Fuzzy's Farm

[NovaAman]

Well, here's what you need to do now. Tonight, you need to go out with flash light and candle. Make sure it is a very strong flashlight. Candle all the eggs. Anything with veins, put back under her, and thing with out, take out. Any thing over 3 days under her should have veining by now. THEN count 18 days from today for your hatching. OR you could leave everything under her, and hope she'll sit on them all till they are done if it hasn't been added eggs over more than a few days. Still start your count on days from the day you first noticed her sitting on the eggs. Usually though, after the first chick hatches, the moms usually start showing them the food with in 2-3 days, have a habit of then staying right by the food and water, OUT of the nest. At least all of mine have. They vacate the nest with in a few days of hatching. The only hen I have had that ever continued to use the actual nest was a silkie hen. All the rest just nested on the floor till the babies were able to start roosting.

 

[gigiok]

Is this your GD? She's beautiful!

Thank you, Nova. Yes, she's the first - we just found out her mama's going to have another girl in October. Three years old. I love her to pieces and best of all, she LOVES chickens. Not just thinks they are cute but loves them, drags them around, talks to them, gathers eggs, the whole bit - lol.

 

[gigiok]

I have been mia dealing with the family stuff but would not be surprised if i got left behind lol

I am loving the hen sitting on a hen nova too cute !!!

I am active when i can be online here and in two other threads... one being Derp ... but I am still here when I can be .. cannot wait to get home and back to family and animals !!! and being on BYC and actually seeing what the gold feather membership offers since I have it for a year !!!

Hi Silver! I'm so glad you are back. So I'm confused (not unusual) - you aren't actually moving permanently to GA?

 

[teeville5]

I'm still here, but not talking as much because I've just been too tired to do much more than read what's going on with all of you.

Thankfully, another Monday is down. Worst day of the week by far. Only 3 more of them on this darn route before I can go back to my normal Monday route. I'd do a happy dance at the thought of that, but my body aches too much to move. LOL

 

[Rusty Byrd]

Hi Nova, hi everyone else.
How's the new job going?

 

[Rusty Byrd]

Gigi, I use the fine shavings and a kitty litter scoop. I also use the fine in the large coop. Made a big kitty scooper. Bought one of those pitchfork used to pick up road apples. Cover it with rabbit wire scoop and shake. Good to go! Alot of poo at once And save the shavings.

 

[NovaAman]

Silver, hurry up... Your chickens are going to forget you if you don't hurry up!

tee... do a wiggle in your chair and call it a happy dance. LOL.

Mom, I frequent another site also, and love it there. It is a very small group of people, a lot of them have gotten into trouble on another site. HEHE No hang ups and crap, you know. Slow, yes, but it's great.

Robin! I have 10 faverolle babies running around. Two girls for you as soon as I know which are girls and mama's are done raising them. A boy too if you want another back up.

Gigi, YEAH! goncrats on the future GD! That does sound/read a bit wrong don't it. I have not heard back from the Currator, but I figure he's busy and I will give him time to answer.

Savannah... I love the "out of pocket" line to describe how you've been feeling. Glad you are feeling better though. Being sick sucks.

Rusty, HI!

Fuzzy, is this your busy week again?

Now... Today I decided to see how badly I could make my muscles hurt. I cleaned the WHOLE run out. I ended up carting back 3 sled loads of totes full of crap and shavings and dirt from the run floor. I cleaned out the dust bathing areas and I am thinking I might needs more soil under the bates motel and the 4x12 under-run areas.

Fritz the Jerk has found himself at the bottom of the pecking order out in the back. Well, he's just fine if he stays to his side. If Florus get's out, he's not so nice to Fritz anymore. Florus's cajones have dropped and he's not putting up with no poop from Fritz, and Fritz runs screaming like a girl now. Poor baby. The plan for the spring is to make a serema only coop section. Fritz is a great little roo. He's attentive and very alert. He deserves to be master of his own flock.

RaZ posted a webpage on the MI thread that had grazing frames. I am thinking instead of putting a new apron all around the coop and run, I am going to built a grazing frame all the way around the coop. They'll come away from the coop about 2 feet. This will give me something to keep anything from digging under, and it'll also keep a green zone around the coop. I will also then put a fence around this area with chicken wire or fish line running around that to keep the hawks from getting in this way...

SO, the plan for the frame, get the rabbit fencing that is 3 feet tall. It's the cheeper fencing, but it's sturdy and harder for a coon to bite, fox to dig through. That will be attached out from the bottom of the coop to the outer end of the frame.U-nailed in so it is secure. The cross ties will run every 2 feet all the way around, will be with some of the less than pretty wood you can pick up in the reject section. I will plant the seeds for rye/clover/grass to grow, then I will run chicken wire over the top, and use furring strips or what ever to keep the chickenwire from coming loose/hurting the birds feet. It'll allow the grass to grow through, but keep the birds from digging it out. Will then also keep the birds on greens while they are locked up in the summer when I am at work. The only place the frame won't really be will be on the side of the coop that backs against the trees. BUT an apron will go their the same way as the grass way. Think this is a good idea? It's going to add appox 172 sq feet of run... but outside of the run...

Grazing frames... I also want to build a few of these in the areas of the yard that the ducks destroyed with their digging...

They used hard ware cloth, but with my budget and my champaigne tastes... LOL Chicken wire will do the task and its cheap enough to replace as needed.

 

[NovaAman]

Sorry it took so long to write my novel.

I was going to say also, that I could easily add a serema coop to the current set up this way too. Section it off so that the faverolles have one side, and then I can allow each set of birds to have different days of total free range, but everyone always gets grass, and being chicken wire, they can't tear up the grass with their feet, but CAN get to the bugs.

 

[NovaAman]

Check this out!

 

[teeville5]

Neat. Interesting how they paired the chickens to the rabbit and dust bunny. LOL