Chicken (Poultry) Addiction Anonymous *Chat Thread*

[Cass]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

Quote:
Me!! Me!! Pick me!!

~Aspen

If you can't get enough from Jloeffler, I can send you some of mine. It is gonna start raining again tomorrow and not stop til Saturday. I'll put the boxes out tonight to gather it for shipping. Our area has had an extra 25 inches of rain for the year....and there is still a LOT of year left. I had to put wooden pallets in front of the coop to get in and out without slipping....and the chickens appriciate it, cuz they were having a hard time getting footing to jump up the ONE step to get in the coop.​

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
Me!! Me!! Pick me!!

~Aspen

If you can't get enough from Jloeffler, I can send you some of mine. It is gonna start raining again tomorrow and not stop til Saturday. I'll put the boxes out tonight to gather it for shipping. Our area has had an extra 25 inches of rain for the year....and there is still a LOT of year left. I had to put wooden pallets in front of the coop to get in and out without slipping....and the chickens appriciate it, cuz they were having a hard time getting footing to jump up the ONE step to get in the coop.

Oh my! Our anual rain fall is around 24 inches, but this year we had about 7 inches total...

Off to feed the chooks..and I'm taking the camera with me this time.

~Aspen

 

[Jloeffler]

We got almost no rain from June thru August. I think it rained twice all summer. In an effort to catch up to the annual allotted rainfall, it started raining last Monday on and off through Wednesday where it then went into full time mode, stopping only for a half hour here or there as storm clouds separated. Finally stopped sometime around 6 last night. Went to TSC for galoshes so I could feed the girls!! I saw the sun today and it was glorious! Then the mosquitoes started to swarm. I am now typing this while bathing in Calamine and baking soda. Darn hawk sized attack mosquitoes! No, not that bad.

My coop is full of mildew however from the rain and high humidity. Anyone know how I can clean it without hurting the birds shy of replacing any wood?

 

[Cass]

Quote:
Clorox? It's in our drinking water, don' t think it'll hurt the birds. If Clorox isn't an option, white vinegar.

 

[Jloeffler]

Quote:
Clorox? It's in our drinking water, don' t think it'll hurt the birds. If Clorox isn't an option, white vinegar.

Hadn't thought of vinegar! Thanks! I've got all the windows open and propped the nesting box lid open in an attempt to dry things out a bit now that it's stopped raining. It's just so darn humid that I'm not sure that'll be enough. DH is talking about just replacing the lid (which since we didn't make it right in the first place is okay) but in case I find spots elsewhere... So, thanks!

 

[Jloeffler]

Aspen, how's your hen that was egg bound?? Any improvement today?

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
She died last night. I found her flat on her back this morning.

Rusty, went out and found one the Coronation hens out at the barn that didn't go in, and I guess I missed her when I checked around. Thankfully, we found her before it was too late and she was better enough this evening that I was able to put her back in the coop.



This evening I was letting out the mixed flock and I had just latched the gate and was headed back towards the house when all the sudden I hear my Guineas screaming bloody murder and I hear a thud like something hit the ground, I turn around and see Guineas flying over my head and a cloud of white feathers in the air! I look on the other side of the fence and see a bobcat chewing on a chicken it had just killed!! OMG! OMG!! OMG!! Okay...I did the stupidest thing possible..what did I do..guess...I start SCREAMING!!

The little pussy cat didn't even move..he was busy eating his fresh prey he killed.

Okay..so picture this..there is a bobcat sitting on the other side of the fence eating a chicken, Aspen is on the other side of the fence screaming like a mad women... okay get the picture? Okay we continue:

Finally I calm down enough and I run back to the house and get a gun, that takes about 10 minutes ( again

), so when I finally get out the back door and run down the lane I see the bobcat sitting out on the field chewing on his chicken still! I take off after him and I chase him pretty far out in the pasture..I must have gotten pretty close to him, because he dropped the chicken in the cow trail and high tailed it. We never got a shot at the little booger, but at least he didn't get a reward.

Anyway, this morning since the Coro hen died this morning we had thrown her out in the pasture, well after I fed I looked out to see if she was still there, but she was already gone. I'm starting to figure we are dealing with a whole mob of bobcats. Or a whole mess of kittens, and the momma to boot.

Okay I ranted..

~Aspen

 

[Jloeffler]

Holy crap, Aspen! I am still still sitting here trying to get my jaw to close... Bobcats!! Again - holy crap! Okay, I think I'm good. I am so so sorry about you two hens!!

is it legal to shoot bobcats where you are? (bobcats? Really? Ok I'm good) if so, I say call a friend who has a relative in the military or hunts (unless u yourself are a crack shot) and take them out! Would the wildlife people come out and investigate for a den? I know when we had fox coming up on our back deck in the evening a friend who works for them said it's one of the services they provide here in nc. I still think anyone would've had to stop and stare before even getting to the screaming phase! Who expects to go check on their pets and see a bobcat?! Sending all kinds of

your way.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm sorry to hear you lost your hen, and I Hope you get that bobcat.

 

[crunchynut]

I was doing really well all summer with my chicken addiction. I had 21 older chicks (a bunch were roos that I needed to rehome). They free range and one day 5 were missing and never returned. It was 4 roos and a pullet - we joke about the floosie pullet that ran away with the boys

That solved some of my rehoming roos issue. So I had 16 chickens and wanted to see the roos grow up a bit before I decided who got to stay. Last week my favorite roo was taken by a racoon, so my husband brought me home 5 rhode island red chicks that are 3-4 weeks old (we think 4 are pullets). Now I've got 21 chickens again! But losing my favorite roo gave me the hatching bug, and I've got 41 shipped eggs in the incubator (EE, Welsummer, Maran, Java, and a couple Sebright). I also have a dozen silkie eggs on the way, and 8 swedish flower hen chicks coming next week. OOPS!

By my estimations, next month I'll have

-my original 15 (8 pullets)
- the 5 RIR chicks (possibly 4 pullets)
- somewhere between 10 and 25+ newly hatched chicks depending on how this hatch goes
- 8 swedish flower chicks (hopefully at least 4 pullets)

So that will give me a definite 29 chickens, plus whoever hatches. But, I'm selling several of the roos from my spring hatches and probably all but one of each breed of the new chicks that end up being roos. So it won't be THAT many chickens. Plus, we need the eggs - I have 2 boys (a toddler and a preschooler) that can each shovel down 3 eggs EACH in a sitting and be asking for more. I myself eat at least 2 eggs a day, plus love to bake. My husband is only home for dinner during the week, but if he eats eggs he'll also eat at least 3 at a time. So we could potentially go through a dozen eggs a DAY if we had that many coming in. Then my mother wants a dozen eggs a week, and I'm sure my ILs will go home with a dozen when they visit. Hmm...maybe I need even MORE chickens?