and depressing.  So that got me thinking about the difference in rainfall.  What is the average rainfall around there?  Does it rain a lot, or a little?  Just curious. It's usually pretty dry here. Like last year, it was so dry we had all of those fires. It almost rained today, but didn't. So sad! I love the rain. Not sure what the average rainfall is, but definitely lower than there, I'm sure.

So cool about finding out the genders and information on your own chickens from the chicken man.  Are you going to change their names? Blue, Green, and Pink will keep their names, but I think my sister is going to change Veratess' name since it's a girl name.

What kinds of illness and sickness do you watch out for with the chickens?  I know that when they get bugs, it is highly curable if you catch it but highly deadly if you do not.  (Learned that on this blog) Haha! So, glad you're learning things from me. It's so fun, because to me, I always thought you were just too smart for me to teach you anything. Haha! I know better now though. Um, we just watch out for any nutrients or things they might be lacking. Like, if their egg shells are too thin they need calcium, stuff like that.

Hey, and do the goats and chickens get colds or little illnesses?  You know how we as Homo sapiens get the common cold, do they?  I don't think so. I know goats can get pneumonia and stuff like that, but I've never heard of them getting a common cold.

 *fun fact for you, homo is the genus of the human species and of course means man, sapiens is the Latin word for wise.  Homo-sapiens is a species of the primate family Hominidae. (I am a creationist not an evolutionist)  So homo-sapiens is considered to be the wise one.  Weird huh? I love your interesting little facts!

kk

23. Caprine Arthritic Encephalitis (CAE)?

Sorry I have not been on in a while.  We have been very busy here with the end of school and medical issues.  That's alright!

 

I love your project that you are working on.  Are you going to be doing a research paper on that or just the research?  Thanks! Yes, I'll be writing a paper. In fact I'm writing it today. I haven't been able to post the progress because it's just been source cards, outlines, and such.

 

 

Do you think that the disease that you are researching Caprine Arthritic Encephalitis is an issue with a lot of goats?  What is the percentage of goat that have that in the United States? This was my first question too. I'd never heard of the disease before so I assumed it couldn't be that common. When the disease was first heard of it was just a rumor. Then once it was proved, it was believed that about 80% of goats had it. More tests continued and the number was decreased to about 33%. That's all I'll say for now though. You'll just have to wait for the paper. :) 

Have you ever seen or known personally sick goats that have that? Nope.

And since it was discovered 20 years ago, have the rates of the known disease increased, decreased or is it something that has not changed after they discovered what it was? I think it's basically stayed the same, but I'm not positive. 

 

And I am interested in hearing what your take on that whole debate is?  Are you more prone to be preventative or just precautious about Caprine Arthritic Encephalitis with your goats?  In other words, do you believe this is something that should be tested and found out whether they have it or not with your goats or are you more liable to wait and see? i.e. if they get it, then treat it.  This is what my report is going to be on. So, again, you'll just have to wait. ;)

Love you!
kk

22. Showing qualities in goats and chickens?

Hello, and good morning.  I hope you are having a fabulous day.

What makes a goat good for showing? All breeds have a breed standard, or a certain way they have to look. Then they must be healthy, no limps or sickness. Also, they should have a good body shape and no abnormalities, therefore they should have, strong bodies, a feminine build(if it's a female), no extra teats, etc. So, a goat must conform to their breed standard, be free of illness, and have a nice body and shape.

What makes a chicken good for showing? It's basically the same as the goats. They have breed standards as well, and therefore should be a good representative of their breed. Combs, wattles, and other body parts should be well formed and look the way that they are supposed to. Health is also important.

What do you look for in the chickens and goats that make you think that they would be good for show? What I said above.

What traits/characteristics do the judges look for in the chickens and goat that would get them to award the chicken or goat with a first place ribbon? The animal that is as close to a perfect specimen of that breed would take first place most likely, unless it is very malnourished or ill.

What do you look for to determine which one would be good to show? There are books you can get that tell you exactly how they should look. In picking which chickens will go, since we can't take them all, we look for all of the traits that the book calls for and as I said before, they must be healthy.

kk

21. Instincts, competition, goat toys?

Good morning.  I hope you are having a marvelous day. 

When chicks hatch do they instinctively know who their mother is and focus on her or will any hen do? Well, usually when chicks hatch their mom is on them, so they know. If their mother wasn't sitting on them they would most likely die, since it would be too cold. Therefore, they wouldn't have the chance to just find any hen.

Do chicks show competitive behavior? What do you mean exactly? 

Do your goats need to stay in their yard all the time?  That is to say, if they got away, would they just keep going or would they come home?  And do goats like toys, the way a dog will love a toy or ball? If they did get out, they would most likely just graze or if they saw or heard us, they would probably try to come find us. The only reason they ever try to get out is to follow us usually. They don't really play with toys, they love just running and playing with other creatures(us, the dogs, or another goat). I have seen them play with an empty water bucket though.

kk

20. Natural vs. artifical incubation, imprinting?

Good Morning, I hope you had a fabulous weekend.  Have a wonderful day! ww
I did. Everything at the barn was good. It got really wet though after our water fight with a couple friends last night. Haha!
 

