Maine - Page 302

For the sevin dust, if that's what you want to use, check your local garden center or local big box store in the garden section.

Otherwise, your local farm supply or TSC will have ivermectin pour on (for cattle, not approved in chickens) that you can put some drops on the chickens skin every 10 days for a few cycles.

To prevent mites, I use DE and pyrethrin powder mixed with sand in their sandbox. They love it.

5 chicks and a pip so far out of the 15 that made it to lock down. Today is their hatch date, so we will see!

I think it is kind of funny that I got eggs from 3 places (Hoppy, my aunt, and our flock) and so far the 5 chicks that have hatched (a combo of all 3 sources) look just alike! The only one I can really tell apart from the rest is the one that hatched from one of Hoppys eggs, and even that I am not entirely sure about.

BTW Hoppy, I couldnt remember if I got wyandotte or orps from you, do you remember? There were a couple EE eggs and a lav orp/wyandotte cross that were marked, but didnt make it past the first candling.

Hubby is in panic mode at this point I think. He just headed out to PFU in Bridgton to pick up our next batch of meaties and 4 sexed pullets we ordered so we could make sure we had layers (clearly he underestimated my love of hatching!) and as he was leaving he realized that with those he picks upp today, the meaties we have outside, our regular flock, the 4wk olds, and the ones hatching now, we will have over 40 chickens here....thats quite a leap from the 5 we started the season out with! I try to explain it in chicken math terms, but I can tell it goes way over his head

This place truly is the Funny Farm.

I have now lost the cuckoo marans I just bought, also between last year and this 4 nice barred rocks, I have one rather puny barred rock that came form McMurray hatcheries. Anyone seeing a color theme here?  I have a predator with a taste for black and white it seems.

Moving on, My hen turkey started sitting and my Tom took off with the wild flock, my bantie was broody so I gave her a few turkey eggs and she hatched out two, who came into the house with broodie mama in a pen as I didn't have a way to separate them from the rest of the flock.  Mama raised the two turkeys beautifully and then said flock you to them and returned outside.  She would go in and out twice a day to get a dust bath and poop but decided one afternoon she was not coming back in the house, so I now have tow turkey chicks who think I am Mama, and it has be3en raining for days so i have not been able to put them in their outside pen and let them out in the house to get exercise.  Hoppy, the goose eggs I had blown out for you were on the kitchen table, the syringe worked great!  However, notice the word 'were'?  The turkeys thought the kitchen table looked interesting so they got up to explore while I was in the powder room, when those egg shells hit the floor they were no longer in one piece.  Continuing the saga, the turkey hen had one chick partially hatch and die, and would not stop sitting the other egg even after she poked a small hole in it and rotten egg fumes were coming out.  My goose has laid thirteen eggs and seems to have no interest in sitting except at night when i shut everyone in.  The other morning I put the eggs I collected in the wheelbarrow where the turkey hen chose to nest, I went to feed the potbelly pig and came out to find she had tucked them all under her in less that 2 minutes, and beat the snot out of my arm when I took them back.  This morning I decided to set six of the goose eggs in the turkubator.  I took her rotten egg away and gave her six goose eggs to sit.  On top of that I have to pick up the broody Muscovy every night to get an egg because one of the hens keeps getting in with her and laying an egg, she is already sitting 15 duck eggs.

What would we do without our critters to keep things entertaining?

Oh, on another crappy note I have some rats in my barn and they did in my female quail, so I have one very lonely little couternix quail in a cage in the house, and I have to find him a lady room mate or two, and figure out how to kill the *&(^% rats!  I have tried regular spring traps, and an electric trap, but have not gotten one.  I can't use poison cause the poultry free ranges and would  tear a dead rat apart and eat it.  Anyone got any good suggestions?  I am thinking I may have two adopt a couple of feral cats to live around here, but am worried about poultry babies with those.

I am open to hearing any suggestions for the rat issue, the ducklings should start hatching this weekend while I am away of course, playing in a steel drum festival at Sugarloaf.  I am hoping Mom is ferocious enough to defend them.

I sent you a pm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by annabananaandfamily 

BTW Hoppy, I couldnt remember if I got wyandotte or orps from you, do you remember? There were a couple EE eggs and a lav orp/wyandotte cross that were marked, but didnt make it past the first candling.

 

Hubby is in panic mode at this point I think. He just headed out to PFU in Bridgton to pick up our next batch of meaties and 4 sexed pullets we ordered so we could make sure we had layers (clearly he underestimated my love of hatching!) and as he was leaving he realized that with those he picks upp today, the meaties we have outside, our regular flock, the 4wk olds, and the ones hatching now, we will have over 40 chickens here....thats quite a leap from the 5 we started the season out with! I try to explain it in chicken math terms, but I can tell it goes way over his head

I am soo happy! I just got 2 Barred rocks, 1 white rock, 1 golden comet, 2 new hamshire or rhode island reds, 2 black australorps, 1 buff orpington, and 1 white leghorn 10 month old pullets! Not only that but someone is bringing me a few roosters so that I will have nice trio's and pairs! I am getting a barred rock roo, so that I will have a trio of those, and white rock roo so I Will have a pair of those, a mottled cochin bantam roo, so that I will have 2 blue hens and a mottled roo (dont really care about color), and then a white old english roo, might sell him might keep him!

thank you for trying on goose eggs, I'm sure soon enough they will get here. trying to make a stained glass panel for the poultry show, dragging my feet on it. 

on your rat problem, you can try one of those box traps that  either kill in the box or has the bait in there or what some bird breeders do is: set up a 5 gal bucket with water, sprinkle sunflower seeds on top of the water so it looks like a full bucket of seed, have the water level low enough that rat can't get back out but will drown.  good luck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwockbwock 

This place truly is the Funny Farm.

My first chicks are here!  1/3 of the order arrived-- just the Brahmas. I guess the others didn't ship.  So so cute!  I'm very worried I might kill them out of ignorance.  I think I am doing it right but didn't but the fancy multi-hole feeder and wish I had.  I laughed when they started a "keep away" with a large piece of crumble.  So young to do that.  Do I really have to check on them every hour round the clock for the first week??  I really hope my others come soon.  (I ordered Silver Laced dottes and a few more Ameraucanas.)  I can't wait to have them 'like' me.