Hatching with 2 broodies

[Teila]

Hi all! We've had the flu. We'll the humans have...chickies have been happily rocking along. Horribly sick but now on the mend. I've been sooooo out of commission, The boys and hubby all had it The boys taken to the doctor who confirmed.... Yes, the flu.
So anyway, finally out and about, Cheep is most definately a hen...tiny comb, no rooster behavior. But she is a tough little cookie! I think I might name her that since I'm pretty sure she's a girl. Cookie!!

No news of note from the Casa Del Chookie; everyone well and things appear on track. Still no sign from Tina and Suzi as to what gender they may be. They still both run from anything scary and neither seems to be strutting their stuff! It was interesting to read about the roosters bed time routine. Suzi is always the first to bed; Tina and Dusty stay up longer than her. They pretty much all wander out of the coop at the same time in the morning. One egg today from Dusty

I could have had a better day at work and I am so very happy it is Friday. The Hamburgers are cooking, the Bourbon & Cola is going down nicely and my recliner is beckoning me
Aussies are playing England in the Twenty-Twenty Cricket so watching that is the plan, assuming I stay awake!

 

[MistyMountain]

  Where are there pictures of your place online?  I want to see!  

It's mostly a work in progress. Trees down that need to be split and stacked for next year's winter. I will try to pull up a google maps image and highlight my plans. I had good intentions this morning to take a few more pics, but left the house without my phone and those mud boots are hard enough to get on and off, let alone with a recovering knee. I will try to remember to take it out when I check for eggs in about 45 minutes. Judging by all the bawking and fights over who gets what nest box, today should be a good egg day. I hope so. We have family coming in tomorrow for my son's bday

 MM has her place on her avatar. On her profile she has a couple of pics. One with snow and one without. I'm jealous. . Y'all have such beautiful yards. Mine is horrible. But, I did just move here...I have lots of plans.

Yup! That's my side of the mountain. I love that view. I forgot to get one of fall, though! We have a bunch of space on the other side of the driveway as well, that I would like to fence in some day for my horse. Right now my husband spends his summers mowing it. I will post a pic of that on an edit. We just moved here too, well, August. Everything is a work in progress but we LOVE it.

Speaking of the current heat wave (high of 50* today! ) and pick up in egg production, I want to come up with a fun name for our place. I've probably mentioned it before, but we think of this place as a homestead. I just don't think we are at the farm level, and most of what we will do will be for ourselves. Regardless, I want to put fun stickers on the cartons I give to friends, family, and neighbors. Here are some thoughts: 7 Cedars Ranch (or Homestead). ~~ in my avatar, there are 7 cedars in that little grove. Shady Sycamore Homestead (we have a lot of HUGE sycamore trees). Swaying Sycamore? Swinging Sycamore? We may put a tree swing in one of them. I want something… unique. If I left it up to my husband, he would vote for just "The Homestead" or "Lonesome Dove" LOL! Anyone have any thoughts or input?

 

[tommysgirl]

hmmm it didn't quote the whole thing...Was going to say that your evening sounds perfect. in broody news here I had to remove three eggs from Penny's nest that the other girls had donated ...or Penny had stolen for the hatch. I will candle on proabably Sunday or Monday.

Yup! That's my side of the mountain. I love that view. I forgot to get one of fall, though! We have a bunch of space on the other side of the driveway as well, that I would like to fence in some day for my horse. Right now my husband spends his summers mowing it. I will post a pic of that on an edit. We just moved here too, well, August. Everything is a work in progress but we LOVE it.

Speaking of the current heat wave (high of 50* today!

) and pick up in egg production, I want to come up with a fun name for our place. I've probably mentioned it before, but we think of this place as a homestead. I just don't think we are at the farm level, and most of what we will do will be for ourselves. Regardless, I want to put fun stickers on the cartons I give to friends, family, and neighbors. Here are some thoughts: 7 Cedars Ranch (or Homestead). ~~ i

7 Cedars Ranch has the best rhythm to it...gets my vote as though that matters

liz so glad it is arthritis and not something more life threatening. hope his quality of lif remains high

TGG glad you are on the mend. I got that flu too and it took me down for the count for days.

