Last year was frustrating because it was so hot that my tomato plants wouldn't set fruit. Finally when the weather cooled off a little in September, the plants started to set fruit by the hundreds and then we had that early frost in October, before they had had a chance to ripen. I didn't want all the effort I had put into them throughout the season to go to waste so I picked all the green fruit and made Green Tomato Salsa, and I have to say, it was about the best salsa I've ever had.
I got busy and got my roosts lowered to 3' and I am really happy with them now.
Cyrus jumped me again this morning.
My tomato plants are putting on tons of green tomatoes too! I guess I could pluck them off before they all die. That's great you got your roost moved down. So funny that it threw off their pecking order! Uh oh! BAD Cyrus!
I still have a very sweet boy here.
hehe! Well, he's hormone ridden, but at least he's sweet to me.
Yay for our DH's!!!! The beauty sleep is more a theory than a concept, a perpetual scientific experiment that goes horribly wrong every night and yet, I keep hoping for a great outcome.
Oh cool! Thanks Hawkeye, a picture's worth a thousand words. Good luck at the show!
My beauty sleep isn't working, either. Blah. Yeah, hope you are able to make up the cookie tin heaters! They are easy and very safe.
Hawkeye, yes, he did build it right on the ground then I said.... hmmmm.... How about a floor to make it easier to clean? He about had a cow at first but this little coop was build directly to the side of the barn so he only had to build 3 walls with the 4th back wall being the barn. The up side is cost of course but the downside is that he had to follow the slope of the barn roof which made a bit short, but not too short for short people like me to get in there.
Anyway, I don't want to build the floor up much, that's why we thought concrete. Our big coop was here when we bought this place, it has a dirt floor too. We put a really fine rock in it that packs together and down. It's still a pain and I can't get the smell out of there, not that a chicken coop is supposed to smell pretty but there's just no good way to clean it. We sort of scrape the top and shovel it out but that's about it. I wanted something that I could clean better. I will still put some straw on top of the concrete because if I scoop out the dirty the floor should still be decently clean. I hope.
I wouldn't fill the ground up with gravel or anything-- that can't be cleaned out easily. But if you dump a bunch of sand on there, level it out, and THEN put in your pin shavings on top. It will stay much cleaner and mulch well, and be warm. Also, when you take the pine shavings out, you can rake and sift thru the top layer of sand. Some people have put hardware cloth and ziptied it to a rake to sift the sand and get the big chunks of poop out. It may not require that at all.
Ok, hawkeye, may be the state meet. Fayettveille is a state and the national meet. When is Sedilia any way? I have sent my entry off for nationals. Really scared. But, I am sure my birds will hold their own. ALL the big guys will be there. I am so excited.
Yeah, it might be! But I bet there will be a lot of Rosecombs there! I'll see if I can remember to take a pic of them for you!
The Sedalia show is October 27th (Saturday). Coop in will be during Friday and then right before the judging on Saturday, too. I'm already having nightmares about a bird pooping on another bird on the drive up and then having to wash them in the hotel and then blow dry them all night out instead of sleeping that night. Sigh. I must be really nervous about them looking their best. I'm not worried about winning/losing, but I don't want them dirty! YAY-- so excited you have your entry sent off too!! I'm positive your birds will hold their own against the big guys. I got mine filled out last night and when I took kids to the Dr's this morning, got it put in the maibox at the PO. Did you have to mail in copies of your 90 day certs? Mine required it. I then have to remember to bring the originals with me when we coop in. Who does your NPIP down there?
A group of people I know were sticking a thermometer in boxes of shipped eggs that registered high and low temps during the summer. The temps went as high as 118 degrees during the hot months. Well you know those eggs wouldn't survive.
I think I've gotten to the point I can fairly well tell a viable egg from one that won't develop if fertile. It's all about the air sack, quality of the shell, yolk size, size of the egg etc. I understand all the factors that go into this. My theory is if a handful of eggs develop and all look equally as good and were packed the right way, then if they are fertile, most should develop under the right incubator conditions. I have done a lot of analyzing on eggs I hatch and you can tell as soon as you open a box what you are going to have if they eggs are fertile... aside from temperature extremes. It's been pretty accurate. I understand there are lots of factors but with a trained eye, I can cull several eggs right off the batt as not likely to develop. I normally mark those eggs and attempt anyway but very rarely do they develop properly. Not singing my own praises. It's just an experience thing. Not 100% sure but fairly close.
