Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[stonykill]

What a pic, I have never seen one of mine with a rat, 10" copper head and voles yes. and one of my Muscovy ducks with a frog in her mouth. yuck.

I've seen my chickens with mice, frogs, snakes moles and voles. My ducks just quack at snakes. They have eaten frogs and toads.

It is hilarious watching the crazy frenzied run around the yard with a frog in a roosters mouth with 10 to 20 chickens running after them to try to steal the kill

 

[Sally8]

Church kitchen.  I would love to have this kitchen, esp the huge island and huge refrigerators.    The sign says "do not leave any dirty dishes in the sink!"  The breast was not very dry, just a tiny bit on the dry side but I'm a dark meat person so I am never satisfied with the white meat.  We joined the church group for Thanksgiving, about 20 couples and a few singles whose sig others were visiting family or already in heaven.  It was a great time, played cards till late.  Lots of fabulous food and desserts...and wine.  So glad not to have to do the whole shebang in my galley kitchen.  Loved coming home to a clean kitchen too.  We might make this a tradition since our closest family has older kids that have moved out and we get together with them about a week after so everyone can be there.  Those kids spend Thanksgiving with their boyfriends and girlfriends family.  Can you believe that?  I'm going to have a serious talke with my kids.  I will not share them on holidays!  There were three turkeys.  Ours, a standard Butterball and another that was smoked for 15 hours.  The smoked one was my favorite but most everyone liked ours better.  Nina's birthday party and sleepover was yesterday and today I am dragging!  So glad phase 1 of the holidays is over.  The chickens have reaped the rewards of group cooking and scraps.  They dont seem to miss the turkey at all.  Getting no less than 14 eggs per day.  Catch up later, going to take a shower and put up a Christmas tree.  AAGGHH!

After spending years trying to be at everyone's house for meals at every holiday, I vowed to never do that to my children. I told them after they got married, to spend holidays with their Dad/stepdad and family or her mother and family. We are all close so I see them several nights a week and every weekend. I was sincere but haven't spent 1 holiday alone. They still spend it with me. It's just crazy.

 

[JeffOeuf]

Mrsamplias and Maven. I agree that you are more considerate, compassionate and comprimising than i will ever be.
I still want my kids here with me on all holidays and if it stresses them out then so be it.
My position is that if their sig other loves them enough that I will invite them too then this will be no problem. If they dont love them enough then there might be a little heat and tension. Either way I am fairly certain my kids will be here with or without sig others. And if they have kids they will be here too. Sig others can do whatever. My kids understand how important it is to me, and by proxy to them and anyone in their lives will have to understand it too. Otherwise its a red flag. If they hook up with some fly by night rebel without a cause and even try me on for not being with the family on a holiday then look out. That is not marriage material in my book. The bar has to be high in this house. If I relent then the slippery slope has begun and I wont have that. Besides, where are all these young people going for the holidays? To the uncomprimising mommas house!
L

I should probably just keep my mouth shut, but this is perhaps the single most selfish sentiment I have ever seen expressed in words. You're going to (at some point in the future) force your children to enrage their in-laws or enrage you. The sig others' families very likely will be just as tight-knit as yours. I think you better face up to the fact that married children can't and, in my estimation shouldn't, spend every holiday with one set of parents. You can't really think that your kids will come to your home and the sig others will go to theirs, do you? If they do, their marriages are going to have serious problems.

 

[JeffOeuf]

chickens..... and as found out a few years back....ducks love to eat all kinds of critters and go after some pretty large rodents, snakes etc. This is a very large Shamo female with a rat....not a mouse.......didn't take her long to devour it. The rat was alive when they met up. I post this picture in the threads that claim chickens should only eat twigs and nuts.



Walt

I love this picture. Talk about DINO genes! Thank God we're bigger than them.

 

[Sally8]

  I built a simple plywood box to put mine in. Minimizes the temp fluctuations. Plus I put it in a room where the door can always be closed so it isn't affected by the wood heat. I've heard of other putting theirs in the closet for the same reason. But seriously putting it in a plywood box helps a lot.

