First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[duluthralphie]

Depends on how big a gun you carry...


I know you have no gators there (or at least make that claim but those of us north of the mason Dixon line know the whole south in over run with gators)....

BUT I love gator meat. I have to go down to my house in Florida in about a month, I can't wait to have gator tail and gyros, (the gyros in Tarpon Springs are second to none)...

 

[Morrigan]

Doesn't gator taste "just like chicken"?

My 18 meaties ran out of the coop this morning, all looking good. Yippee! One of the roosters is trying to mate the other CX chickens -- male or female it doesn't matter -- as long as he can sneak up on them. If he can manage to complete the job with a hen, I may have to keep him and a couple of hens and get an incubator. My husband looked at me like he hoped I was joking when I mentioned it.

 

[Double Kindness]

I just threw straw out into the runs as it has been non stop raining here... reminds me of living in the PNW.

This morning I didn't assist the meaties out of the coop along with the chicks, bresse and muscovy ducks. They seem happy. And I still can't upload pictures.

 

[JessicaThistle]

So I made it back to see some chicken talk. Yay!

DK: Glad that you just processed them. Get yourself healthy! What is your problem with loading pics? When I try to upload pics I generally have to try several times to get them to go. If it doesn't load all the way and errors, I usually hit Back and retry. Most of the time it works but if not, I just do that again and again until the go. By the way, the Limoncello looks good but I'm with Ralph. 55 gallon drum of that is the only way to make any vodka drink if you only do it once per year.

Linda: You don't listen to Ralph! Stay away from gators!! I'm adopting you as my forum momma and I need to come here to talk with you every now and then.

I missed the name but the lady from Wasilla: I grew up in Alaska and while I took for granted the stuffed freezers of venison, elk, salmon and halibut, I sure as heck miss it now. I think it is why I have two freezers that I try to keep stocked with CXs that I raise and beef and pork that I buy from people that raise them right. I would kill for a freezer full of halibut. YUMMO!

Morrigan: The final 18 will make it through. Make them work for it. The veggies were probably helping keep them in better health. Maybe you can see if a local grocery store has garbage cans of the veggies they can't sell out back. It's a great way to get free chicken yummies. I have plastic totes and pull up to them, load the totes and make my chickens very happy that way. If you do it, make sure you have a pair of dishwashing gloves to wear. The cans are heavy and the veggies are wet!

EGG BIZ UPDATE:

Chicks will be 10 weeks old today. I have 303! Still on the packing peanut side. They are growing so fast and look so healthy. They could start laying in less than 2 months. Freaky!

The chicken tractor is basically done! One of my hens even laid an egg in the nesting boxes to test them out. My mom's memorial is Wednesday, so we will gone for the day. My dh told me the plan is to move the tractor to the pasture on Friday and get it all set up. Saturday will be chicken moving day. Woohoo! I am so excited!!

 

[paulandashia]

Now, this just isn't right or fair.

I love fish and in the deep south I'm just far enough away from the coast that just about any fish is just too high. NW Louisiana is expensive because of all the gambling going on in Bossier City. Race Track and the River Boats. Fish in the store is about $7 or a lb and I'm too much a tightwad to pay it. Nobody fishes in our family. sigh. Totally envy you. Except, you know, the snow. I can live without that. So I guess it's a tradeoff.

I did go gambling once. It took them 20 minutes to win my $10. Never went back. I could have flushed it down the toilet faster, but not much. Someone enjoyed my money but it wasn't me. Don't care for that. Years ago my sister won $900 at the track. Her first time going. I would have run like a turkey out of there but she proceeded to lose every thing but $40. Stupidity.

One of my many goals this year is to get another good freezer. Dashia, I envy you those. All we have is the top of the fridge and my daughter keeps a lot of TV dinners for when they don't make it out to pick up pizza. She works too hard dog grooming to cook. I'd like to say that when my knee gets better after the surgery that I would cook for them but they want carryout. So I do my own thing of baked chicken and veggies when I can. NO meat in the freezer so when she went grocery shopping she brought me back a double cheeseburger and fries for supper. sigh. I want FOOD. I'm able to drive now and will go and do my own thing.

