Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[Kiki]

It wouldn't load on my phone when I looked... That's another reason I'm not looking at the news my damn phone won't work

Don't look Fort.

Spoiler: Some of the cases here

 

[Rooapalooza]

I would not call this one (below) the best thread, but it is recent and in light of what is happening. The rest I think I did a "DIY feed" or "cheap feed" and "feed per day" type of search, but I didn't bookmark them. However I'll poke around some and post more links in a while.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/if-feed-stores-closed-and-you-can’t-free-range.1352377/

There are also a lot of threads on making one's own feed too.

In the mean time, I posted on the linked one above, like I did here maybe ....I dunno.....20 pages back? This thread grows so fast!

So I searched how much feed per bird per day and found general estimates to be about 1/4lb to 1/3lb per day for a laying hen to produce an egg. Or about 3lbs a day for my birds, and feed wise I'm ok for about 60 days.
But in the light of the changing situation (and that we are a family at risk) l decided to start rationing more strictly by the weights suggested AND I'm stretching what I do have adding in things like:
-Garden scraps (I do this anyway)
-kitchen scraps (again, normal here)
-small amounts of hand picked forages. My outdoor run is muddy right now because of record rains and flooding here. When things dry a bit I'll make a chicken "pasture" just for the girls to free range to boost nutrition.
-I've also started adding some eggs back to their feed. I've done this before in times of just too many eggs and did not notice an appreciable drop in egg production, however it did stretch my feed by about a third even though that wasn't my goal at the time.

Right now I have a dozen girls all currently laying, and in the mornings I've started adding 6 to 8 fresh eggs (shells and all) to a portion of the daily amount of dry feed. Mashing well so I don't encourage egg eating, and waiting about 10 minutes for the pellets to swell and soak up the moisture, then feeding it and some plain dry pellets.
I've basically taken the average daily amount of 3 to 3 1/2 lbs of just feed and reduced that to about 2 1/2 to 2 3/4lb per day with the egg addition alone. Every little bit helps.
I'm tracking production and condition and will assess as the grass comes in more and I'm able to free range them more. Grass is really starting to come in patches but the mud and flooding has set back forages here as many places are still in standing water. Or mud.

Note: I'm not stingy. I have given thousands of eggs away to friends and neighbors over the years. Some are thankful, most are not. In my current location ignorance abounds and I've not been treated well for my egg offerings, so since I'm WELL stocked in eggs right now I can easily give them back to the the birds.

ETA: Sorry... SnapdragonQ and "brief" are not synonymous.

Thank you!

 

[CapricornFarm]

I'm a quilter and I'm actually a little miffed that our quilting guild has not stepped up to make masks. I've been trying to find local places to connect with so I can figure out how to make and donate what they need, but since the cases are not high (yet) in my area, the locals are not taking things seriously.

Check deaconess.com for instructions, seems pretty easy to me. I need to find 1/4" flat elastic. I have lots of fabric and thread.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Do you remember what the standard was, CluckNDoodle?

I also have a huge stash of fabric. I'm sure I can work out a design -- it's incredibly simple -- but would it need to be 2 layers of fabric? Would some batting trap additional virus? Or would it make breathing through the layers more difficult?

2 layers of tight woven cotton fabric. I think batting would be too hard to breathe through.

 

[IamRainey]

Check deaconess.com for instructions, seems pretty easy to me. I need to find 1/4" flat elastic. I have lots of fabric and thread.

I found this available at Amazon right away. It's a lot of yardage but not that expensive. I'll find something to do with what I don't use right away but I've got cotton cut and I can proceed when the elastic cord arrives.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GPTDB6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
If anyone ends up using cord instead of flat braid, knot each end so it is well caught inside the seam before you turn out to the right side.

I'm also using up small pieces of batik. It's woven tighter, takes washing like a dream and has no "inside" or "outside" for quick, error-free sewing.


PS I also sent links to the 2 videos and the written instructions that appeared in this thread to my local quilting shop to see if they could enlist anyone to make some more. If nothing else, they can instruct others how to make some for themselves. Busy hands = less anxious brains!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I found this available at Amazon right away. It's a lot of yardage but not that expensive. I'll find something to do with what I don't use right away but I've got cotton cut and I can proceed when the elastic cord arrives.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GPTDB6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

I got this one, a little less expensive but still available through Amazon Prime. Now that we've decided to add the polypropylene fabric I'm struggling to find any readily available. We're also going to work out a nose piece.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LX50N4Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[SnapdragonQ]

I found this available at Amazon right away. It's a lot of yardage but not that expensive. I'll find something to do with what I don't use right away but I've got cotton cut and I can proceed when the elastic cord arrives.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GPTDB6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
PS I also sent links to the 2 videos and the written instructions that appeared in this thread to my local quilting shop to see if they could enlist anyone to make some more. If nothing else, they can instruct others how to make some for themselves. Busy hands = less anxious brains!

If you happen to be ordering any grocery items from Walmart online, or online/in person pick up, they also carry elastic cord in the craft section.

 

[IamRainey]

When this is all over we'll have to get together a BYC online quilting guild!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

When this is all over we'll have to get together a BYC online quilting guild!

We'll be able to make a quilt out of all the leftover masks at this rate! Virus proof blanket, lol.

 

[MROO]

The hits just keep coming. I think I'm giving up on social distancing and isolation and just going straight to hibernation.
I am a substitute teacher with the public school system. School is out pretty much for the rest of the year, so I have no job.
I've been subbing for a looooong time, so I have a good following and work every day, but since sub hours are considered fluid, we get no unemployment benefits.
My summer job is closed indefinitely and could well go under from this. And ... big surprise ... nobody's hiring!
My ex just informed me that he's been laid off indefinitely. Now there will be no alimony or child support.
With no income, I'll lose my house.
I'd say, "I want my Mommy," but at this rate, I may just get what I ask for ... moving back in, kids, dogs, cats and all ... but no chickens. They're not allowed, there. I'm trying really, REALLY hard to stay positive ... but it's getting really, REALLY hard to do!
At least we're all fairly healthy ... for now.
Jesus, take the wheel. Please. ✝