Fugly Farm

[igorsMistress]

Congratulations Educator!! Woo Hoo!!

Thank you!

 

[N F C]

That new badge looks mighty good on you IM!

 

[igorsMistress]

That new badge looks mighty good on you IM!

Thanks Debby!

 

[Shadrach]

Congratulations IM.

 

[igorsMistress]

Congratulations IM.

Thanks Shad!

 

[igorsMistress]

We processed four cockerels, three Nn and a fully feathered boy that was an SS mix. I ended up with a black fully feathered and a white and black Nn that are pullets. Super happy the white one is a pullet. She’s got some reddish orange tint in places so we’ll see where that goes after her molt. The best part is that the two pullets have each other so there’s not just one youngster out there.

Mornings have been a stress filled time for the flock. Elvis was rounding up his girls to make sure they couldn’t even talk to the cockerels and that made them all jumpy. Feeding time was similarly stressful for similar reasons. I’m hoping today will be better and that the two pullets will be able to begin integrating with the older crew. The black pullet, I’m naming her Tarot, has been sleeping next to Elvis with Shadow on his other side. He has protected her from the B, who may be the next to go to freezer camp if she doesn’t straighten up, so he seems to like her.

 

[N F C]

We processed four cockerels, three Nn and a fully feathered boy that was an SS mix. I ended up with a black fully feathered and a white and black Nn that are pullets. Super happy the white one is a pullet. She’s got some reddish orange tint in places so we’ll see where that goes after her molt. The best part is that the two pullets have each other so there’s not just one youngster out there.

Mornings have been a stress filled time for the flock. Elvis was rounding up his girls to make sure they couldn’t even talk to the cockerels and that made them all jumpy. Feeding time was similarly stressful for similar reasons. I’m hoping today will be better and that the two pullets will be able to begin integrating with the older crew. The black pullet, I’m naming her Tarot, has been sleeping next to Elvis with Shadow on his other side. He has protected her from the B, who may be the next to go to freezer camp if she doesn’t straighten up, so he seems to like her.

Glad you got a couple of pretty sounding pullets IM. Maybe you could share a picture when things calm down?

 

[janiedoe]

We processed four cockerels, three Nn and a fully feathered boy that was an SS mix. I ended up with a black fully feathered and a white and black Nn that are pullets. Super happy the white one is a pullet. She’s got some reddish orange tint in places so we’ll see where that goes after her molt. The best part is that the two pullets have each other so there’s not just one youngster out there.

Mornings have been a stress filled time for the flock. Elvis was rounding up his girls to make sure they couldn’t even talk to the cockerels and that made them all jumpy. Feeding time was similarly stressful for similar reasons. I’m hoping today will be better and that the two pullets will be able to begin integrating with the older crew. The black pullet, I’m naming her Tarot, has been sleeping next to Elvis with Shadow on his other side. He has protected her from the B, who may be the next to go to freezer camp if she doesn’t straighten up, so he seems to like her.

I know the processing was rough on you. I hope things calm down for you now.
I feel blessed to have plenty of room so that I can keep last years cockerels. I hate that I always get attached to them.
I wish there was natural law that caused 12 pullets to hatch for every cockerel. I don't plan to let any more chicks hatch.

 

[igorsMistress]

Glad you got a couple of pretty sounding pullets IM. Maybe you could share a picture when things calm down?

I sure will, I’m going to clean up the coop later so will get some then. It needs to warm up first!

I know the processing was rough on you. I hope things calm down for you now.
I feel blessed to have plenty of room so that I can keep last years cockerels. I hate that I always get attached to them.
I wish there was natural law that caused 12 pullets to hatch for every cockerel. I don't plan to let any more chicks hatch.

I really hate the processing, but it’s my responsibility since I let Stella hatch them. I’m done letting anyone go broody for a while for sure; I kept the cage out so if anyone gets any bright ideas I can break that cycle right away. Two of the boys were really starting to grow on me; they both were black NNs but had some pretty rusty markings and beautiful greens in their tails.

Elvis is my buddy though, super good with humans and to his girls. Doesn’t crow too much, etc. You’d never know he needed braces on his legs as a chick and his offspring were all very healthy. It’s already so much calmer out there. The whole vibe is very relaxed and he’s clearly less agitated. He came to visit while I was opening the big door on the coop this morning, and found all kinds of goodies for me . I love that guy. He reminds a lot of Fugly, but he’s more human friendly; it’s common to look out there and see the teenager carrying him around the yard.

 

[igorsMistress]

It’s a beautiful day here. The sun is shining and our high will be in the mid 70’s. I was happy to see that the two pullets are beginning to integrate into the flock. When we had the cockerels still they all stayed in a separate group for the most part. Today the littles are in the shade garden with the bigs enjoying the weeds. They’ve done a fantastic job of stripping leaves and digging things up. They’re leaving the stuff I want to keep alone so we’re in good shape. The chicks will be here next weekend, tomorrow I’ll get the little coop set up and ready.

So far the two Arabian lilacs out front are doing well. We’re both off next Friday so we’re trimming the mesquite tree; I’ll need to figure out where I’m going to put the wood. Hubs finished cutting up the stump from the one that fell over and got that out yesterday; next will be planting some creeping rosemary out there and then the pavers. I think that’ll do it for the front this year , things will need a chance to grow before we do much else. Plus it’ll be getting hot.

I ordered a white shade cloth for the top of the shade garden, and a strip of white for the bottom half of the walls 3/4 of the way around. I’ve been reading about a hydroponic method, the Kratky Method, that doesn’t require electricity and works outside even in hot climates. I’m giving that a go this year as I have everything on hand that I need. I’m going to try tomatoes, peppers, Armenian cucumbers and basil.