Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[satay]

Lol, I had a lovely nurse visit last week. She said " oh your grounds are so well kept, who is your gardener ?" I said " that would be me. I'm the ' grounds keeper '
As my husband likes to call me."

And a fantastic one you are at that. I can not claim my gardens to be anything like yours but I give it a whirl and I think do ok for a city chick

 

[satay]

I do the lawnmower maintenance : )  and all the other stuff.  At least I know it isn't my hens keeping the lawn level so low now though.  I have been wondering if it was them.

 

[birdman55]

well day 23 and still hatching...weird...and its 1.25am...tired...but have so much to do ....might not sleep tonight

 

[tandykins]

It wouldn't for me either if my hubby actually mowed lol.

My husband will fully just ignore the grass until it's a forest out there. I spent about half an hour mowing a section of our yard today that had exploded recently. The grass was waist high and full of elm suckers taller than I am. It was rather satisfying quite literally mowing them down. ^_^

Unfortunately, due to us having had sheep last year - my yard is largely composed of mallows, nettles, nightshade and bindies - but the grass seems to recover and overtake again if I keep it mowed.

In other news - I went out earlier to find the hatching chick quite dry. The membrane was like leather. I brought it inside, moistened the membrane and popped it back under mum.

Later, I went out again and found that she had stepped on it and smashed its yolk sac. It was dead. :/

One of my hens (Buttface) seems to have decided that she no longer wants to raise chicks at all and has abandoned them. The other (Queenie) had decided that she no longer wants to brood eggs and has sat on them less than I would like, spending much of her time with the chicks.

I decided that my best chance of avoiding further hatching issues and brooding issues was to take the chicks away from the hens. I put them in the brooder in my sewing room.

Buttface, for the moment, is still running around the yard. Queenie immediately resettled on the nest and has not moved since. That, at least, seems to have worked.

 

[Fancychooklady]

My husband will fully just ignore the grass until it's a forest out there.  I spent about half an hour mowing a section of our yard today that had exploded recently.  The grass was waist high and full of elm suckers taller than I am.  It was rather satisfying quite literally mowing them down. ^_^

Unfortunately, due to us having had sheep last year - my yard is largely composed of mallows, nettles, nightshade and bindies - but the grass seems to recover and overtake again if I keep it mowed.

In other news - I went out earlier to find the hatching chick quite dry.  The membrane was like leather.  I brought it inside, moistened the membrane and popped it back under mum.

Later, I went out again and found that she had stepped on it and smashed its yolk sac.  It was dead. :/

One of my hens (Buttface) seems to have decided that she no longer wants to raise chicks at all and has abandoned them.  The other (Queenie) had decided that she no longer wants to brood eggs and has sat on them less than I would like, spending much of her time with the chicks.

I decided that my best chance of avoiding further hatching issues and brooding issues was to take the chicks away from the hens.  I put them in the brooder in my sewing room.  

Buttface, for the moment, is still running around the yard.  Queenie immediately resettled on the nest and has not moved since.   That, at least, seems to have worked.

 

[Outpost JWB]

We had a time with our broody hens, 1st hen (austrolorpe) was faithful and sat on the nest properly, but I didn't candle the eggs and on day 18 or so, one was rotten and exploded under her. She and the nest was a stinky HOT MESS!

The contamination from the rotten egg killed all the others even though I let her sit on them until day 26. Poor girl.

2nd broody hen (New Hampshire) quit around day 14. Luckily there was another hen who I kept trying to discourage from going broody (a plymouth barred rock). I picked her up and put her on the nest and she quickly took over. 3 out of 6 hatched out of that group.

 

[peep peep peep]

It wouldn't for me either if my hubby actually mowed lol.

My husband will fully just ignore the grass until it's a forest out there.  I spent about half an hour mowing a section of our yard today that had exploded recently.  The grass was waist high and full of elm suckers taller than I am.  It was rather satisfying quite literally mowing them down. ^_^

Unfortunately, due to us having had sheep last year - my yard is largely composed of mallows, nettles, nightshade and bindies - but the grass seems to recover and overtake again if I keep it mowed.

In other news - I went out earlier to find the hatching chick quite dry.  The membrane was like leather.  I brought it inside, moistened the membrane and popped it back under mum.

Later, I went out again and found that she had stepped on it and smashed its yolk sac.  It was dead. :/

One of my hens (Buttface) seems to have decided that she no longer wants to raise chicks at all and has abandoned them.  The other (Queenie) had decided that she no longer wants to brood eggs and has sat on them less than I would like, spending much of her time with the chicks.

I decided that my best chance of avoiding further hatching issues and brooding issues was to take the chicks away from the hens.  I put them in the brooder in my sewing room.  

Buttface, for the moment, is still running around the yard.  Queenie immediately resettled on the nest and has not moved since.   That, at least, seems to have worked.

Just curious. Why Buttface? XD

 

[tandykins]

Just curious. Why Buttface? XD

The 9 year old son of my neighbour was over one day. I told him that she (a Silver Laced Wyandotte) was the only chicken (at the time) with no name.

He said, "You should name her Buttface."

And so I did.

That neighbour feels eternally ashamed that I stuck with it. XD

 

[vehve]

Tandy, sorry to hear of your troubles

Satay, what is this sexing of Marans at 2 weeks you speak of? I'm still not seeing any significant differences in ours at 4 weeks (although they're probably all roos).

No lawn mowing here at the moment, I did spend an hour and a half on Monday sweating like a pig clearing out all the snow from the driveway and parking lot.

 

[birdman55]

well 13 hatched and some still hatching..yea..getting practice for the pheasant season soon to start