Our thermometer was reading 12 this morning - such a change from a day or so ago. I have birds huddled and not looking happy about it - if they'd had more time to acclimatize I'm sure they wouldn't be feeling it as much. I plugged in a heated water bowl and they were all appreciative of the water that was room temperature from being in the house all night so probably felt downright warm to them.
So glad to hear you are doing better - we have all been thinking of you! And wow, you are not kidding about being back to normal - I don't have that much energy on the best days
Congrats on the egg. I probably wouldn't use it because with that crack in it, you never know what bacteria might have also found their way in. I would give it to the dogs or feed it back to the birds if it were me.
Oh no Trish! I'm so sorry about your pea! Poor thing, and I know you work so hard trying to keep everyone healthy and well cared for. I'm very sorry.
So even the geese think it's too cold! Funny! I'm so sorry about your grain mill and surely if you just ordered it, they will understand you didn't have time to mail the card in and they will exchange your mill. Let's hope! I love the cookie tin heaters, too! I have everything all plugged back in now. I did have to move my water for the layers back into the coop so it can sit on the cookie tin heater for the winter.... here we go again! It's NO fun having that water inside the coop, but at least for the most part, they don't knock it around. I'm with you-- I also like how it heats up the coop. Just enough to take the edge off of it.
I would love to buy those dog water bowls, but I'm so cheap! LOL I just have the cookie tin heaters instead, about half the price. The down side is that I had to make them. I'm with everyone else on the low ball offer. IF they truely knew what pea's go for and what they are worth, they never would have offered that. I mean..... 2 shows ago, I low balled a lady for one of her roosters I wanted to buy, but she had him listed for $175 and I offered $100. I felt a bit embarrassed just asking that!! LOL I know the value of a bird and if you pay the price for a GOOD bird, then you're darned well going to take every measure to make sure you don't lose your investment! I would be tempted to respond with the fact that your birds are very nice and investment birds and worth every penny of what you were asking.
Wow, too cold for ducks? It WAS cold last night-- and no fun! I need to get some extra bedding and get it in the silkie pen.
NO DOUBT! I was not ready for this cold! Yikes! Last night I was securing a heat lamp in the silkie pen and getting the extension cord to get it plugged in. All in the windy cold. Geez. I also need to finish up the little bit of plastic that needs to be put up on that pen. What I have up now does keep the wind off of them, but they need more protection, because where that one side is open on top-- the windy was swirling down onto them from above. I'm going to run out today and buy more plastic. Which is why it didn't get done, because I ran out. And then I kept forgetting to buy more! Ugh, I wish I had done it when it was warmer. Got them all set up with the heat lamp and they huddled under it. So I hope that took the edge off of the night for them. I think after I get it wrapped on the top East side, they will be a lot more comfortable!
WOW-- your back to normal makes me look like I'm laying around all day long! I don't know how you manage, but I understand why you got so sick now! You work VERY hard. Glad your DH still has a job out there! At least that is a relief, even if he is working extra hours. My DH is laid off in March from Boeing. They already sold off his division. He did get an offer from the new company that took over that division in St Louis. He's still hoping for something here in Wichita, so he didn't say "no" to them, but has been talking with them about pay, etc and kind of putting them off a bit. He said he won't move until his termination date because he wants to collect his full severance plus the bonus per month that he was promised if he stayed on until the end. So he's just trying to hold up his end with Boeing. Glad you caught the flu early with your son. I've never used Tamiflu before! Sounds like that might be good stuff. Is that OTC?
That is a HUGE egg! WOW!!!!! I wouldn't eat it because of the crack. But if it were just frozen and no crack, then I'd go ahead and keep it/eat it. What good geese to be laying such big eggs for you! Sheesh, what are they? Part Emu? LOLI have a couple of those 1 1/2 gallon heater water bowls from Orschelns. My silly birds (ducks and geese) try to bathe in them, but they usually leave enough for drinking as well. I have 2 bowls for 9 ducks and 3 geese, and that seems to hold them over for the day. I empty and re-fill them morning and night.
I just went out to do my chores. The NWS website says it is 13*F in town with a windchill of -3*F. We are in a big hole here, so it is usually colder here. After I gave my birds more water, all of them were trying to bathe in it. Silly birds don't act like they even notice how frigid it is outside.