Okay, so what came first, the chicken or the egg? Haha this question.... Well the answer to this would be more of an opinion. I think it was the chicken, because God created Adam and Eve as adults so wouldn't the animals be adult too? What do you think?  I agree with you 100%

 

So which is better, natural or artificial incubation?  Neither is really better than the other. With the incubator, you have to keep the temperature and humidity controlled and rotate the eggs. Natural, you don't have to do much, but if the hen gets lazy they'll die. So it's really just what you prefer. I however have no preference.

 
Do baby chicks imprint the way ducks can?
I don't really know anything about ducks. So what do you mean?

Imprinting:
Definition:
1. n. The tendency of young animals to follow the first moving thing they see. In the wild, this is usually the mother, but in captivity, where the mother may not be the first thing they see, they might follow a human being or any moving object. Source: Durrell, G. and L. Durrell. 'A Practical Guide for the Amateur Naturalist'. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1989. 2. n. A kind of associative learning in which an animal rapidly learns during a particular critical period to recognize an object, individual, or location in the absense of overt reward; distinguished from most other associative learning in that it is retained indefinitely, being difficult or impossible to reverse. Source: Keeton, W.T. and J.L. Gould. 'Biological Science (4th Edition)'. W.W. Norton & Co Ltd. New York. 1986.

Imprinting is best known in which a young animal gets lots of its behavioral characteristic from the parent.  The babies are born and imprint on their parents and then follow them around.  Have you ever seen the movie (Fly Away Home) with the Canadian geese?  That whole movie is about the Imprinting of goslings with humans.  So I was wondering if chickens imprint on their parents or the first things they see when hatched like some other birds? I thought that might be what it meant, but wasn't sure. No they don't. That would be adorable. They do follow their mom around, but they can tell that a human is not their mom. Chicks are mostly scared of people.

kk

 

19. Taxonomic classification of a domestic chicken, weather vanes and goats skittishness?

So far I have learned so much from this blog.  In the family of Galliformes (which is the order) the chicken is include in the Phasianidae (obviously the family).  This I knew and obviously Galliformes  is a huge order with over 290 species.  They are found all over the world. I think that is so cool. 
 

DOMESTICATED CHICKEN
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Gallus
Species: G. gallus
Binomial name:
Gallus gallus

DUCK
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Subfamilies:
Dendrocygninae
Oxyurinae
Anatinae
Aythyinae
Merginae

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Galliformes/  (this is where I pulled the info from)
 That's so neat! Also, if you ever have anything like this that you want to post on the "Chick-a-doodle" page, that would be so cool!
 

Now I was wondering, can you have other orders such as anseriformes cohabitate with the phasianidae.  i.e. can you have ducks that will live peacefully with the chickens? Chickens are very good around other animals. They can live with all kinds of mammals and yes other birds too. We have friends that keep their chickens with ducks and some with emus. So yes they can cohabitate peacefully with anseriformes.

 

Interesting fact that I thought was cool:  Pope Gregory 1, in the sixth century said that the cock is the emblem of Christianity.  It is reputed that he said something along the lines of the rooster being the most suitable emblem of Christianity and the emblem of St. Peter.  Now, many people believe that this is why the rooster was used on weather vanes on church steeples.  I do know that the Rooster that is on Old St. Peters Basillca served as a religious symbol to remember Peters denial of Christ.  Some theories say the origin of the weather vanes that are roosters on church steeples are an emblem of the vigilance of the clergy calling the people to prayer.  Just thought that was an interesting fact. Wow! How do you know all of this? Fascinating! I read, a lot

 

Do you have a weather vane on the ranch?  Just curious. No we do not, but we should get one.  They're so neat!

Are your goats particular about the people and animals around them?  That is to say, do they only like those they have learned will fulfill their et-epimeletic needs? Or do they generally like anyone? Are they skittish? They don't really like the dogs, but Laverne and Shirly actually didn't mind them. Laverne even played with the dogs once. They like all people though. They're not really skittish, but a bit wary at first when meeting new people. Then they're perfectly fine. A lot of animals get along with goats. Sometimes when we take our goats to the pasture to run, the horses that live a couple houses down will start calling the goats while running back and forth along the fence. It's really funny!

kk

 

18. Chickens age, apple juice, roost elevation, weather and floppy ears?

Why do chickens have so many names for their age, i.e. pullet?  And can you clarify for me what each is named and at what stage or age? They have so many names because it's easier to say that you have a pullet then a chicken under a year or however old it is. So...

female under 1 year: Pullet
male under 1 year: Cockerel
female over 1 year: Hen
male over 1 year: Cock(or rooster)

P.S. Rooster is the commonly used name for a male, but cock is more correct.

