First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[duluthralphie]

No, no, no. No talking about other things here. Let's keep on topic.....

Just kidding. We've been off the topic so long I don't even remember what it was anymore.

I love the idea of calling this Jessica's Bar and Grill...without the grill. That's funny!

I also love the idea of talking about crossing chickens. Mostly because I have 4 mutt roosters now and don't know what to expect out of them. One is a lovely red EE, one seems to be a possible Black Copper Maran, then I have a lovely Gold laced Wyandotte cross and the last is, black and gold. Who knows what I am going to get mixed up with when they start making friends with my Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons and EE's. I think I'm going to wind up with some Olive Eggers, which would be fun!

I would be putting that Black Copper Maran into a small bedroom with a few hens just to get those beautiful DARK brown eggs! I would be feeding them all oysters too, just to help things along.

 

[JessicaThistle]

I would be putting that Black Copper Maran into a small bedroom with a few hens just to get those beautiful DARK brown eggs! I would be feeding them all oysters too, just to help things along.

I know. If that is what he actually is, I scored by rescuing these guys! Two of the hens that I rescued are cuckoo marans too, I think. I just wish I hadn't scored 4 roosters. They are all beautiful but they had all better be on their absolute best behavior to remain out of freezer camp. So far so good. They are 16 weeks old and I have only heard two of them attempt on a crow on two different occasions. Pitiful as it was.

 

[LindaB220]

Okay hatch day is stil perking along. But I'm tired of it and I hope they hurry up. I think I I've 2 Marraduna Basques and 2 Lemon Cuckoo Orphingtons. I'm very pleased with both. Seven more to go. If any!! The Basques are so funny. Watching me watching them. Intelligent little critters. I've been out today looking over the amount of space I'll have toward the run. I can't tell when It's so over grown in the summer. I've got plenty for several runs if I keep the breeds separate. I'm keeping the ISA browns separate because they are not range birds. Better in a closed space. The coop is under the trees and will be fine without a covered area in the coop. I started moving limbs and raking leaves because no one else is there to do it. I can't afford to waste money when I need it for supplies next month The ISA's themselves and then gardening supplies. Straw bales and such. I had ask the handyman to bring 20 bags of soil to place around the two coops and to install hardware cloth around the other. I was thinking maybe $60 labor to do this but he didn't even bother to call me back. sigh. I mentioned to Clint the SIL that I wanted to check into getting a smart phone. Just pricing and such. He came back later and said that it's ALL taken care of, and he has debited my acct by $70.

So I guess it's good that George didn't call me back. Clint buys so many things that it never occurred to him to get approval from me to set the phone up. Just helping me out. Gotta love him. (somethimes)

 

[mountain mom]

I have oh so much to say, but I am oh so tired... my little germ factories have brought home the flu. I will grace you all with my presence tomorrow... if I don't die first. I know you will be holding your breath for some of my wit.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have oh so much to say, but I am oh so tired... my little germ factories have brought home the flu. I will grace you all with my presence tomorrow... if I don't die first. I know you will be holding your breath for some of my wit.

Oh NO!!

I wish you a speedy recovery. My daughter's family has been battling this. I have avoided them since Xmas. I love my grandkids but they are petri dishes full of disease!


Maybe you can use this to jot down all your one time "college adventures" you were going to share with us. I am thinking this would make a great movie if we can get Hollywood to sign on.

Now I have to admit something, I, the genius I am did something stupid yesterday...

We have nasty weather up here now, The thermometer said it was 10 degrees yesterday, a virtual heat wave. There was some wind and a new inch or so of light snow yesterday morning. I went out to collect eggs and open the chicken door yesterday morning.

I have a double door system on the coop for humans. I have a small grain storage area before entering the chicken area. The chickens bunch up by the human door watching me like little hawks until I open the human door then they rush through the human door and either go outside through the other human door or try to hide in the grain storage area. It is a daily game with them, I actually enjoy it, it gives me a chance to pick up the birds pet them and scoot them out the door.

Yesterday I left the second door into the chicken area open while collecting eggs and opening the chicken door. I had about a dozen chickens run into the grain area and then outside, except,,,,,,,

They bawked ( misspelling intentional ) at going outside, new snow!! HORROR!! They run around on snow all the time, it never bothers them, they have not seen the ground in 3 months but NEW SNOW! NO WAY are they going out. So I started scooting them out. I gently pushed them all outside.