Also, as you may have heard, I got 2 more geese late last week. When I did the chores this morning, I found my first egg from them. It was frozen, so I wonder if it was from yesterday morning and my DH didn't notice it when he took care of the birds yesterday... Either way, it has been well below freezing all day yesterday, last night, and this morning so it probably didn't take long for it to freeze. Do you think the egg is still good to use in cooking/baking? As you can see, the egg is huge! That is MY hand pictured...
Glad your little Oladnsk made it out okay. Maybe they do need to be by themselves until they get the hang of it. Nice to have a whole week off with your DH! I'm looking forward to Christmas when mine gets quite a bit of time off! Really, I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bit and not having to get out of our jammies right away. ha!
Yeah, the cold is no bueno. I HATE winter. HATE. I can't say it enough! LOL I need to get out there and check water and refill feed. I need to run to Walmart here in a bit to get plastic and Atwoods for more shavings and feed. I'm just hanging around here in the house in front of the space heater. My DH likes to keep this house on the cooler side but it annoys the heck out of me. We used to argue about that all the time back when we were first married. But after 12 years, I give up and got myself a space heater to sit next to me . He thinks that throws off the heater in our house, but I don't care. I used to go and change it and make it warmer while he was at work, but it was a hassle to remember to turn it back to the original setting before he got home! LOL I'm not a very sneaky person at all, so I got caught like over half the time. hehehe I would probably be cold in a warm house, too. So it's just me. He says it's plenty warm in here and the kids dont' complain they are cold--even when they are running around in their underwear, so it probably is me. I HATE the cold and winter. I just want to be wrapped up in a heating pad all day long.Our thermometer was reading 12 this morning - such a change from a day or so ago. I have birds huddled and not looking happy about it - if they'd had more time to acclimatize I'm sure they wouldn't be feeling it as much. I plugged in a heated water bowl and they were all appreciative of the water that was room temperature from being in the house all night so probably felt downright warm to them.
So glad to hear you are doing better - we have all been thinking of you! And wow, you are not kidding about being back to normal - I don't have that much energy on the best days
Congrats on the egg. I probably wouldn't use it because with that crack in it, you never know what bacteria might have also found their way in. I would give it to the dogs or feed it back to the birds if it were me.
Danz, you were asking about what company I use for the calendars so I wanted to let you know about my experience with My Publisher this year. I think this is the fourth year in a row I've used them but I couldn't remember how fast they processed the order in the past. Immediately after submitting the order I got an email confirming it was submitted. Twelve hours later I got an email saying they had processed the order and it was available to view online. And this morning I got an email confirming the order is complete and has been shipped. Since I only submitted it around 11pm Friday night, I'm pretty impressed with their processing time, and no longer fear I won't have them in time to give as gifts on Christmas morning.
Well, it was actually kind of funny. Four of the ducks routinely sleep in the coop and the other two spend the night on the pond. So, last night one of those two was busily preening while the "losers" filed into the coop. You know, because she's way too good for that nonsense. Meanwhile, her best friend was following the other four into the coop. Miss Preener suddenly looked up to the see the tail of her best friend disappearing through the pop door and, at the thought of being left outside by herself, ran as fast as you can run on those huge duckie paddles they call feet. She couldn't get in the door fast enough once she realized she was going to be left out all by herself.
The BO's you get from hatcheries should be "pure" BO - its just that they will be low quality, and that pretty much goes for any hatchery. The hatcheries produce chicks in high volume and don't focus too much on quality. They stick any of BO roo in with a dozen BO hens, and incubate the results. If you are looking for show quality birds, you are always best to go with a good breeder. I would start by looking for a thread dedicated to the breed in which you are interested, and either start reading on there, or simply ask for recommendations on breeders who consistently produce high quality birds. Just be prepared to pay significantly more than you would for a hatchery bird.
We'll be keeping our fingers crossed something comes up for him so you guys can stay in Wichita.
Hatchery birds are purebred. Like all things there can be an occasional slip up but it is unlikely. You may end up with some awesome hatchery birds or some that are just birds. There is nothing wrong with a bird that doesn't meat the standard of perfection unless you are going to show it. They still produce eggs and still are good eating. You probably aren't going to find a top quality buff Orp unless you find a breeder who does show and has exhibition lines.
The cookie tin heater is probably the best option for home-made. You might ask around friends and family to see if anyone has a cookie tin you can use. I never buy cookies in the tin but found some at the thrift store for about a dime apiece.
