Krypsis > wrote:
> On 4/06/2011 1:03 AM, Landon wrote:
>> On Fri, 3 Jun 2011 13:24:24 +0000 (UTC), Nad R
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Janet > wrote:
>>>> Are there variances in the fresh eggs you get? Can there be an egg
>>>> with a runnier white than another egg even though both are freshly
>>>> laid? (assuming both are from the same breed chicken) Could you tell
>>>> me more about what you observe? Thanks
>>>> Janet US
>>>
>>> Yes they are variances. Chickens that are molting, older hens, not enough
>>> bugs can effect the eggs. If a chicken shows any kind of illness gets
>>> culled and buried. every three years I send them all to butcher. Before I
>>> do that I get get more chicks and keep them separate from the older hens.
>>> If a hen is not producing a really nice egg I tend to have chicken for
>>> dinner.
>>
>> Nad R, your comment reminded me of something from my childhood. We
>> raised a couple hundred chicks at a time to fill the freezer once a
>> year. My Dad put up two bug zappers over the water trough they drank
>> from, and a light on the water itself. On a summer night, the zappers
>> would do their thing almost continuously, and each bug zapped would
>> fall into the water trough below it where it would land on top of the
>> brightly illuminated water.
>>
>> It was like Pavlov's dogs, the chickens would hear the zap and all run
>> like hell for the water trough. The first there would snap up the bug.
>>
>> At the time, I was about 5 or 6 years old, and I'm now 58, so it's an
>> old memory. I thought it was a lot of fun watching those chickens race
>> for the bugs.
>>
>> My Dad told me later that it supplemented their diet with the protein
>> from the bugs and helped produce better eggs from the layers and
>> better meat from the ones destined for the freezer.

The bugs zapper sounds like a great idea, I just might try that. I only
have a dozen hens and one rooster. I have road island red chickens that
does double duty as layers or roasters. One hen house is enough for me.


> So when the bugs get into our food, we shouldn't complain because it'll
> make us grow up big and strong. We might even lay better eggs too! ;-)
>
> Krypsis

For the other thought. Humans do not typically consume bugs, but animals
can transform them into something eatable. Humans cannot eat grass, cattle
can eat grass and humans can eat the cattle. Grass can grow in the worst of
soil, therefore it increases human success for survival. Same with birds
eating insects. There are relationships between animals and plants. When
the humans killed off the bison, the prairie grasses went next. No more
natural fertilizers.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)