Hi, folks! I just wanted to thank you all for the great processing information you've posted in this section of the forum over the years. I've been going over the threads on butchering dual purpose birds in preparation for processing a nuisance bird tomorrow. Thanks to you, I feel well...
I hate winter, but right now I'd almost welcome a good, hard killing frost to do in the mosquitoes that have hatched since we were deluged by rain a few weeks ago. I'm usually not bothered by them (I don't react to the bites for more than a few minutes for some reason), but it's getting pretty...
My neighbors' three kids have been outside shrieking at the top of their lungs most of the day (nice kids, but, holy Moses, they are LOUD). I haven't heard my Polish cockerel crow once. Obviously he has conceded victory in the Neighborhood Noise Contest to the competition in face of the...
...or hormones, your choice.
One of my eleven-week-old SS cockerels, although he isn't yet crowing (that we've witnessed, anyhow), is nevertheless feeling a stirring in his blood. He's beginning to eye the pullets with lascivious intent, which would impress the ladies were he a mature, studly...
So, three of my four straight-run SS have turned out to be cockerels, which is fine, as I wanted at least two flock roos. There are 21 pullets, so the ratio of hen to roo may be a bit dodgy, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
One of the SS cockerels, Rosco, is about a week older...
I'd much rather do chicken chores than clean my own house. Hoe out the old shavings in the coop? No problem! Rake the run? Sure! Scrub waterers? I'm all for it. Dust and vacuum the house? Yeah, RIGHT - why on Earth would I want to spend my day off doing that?
I despise housework (and...
My three hatchery Salmon Faverolles are now nine weeks old. Two of them are in the "definite pullet" category. The third, though, has been a "is she or isn't she a she?" mystery for several weeks now, and has been christened Victor/Victoria until an official determination (egg or no egg) is...
My fourteen big kids (nine weeks old today) moved out to their newly finished coop tonight, as their fat, feathery butts were seriously overcrowding their dog pen, and they were stinking up the garage. Consternation ensued at first until we threw some alfalfa to them, which made them very...
The seven new kids arrived today at noon. Everyone looked great except for one of the Jersey Giants. She kept her eyes closed and just stood in the corner, unsteady on her feet, while the others zoomed around like mad fiends. So, I hit BYC, searched for "chick eyes closed," and followed the...
I'm expecting seven newbies from Meyer tomorrow, and am in the process of sterilizing one of my redneck Walmart Sterlite tote brooders so I can set it up for them. I thought about putting them in with my four Speckled Sussex, but those guys/gals (I suspect at least one is a cockerel, who will...
Our first reasonably local county fair is in less than a month - it's almost fair season!
Just figured I'd share, as somehow I think that folks who hang around at BYC can appreciate my enthusiasm.
My girls are hatchery birds, so they obviously won't be winning any prizes any time soon for conformation to their breed standards, but I think they're cute anyway.
The Wyandotte is Daphne, and the BO is Mrs. Beasley. They're 5 1/2 weeks old.
Daphne and Mrs. Beasley by Henicillin, on Flickr
...and came home with a new Chick Containment System, otherwise known as a portable dog pen. It's pretty awesome - four feet high and sixteen feet around. The ladies are loving it, as they've pretty well outgrown their lawnmower-box brooder. It was "Peep peep peep... hey, wait a minute! We...
At the ripe old age of nine days old, my chicks are discovering the joys of their rapidly developing wings, and are now occasionally fluttering their way around their little world. One of my Dominique chicks, who is an adventuresome sort, attempted to get up to the edge of the brooder while I...
Hi, folks! After lurking for ages while mulling over the costs and benefits of the chickenful lifestyle, I've decided to take the plunge at last. Fifteen young ladies of five breeds (three each of Buff Brahmas, Buff Orps, Dominiques, Salmon Faverolles, and Blue Laced Red Wyandottes) will soon...