Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

Well things here on the Triplell Farm SUCKS!!!! DH is making it very hard for me to keep any chickens past March. He wants them all gone at the Pierz Auction. At this time we are seperated and he's in control of all $ as i dont have an income.

Cream Legbars are all for sale...$150.00 a Trio x 3
I also have many S.Q. B/B LF Cochins $150.00 a Trio x 4
Plus a Pair of Splash LF Cochins plus 1 that hasnt decided what it is.
5 Red Sexlinks and another that is molting and they attacked her. Right now she is seperated. $10 each

I'm fighting to keep my Bantam trios x 2.
I hate to do tbis as they are all my babies. The Legbars are from Greenfire Farms lines C & D. The Cochins started from Minniechickmama's lines. I have breed them for Show Quality and have done awesome at our county fairs. The Judges keep asking me to take them to Hutch and show as they feel these will compete very well.

Thank you Minnie for such a wonderful start.

If you are interested or have questions just PM me.

Triplell

Heidi, that is terrible news!!! I am so sorry to hear that!
I am glad they have done well for you and maybe you will be back in action again once this chapter is all over with. Good luck!

 

[ejb3810]

Ralphie, those must be some villainous guineas you have. Ed has been living with 6 all winter without problems. Ole on the other hand is quite likely wondering what those god awful ugly things are ? I have Lavender and Cobalt Blue and maybe they are more civilized types of guinea ?

 

[duluthralphie]

I have pearl, and they are by far the least civilized animals I have ever raised, and I owned a quarter horse that was descendent of Doc Bar that was plum nuts, I had some wild grey squirrels in a cage as a kid, and I had a few boars that were iffy. None of them compare in meanness to the guineas. I enjoy having them around, their antics are fun to watch, and they eat bugs like crazy. BUT THEY ARE MEAN.


I got in the pen with them and ED and even with me their separating them a couple tried to attack ED. I am hoping they will get use to each other sharing a run/coop , but I dare not et them be together unsupervised. I actually thought Ed would kick the guineas butt he is so big, but maybe being the new guy he was a little scared.

I told you they killed one of their own last fall. He was the leader of the pack and all of a sudden they all turned on him and beat the crap out of him. He died about 4 days later. I think they had a coup.

 

[ejb3810]

I have heard that of guineas, but mine have not been that way. They are kind of a nuisance and very noisy, but they make an unbelievable difference in the tick population. The latter is the real reason I have them.

 

[ejb3810]

Ralphie, hope all is well in the Banana Belt today. Up here in God's country my thermometer reads "offline" which is what happens just after -20. I can only imagine what the low in Togo might be.
I am not too happy with the status of progression of "Global Warming" at this point, and come to think of it this is the third winter in a row that has seen brutal cold late in the season. Snow total has been somewhat low, but my request to divert it to the NE part of the country seems to have been granted.
We do need a warm up so that I can think of starting some chicks, as I refuse to put snowshoes on them when they are old enough to go outside.
I am thinking about getting some chicks from Sand Hill Preservation. They have many breeds available. The quality is quite good, and their prices are also reasonable. Not a bad combination.
I think I will pray for a warm spell, as I am tired of dealing with frozen waterers.

 

[duluthralphie]

It is quite a bit warmer here, I did notice a few coconut palm fronds have turned brown on the very tips. Of course, I did use smog pots to keep the worst of the frost away. I fueled some smog pots with small pieces of tires to do my part and put the global warming curve back on an upwardly direction.

I did not think to check the temperature at the cabin until I read your post. it was only 16 below, however, it should be noted I cannot see the actual temps at the cabin in Togo. I am forced to see what the temps are in the city of Effie, as you know the heat sink from major metropolitan areas like Effie, will cause a temperature to read several degrees higher than the outlying areas.

I suppose we are heading to the 4 feet of snow we get in April again this year.

I will have to look into Sand hill Preservation, I had not heard of them. Of course my problem is not having enough coops and pens to have controlled breeding. I wish I had the space now, I would buy the 3 Creambars Triplell wants to sell. I just cannot justify getting a rare or exotic breed and then turning it lose with my mutts. Other than hatching time I have no problem with them all free ranging, but when I hatch I want them to be pure.


I think you should use your influence and move some warm tropical air this direction.

 

[duluthralphie]

Are any of you certified NPIP testers or APHA whatever they are called?

I see there is a class coming up in Sauk Rapids and Mankato.

 

[aussiegal318]

Hi everyone. Had sometime to catch up on whats happening in coops across MN. My Cochin from Minnie turned out to be a roo, but he still hasn't crowed. He is the gaurdian of the coop, literally sits in the pop door & keeps to himself pretty much. The little Icelandics found a little niche at the top of the coop to roost on, however its not very good for the roo's comb. He'll lose a good part of it.

Tripell, so sorry about your situation; it really does suck. I can empathize, I need to get rid of the alpacas due to DH's medical issues. I hope I can wait until after shearing in May; I would like something for having fed the boys all winter.

Ralphie, you're too funny. And the nomination for the best coop drama goes to...(drum roll) "As the Chicken Turns". Bert will be accepting the award tonight.

And Ebner's is great for getting worms for the girls any time of year. Cheap enough that there is no reason for me to add raising meal worms to the list. I live just outside of Elk River.

It will be strange not to put a garden in this year, except for some easy, no fuss stuff for the grand kids. We decided to go with a CSA out of Princeton because they drop off in Elk River.

 

[duluthralphie]

I will have to get a tux for Bert. I wonder what size he wears.
l

I thought Ebner's had closed. My brother bought a ton of minnow traps from them 10-15 years ago, he said they were closing then. ( I could be wrong on time frame I know it was over 8 years ago.) I know he got the traps because I got stuck hauling some of them.

What's a CSA? How far out of Elk River? Should I wave as I go by? See you at Marties...

 

[duluthralphie]

Another day in " As the Chicken turns'....

Bert is spending his first night in the big chicken coop. He is so excited. I went to lock them up tonight and Bert was not on his feed sack roosting. Instead he was in the main part of the coop eating next to Ernie from the layer mash. Which is amazing because the other day they were squabbling. I am assuming Bert has allowed some of the women to continue to see Ernie on a social basis. We all know what a stud muffin Bert is.

I am a little worried how this will work out for Bert. Bert has never been on a real roost before. I am hoping if he decides to roost he only goes as high as the first roost, at nest level. if he goes higher he could break a leg jumping down. Also it good cause an earthquake which would be felt from Blue Earth to Effie and for 100 mile wide band.

The other problem is the layer mash itself, I feed layer mash freewill within the coop. Bert being a CX may find the buffet more than he can resist. I do not want him to sit next to the feed and eat al night. He has a genetic predisposition to be a little piggish.

The next problem of the day, not counting the frozen eggs, was Ole defecting to the guineas. I went to check on Ed and Ole and Ed was all alone and Ole was sitting on a work bench I have in there with a guinea. I am worried they were plotting against Ed. Ed said he wanted in there too, so he could met the guineas on a more cordial note, I relented and let Ed in there.


I was dumbfounded how Ole got in there. I searched and searched for a hole, I could find none. Until finally Ole showed me the hole. It was way up in the peak of the roof where the bird netting did not quite come together. I cannot believe he could find it let alone get through it. Did I mention Ole's full name is Ole Fernando Houdini?