Any one want to join me in waiting for eggs, posting and comparing notes?

[CatSol]

Thanks Nakstk. The wood shavings were from an old bag that I used up and throw out the bag. So you are probably right... My girls though do not have an enclosed coop. There is a back wall and a roof on part of it. Slats on 2 sides to help with shade and wide protection. That might be why my birds are OK for now. I will change the chips and be way more careful what I get.
Brooster thanks for the color info for birds and eggs. I still love my girls no matter what. They are such fun. I know what you mean about the growl ... I have some video of that too. Since the boxes for the girls are in the open... I guess they got used to us being around. They don't seem to mind when we are out there... especially if it means treats. I never caught the turkey laying an egg. She doesn't trust me.
Wow Red that is a lot of eggs. I love it. I have to be careful of giving away eggs and making sure we have enough here. When all my girls are laying.... I won't have to worry.
Once in a while I am alone here... but with all the animals it doesn't feel too bad. My Mom and I bought this house together. I don't have any kids yet... so it made sense to pool together to get a house. Especially with the costs of houses out here. Also, as my mom gets older (she is in her 70's) I do worry about her and her diabetes. Living together I can keep an eye on her. All the yard work exercise and visiting all the animals has helped. Her sugar is lower then it was before the move. We are also way more cautious about what we eat now and I know that helps as well. I do wonder what it would be like to grow up here... All of you talking about kids makes me .... think... I don't have forever... but I still have a little time

 

[KnobbyOaks]

Once in a while I am alone here... but with all the animals it doesn't feel too bad. My Mom and I bought this house together. I don't have any kids yet... so it made sense to pool together to get a house. Especially with the costs of houses out here. Also, as my mom gets older (she is in her 70's) I do worry about her and her diabetes. Living together I can keep an eye on her. All the yard work exercise and visiting all the animals has helped. Her sugar is lower then it was before the move. We are also way more cautious about what we eat now and I know that helps as well. I do wonder what it would be like to grow up here... All of you talking about kids makes me .... think... I don't have forever... but I still have a little time

Wow, you are a wonderful blessing to your mom. I lost both my parents a little over two years ago and my husband 10 years ago. After caring for my parents for 5 years, I was able to buy the 10 acres next to my younger son and built a house of my design. We are far enough apart that they have their privacy and I have mine but close enough that if I need help as I get older, they can help with that and I might be able to stay longer in my own home. As far as your having children, it will come when it's ready and I wish you the best with that.

 

[Melabella]

Thanks Nakstk. The wood shavings were from an old bag that I used up and throw out the bag. So you are probably right... My girls though do not have an enclosed coop. There is a back wall and a roof on part of it. Slats on 2 sides to help with shade and wide protection. That might be why my birds are OK for now. I will change the chips and be way more careful what I get.
Brooster thanks for the color info for birds and eggs. I still love my girls no matter what. They are such fun. I know what you mean about the growl ... I have some video of that too. Since the boxes for the girls are in the open... I guess they got used to us being around. They don't seem to mind when we are out there... especially if it means treats. I never caught the turkey laying an egg. She doesn't trust me.
Wow Red that is a lot of eggs. I love it. I have to be careful of giving away eggs and making sure we have enough here. When all my girls are laying.... I won't have to worry.
Once in a while I am alone here... but with all the animals it doesn't feel too bad. My Mom and I bought this house together. I don't have any kids yet... so it made sense to pool together to get a house. Especially with the costs of houses out here. Also, as my mom gets older (she is in her 70's) I do worry about her and her diabetes. Living together I can keep an eye on her. All the yard work exercise and visiting all the animals has helped. Her sugar is lower then it was before the move. We are also way more cautious about what we eat now and I know that helps as well. I do wonder what it would be like to grow up here... All of you talking about kids makes me .... think... I don't have forever... but I still have a little time

So happy you have each other Cat, I lost my beloved mother 13 years ago, and I still miss her terribly. She would have loved this place me and my family call home, and she would just get the biggest kick out of the chickens, and the land, she would have loved the land!
I am sure the animals, and the peace of having her daughter with her help her health a great deal. Blessings to your family of humans and animals.