Don't envy us too much. It's a TON of work. It's standing waist deep in ice-cold water with a dip net, for 12 hours straight, and PRAYING that the flow is good. If its not, you try again, and again, and again.... And if still nothing, you give up, and come back next weekend... LOL All the while trying to manage 2 small kids 2 dogs, and wanting to rip your hair out because the wind is blowing SO bad that you get sand blasted! LoL Halibut is done on a fishing boat, and I don't go, I get way too sea sick!
Sadly, I haven't gotten to go for a WHILE, because i have dairy goats, and one of them will not allow ANYONE else to milk her other than me. It's cute, but annoying! NO freedom!

 

[LindaB220]

So I made it back to see some chicken talk. Yay!

DK: Glad that you just processed them. Get yourself healthy! What is your problem with loading pics? When I try to upload pics I generally have to try several times to get them to go. If it doesn't load all the way and errors, I usually hit Back and retry. Most of the time it works but if not, I just do that again and again until the go. By the way, the Limoncello looks good but I'm with Ralph. 55 gallon drum of that is the only way to make any vodka drink if you only do it once per year.

Linda: You don't listen to Ralph! Stay away from gators!! I'm adopting you as my forum momma and I need to come here to talk with you every now and then.

I missed the name but the lady from Wasilla: I grew up in Alaska and while I took for granted the stuffed freezers of venison, elk, salmon and halibut, I sure as heck miss it now. I think it is why I have two freezers that I try to keep stocked with CXs that I raise and beef and pork that I buy from people that raise them right. I would kill for a freezer full of halibut. YUMMO!

Morrigan: The final 18 will make it through. Make them work for it. The veggies were probably helping keep them in better health. Maybe you can see if a local grocery store has garbage cans of the veggies they can't sell out back. It's a great way to get free chicken yummies. I have plastic totes and pull up to them, load the totes and make my chickens very happy that way. If you do it, make sure you have a pair of dishwashing gloves to wear. The cans are heavy and the veggies are wet!

EGG BIZ UPDATE:

Chicks will be 10 weeks old today. I have 303! Still on the packing peanut side. They are growing so fast and look so healthy. They could start laying in less than 2 months. Freaky!

The chicken tractor is basically done! One of my hens even laid an egg in the nesting boxes to test them out. My mom's memorial is Wednesday, so we will gone for the day. My dh told me the plan is to move the tractor to the pasture on Friday and get it all set up. Saturday will be chicken moving day. Woohoo! I am so excited!!

You bet I'll be your forum momma!!!!! I'm doing so well with the rehab exercises that my PT said that it looks like I have never had surgery when I walk. I have had a limp for 3 years. More stamina, energy. The OT is giving me muscles on my upper body. Sit back and watch me zoom!!!

 

[LindaB220]

Don't envy us too much. It's a TON of work. It's standing waist deep in ice-cold water with a dip net, for 12 hours straight, and PRAYING that the flow is good. If its not, you try again, and again, and again.... And if still nothing, you give up, and come back next weekend... LOL All the while trying to manage 2 small kids 2 dogs, and wanting to rip your hair out because the wind is blowing SO bad that you get sand blasted! LoL Halibut is done on a fishing boat, and I don't go, I get way too sea sick!
Sadly, I haven't gotten to go for a WHILE, because i have dairy goats, and one of them will not allow ANYONE else to milk her other than me. It's cute, but annoying! NO freedom!

Yep, I don't envy you at all. I'm 68 and my days of adventure are over. Not that I look advantage of them earlier. lol

 

[LindaB220]

Depends on how big a gun you carry...


I know you have no gators there (or at least make that claim but those of us north of the mason Dixon line know the whole south in over run with gators)....

BUT I love gator meat. I have to go down to my house in Florida in about a month, I can't wait to have gator tail and gyros, (the gyros in Tarpon Springs are second to none)...

Ralph, you know SIL shot a copperhead the other day. Then I saw on one thread a picuture of a large garden snake that someone killed ( and ate). They said it tasted like chicken with a little fishy taste. I have had gator once. Over rated.

 

[mountain mom]

I'm back! Pennsylvania was cold, family drama dynamics, blah, blah. I did get to see my niece and squeeze her for a couple of days though! And my son was given the shell casings from my grandfather's 21 gun salute. That is pretty cool. And he loves casings, he looks for them every time we are camping.

I am sorry to hear of all the CX issues everyone is having!
Jessica- I am sorry for your loss. I know you said no condolences, but too bad. I am condoling away. Is that a word? No weird red squiggle, so it must be.
Happy news for all the hatching! And for Holm's chick that recovered!!

