Coffee's ready...

[chics in the sun]

That was me. I kept one and sold four today at my swap. Which I don't know if it really qualified as a swap since it was just me with my four Blue Rocks, and the guy with a cage full of roosters and about 40 pigeons....... But it was still fun. The Blue Rocks were from Halo - check out her page.

 

[oesdog]

Morning everyone

Chicks I think you should do another swap. I know this one didn;t do as well as expected but it realy does sound a good idea.
I am glad you had a go.

Danny is being a real pain today - he was up twice in the night so I am tired. - Funny that the baby sleeps far more than he does????
He is mad at the music today and he keeps fussing with the Ipod thing and turning it off. Then he screams and hits himself???? So I have to go running but often I can;f figure what hes done to the darn thing and it takes me ages to get it going again.

DH and I are trying to make more bread today. The other loaves we didn;t like. They were done to a recipie one of the TV presenters here said - but honestly DHs bread is so much nicer and I think we will feed the other to the hens!!!!!

It is lovely and Sunny here today and NO wind. So much for it supposed to be raining and windy and cold this weekend?

Rancher - you said your clocks went back this weekend - ours did last weekend . Gets a bit confusing as I can;t keep up with what our time differences are???????
Its 12.18 here as I do this?

Oesdog - have a nice day.. I know I talk the hind leg off a donkey!

 

[gavinandallison]

It is a brisk 32 degrees, clear and sunny, slight northerly wind, along with House Belnd coffee here in North Carolina

 

[shelleyb1969]

Good morning.

It's a briskly cool morning here...no ice in the waterers today, though.

Supposed to be an absolutely gorgeous week...sunshine and much warmer. Suppose we finally have our Indian summer.

Working on my first cup. For those like me who are addicted to creamer...has anyone tried the new Coffee Mate Eggnog Latte? It's so incredibly good...just wish they sold it by the gallon.

 

[chics in the sun]

Beautiful cool, sunny morning here. Enjoying my coffee after fixing breakfast for the troops, then sending off two of them and the other two are out playing in the yard. Peace and quiet.

I was looking back on my swap last night, and realized it was a comedy of errors from start to finish. I decided to share it with you all - this might get long, but it's pretty funny in retrospect.

I got up early and put the chilli in one crock pot, cider in the other. Fixed cornbread and mini quiches for people to taste my eggs. BF started a fire in the new fire-pit table thing I got, and we sat outside with our coffee, waiting for people to arrive. And waiting. waiting. Eventually one lovely couple came and they were just interested in the coop and chickens and how to care for them, ect... Then a young guy came over told us someone had just broken into his coop last week and broken the necks of every single chicken but one, as that one was separated due to an injury!

We just listened, mortified, and I felt terrible for him!! The nice couple didn't know what to say, and I just sympathized with him - he looked shell-shocked. We chatted about chickens for a while, and he decided his one lone chicken needed to 'socialize' with other chickens, so he walked back to his house and brough her over. A beautiful white leghorn. I didn't offer to open the coop and throw her in with them! He walked around with her, and by this time I had quite a few poeple wanting to see or buy chickens that all pet and cooed over her, she was such a sweet girl. He was so sad about her being alone, that I explained how I integrated the lone Marans into the flock and offered to let her live with my girls and he could come visit and get eggs anytime. Yes, I offered chicken foster care to him...... I must be loosing it. He said he would think about it - he doesn't want more chickens because he doesn't want to loose them again.

He said maybe he'll just bring her by now and then to socialize. A chicken 'play date'!?

Shortly afterward a man pulled up in a truck, and I though, "thank goodness, someone brough some chickens". What did he have? The roosters and pigeons. As they got set up his daughter went to take a rooster out and four of them flew out and started running all over my yard!!!! The first three were caught quickly, but one flew over my fence, onto my neighbor's fence, into their yard, down the alley, into another yard, with a whole group of kids and my BF trying to catch it!! I was so afraid I would get in big trouble if we didn't catch it and the neighbors knew where it had come from!

Things calmed down, and the 4-h group really got into the pigeons and bought quite a few. BF's youngest girl pestered us all day about wanting one, and later he says, "well, she might have gotten her way. One got out and is in your tree. Put some food out at you should be able to catch it" But then I asked, 'aren't they social like chickens - shouldn't we have another one to go with the one in the tree?"