 

Matthew told us that you have an apple tree out there and Lauren wants to know if you know how to make apple juice and if it is easy? We don't really make apple juice since we don't get that many apples and they are pretty small. It's not the healthiest tree. We have made fresh apple cider with our 4h club though. The place where we have meetings(the Grange) has a big apple tree and our club leader has this huge old apple press. It's pretty easy,but you have to be really strong. It's really cool! But know we don't make apple juice so i don't know if it's easy.

 

Why do the chickens have their roost elevated (this was on the video tour of the barn on the barn yard pics page)? Well, one reason is that they like to sleep up high on bars or something. Our roost allows them to all snuggle closely. But the biggest reason is that chickens poop when they sleep and if they were just sitting on the ground it would get all over them. Ours had wiring between the bars so that they can't fall through, but the droppings can. Then there's a tarp that they land on so it's easy to clean up.

 

Are chicken sensitive to weather?  I saw on the video that when they are young they need the heat lamp but as they are older do they have problems with heat and or cold? As I have said before, there are some breeds that are more cold hardy than others and some that are heat tolerant. We try to stick to cold hardy ones. Most of ours have smaller types of combs so that they won't freeze like big single combs can. We also get really fluffy ones. So, yes they can have problems with the cold and I guess the heat if it gets really hot, but for the most part if you've researched your breeds and get ones that will do well in your area, there won't be any problems.

 

Lauren also want to know why do Marie and Lucy have long, floppy ears? Well, they are Nubians(that's their breed) and all Nubians have long ears. The reason is that they are from a place called Nubia in Africa. Lucy and Marie didn't come from there, but the first Nubian goats lived there. All animals are made to be able to survive in their habitat. Since Africa is really hot the animals there have to be able to live there without overheating. Their long ears actually help to keep them cool! Isn't that neat? Just like African elephants.

 Love and miss you guys! Thanks for the awesome questions!
kk

17. Diets, colostrum, dangers to hamsters?

Thanks for posting this! I love answering your questions and sorry if it took me a little while to answer your last ones. I had to think about it and I got really busy.

 

 Are Nubian Goats picky in their diet?  That is to say, do the exhibit a penchant for variety or will they just eat anything they come across? They can be kind of picky sometimes, but ours eat what we give them. They do like some things more than others, like they prefer alfalfa over just grass hay, they love their sweet feed, and stuff like that. Certain goats like some things that others don't. Like... Shirly wouldn't touch pretzels but Laverne loved them, I've heard goats like thistle but mine won't eat it, and mine devour sunflower seeds while our friends with goats have to sneek them into their food. Also, there are some foods that are bad or even poisonous to goats, such as apricot leaves. Mine still try to eat them though.

You had taught me that goats have a sensitive digestive system so I was wondering about the colostrum intake.  Do goats have to nurse a little with their mom or can they go straight to a bottle when they are born?  Do they need to have an adequate intake of colostrum from their mom to get their digestive and immune systems up and running or can they get what they need from a bottle? Colostrum is very important for a baby goat and it's immune system. We do bottle feed ours, but we milk the momma and give that to them. So, we don't drink what we milk for the first couple days since it's colostrum. Then they share her milk with us. I did feed my first goat a milk replacer(formula) but she was 2 weeks old. So, yes they need colostrum. If the momma should die or won't produce colostrum, there's a chance the babies could die.

How long does a goat need to be fed from the bottle before they will start eating and grazing? There's no set time, since everyone say different. We have a book that we follow. It says that it's a safe guess to say that most kids are completely off milk by 8-10 weeks old. Some people feed way longer though, up to 6 months. So it depends on what you want.

Lauren wants to know if Goats eat hamsters?  And are goats dangerous for hamsters? I'm just guessing on this by how the goats act towards mice and chipmunks in the barn. They actually ignore them. They could maybe hurt a hamster if they didn't see it and accidentally stepped on it. But for the most part, no they are not.

 

Love you and have an amazing day!

kk

16. Et-epimeletic, Epimeletic behaviors and horns?

Since your goats are young do they look to you for their et-epimeletic behavior for everything? Sorry if I explain this wrong. So, they do treat us like members of the heard and as their mothers sometimes, but they did know who their real mother was, Laverne. She was so sweet and gentle with them, even when they began to get on her nerves by nibbling on her ears and beard. Though she didn't nurse them we took them to her a lot. They'd follow her around and everything. We had to be careful with them being around her because Shirly got very jealous and would attempt to stomp on them or butt them away. So they didn't visit her a lot at first, but then as Shirly got used to them, they lived with momma. They do look to see how we react to things though. If we get freaked out by something, they can tell and get nervous as well. But, for the most part, I think they learned from Laverne a lot and a little from us. Did that make any sense? Oh well.

 Since you took on many of the epimeletic behaviors when the goats where young, do they look to you as their parent?  I kind of explained this above. I think they do more now that their mom is gone. They love attention and will not leave us alone when we're in their pen. They give us kisses and sometimes butt or nudge us. If they feel they are being ignored, they'll stand up and give us a good slam with their hooves and start eating our hair. They love playing and running with us, and really treat us like part of their herd.

