I have 34 birds and need to get down to just breeders for winter, so 12 need to go. Three girls have stopped laying or are laying less than once a week. I have them marked. Most of the boys are being perfectly behaved, which makes that choice harder. One is being a teenage jerk, but he's only 15...
I went to an informal animal auction a few months ago, and I'll never do it again. The woman buying roosters...lets just say she was cruel to the birds. While I knew and expected that they would be harvested, I would prefer to know that they are going to be treated respectfully until that last...
The neighbor's dog died, and they got 5 puppies, four of them pitbulls. Right now the puppies are just interested, and stalking rather than chasing. There is a fence between, but the chickens are used to foraging in the garden and the puppies keep coming over (we've spent the last week...
Hatched!
The broody was completely indifferent to the new chick, so I stole it and I'll brooder raise the two of them together.
Good to know that she didn't actively reject the baby. No pecking or violence, just indifference.
One of the little boys was dead this morning. He was the smallest of the Kraienkoppe and he's been struggling to get up into the rafters, even with the help of a ladder. He is now feeding a young mulberry.
Not sure they bonded, but the chick is following the group. Mom seems mostly indifferent, but she obviously let the baby sleep with the others because it's not lethargic or chilled.
My sister's broody hatched 6 eggs, and when she came off the nest we discovered that she had stashed 14 more!
I candled them and found 5 that might hatch, so I brought them into my incubator. Three were rotten. I think another is dead but I'm still waiting.
One hatched day before yesterday...
The first set of cucumbers is dying, but the second set is in full swing. Same with the melons. A few stubborn melons are holding to the dead vines, but the new batch is working hard.
I'm picking green beans nearly every day. It's enough for fresh eating but not enough to put up, even in the...
You split it, gut it, bake until soft. Then use it like any other squash, OR use a fork to divide it into strands. I prefer it alone with butter, but it's almost as tasteless as zucchini so it will go with just about anything.
My tomatoes are still green, except for one bush of orange salad types. Something got my most productive melon, with maybe a dozen tiny melons still on it. I suspect whatever is tearing the ripe melons open got impatient.
Still half a dozen massive watermelons out there (last one was 33...
This one little girl just can't seem to figure out the rafter roost. All her siblings took to it easily. I've been catching her and walking her over for nearly a week. The little boy, no problem. It seems she still wants to roost in the brooder with her big brothers.
When I put her down, she...
In that caseI would also suggest laying the hardware cloth on the ground and building up. I thought you chose 2 feet because the squirrels didn't go down that far.
Good. I've talked to people who go through this weird grief process when they get a rooster and the behavior of the hens changes. Figured I'd mention it JIC.