Surviving Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

By Jerry staying in the tropics of Illinois he is missing out on the most productive fishing time in Minnesota. This must be difficult for him, as it seems he truly does like to fish and to eat them ?

BC, the Guineas do take some getting used to. I have found that the noise is tolerable in light of the advantages of tick removal and alarm system they provide. Although mine were known to go down to the road, they were smart enough to avoid vehicles. The passersby would often stop to ponder what type of bird is this flock anyway ? City slickers, there is no accounting for their lack of common knowledge. I have had (last summer) a city slicker stop in here and tell me I had some strange birds on the road infront of my place. He had no idea what they were. He was extremely concerned they would get hit by a car. I agreed it was a concern, but there was nothing I could do about it. He then asked if I could just catch them and lock them up. Trying to explain the life of a Guinea to a city person was a waste of time

It is a bit on the chilly side this morning. I would suggest that there be no run to the coop in your skivvies today BC, or you may suffer some frostbite. The Banana Belt nudists may even put a jacket on before chasing turkeys off the deck today ?

I would tell her this, but she is unaware any of you know about her dabbling in nudism..... However, she did accuse me of telling you guys after a friend was here the other day and gave her a rash of poop about her nudism...LOL
Small hatch Ralphie but this time of year it is to be expected. On the bright side, with the lakes and ponds frozen over there are many fewer ducks and geese around.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Wow, -31 is horrifying! I can't even image.
BC, why can't you have turkeys? They are easier on my garden than the chickens. I love working in the gardens with them. They are more interested in my garden tools than my plants. Yesterday I got my wheel barrow out & was tossing weeds into it to haul to the compost pile. The turkeys roosted on the handles & beaked through the weeds for anything to their liking. You'd enjoy gardening with them!

@Memphis we had a chook get blackhead here on our ground. I'm afraid I'd end up with a broken heart is all with turkeys on the premises. They'd range, eat a few worms and such and have x's in their eyes by Monday.

She could have a pair of turkeys, it would be like having a pair of outside dogs, except they stay home and don't chase deer,,,

Amen to that. I will say the new bells and whistles collar is working well when the neighbors are up. She's not going over there near as much. LOL. Also over Christmas Vacation...IDK...we spent some time with her I suppose and she seems alot calmer and understanding of our ground rules. She's settling I think. And if we hold up a treat she immediately gets down and does a roll over. Hahaha. We love that new trick.

By Jerry staying in the tropics of Illinois he is missing out on the most productive fishing time in Minnesota. This must be difficult for him, as it seems he truly does like to fish and to eat them ?

BC, the Guineas do take some getting used to. I have found that the noise is tolerable in light of the advantages of tick removal and alarm system they provide. Although mine were known to go down to the road, they were smart enough to avoid vehicles. The passersby would often stop to ponder what type of bird is this flock anyway ? City slickers, there is no accounting for their lack of common knowledge.

It is a bit on the chilly side this morning. I would suggest that there be no run to the coop in your skivvies today BC, or you may suffer some frostbite. The Banana Belt nudists may even put a jacket on before chasing turkeys off the deck today ?

Small hatch Ralphie but this time of year it is to be expected. On the bright side, with the lakes and ponds frozen over there are many fewer ducks and geese around.

OMGosh Ed you had me rolling laughing this morning. Just to set the record straight I quit my skivvie runs when I had a 10 lb New Hampshire rooster come at me and my bright white thighs with spurs and hackles. I felt quite exposed. Well I was I guess. Hahaha. But something about having a pair of jeans on to break up the impact of a set of spurs and a beak has me reformed to clothed escapades to the coop.
And although there is a little bit of Swede rolling around in the veins...I am more Norwegian. Just a tidge smarter than you're giving me credit for.

And I am definitely not a Finn streakin' from a sauna and rolling around in the white stuff and 30 below.

Although I would love a Sauna....