I should have realized how dumb this was, but I can be oblivious to the obvious. rick was throwing such a fit when I locked him outside, I relented and let him back inside. Which meant picking him up and carrying him into the chicken area, of course this dissed him and he protested this too.

The chickens went to the south side of the coop out of the wind, I filled dog dish with black oil sunflower seeds and they started munching. Life seemed good.

Now I have to tell you one of my greatly trained hunting dogs is a pain in the back end area of my jeans. She has food issues. She never thinks she is getting enough food. She eats chicken food before and after recycling by the chickens. She will eat in the chicken feeders side by side with the chickens. I feed the chickens household scraps. Some of those craps are things we do not want the dog to eat, So yesterday I decided to try and keep the dog out of the chicken food/fence. I have a gate in the fence large enough to drive my bobcat through, it is about 10 feet wide. I have left it wide open for months. I decided to close it leaving only 6 inches open, in hopes the dog could not get inside. I failed twice.

The dog managed to get through the 6 inches. The chickens could not get through the 6 inches. How a 100 pound dog can get through 6 inches and a 4 pound chicken cannot is beyond me. when I went out to lock the coop last night it was dark and chilly. My wife and I were discussing the cold, I was trying to convince her was not all that cold out. Now it is time for me to make a confession, nothing as juicy as MM's college days but I do not like long pants on my legs, so I wear a one piece cardhart insulated coveralls when I go outside in the cold directly over my undies or long johns. I was in the house all day yesterday and had no long johns on. When it was time to go outside to lock up the chickens, I grabbed my coveralls and started to put them on. My wife then stopped me!

Then the witch, however witch was not the first word to come to my mind, dared me to go outside in my undies to prove to her it was not that cold. I had no choice, I was trapped. After 40 some years being married to her, I knew I could not let her win.


So out the door I went in my skivvies, into 10 below temps with 40 mph winds. I get to the coop and I see one hen behind the plywood leaning on the north side .I scooped her up and took her inside, I notice I am short chickens in the coop. I look outside the coop and see a dozen birds huddled against the south wall of the coop, too dumb to find the gate! So I the genius was out there in my skivvies freezing my gonads off, picking up chickens one at a time bringing them into the coop and setting them on a roost.

To make matters worse, when I set the last chicken into the coop, a chicken on the high roost decided to crap. Beings I was bent over, it hit my butt went down my leg and into my boot.....

I am hoping to learn to ignore my wife in another 40 years.

I hope the chickens are okay.

End of my sad saga.

 

[JessicaThistle]

Then the witch, however witch was not the first word to come to my mind, dared me to go outside in my undies to prove to her it was not that cold. I had no choice, I was trapped. After 40 some years being married to her, I knew I could not let her win.


So out the door I went in my skivvies, into 10 below temps with 40 mph winds. I get to the coop and I see one hen behind the plywood leaning on the north side .I scooped her up and took her inside, I notice I am short chickens in the coop. I look outside the coop and see a dozen birds huddled against the south wall of the coop, too dumb to find the gate! So I the genius was out there in my skivvies freezing my gonads off, picking up chickens one at a time bringing them into the coop and setting them on a roost.

To make matters worse, when I set the last chicken into the coop, a chicken on the high roost decided to crap. Beings I was bent over, it hit my butt went down my leg and into my boot.....

I am hoping to learn to ignore my wife in another 40 years.

I hope the chickens are okay.

End of my sad saga.

 

[Turkeytruff]

I just came in from letting the chickens out and collecting eggs...



The guinea fowl will no longer be a problem, it appears an owl found him.

Oh NO!!

I wish you a speedy recovery. My daughter's family has been battling this. I have avoided them since Xmas. I love my grandkids but they are petri dishes full of disease!


Maybe you can use this to jot down all your one time "college adventures" you were going to share with us. I am thinking this would make a great movie if we can get Hollywood to sign on.

Now I have to admit something, I, the genius I am did something stupid yesterday...

We have nasty weather up here now, The thermometer said it was 10 degrees yesterday, a virtual heat wave. There was some wind and a new inch or so of light snow yesterday morning. I went out to collect eggs and open the chicken door yesterday morning.

I have a double door system on the coop for humans. I have a small grain storage area before entering the chicken area. The chickens bunch up by the human door watching me like little hawks until I open the human door then they rush through the human door and either go outside through the other human door or try to hide in the grain storage area. It is a daily game with them, I actually enjoy it, it gives me a chance to pick up the birds pet them and scoot them out the door.

