Illinois...

[chickendreams24]

Oh no!

Sending hugs to you and DD and the whole family for the loss of Gilfie. I'm so sorry you guys are dealing with this and I know how special Gilfie was.

 

[cavemanrich]

@Faraday40
Sending.

 

[Faraday40]

Here are some 11 wk old lav orps. We should KNOW the gender by now.... (Usually by 6 weeks I can confirm the gender guesses that I had made at 3-4 weeks!)

Please tell me if you agree with my guesses:

Male (about the only one I feel confident about)

Male? (late bloomer) He has a little more height to his comb than the females, and his wattles look like they're dropping.

Female ?

Female?

Here they are all together. 2 Males on left / 2 females on right

The 5th chick has always acted female. The comb is tiny but the wattles are big. This one is Jewel's chick. Jewel also had very large wattles & a tiny comb, so there's still a good chance she's female.

 

[Faraday40]

Lav orp update:
Sept 22, hatched 16 lav orps & 8 sold within a few hours. I decided to grow out the remaining 8 in hopes of getting a nice male to breed next spring.

Well..... This has been a very, very difficult batch to sex. Ends results: I only got 2 males & 6 females. It figures... the one time I actually WANT a male! So that's the secret to getting a high female %. LOL The biggest male has some gold leakage, so there's no way I'd breed him. The other male is very slow to mature but at least he has nice color. He'll stay for now. (pic above) His comb is almost as small as the females' but the wattles have dropped a little more.

 

[Faraday40]

So to keep the thread going, what are you doing to prepare for the holidays this year?
Does anyone decorate their coop?

Our Holiday Happenings:
Made & decorated some cookies.

DD's holiday concert was Thurs night. She played in the chime choir, band, and also sang.
My fav parts were :
* the preschool group (They're always fun to watch b/c you never know what's going to happen. )
* the band (DD had a significant clarinet solo)
* the 7th & 8th grade FaaLaLaa battle/ duet

Whole school singing Silent Night.

Last night was the "Snow Much Fun" fest. (Part of our town's "Holly Days" activities)
We visited Santa, stopped by the bonfire, and took a "long-eared mule" ride.

DS has always been afraid of Santa. I don't think we ever got him to smile or even talk to Santa. Have you ever heard the song, "I'm not Scared of Santa" from Arthur? Yep that's DS! (Here's the closest link I could find with the song:

Then:

Now:

The wagon rides go around the block & right past our house. It drives the dogs nuts.

We watched the husky's race (using carts with bike tires since no snow) The ice rinks were closed due to the warm weather.

 

[Molpet]

Those orps are hard to sex.. they are fryer size
You are yours are very busy..

My internet has been acting up.. I thought it was the old laptop and bought a new computer on"green Monday" nope .. but I needed a new computer anyway
I have had a rough time w/this hatch of 9 from the end of Nov...just the cx mix chicks! 2 were pure yellow and have been problem children...One I found in the coop and thought he was dead, but recovered when warmed up... then one was found limping and bloody beak.. then that one's leg swelled up 3x normal size.. then Thursday one was missing (not gimpy).. I had gone to town for maybe 3 hrs.. I looked for an hour before I found him.. in a partial roll of chicken wire leaning up against the coop.. he climbed up in-between the outside wrap and the main roll.. he was almost to the top.. hanging by his wings limp..
I couldn't revive him .. yes I removed that roll of wire..

 

[Faraday40]

Those orps are hard to sex.. they are fryer size
You are yours are very busy..

My internet has been acting up.. I thought it was the old laptop and bought a new computer on"green Monday" nope .. but I needed a new computer anyway
I have had a rough time w/this hatch of 9 from the end of Nov...just the cx mix chicks! 2 were pure yellow and have been problem children...One I found in the coop and thought he was dead, but recovered when warmed up... then one was found limping and bloody beak.. then that one's leg swelled up 3x normal size.. then Thursday one was missing (not gimpy).. I had gone to town for maybe 3 hrs.. I looked for an hour before I found him.. in a partial roll of chicken wire leaning up against the coop.. he climbed up in-between the outside wrap and the main roll.. he was almost to the top.. hanging by his wings limp..
I couldn't revive him .. yes I removed that roll of wire..

