First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[dpenning]

I'm glad you found him! I must say I'm having second thoughts about this free ranging activity. I thought now that we had moved to the country full time my missing chicken problems would be over.

I was wrong. I go out every night and do a beak count and twice I have been short one. The first time I Found her hunkered down under the corner of the shed so I picked her up and tucked her in with the others.

Last night I was outsmarted by a chicken. I looked around the coop and in and under the holly bushes close by. Never found her. This morning I stood on the deck as the sun came up to catch her sneaking in but I eventually gave up and went to get ready for work.

As I'm walking out the door I see her walking across the field. I have no idea where she was hiding but this was no walk of shame, she was proudly free ranging. I went and wrangled her into the run so I would know where she was when I get home.

Anyhow, glad Bert made it home. I hope he takes the scolding to heart and doesn't stray again

 

[holm25]

Happy u found Bert!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JessicaThistle]

I'm glad you found Bert too! Sunny did that once to me. I looked everywhere. I mean, where can a 20 pound turkey size chicken hide on an acre? Anyway, a couple of hours later, I looked out the window and she was just sitting there in the grass as usual. I suppose she took a job around the block or something.

Love you little chicks DK!

 

[duluthralphie]

I'm glad you found Bert too! Sunny did that once to me. I looked everywhere. I mean, where can a 20 pound turkey size chicken hide on an acre? Anyway, a couple of hours later, I looked out the window and she was just sitting there in the grass as usual. I suppose she took a job around the block or something.

Love you little chicks DK!

I am thinking Bert was hiding from all the hens they all want to bear his offspring... after all he is a handsome guy..



But you're right you start thinking where can a white turkey sized chicken hide....

 

[LindaB220]

This has been some dynamite reading folks. Really been missing you guys. Going home on the 2nd. That's medical speak for kicking my butt for the remaining days. But it's coming along fine.

 

[mountain mom]

So glad Bert made it safely back!

Except for the first few nights with the new flock, Pearl has always gone back to the coop with the gals. Those first couple of times, she tried to sleep by herself in her old coop.

I have had a sneaky chicken or two who didn't go to bed. Usually in the summer. Luckily they find good hiding spots... I can't even find them.
Once, I found both our Sussex 5 feet up in a tree, nowhere near their usual hang out area.

Linda- Glad you are doing well!

Jessica- Your combine is coming along great! Especially since you hardly have time to work on it.

DK- Again, those little fuzzballs are adorable!

It has come to my attention that I need to build a new coop for my meatballs. Well, I have known for a while, but didn't exactly put all the pieces together until yesterday.
Clyde is dotingly sitting on 5 of Dixie's eggs, anxiously awaiting her turkey replacements. She is in the old meatie coop and run. I had planned to add an extension to the coop so she had her brooder and they would share the outside space. BUT Clyde is a fierce mom to be. The other chickens were simply near her while she was out for her daily stretch... you should have heard the growling!
The meatballs come in 3 weeks, so there will certainly be overlap.

Anyhow, yesterday I found Pearl in the farthest section of the yard where all the leaves and debris blow into a corner. Guess who was throwing those leaves around and having a hay day of a "dust" bath. I was laughing so hard! For what she lacks in danty features, she sure makes up for in exaggerated motions!

 

[JessicaThistle]

Linda: Glad that you are heading home soon. Seems like a long hospital stay. Did you have to move to a rehabilitation facility for this amount of time?

MM: We made more progress but it poured rain for the last two days and I haven't been able to take a pic. I will post updates pics this evening.

So I finally made the call to the awning place regarding our missing parts. I was firm and made sure that she knew right up front exactly who I was and how long we have been waiting. It's been a month since she got paid for these parts. I was not mean or rude, just extremely firm. Redhead firm. Haha! She seemed to jump and go for me. She had to make a call to the UPS unit to find out why our delivery was delayed. She took 13 minutes longer to call me back then I was okay with. I gave her 18 minutes and basically she had 5 when I hung up. So I called her back to of course, get the voice mail. She called back in 2 minutes and said they had upgraded our delivery to Next Day and i should have it today. We will see. I don't think she wants another call from me.

