California - Northern

[chiqita]

So my neighbor from up the street came up to me today and asked me to take in one of her chickens. It's at the bottom of the pecking order and the other birds have pecked half her feathers off in the last few weeks. When I last saw her, she had such beautiful plumage and today she could easy contend in the Worst Molt contest, if only she were just molting. Poor thing is hiding in their coop and refusing to leave the roost. I suspect it may be because they rebuilt their chicken run and the birds now have half the space. They'd like to see if she'd fare better with us.

I told her to check and see if she had been vaccinated for Mareks when they got her as a chick a year ago, and to check for mites too. We have room for her, but I know some folks believe in the safety of a closed flock.

So taking her in: good idea or bad idea?

the good news is you don't have to be worried about them bringing in IB, Maraks, or any of the stuff like that you get from wild birds since you will have been exposed to it already if they are down the street for you. SO you are just being safe when you q. I would treat them for mites regardless if you see them, and worm or float test the poo. The just watch for any sniffles like a hawk and give her lots of treats and protein to grow those feathers back.

 

[Ali707]

Roosters are so funny when they go all Mrs Robinson and get scolded.

MY chickens are bad today! We finally got a bid to redo our countertops and are getting ready to have surfaces in our kitchen again!

I am custom making the countertops of ikea butcher block, stained with India Ink. After a week of having ink problems, Im FINALLY waterloxing the boards( its not good to breath it while its open so have to do it in the semi open so no one is breathing it) . The chickens are MADLY curious about whats going on in the porch! They are not usually allowed on the porch, but vonnie sneaks in to lay on occasion. Today she took Orlando through her secret hole to admire my butcher block.

They decided to have sweet homogony on my new counters!!!! So I now have a faint image of orlando feet and vonnie butt on the surface. Luckily it is going to be the bottom side.

I have heard of breaking in a new counter, floor or house, but I didn't know chickens had that tradition as well! I wonder if that will be one of those things you are supposed to disclose if you sell....

I was just in IKEA this weekend trying to decide if I would like the butcher block for all of my countertops. They really do look pretty nice there. You are staining them red? A chicken feet/chicken butt pattern would be something to talk about at parties.

I wish you were a picture taker and not a phone toilet dunker. Some of the things you talk about I would like to see!

I'm glad you are leading the New Years hatch Ron. I suggested you, since you participate in hatchalongs, are a seasoned hatcher ( so you can offer help) and most importantly, you are detail oriented. I think you will do a great job.

If you need any Staff help for edits, etc., just let me know.

Ron is Awesome! We are lucky to have him on our thread.

 

[ronott1]

I'm glad you are leading the New Years hatch Ron. I suggested you, since you participate in hatchalongs, are a seasoned hatcher ( so you can offer help) and most importantly, you are detail oriented. I think you will do a great job.

If you need any Staff help for edits, etc., just let me know.

Ron is Awesome! We are lucky to have him on our thread.

Thanks to both of you. I will work hard on this hatch a long too. Luckily I will be on vacation for the Holidays so will be able to spend time on it.

I bet I will need some staff help for edits too.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Even knowing its the molting season, it still stinks to go out and find you only got 1 egg from over 50 chickens. (Granted 11 of them are males so no eggs from them) Even if you can't eat the eggs because you wormed them. I guess I picked the right time to worm them.

Ron - you'll do a fine job on the hatchalong. Your family might not like it much, but we all know you'd be hatching anyway!

 

[juststruttin]

still looking for D'uccles after 3 months & 2 failed attempts!!!

SQ stock! I want porcelain, blue/black mottled , golden neck, millie fleur, blue millie fleur.. & anything else

I'm looking for hatching eggs/chicks/juveniles/adults. I'd prefer to have them shipped only if were within a state or two of each other

Any recommendations?

If you can wait til the Stockton Show In January? you may be able to meet some breeders there with quality stock.

 

[OR4-hmom]

still looking for D'uccles after 3 months & 2 failed attempts!!!

SQ stock! I want porcelain, blue/black mottled , golden neck, millie fleur, blue millie fleur.. & anything else

I'm looking for hatching eggs/chicks/juveniles/adults. I'd prefer to have them shipped only if were within a state or two of each other

Any recommendations?

You might try PMing Lorilyn farms, she's just over the border in Rogue River, OR. I've not seen her birds and I remember she was working on a Lemon project.

 

[chiqita]

I was just in IKEA this weekend trying to decide if I would like the butcher block for all of my countertops. They really do look pretty nice there. You are staining them red? A chicken feet/chicken butt pattern would be something to talk about at parties.

I wish you were a picture taker and not a phone toilet dunker. Some of the things you talk about I would like to see!

Ron is Awesome! We are lucky to have him on our thread.

India ink. Its black . I will get a crappy picture tonight. Mario scared up a extra model of the crappy phone they gave me for my replacement crying on some friends necks. ( and I vote NO on the chicken love portrait on my counters YOU PEOPLE! i ALREADY GET THE LOOKS, I DON'T NEED MORE! Opps caps)
Are you wanting to do these yourself? I did a fair bit of research and the staining before I chose india ink.

