California - Northern

[ronott1]

Oh good, they are almost out. I'll come by tomorrow.

You need to stay in bed and let all those girls take care of you for a change! You can't get well unless you rest long enough.

I will leave the feed out tomorrow.

Kristin(middle DD) cooked dinner last night while I crashed on the couch. She also helped with the chicken chores. I think it really helped too!

 

[HighNDryFarm]

So here's a question: What's this from?? It's a tuft of fur I found in my garden. Could this be bobcat fur?
I know it's not fox, & there are no dogs this color in the area...

Looks like goat hair but I doubt a goat broke into your yard!

I'm guessing two raccoons got in a fight and this is part of the loser.

Quote: WOW! I was thrilled to get the .70 a piece ones. I looked at their website but it doesn't look like they would ship.

Good morning chicken people. Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Star Rose Ranch and meeting Kim! Kim's place is wonderful and she was generous with her time and totally gracious. I felt like I could talk chickens all day but we had other places to be. It was a lovely day I took my 84 year old mom along for the ride and she made the mistake of asking me all kinds of questions about chickens.

Are Polish known for going broody?

Sounds like a really nice road trip!

As was mentioned, Polish are not known for going broody but mine do. Of all my broodies my Polish hatched the most chicks and stuck with the eggs the longest, while managing the chicks. She hatched 21! Only 3 didn't make it and that was because they were suffocated, the space was not adequate for that many chicks. Who would have thought that she would hatch that many! She was letting the other girls continue to lay for over a week before I figured out she was broody. I candled 28 and they were all viable (my Polish almost always hatch). I gave 7 who I felt were the closest in gestation to another broody but she flattened like a pancake and hatched the rest!

Quote: OK, I'm horrible, when someone goes broody around here I shove eggs under them!

Luckily, everyone just takes one turn a year and they're done. Haven't had any stubborn girls.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote:
Well shoot. I'm sorry you're not feeling well. I hope it's nothing serious and you can be back to feeling good. I sure know what it feels like to feel bad. What a nice daughter to help out and let you rest.

 

[chiqita]

I hope you start feeling better for real Ron!

I will leave the feed out tomorrow.

Kristin(middle DD) cooked dinner last night while I crashed on the couch. She also helped with the chicken chores. I think it really helped too!

 

[tommysgirl]

Barbara, so good to meet you! You are too young to have an 84 year old mother and a teenage son! I hope you enjoy your new babies. Their hatch date was 3/31/13.

I still have 2 fairly high quality silkie roos left. I'll see if I can find the fb page.

I see you found the post on FB.

No, polish are classified as non-setters, but I have had a couple go broody over the years. Good thing, they are fairly easy to break. I have a quasi broody crele laced right now so I need to put her in the broody breaking cage for the night. That should do it.

Thanks Deann. I kind of wish they were. Maybe the Dorking half will pull through with the broody impulse. Hmm but after reading Laura's broody hen soap opera maybe I don't want that after all.

Has anyone here borrowed or loaned a rooster for a mating? Seems like it would be a bit of a pain what with the quarantine thing. What about show birds? Do you quarantine between shows?

Also how careful do I have to be re walking in the quarantine pen and then into the coops where my existing flock lives should I change shoes? and do I need to sanitize my hands and change my shirt between new and existing if I have handled the new ones? Last night in order to bribe the affection of the new birds I went out there with yogurt. Gave a bunch to the OC (original coop) then brought it out to the new ones who were not interested in it in the least. Anyway do I need to use separate containers and mixing utensils etc or if I give whatever to the OC first am I good or am I just being absurdly careful?

 

[Ali707]

Good morning chicken people. Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Star Rose Ranch and meeting Kim! Kim's place is wonderful and she was generous with her time and totally gracious. I felt like I could talk chickens all day but we had other places to be. It was a lovely day I took my 84 year old mom along for the ride and she made the mistake of asking me all kinds of questions about chickens.

Ron then I was in your neighborhood dropping off two PRs and an SS

I haven't driven along 16 in years and man was it a beautiful day to do it. Stopped and walked around at one of the picnic grounds of Cache Creek. It was a Great day!

I decided to name the new Del Cockerel Ozzie, the new Del Pullet is then of course Harriet and I don't know yet what to call the little Dorking girl but a lot of my new girls are as yet unnamed so...it will come.


I feel so happy that after months of acquisition, hatching, brooding selling and giving away, everyone who still lives out back is who I want to be there and for the moment they are enough. The next thing I am looking forward to is the whole broody experience

Are Polish known for going broody?

Ali I can make red sex links for you now if you want eggs. But I hope your hopeful girls don't turn into boys. Maybe your boys will turn into girls..It happens in some fish species

My human chicks are all home now too. DS had a good time in Puerto Rico. Time to start coaching DD's re how to get a job. Deb, can I send over to you to learn to bake??

Polish are kind of spacey and mine never really showed any inclination to go broody, and as Deann pointed out (she has a lot more than one) and they rarely go broody. I think they are spacey because the poor things can't see. It is really apparent by how easily I can catch them. I just come down right over the top and pick them up. Everyone else without a crest runs around like a loon. I have to actually put some effort in to catching them.