I have a friend that lost a son to addiction in 2008 and she just lost her youngest to it as well. So so unbearably sad for that family. Makes coming here even more refreshing.

I appreciate the sunny upbeat posts and the chance to think about feathers and eggs and crowing,

On an up beat yesterday we got 8 eggs. we haven't had more than 4 in over a week. I think it may be the ACV, My droduction dropped off so much in Jan, That's when I got sick...didn't make it to the health food store to buy Braggs and so they had no ACV for the last 4 or so weeks. I bought some on Sunday, have been adding it and viola seems like there may be a relationship.

here are some pics of my other flock members


This is the General my NH rooster and PEtunia who I hatched. Her mam is a buff laced polish her daddy is a dorking

These are my dorking girls Jamie Lee Curtis...in the background and Joan Baez in front. Flying up to join them is Norma. Her mama is an Australorp her daddy was a American Game Cock mix.

Another Pick of Jamie Lee

Blanche, a California Grey. Super sweet and curious and my best producer. She is the coolest

 

[MistyMountain]

Tommysgirl, your vote sure does count! That is also my favorite. I googled it out of curiosity, and it looks like it is also a casino in WA and a dog and cat breeder in CO. Looks like we would be the only one east of the Mississippi.

Can you tell me about acv? I have read a few threads on it, but I get so conflicted with so many different suggestions. My feed has a probio in it, but what else does the acv do?

 

[tommysgirl]

MM I am not sure. Most all of the stuff I have read has been from other's experience but this is what I do know:

The acid may improve absorption of calcium... they have Calcium in OJ for the same reason

The acid also keeps algae growth down in the waterers

It controls some of the bad bacteria and encourages the growth of some of the good.

It may encourage more water consumption by your birds on hot days.

Others will say it does everything from control worms to eliminate pasting up in chicks and that may be true but I don't know. I just figure that if all it does is make my waterers less gunky and help out their digestion I am happy

 

[lizgarf]

Thank you all for the good thoughts about Zorro! The blood results came back good for a cat his age. Kidney slightly high, but not dangerously so, and one enzyme related to muscle damage was a little elevated. He is definitely having trouble with his rear legs, and his left leg in particular, but he's getting around where he needs to go, so I'll just keep an eye on the situation.

TG, so sorry to hear about your friend's loss. I'm glad you're finding some comfort with this thread and your chickens. They are very pretty.

MM, I have a name for my little farm that I put on things I make. I like using the word, farm, because it's a bit ironic, being Oakland and all, but it really is a farm with a whole little ecosystem involving plants and animals supporting each other. It's not big enough to be a ranch, though! 7 Cedars Ranch is nice. How about Sycamore Chicken Ranch? It has sort of an alliteration to it.

9:21 am, and no crows yet from Desi! Rousseau is back to being the one I wish I could keep quiet.

 

[tommysgirl]

Thank you all for the good thoughts about Zorro! The blood results came back good for a cat his age. Kidney slightly high, but not dangerously so, and one enzyme related to muscle damage was a little elevated. He is definitely having trouble with his rear legs, and his left leg in particular, but he's getting around where he needs to go, so I'll just keep an eye on the situation.

TG, so sorry to hear about your friend's loss. I'm glad you're finding some comfort with this thread and your chickens. They are very pretty.

MM, I have a name for my little farm that I put on things I make. I like using the word, farm, because it's a bit ironic, being Oakland and all, but it really is a farm with a whole little ecosystem involving plants and animals supporting each other. It's not big enough to be a ranch, though! 7 Cedars Ranch is nice. How about Sycamore Chicken Ranch? It has sort of an alliteration to it.

9:21 am, and no crows yet from Desi! Rousseau is back to being the one I wish I could keep quiet.

