Illinois...

I'm actually going to be taking a trip that way tomorrow since I need to visit the DMV and get my license renewed.


Funny you mention that, I always go to the Woodstock DMV for license work as it's in and out unlike the Libertyville, Waukegan, Deerfield or Schaumburg DMV offices where the lines are out the door as the sloths take there own sweet time...

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I live in woodstock/Marengo (McHenry county)... not far from farm and fleet. It is fun to follow the thread of chicken peeps in my area. I have a mixed flock of 34 birds. I am lead volunteer for great dane rescue midwest, and I have a pack of big dogs too!


Welcome!! You guys are making me miss home! I am farther south these days... Love Danes!
 
I have to share my excitement someplace! My little Splash cochin bantam roo, I think is a frizzle! His feathers are coming in and they are bent. I am so excited! Tried sharing with my family, and I was laughed at. They just don't get it.

Only 2 bantam cochin partridge eggs left in the bator, and my SL banty went broody so she has some eggs under her. It is her first time setting, she seems to be serious about it. So we shall see, I slipped some of the mottled / SL cochin bantam eggs under her and took all of the big girls egg out. She does come out to eat and poop every morning and then heads back in, so looking good so far. I have 5 of her chicks in the basement and they are doing well.
 
The 'pet family' at our house took a leap forward this week... My daughters both love critters of all sizes and shapes including bugs, reptiles and what not, so lots of options when it comes to pets...

My eldest daughter adores snakes, and although I like some smaller snakes myself my heart is really with bigger boas and pythons... I should note that I used to wholesale and retail sell exotic animals for a living in my younger days, so it's really hard for me to bring myself to paying retail pet store prices for pets... Anyway last week I had one of my 'I have nothing better to do, lets browse Craigslist' moments and came across a larger red-tailed boa for sale locally with a pretty nice setup and the price was right... I detailed this in another thread on this forum about Craigslist but for a recap, I call the seller on Craigslist and setup a time to buy the snake, I swing over to this guys house (local only 5 minutes away) and the local police are at his door, while I'm getting the stink eye from the officer at the door I get out of the car and explain that I'm here in regards to a Craigslist ad and wonder if I should reschedule, the officer suggest that would be a good idea ;) So I text the guy back and no answer, but low an behold the next day he gets back to me and ask if I'm still interested, so I shoot back over there... His story was that the local police want him to snitch on a friend and he refuses to do so, so they are trying make him cooperate, and if the 'odor' emitting from his house (that I smelt 10 feet away from the door) when I returned the next day was there previous might have more explaining to do...

Anyway we pick up the snake, so presto we not have a larger boa in the pet family and the girls are in love...

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So it's been a couple of days now and we decide to get him a feeder rat today, go to the pet store and pick one up and while we are there they have a free guinea pig that some just dropped off and didn't want, complete with the cage, a bag of food and everything... I asked one of the employees what the 'free' catch is as we had bought our last guinea pig 'used' for $20 at the same store complete with a setup years ago and they made us buy food and hay as well... This time they said no catch just take it home... Felt a little awkward taking it as we were just talking to the employee about feeding the rat to our snake, but anyway truthfully the guinea pig was taken to be a pet not food...

The rats visit was short lived and much to my surprise the daughters had no issues feeding the rat to the snake even though they both thought the rat was cute, I guess I can contribute that to nature programming as they pretty much explained to me what was happening at every step in the 'cycle of life'...

The pet family doesn't stop there though, I also have 19 chicks shipping this week from Mcmurray 6 Cuckoo Marans, 6 Welsummers, and 6 Whiting True Blues as well as what ever free 'exotic'they drop in the box... So it's time to bust out a big brooder as I was hoping it would be a little warmer by now and could house them in the coop, but I think they will be in the house until they feather out...

Also it's about time for me to set some eggs from a Cream Legbar crossed with my bluest egg layer as I have had her removed from other roosters for a month now, and I want to see what comes out of the cross...