I had no idea it took so long to make limoncello. I was very excited about making my own wine for a while... then I realized I can't drink it once it is done. I have to wait. I am too impatient for such a thing.

Did you-uns (that is how people in Penn say "yall") know that there is only 3.2 beer sales in Pennsylvania? You have to search out a "state store", which let me tell you, are very few and far between, if you want even wine. Hard alcohol, seems to be sort of like Big Foot... quite mysterious indeed.
Funeral and crazy family... no alcohol. I about went insane.

Anyhow, I am not positive my turkey eggs will hatch on Friday. My "dear" husband didn't fill the water in the incubator. 0% humidity last night when I got home past midnight. Sigh. I still upped the humidity and went for lockdown. I REEEEEALY hope they hatch.
2 were totally non viable. I took them out and opened them to check them out. I think both died early. One before the development started, one just after. I am sure one was a Ethel egg. It was dark spotted, Ralph.
I hope for the best, but if no hatching, I believe my husband will be served with divorce papers.

I am such a turkey snob, I don't think I will even get some from the feed store. I will patiently wait for next spring.

On the meatball front, all things are good. All the little fluff butts came running out to see me this morning... and hunt for worms! I guess it rained yesterday. Boy, they were thrilled. They are standing on top of their little momma bird brooder now, so I may turn down the heat setting a bit. They won't fit under for too much longer.
If I get to it today, I will go take a video of them, they are so funny!

 

[duluthralphie]

OH NO MM!!

I am sorry to hear about your eggs!

I am going to do lock down tonight after dark. I have 9 turkey eggs and 5 Creamette eggs to hatch on Friday, I have been doing so poorly I am not going to expect anything.

I have a cold again, I am sure it is a munchkin cold from seeing the grandkids on Saturday. Why is it those little monsters bring me germs all the time. I am treating this cold with Yukon Jack. It is helping, I can tell, a few more and I will not care if I have a cold.

I just sold a dozen turkey eggs, which is a very good thing as I do not have incubator space for them now. I think I am going to have to built an incubator this summer. of course I thought that last summer.

Bert went outside yesterday. I have not put him out today because it looks like rain and I do not want to run out in a drunken stupor and carry a protesting rooster back into the house. I want him back in the Dixie chicks pen soon before their eggs become non-fertile. A silly EE got into the pen somehow, so Bert will have a new girl when he gets out there. I think I will name their babies "Blue egg behemoths".

I have a small quandary. I put 5 creamette eggs in the incubator, it is possible I was recovering from my last cold and had too much Yukon Jack, or I was working so hard I drank too much Mikes. Anyways, I wrote an 8 on each egg to signify the day it will hatch, then a week later I put more eggs in the incubator and put an 8 on them too. Dang mind altering medicine. I may have to sue Big Pharma for this! I am hoping I marked the right batch for the 1st. I am like 70% sure.

Do you think I should move those to the hatcher tonight? I think they will hatch Friday. BUT it could be a week from Friday. I doubt that though as that would mean I put 16 creamette eggs in the incubator at the same time. I would not do that, I don't think, because I only get a few eggs a week from them. they would be too old then. I have called Heublein, LTD in Norwalk CT, the sole agents for importing Yukon Jack into the USA 3 times, they just hang up on me when I ask them to take responsibility for their error. I may have to sue them!

I will be replacing the turkey eggs with Creamettes and Guinea hen eggs!


Did I tell you I am not building a Guinea Gulag at the moment? I have decided to make it into a slate blue hang out instead. The guineas are laying eggs in the chicken coop on the floor under the nest, in holes they made in the wood chips...as long as they do that, they can roam free. I am getting 5 eggs a day from them. which means I won the lottery and have 5 hens and 4 males (whatever they are called).. I will not comment further in fear of getting another nasty gram and being put back on BYC probation for using inappropriate slang.

I have a chickadee that wants in the house. He comes to the windows and tries to get in. He knocks on the window to get our attention. he goes between the south window and the west windows. I have no idea what he wants. I think he is unhappy with my current bird seed offerings and wants something else..TOO BAD times are tough for us al and he has to learn to make do!

I think I am done now, I will sit back and sip my Jack and see if anything more pops up for me to talk about...Bye