First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[duluthralphie]

My problems with birds of prey are mainly from Eagles. My toms will make noise and birds will hide or try too, when the eagle comes over. However, I have so many eagles here they almost have become complacent.

I had one hen last fall that died from injuries incurred while she was trying to protect a chick from an eagle. I doubt a hawk would have gotten the chick as a turkey outweighs a hawk.

That said the last Bird of Prey (BoP) incident was the a....Thinking of proper way to word this.

The last BoP incident involved an owl and that anus of a guinea fowl that wanted to play keep away from me at coop lock down time. ( look I did it without calling him a nasty name that would get me a nasty gram!) The owl must have attacked at around midnight to 1 AM. I had a couple turkeys that were shaken up by the attack and spend the night on the ground under the yard light. I am guessing it was the two turkeys on each side of the guinea on the roost/fence.

I am a big free ranger as you know and I accept the deaths that come with it. ( Even though I female dog about it here).

I will be putting up more covered pens this year to assure I get the right crosses and to protect the young a little longer, I will also be making some more tractors out of PVC pipe and bird netting.

 

[LindaB220]

Morning all, just another day in my crazy life. Computer still going crazy. I'll have to wait to payday to repair it so I'll be hit or miss. A virus gets into everything and when I make a post or change pages it's starts over with dozens of adds to "FIX" my computer. sigh. So, after paying for the smart phone and an outside plug for the storeroom I had to wait for next month to have George the handyman to put the hardware cloth on the new coop for the ISA Brown's. Now instead of getting them on the first of Feb it will be the first of March. Lack of money is the root of all evil. My new saying. But I refuse to go another month with the computer like it is, so I'll have to scale my ambitions back a little. I may not be able to do the combo eggs and veggie delivery to the subdivisions yet. I wanted to start about July or August. I may just have to advertise eggs and have a smaller garden. The anxiety is killing me. I'm still getting the crested cream legbars from Pam in South La. They are the best. Someone said to knock on doors in the subdivisions to see if they wanted white, brown or mixed colors in their eggs. I think I may just order 20 ISA Brown's and a few Leghorns and get the rest with the EE's. That way when I get a rooster up and running on the CCL I can make my own super blue egg layers. Prolific light blue eggs.
Jessica, I can understand your being driven. It's a plus not a minus. When I worked at the District Attorney's office before retirement I had a lot of interaction with a ton of people. Lot's of talking and laughter. But when I came home I didn't have the need to have a lot of personal friends. My family was pretty much who I hung with. Even now, I don't keep in touch with co workers. I like my buddies on here who accept my quirks and laugh at my jokes and don't need to be entertained with lunch or coffee. We just do our own thing. I love the idea of finding out about Ralph's chickens and your new chicken endeavors. Just because I can't give all of you a big hug doesn't mean I don't want to. You know I'm feeling it. lol

 

[duluthralphie]

Linda how much is the cream crested leg bar running you?


I would like to get a few but I have not found them at a decent price and being cheap, I refuse to pay 30 bucks for a piece for Eagle snacks.

 

[JessicaThistle]

We made an offer on the egg biz and I think he is accepting it!! OMG! We are going to meet with him tomorrow for me, aka Friday evening, to discuss particulars and such. We have a long road ahead building infrastructure or moving to a new and bigger property. I am exhausted already but excited for what is to come possibly. Please send us thoughts and prayers of strength and energy as we do this.

So after the hawk attack, remember I said I was hanging cds in the trees and building a scare crow. Well, we now have the redneck person's dream yard. We pulled all of the crashed sprint car wings out to the pasture area to provide the chickens with a safety corridor. Let me explain why.

In the far back corner of our pasture, my hubby dumps all of the grass clipping, leaves, garden debris and such from his landscape business. The girls adore going out there and scratching through it. I watched one of my chickens scratch and munch on at least 15 worms in 5 minutes from that compost pile. There is extreme chicken deliciousness out there, therefore, this was the crime scene. We have no trees in our pasture but all along the back fence right over the compost pile hangs some kind of plum trees. Another goodie when in season. Now the girls have plenty of potential shelter spots as well as cd's twirling and flashing at any hawks looking to swoop.