And do all goats get horns? Yes, they do. Females and males are born with horn buds, unless they are bred to be hornless, which is really complicated(I'll talk about that later). We disbud them though which means(I know this is going to sound awful, but it's not) that we burn the buds out when they're young. I actually had the breeder do it for me since I don't have the right tools for it. It only takes about 30 seconds and they scream more about being held still then being burned. Afterwards, they just get a warm bottle and forget about the whole thing.

P.S. Thanks for clarifying what epimeletic means. Haha! I hope my answers worked. It's kind of hard to explain.

kk

15. Pecking order, cliques and Language?

Good morning, I hope you are having a wonderful day.  I am! It's wonderful having Gmom and Poppa here.

So through this blog I am learning so much about chickens.  Now I am wondering about the flock itself.  since they seem to be more intelligent then a cow, which is something I learned, do they have a certain pecking order?  Yes. It's kind of difficult to explain. Basically they all get along because they know each other and some chickens are more dominant, I guess you'd say, than others. All the hens are basically equal, but they all run from James. Pecking order is more when you have more then one rooster. Last year my flock had 3. Chanty was older than the 2 younger ones so he was the boss. So, pecking order is how they all get along. (Sorry that was kind of confusing since I don't know how to explain it.)

I am learning they are social creatures.  Do chickens form "cliques"? that is to say do certain ones hang out with each other?  Sort of. Our 6 older chicks do at least. The Silkies all stay together and the Wyandottes together, but at night they all sleep in one place snuggled up. Sometimes chickens form a pair or couple. I had this last year. Chanty had a girlfriend, Bunny and when she died from an illness he was so upset. Later we got him a new girl and they formed a pair, so when they were with the flock they were always together, the hen followed Chanty everywhere. It was so cute!

So I have been hearing the chickens on the videos you have on this blog.  Do chickens have a highly advanced language that comes into play and affects behavior?  They do talk, that's for sure. Lots of people just think that roosters crow and hens cluck, but it's much more complicated. They have different sounds to say different things. By paying attention, you can tell if a chicken is content or in distress pretty easily. James loves his flock and when he finds some cool food or something he makes a sound to tell everyone and they come running. A mother hen also does this for her chicks. Another example is when James hears a hen clucking loudly(laying an egg) he races to them talking back to see if they're alright. They also have a specific coo when they're curious or content. It's so neat! So,yes, I think they do have an advanced language.

I hope you have the most wonderful day. You too!

love you
ww
kk

14. Speed, eggs, dangers to hamsters?

Love the videos and pictures of the ranch.  So exciting! and BEAUTIFUL!  Haha! Thanks! 

1. How fast and how long can chickens run?  In the movie Rocky he trains by chasing a chicken and trying to catch it so we were wondering if your chickens are hard to catch? Yes, they are fast! I can post a video later of one running.* Ours are pretty sweet so they don't run away all that much, but when we have a skittish one it's really tough. Not sure how long they can run though.

2. It looks like you have a lot of chickens, if they all lay eggs do you have an overabundance of eggs and what do you do with the extra?   Do you sell your eggs? We do have a lot. We get about 7 or 8 eggs a day since they don't all lay everyday. We don't sell them but we take a dozen to neighbors every once in a while. 

3. Lauren wants to know if chickens can eat hamsters?  Haha! I guess they can. I don't think they'd attack one, but they do try to eat dead mice.

*Just posted the video on "BarnyardPics"

Great questions! Love you!
kk

13. Cost, feed, and eggs?

1. How much does it cost to get a chicken? A chick costs about $3 at a basic feed store. A pullet(about a year old) goes for about $20 or $15 and a cockerel(a year old) for about $10.

2. Does a chicken have to lay a certain amount of eggs before she sits on them or would she sit on just one?  And why would a chicken even lay an unfertilized egg? They won't lay on just one. They usually find a good nest box and lay all their eggs there. If you don't gather them the eggs build up and she'll eventually sit on them. They don't always though. I'm not sure why a chicken lays an unfertilized egg, they just do. They don't really know, since they sit on fertilized and unfertilized.

3. How often do you have to feed the goats and chickens? We feed the goats a each a cup of grain every morning and night and a flat of hay each time. The chickens have big buckets so it takes them a while to run out of feed, but they do eat all day everyday. We give them scraps every morning.

kk

12. Goats in weather, food, milk and as pets?

Good morning,
As usual these are a combination of our questions. Some questions may be repeated on here in a different way, L tends to do that sometimes until the point is understood.
Love you and hope you have a fabulous day.

1. What do you feed your goats during the winter? Basically the same thang as we do any other season. However, with it being so cold they do eat more hay and we make sure they get lots of protein.

2. What do goats have to eat and what can they not eat to keep them healthy? They have to eat hay or grass, minerals, and other proteins and nutrients which they get in thewir grain.