Perhaps Ralphie you should barrier the deck off for a while to protect Judy's Lady bits this morning.
Funny about the Guineas and passerbys. They are a bit on the exotic side, I'd say. I will say this I love my plump hens and all the nostalgia and antics they give me. DH and I have never had tick disease. Ever. I don't know if it's good clean living or what. But for Mushroom foraging, hunting, etc...you'd think something would give. Kids have never had it either. Dogs...yes. I wonder about immunity and being able to fight it as locals. LOL. I laugh but 1/2 serious. They say that after a few decades that we adapt to diseases and such....so perhaps. I think it comes down to luck...and jumping in a shower after our outdoor sports...that helps too.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

So my sister is keeping hens in a southern suburb of the Metro. She loves them and she is more country bumpkin than I am. One heck of a walleye fisher woman. Etc. If anybody cares for or deserves chickens it is her. She has a large one acre lot with an old growth back yard and fencing...designed to keep 3 hens in heaven. But she is having troubles in her rookie year.

Why does the learning curve need to be so high for folks? She lost one hen this summer due to a gash under the wing that got infected and of course she didn't know until too late. They saw then about a week later a neighborhood cat stalking her birds on her property. So there was probably the reason for the infected gash. Then about early December they had some big temperature fluctuations and she came home to another ailing bird and they lost her. That one is still a mystery as sounds like she is doing everything right. Her coop may be a tidge warm though...IDK. It's insulated. I told her she needs to acclimate her birds to the cold more. They're going from a warm coop to the cold run in the morning. And now a month later the last 3 birds have blood feathers on their neck and are going through a molt. Not good in the middle of January. Any thoughts on that? I know we all have our own chicken issues let alone deal with another's. She has been using a ceramic reptile bulb for warmth when we dip below 0. She says her coop is 40 sometimes. I've told her to get it below freezing. 0-30 (frozen poop) is the goal. And these ceramic bulbs...these don't have the teflon issue right? Where they give off toxic fumes and kill flocks? I do wonder about that weather event earlier in December stressing them and forcing a molt. Losing a flock mate is also a stressor I suppose.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Oh! Forgot to mention. Coop thermometer said 5 degrees (its located near the ceiling) So the floor maybe was 0. That snow made a difference I'm sure.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Hey guys, I'm not from Minnesota, but Wisconsin, Go Pack Go. Anyway with a similar climate, when is the best time to incubate chicken eggs? If it takes three weeks to hatch and a few more in the brooder, I don't want them to outgrow the brooder before it's warm enough to put them outside in the colder Coop. Also what kind of chicks do you recommend? Thanks for helping a neighbor to the east and a first time chicken farmer!

Go Pack Go?

I use the biggest sterilite bin I can get my hands on. You can also use more than one. Divide and conquer theory. I do have a larger cage if I have over a dozen or so, but it's a space taker. Most birds are well feathered by 6 weeks and I send them to the big coop at that time. I have some 8 week olds still in the brooder - I'll give them the boot next week when it's warmer.

You got a lot of great breed suggestions! I love my Marans most. Wyandottes are a good option as well. I suppose it just depends on what you want - size, color, egg color, winter tolerance, etc....

Tadpoles!!!

Toad Tadpoles!!!





The baby toads are the whiteish ones!

Awesome, Ralphie! Do you always let your chicks hatch from cartons?

 

[MinnesotaNice]

It's cold. Very cold.

 

[NathanZee]

Wow, last night was super cold! And really light out, which made a light night bird check a little more enjoyable!

 

[memphis]

BC, dang, sure wish you could have turkeys. They are a hoot.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

@Bogtown Chick , with her coop being insulated do you think she'd be willing to go without the bulb? I wonder if the late molt is being caused by too much light from the heat bulb. She could pull it when the weather warms up a bit and they can self adjust as it dips. I have a girl going through molt right now. I'm glad her and my big fluffy Cochin are roost buddies.

 

[LadyVictorian]

So cold out today I can't even let my horses outside. Bad idea to keep a desert breed of horses in Minnesota. Time to build those indoor pens downstairs in case I have to bring chickens indoors. Luckily all my chicks already live indoors until 8 weeks old and hopefully by then MN will warm up (LOL what backwards universe do i think I live in).