Yesterday I left the second door into the chicken area open while collecting eggs and opening the chicken door. I had about a dozen chickens run into the grain area and then outside, except,,,,,,,

They bawked ( misspelling intentional ) at going outside, new snow!! HORROR!! They run around on snow all the time, it never bothers them, they have not seen the ground in 3 months but NEW SNOW! NO WAY are they going out. So I started scooting them out. I gently pushed them all outside.

I should have realized how dumb this was, but I can be oblivious to the obvious. rick was throwing such a fit when I locked him outside, I relented and let him back inside. Which meant picking him up and carrying him into the chicken area, of course this dissed him and he protested this too.

The chickens went to the south side of the coop out of the wind, I filled dog dish with black oil sunflower seeds and they started munching. Life seemed good.

Now I have to tell you one of my greatly trained hunting dogs is a pain in the back end area of my jeans. She has food issues. She never thinks she is getting enough food. She eats chicken food before and after recycling by the chickens. She will eat in the chicken feeders side by side with the chickens. I feed the chickens household scraps. Some of those craps are things we do not want the dog to eat, So yesterday I decided to try and keep the dog out of the chicken food/fence. I have a gate in the fence large enough to drive my bobcat through, it is about 10 feet wide. I have left it wide open for months. I decided to close it leaving only 6 inches open, in hopes the dog could not get inside. I failed twice.

The dog managed to get through the 6 inches. The chickens could not get through the 6 inches. How a 100 pound dog can get through 6 inches and a 4 pound chicken cannot is beyond me. when I went out to lock the coop last night it was dark and chilly. My wife and I were discussing the cold, I was trying to convince her was not all that cold out. Now it is time for me to make a confession, nothing as juicy as MM's college days but I do not like long pants on my legs, so I wear a one piece cardhart insulated coveralls when I go outside in the cold directly over my undies or long johns. I was in the house all day yesterday and had no long johns on. When it was time to go outside to lock up the chickens, I grabbed my coveralls and started to put them on. My wife then stopped me!

Then the witch, however witch was not the first word to come to my mind, dared me to go outside in my undies to prove to her it was not that cold. I had no choice, I was trapped. After 40 some years being married to her, I knew I could not let her win.


So out the door I went in my skivvies, into 10 below temps with 40 mph winds. I get to the coop and I see one hen behind the plywood leaning on the north side .I scooped her up and took her inside, I notice I am short chickens in the coop. I look outside the coop and see a dozen birds huddled against the south wall of the coop, too dumb to find the gate! So I the genius was out there in my skivvies freezing my gonads off, picking up chickens one at a time bringing them into the coop and setting them on a roost.

To make matters worse, when I set the last chicken into the coop, a chicken on the high roost decided to crap. Beings I was bent over, it hit my butt went down my leg and into my boot.....

I am hoping to learn to ignore my wife in another 40 years.

I hope the chickens are okay.

End of my sad saga.

you're killing me!

Not the same thing, but we just moved our Mistral Gris meaties to a different place on our property that we share with a tenant. She and I bought 100 last January and kept a few back to breed. Anyway I kept them in the new shed at the top of the hill for 4 days and then let them out yesterday afternoon - it was a beautiful sunny day for a change. I hoped they would come back to the new shed but of course no, they went down to her place.

Picture the scene: dusk, having got all my other poultry in, slogging down in the semi dark jellified earth after the constant rain of the last week. My tenant's 160 ducks quacking like mad and also resisting going into the barn. 5 extremely determined hens and 1 massive roo flaunting their free range big chicken thighs

(Mistral Gris don't have massive breasts but have great legs!) all up and down the hill while I churn up and down, slipping and sliding after them, glasses completely fogged, in a muck sweat, enlarging the vocabulary of the neighbours enjoying the show, and rivers of sweat running down my back. Who needs a home gym when you've got chickens!!!!
Ah, sweet country life ....

 

[duluthralphie]

you're killing me!

Not the same thing, but we just moved our Mistral Gris meaties to a different place on our property that we share with a tenant. She and I bought 100 last January and kept a few back to breed. Anyway I kept them in the new shed at the top of the hill for 4 days and then let them out yesterday afternoon - it was a beautiful sunny day for a change. I hoped they would come back to the new shed but of course no, they went down to her place.

