First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[JessicaThistle]

Just wait her out. You'll be able to decrease your birds soon. If she wants to build a fence, so be it. Unfortunately, my mama was one of those. Her favorite saying was "My way or the highway". She died at 84 still saying it. But by then, her money was gone and she had no way to back up her threats.

Encourage her to build a privacy fence. Feathers can't get threw that.

The fence would be great! I can't imagine being so obsessed with what other people are doing that you would just look for things to complain about. I don't give two toots what my neighbors do in their yards or even what they look like. We are all different and it is fruitless to try to make others conform to your demands. I don't have the time or energy to treat people like that, especially since I don't have the energy to mop, vacuum or wash laundry either and those items would be higher on the priority list than raking feathers would be.

We are planning on building a big greenhouse that will be our new brooder house. That's on the list after the chicken tractor for this batch of pullets, so it is just in the coming months. Now we know which side of the yard and where to put it.....completely blocking her view. I'm sure she'll have complaints about the giant greenhouse too but I have two words for her regarding that. I will not state them here as Ralphie tells me the words police can be nasty around here.

 

[Red Nugget]

I hope it all works out for you.

 

[holm25]

Jessica. Put up a suggestion box on your fence for her. I would wrap the box in such a way that this picture lines up with the "drop slot" It should help her get the idea.

 

[Morrigan]

Baby Pictures.


These are toads. Notice how much the one looks like Bert. The dark toads turned into barred toads. The white toads look just like CX's. All the birds in these pictures are the same age. The Toads are twice the size of the turkeys the same age.


I am hoping I have a male and female white toad. I would love to mate them for 2nd generation toads!

The toads look great. I'm fascinated by your breeding program.

 

[duluthralphie]

The toads look great. I'm fascinated by your breeding program.

Thanks..


I was just out watching the chicks, I know what I put in the incubator and know what came out.

Some interesting things I noted.

I crossed my CX with Dixie Rainbows.

All of the crosses have extremely think legs and big feet like a CX.

The white ones are the biggest for their age and look the most like a CX. The white ones have a few black feathers on them but very few.

I have 2 that are half black and half white in splotches. It will be interesting to see if they bar.

The dark ones all become barred, which is weird. They have the thick legs and feet though their chest/breast is not as far out of proportion with the body as a CX.

I notice they do not stuff themselves (either color) as a CX does, when they get done eating they go rest or just walk around. I have not had to with hold feed from them like I do CX's.

I am done breeding Toads and meat birds this year. Bert cannot breed anymore. His leg problems make that impossible, I doubt Viagra for chickens would even help. It is a shame I did not get the number of birds I wanted. I am just hoping the two white ones survive. I have over all had a terrible hatch ratio. Next year I hope to have a decent incubator and not these cheap ones. Maybe it is the weird year or something I did, I have no idea.

I am thinking of releasing the Dixie rainbows to the wild for free ranging again. without Bert there is no reason to keep them locked up. I could use the space for other things. Ethel will need a pen for her babies soon.

 

[Morrigan]

Ralphie, sad to hear that Bert's breeding days are over. I wish I could have shipped you the last CX rooster that I processed. He was a really good-looking, active rooster. He was crowing, trying to mate and nimble for his size. If I had the space and time, I would have tried to breed him.

 

[LindaB220]

Was it really necessary to post a picture of your crack on my thread Ralphie??  Sheesh!   

I can pretty much assure you,Jessica, that that crack is not Ralph's. Lol


I went to the grocery today and noticed regular eggs are $3 a dozen. Eek

 

[JRNash]

Yep rising prices are getting me OUT of the hen house

 

[mountain mom]

Holy Moly it took me a while to catch up on the thread!

Drunk ducks, mean neighbors, squatters, CX birthdays, Ralph's crack... Man oh man.

Jessica- I was just wondering the other day about your ICU hen. Very interesting.
Congratulations on the new order of babies and how well the egg business is doing!
Sorry about your neighbor. I won't and any thought, there were some good suggestions. Especially Ralph's.

Ralph- Your toads are adorable! I can't wait to hear how they turn out.

Holm- Your duck babies are so cute! I'm not a duck kind of gal, but they are indeed adorable.
And happy belated birthday to Snowball!

I'm sure I am missing a few points I wanted to comment on... but oh well.

Pearl seems to be unwell. We had our first really hot day on Sunday. She was laying on the floor of the coop (not unusual, she does not roost) panting and extending her wings while trying to lay on her side. I took her out and hosed her off to help her get cool. She needed a good hosing anyhow because her backside was disgusting (remember, she doesn't roost so she gets gross at night).
She laid an egg that day.
She didn't waddle back to the coop at dusk. I had to go get her and put her in.
Yesterday was much cooler, but she was still doing the wing/side laying thing. Didn't leave the coop. Her comb is bright red, eyes clear and bright. She clucked a few times to say hello, no growling or cussing.
I am wondering a few things...
Are her legs finally unable to support her weight?
Is her heart going out?
Is she maybe trying to go broody, but not have a very good genetic make up of what it is?

In other news, the meatballs are doing great! I don't think they will be ready to process by the end of the month though. I may end up having a mid-week processing before we leave for Canada in mid July. We will see.

 

[LindaB220]

Going out in a few minutes to gather up a ton of grass clippings. Neighbor was gone for weeks abd mowed several acres 6" high. As much as I can. Lol.