So he gives me one for hosting the nice swap, and I put it in a cage. I realize it should have some water, open the cage to put it in, and like a flash of lightning the pigeon is out of the cage and soaring over my house, never to be seen again. So the guy gives me another one, which is secure in it's cage. We wait and wait and wait all afternoon for the one in the tree to come down. It sat there for hours, and suddenly for no apparent reason it took off, circled above the house, and flew away.

So where did BF and youngest daughter go this morning? To a town an hour away to get another pigeon from the guy, as we wouldn't want the only one we managed to keep to be lonely.

And what will I be doing shortly? Building a pigeon addition into the coop, of course!!

I actually had a lot of fun with everyone that came to talk chickens. The kids had a great time, but really it must have been one of the craziest swaps ever!

 

[annaraven]

Good morning everyone!

It's bright and sunny here -- NOT!
We've finally got our rain. Supposed to rain all day. But, I've fed and watered the chickies, added some shavings to their nest box where one of them gave me a yolk-poop, and came inside where it's warm and dry. I may make a fire in the fireplace later.

For now, I'm just enjoying my first cuppa and waking up.

DH told me about a dream he had last night: Ernest was sniffing in a peculiar way under some bushes in the backyard. So Dh went and looked and found 3 eggs hidden there.

My husband is dreaming about the chickens! I did reassure him that I've been checking under the bushes just in case. But with the lower light the girls are slowing down I think. We haven't had an egg out of Buffy for a few days now... I think Willow is the one giving me rubber eggs/yolk-poops, as she's just gotten mature enough to start laying. They all look and act healthy. I just hope the girls have the sense to get in the dry part of their coop/run and not get soaked in all this rain.

Anyways - I'm gonna check out what others have to say this morning. Just wanted to pass along the egg dream.

 

[annaraven]

Quote:
Maybe you sent it here to us in Sillycon Valley.

Rancher - you said your clocks went back this weekend - ours did last weekend . Gets a bit confusing as I can;t keep up with what our time differences are???????
Its 12.18 here as I do this?

The US decided to wait a week to save money (and mess everything up!)
http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/california/sunnyvale/
In Sunnyvale, we're at GMT-8 during the winter and GMT-7 during the summer (daylight savings time).

Don't know about where you are.​

 

[rancher hicks]

Not a lot to say, just set 25 eggs for hatch. Weather is always yuk to me when it's cold. Bought a new freezer and will try my hand at processing my own birds soon I expect. Can't keep giving away roos. I suppose half the work is just having a set up to do it in. I am worried about attracking coyotes or foxes. i suppose that would be ok if I were a hunter and could shoot and skin the suckers. That would be a twofer. Wonder what I can to with the pelts.

well take care
Rancher

 

[Sissy]

Sueg
We found our paradise in Tn. from orange county.

and a howdy to all u flock tenders.
coffee taste even better when we have such a chill.
How is everyone coping with the cold. we had 25 last night,
but are to have it in the 60s for the rest of the week I put
down straw for all the coops.to keep my chic family nice and cozy.
oh oh should I put heat lamp on my I day old silkies
doing the last trip to the smaller coop this evening,a real surprise.
I found 6 new fuzzy butts and just left them with the mother hen??
but I have to transfer them if they get into the run they would get
out thru large wire.
also does Mama hen go with the new fuzzys?
Rancher hicks.. after u hatch in this cold how do you
handle your new brood?
Any suggestions any one?

 

[chics in the sun]

I would keep Mama hen with the babies, but definately put them in a secure spot. My BF came home just a few days after mine had hatched and found one of them frantically running up and down the OUTSIDE of the coop - and I thought my coop was secure!! Mama hen should be able to keep them warm enough, or so I hear. I'm from Florida, so you should probably ask someone from the colder climates on here.

We have been down in the 40s the past two nights, and all are fine. My chicks are four weeks and fully feathered, though.

What kind of eggs did you set, Rancher? I wish I could set up a processing area somewhere, but I just don't think I have the room in my suburban backyard. I wonder if I could find some more people interested in raising and processing meat birds, and then find somewhere outside the city that would do a bunch at once for us. My parents both know how to do it - I just don't know where we would do it.

So guess which clock I forgot to set back yesterday? The alarm clock, of course!! Found myself brushing my teeth at 4:50 in the morning!!