3rd Annual New Year's Day Hatch!!

[dsqard]

Love my heated mattress pad! We turn it on about a half hour before going to bed and it is so wonderfully toasty!

 

[BHep]

I guess you all don't want to hear that it has been in the 70s here during the day and 50-60s at night.

Last year this time........it was in the teens.

BUT I AM NOT COMPLAINING !!!!!

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Quote:

I'm 30 with no human kids, I can't imagine being a grandma in a few years!

I think I'll stick with being a goat kid grandma.

Edit: Are we talking about weather? (I'm still pages behind catching up) It was 92f here today, overnight 'low' of 62f. Christmas is forecast for 98f!

 

[dsqard]

Quote:

And that's all I have to say about that

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Quote:
http://bestsmileys.com/big/4.gif
And that's all I have to say about that

Awwww

 

[1muttsfan]

You might try putting puppy pads on the bottom of the brooder, then cover with shavings. They absorb a lot of moisture, and when you clean you just roll them up shavings and all.

 

[Melissa Rose]

Quote:
http://bestsmileys.com/big/4.gif
And that's all I have to say about that

I'm a little chilly down here in South Texas though it's like 50ish this morning

And once again I have chicklets in lockdown and we have rain again

Lucky Rain Chickens

A couple more hatches and our horrible draught will be gone

 

[Mahonri]

SCG... so sorry about the fall. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery!!!!

12 hours, work will be done, most of the shopping will be done and I'll just relax.

DD and I watched "Twilight" last night. Freaky. I know some family members here in Phoenix of the gal who wrote the books.
Some folks call what she did "imagination". I would call that a series of nightmares!

9 more days. wahoo.

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
I gave up on the brooders for my ducklings.... WOW they are messy and stinky

I ended up putting them in my bathtub. Easier to clean out. I used old towels instead of shaving. Took the towel outside and rinsed them with the hose, hung them to dry a bit then into the washer.
Raised my geese the same way.

I'd consider a bathtub, but I use one of them frequently (nothing better than thawing your body out in a tub after being outside in Maine winter) and the doors to both bathrooms need to remain open to prevent the pipes from freezing in the winter, thus the cats can also come and go. The brooder is much safer. Last time I had ducks I had them in the chicken brooder, and the bottom got pretty gross. Luckily it was warm then so I put them outside in a cage for a few hours and let the brooder dry out. Can't do that now. They are right now in the very nice brooder my boyfriend just built but he's worried about it getting soaked in water. Hopefully the girl will come today and pick up her ducks - I'll only be keeping 2 (or 3, LOL) so the mess will go down a bit, and hopefully not soak through.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/46869_imag3945.jpg

I agree about the puppy pads and easy cleanup, but I also love using those boot trays you can get for putting next to the door- you could put one in there under the water. The lip is shallow enough for them to get over, you have ridges for a flat surface for the waterer, and you can contain the water, pulling and dumping the tray when you need to.

Regarding winter, all of you in colder areas should know about the insulated overalls- I wear the CESchmidt's for women, and over a good wool sweater, they keep me toasty warm in our yucky sub zero winters. If you kneel in the snow, you don't get wet knees. You zip them off, hang them on a hook, and your clothes are perfect underneath. Splendid!!!

Regarding candling, if you take clear packing tape and lay a 2" strip of foil down the middle, you can then sandwich it with another piece of tape, making a reflective sandwich. Wrap this around your flashlight, most reflective side on the inside, narrowing or widening it to leave a circle a little bigger than a quarter at the end for an opening. trim off the excess tape on the outside (candling) lip and secure it to your flashlight. This collar will mold well to the eggs and use every bit of the light from the bulbs, making your flashlight seem brighter helping you to see more.

I have Silkies, banty EEs, Chanteclers, Orps and my Rock project hatching today. Peep, peep!!

SCG, sorry about your fight with gravity...it'll get you every time!

Mahonri, I am delighted you're feeling better and hope they've given you some form of maintenance so it doesn't happen again.

Namastemama, you'll have to tell us if this pregnancy is different than those with the boys- I always wonder if that's true! My family doesn't make boys. We all have girls, several generations. I'm convinced we're acidic and it kills off the male progeny before they hit the egg. Congrats on the great news, and my prayers for an easy, healthy pregnancy and delivery!

Crazypetlacy, so sorry about the broken leg- that stinks! Keep it busy or it'll be a size smaller than the other by the time you're done healing. Stay away from soda so you don't affect your calcification.

I'm off to do some shopping today- been too busy to even seem like we're getting there. No snow, either, and so it seems less the season. Hope all are going to be with loved ones, no matter your faith or belief system. I respect all and just love that this season is a good time to focus on loved ones and togetherness. I'm going over to a friend's house to try some of their tradition- Latkes!!! I'm looking forward to it.

 

[ChooksChick]

Does anyone else feel like it's an exercise in memory function and attention to keep up with this thread? I feel like I need a rest after all of that. Go synapses!