Illinois...

[NotAFarm]

Congrats Cubs Fans!!

 

[Faraday40]

Yes. It was one crazy night.

We don't have TV, so I kept checking the live score online. Even that was exciting (& I'm not really a baseball person

). A few seconds after the Cubs won, there was screaming up & down the streets & all kinds of fireworks. Several diff houses were shooting off fireworks- felt like on New Year's Eve. We live in the suburbs, so I can't imagine what the excitement was like in the city.

My sister in law has been staying with us this past week because her son found a great flash sale on airfare to O'Hare. She has suffered with great physical & emotional pain over the past 2 decades. She is legally blind and has many health issues. The timing was perfect, and her trip was amazing. As a former Chicagoan she remembered & got to eat Chicago Pizza, Chicago style hot dogs, Frangos, Portillo’s Beef, Brown's Chicken & authentic Polish Foods. She came along to an over-the-top party where she got to dance to a live band, play with her niece & nephew, go on a hay ride, and simply spend some quality time with her little brother. She got to take her niece & nephew Trick-or-Treating on Halloween. We dropped her off at her friend's house yesterday where she's resting up before flying home today. ...... And then, on her last night while visiting her best friend from high school, she got to witness the Cubs win the World Series! What a fantastic vacation!

 

[ChicagoClucker]

@ChicagoClucker
I was up to 13, (coincidently a LUCKY number for me) and now 4 left. ALL MALES...

I'm not laughing at the loss, but at the prospect of propagation. Looks like I will wait until spring time when I will get maybe 2 females, and start all over again. Don't want to have the lil squabs born during cold winter. I also like to start homesetting the newborn at 1 month age. All best done in spring when temps are more favorable. None returned ,,,, tells me they were hawk chow.

The missing were not all at once, , but rather 1 or 2 at a time. I stopped the bleeding.... NO MORE FREE FLIGHTS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. I'm not home all day just staring up at the sky, but about every 3rd or 4th day, I do see Brother Hawk cruise by. Luckily my girls are not targeted in their run.

Holy cow (not doing an impersonation of Harry), you lost 9 ! That is rough, so sorry.

I don't blame you for keeping them in the run. Well at least you will have spring to look forward to.

 

[NotAFarm]

Yes. It was one crazy night.

We don't have TV, so I kept checking the live score online. Even that was exciting (& I'm not really a baseball person

). A few seconds after the Cubs won, there was screaming up & down the streets & all kinds of fireworks. Several diff houses were shooting off fireworks- felt like on New Year's Eve. We live in the suburbs, so I can't imagine what the excitement was like in the city.

My sister in law has been staying with us this past week because her son found a great flash sale on airfare to O'Hare. She has suffered with great physical & emotional pain over the past 2 decades. She is legally blind and has many health issues. The timing was perfect, and her trip was amazing. As a former Chicagoan she remembered & got to eat Chicago Pizza, Chicago style hot dogs, Frangos, Portillo’s Beef, Brown's Chicken & authentic Polish Foods. She came along to an over-the-top party where she got to dance to a live band, play with her niece & nephew, go on a hay ride, and simply spend some quality time with her little brother. She got to take her niece & nephew Trick-or-Treating on Halloween. We dropped her off at her friend's house yesterday where she's resting up before flying home today. ...... And then, on her last night while visiting her best friend from high school, she got to witness the Cubs win the World Series! What a fantastic vacation!

What a great trip for her!!

 

[chickendreams24]

Holy cow (not doing an impersonation of Harry), you lost 9 ! That is rough, so sorry.  I don't blame you for keeping them in the run. Well at least you will have spring to look forward to.  

X2 so sorry for your losses.

:yiipchick e ​
Yes.  It was one crazy night.  

We don't have TV, so I kept checking the live score online.  Even that was exciting (& I'm not really a baseball person ).  A few seconds after the Cubs won, there was screaming up & down the streets & all kinds of fireworks.  Several diff houses were shooting off fireworks-  felt like on New Year's Eve.  We live in the suburbs, so I can't imagine what the excitement was like in the city.