Oh No! That's a rough 2.5 weeks for those little chicks. Are yours free ranging outside? How many chicks do you have now?

I only had 2 hatch. The 3rd was fully formed but died while zipping because Mama kept leaving the nest & wandering off. To prevent further loss, I locked mama & her 2 chicks inside a cage. They're doing fine, and I now leave the cage door ajar. Because of the hawk killing my fav silkie, the flock has been locked up. The hawk often perches on top of the coop.... waiting. Sadly, a few of the pullets want to bully the 2 week old chicks (my guess is boredom), so the tiny family tends to stay inside the little cage. I normally take lots & lots of chick pics, but I've been so busy. By the time I remember to grab a camera, they're tucked under mommy & it's already dark outside.

Today was spent cleaning the house & making some cards. Hope to put up a few decorations tonight & maybe the tree tomorrow. DD is like my mom and wants to do it ALL! More decorations = more joy! I'm more relaxed about the whole thing & prefer to do the minimum. (Less work = less stress) I guess it skips a generation.

BTW- Congrats on the new computer!

 

[Molpet]

I have 8 left from the Sunday after Thanksgiving hatch
6 from the halloween hatch .. 2 are pullets
11 from the labor day hatch.. 6 are pullets (1 pullet is a house chicken from a hawk attack Oct 26th) ..
5 pullets from 4th of July hatch
15? pullets from incubated Mothers day and Easter and 1 cx mixed cockerel
and since I am adding up birds ... I think 14 hens and 4 roos .. I am losing count anymore
oh and 5 turkeys
So they get to free range in the poultry yard or they would be cramped.
I spend a lot of time outside waiting for the coopers hawk.. if the redtails are hunting the high powerlines next door the cooper stays away.. Never thought I would be glad to see the redtails LOL , but they haven't bother the chickens when there is no snow.. yet anyway..
My dog helps to keep the hawks away.. but he is allergic to corn and keeps eating chicken poop.. so now his ears are hurting and has itchy spots
If I run at the coopers hawk waving my arms he laughs at me...if I stalk him he leaves as quick as he can... I think someone else has chased him off.
I have been working on another 8x8 CP hoop coop .. I have two 8x8 and one 8 x 24
and I'll be selling some pullets come spring.

I don't put a tree up anymore .. makes life more simple just me and the critters and none of us care

 

[Faraday40]

Does anyone have ideas on how to keep a dog from eating chicken feed? (I can't make the opening to the run any smaller or else the big orp roo won't be able to fit through the door.) The dog is a 65lb mix but he's athletic & agile & somehow squeezes through the chicken door. I have multiple feeders but the one getting emptied 1st is the simple bowl. When that's gone, the dog tips the auto feeder. UGH! It holds 30 lbs of feed! I had over twice the number of chickens during the summer & went through far less feed. The dog is the best hawk deterrent we have, but I can't afford for him to get sick on top of doubling our feed bill.

The Coopers Hawk moved on (for now), but I don't let the flock out unless the dog &/or I are outside. I let them stay out for a little while yesterday. Boy did they have fun! They were literally "frolicking." Flapping wings & stretching them as far out as they could go! Also running top speed (which isn't too fast b/c they're orps) & then popping up off the ground. So much fun to see them out enjoying life.

 

[Faraday40]

Here's the winter broody & chicks.

The Mama & chicks went to school on Tuesday. I was asked to talk for the after-school Ag Club. Since I was going to school anyway, I stopped by DS's class before dismissal. My he's a popular boy! All the kids now want to come over here & play with baby chicks. LOL

I brought our silkie, her 2 chicks, a big orp, & our Dominique. Bubbles (the Dom) always steals the show with her Magic Psychic Chicken Act. The kids liked when the orp pooped on the floor and watching the chicks run after the silkie. The kids were very, very interested when they found out the eggs I brought were fertile. Several girls were holding them in their hands - trying to warm them up. LOL