It really is too bad because we were trying to use a local business. They would have made a lot of money supplying us with our parts. Seems to me they are a store front business that wants to just do internet orders. You know those that have the sample but no parts in stock. Oh well, plenty of other internet companies that do the same thing and will most likely send us tracking numbers on our orders.

My husband and I have decided that the hens at the farm really like when we visit and appreciate us. We had a first and it is a touching story:

He and I went to the farm together on Saturday. We don't always go together. Most of the time I go alone because he has his lawn business to run and my business is more flexible. Feeders needed to be filled though and I just can't haul 18 50 pound sacks of feed. I can do 6, maybe 7 but that is my max. Fibromyalgia sucks but at least I can do what I do. Anyway, we had filled feeders, collected eggs, cleaned nests and thrown some sunflower seeds for a goody and were getting ready to leave. We stood at the gate to the "old ladies" as we call them. They are the 2 1/2 yr olds and were discussing their condition compared to the other group and how they just really needed to go home with us.

All of them, I mean all 200 of them had come over to the gate while we stood there. They were either just sitting or standing there surrounding the gate and all of a sudden, they started to sing to us. You know the beautiful happy hen song? Sometimes you hear 1 or 2 do it, but at least 50 of them did it. My hubby said, oh my gosh, they are singing to us. Neither of us had heard them do it before. It was so special that I wanted to load every darn one of them up in the minivan and bring them home!!

Nothing feels better than making difference in someone else's life. Some people would think, oh they are just chickens. They have no feelings. I have heard that before. I disagree with it. I can tell these girls are happier when we are around. I can tell they aren't as happy when we are gone and even unhappier when the previous owner is home from work on the weekends since egg production is always lower. We know for a fact that we are doing the right thing even though it is a major labor of love right now. I can't wait to bring all of my girls home!!

 

[duluthralphie]

Interesting Jessica. I would have loaded the back seat with the cute ones and headed home with them!


I had to go to the Doc this morning so it was 10am before I could let Bert out. He was sitting on his bale patiently waiting. I picked him up and put him on the ground and he started out the door and Ed attacked him. I ended up kicking Ed away and chased him out of Bert's area. I felt so bad for Bert. I wish I would get over this "3 letter word for a device that blocks a river or a beaver builds" cold.

I need to get Bert his own girls and pen. Ed is starting to rub me wrong I know they need to establish their pecking order and bringing in new birds is hard but Ed chased Ernie down and kickedthe poop out of him after I ran him off Bert. I guess that does not bother me as much as picking on Bert. Bert is so mellow and so defenseless it bothers me to see him picked on.

No turkey eggs yet that I know of. I need to get the turkeys moved too but this stinking sickness does not leave me.....I was attacked again by the Juvenile delinquent Jake. I booted him away gently. I told him I would have kicked him harder but I did not want to bruise his juicy breast meat..... He cannot go to freezer camp soon enough. Out of the 5 Males I have he is becoming one I truly dislike. JJ tries to protect me and does some, but the bad boy gets around JJ now and then. After I booted him away JJ ran him a good 50 yards before he came back to me.

No Diamond encrusted eggs yesterday.. Hopefully today. Tomorrow is new incubator day, I hope.

 

[lazy gardener]

Hello Holm, (Is it Stella?)
Would you be willing to define precisely what is mean't by a tractor? I gather that it is some sort of a coop for barnyard birds but what are its ingredients and when is it no longer a tractor? Thank you.
Sincerely,
Neal, the Zooman

A tractor is no longer a tractor, when it has been hefted across the yard, (using lots of muscle, levers, fulcrums, and lots of wheel power) and the hefters come to the realization that if the tractor does not become a coop, the hefters will both be requiring back surgery.

 

[nj2wv]

A tractor is no longer a tractor, when it has been hefted across the yard, (using lots of muscle, levers, fulcrums, and lots of wheel power) and the hefters come to the realization that if the tractor does not become a coop, the hefters will both be requiring back surgery.

That
Is funny !!
I don't know how to make those laughing smiley faces. I would put one here if I did. This is all I know how to do