Alaskan neighbors come on out

[alaskanhenhouse]

well you definitely have a challenge there. we've been there many a times and seen the snow higher than the trailer houses and the dogs were way up there on tethers. the snow would definitely be higher than the top of my runs netting. waterfowl do help pack it down some but golly!

not that much.

thats a great idea having the coop up on stilts. mine can get under theirs but in a bad way. last year it provided for a duck that hatched out chicks first, that i removed, then some ducks a week later. our snow always blows away so we rarely get enough to really worry about.

mixed breeds are great birds. full of vigor and great layers. would love to see them after they hatch if you are able.

 

[Jdek]

There is "cheeping" coming from inside the bator... I'm anxious to see if any come out of the shells.... I will definately post some picks if any happen to come out.

As for the snowload, yeah...jee... Last year the snow off my roof was level with the top of my eaves. I have to shovel out my windows so I can see out of them come February/March.

 

[Jdek]

Final product of the incubation process: 12 eggs in, 11 eggs out. One egg went to the compost pile for infertility at around day seven.

 

[Carolyn]

I was in your awesome state last summer for my son's wedding in Seldovia. It was my second trip in the 8 yrs or so he's lived there. Wish I was there right now!
I have been talking to my son and daughter (in law) about the possibility of them raising meat chickens for the freezer. Do the cornish rocks do good there or is there another breed that would be better? They aren't ready to start a flock yet but thought summer chickens might be do able.

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

Carolyn, we have about 14 different breeds of chickens including cornish, 4 breeds of ducks and turkeys. We havent kept any ducks, turkeys or cornish over winter yet but everything else has done just fine.

BTW one of our favorite fishing holes is a couple of miles off the coast of Seldovia.

 

[Mrs MIA]

To add to that, the Cornish cross is only around for 8-10 weeks, so they never really lead a normal chicken life. But all of our other birds do just fine in the winter.

Hmmm... I thought we were going to our favorite fishing hole this weekend...

 

[alaskanhenhouse]

we too have many laying breeds here and have raised cornish and red broilers over the winter as well as the summer. this past winter we also started 20 pekin ducks in october, 30 red broilers in november and 40 pekin ducks in december. we've kept geese over winter several years but not this last one. I kept turkeys over one winter in hopes to breed the following spring but my tom got a bad bumble and was unable to breed. keeping the turkeys over winter was very expensive feed wise but other than that yes, even turkeys can be kept over winter successfully.


hey bird-brain, my hubby just took the boat down to fish your hole this morning.

i'll report how they do and wether they leave you any fish.

 

[Carolyn]

Thanks, I will share your information with Paul. You are right about the fishing in Seldovia; those Salmon are something else. Folks here in the south wanted to know why the salmon I brought back were red!!!! Most had only seen the pale ones from the can.

Glad to know so many breeds do well there. (mine may wish they could summer up there too!)

 

[MayberrySaint]

If any of you Alaskans are near Palmer, please send me a PM...I'm trying to track down an old friend from grad school.

 

[PotterWatch]

Just had to post and say how jealous I am that you all get to live up there. I spent my childhood in Anchorage (Hillside area) and my parents spend their summers at their house in Soldotna now. Here I am stuck in the lower 48 and all the hot weather it shells out. It's just not fair!