Anyone have luck catching a feral chicken?? UPDATE: Rooster caught, no hen

[rjohns39]

A bit over. I just turned 32 last month.

Partner In Chickens! (In this case, her child )

See guys, I pay attention! I just have an unfortunate tendency to lurk

Buuuut since we are playing an age game, I am .... 29!

You're both younger than my youngest

You could us a tarp on the run but I would think you would need to remove the snow once a day. My question is will the chickens be okay to range in the snow

I know a lot of people who do, but mine wouldn't dream of walking on the cold white stuff. For me, once they go into winter housing they are divided up into breed sets and don't get to commingle until I have all the eggs I need for hatching.

PS. Let me throw a dumb question out there too.... or rather, TWO dumb questions:

1. WHY does an incubator have to be in a room with a stable temp? When broodys set, they're outside, and the temps outside can range 30° every day!

2. Why do people boil, and then dry, their eggshells before feeding them back to their chickens?! Seems like an awful lot of extra steps to me.

The Hen controls temp better than a heater and a fan.

There are a variety of reasons, from sanitation, to ease of crushing... I suspect most are myths. My shells go into the compost pile unless I'm feeding the kids boiled eggs.

Smuvers, here's an ugly cattle panel shelter.

Morning all...

 

[Redhead Rae]

Cattle panel greenhouse?!? What the what?!?

Here is a link to someone's detailing of how to make one. It is less ugly than the one @rjohns39 posted.

PS. Let me throw a dumb question out there too.... or rather, TWO dumb questions:

1. WHY does an incubator have to be in a room with a stable temp? When broodys set, they're outside, and the temps outside can range 30° every day!

Imagine having a tiny space heater in a small office. If the temp is stable, the heater can do its job. If the temp isn't stable the heater will either get it too hot or not work to warm it up.

2. Why do people boil, and then dry, their eggshells before feeding them back to their chickens?! Seems like an awful lot of extra steps to me.

I throw my eggshells straight into my scraps bucket, mash it all together with a potato masher and it gets fed to the chickens within 24 hours. I don't see the need to wash them if they are getting fed that often. Plus, I don't have the counter space to air dry the shells. I think it is best to rinse and dry them if you are going to hold on to them to feed at a later date. But I feed mine back to the girls as I crack them.

Oh, and my favorite method of feeding whole eggs, crack the egg into some grain and stir it up well. The chickens go NUTS for it.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Aren't carports built to be used in all weather? So, I'd think snow wouldn't cripple it. but slide off before it became too heavy...

I would hope so but I had read reviews that they didn't hold up.
I may give it a try and see. It would be nice if it kept a little area outside without snow for them. It would unfortunately be a muddy mess of an area but I guess if it is I'll address that too. LOL

 

[Sassysouth]

I am about to go out and get busy with my run/coop project. Appears to be drizzling this morning.
I need to write out school work for my son to do. Be back later.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Side by side comparison.
It's less red but it's crusty. Is that normal? I've never dealt with this. Thoughts?

 

[Smuvers Farm]

View attachment 1181761 View attachment 1181762
Side by side comparison.
It's less red but it's crusty. Is that normal? I've never dealt with this. Thoughts?

tagging @pitbullmomma as she is the dawg expert

 

[staceyj]

Morning people

Winter preparations:
I have a small coop AND a small run AND a tiny flock of 6 ( remember I was aiming for 4 and threw those extra 2 in the box because everyone told me "a couple will probably die" - then everyone thrived. )

But I also live in a warm-ish climate where they're able to range in the yard year round.
There are seasons here though. It's not like Florida.
If we get snow here it's only a little, maybe once a year.

Freezing rain is more likely. Being close to the Atlantic ocean keeps us fairly temperate.
We get the occasional week of frigid weather, even a night or two in the single digits, then it'll be back into the 50's for a stretch.

Shells:
I rinse them and throw them in a big ziplock bag in the fridge. When it's full I toss them in a roasting pan and bake them while i do other things or sometimes toss them in the oven after I've baked something else. After they cool I put them in a clean ziplock and whack the heck out of them with a wooden crab mallet.
It only takes a minute or two because baking makes them very brittle. I love amassing them up.
Some go back to the girls, some go directly into the garden some go in the compost bin. Just depends on how much I have.
Blossom end rot is A SCOURGE here so in the spring they are LIFE to tomato plants.
I've read that the amount of calcium in shells is not as high as in oyster shells so I mix them in the bowl, but it looks as though they find the shells tastier.

@raecarrow :
VBAC baby!
You can do it!

Smuvs:

We don't hit friends!
And no heiney words or the elves will come in the night and scrub you up...then I'll be sad because I love you being here.

@Sassysouth : when you mentioned your bday yesterday I was taking a quick break from working in the yard.
Now I can't remember if I actually said happy birthday and can't find the original post, so if not- HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!

@CSAchook : stop lurking and get in here. You are one of us.

I might harvest some herbs to dry today. Lots of dill, chives and lemon balm.
And I should dig up some ginger.
Also I'm excited to harvest my sweet potatoes sometime in the next few days.
Potatoes are another miracle of the garden.
You never know how many you have til you peek under the soil.
-or in my case, flip those baskets over onto a tarp.

I grow all my different types of potatoes in laundry baskets. It's a fun and easy project for you peeps with kids. Very interactive for the first few weeks then forget about them til harvest time.
Hit me up. I'll give you directions.

Have I mentioned that I'm grateful for you guys and girls lately? I like that our ages are a big spread. I think it enriches our interactions to have that depth and breadth
of our varied life experiences in our friendship.
Hugs to all-
Stacey

 

[Smuvers Farm]

 

[staceyj]

View attachment 1181761 View attachment 1181762
Side by side comparison.
It's less red but it's crusty. Is that normal? I've never dealt with this. Thoughts?

Crusty means healing.
If at all possible could you wash it up, even with just a warm wet washcloth?

ETA: there's a lot of oozing associated with a hot spot.
It crusts up as the air gets to it.
Need to get that off gently if you can so the topical stuff can make contact with the skin.

 

[Sassysouth]

Crusty means healing.
If at all possible could you wash it up, even with just a warm wet washcloth?
X2. Healing. Epson salt warm soak on a wash cloth would be healing.

ETA: there's a lot of oozing associated with a hot spot.
It crusts up as the air gets to it.
Need to get that off gently if you can so the topical stuff can make contact with the skin.