California - Northern

[lawatt]

i love this story -- although i'm sure Gary doesn't love the ending. but yay Betty -- stick to your guns, girl.

day #22 for my second broody (Frances) and no sign of any pips or peeps... *slightly anxious* -- she's sitting on 12 araucana eggs , which i understand have something of a reputation for being difficult to hatch -- plus one mutt-egg from my own chicklets. all quiet so far. hoping that the bumping around on the road from vacaville to petaluma & then petaluma to here (in individual cars, not postal trucks) have slowed them down in development by a day or so...?

for some reason i can't edit my own post this evening, so just wanted to add: I wrote this response before seeing your posting about culling Gary, Amy -- and my apologies for making light of it, i can only imagine what a tough day it must have been for you. hope the evening is bringing a bit more ease to your heart and mind, as it really sounds like you unquestionably did the right thing.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

Haven't heard of Rainbow Girls in a very long time.  It was my Mom's thing not mine, I am not a dress kind of person.  Only got out of it when we moved to Dunsmuir.

Up here kids can join "Cloverbuds' when they start kindergarden.  No animals until they are in 4th grade.  Mariah did dog for 4 years but really came into her own with the poultry.  We have some really wonderful kids that watch out for each other.  

I wish we had 4H here in Dunsmuir

 

[18Peeps]

So, if my black chick has white wing feathers on the ends of the wing and a white blaze down the front of him/her at 5 weeks is she/he going to be black or is she/he a splash? This chick came from Blue Amercauna stock, so I guess I was thinking splash when I saw it, but it never occured to me that when they molt, it might come in a different color...

 

[OR4-hmom]

I wish we had 4H here in Dunsmuir

You might try calling Shasta County. If they don't have anything closer than Yreka you may be able to work through Shasta. I could be confused but I thought Papa-Brooders kids were doing 4-H.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

So, if my black chick has white wing feathers on the ends of the wing and a white blaze down the front of him/her at 5 weeks is she/he going to be black or is she/he a splash?  This chick came from Blue Amercauna stock, so I guess I was thinking splash when I saw it, but it never occured to me that when they molt, it might come in a different color...

My black copper Marans chicks I hatch always keep the white tips until their adult feathers come in and some have a few other places too.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

You might try calling Shasta County.  If they don't have anything closer than Yreka you may be able to work through Shasta.  I could be confused but I thought Papa-Brooders kids were doing 4-H.

Ya I'm sure Shasta has something. I'm not sure how far I would have to go though. He's in redding area so I'm bottom sure how close it would be for me. I guess having the kids around farm animals at all is a good thing

 

[lawatt]

It's not that they are difficult to hatch so much as genetically 25% will die in the shell because of the lethal tufting gene. My araucanas hatch like champs!

good to know! hoping to see some action tomorrow... fingers crossed.

and my accomplishment of the evening was to help Eleanor (broody #1) teach her two week-old chicks to go up into the henhouse -- or, at least, i provided a little external elevation for the chicks, who were clueless about going up the ramp, despite mom calling for them at the top -- and now they're nestled into an empty nesting box (who knew there was such a thing!) with their mama instead of all down on the floor of the run. hoping they're more adept with learning to get DOWN the ramp in the morning.

 

[Ali707]

x2! Can't we just go play in the sprinklers all day?

Yeah naked like when I was three! Now I would be arrested and tested for mental issues....of course I might deserve that if I did it now.

 

[18Peeps]

I need some affirmation. I just culled Gary. Many of you recall who he is. Only the neatest rooster ever...gone mean on me. I never did anything to him but over the months it's escalated. The more I chased him off, or put him in penned up time out...the more he seemed determined to stalk me. He only sometimes went after my 9 year old son but completely left my 11, 6 and 4 year olds alone. He also did not go after my hubby or mil. It was getting so bad we were penning him up daily just so I could go outside (we free range). Culling him has my 6 year old messed up and my 11 year old is being fake stoic - he ADORED that rooster. Like...loved him. I feel like a horrible person for doing it. I feel like a horrible person that I can even do it. Who can do that?? Me. No one else in my house. Not husband, not mother in law...nope just Amy. And it's not fun, I don't enjoy and I want to barf. Killing for the table is one thing...this was not that. I just feel rotten. But I know I could not give him away- he could be mean to someone else. I couldn't keep him- he was growing spurs. I wouldn't have a purpose for him- can't breed him, can't let him be with the others (or he'd get me). I swear when I was holding him he knew. He kept staring at my face. It was SO weird. Can I just skip to bedtime? I still have to teach Wednesday church to a room full of toddlers. So not feeling it- probably be good for me though. Thanks for listening. <3

You did the right thing. You were very brave and the fact that you felt bad about doing it and felt bad after doing it means that deep inside you're a kind person. RIP Gary. You were loved more than most roosters are in their lifetimes.

So sorry for your family's loss.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Her butt looked fine, not pasty. Since I washed some of their butts that first time, I've been keeping an eye on them, but have not seen any of them get pasty butts again. So that's a good sign, right?
My thermometer says the temp is about 92. It's hard to get more than a 2 second look at it though, because the girls keep burying it in sand. And every time I uncover it they run right back to it, stand on the plastic backing, and pick and scratch at it until it's buried again! When they sleep, they're cuddled together, but when they're awake they are busy running around and trying to fly, scratching in the sand, causing trouble with the thermometer...
My room does get a bit colder at night, should I lower the heat lamp a notch?


Thanks, lets hope that's it. As bad as this sounds I wish it could have been one of the RIRs that I'm not keeping, instead of the pretty splash girl that I was excited to see feather out! We were thinking of keeping her buuut...

sorry about your chick

Yeah naked like when I was three! Now I would be arrested and tested for mental issues....of course I might deserve that if I did it now.