3. Do certain foods effect milk production and the quality of milk? Yes, when a goat is pregnant and milking they eat a lot more and better stuff. So, they get grain made for milking does and alfalfa hay which has more protein. Our system worked pretty well, sying as we got a gallon a day.

4. How exactly do you keep your goats as pets?  Do they make good pets? We give them lots of love and attention so they're really sweet. We play with them all the time. We sometime take them out and they'll follow us around. So, yes they are great pets, very smart and loving. When they're babies we keep them in a kennel in the closet, bottle feed them, and take them out a bunch to play outside. They think we're their mommas.

kk

11. Life and milk?

1. How long do chickens live? Until they die. Haha! That's what our "chicken man" told a kid at the poultry meeting the other week. Chickens live pretty long. There's not really an exact time, because many chickens are killed after a few years because their production slows down or a predator gets them. Lots of people do keep chickens until they die naturally. Some chickens have lived to be about 20 others 15. So, yeah they live a long time.

2. You had told me that it is not legal to buy raw goats milk?  What is raw goat’s milk and why is it illegal to sell it?   How do you make the milk ready for human consumption? Raw milk is unpasteurized. Pasteurization as you know, kills the bacteria. It's heated to a certain temperature then rapidly cooled. We did this with ours since our milking barn wasn't the cleanest. Here's what I found on why it is illegal...
One of the potential problems raw-milk opponents often point to is campylobacteriosis, a gastrointestinal disease caused by campylobacter- a bacteria universally present in birds, including domestic poultry. The symptoms, which range from mild to severe, include abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and fever. Apparently, farm families who drink raw milk regularly build up an immunity. Most of the reported cases have involved farm visitors, those unused to raw milk. Raw-milk advocates point out that the incedence is very small - might as well worry about being struck by a meteorite, they say. (That was from a dairy goat book of mine.)
Dairy farmers get around this law by selling milk shares. They basically say that you bought part of the goat (or cow) and that they care for and milk it for you.

3. How long do Nubian Goats live? They live about as long as dogs, so like 10-15 years.

kk

10. Egg grades, predators and Nubian Goats in cold??

1. In the store you can buy grade AA and A eggs.  What does this mean? I don't know, so I looked it up...
The grading of eggs is done by "candling" in which a light is shown through the egg to determine the quality of the contents. If the yolk is unbroken and round then it is considered "A" grade and suitable for retail or home use. A grade of AA is given to fresh eggs with a strong shell that can be cooked, unbroken, and made into hard or soft boiled eggs.

So, yes, AA is slightly better than a simple A.

2. What would you consider the worst predators for your chickens?  I know that you have had problems with Hawks in the past is there anything you do that helps prevent them being attacked? Hawks would probably be the worst that we have, since nothing else has attempted to get them. The dogs help scare them away and when we see them around we put the chickens in for a bit.

3. If Nubian Goats originate from Africa do they have problems withstanding the cold such as the winters and snow?  And is it true that their ears can freeze? Ours do really good in the winter. They get really thick warm coats and mostly stay inside the warm barn all day. They don't like water, so definitly not snow. I don't think their ears can freeze. I've never heard of that and ours do just fine.

kk

9. Eggs, vegetarians, fertilized/unfertilized?

1. How often does a chicken lay an egg? Once a day. As they get older they lay every other and then less and less often. But once a day is a s often as they can because it takes 24 hours for an egg to form.

2. Are Chickens vegetarians? Definitely not. In fact, they are cannibals. If one chicken dies sometimes others will eat it, or if one gets a bad cut and the others get interested they might peck it to death. None of ours have done this, however, last year we found lots of blood splattered in our chick box. We hadn't noticed because it was dark. The chicks had been eating one of the chick's toes. She might have cut it which caught the others attention or it just looked like a worm. So, no they're not vegetarians. We also give them meat in their scrap bin every morning.

3. Health food stores up here in PA say that fertilized eggs are better than unfertilized.  Is that true?  And can you explain that to me a little more? Here is what I found on this...

This is from a forum, so it was just posted by someone who raises chickens.
There is NO difference in taste. Just don't let your hens sit on the eggs and THEN try to eat them b/c they'll have half-formed chicks. As long as you collect them daily there's no problem and no difference in taste or nutritional value.
This is from the forum too, but it's more about taste.
The eggs laid by chickens that eat green stuff, a variety of weed and grass seeds, fruits and vegetables, and/or creepy crawlies instead of just the prepared food mix will taste different from a factory raised egg. It will look different because the yolk will stand up better, That's because it is fresher. The yolk will be darker yellow or orange or even reddish because of what the chicken has been eating. None of this has anything to do with a rooster.

Many people that have backyard flocks feed their chickens differently than the egg factories feed their hens. The eggs look and taste different. Many people with backyard or barnyard flocks keep roosters. Since the eggs taste different from the store bought eggs, I can easily see where someone would blame it on a rooster. You actually get that a lot on this forum. I don't consider it silly, I just consider it something someone doesn't know but has believed someone when they were told a story. There is a lot I don't know and I'm sure I have accepted false explanations about some things myself.

