Checking-In On Peeps - Post Here To Say Hello!

[muddy75]

Hello everyone! I unfortunately had to rehome all my birds. My living situation changed and my family is now living in an RV in an RV Park. Which makes it nearly impossible to take care of 6 birds. I can only hope that the new owner of the chickens will treat them like the wonderful creatures they are. I miss them daily (my family raised them from baby chicks). Hope to start a coop again one day when we have our own property.

Happy you stopped by! There are plenty of people to chat with while you wait to rebuild!

 

[muddy75]

We’re doing good here!
Much thanks to BYC for being here when we have questions

Glad you are doing well! Love the flock photos!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Hello! Our little flock is doing well! We had to separate our rooster during his first spring and summer because he was too much for the hens, but when we allowed him back in for the winter he was much better. I am relieved that so far this spring the flock still seems to be living in harmony. I am still grateful for all the info shared by this BYC group to help get us started!

That's fantastic news about your flock finding their balance! It's always tricky to figure out the dynamics, especially with a rooster like taht. I'm glad to hear that the tips from BYC helped you navigate those early challenges. Fingers crossed that the harmony continues throughout the spring! Keep us posted

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

View attachment 3815017
This says it all!

LOL! ain't it the truth!!! HAHAHA

 

[muddy75]

Hi there!
We’re still doing well and raising lots of chickens. I think we have around 20 in our flock at the moment.

That’s a nice flock! Would love to see photos!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Super busy with life. My sister had a heart transplant 2 weeks ago so chicken life is kinda in the background. My flock was diagnosed with Mereks and I’ve lost quite a few of my girls. Trying my best just to keep everyone happy and safe.

I cannot imagine what your sister is going through. Hopefully it all goes well and she's feeling much better soon.

So very sorry about the loss of some of your birds. That's never easy either. All we can do is our best.

 

[muddy75]

I’m here! Busy with the chickens

Happy you stopped by! Would love to see photos of your flock!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

No coop yet. So no chickens. I've tried, begged, pleaded. No coop yet. Have coyotes, possums, hawks, crows and raccoons up the yang, so it has to be sturdy. If anyone lives in Orange Va area, let me know if you can help.
I bought a run in shed for a goat and tried turning that into a coop, but it's too low. roof has to be raised, proper draft windows. I have the hardware cloth.
Been out tilling the ground. I no longer have tractor envy. LOL Planted the 25x25' square in front of the house with a zillion packets of flower seeds and bulbs.
Trying to figure out what's important.
the big field we've tilled, and will plant with something soon. have some birdseed sunflower seed in it, with wildflower seed. crimson clover, and wheat.
and a big side field to plant in....cowpeas? sunflowers?
yeah yeah, you didn't want a book. trying to figure out what's important so it doens't become overwhelming like it did last year. weeds, WEEDS and then of course, the weeds. ticks, chiggers. and watering everything. cause in virginia when it doesn't rain, which isn't often, when it doesn't, it dries out quickly.

I'm thinking I could buy concrete blocks, those kind with the hole in them, and build a coop, put the hardware cloth out 2 feet from the sides instead of burying. turn one on it's side with wire over it for a window.
but who'm i kidding? I'm an OLD city girl in the country. my fun is mowing.

Ya, gotta have a solid coop to protect against all those baddies!!!!

The concrete block idea sounds pretty solid (see what I did there?) for keeping those predators at bay.

It's great to hear you're diving into country life with such enthusiasm, even with the challenges like weeds and watering. Keep enjoying that mowing, it's definitely satisfying to see those neat lines after a good trim! Keep us posted on your coop progress (WITH PICS!!!) and your gardening adventures.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I'm still here and still keeping chickens, in fact I'm getting a load more as I have been diagnosed with prediabetes and consequently I now eat a minimum of eight eggs a day. : )

Wow, eight eggs a day! That's a solid reason to expand the flock. How many more are you thinking of adding to your crew? Looking forward to hearing all about the new additions!

 

[muddy75]

What began 3 years ago as a small backyard flock of chickens has laughingly grown into what I call my chicken operation. It began with somewhere around 11-13 girls and one rooster, Carson, (more on him later), and I currently have 27 laying hens. Then there are the 3 roosters, Carson (be patient, it's coming) Willie Nelson, my prize Ameraucana and Wayland Jennings, my accidental buff brahma, who started out as Wynonna Judd, lol.

I have one reliable broody, a black laced red Wyandotte named Baxter, who is fretting in her broody pen with one 4 day old chick. Her habit is to abandon the nest when her first chick hatches out, and if the weather is chilly, and she does it after afternoon chicken chores, the eggs sometimes don't make it. I still place them back under her, and we play a game to see who wins the "not interested in those eggs any more" struggle. I usually admit defeat after around 3 days.

Then there's my lavender orpington, my overachiever as a broody/mama. She is currently on 3 eggs, and they should bust out later next week. Once she gets them to around the 8 week mark, she will find another clutch and settle in once more.

I also have 7- 6 week olds in the garage brooder. One of them is a cuckoo marans rooster, but one of the black copper marans also looks suspiciously male, so choices may need to be made. They are moving to another brooder pen in the coop for a get acquainted week on Saturday.

My old boy Carson has rather consistently tried to kill me since he first came of age. My husband was a big fan of him, but then again, until last fall, he was not out in the coop with me doing chicken chores, and so, he only had the blood and bruises to go by. Now that we have roosters to compare Carsons behavior to, who love me, even to protecting me from Carson, my spouse finally sees that Carson is not what a owner should expect. I must note that it has not been lost on him that Carson has never attempted to fight my husband to the death.

And so this fall, Carson will be headed to the bone broth kingdom of our pantry, along with most of our 3 going on 4 year old hens. I'll keep my broody mama's, even without eggs, they serve a valued need, and there are probably 3 more that are either still cranking out the daily bounty, or have such sweet personalities that we want to keep that in our barnyard gene lines.

We get around 18-26 eggs per day right now during peak laying season, most all are given away. We supply some to friends and family, and around 6 dozen per week go to the Rangers at our local State Park.

That’s an amazing story! Happy you stopped by!