Illinois...

[Faraday40]

When I seen this.

This came to mind.............

Spoiler: Queen

Queen may have sung the song, but my Cupcake is the Queen of all the fat-bottomed girls.

 

[BReeder!]

There is an annual Easter hatchalong that will be a bit later this year than it was last year. Timing will be good for those of us in Illinois since Easter is April 21 this year.
I will put a link for the thread here when it gets started. All manner of fowl are hatched and the thread starts about 60 or so days before Easter so emu eggs can be included.

Emu eggs... that would be so cool! Wife would kill me before the neighbors even found out. Imagine an emu in the suburbs of Chicago... they'd really think I lost it.
Maybe one day when I get a few acres. Then I could bake a HUGE omelet with 1 egg.

 

[Molpet]

I had a night mare that I was raising emus. I was trying to wrestle one down to butcher it... except it was as big as a cow. Woke up thinking why didn't I just shoot it

 

[Faraday40]

My uncle (in CA) lived next door to an ostrich ranch. Although they had a fence, I was told not to walk anywhere close to it for fear of head trauma. The neighbors also had a big aviary filled with very, very loud Macaws and bred them. It sounded like I was in a jungle every morning at sunrise.

Times change. I can't say that I fully appreciated it when I was in my teens. Oh, how I'd love to go back now & meet those neighbors & exotic birds.

I think emus are cool, but DS does not share my love for them. While at Brookfield zoo, one took a fancy to the buttons on his coat. He was 5 & very frightened when the giant bird pecked at those shiny buttons. His screams were heard for quite a distance. When he was 7 I talked him into going back into the Hamill Wild Encounter area. That time was worse! It was a crazy accident. We were walking on the people path just as a young wallaby shot across the yard from behind us. DS & the wallaby's paths intersected. Both got knocked down on impact. The keepers ran over to make sure both were OK & even offered DS an opportunity to pet the wallaby (to make him feel better). DS wanted no part of it. To this day he refuses to go anywhere near that exhibit - not to mention a fear of emus & wallabies.

 

[BReeder!]

My uncle (in CA) lived next door to an ostrich ranch. Although they had a fence, I was told not to walk anywhere close to it for fear of head trauma. The neighbors also had a big aviary filled with very, very loud Macaws and bred them. It sounded like I was in a jungle every morning at sunrise.

Times change. I can't say that I fully appreciated it when I was in my teens. Oh, how I'd love to go back now & meet those neighbors & exotic birds.

I think emus are cool, but DS does not share my love for them. While at Brookfield zoo, one took a fancy to the buttons on his coat. He was 5 & very frightened when the giant bird pecked at those shiny buttons. His screams were heard for quite a distance. When he was 7 I talked him into going back into the Hamill Wild Encounter area. That time was worse! It was a crazy accident. We were walking on the people path just as a young wallaby shot across the yard from behind us. DS & the wallaby's paths intersected. Both got knocked down on impact. The keepers ran over to make sure both were OK & even offered DS an opportunity to pet the wallaby (to make him feel better). DS wanted no part of it. To this day he refuses to go anywhere near that exhibit - not to mention a fear of emus & wallabies.

We love that exhibit! LOL

 

[HushMeadows]

When I seen this.

This came to mind.............

Spoiler: Queen

 

[BReeder!]

I love how my fluffy butts have become so popular here. They just keep popping back up.

 

[BReeder!]

Several months ago we had a conversation here about fermented feed. I finally came around to writing an article on the method that I developed. If you are interested, here's a link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/fermented-feed-how-we-do-it-the-4-container-method.74687/
Feedback and reviews are appreciated of course.
There's no pictures because I cannot find any. I know I took some. They might be on my wife's phone or could have been on my old phone that I broke. Once it warms up and we start up the fermentation process again I'll update with pics.

 

[Molpet]

Several months ago we had a conversation here about fermented feed. I finally came around to writing an article on the method that I developed. If you are interested, here's a link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/fermented-feed-how-we-do-it-the-4-container-method.74687/
Feedback and reviews are appreciated of course.
There's no pictures because I cannot find any. I know I took some. They might be on my wife's phone or could have been on my old phone that I broke. Once it warms up and we start up the fermentation process again I'll update with pics.

you don't backslop? in non freezing weather I have 4 five gallon buckets and feed 2 a day. I leave a few inches of the ff as a starter...like friendship bread or sourdough starter.... I wash the bucket maybe once a year.
I add 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper per bird.... supposed to be the therapeutic dose and it keeps the mammals out of the feed.
48 teaspoons to a cup... less than 1/4 cup per bucket in non freezing weather. Now I put that much in one bucket and feed a couple x a day...leave dry feed out too in cold weather.

 

[BReeder!]

you don't backslop? in non freezing weather I have 4 five gallon buckets and feed 2 a day. I leave a few inches of the ff as a starter...like friendship bread or sourdough starter.... I wash the bucket maybe once a year.
I add 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper per bird.... supposed to be the therapeutic dose and it keeps the mammals out of the feed.
48 teaspoons to a cup... less than 1/4 cup per bucket in non freezing weather. Now I put that much in one bucket and feed a couple x a day...leave dry feed out too in cold weather.

No, we do not backslop. We tried the never ended bucket method at at first (take some add some to replace) and it got GROSS! After that I chose to go to the polar opposite and start with a clean container each time. I was thinking about growing a mother culture like sourdough and adding a small amount to each batch, but that may get gross too. We get fairly good results with a 3 day ferment. Not sure if the 1/2 gallon containers will be different than the quart jars in results after 3 days. We will have to see. I could always go 4 days if needed by just adding another container to the cycle.
I do add pepper to it sometimes. I like to just mix the pepper right into the scratch mix. We also will sometimes just chop peppers and give them to the birds. I may start playing with turmeric too. I hear/read that it has a lot of health benefits for the birds (and us).