I also wish this weather around here would break, I have section of pasture fence I need to rip out and replace before it falls over, as well as build out a bunch of breeder cages in the coop building, I would really like a week of warm rain free days to do that as well as some dry ground ;)

I'm also debating setting up a few rat breeding cages in the coop, as $10 a pop for rats from a pet store aka $40 a month to feed a snake is a little rude to me...
 
@MeepBeep
Reading your post I got a few brain storms. AKA Ideas, Suggestions, Solutions, Opinions.
I could have saved you a lot of money, You could have swung by here and had this one for FREE.

He hasn't developed his rattles yet.
gig.gif

Now that you have that Red tailed Boa, maybe you can rent him out. Here is a link to a thread in dire needs of one. Its a WIN WIN situation.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1094630/egg-thief-surveillance/10
You would have to arrange contact with that person on your own.
lau.gif


My thoughts on the odor coming from 10 feet away???? Could it be that the owner was using the medical version to treat his snakes depression?? Lets never make wrong assumptions.

Final thought. You do incubate eggs. Average hatch rate is 50% pullets.
 
We are down sizing our hen flock for our new chicks. Sex links, Easter eggers, 3 Cochins, 1 RIR, and 1 Lavender Orp. If anyone interested PM me to get my phone #. Age of them is 15 months. Located 35 miles west of Rockford.

Kevin

How many total are there? (and are you re-homing or selling?)
 
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@MeepBeep Reading your post I got a few brain storms. AKA Ideas, Suggestions, Solutions, Opinions. I could have saved you a lot of money, You could have swung by here and had this one for FREE. He hasn't developed his rattles yet. :gig
I'm sure come warm weather we will have a few more as the kids discover them in the yard...
My thoughts on the odor coming from 10 feet away???? Could it be that the owner was using the medical version to treat his snakes depression?? Lets never make wrong assumptions.
Could be he was in a dark and cold basement, not an ideal habitat... ;)
Final thought. You do incubate eggs. Average hatch rate is 50% pullets.
That option is certainly being floated around as I used to order straight run chicks for food when I was in the business as they were cheaper then mice and rats and elderly chickens were much cheaper then rabbits when I had much bigger snakes back in the day, the children 'said' they would have no problem doing it when asked, but saying and actually doing it are two different things, I will have to
 
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This is how I free range my girls.. Delilah the one blind since July 2015 after dog attack, cant be free walking unless I'm there. She turned 10 years young. Oldest one in my flock now. Enjoying the sunshine and safe from predators inside cage. I don't think she knows she is inside a cage.
idunno.gif



Another pix of her.. She is an Easter Egger. Her eggs were light blue.
 
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I think I am going to rehome this handsome creature. I have had it for 5 days now. It's still sectioned off from the rest of the flock, but it keeps charging at me when I go in to add food or open/close the window. I am not being timid around it or aggressive. It does NOT like black gloves, nor me when I wear a black jacket.

I was going to let it mingle with the rest of the flock in a day or two. I am hoping he will have other things to be focused on when let out to roam.

If anyone is interested, let me know.
 
I think I am going to rehome this handsome creature. I have had it for 5 days now. It's still sectioned off from the rest of the flock, but it keeps charging at me when I go in to add food or open/close the window. I am not being timid around it or aggressive. It does NOT like black gloves, nor me when I wear a black jacket. I was going to let it mingle with the rest of the flock in a day or two. I am hoping he will have other things to be focused on when let out to roam. If anyone is interested, let me know.
I don't mean to be rude or callous but if he's showing aggression to you should he really be rehomed? I mean I suppose to each his own and I do admit it would depend on his level of aggression, which of course only you can judge. A charge is one thing but if he attacked I wouldn't rehome. Unless it was to a freezer. Having had two aggressive cockerals in the last year, one mild-moderate but escalating, and one severe. I will never tolerate another aggressive roo in my flock.
 
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