Black Acres: The chickens that saved me

[blackacres]

But of course... a hedgehog. Now I'm kinda feeling sorry for ol sourface. He was totally ambushed lol. The only thing that could possibly redeem you is that little hedgie face ♡
Is he as soft as he looks? ❤

This tale of the hedgehog isn’t quite over yet! Stay tuned.

They are soft when they lay their quills down. But when they don’t want to be bothered, they put them up and OUCH! They also shed them and it was a very common occurrence to find one with a foot by accident.

 

[blackacres]

OMG I just happy danced all the way from the coop to the kitchen! Someone in the big coop is finally laying!!!

I suspect at least two, actually. I didn’t thoroughly check the coop last night when locking up. I only peeled in the nest boxes and they were empty. Tonight I peeked in and they were still empty but something told me to look around. On top of the shavings, was one glorious medium brown egg! Upon further inspection I found two more covered up in the shavings. They are a much lighter color which is why I suspect I have at least two layers. My first eggs from the bigs. I’m so eggcited!!!!

 

[Chickengirl2671]

Aww, your hedgie is adorable.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

Part 7 - Selecting the keepers, rehoming, and adding more. The start of my Chicken Math.

This part was both easy and hard at the same time. My beloved sexed Wyandotte pullets were not actually pullets. The Lavender Orpington finally grew out enough to realize that it was also a cockerel. So there’s way too many cocks in the hen house. Boots (dark Brahma) had already begun to prove he was going to be a good cockerel to keep. He’s always on high alert, rounds everyone up at bedtime and doesn’t go in himself until he’s checked the run for stragglers. I knew I wanted to keep him. So I removed the other three from the flock and sent them to new homes.

And then my friend called; again. She has 4 birds she needs to place as her full sized flock is not accepting them. All of mine had originally been brooded with the ones she wanted me to take so I obliged. Again, I loaded up my pet carrier and went to retrieve some chickens. This time, I came home with a Salmon Favorelles cockerel, a black Showgirl, and two frizzled Silkies. I didn’t want another cockerel as I’d just rid of three, but he was so sweet and loving. He and Boots worked out the new pecking order very quickly so all is well there. But they were rapidly approaching the hormonal stage so I knew I needed more pullets ASAP. I added 3 Marans and 6 RIRs. I still believe I need more, but this should get us through the winter.

Next issue at hand. The bigs have a large size difference from the bantys now and I was worried they would be picked on or injured. I put on my best attitude and approached my husband to request his skill at sectioning off part of the run and coop for the bantys. He just shook his head and said show me what you’re thinking. By the end of the day, this is what he completed.

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We then moved inside the coop to segregate the area under the poop board to become the banty coop. First we had to give them a roosting bar and mount their heat plate.

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The next and final step to this arrangement was simply to close it off from the bigs. That was done by simply adding some tin from the bottom of the poop tray to the floor.

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The bigs and the littles were successfully separated on November 7, 2021 and it has worked wonderfully to ease my mind.

Your hubby is AMAZING !!!

 

[MotherofOrpies]

I learnt very early on (as a teen when I got my first horse), if I wanted something done ( stalls, fencing etc) I had to do it myself!

I was lucky Dad only had daughters so we had to learn how to fix and make things. As a result my Sis and I can hang doors, put in windows, do roofing, plumbing, carpentry .

And of course now with You-tube - well holy cow I can do all sorts of stuff hahahaha! I have even collected my own tools over the years, my absolute favorite is The Beast (DeWalt reciprocal saw), it goes through everything

My father also “only” had 2 daughters, so I became the “son” he never had, I helped him with cutting down trees, fixing stuff in the house and looking after the animals, Now I have my own family and I am the one replacing broken lamps, dragging out the trash, doing tax return, building chicken coops ( with the help of one of my sons) whatever, my hubby is the one doing the ”thinking” and decorating tipps , if I didn’t have 4 kids with him, I’d sometimes wonder about his orientation gh

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Quite a while back, I promised more stories about the animals I’ve “snuck” into the family. So here’s one about the hedgehogs.

Browsing the dreaded FB one day, I came across pictures of an adorable hedgehog at our local animal shelter. I thought, “oohhhh! What a cute, prickly thing! I want it!” So I quickly printed the adoption application form, filled it out, grabbed my youngest daughter and jumped in the car. We arrived at the shelter less than an hour after seeing the adorable hedgie on FB but were told he was already gone. Incredibly bummed, we left with heads down. Arriving at home, DH was relieved to see we were not successful. But now I was on a mission. I had decided we NEEDED a hedgehog.

I made a status to my FB asking if anyone had one to rehome. I scoured Craigslist for weeks. I followed up on every reply to my post. None of them panned out either due to price or distance. I was still determined so I ordered all the things I would need to properly house and care for a hedgehog so that I’d actually be prepared when I found one and stashed everything in a closet, out of the husbands view. A month or so later, DH had to go about 3 hours away for work. About mid-way through that day I remembered a breeder I had seen along the route he was working for the day. I hurriedly searched for her information again and found it. I called her up and asked if she had any available. SHE DID! She sent me pictures and videos of the ones she had, I picked one out, paid over the phone, and told her my husband would be by before 6pm to pick it up.

Now I had to call my husband. The call went something like this:
Me: Hey babe. What time do you think you’ll be headed home?
DH: I should be done by 4. Why, what’s up?
Me: Wellll, I need you to swing by and pick up a hedgehog.
DH: NOPE! I’m not buying you a hedgehog.
Me: Okay. But that sucks because it’s already paid for.
DH: Are you kidding me right now? Why do you do this?
Me: I’m not kidding. She’s expecting you before 6.
DH: Good grief. Where the heck are you going to put it? You don’t even have a cage. Just get your money back.
Me: Actually, I do. I have everything I need and I can’t get my money back.
DH: I don’t understand why you torture me. Send me the address.

Later that evening, I had a hedgehog. I named her Beth.
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Aww didn't know you had one! She is adorable!

Great way to trick your husband too

 

[Ponypoor]

My father also “only” had 2 daughters, so I became the “son” he never had, I helped him with cutting down trees, fixing stuff in the house and looking after the animals, Now I have my own family and I am the one replacing broken lamps, dragging out the trash, doing tax return, building chicken coops ( with the help of one of my sons) whatever, my hubby is the one doing the ”thinking” and decorating tipps , if I didn’t have 4 kids with him, I’d sometimes wonder about his orientation gh

Awesome

Well girls are just as capable as guys... And we can bear babies

 

[Bakbuk]

Wow, I can't believe I haven't seen this before! Just read all 35 pages. Following!

@blackacres you have the DREAM coop/run and some really great birds!!

Also howdy from a fellow Kansan! Ad Astra forever!

 

[Ponypoor]

OMG I just happy danced all the way from the coop to the kitchen! Someone in the big coop is finally laying!!!

I suspect at least two, actually. I didn’t thoroughly check the coop last night when locking up. I only peeled in the nest boxes and they were empty. Tonight I peeked in and they were still empty but something told me to look around. On top of the shavings, was one glorious medium brown egg! Upon further inspection I found two more covered up in the shavings. They are a much lighter color which is why I suspect I have at least two layers. My first eggs from the bigs. I’m so eggcited!!!!
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That is so egg-citing

 

[Ponypoor]

Anyone who can put up my my antics for almost 20 years is pretty awesome. I know I’m a pain in the a$$. In all honesty, he pulls the same crap. He just does it with cars instead of animals.

Hedgehogs are so adorable, if I win the lottery I am gonna get one