If I could just get a light capable of viewing the bulls eye well I think I could save a lot of incubator space.
I buy hatching eggs because it is the only way I can get what I want most of the time.
I have a very busy day ahead. I should be out working right now but it is so cold. Got to take birds and eggs to town this morning then Josie and I are going to Emporia this afternoon. I'll bet I don't manage to get out to pick the rest of my garden stuff or get half of my other chores done. I hate really busy days. I didn't bother setting the mouse traps last night so the mice probably had a free for all. I am starting to catch some smaller mice now so I am thinking that maybe I have eliminated some breeders and am catching their offspring.
VERY interesting!! That would be awesome if we could see the bullseye from the outside, too. I did want to add, that I had eggs shipped a bit ago and they all had detached air sacs and two of them were shook out. I let them sit for a couple of days in egg trays (big end up) and the air came back up to the top. Of course, that meant that the air cells were free-floating, which is bad.... BUT I still had a great hatch on them! I even wrote on the ones that had the air shook out, and those still hatched! So, you just never know. I wouldn't have thought any of them would make it, it was a pretty bad shake up.
I love fall but the cold hates me
When you have RA cold is your worst nightmare... I cant wait till it evens out and my body can start getting used to it. I want spring to come quickly..
I am NOT a fan of winter. I like Fall okay-- when it's on the warmer side. But that is about it.
I just installed one of my storm windows on my coop. It was super easy and only took about 5 minutes, even though it was the first time I've put them up so I had to drill the holes. It makes such a different in the amount of wind blowing through, but didn't change the amount of light in the coop one iota - I'm so pleased with it! I would have installed the other too but.....back when I was building the coop, I had the storm windows sitting out and we had a hailstorm and now one pane of the window needs to be replaced. I called the glass shop in town this morning and they're only open Mon-Thurs. So, I think I'll wait and get it repaired and put it up on Monday. With one window in place there is no cross breeze so just having one in place makes a huge difference and I think they'll be fine this weekend.
I just have window that flip up and down. I shut them down last winter. I guess I just plan on doing that again. I have the south side that has a couple of openings... the window and the pop door.
I am a walking piece of Arthritis. Trying to avoid more surgeries just to function. Any cold or wet messes me up bad.
Woot! I had my first fancy brahma chick hatch just minutes ago. There may only be a few eggs but at least there is a baby. I also just loaded a dozen each of porcelain d'uccle and Mille Fleur D'uccle eggs in the hatcher.
Congrats on the fancy chick!!
I have been so tempted several times to buy chicks or eggs, but I have to keep reminding myself I can't get them right now.
Hawkeye, good luck with showing your birds, I hope you do well. I salute you for doing that, I just don't have the energy any more to do things like that.
checoukan, I hope the celebration goes well & you sell some birds at the swap this weekend. I wish I could come, but it's not to be this time. It does sound like a lot of fun though. There is a big huge swap going on at Jacob's Cave in Missouri this weekend, I sure wish I could get to that. I looked at their web site & it's just a huge thing that goes on for 4 days. People drive from all over I guess to go to that one, some people from KS go I know on the Poultry Swap they were talking about it. Here's the swap info if anybody is interested:
http://www.jacobscave.com/jacobscaveanimalswap.htm There is also other info on the cave & all on their web site.
I know how you feel! I am soooo tempted to buy more eggs right now! It's perfect shipping temps! But I've promised myself to wait until winter is mostly over. I have a new cockerel being shipped to me next week, anyway. That should keep me busy moving everyone around. Thanks for the well wishes! I will consider it a success if I don't get disqualified and they hold their own. I don't expect a win, but can't wait to meet everyone up there!
Ok bad news and I am super worried now. My neighbors 5 year old came over and asked for chicken treats so I told him to get them out of the barn. He left the door open and that is were I was isolating the adopted pullets, they were out, who knows how long, roaming with my flock. I got them all put back, I am so super worried now, I know where they came form and I know they are healthy, still no excuse not to isolate, how bad is this situation?
Keep them separate! They probably didn't give each other anything in the short time they were together, but with the weather changing, it would wind up being a problem for the newbies. But no, don't worry about it.
Relax, keep them separate. The thing you have to worry with is if they pick up something from your farm that might bother them. Just watch, and If you hear any sneezing then medicate if you need too. This change of weather is going to make some chickens sick anyway.
I agree!
