NY chicken lover!!!!

[Tough Old Bird]

I have a "Bucket list" of books to read and Winn Dixie was one. They are not all so easy though.

I know that Bill Clinton had a list of books he's read but I didn't have a pencil when he was naming them.

I love to read. It doesn't matter how tired I am or how late I may have gotten in from someplace -- I've got to read before I go to sleep. And plenty of times in the middle of the night, it's what I do when I wake up and can't get back to sleep.

I know you like some of the young adult titles, Rancher. Did you ever read, "Where the Red Fern Grows" or "My Side of the Mountain" ? These are excellent stories, for young adults and not-so-young adults like me!

TOB - I'm so sorry for your loss of your hen. Don't beat yourself up over it, most of us on this thread, even tho we may not be newbies to owning chickens, we are newbies to what illness they may have/catch. At least you have figured out what it may be that has caused her passing and are taking precautions to treat the rest of your flock. Hugs!

Lynzi, thank you for the kind words and support. I appreciate it.

Thanks for the complements, it was the only piece of glass I made last year, production and motivation were down. Rancher, I have taught a bit, so that option is open. Edited to add the most important thing, TOB I am sorry about Cracker. You did the best you could for her, and as Lynzi said we're all learning.

Thanks so much, Glass. I knew this day was coming, but wish it hadn't. I'm just glad it wasn't on my son's 13th b'day, which was the 26th. That's when I noticed she was definitely "off."

I had hoped that would be able to clean out the duck hut, but I have spent most all day shoveling water off our back pad. There is a huge amount of ice and it is blocking the flow so it is pooling on the pad. It takes less then 30 minutes and the water has came back all the way to our back door. I moved the baby ducks to their bigger movable pen. I wheel it out during the day then wheel it back in at night, but with the porch flooding they had to stay in today. Hopefully I'll be able to get to it tomorrow before DH goes back to work. He has been on vacation this week!

I'm also having water issues with the frozen ground plus the snow melt. It's traveling right through my pen. UGH. Slip, sloppy and we're obviously in need of some regrading. Good luck with your water problem, LuvMyChicks.


TOB

 

[rancher hicks]

TOB - I'm so sorry for your loss of your hen. Don't beat yourself up over it, most of us on this thread, even tho we may not be newbies to owning chickens, we are newbies to what illness they may have/catch. At least you have figured out what it may be that has caused her passing and are taking precautions to treat the rest of your flock. Hugs!

I agree. I am sorry for your loss. It's one thing to take a bird for food but to lose one to illness is hard.

 

[Lynzi777]

Here's the new/final set up for this year:

Orps to the left, Bantams on the right, ducklings are in the middle. I think I'm going to swap them with the Bantams tho because I don't like how open the top is on the bantam pen. Easy access to hawks. The middle one has a tree so that'll out some coverage over them, enough hopefully to keep a hawk from swooping down. The ducks and rabbits are all behind them, I left a path between the two.

 

[rancher hicks]

I love to read. It doesn't matter how tired I am or how late I may have gotten in from someplace -- I've got to read before I go to sleep. And plenty of times in the middle of the night, it's what I do when I wake up and can't get back to sleep.

I know you like some of the young adult titles, Rancher. Did you ever read, "Where the Red Fern Grows" or "My Side of the Mountain" ? These are excellent stories, for young adults and not-so-young adults like me!



Lynzi, thank you for the kind words and support. I appreciate it.



Thanks so much, Glass. I knew this day was coming, but wish it hadn't. I'm just glad it wasn't on my son's 13th b'day, which was the 26th. That's when I noticed she was definitely "off."



I'm also having water issues with the frozen ground plus the snow melt. It's traveling right through my pen. UGH. Slip, sloppy and we're obviously in need of some regrading. Good luck with your water problem, LuvMyChicks.


TOB

I have a lot of books of different age ranges just so I have something. Sometimes I like something simple just for the distraction. I once picked up a paperback of "The Brothers Karamazov" , only to find I already had a copy on the shelf.

It's a shame the ducks are so young. I watch the water running like a stream across the yard.

In other news someone came today to give me back two Birchen chicks from eggs she hatched. She works in a nursing home and hatches some each year. I gave her egg again. An assortment.

I've been finding eggs in the nest box that Frenchy sleeps in. She's 6yrs old. If it is her. They're smaller than a Del and I'd be surprised if it were a Del. It might be Buchwheat but she usually lays it in another nest box. If I wasn't leaving I'd set it in the incubator.

I really should watch to see who it is.

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

I'm also having water issues with the frozen ground plus the snow melt. It's traveling right through my pen. UGH. Slip, sloppy and we're obviously in need of some regrading. Good luck with your water problem, LuvMyChicks.


TOB

I don't even want to start with the chicken run. I think that all the snow from the yard makes a river then runs right through the chicken yard and into the dog yard. I don't think that it will dry out till August.

Here's the new/final set up for this year:


Orps to the left, Bantams on the right, ducklings are in the middle. I think I'm going to swap them with the Bantams tho because I don't like how open the top is on the bantam pen. Easy access to hawks. The middle one has a tree so that'll out some coverage over them, enough hopefully to keep a hawk from swooping down. The ducks and rabbits are all behind them, I left a path between the two.

I think that it looks good! Glad that you finally figured it all out the way that you wanted!

 

[Henicillin]

My last tom, my big, gorgeous pride and joy, died today. I'm heartbroken. All three of my beautiful boys are gone.

I was giving him metronidazole on top of the amprolium and, now, Sulmet for coccidiosis on the off-chance that it was actually blackhead, although blackhead is incredibly unlikely, and the victims were lacking some of its symptoms (it's much more common down South during hot, humid weather, as the parasite doesn't do frigid weather) . Obviously, it didn't help. I have more metronidazole coming from Drs. Foster and Smith, and I think I'll dose the girls with it, just in case.

I have eight hens left. I hope they don't succumb to whatever hellish mess this is. At least it's a species-specific mess - my chooks and duckehs are unaffected.

This sucks. We also lost our remaining hive of bees to the cold (they lost too many workers and froze). I hate this miserable, interminable, nonstop winter. UGH.

 

[Glasshen]

Heni, I am so sad about your turkeys and bees. And you said it right about this winter. BIG HUG.

 

[rancher hicks]

Heni, I'm sorry for your trouble.

This has been a terrible winter for sure.

I was thinking today how I lost mostly my roosters. My two del and the br. Don't know what was wrong and only they got sick.

 

[SunnysideupstateNY]

Sorry to hear everyones troubles and losses lately.

I'm hoping the snow and cold is done. I'm so over it. I need to see my daffodils pop up soon!

I should be getting my paw paw trees next week, Rancher I'll get those Jostaberries to you soon.

I just let the dog out, I look out the window and see something in the yard, but it looked too small to be her. I call for her and she comes running from probably 30ft below the unidentified animal, then it looks at me. I think it was stalking her, I'm pretty sure it was a fox. Looks like I'll be having more fox trouble this year.

 

[Lynzi777]

Heni - so sorry to hear about your turkey :-(