BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[DesertChic]

Shade cloth is your answer. Here in North Texas I'd have nothing but a garden of dead brush if I didn't use shade cloth. I have PVC hoops over the beds and during the most of the year they have shade cloth while during winter I can pop on plastic over the hoops for winter gardening. I get mine from Greenhouse Megastore. They have shade cloth with varying degrees of light transmittance so you can buy what is good for your garden area. Got mine years ago and it's still in good shape.

YEP! I'm installing shade cloth over my little garden this year too. Once we hit May that scorching summer sun turns everything here brown. I need to install some on a few of my outdoor runs too. All of my chickens have access to shade during the day, but I hate seeing some of them hiding out in their pens when they could be scratching around in the dirt instead, if not for the fact that they'd burst into flames if they tried.

 

[Kassaundra]

Our summers are brutal and long here too, that is why we do a raised coop. During the summer the chickens love to get in that deep shade of under the coop and dig into the dirt for even cooler dirt. They have plenty of other shade too, but they love under the coop the most. We also keep pans of water so they stay in the shade under the coop the girls love to wade in them. The water stays cool b/c it is always in the shade.

 

[Phill98]

[COLOR=333333]*Chuckling* I took out my incubator yesterday for inspection while my son was home. He looked positively mortified. "How many chickens do you already have?" he asked. As if that matters. [/COLOR] I actually hadn't planned on hatching anything this spring if I could avoid it, but with our daytime temps already tickling the 90*F mark, I need to breed my three meaties while I still can. My biggest boy, Tubbs, pretty much lived in a cool muddy spot all day yesterday and was still panting heavily and holding his wings well away from his body. I was hoping this heat wave would be short-lived, but it looks like it could stick around for a couple weeks. Gotta shoot the bear when the bear is there, right? Tubbs:

I actually want to know the same thing your son asked you. It seems to me that in every post you have at least one chicken I don't know about. Lol

 

[DesertChic]

I actually want to know the same thing your son asked you. It seems to me that in every post you have at least one chicken I don't know about. Lol

Well....I do have a lot of them now, but I'm also thinning the flock a little every week. The hardest part for me has been culling birds that are either very pretty, very sweet, or very productive in their own way, and yet don't fit into my breeding programs. I try to sell off some of the more productive hens, but most people seem to think I should just give them the birds. I'd rather eat them than give them away, unless I'm giving the bird to someone I consider a friend. But believe me, with just under 90 birds running around here, I'm really struggling with performing another hatch right now. I'm having a hard enough time housing everyone as it is. If it weren't for the growing heat, I wouldn't be considering this at all.

 

[Phill98]

Well....I do have a lot of them now, but I'm also thinning the flock a little every week. The hardest part for me has been culling birds that are either very pretty, very sweet, or very productive in their own way, and yet don't fit into my breeding programs. I try to sell off some of the more productive hens, but most people seem to think I should just give them the birds. I'd rather eat them than give them away, unless I'm giving the bird to someone I consider a friend. But believe me, with just under 90 birds running around here, I'm really struggling with performing another hatch right now. I'm having a hard enough time housing everyone as it is. If it weren't for the growing heat, I wouldn't be considering this at all. 

I tottaly agree with you about not giving the birds for free- after all you fed them for quite a long time especially the older ones- you have to make some kind of use of them!

 

[supersymmetry]

*Chuckling* I took out my incubator yesterday for inspection while my son was home. He looked positively mortified. "How many chickens do you already have?" he asked. As if that matters.

I actually hadn't planned on hatching anything this spring if I could avoid it, but with our daytime temps already tickling the 90*F mark, I need to breed my three meaties while I still can. My biggest boy, Tubbs, pretty much lived in a cool muddy spot all day yesterday and was still panting heavily and holding his wings well away from his body. I was hoping this heat wave would be short-lived, but it looks like it could stick around for a couple weeks. Gotta shoot the bear when the bear is there, right?

Tubbs:

Right!!
It has been in the mid 80's here last several days..It is so dry this year compared to other years, My silly hens lay in the sun...

I hate you both! I need to get my birds on pasture!!! HIGH OF 27F LOW OF 13F TONIGHT! So jealous...

 

[DesertChic]

I hate you both! I need to get my birds on pasture!!! HIGH OF 27F LOW OF 13F TONIGHT! So jealous...

Well, don't hate me too much. We may have the sunny heat, but "pasture"....not really relevant. I have dirt and rock.



The other side of that lattice is my garden area. Notice that there's nothing green there either. I have to work hard at growing even weeds.

 

[Kassaundra]

Some pics from today.




Stripy Butt's new duds, I was amused him not so much! lol



Experimenting w/ a sock tunic but they are to big. It is working as a shirt w/ pants in the mild weather though



I have 2 almost identical. I need to look under her feathers and see if she is just gypsy faced or fm.













The young ones love being outside. I put them out full time at 4ish weeks.

 

[Gorman Farm]

We still have green here in Florida but it does brown up a bit in winter and growing slows down this winter has been particularly dry.
I have had to use more hay this year for the sheep than last year, up-side I only have to mow 2x month. downside when the rainy season starts in April/May I will be mowing every 4 days, and the sheep can't keep up with the pasture so I have to mow in there too. It's like a jungle
Downside I sweat bullets in the summer doing anything outside, up-side I jump in the pool to cool off...

 

[Gorman Farm]

Some pics from today.




Stripy Butt's new duds, I was amused him not so much! lol



Experimenting w/ a sock tunic but they are to big. It is working as a shirt w/ pants in the mild weather though



I have 2 almost identical. I need to look under her feathers and see if she is just gypsy faced or fm.













The young ones love being outside. I put them out full time at 4ish weeks.

I LOVE STRIPY BUTT....just luv em