Colorado

[coloradogal]

Here's the silvery chick. I have one more pipping so may get 9out of 12.

 

[AlivianAcres]

Here's the silvery chick. I have one more pipping so may get 9out of 12.

ooooo pretty!!!!

 

[wickedlees]

Oh I'm so JEL! SUCH pretty chicks! All of them! Love the feathery feet and I love the silver one! Although I am hoping to be able to get 4 more girls, either Red Stars or Black. I love my girls! They are perfect for me, I love waiting each day for the eggs! Plus they love a cuddle or two (who am I kidding more like a cuddle or 100)

As to the misbehaving child. I spoke to my DH about him, I'm actually quite concerned he is headed toward a serious drinking problem and that in serious danger of becoming "that crazy uncle" no one wants around. Not to sound all snooty, but we have 6 kids between us, 3 are my boys 2 his boys and 1 daughter his. I love them all, but my 3 sons are in service to this nation, 2 in the actual service, the last has 3.8GPA is active in Search and Rescue, joining ROTC next year and plans on going Navy. His two older boys both abuse substance, and don't have any aspirations, beyond working at a ski resort as ski bums. The daughter has a 1.7 GPA and while is a VERY good girl, also has NO aspirations. Thankfully she isn't drinking. They don't live here anymore so I don't have the rule over them. But even my boys who don't would never be mean to an animal, "live-stock" or not. Plus, they are really my pets at this point.

The Colonel (that's the one they tortured) is fine, she's been getting treats and love for 2 days now since "the incident" we've had 2 eggs today, and it looks a lot like our EE "Tini" is hopefully getting ready to lay, she's making a lot of egg song noise and squatting. I have hope for her yet! I was thinking of rehoming her and just adding high production egg breeds, but, I'm not there yet, and I do so love my little "Tini"

I hope this post doesn't make me sound like, Wow, my kids are so good, his suck. It's not like that, they were just raised in different ways. We are military, they are not and we demand respect and proper behavior. If you don't demand it, you will never get it. I see the same thing in many of my friends children. I'm a mean Mom I guess.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Oh I'm so JEL! SUCH pretty chicks! All of them! Love the feathery feet and I love the silver one! Although I am hoping to be able to get 4 more girls, either Red Stars or Black. I love my girls! They are perfect for me, I love waiting each day for the eggs! Plus they love a cuddle or two (who am I kidding more like a cuddle or 100) 

As to the misbehaving child. I spoke to my DH about him, I'm actually quite concerned he is headed toward a serious drinking problem and that in serious danger of becoming "that crazy uncle" no one wants around. Not to sound all snooty, but we have 6 kids between us, 3 are my boys 2 his boys and 1 daughter his. I love them all, but my 3 sons are in service to this nation, 2 in the actual service, the last has 3.8GPA is active in Search and Rescue, joining ROTC next year and plans on going Navy. His two older boys both abuse substance, and don't have any aspirations, beyond working at a ski resort as ski bums. The daughter has a 1.7 GPA and while is a VERY good girl, also has NO aspirations. Thankfully she isn't drinking. They don't live here anymore so I don't have the rule over them. But even my boys who don't would never be mean to an animal, "live-stock" or not. Plus, they are really my pets at this point. 

The Colonel (that's the one they tortured) is fine, she's been getting treats and love for 2 days now since "the incident" we've had 2 eggs today, and it looks a lot like our EE "Tini" is hopefully getting ready to lay, she's making a lot of egg song noise and squatting. I have hope for her yet! I was thinking of rehoming her and just adding high production egg breeds, but, I'm not there yet, and I do so love my little "Tini" 

I hope this post doesn't make me sound like, Wow, my kids are so good, his suck. It's not like that, they were just raised in different ways. We are military, they are not and we demand respect and proper behavior. If you don't demand it, you will never get it. I see the same thing in many of my friends children. I'm a mean Mom I guess. 

You aren't a mean mom. A 'mean mom' would have called the cops on them and they would have woken up Christmas Day in the drunk tank with domestic and animal cruelty charges pending. As it stands, I admire your restraint and hopefully there will be some solid ground rules for next time. And a lock on the coop. Hope you find a solid solution to keep it from happening again.

 

[marlo1968]

Made some traditional ginger ale with cranberries two days ago. Strained it today and threw the cranberries/ginger out for the girls. They took one peck of the ginger and spit it out. They are not fans of ginger.

Still say, once you guys try kefir soda, you'll never, ever, ever, ever go back to the store bought crap again. It's full of probiotics, little sugar and lots of bubbles.

Would you mind explaning what kefir soda is? I don't believe I've ever heard of it. Also, how do you make traditional ginger ale? thanks.

 

[Pozees]

Oh I'm so JEL! SUCH pretty chicks! All of them! Love the feathery feet and I love the silver one! Although I am hoping to be able to get 4 more girls, either Red Stars or Black. I love my girls! They are perfect for me, I love waiting each day for the eggs! Plus they love a cuddle or two (who am I kidding more like a cuddle or 100)

As to the misbehaving child. I spoke to my DH about him, I'm actually quite concerned he is headed toward a serious drinking problem and that in serious danger of becoming "that crazy uncle" no one wants around. Not to sound all snooty, but we have 6 kids between us, 3 are my boys 2 his boys and 1 daughter his. I love them all, but my 3 sons are in service to this nation, 2 in the actual service, the last has 3.8GPA is active in Search and Rescue, joining ROTC next year and plans on going Navy. His two older boys both abuse substance, and don't have any aspirations, beyond working at a ski resort as ski bums. The daughter has a 1.7 GPA and while is a VERY good girl, also has NO aspirations. Thankfully she isn't drinking. They don't live here anymore so I don't have the rule over them. But even my boys who don't would never be mean to an animal, "live-stock" or not. Plus, they are really my pets at this point.