Linda: I sure do wish you weren't so far away. I'd love to have tea or a drink with you (something with vodka suits me) and get that hug sometime.

I LOVE the idea of free ranging. My girls are so happy because of it. I refuse to accept loss. Those son of female dogs flying around need to stay the heck off my lawn!! They better not make me go with electrified netting over my whole property. Try me, Mr Hawk.

 

[mountain mom]

Ralph, do you have a nest somewhere on your property? Or nearby? Or do the BoP female dogs fly from miles around to come to the chicken buffet that is your farm?
Not that I have any suggestions as to what to do in any of those scenarios, just wondering.

Jessica, I spit my coffee out reading about your redneck yard! I bet it is so pretty... all nice and sparkly

Hopefully that hawk doesn't come back!
OH, and CONGRATS on the egg biz! What an exciting endeavor!!! So are you considering moving now? Is that what I read?

 

[duluthralphie]

NO JESSICA, I have the perfect redneck farmyard. I have barrels an pickup toppers littering my place to give the chickens a place to hide. I also have pallets set up.

And ( I know, never start a sentence with the with and, if or but.)( BUT you know how I had rules being imposed upon me.)( wow, an interjection within an interjection next to an interjection, that could be a record) I have/had an old snowmobile trailer I pulled in front of one of my sheds to hold "scrap metal" I am planning to recycle. The chickens took to it like ducks to water. They live in, on and under the scrap and the trailer. As a matter of fact, I named one of my sub-flock groups last year the scrap iron crew.

The farm I grew up on has been a farm in our family for 120 years or so, during the earlier years the woods just to the east of the house we live in was a place trash was dumped, including broken and ruined dishes, hand tools, and implements. My wife and I have cleaned out a lot, but the chickens rutting around keep kicking up new items. Besides the junk my ancestors threw into the woods the house was occupied by renters for the last 45 years. The house was such a rundown old place the only renters that my parents could get in here were, well, less than desirable upstanding citizens. They were either too broke or too lazy to use a real landfill.

BTW we have found some real treasures out there, some of which we have decorating our walls and window sills. I am actually going to advertise on craigslist for more toppers they make such good protection.

So I win the redneck yard contest! BTW I am happy and jealous of you, and you by all means have my prayers, Good luck, I think you will both find the eggs , eggciting and relaxing and hopefully monetarily rewarding!

 

[duluthralphie]

What do you guys/gals think I mean when I say a rooster of mine had a hunting accident?


Just curious, I wrote it on another thread and a guy gave me condolences........

 

[JessicaThistle]

I'd say I have a vivid imagination because I could think of several meanings. Haha!

Yes, Ralph, it does sound like you have the perfect redneck yard. The only thing you are missing is crashed sprint car wings. I promise you'd be the talk of the town if you had some, unless you are already the talk of the town for other reasons.

Thank you Mountain Mom! I would love to move but self-employed people don't get loans very easily. So for now I am dreaming. When I find the old mobile home on 50 acres of pasture for $1000 per month rent to own deal, I am snapping it up though!!

 

[mountain mom]

What do you guys/gals think I mean when I say a rooster of mine had a hunting accident?


Just curious, I wrote it on another thread and a guy gave me condolences........

Well, I know your sense of humor. But, if I didn't, I would assume he was injured/killed in a hunting accident. That is what it means for people.
I really find that story hilarious! As I do most of your stories.

I gave you condolences on your rear end of a guinea that would not go inside... mostly out of my dry sarcastic wit. Maybe he is just as hilarious as myself?

 

[duluthralphie]

I meant the same thing I mean when I say they went to "freezer camp" .

The reason it was a hunting accident was I was forced to shot the Buggar,as he refused to let me close enough to use an axe. He did not realize a 22 can reach him even when he hides behind a bush.