When you do get eggs, they could very well taste different from the eggs you get from somebody else's backyard flock. That's because the hens are eating different things, not because some are fertile.

Hope that answered your question since I wasn't sure. Other things say basically the same, that there is no taste difference, but a few said there may be more nutrients in the fertilized ones. P.S. I'm posting this while eating fertilized eggs right now for lunch(yes I checked to see if there were fertilized*). I don't know about the nutritional value but they sure are tasty!

* Check out "Chick-a-doodle" to see how to recognize fertilized eggs.

Have an awesome day!
kk

8. Blunting and chicken requirements??

1. Oh my goodness, what debeaking or blunting?  That sounds so awful.  What does that mean and do you do that? Alright, so I forgot to tell you about this kind of chicken care before. Debeaking is also called beak trimming. It's the permanent shortening of a chickens beak. We don't do that but sometimes their beaks do get a bit too long. I just use nail clippers and trim the tip.* Blunting is the same as debeaking. Another thing we do is trim their nails and spurs.* I use nail clippers again and a nail file. Blunting and debeaking do sound pretty bad. I actually did a little research to double check before posting. There's a picture of a chick being debeaked on Wikipedia and it looks so sad.

2. Is the research correct that a chicken does not forage enough on its own to meet their requirements for protein and energy?  Does this effect egg production?  How do you fill the gap of their needs and requirements and what can they do for themselves to have them produce the most optimal for your family? I'm not really sure what research you're talking about. Our chickens recieve all of their nutrients in their feed(which is corn and other grains) and kitchen scraps. In the scraps they get all kinds of stuff that we would normally throw out, cereal, stale bread or crackers,  rotten or peels from fruits and veggies, eggs shells, etc. Chickens also need forage or greens. A lot of ours get out of the pen and graze. Also, we give our goats hay right next to the chickens so they eat that too. So, a chicken does forage on it's own; they love all plants and grasses. Lack of nutrients does effect production. They'll lay less, lay undeveloped eggs, or get sick. Keeping them happy, with lots of treats and food, room to run, and sunshine really helps!

Hope that covered your questions.

 **I will take pictures of these and post them on "Chick-a-doodle" to demonstrate this stuff since they're hard to explain.

Love you,

P.S.  I will be waiting to hear about the eggs. I really want to know. 

have an awesome day

ww

Here's what I found on why they lay different color eggs...


Q: Why do chickens lay different colored eggs?

A: Well, we can tell you HOW the different colors are made, but there really isn't a good answer as to WHY the different colors are produced. (To read about how the egg shell colors are made, please view the "related questions" below.)
As to why, no one really knows. There are a few guesses. It's intuitive to think that the colors and patterns of bird eggs should help provide camouflage for the eggs while they're in the nest. However, it's been problematic to show a relationship. For instance, one scientist, Gotmark, painted eggs different colors (brown, white, blue, spotted) and placed them in nests with varying degrees of cover, then kept track of which eggs suffered predation. The color didn't seem to have any relation to the predation suffered, at least not in coniferous forests with chiefly avian predators. Similar experiments testing the effectiveness of egg crypsis have been repeated a few times with similar results
Still, there is a relationship between egg color and nest type in wild birds that suggests the difference has (or once had) to do with camouflage. White eggs are chiefly laid by cavity nesters, where the eggs will be more concealed. Grey and brown eggs are more often laid by ground nesting birds. Speckled eggs or blue eggs are often laid in open nests. There are a few exceptions, though. For instance, hummingbirds lay white eggs in an open nest, but they actually start incubating on the first day they lay an egg. (Most birds, including chickens, wait to gather a clutch, first.)
So, why do chickens lay different color eggs? The best we can tell you for sure is that they just do.

From MyPetChickenHatchery

That was the best answer I found. Love you!

kk

7. Care, eggs and flying?

Good morning.  I hope you have a fabulous day

love you

ww

1. How much care to your pet chickens actually require? Not very much actually. We go out every morning at around 8 or 9. That's actually really good (we used to at 7). They can wait so late because they already have food and water, a window, and a light that comes on. We then dump in some kitchen scraps and fill up their food or water when needed. Then they get locked back up at night. So overall really simple!

2 Why do the chickens lay different colored eggs? I'm not really sure... A friend told me that you can tell what color eggs a chicken will lay by the color of it's ears, though. Haha! But, this is the first question to stump me. I'll look it up as soon as I can and let you know though.*

3 Can chickens fly? Sort of. They can't soar like a hawk or anything, obviously, but they can fly some. A chicken just jumps and flaps it's wings, so they can get up to bars/roosts, over fences, etc. I think they can get up to about 20 feet.