The Colonel (that's the one they tortured) is fine, she's been getting treats and love for 2 days now since "the incident" we've had 2 eggs today, and it looks a lot like our EE "Tini" is hopefully getting ready to lay, she's making a lot of egg song noise and squatting. I have hope for her yet! I was thinking of rehoming her and just adding high production egg breeds, but, I'm not there yet, and I do so love my little "Tini"

I hope this post doesn't make me sound like, Wow, my kids are so good, his suck. It's not like that, they were just raised in different ways. We are military, they are not and we demand respect and proper behavior. If you don't demand it, you will never get it. I see the same thing in many of my friends children. I'm a mean Mom I guess.

Lees, it isn't being a mean mom to expect your children, step or otherwise, to respect what you have worked so hard on, or even what you have worked little hard on - it is yours. I smell some passive-aggressive behavior, and think you have to deal with it in whatever way you are comfortable with. As suggested earlier, that might mean locks on the coop; it might mean alcohol free events at your home, and it might mean calling or texting Happy Holidays instead of gathering at your home. It might mean confiscation of cell phones at the door with the promise of return when they leave sober and not leaving damage behind. I tend to be non-confrontational, but when it comes to my chickens or my garden, there are no holds barred. Last summer our neighbor had two young calves who repeatedly found their way through the fence and proceeded to wander our grass until we chased them about 2 miles to the North fence or 1.5 miles to the hole in the West fence. Every day I called and left voicemails asking them to correct the situation and telling them what happened that day. One Saturday morning I opened the kitchen blinds to see them tromping though the sedum bed in the back yard. I lost it. I called, got their voicemail again, and shouted that they had better get down here and get their calves out of my garden. When they got here 20 minutes later DH was ready to square off - I don't shout as a rule, and I had been so loud he was upset and prepared to defend my garden rights to the death.

That day I learned I had to be more forceful about such things *before* I got to that point. You must as well. It isn't bullying, it is preventing a much worse confrontation. In the most basic terms, those chickens are your sustenance, but even if they are not, they are YOURS.

 

[Pozees]

Here's the silvery chick. I have one more pipping so may get 9out of 12.

OMG

Beautiful

 

[coloradogal]

Would you mind explaning what kefir soda is? I don't believe I've ever heard of it. Also, how do you make traditional ginger ale? thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger_beer_plant#Ginger_beer_plant

Another name for water kefir is tibicos. My grains look like small, whitish translucent pebbles that sit on the bottom of my fermentation vessel. I feed them sugar water, with some sea salt and an occasional squirt of calcium chloride and pinch of baking soda. The grains are a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast but much different than kombucha in that kombucha ferments its sugar into acetic acid. My kombucha makes a very, very nice smelling vinegar that smells just like apple cider vinegar. The only way I can drink my kombucha is by cutting it with juice or bottling it with fruit and letting it sit for a few weeks to mellow its taste. Then it generally has a beery taste. Kefir takes that sugar and ferments mostly into CO2 and some alcohol. It doesn't tend to go to vinegar like kombucha does.

I've read articles from people who have kept their vinegar mothers near their kombucha starters and after a year or so, the tastes are about the same. I believe that as my kombucha mama's are very good at making vinegar. I have kombucha mamas if anyone would want some. They grow gangbusters. Kefir grains, both milk and water, are traditionally given from one person to another as they are believed to be a gift from God. I, personally, am in awe of them. Me being me, I just give mine away and ask for a donation to cover the bottle and culture liquid. Milk kefir ferments milk and makes great shakes or kefir cheese.

So my kefir water grains have their first anaerobic fermentation and then, I'll ferment it again with fruit or juice. It bubbles incredibly well and tastes like sparkling cider but not sweet. If I let this go too long, it starts to have more of a wine taste. To do the ginger ale, grate the ginger and add about a cup of sugar to that mash. Let the sugar absorb as much of the juice as you can. I then add that to about a gallon of water and put that in with a lemon, some cranberries and my grains. For the second fermentation, I'll bottle that with the ginger/cranberries strained out and maybe add some grape juice. But you don't have too. The taste after the first fermentation is warming and if I add a few more slice to the second fermentation, it gets even more so.

Below is the head of one of my kefir sodas as it was poured. What's great about kefir soda is its full of probiotics. Kombucha is too but kombucha is vinegary whereas kefir is bubbly.


Here's a better article on kombucha/vinegar. If he says something that I said wrong, he's right. :=) http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kombucha.htm

 

[Irie74]

OMG they are so cute!

 

[coloradogal]

Wendell, I'm so gosh darn surprised. Hours after the others have hatched, the little dominique mutt baby has just pipped and looks as though she is trying hard to come into the world. I truly didn't expect to see any more pipping as I'm in the 22nd day. But she is. That will be #10 if she makes it. There doesn't seem to be much action in the other eggs but maybe they are late bloomers too.


update: she made it. she looks much the same as most of the others but her belly is a deep yellow as is her wing tips. that doesn't surprise me as cuckoo marans and dominiques both have that barred black/white pattern. I'll take a picture after she gets transferred into the brooder.