Hudson Valley NY *chat thread*

[Coupe]

Oh my!! Your coop and pen are adorable!!! trying to get mine alittle sprused up !
I got my new 1588 hovabator in!! Set it up and now have some eggs in it!

 

[Coupe]

I think one of my Silver spangled hamburgs is starting to go broody!!! Iv noticed the past couple of days she has been sitting on her nest longer than norml...she sleeps on her eggs but is off in the morning and i see her sitting on them durring the day somtimes aswell! I really hope she does go broody!

 

[LSzajko]

Thank you~
I give my husband all the credit. He did the hard work and I did the fun stuff. I drove him crazy but that's my job~ and I do it soooo well.

So what kind of eggs are in the incubator? Where did you get it? We were looking at one in TSC Sunday. I think it was around $149.99. Not sure of its quality/reliability though. We want to get one eventually but we'll have to research the options. We'll need a bigger coop because I will go overboard. We're holding steady at 13 chickens right now. But I was just thinking the other day (scary!) that Rapunzel, our lone buff silkie, needs a friend. We bought her and a Mille Fleur together in March but the MF died a few days after we got her. Whatever she had wasn't contagious, thankfully.

How many chickens/ducks do you have? Any other animals?? We have 2 dogs. They like the chickens but I don't think the feeling is mutual. I have 4 kids ranging in age from 7 yrs. to 25 yrs. old. We're leaving on a cruise on the 18th and I haven't done a single thing to prepare for it because I'm chicken obsessed. Busy week and weekend ahead and the coop needs to be cleaned very soon.
It's all good but I can feel the anxiety level slowwwly rising! And alI I want to do is go home and sit in the run.
Have a great day!

 

[LSzajko]

I think one of my Silver spangled hamburgs is starting to go broody!!! Iv noticed the past couple of days she has been sitting on her nest longer than norml...she sleeps on her eggs but is off in the morning and i see her sitting on them durring the day somtimes aswell! I really hope she does go broody!

Aack! I realize more and more everyday that there's SO much to learn.
If the SSH does go broody that means you'll have chicks in the incubator + chicks from the Silver Spangled Hamburg= How many chicks in all?

 

[Coupe]

I think the incubator is the little giant...thats the one i use to have..i upgraded to a genesis 1588 hovabator..its similar to the little giant but holds temps way better and is a bit bigger...i love it already.my old little giant was a nightmare!! Never held temps and always spiked..it killed my last batch of eggs!
I bought the genesis 1588 online at cutler supplies for around $175..ill let you know how the hatch goes!
If the SSH hatches out chicks she could have about 6 chicks and then i have 9 eggs (so far) in the incubator.. I have 3 SSH, 8 Silver laced wyandottes and 3 muscovy ducks..plus my 3 dogs and 7 Netherland dwarf rabbits (i breed them) and a Aussie water dragon lol i use to have lots more but had to cut back last year because the BF got into a motorcycle accident and had 3 brain hemerages..so he was out of work for about a year and is still recovering.
I dont have any kids yet (im only 24) but hopefully in the next couple of years!
A cruise sounds awesome right now lol!! Where will you be sailing?

 

[LSzajko]

OMG...that sounds like a serious accident. I hope your BF continues recovering and he's feeling better each day. Do you work locally?? Does he like the ducks and chickens? My DH tells everyone "This is my wife's gig" but he loves the chickens as much as I do. We had 2 Nubian goats which were NOT my gig. He gave them away in November when they were about 9 months old. They were adorable but they were impossible to keep contained and out of trouble. I used to come home from work and find they escaped; eating all the flowers and shrubs, wandering up the road, or grazing in a neighbor's yard and since I get home first, they were my problem and they were a lot stronger than me! One day my daughter Rylee called me hysterically crying. Marvin somehow got himself into the hayfeeder and his neck stuck in the narrow part it. He must have been so exhausted from trying to free himself, he kept closing his eyes and resting his head on the ground. Ry thought he was suffocating and dying. I work nearby, DH doesn't, so I raced home thinking I was going to come home to a dead goat, cursing and regretting EVER agreeing to goats! I could NOT get that ****** goat out so I unscrewed the hayfeeder from the side of their little barn and freed him (while up to my ankles in mud mind you!). I heard it all when I got back to work ~ "You know you're a redneck when....." And then I got chickens......
Anyway........

Looking forward to seeing how your hatches go! And I will stay away from that Little Giant incubator and get a better model when the time comes. We have a SLW, a buff silkie, a black australorp, 4 RIRs, 2 brown leghorns, a barred rock, an EE (with a funky crossbeak), and the 2 babies...1 black and 1 blue orpington but I think that blue one you said might be a roo last week is indeed a roo. I've been watching him~his comb is big and at 5 (maybe 6) weeks he's already pretty aggressive. We had 6 RIRs but we gave 2 to my husband's co-worker in exchange for a compost barrel which hasn't surfaced yet..today hopefully!! We're using a plastic storage trunk for composting right now and it's not working' out well.

We're cruising to the Bahamas w/a stop in Cocoa Beach. We booked this cruise last June after I came back from a cruise (with a friend of mine and 2 of her friends..no husbands ~ no kids ~ woot!). It seemed like we were forever waiting for this cruise and *poof* we're leaving in 11 days. Honestly, I'm mostly worried about leaving the chickens. Yep...I'm outta control.....!