*Answer is in next post, 8 :)

Love you and Goodnight!

kk

6. Roost, soap, snakes

Hello, again, I am just combining our questions
this is so fun
love you

1. Your mom mentioned to me that when you started getting chickens that you did not even know what a roost was.  What is a roost? What does it mean when people say chickens come home to roost? A roost is a perch or bars that a chicken sleeps on. Our grandpa (Poppa) made ours. It's a bunch of bars with chicken wire lining it so their feet won't fall through but poop will, since they poop while they sleep. I guess when chickens come home to the roost it's like saying they came home or to bed.

2. You made soap before from the goats’ milk and gave us some.  It was wonderful.  How do you make soap?  We buy ours obviously but is it something that is hard to do? It's pretty tough and takes a while, especially since after making it on the stove and putting it into molds, it has to sit for about 3 weeks. It's also kind of dangerous because it takes an entire can of lye, which as you know burns just to touch. I actually messed mine up(I was trying to follow a recipe from a goat book). I'm glad though, because now it's my special recipe. I am planning on making more soon. I just have to wait for the guy we'll buy milk from to figure out his prices. I'm excited!

3. Are chickens afraid of snakes? In the cartoons they are always going after worms, is that an inherited trait or a learned trait? Actually no, they're not afraid of snakes, or at least ours aren't. I once ran up to their pen and then realized a huge bull snake was right next to me(like 6 inches away). Now bull snakes are very agressive. Luckily, I was on a rock so it didn't see me, but I was so worried for the chickens it was slithering to. However, you can imagine my surprise when the snake that was about 3 feet long, poked it's head through the fence only to be attacked by the chickens! At first they didn't know what to do, but then they just started pecking it all over. That snake learned his lesson and quickily slid away.

On the other hand, snakes will eat chicks and eggs. We found 2 in one day attempting to get to our chickies(that was lat year). One had climbed up a tree and was trying to get in the window.

Eating worms is mostly an instict. Chicks from the begginning know to peck at interesting things and ones raised by their mom will peck anything she does. They then learn that worms are yummy. So it's half instict half learned.

P.S. I didn't look any of these up, but just know this from experience.

I'm loving this blog!
kk

5. Eggs, water and colors?

These are all a combination of my questions and the kids questions. 
love you
ww

1. How often do chickens lay eggs?   Hey, can all eggs be baby chickens?  What conditions do you need to have your eggs turn into baby chickens? Chickens usually lay one egg a day, sometimes every other day though. As they get older it slows down. Only eggs that have been fertalized by a rooster can hatch. They need to be placed under a hen or in an incubator in less than like 12 after they've been laid. It needs to be a steady temperature and humidity, then the egg will hatch in exactly 21 days. And, yes if the hen is hatching it she sits there the whole time except for really short food breaks once in a while(people always ask that).

2. Do you have water that comes from the mountains around you or do you use a hose like we would?  How do you get enough water to feed all those animals?  Over here we get our water through the city water/sewer system. We use a hose, but I think the water comes from our well house. We do have some faucets outside that use the same as our water we drink, but the other ones are closer to the barn. We fill milk jug gallons to give them water in their stalls and the hose reaches the outside buckets.

3. Can you control the color of a chickens eggs by feeding it something strange? I don't think so. Each breed just lays a specific color. You can give them things that make their eggs taste weird though, like onions, peppers, and garlic. Also, we feed them their own egg shells. They have calcium which helps make the egg shells stronger.

Love and miss you guys!
kk

4. Eggs, Nubian dairy goats, and bathing chickens?

1. Do all chickens lay eggs?  Oh and are all chickens girls? Yes, all female chickens lay eggs. They don't need a rooster to lay them, just to hatch them. They start laying at about 6 months I think and even though chickens live really long, they usually stop laying or at least slow down a lot after a few years. And no, not all chickens are girls, it's 50/50 even though most people just buy females.

2. You have Nubian dairy goats.  What does that mean?   I am guessing there are all different types of goats but why are your goats special?  Why did you choose that kind? Nubian dairy goats are a certain breed of goat. They are from Nubia, Africa. That's actually why they have such big floppy ears, to keep them cool, just like African elephants. Another distinctive trait is the roman nose. That's the arch of their snout. It's rounded unlike a lot of goats which dips in, like an Alpine. I also, really like that they can be any pattern or color, where as most goat breeds have a certain way that they have to be. Also, Nubians are one of the biggest breeds and great milk producers.

3. Matthew)  How often do you bathe chickens? (My question) Do you have to bathe your chickens? We only bathe them if they are really dirty and it has to be warm out since it takes them a long time to dry, and right before a show to fluff them up. You don't ever have to bathe them, but I think its nice and makes them smell so good.

kk

3. Kinds of Chickens

1. Okay, I really do not know much about chickens but what is the difference between them?  I always think of them like Chicken Little, white and yellow.  You state that you have Wyandottes, Silkies, Welsummer, Brahma Bantams, Andalusian, Ancona, Red stars, so what makes them different from each other? Haha! I was the same way! I knew that chickens could look different, but never really thought about how there are more than one breed. A chicken was just a chicken. The difference between all of these breeds is the same, basically, as it is between dog breeds or any other animal. They come from different places, have different traits and varieties, and are for different purposes.