Overall that is good news from your little farm. I think you will like having a rooster if he can control the crows. Good ones are gentlemen and other than the sex part could teach a lot of modern day human males about how to treat a lady. They provide, they protect and they dance. The General makes the sweetest little mooney clucks to the girls at night and it is almost like he is purring.

Thanks for your supportive words Liz.

 

[lizgarf]

Oops, spoke too soon! Desi is trying to crow right now. The collar sounds like it's diminishing the crow quite a bit, but he's managing to get enough volume that I can hear it clearly inside the house. It sort of trails off pathetically at the end. It's a few notches louder than Rousseau's hollering, but probably not loud or frequent enough for anyone to complain about it.
Poor Desi! I feel so mean taking his song away.

 

[Teila]

Good morning Team Broody!

MM I hope your son has a great birthday and you and your family have a nice time.
Your little bit of paradise looks and sounds beautiful! How about Misty Mountain Homestead?

TG & MM I have always added a small amount of ACV to every water change. I don't have enough layers for it to make a difference in egg production and I think the jury is still out on whether it is really beneficial or not. The only real con appears to be that it might not do anything but there are possible pros and I don't think it does any harm.
Positives I have read apart from the possible increased egg production are:
* It apparently maintains a good pH balance in their digestive system and makes it a little uncomfortable for worms to live in. So while not an actual wormer, it can be a deterrent.
* It can act as an antiseptic killing bacteria in their throat and is reported to keep bacteria out of their water. I know it is recommended to people with sinus issues also.

TG Good luck with the candling. Looking forward to hearing the results.
Cilla's last hatch I had to handle the eggs to pick out the infertile one's that she had added and which Dusty had laid.
With her having her own coop and run this hatch, she has not been able to add extras; which is a good thing because she does not really have any more room under her tiny little frame.
An added bonus to the separation is that the grass is now growing in her run again and by the time the bubbies hatch (fingers crossed) they will have nice new grass to scratch and play in.
Morning and evening I make sure she has a bit of a stretch and something to eat which is when I have a quick look that all is OK egg-wise. My Que Sera Sera Method is my own little experiment .. hoping to go the whole 21 days without touching.
When I am home I often give her extra drinks from her special bowl while she is on the nest .. I think we both enjoy that and as soon as I hold it in front of her she has a drink (PS. It is not that hot at the moment, I really do think it is just a 'thing' we share).

I also am sad to hear of your friends loss .. so tragic and impossible to imagine what she and loved ones around her are going through right now. My thoughts are with all of you.

Liz, so nice to read that Zorro, while not 100%, is doing OK and getting around. While not total good news on the Determined Desi Dilemma, not bad news either. I agree that it is probably worth hanging in there until the other collar arrives. Don't feel bad, I am positive that the benefits of living with and having you care for and love him far outweigh restrictions on his singing

PS. I forgot to mention .. we won the cricket and I managed to stay awake for most of it!
PPS. I also forgot to mention .. love the pictures TG and the names!

 

[lizgarf]

I wanted to report that I just got to hear about 5 of Desi's crow attempts up close while waiting for him to go back in the coop. I wish I could describe it in writing - picture a long-time smoker, trying to sing the national anthem and ending in a fit of coughs. Raaaaeee-ech-ech-ech-ech. Something like that.
I told my other next-door neighbors about the rooster right after the display, since they were outside as well, and they hadn't noticed it or his other crowing yet and were cautiously supportive. I think it would have to get really bad for them to complain (they love my crazy dog, so they have a high-tolerance level for animals!)
And, Zorro just followed me around my whole hilly sideyard (to remind me it was dinnertime of course), navigating all the stairs a bit wobbly, though confidently. I guess I'm not the only one whose health has benefited from living on a hill all these years.
And, it was a relatively productive work day, squeezed between a lovely bike ride and my voice lesson.
Not a bad January 31 at all! Hope you all enjoyed yours as well!