Colorado

[Mtn Margie]

The girls are still rocking along up here. No major smoke, just so much pine pollen that it is foggy and literally when the wind blows, there are little pollen devils dancing around.

 

[wsmith]

Went out to the chicken tool shed this morning and heard some noise....Abe was chasing one of the hens around. He was strutting/wooing her, she was running away, and he was trying to run while strutting....Hilarious.

 

[wsmith]

Upped the humidity in the incubator last night. Removed the turner. Put the few eggs that are due NEXT weekend into an egg carton, we will tilt it every day for the next week. Tossed 2 from the ones due next weekend that stopped developing.

Looking for hatching on Sunday. The remaining 7 (due to hatch Sunday or Monday) are completely dark when candled.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Went out to the chicken tool shed this morning and heard some noise....Abe was chasing one of the hens around. He was strutting/wooing her, she was running away, and he was trying to run while strutting....Hilarious.

All that effort and she's not impressed!

 

[wsmith]

All that effort and she's not impressed!

She's probably tired of him. LOL She's been in the breeding pen with him and 3 other hens for over 2 months.

After the eggs currently in the incubator hatch, we will put everything we have saved in for the last round, and put Abe and the girls back in with the main flock.

 

[wsmith]

Yes please only healthy birds, I am so close to getting mine back.

Glad you're making progress with the new place. I think your hens miss you.....they think I am boring.

They are still laying pretty good, a couple of days when it was really hot and smokey they didn't lay well, but overall they are all still happy and doing their chicken thing.

 

[cosbackyard]

DearBYCers
Here is an email I got today from my Take A Peak Chicken Coop Tour organizer. I am trying to tie these two internet worlds together. Let me know what you think. or you are welcome to email Maria directly back at her email address (below)
Wendy

Dear Chicken Coop-ers,

I'm interested in starting a mobile meat processing unit for chickens. I keep hearing that there is a need for butchering services among backyard birders here in the Springs. In this one-time email, I would like to ask for your response to this possible niche opportunity. Please respond to the following questions to [email protected].

Are you interested in butchering services for your backyard birds?

Even though it's a mobile unit, would you be willing, initially, to travel to a convenient location for these service?

How far would you be willing to travel?
Up to 10 miles?
10 - 15 miles?

How much would you be willing to pay per bird for these services?
Up to $5?
More than $5 but less than $10?

Would you like to be on my email list to learn more about the mobile meat processing unit for chickens?

Thank you very much for your responses.
Regards,
Maria Plafcan

Very interesting. I know there's been some discussion around this lately.
I'd be in, sent her an email.

 

[Percheron chick]

With all the heat we had recently I took a small pan out to the run and filled it with water. The girls sure seemed to like having a little standing water to help cool them off. The pan is 8x8in and I was thinking of getting something a bit bigger. Does anyone else do this or have suggestions for something similar?

I use an old cat litter pan.

 

[Percheron chick]

I've been looking at Ranchway. It seems they have a line no soy organic layer called "easy feed". I think it may be available here in the Springs. It looks like the no soy product is only 16% protein. I also looked up Agland, but I may have to travel to Falcon or Calhan to buy it. Sigh, I wish I had figured all of this out before I brought my chickens home. I know nutrition is essential for a healthy and happy flock. Thanks for your suggestions

.

Look into small local mills around you. I only know the ones on the N side. They all will have a layer and chick feed. The advantages of local mills is it's super fresh (less than one week old), it's made mostly from locally grown products and it's cheaper because of reduced shipping and storage costs. If you have a large local egg producer, they formulate their own mix and might sell it to you 100# at a time. (I just found someone to do this. My costs are $.30/#)

 

[coloradogal]

Who's the poultry vet in Colorado Springs? I'm tired of trying to non-evasively get rid of the bumblefoot in qwackette. At this point, I'm not sure if she keeps getting bumble or I just haven't cleared it up enough from last year. I would try the bumblefoot surgery but with ducks, the infected tissue looks very similar to bumble and don't want to kill her in my ignorance.