January 16, 2011
Things are going well on the chicken farm. Due to our weird weather patterns (i.e 50-60 degree days and no precipitation) our chickens have not finished molting. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, or if it doesn't really matter. However, we have 10 half naked chickens and they have been like that for weeks. I have looked for mites, but couldn't see any obvious signs. Alpha still has red blisters on his rump, and i don't know what to do about that. I think if they are still there in the spring, I will have to call a vet for topical cream. That should be fun, putting cream on the head rooster rump. So today, we had our first broody hen. We came home late from the city, and Mike went out to collect eggs, way after dark. This normally is no problem, but this night we had a hen setting on half a dozen eggs. Mike was able to get them with little to o problem because he woke them up and she wasn't aware of what was happening. I think we will wait a bit longer and then let her try to brood them. It could be really fun to see.
August 31, 2011
5 months and 4 days after opening my first box of day old chicks and I couldn't be happier. The Australorps started laying on August 20th. Since then we have collect 21 delicious gifts. All of us are enjoying having the chickens, well maybe not my neighbors.
We have only lost 5 chickens- 1 died the day after shipping, 1 had to be put to sleep after a couple weeks since its legs wouldn't heal from slipped joints, and then we lost 3 to a neighbor's dog. As far as a first flock, the australorps have been amazing. They have built up my confidence and I am ready for our spring expantion into another breed.
About Me and Mine:
I currently live in Lacona, IA where I annoy the entire town with my 25 hens and 3 roosters. I live on the top of the hill, so the whole valley can hear my boys crow all day. I am not origianlly from Iowa, but I am having a blast checking out what this state has to offer. I have two dogs, a husky mix named Angel and an Aussie shepherd called Kenny G. Last year I decided that Angel wasn't having enough fun in the city so I bought a couple of acres so Angel would have somewhere to run. Well, not really, but that's a better reason than wanting to live closer to work.
Living in the country has gotten me back in touch with my roots and I have had a great time turning my 2 acres into a little hobby farm. In March, my family came out from Wyoming and helped set up a garden area and started building a chicken coop. We joke that yes it really does take 2 lawyers, a banker, an engineer, an accountant, 2 civil servants, and 2 musicians to build a coop. We are just proud that it's still stnading. I ordered my chickens shortly there after. Five months after my first 25 chicks arrived, they are finally laying and I am njoying every minute.
I would post pictures, but I havne't figured out how to do that yet.
Things are going well on the chicken farm. Due to our weird weather patterns (i.e 50-60 degree days and no precipitation) our chickens have not finished molting. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, or if it doesn't really matter. However, we have 10 half naked chickens and they have been like that for weeks. I have looked for mites, but couldn't see any obvious signs. Alpha still has red blisters on his rump, and i don't know what to do about that. I think if they are still there in the spring, I will have to call a vet for topical cream. That should be fun, putting cream on the head rooster rump. So today, we had our first broody hen. We came home late from the city, and Mike went out to collect eggs, way after dark. This normally is no problem, but this night we had a hen setting on half a dozen eggs. Mike was able to get them with little to o problem because he woke them up and she wasn't aware of what was happening. I think we will wait a bit longer and then let her try to brood them. It could be really fun to see.
August 31, 2011
5 months and 4 days after opening my first box of day old chicks and I couldn't be happier. The Australorps started laying on August 20th. Since then we have collect 21 delicious gifts. All of us are enjoying having the chickens, well maybe not my neighbors.
We have only lost 5 chickens- 1 died the day after shipping, 1 had to be put to sleep after a couple weeks since its legs wouldn't heal from slipped joints, and then we lost 3 to a neighbor's dog. As far as a first flock, the australorps have been amazing. They have built up my confidence and I am ready for our spring expantion into another breed.About Me and Mine:
I currently live in Lacona, IA where I annoy the entire town with my 25 hens and 3 roosters. I live on the top of the hill, so the whole valley can hear my boys crow all day. I am not origianlly from Iowa, but I am having a blast checking out what this state has to offer. I have two dogs, a husky mix named Angel and an Aussie shepherd called Kenny G. Last year I decided that Angel wasn't having enough fun in the city so I bought a couple of acres so Angel would have somewhere to run. Well, not really, but that's a better reason than wanting to live closer to work.
Living in the country has gotten me back in touch with my roots and I have had a great time turning my 2 acres into a little hobby farm. In March, my family came out from Wyoming and helped set up a garden area and started building a chicken coop. We joke that yes it really does take 2 lawyers, a banker, an engineer, an accountant, 2 civil servants, and 2 musicians to build a coop. We are just proud that it's still stnading. I ordered my chickens shortly there after. Five months after my first 25 chicks arrived, they are finally laying and I am njoying every minute.
I would post pictures, but I havne't figured out how to do that yet.