Hudson Valley NY *chat thread*

[LSzajko]

Quote:
Same here...My 3 daughters are from my 1st marriage...got remarried and had my son. Maybe the cold nights are slowing the chickens' egg production? We have 2 coops...one for "The Nuggets" which are 3 buff orpingtons, a black orpington, and 2 easter eggers...all hens. Then we have our "surprise rooster" Mr. Blue the Roo, who is a blue orpington. He's very handsome, huge and (fairly) friendly. So far our neighbors haven't complained but it's a daily worry to get a visit from the Town. None of The Nuggets are laying yet. The other coop is for The Girls (11 assorted breeds). Only 8 are laying. One has a pretty severe cross beak and the other (a brown leghorn) has never laid an egg. Not sure who the other slacker is. Maybe the Australorp. I read somewhere they're 'late layers'. They're all about 7-8 months old. Maybe someone on Craigslist would be interested in your roosters? What kind are they? Not sure WHAT we're doing about winterizing the coops. I keep telling my DH we're running out of time. He still has to enclose the run on The Nuggets' coop and we need an anti-freezing waterer plan very soonly !!

 

[houseofknauss]

Quote: they have been engaged for 2 years. august 2, I think is the date they have finally settled on. they have been together for 6 years(wow, I was shocked when I figured that out) and have 2 children already 31/2years old son and 4 month old girl. it is wonderful being a grandparent--soooo much fun!!!-------is anything ever normal now a days??????

 

[carousel86]

My chickens are 7 months too! I have 6 hens that are Rhode Island Red and 6 leghorns 2 hens and 4 roosters. I do have the roosters on craigslist, I even posted them on Facebook. As of right now their not too bad, at the beginning they used to torment the hens and we really wanted to do something with them. I guess time will tell.

 

[Coupe]

Quote:
SO cute!!! I often read about incubation going well and then chicks/ducks dying during pipping. Hatching seems so complicated. Is it?? Did the other one hatch? And how is the one who was slowing down?? I'm going to do a thorough cleaning of the coops this weekend. Considering the deep litter method for the winter. I can't imagine going out there in the dead of January to clean the coops and I heard this method keeps the coop warmer during the winter. Your thoughts Mizz Lexi???

One more hatched, and the other died..hatching ducks seem alot harder than chickens...but I have heard muscovy eggs are hard to get right! So I got 2 little buggers, that seem pretty healthy and happy!

As for cleaning the coop, I clean it really well right before it get super cold...and then all winter I dont touch it lol. Besides packing tons of hay in there of course!...the only thing you have to worry about is the moisture build up, it can give your girls frostbite! But it does keep it slightly warmer. I dont have electric out to my coop but it seems to stay alittle above the outside temp.I have all good hardy breeds, so they tend to do better in winter than others

 

[carousel86]

They are so cute!

 

[charlie14]

I think the shorter daylight hours slows egg production.

 

[charlie14]

Does anybody have any sheep? I'm thinking about getting some but I am not sure yet.

 

[Coupe]

The old man down the street from me has acouple sheep...I think he rescued them.
Will they be pets? Or used for wool?

 

[charlie14]

I was thinking lawn mowers. ; )

 

[LSzajko]

Does anybody have any sheep? I'm thinking about getting some but I am not sure yet.

Nope, no sheep here but they're sooo cute! If they're anything like goats, you'll need a 10 ft. high fence and padlocks. They're impossible to keep contained !