 

[Coupe]

I work in Highland, about 10 mins from my house! the chickens and ducks are all my doing lol even tho he loves to eat their eggs! I only had one duck untill the other day when the BF said he looked lonely!! So i had to buy the duck some girlfriends! I take care of all the animals, which i dont mind at all! But he does love having them, just dont ask him to feed or water them!!The BF's thing is the garden! And he does that pretty darn well!
We use to have Boer goats, than switched to Nigerian dwarfs....but i just sold the last of mine aswell. They do get in alot of trouble!! I have found mine multiple times walking down the street! I am dreading having to clip all the brush around the property this year..the goats use to take care of it for me! Poor Marvin!! He must of been so exhausted and terrified! I never understood why they can never get their heads out lol Westin (our old boer goat) got his head stuck in our garden fence once...that poor goat was screaming bloody murder! I thought he was injured and came running outside...but he just had his head stuck!
I use to have a mixed flock with some buff orpingtons,australorps and some EE's..had a beautiful EE rooster once named Bernie (the bf loved this bird) he was a great flock protector but sadly he got killed doing his job by a fox.
I jusy told the BF today i needed a compost barrel!! Im tired of turning piles!
I hope you have a good time on your cruise! It sounds exciting!! Im sure you chickies will be fine, just leave some extra food. We have a feeder that will hold 50lb's of chicken food we use when we go away camping..iv never had to fill it up all the way and they'v always had plenty when we would come home!

 

[LSzajko]

Every rooster needs a harem ~ !
Do the ducks have their own coop or do they co-habitate w/the chickens?? How are the little chicks doing? And the incubator's temp is holding steady, I hope?

I didn't get to spend much time w/the Ladies yesterday. We bought a car for my 17 yr. old in Sept. She doesn't drive yet so it has been sitting ever since. A few weeks ago my ex offered her his old car which is newer so she decided she wanted his instead. In the meantime, my MIL's car died so she's going to buy the 1st car but we can't find the title. I tore the house apart looking for it yesterday. I'm 100% confident that that title is NOT in my house. It's probably in my DH's truck (with Jimmy Hoffa). I'm a total neat freak so needless to say I was pretty frustrated cleaning out receipts and papers from 2008. My DH needs a hoarders intervention.

There's nothing like the sound of a goat in distress...it's definitely terrifying. When Marvin got stuck he was so loud, he actually woke up my DD ~ at 8:00 am on summer vacation! It's against Teenager Law to be up that early. I get up at 4:30 everyday and I go to work at 6:00 so 8:00am is practically lunchtime for me. Did you sell your goats because they got into so much trouble? I kind of miss having them around but I don't miss the goat gumballs or the havoc. My house is chaotic enough!

My MIL is going to look after the chickens and the dogs. We have a feeder and waterer in both the coop and the run so hopefully they won't dehydrate and/or starve. I'm worried about getting them locked in at night. They go in to roost by themselves but I'd feel better knowing the coop door is closed and the run gate is locked. DD will have to take care of that part. Found out last night the DD who is going on the cruise with us really should have a NYS issued non-driver ID (she doesn't) and a passport (she doesn't have that either). I'm literally frozen w/fear about getting her on that ship. It's going to be 'one of those days.' I work for the Government..I know beauracracy. Wish me luck? lol

 

[Coupe]

My muscovy drake did live with the chickens..but got tired of cleaning their water every 2 hours because he was splashing in it! So i made a temp. Run for him with a plastic kiddie pool..and thats when the BF said he looked lonely.. I think i have some photos here somplace..its a 20'x10' dog kennel with a divider in the middle..im trying to get grass to grow on the otherside, so the ducks are in a 10x10 right now.

The white ones are the muscovy hens, and this is the drake.

I only have one chick right now and he/she is doing great! Little ball of fun! And yes the new incubator is a dream come true!! Its been holding 100.1 degrees and 43% humidity like a champ! I couldnt be happyer! Way wortynthe money!!
I didnt start driving untill i was 18 lol and i hope you find the title! My BF is the same way!! He has clothing from when he was in highschool still lmao, he keeps everything and tells me someday his kids might want it..i just laugh now.
We loved the goats! But we wanted to beable to go on trips and not have to worry about them. We dont have anyone around to take care of them when we are gone. We found them a great home right down the road at a tree farm. And i can go see them whenever i want. I do miss them tho!
Good luck!! Hope you get them in time!! They didnt tell you that ahead of time!?!
Im sure youll be fine!!

 

[LSzajko]

Uh oh... I want ducks!!! They're beautiful! Are they friendly? noisy? As easy to care for as chickens? Do they follow you around?

I made my 2 older girls wait until they were 18 to get their license. Now that they're older, they understand why. My 17 yr. old was in a car accident on April 17th. Her friend was driving and someone came out of a side street and crossed the road in front of them. To avoid T-boning him, her friend swerved and drove over a curb; took out a couple of mailboxes, a sign post, broke the cement, the airbags deployed, ambulance ride, etc. etc. The car was totaled. My daughter broke 2 toes and had a slight concussion, whiplash and aches and pains. Her friend was achy and had whiplash. The police said it could have been a lot worse but to me, it was bad enough.

I booked the cruise through Vacations-To-Go and the woman I made the reservation with said she will NOT need a passport..just a photo ID and a certified copy of her birth certificate so I thought we were good. What she DIDN'T mention was that it had to be a Gov't issued ID and a birth cert. and that's where I'm at fault. I should have known that but figured she's a minor and I'd be with her so her birth certificate and her HS student ID would be ok. Wrong! Made at least 10 phone calls this morning. I can get her an expedited passport ($195.00) but we'd have to go to Stamford, CT. For ha-ha's I called the DMV and they can put a rush on a NYS non-driver ID so we're going to the DMV today and to Stamford Friday morning. But if the DMV can guarantee I'll get the ID before next Friday, I may cancel our appt, in CT. Livin' on the edge isn't cool anymore!