Picture the scene: dusk, having got all my other poultry in, slogging down in the semi dark jellified earth after the constant rain of the last week. My tenant's 160 ducks quacking like mad and also resisting going into the barn. 5 extremely determined hens and 1 massive roo flaunting their free range big chicken thighs

(Mistral Gris don't have massive breasts but have great legs!) all up and down the hill while I churn up and down, slipping and sliding after them, glasses completely fogged, in a muck sweat, enlarging the vocabulary of the neighbours enjoying the show, and rivers of sweat running down my back. Who needs a home gym when you've got chickens!!!!
Ah, sweet country life ....

so you do really understand the mess I was in! I am so happy to have company in my quagmire of a life!

BTW Be very very very very careful when helping people to expand their vocabulary, I have been know to get into "trouble" or "hot water" and if I dare say it catch, nope, I can't say it sorry the word, for simply teaching new words




What is a Mistral Gris, I may need some, I like Small Breasted big legged beauties and have been trying to make a coop full of them............... Do they do well in cold weather, And by cold I mean Artic.

 

[duluthralphie]

Another saga I want to share with my friends living here in Jessica's basement, I copied this from my post on the Minnesota thread for you because I know some of you are on the fence about getting guineas.....



I am down to 4 eggs today for 33 hens/pullets.

I did have a 5th egg but it was smashed and partially devoured.

Now comes the real troubling thing. I found on of the gangstra's in a nest box today. (gangstra=Guinea). I cannot prove it was eating or destroying eggs. It is the first time I have caught one in a nest box.

I readily admit I have become prejudice against guineas, but with good reason, whenever I have problems they seem to be behind it. I have informed my DW we may start eating guineas soon. They are fat becoming as disliked as geese here.

I could just lock them out of the coop and feed them to the owls, and would if I did not want the owls to think this is a good safe place to eat.

Giving the guinea the benefit of doubt, can any of you think of a reason for one to be in a nest box, head first feet on the edge butt hanging out, that is innocent?

I really like my guineas in the summer, they are fun to watch and they eat tons of bugs and are good watch dogs, but this time of year they drive me nuts. If I keep them I will need to make them their own coop and covered fence this spring.

When I mentioned eating them or feeding them to my DW she said, they really catch the bugs and travel the whole farm eating them. Then she said they are fun to watch. I guess they will be here next year.

I am doomed to a life of tribulation and strife,,,,,

 

[mountain mom]

Well, it seems the flu has fried my brain cells. I can't get the computer to do what I think I am telling it to do. Oh well.

My children are total host monkeys. All children are. I don't think any amount of hand washing changes that. I even go as far as to make them change when they get home from school during the cold and flu season. Seems it doesn't do much, as we are all sick now.

Keep away from your grandkids as long as they have the funk!

I really don't have many funny college stories. The lice thing was one of my best tales. I could steal some of my friends stories for our movie though, they had some pretty funny times!
One funny thing we did when I was a freshman in the dorms, (and no, it doesn't go past "g" rated) was we turned our communal bathroom into a luau. We put kiddie pools in the showers, decorated in a Hawaiian theme, and brought in a couple George Foreman grills! We wanted to get written up, but our RA thought it was an awesome prank so she didn't. Fail. She didn't know we were drinking though. We didn't want to get in trouble with campus police (some serious rebels we were!).

On crossing chickens, I honestly would not know the best combos of all your breeds. BUT, if you have a happy balance, I would personally be hesitant to disrupt it. I don't know if birds think "hey those are mine" or not, but changing roosters up may cause the trouble. And hens having to find new pecking orders. I don't know. Unless you set up a little "love nest" for the specific 2 you are wanting to breed....
I know I said, "Oh, for sure share with us! We want to help!!" I actually have no experience with breeding chickens... just interested in it.
If introductions go well, and there isn't any issue with moving roosters and hens around, I would keep silkies and other banties together. Other than that, I would go for some crosses that would turn out pretty looking with pretty eggs! That said, I am going to have to google more than just a few of the breeds you listed so I know what they look like!
Oh, and, I think your turkeys are beautiful Ralph, whatever kind they may be. I would love some eggs for my silkie to sit on! Unbeknownst to my husband, we are not only growing a turkey for thanksgiving... I want to keep a couple.

All the hilarious stories of locking up chickens in less than ideal conditions are making me laugh! My day has for sure been brightened.
Ralph- I have found that certain males need little or no taunting to accept silly challenges. Last Feb when it was about 20 degrees outside, dark, and beginning to snow, my husband jumped in the lake down the road. No sauna first, just didn't want to look like a sissy... he too would have been out in the frigid cold in his undies to lock up chickens.