My sister in law has been staying with us this past week because her son found a great flash sale on airfare to O'Hare.  She has suffered with great physical & emotional pain over the past 2 decades.  She is legally blind and has many health issues.  The timing was perfect, and her trip was amazing.  As a former Chicagoan she remembered & got to eat Chicago Pizza, Chicago style hot dogs, Frangos, Portillo’s Beef, Brown's Chicken & authentic Polish Foods. She came along to an over-the-top party where she got to dance to a live band, play with her niece & nephew, go on a hay ride, and simply spend some quality time with her little brother.  She got to take her niece & nephew Trick-or-Treating on Halloween.  We dropped her off at her friend's house yesterday where she's resting up before flying home today. ...... And then, on her last night while visiting her best friend from high school, she got to witness the Cubs win the World Series!   What a fantastic vacation!

Yes it sounds like a wonderful visit I'm glad she's been able to be here with you guys and do all of these things.

 

[chickendreams24]

Oh an update on the 20 something guy that fell into the head of the combine arou s the corner from us continued thoughts and prayers are always appreciated. The head of the combine was running and while we don't know the exact cause of the young man's fall or what he was doing we do know that he was incredibly lucky to survive. While at first we were only told he had broken his leg we now know that the police that arrived on the scene first had to place a tourniquet on his leg. Which leads us to believe that he may have cut his femoral artery or a smaller artery. In any case we have been told that he should make a complete recovery. I will update further as I am able to. This young man was incredibly lucky he did not lose his leg or his life. The incident happened only two blocks out of town away from the police and fire station. I would like to mention their fast response and would also like to thank all law enforcement and emergency services officers for doing what they do for the rest of us daily. It really does take a special kind of a person.

 

[4stakes]

Where was this that the man got caught in combine? He is one lucky man.

 

[Junibutt]

How is egg production these days?

This is my first time with a predominantly Orp flock and I am only getting 1 egg a day from 8 layers. Here is whats going on:

• Mottled Orp- Adopted 2 juveniles and decided to be their mother. Hasn't laid since then, its been almost 2 months now.
• Mauve Orp- 16 month old. Got stressed after going to an educational show in February and hasn't laid since then. Was told that by a vet to wait for her molt and she may start laying after the molt again, but she is the only one who did not molt.
• Choc Cuckoo girl- started molting 6 weeks ago and still hasn't finished her molt. So no eggs.
• Choc girl. started her molt 8 weeks ago. Completely done now, has gained back her weight as well but still not laying.
• Cuckoo-Mottled girl- 7 months old and hasn't started laying so I am assuming she won't till Spring
• Choc Barpington- 7 months old. Started laying at 5.5 months, however has been broody for about 2 weeks
• Light Brahma- Started her molt about 6 weeks ago. Is almost done with bigger than ever foot and shank feathers now, but no eggs.
• Black Australorp. Had a soft molt while she was taking care of her chicks but has been laying almost everyday for the past 5 weeks and she is the only one laying.

All (except the mauve) were prolific layers before they started molting, so I am surprised none of them has started back

I have been giving them scrambled eggs, meal worms, mix of their regular layer feed and wild bird feed for extra proteins but that hasn't helped. I wasn't going to but thinking of artificial light. Anything else I can do?

 

[Faraday40]

@Junibutt

I can understand why you must feel like this:

My mostly orp flock does not lay much either. Although I dislike RIR, I actually have one to insure we get eggs this winter. I have 16 birds & only get 2-4 eggs per day. Like you, my backyard & coop look like a giant pillow fight. I've been collecting feathers instead of eggs. I'm just looking for that perfect craft to make with them. (Perhaps I can sell art instead of eggs to pay for their food.) I added a string of Christmas lights & timer, but I don't know if it will work. My birds must finish their molt AND have enough light to produce. My hope is that my 4 pullets will begin to lay this winter. I know my blue layers completely stop no matter what until late Feb, early March. Like you I have increased protein, but all I see is runny poops. (I mixed some meat bird grower into their layer feed.) I hope it's helping them grow feathers more quickly. This year I do not have any completely bald hens, so perhaps it's working.

We are also under constant hawk attack. No losses, but the flock is rarely venturing out into the grass. The stress of predators, a neighbor's building project, & the fireworks (from the Cubs' victory) is putting additional stress on the flock. I doubt my production will increase anytime soon, but I'm hopeful that we'll have at least some eggs to eat this winter.

Orps are a beautiful breed & will always be my favorite, but they're simply not the best layers.

 

[Molpet]

good to know it's not just my hatchery orps.. They are the first to quit laying and the last to start... I have one out of 2 from april that is laying and the 18 month is done with her molt and hasn't started.