Some chickens are amazing layers while others are bred for meat, like a Cornish.

There are so many different varieties, like laced, buff, speckled, mottled, you name it.

There are also a bunch of combs(the crown on it's head) pea, rose, single, dubbed, buttercup, and more.

 And some chickens do great in the cold, some in the heat.

We've done lots of research to choose our breeds.*

2. Speaking from a suburban knowledge of chickens, I have no clue about them and it is fun learning more about something I really have no knowledge of.  With that being said, what is a regular chicken?  Is there such a thing?  I know that I always think of brown or white balls with feathers that lay eggs?When you say a regular chicken you are probably speaking of a Leghorn(like the rooster from Looney Toons). They are just a solid white chicken with great egg production. They're also usually the ones responsible for the eggs you buy at the store. Chicken Little I think was also modeled after a Leghorn, but then again, with the hundreds of breeds, I could be wrong.

*Check out the "Henderson'sChickenBreedChart" on "Chick-a-doodle". It's where I do most of my research on breeds.

Love you lots!
kk

2. Goats, pink eggs, and the name (River Rock Ranch)

I love being able to ask these question.

 

1.  When Matthew heard that you were getting goats he was so excited because if we do get a chance to visit this summer he said you will now have milk from the goats.  I told him that I don't think that you just get milk from whatever goat you want.  So, do all goats give milk or does this have to do with goats that had babies before?  How does that work? Goats have to be bred to milk. They only go into heat in the fall, which I think is pretty cool, so they're babies are born when there is plenty of great grass. Then they milk for about a year, sometimes less. The babies can nurse and then you can have the milk after they've been weaned, but I like to just milk the doe and bottle feed the babies. Usually there's plenty to share. Laverne gave about a gallon a day during the peak of her lactation curve, so definitely enough.

 

2. (Laurens question)  Wow, what chickens lay pink eggs? I've never seen any pink eggs because they're really rare, but Ameraucanas can lay them.* Our Ameraucanas only lay different shades of green and blueish green though.

 

3. (Matthew question)  Why is the ranch called River Rock Ranch? Well, if you've seen our Ranch there are so many rocks it's not even funny. It's really pretty, but makes putting fence posts in really hard. We didn't name it that though. When we moved in that's what it was called, there's a big sign above the driveway.

*There's a picture of an Ameraucana on "Barnyard pics".

This is so fun,  love you

ww

I agree!
kk

1.Goat food, eggs, and predator questions.

This page is such a wonderful idea.  Living in the suburbs makes it hard to imagine things that you go through on the Ranch.  Things that may seem so second nature to you we have no idea about.  This is a great idea for us to ask you about life on the Ranch and how you take care of animals.  Thank you so much.  

 

So here goes (we have a ton of questions but figured we would limit our questions to a few at a time)

 

1.  What do goats actually eat?  We know they eat weeds as posted on your (Daily Happenings) page but what do they have to eat on a daily basis to stay alive? This is a great question and I had no idea before owning goats. So, we feed our goats a mix grass hay or an alfalfa mix hay(alfalfa is good for them in moderation). They also get a grain, we use Noble Dairy feed. This has most of their protein and other nutrients. Goats require minerals which they can get from their grain, loose minerals, or a mineral brick. They can also have treats!*

 

2. (Laurens question) Do all chickens lay the same kind of eggs we buy in the carton in the grocery store? Basically, yes. All chickens lay different color eggs though, blue, green, all different shades of brown and tan, cream, white, and sometimes even pink. The funny thing is, white is not the most common color, but people just liked how pure and clean they looked. Some chickens, called bantams(which is just a mini chicken) lay tiny eggs and some, like Jersey Giant chickens, lay huge ones. But farm fresh eggs are so much more flavorful and bright!

 

3.  (Matthews question)  How do you keep the mountain lions and bears away from the barn? We haven't really had a problem with that actually, even though bears and mountain lions do love chicken dinners. They could definitely break in the barn if they wanted to, since the doors aren't that great. We keep a radio on at night, which we heard can scare them away since it sounds like people in there. Also, our dogs usually alert us if there's anything out there.

 

4. That question sparked my next question.  Do you have a problem with predators out there? My answer to Matt's question basically covered this. The radio, we were told by an old farmer, scares coyotes off. I guess it might work for others too. We've been lucky though since they are around. Skunks and snakes live under the barn, and would eat chicks, so we only put older(at least 3 weeks) out there and we have a big sturdy wooden box they sleep in. Hawks have killed 2 of our hens during the day, so we lock them all up and keep an eye out. They mostly just strike in the winter though, when food is scarce. But the biggest help with everything is our dogs. Best protection out there! So, no we don't really have problems(sorry that was a long answer).

*See "GoatieGals" for some great goat treats!

Love you

 ww

Love you too and awesome questions guys!
kk