MB

 

[Melabella]

Wow, you are a wonderful blessing to your mom. I lost both my parents a little over two years ago and my husband 10 years ago. After caring for my parents for 5 years, I was able to buy the 10 acres next to my younger son and built a house of my design. We are far enough apart that they have their privacy and I have mine but close enough that if I need help as I get older, they can help with that and I might be able to stay longer in my own home. As far as your having children, it will come when it's ready and I wish you the best with that.

Knobby, that sounds wonderful! I am so sorry you have to be without your parents and your husband for now. It must be such a comfort having your son and his family close by. I would love it if I had one of my children that close to me when they are older. I didn't have my first until 30, I was too busy working, and chasing my dreams. My last came at 42, I am certainly the oldest when they have parent related things at my daughters school. Some of the moms look like babies themselves to me!

Are all your 10 acres tillable, or is it mostly wooded? Sounds lovely!

MB

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

Catsol, I think it's wonderful that you care for your mom. My parents are in their 70s too. They're in good health right now, but I wish I lived closer and could enjoy more time with them. My sister lives close to them, so it's a comfort to know she's there if their health were to decline.

Knobbyoaks, I'm sorry for your loses. I'm glad you have family nearby. How long were you and your husband married? I'm with MB. I really hope one of my kids lives close by when I'm older. Of course, my BF is younger than me, so hopefully he take good care of me. I told him that's what he gets for dating an older women (or cougar as my dad likes to say)

I had my first child...well let's just say much younger than planned. I sort of put aside a lot of my dreams and plans to be a young mom. But you never know what the future holds, and it held a lot of blessings and surprises. Now I find myself happier than ever. One benefit to being a young mom is still being young when they go off to college. So I'm thinking of finally going to grad school after my son starts college in a couple of years. I asked him if we could be college roomies. He did not find that joke funny at all. But I might not go to grad school. I'm pretty happy here on the river with my chickens and my enjoyable, although not terribly lucrative knitting career.

These forums are funny. You get little bits and pieces of people's lives. I feel like I know all about your chickens, but I'm still piecing together what everyone does, who lives where, and how old everyone is. Not that it matters.

 

[xshoshin]

Melabella: "Oh yes, Brooster just reminded me that I wanted to ask you, did you keep the BLRW roo, or did you re home him? "

We found a lovely home for our BLRW too. I put an ad in Craigslist (of all places!) and had two people immediately interested in having him for their flocks. The first responder got him, after a preview meeting. He has 4 hens, a very large coop, and 3 acres of free ranging space. He settled in nicely and began crowing and (attempted) mating within the week. They call him Pretty Boy. Sigh. It was wrenching and I miss him BUT he is loved and happy, so I feel blessed to have found him such a good home.

Thanks for asking! People who don't have chickens don't seem to be able to relate...

 

[xshoshin]

Also thought I'd post pictures of our "ameraucana" -- I know now she is an "easter egger" but I won't tell her...we still refer to her as ameraucana because she's vain like that.

 

[debbie_nibbles]

Debbie, those are EEs. The leakage around the neck is a clear sign, as is the different colored beard. There are only a few standard Ameraucana colors. They're pretty girls though!

thank you I was wondering on that.. I still love them lol

 

[theotherfoote]

Another 4 egg day today. Yeah!

 

[Redangler]

So i started my attempt at fodder a few weeks ago. I was using some oats left over from they pig I purchased. After three failed attempts of sprouting the oats I knew they were not going to work. I went to the feed store and purchased some wheat seed on thursday. Late thusday night I started my first soaking of the new seed. Friday morning i drained and rinsed the seed and already had some very small sprouts. Here is a pic from friday morning.

Here is a closeup where you can see the tiny sprouts

This picture is from the morning on the 2nd day. You can really see the sprouts starting.

This morning the sprouts were really beginning to grow.

Now this evening it is really growing. I did'nt believe it could grow in only seven days but now I do.

I will keep posting updates the next few days. Next up is to build a rack for the fodder when I am in full production of a tray a day. Can't wait to see if they enjoy eating the fodder and also how much bigger our eggs will get!