I am all for a sex link. Gimme a month to get my garage cleaned out from this last batch!

and then I will see if I can't hatch a few! I wanted Delawares too at one time. I never did get one for some reason though. *sigh* So many birds so little space.

 

[tommysgirl]

Kim's place is great!

I am happy you were able to get those chicks. I will be hatching more SG Dorkings soon. Did you see my Cockerels? I need to get over there to see them soon.

If I saw them I didn't know it. What breed? I saw the latest SGD batch and the lone Del in the brooder and then I swooned over Kim's Dels from Kathy They were like your heritage RIR chicks in the way they carry themselves and their sturdy little bodies are NOTHING like what my girls looked like ever in their development.

It was a wonderful road trip! Hope you feel better.

I always use parchment underneath bread baked on a sheet. With French bread and sourdough bread, I like to give the paper a spray of Pam and then sprinkle a little cornmeal. It gives the bottom crust a nice crunchy texture.


I don't have facebook, but I have several spare SQ birds, bantam BR, bantam SL polish, silkies, campine...................

Hahahaha You were who I had in mind for obvious reasons but it looks like she found someone to sell her some Silkies. personally I would go for the Campines but that will wait.

Polish are kind of spacey and mine never really showed any inclination to go broody, and as Deann pointed out (she has a lot more than one) and they rarely go broody. I think they are spacey because the poor things can't see. It is really apparent by how easily I can catch them. I just come down right over the top and pick them up. Everyone else without a crest runs around like a loon. I have to actually put some effort in to catching them.

I am all for a sex link. Gimme a month to get my garage cleaned out from this last batch!

and then I will see if I can't hatch a few! I wanted Delawares too at one time. I never did get one for some reason though. *sigh* So many birds so little space.

My little mix doesn't have a full crest and it seems like it will grow back away from her eyes. I like the way it looks and hopefully her vision won't be impaired by it. She is docile and sweet though she is also pretty reluctant to warm up to me so far. Hopefully I will be able to win her over soon.

I will stick my uncle's a New Hampshire roo in with my adult birds. All of them are hatchery though is that OK Also I will try to only get you the Del eggs but there is a chance an Australorp egg might get in there too. If that's an OK thing just give me the word and I will do my best to make it work for you.

If you want me to wait until my better quality Delaware pullet is at POL we can do that too.

 

[Ali707]

If I saw them I didn't know it. What breed? I saw the latest SGD batch and the lone Del in the brooder and then I swooned over Kim's Dels from Kathy They were like your heritage RIR chicks in the way they carry themselves and their sturdy little bodies are NOTHING like what my girls looked like ever in their development.

It was a wonderful road trip! Hope you feel better.


Hahahaha You were who I had in mind for obvious reasons but it looks like she found someone to sell her some Silkies. personally I would go for the Campines but that will wait.
My little mix doesn't have a full crest and it seems like it will grow back away from her eyes. I like the way it looks and hopefully her vision won't be impaired by it. She is docile and sweet though she is also pretty reluctant to warm up to me so far. Hopefully I will be able to win her over soon.

I will stick my uncle's a New Hampshire roo in with my adult birds. All of them are hatchery though is that OK Also I will try to only get you the Del eggs but there is a chance an Australorp egg might get in there too. If that's an OK thing just give me the word and I will do my best to make it work for you.

If you want me to wait until my better quality Delaware pullet is at POL we can do that too.

Well I like the Australorps too I had two before and I love the color in the sun. Hatchery quality is fine, but maybe we should wait until your better quality pullet is ready then that will give me time to get my stuff together. Everything is a mess from this last hatch. I literally have a layer of dust on EVERYTHING and it is driving me nuts. I am talking a layer like a haunted house layer of dust. I am thinking..... two months maybe? I hate to hatch too close to winter though. They should still hopefully be okay then. Plus I have to see if the new thermostat on my incubator works. I just got the replacement in the mail.

 

[8machines]

I suspect that a hen my DH culled for me a couple months ago suffered from Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome.  She was the one who was walking like a penguin for several months.  Since then, I have cut out almost all corn from my flock's diet, limited the rich treats like BOSS (trying to sprout them or plant them and let them eat the seedlings), and not feed them high glycemic treats such as bread, pasta, etc.  I am also feeding them Milk Thistle which helps promote a healthy liver.  I bought a bottle of capsules from Trader Joes.  I just open the capsules and add the powder to their fermented feed or morning yogurt/feed mix.  We'll see if it helps.  I have another Langshan hen who is showing some early symptoms.  I have upped her milk thistle and have her separated by a cattle fence from the adult flock during the day to prevent them from picking on her.

I feed my chickens corn products and bread. Now I am concerned. Thank you for this post. I will cut back or stop those kind of treats.

 

[debs_flock]

Molly,

I've bought from these people before. Less than fifty cents a piece with free shipping. They frequently have misprints for around 25 cents each. Misprint like the ink is blurred, or large egg carton that reads medium, etc. They get your cartons out to you fast!

http://www.eggcartonstore.com/Egg-Cartons-s/3.htm

I also had another source years ago when I was raising crickets and was buying egg flats. They were even cheaper, but for the life of me I can't remember their name.