I bought 2 of their cutting boards made out of the butcher block and tried all the stains I was thinking of to see what color they might be. it was a bit hard to get the medium ones even enough in color without getting dark, so I went with the you can't screw it up black. I saw pictures of them online in a few kitchens and I loved them.

If you find a color you like take NOTES on how you do it ( how many coats, what you used it to apply it, how humid it was when you applied) Also put a coat of your sealer on it so you will see how that works with the color. MY handyman guy said he doesn't put in light wood countertops with a lot of cuts ( mine needed 3 8 foot boards and 4 visible seams) because you cant match up the grains and it can look awkward. . So think about what type of counter shapes you have. And think about what type of sealer you want. If you want info on some of the pros and cons I can PM you.

I am a heavy chopper and a great destroyer of things ( as you all might have noticed) so countertops I can fix when of any disaster is forthcoming were the right choice for me. Im good at sanding and staining, hehe. These can be sanded and re inked and sealed any time i burn or discolor things. And I am paranoid about the chemicals in the cheap chinese granite. I don't want counters that set off a geiger counter!

Thanks to both of you. I will work hard on this hatch a long too. Luckily I will be on vacation for the Holidays so will be able to spend time on it.

I bet I will need some staff help for edits too.

yes, Ron is awesome! nuff said!

If you can wait til the Stockton Show In January? you may be able to meet some breeders there with quality stock.

ack, stockton, time to start saving pennies already.

 

[lawatt]

India ink. Its black . I will get a crappy picture tonight. Mario scared up a extra model of the crappy phone they gave me for my replacement crying on some friends necks. ( and I vote NO on the chicken love portrait on my counters YOU PEOPLE! i ALREADY GET THE LOOKS, I DON'T NEED MORE! Opps caps)
Are you wanting to do these yourself? I did a fair bit of research and the staining before I chose india ink.

I bought 2 of their cutting boards made out of the butcher block and tried all the stains I was thinking of to see what color they might be. it was a bit hard to get the medium ones even enough in color without getting dark, so I went with the you can't screw it up black. I saw pictures of them online in a few kitchens and I loved them.

If you find a color you like take NOTES on how you do it ( how many coats, what you used it to apply it, how humid it was when you applied) Also put a coat of your sealer on it so you will see how that works with the color. MY handyman guy said he doesn't put in light wood countertops with a lot of cuts ( mine needed 3 8 foot boards and 4 visible seams) because you cant match up the grains and it can look awkward. . So think about what type of counter shapes you have. And think about what type of sealer you want. If you want info on some of the pros and cons I can PM you.

I am a heavy chopper and a great destroyer of things ( as you all might have noticed) so countertops I can fix when of any disaster is forthcoming were the right choice for me. Im good at sanding and staining, hehe. These can be sanded and re inked and sealed any time i burn or discolor things. And I am paranoid about the chemicals in the cheap chinese granite. I don't want counters that set off a geiger counter!

yes, Ron is awesome! nuff said!

ack, stockton, time to start saving pennies already.

oh, i was imagining blue ink for some reason, thinking the butcher block would end up some groovy blue-green shades. I once saw a kitchen floor made of yellow pine and then treated with a dark blue stain, and it was *gorgeous*, wonderfully watery patterns of blue and green... would love a floor, or countertops, like that some day! alas, my butcher block counters are just plain wood colored for now...

 

[chiqita]

If you use the right india ink and water it down a bit, you get a lovely silver. But it needs more to maintain.

Sorry to not live up to your dreams laura, they sound lovely! You could get lapis or sodalite powder ( think those are both safe, have to be careful with ink and dye that its not toxic) and rub it into the wood and you'd get that too, I think.

My fantasy was always bloodstone countertops, but Quarts and tourmaline were pretty awesome too, if not so green....

 

[ChickNmamma]

If you use the right india ink and water it down a bit, you get a lovely silver. But it needs more to maintain.

Sorry to not live up to your dreams laura, they sound lovely! You could get lapis or sodalite powder ( think those are both safe, have to be careful with ink and dye that its not toxic) and rub it into the wood and you'd get that too, I think.

My fantasy was always bloodstone countertops, but Quarts and tourmaline were pretty awesome too, if not so green....

Well it sounds like you are having fun! I wonder if that stuff would look good on my 1942 soft-wood (pine) floors. They need something....

Lapis is copper based, Sodalite is too - but I believe both are neutral and non-toxic in that form. They used to use ground lapis for eye shadow in Egypt. Ty-D Bol does a beautiful Turquoise - but is probably toxic...

There is Quartz with Tourmaline that is pink and white (from So.Cal too).. and mica for silver flecks.. Not sure if its big enough for counter tops though. You could try Lepidolite (Africa, purple or blue with pink Tourmaline and mica flecks) - that comes in huge chunks sometimes but you better save your pennies for several years!

I think Bloodstone would be too dark, most of the stuff I have seen is super dark green, almost black - not much red in there at all.

P.S. - I love rocks....