I've heard of this being done. I kept mine in the smaller bathroom with the door closed. (Mainly because we have a cat). I want to incubate again and I'll try the box and let you know. As I had said, I hatch very little and wouldn't buy another unless this one breaks. Thanks. Sue

 

[they'reHISchickens]

LG Incubators--I don't use a plywood box-- just a cardboard one from an air conditioner. I think you mostly need a buffer for the air temp fluctuations. Humidity is more difficult. We use wood heat too and find dry hatching is tough during winter, Humidity is too low-- dropping below 20%. Also, add a computer fan

DH made a spare cooler incubator. Cheap but no turner. If you go that route, experiment with light/fan placement. it is critical and changes by fractions of inches. read the many threads on the subject first.
.Just my 2 cents

 

[galanie]

Re: Holidays. They are always not my favorite times of year. Thanksgiving is a forced affair and so is Christmas. If I can enjoy them with people I enjoy being around, then that's great. Otherwise, I'd rather be by myself. If my son or daughter (parents are gone, no uncles or aunts and my brothers normally spend it with their or their wives families) or both need to spend this day with the in laws or out laws or whoever and I'm not invited that year, then great. I'm just not going to be the overbearing, much too willful, mom that mine was. Anyway I like being alone and since both my folks died between Thanksgiving and Christmas (though in vastly different years) I'm super happy just letting people be and having them leave me be.

That said, if I were sure I was hosting just people I love, my kids and their kids, I'd happily cook the whole meal and enjoy the day with them. But they have relatives other than me, and one is more than 1000 miles away while the other has "other family" that I frankly can't stand. So be it. There's no friction at all. The close one lets me know if they are available or not, and I plan accordingly. I'm not upset one way or the other.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

chickens..... and as found out a few years back....ducks love to eat all kinds of critters and go after some pretty large rodents, snakes etc. This is a very large Shamo female with a rat....not a mouse.......didn't take her long to devour it. The rat was alive when they met up. I post this picture in the threads that claim chickens should only eat twigs and nuts.



Walt

Wow, a hunting chicken!!

 

[Sally8]

 LG Incubators--I don't use a plywood box-- just a cardboard one from an air conditioner.  I think you mostly need a buffer for the air temp fluctuations.  Humidity is more difficult. We use wood heat too and find dry hatching is tough during winter, Humidity is too low-- dropping below 20%.  Also, add a computer fan
DH made a spare cooler incubator. Cheap but no turner. If you go that route, experiment with light/fan placement.  it is critical and changes by fractions of inches.  read the many threads on the subject first.
.Just my 2 cents

 

Thanks. I appreciate any input although....... My humidity stayed right at 16 percent causing me fits. I called the woman that I bought the eggs from as she was the one that told me about dry hatching. Both times she told me to throw the hygrometer out and quit worrying. My first hatch was over 90 percent, the others were not fertile and there was 1 turkey egg and I didn't open it when it didn't hatch. Wished I had. I kept it in incubator for 2 more weeks. Surprised it didn't explode.
The 2nd hatch had so many troubles. My husband got pneumonia and was hospitalized so the eggs didn't get turned as often as they should, the power went out for more than 20 hours and something else, I forget. Only about 8 out of 20 hatched of which several were not fertile. I felt I was lucky to get that.
Even though I had good luck with the dry hatching, just talking about it makes me nervous. I thought about trying a humidifier once, turned down really low.. I probably won.'t incubate until March so for the month of Feb, I'm thinking about experimenting. Will try the fan. Thanks. Sue

 

[Sally8]

Re: Holidays. They are always not my favorite times of year. Thanksgiving is a forced affair and so is Christmas. If I can enjoy them with people I enjoy being around, then that's great. Otherwise, I'd rather be by myself. If my son or daughter (parents are gone, no uncles or aunts and my brothers normally spend it with their or their wives families) or both need to spend this day with the in laws or out laws or whoever and I'm not invited that year, then great. I'm just not going to be the overbearing, much too willful, mom that mine was. Anyway I like being alone and since both my folks died between Thanksgiving and Christmas (though in vastly different years) I'm super happy just letting people be and having them leave me be.
That said, if I were sure I was hosting just people I love, my kids and their kids, I'd happily cook the whole meal and enjoy the day with them. But they have relatives other than me, and one is more than 1000 miles away while the other has "other family" that I frankly can't stand. So be it. There's no friction at all. The close one lets me know if they are available or not, and I plan accordingly. I'm not upset one way or the other.

This holiday thing is just nuts anymore. As I had posted, I tried to get my family to spend it with all their other families. (Divorces on both sides). I see my grandchildren, my son and daughter in law every day but 1 and daughter just a little less frequent. I was actually looking forward to a break Thanksgiving but Wednesday found out they all were coming. I love them all so very much and am so happy to have them near. That's what I am so thankful for. It's not just 1 day.
That being said, everyone is different and I can understand the parents who hold these holidays so dear. It's so tough.