Cluck N Crow Farm

[CaroChickenMom]

we are at war with mice as well. had tried several "humane" methods but the old good snap trap is by far the most successful. We have a little mice cemetery in our backyard lol

 

[PioneerChicks]

we are at war with mice as well. had tried several "humane" methods but the old good snap trap is by far the most successful. We have a little mice cemetery in our backyard lol

I am wishing you the best of luck. We will win this together, as humanly as possible!

 

[paintedChix]

So glad I found another Idahoan! Your flock is beautiful. I sure hope yours (and mine) start laying again SOON. 8 of my 10 ladies stopped in October and my 2 egg-stars aka Barred Rocks stopped in early November I really hate buying eggs from the store when I have chickens...

In late 2018/early 2019, when I had lots and lots of eggs, I mixed up batches of scrambled eggs in zip lock freezer bags. Worked a charm, but I mistakenly put several bags into a plastic bowl with out thinking (the bags were "standing up", mushed together). Turned out the top of the bowl was smaller than the bottom - it curved inwards. Uhhh, couldn't get those bags out w/o out ripping and tearing or thawing them out first. What a mess that was - there were at least a dozen eggs in each of 6 bags...

Next time, I will remember to put them on a cooking sheet and put them flat for several hours in the big freezer outside. Then, I can bring them in 1 at a time or a few at a time...and can tuck the "flat" bags upright next to other foods in the house freezer. i didn't have enough eggs in 2019 or 2020 to really worry about it.

 

[YellowBrahmaBarn]

Idaho potatoes!

Let's hope they pick up again soon! Mine did pick up, a bit, but now I am collecting for hatching, so... Yep. Store eggs anyways.

Do your ladies have names? I'd love to hear about your flock!

Thank you for the hint about storing some eggs for the 'dark times'. Hopefully they will actually lay enough this year for me to do that. I'm new to chickens; my flock is nearly a year old and we are learning learning learning haha! We've been through rotten Roos (don't know if I want to try that again), meanie mites, and the latest fun was internal parasites. I have a LOT of sparrows that come to the chicken feeders and I believe they are to blame, but my ladies wouldn't eat out of the treadle feeder and I'm too soft to let them starve.

The dark brahmas are Bea and Doo (think Minions), my light Brahma is miss Etta, the Barred Rocks are Stitch and Stink, the EEs are Blue and Belle, and the Speckled Sussex are Dottie, Daisy and George (short for curious George).

 

[PioneerChicks]

Thank you for the hint about storing some eggs for the 'dark times'. Hopefully they will actually lay enough this year for me to do that. I'm new to chickens; my flock is nearly a year old and we are learning learning learning haha! We've been through rotten Roos (don't know if I want to try that again), meanie mites, and the latest fun was internal parasites. I have a LOT of sparrows that come to the chicken feeders and I believe they are to blame, but my ladies wouldn't eat out of the treadle feeder and I'm too soft to let them starve.

The dark brahmas are Bea and Doo (think Minions), my light Brahma is miss Etta, the Barred Rocks are Stitch and Stink, the EEs are Blue and Belle, and the Speckled Sussex are Dottie, Daisy and George (short for curious George).

I love all the names! They sound like such a sweet flock!

Wow, you've been through a lot in your first year! Sparrows, I have had problems with those too. But then my flock for a bad lice invasion, and I figured out that the birds were invasive House Sparrows, so I got serious about keeping them away.

Have you tried fermenting your feed? I'll bet your chickens would eat from the treadle feeder if it had FF in it!

 

[YellowBrahmaBarn]

Idaho potatoes!

Let's hope they pick up again soon! Mine did pick up, a bit, but now I am collecting for hatching, so... Yep. Store eggs anyways.

Do your ladies have names? I'd love to hear about your flock!

I love all the names! They sound like such a sweet flock!

Wow, you've been through a lot in your first year! Sparrows, I have had problems with those too. But then my flock for a bad lice invasion, and I figured out that the birds were invasive House Sparrows, so I got serious about keeping them away.

Have you tried fermenting your feed? I'll bet your chickens would eat from the treadle feeder if it had FF in it!

Thanks, they really are a calm little flock. I was really getting discouraged mid-December because I decided to raise chickens for EGGS. I love them but I really didn't want JUST pets. I haven't tried FF yet, so I'm off to research it - I'm desperate to get them eating out of the treadle feeder and get rid of the dang sparrows!

 

[PioneerChicks]

Farm update!

I had to rehome my two EEs, Rachel and Annie, because they aren't good layers. Rachel was a spunky, memorable member of the flock, and Annie was shyer but a great poser for pictures. They will both be missed!

 

[PDXJULES]

I do sell my eggs and the cost of that and what eggs I keep, covers the feed cost.
I haven't down any hatching to sell... I only hatch to keep... and this would be a problem because I would want to keep all the chicks. An Addiction!!

Well, try not to name em all - and sell some started Pullets and breeding groups?

 

[PDXJULES]

Today I finished reading My Side Of The Mountain to the chicks, because it got a couple degrees above freezing (for the first time all week). It was late, so all the birds gathered round and a couple sat beside me while I finished. It was a great way to finish the year!

Tomorrow we'll be starting The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, it's long but I hope they'll be interested because it's about poultry, and Enna (and her evil and now dead mate Finn) was named after a character out of it


Happy New Years everyone! (Fun fact, it's currently 1:00 AM here! Don't worry, I'm closing off right now. Night!)

Wow this gave me a laff! Videotape the whole dang thing - we can make your YouTube channel pay your bills with this one!

 

[CluckerFamily]

Well, try not to name em all - and sell some started Pullets and breeding groups?

I can’t help but name them all! It’s a weakness.