Search results for query: *

Morning all. I haven't posted in a while but jump online from time to time to catch up. I live outside Lost Nation and have 18 layers. I was told that they would slow down over the winter but I put a light on a timer in that keeps them in 14 hours of daylight and I'm still getting 14-16 eggs...

I cut around the neck as close as I can to the body, then bend it untill it breaks off, sometimes need to cut a little there too but when you bend it it will break around your cut...as a rule. If / when that doesn't work I switch from my boning knife to a big (12") chefs knife and cut through.

I did my first a few weeks back as well, did 14 of them in 5 days. I switched from nails to spikes as the nails were too short to keep the bird secured. After I used the ax I held him upside down and let him bleed out into a "gut bucket" then scalded and hand picked. Wasn't too hard to...

Hi Everyone, I haven't signed on in a while, it's been crazy busy at work and of course with the garden and chickens I barely have time to sleep. We got 15 Cornish Rock Cross about 9 weeks ago and I've just finished dressing (is that the same as butchering?) them. I had never done it by...

Laura, I think the corrugated plastic is a good idea, I will have to incorporate that into my run, if I ever see the ground again to start the dang thing. Right now there is a 5 foot drift where my run will be. Channin, I hear you on the snorkel. The only good news is that we live on a hill...

Hi Channin, Yea, I'm glad they cancelled, but we couldn't get out anyway. If the wind is strong out of the NW it only takes a few inches to drift our road closed. We only got about 3 1/2 inches here and very little ice to we were lucky. Laura, the snow on your run reminds me about how I'm...

Hi Jenn, Latest I've heard is the heaviest band is supposed to run from Cedar Rapids to Sterling, IL so we are all in the bullseye. Let's just hope the ice is kept to a minimum! Kent

Yea Chanin, I'm watching that too. We have about 2 1/2 miles of gravel road to drive to get to a blacktop and if we get anywhere near what they are talking about it's will be another couple of days snowed in here. They are saying NW winds which kills us as we are on a north / south road and I...

Hi Melissa, Yep, I know right where Monticello is. We have family that farms up that way, and they have a quarry on the property as well. I also hear you on the lonely dog. We have a Golden that is an outside dog and was on his own for the first two years, then a friend of ours had a heeler...

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN QUAD CITIES HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING. PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL BE POSSIBLE SATURDAY...

Thanks Jenn, Sounds like as big as you have room for and can afford is the way to go. I keeping hearing / reading that they do a number on the grass and it's best to rotate them as much as possible, and also helps with disease, etc. I'm sketching a plan as I sit here. Do you raise any meat...

I hear you on the snow. NWS is saying possible "significant" accumulations NW of a line from Fairfield to Moline to Freeport with some ice thrown in. That puts us in the bullseye, and we know what happened last time they said "significant". A question for everyone. I have a nice coop that...

Quote: Hi Laura. I live outside Lost Nation. Yes, really. I had never even heard of it when I was living in the Quad Cities, and it's only about 45 min. northwest of there. We had 14.5" of snow 2 days earlier, then had 40mph winds for over 24 hours and out here in the cornfields there is...

Yep, the roads are still bad up our way. We haven't been able to get out since the wind picked up on Saturday afternoon, and the plow still can't get to us. There are about 8 houses around us still snowed in as the drifts are 8ft. plus and the snow is packed hard. I walked about 200 yards...

Thanks Jenn, that will help. Well, we got about 14" of snow Wednesday, and the good news is that my chickens future coop held up pretty well. A few spot that need covered as a little snow drifted in, but overall they would have been pretty snug even in the blizzard we had. How did the rest of...

Yep, I found Schelcht's site and did notice that they don't sex a lot of their chicks, so I have a couple of questions for all you more experienced folk... My current plan is to get some fryers and some layers, looking at Jumbo Cornish Rock for fryers and Sex Link or Rhode Island Reds for...

Hi Jenn, Thanks for the info, I could handle Mechanicsville. Chenin (that's your name, right???) it is Schlecht. They go yearly and like the place so we are going to check it out. We are trying to prep our kids (9, 5, and 4) that the chickens will be for eggs and frying, not pets but we will...

Hi momof3, Yea you are just down the road neighbor. We moved out here just east of Lost Nation five years ago and have a full barn and attached chicken coop that we've just been using for storage but are ready to take the plunge. I know about Sandhill down in Calamus, have you ordered from...

Thanks Jenn, Well, that's one of my first questions. Do you buy chicks locally, at a "swap", or by mail? I'm 55 miles east of Cedar Rapids and 45 miles north of the Quad Cities. I would assume that there are hatcheries around here somewhere, is there a listing of them that you know of...

Hi! Another Iowan checking in. Born and raised in Iowa City but came to my senses and moved to an acerage outside of Lost Nation (yes, really). Looking forward to chatting with more Iowans and learning about chickens. We were blessed to have a nice barn AND attached chicken coop on our land...