Coffee's ready...

[oesdog]

Update on the hatch - one dead chick this morning - so not doing very good at the moment. Not sure if Gerty killed it but it has no injuries just a very large egg sac.

Oesdog

 

[karl E lutz]

Good morning chicken wranglers
Oesdog sorry you lost your chick, Hope the rest do well,
Rancher sounds like your doing the right stuff,I use domore layer crumbles and a mix of scratch grain and wet mill cattle feed for my girls and they lay well,for me. Which reminds me to go and order more egg cartons.Good weekend all God Bless!

 

[chics in the sun]

Rancher and Karl, you're getting me into "tool math" - like chicken math, but it's tools! I got to thinking, hey, if the circular saw works on the same battery, maybe I should buy one? I do need something bigger. I handle tools pretty well for a short blond chic, but I juist haven't gotten comfortable with a circular saw yet. I can't seem to hold the boards and feel like I have it under control at the same time. What I really want is a little table saw.

I'm sorry you lost a chick, Oesdog. I'm still waiting to see if the little crippled one makes it. It sure is fiesty.

Rancher, I hope your chickens step it up a notch and start laying for you. Mine all lay well, except now the EE is having issues and the Ginger is still not laying since being 'sort of' broody. Her eggs are the prettiest, and I haven't been able to include them in my customer's cartons. Or the other OE, who has the babies. She's been an excellent mother, and seems genuinely worried about the crippled chick.

We have storms predicted for all day today. I need to take a 40 minute drive up north to drop off that incubator I borrowed and go to the pond store. At least I have a bigger vehicle now....It's pouring down in buckets at the moment.

Have a great day, chicken wranglers.

 

[oesdog]

No things are not at all good news.
Another hatched today while we were out and Gerty killed it. - It was deffinately pecked to death hardly out of the shell.
We have lifted the other 4 eggs and they are in Dhs incubator type thing! He is makeing a better one as we speak! Gerty now has 2 rubber eggs and 2 light sussex eggs under her that are not due for a few more days so we can get the incubator up and running and take them off her before their hatch time comes.

Sad Gerty is a killer hen - they are not mice that is the problem!!!!!
I also have a bat I found in the fire this morning - cat went mad and I had to take the place appart to find it. So its in a dark place waiting for night to be released - all go here!!

Oesdog

 

[rancher hicks]

Morning folks, Always more to do than I have energy of course.

Oesdog - I am sorry about Gerty. Not all females want to be moms I guess. Perhaps you'll get another hen who'll be more amiable. I do hope you catch that bat, before some one get bit.

Karl - Egg cartons has egg cartons on sale. Rejects but still a good deal. I almost ordered some for my self. I do recycle and friends don't mind but it might be nice to have my own and put on printed labels with Nick on the front.

Chics - I like my cordless tools cuz they let me work far from an outlet and no cords to drag around. My saw makes it easy to cut lumber for my raised garden beds and I've recently been using it to cut up the old stockade fencing which is a ways from the house. The cordless saws are a bit lighter and smaller than the standard and I'm not a big person either. Not to mention my chronic tendinitis. I like being able to switch batteries from one tool to the other too.

Karl - I did switch from Dumore to Agway cuz Agway is cheaper but then too I switched from crumbles to pellet too. Now I'm back to Dumore pellets. I don't give them scratch except in the morning for breakfast. I do know there is molting going on but only a few of the hens look real bad.

The Lord knows what's needed.

There's a lavender festival this weekend and I hope to go. Good lord willing. The weather is supposed to be nice. There is more than lavender of course and I hope to see some nice things and get some ideas. If I was 10 years younger I'd get some sheep but then I'd also still working at the PO. Which is not a bad thing. Course the way this world is going I'm not sure I'd want to be 10 years younger. Well the Lord is coming soon no doubt. Sorry just thinking out loud.

Take care and don't forget to pray and read your bibles and go to church. Oesdog - say hey to Bob and tell him I hope he's feeling better.

Rancher

 

[oesdog]

The bat is caught - don;t worry about that. They are protected here and we do not have rabies so its fine!!!!
The little thing is recovering in the old feed store in the garden. It will stay there until tonight when it gets dark and then I will let it go again. It just somehow managed to get down the chimeny and into the fire. Lucky for it we haven;t lit it but the poor critter got covered in dust so needed a bit of a clean! So I have two dead baby chicks and a darn live Bat I don;t want! Life is strange sometimes.

Gerty is a big disapointment. Last year she tortured Bertha and tried to take her nest. We had random eggs thrown out and all sorts and thought it was her. We gave her a chance she blew it! It wont happen again here. We do not tollerate hens who murder chicks. She is never going to hatch chicks again. When her brood is broken she will be in with the others and never used again only for egg laying and protecting the flock. It is a sad thing when you have the promise of life and death is born for any creature.
oh well Ferritt food I guess and we will try again.

Oesdog - no sign of life in the other 4 eggs we took away but we cannot leave them with her now.

 

[karl E lutz]

Oesdog
so sorry about the disapointing results but chin up and keep at it soon you'll meet with success!
chicks table saws and fingers should not tangle safety first is always the best motto!

 

[chics in the sun]

Oesdog, that is disapointing. I'm 95% sure that that is what happened to the only baby that Ginger hatched. All that was left in that case was a little bit of shell. And no, she will never ever be allowed to set on eggs again!

Boy did we get some rain yesterday!! Flooding all over the place, and my yard was a swamp. Things are drying out now, so maybe I'll get some work done out there. BF's girls are back for two weeks, so that does put some limits on the time I have to do things, but that's okay.

Well, have a good day.

 

[rancher hicks]

Just about making the moring, everyone.

Oesdog - you must not give up. It's not what we do now is it? I received an e-mail for Delaware eggs from some one your way in the UK but know nothing about laws and regulations. If it were just sending them you would have gotten some from me by now.


Lord have mercy I wish I had the energy my mind does on ideas of projects and things needing to be done. I'd like to do some more jams and try some new ones. Gooseberry comes to mind. I just need to drive and pick them. Oh well you know what the bible says, (yes I'm going to tell you) "The sluggard wants but doesn't get".

Went to the Lavender Festival and DW liked it and I like the art work displayed and for sale. I never miss a chance to plug chickens and their popularity at these things. Giving out my business card when I can. I just realized I have to order new ones cuz I forgot to put my e-mail address on it. Duh!

Have a nice day folks,

Rancher

 

[oesdog]

Quote:
It would seem the other eggs are dead because we are day 23/24 and no sign of life. Will leave them another few days then egg topsy! We have 4 other eggs waiting to hatch two under Gerty that will be retrived on day 18 for lockdown in the incubator away from the killer queen!!!!! Then she is getting turffed off the broody list for sure!!

Not sure about the law regarding eggs Rancher or I would have asked you to send before and I would have sent Legbar eggs! But I think were not allowed to under health laws.

Anyhow better away and do something!

Oesdog