Illinois...

[chickendreams24]

Jewel & her babies went out to the grass for the 1st time today. They're about 1 week old. I got a few pics but my lens kept fogging up! I gave the chickens some frozen berries. They loved them!

@Molpet Unlike the last white ones, this white poult has some color on its wing tips. Do you think it could be a royal palm? What about the browns? This batch is also growing faster. Could that mean Toms or could it be the rough start the others had? The last 2 looked diff. One big boned with wider head & the other more petite with an angular head shape. These 3 look the same in size/ head shape.


View attachment 1450479 View attachment 1450480Look! A 2-headed turkey! LOL
View attachment 1450481 View attachment 1450482


Also picked & processed a bunch of cherries. (My 3rd vat of pie filling this week)

Meanwhile, Cookie will be getting her chicks soon!

There are 22 eggs in the incubator- due tonight thru Sunday. Most will be purebred orps ( black, lav, & laced) but I added 4 EEs just for fun. I don't expect all to hatch.
+
5 eggs under her now - due on Mon-Tues (These were sort of an afterthought but close enough in age to be added together. Am I the only one who does this or is it common among hatch-a-holics? In my defense, they are laced orp eggs & I didn't want to just eat them!)

so far in the incubator I have:
2 early chicks - just hatched - an EE & a lav orp
10 pipped eggs
10 unpipped

The rp have black...
calico or sweetgrass have brown / blk. Which is what I think we are getting.. I have some pic of mine,but keep getting an error.. can't see what I am trying to load on the phone anyway lol

Okay got one to load of the oldest poults from the 19 th
View attachment 1450577

View attachment 1450588 Just now pic

Wow! Never had a mean hen like that. Mine mostly grumble at me & only halfheartedly peck when I'm really messing with their eggs - like candling by the 8th or 9th egg. I guess you'll need thick work gloves if you want to candle that nest!

My current turkeys are 2 weeks now:
View attachment 1456279

@chickendreams24 Do you have any recent pics of your turkeys? Do you think its a pair?

No recent pictures of my turkeys they're still doing great things have just been beyond busy here and I have no idea if they're a pair lol. They are seeming to get some little bits of color in. In the last week we have made/canned brandied cherries, strawberry and also red raspberry jam. We are planning to go pick more raspberries tomorrow and maybe check out the last of the strawberries of the season from our local u-pick place. We are also hoping to get mulberries this weekend if possible.

Other weekend projects include cleaning the coop and a lice treatment for the flock. Can the turkeys get treated too? I haven't seen any bugs on the juveniles/chicks but figure if I'm treating everyone else I better treat them too as the lice will look for somewhere to go. We have identified where the lice came from barn swallows built nests well disguised in our coops this spring and because they've never done this and we're always looking at the flock and not the ceiling we didn't notice. Ugh. Wish we could just treat all the wild birds too. We will be inspecting the swallow nests for chicks and then they will be removed and burned. Now we know in the future we must be aware that birds will try this. Actually being inside the coop is a new one for us.

If the budget allows we will be buying the new tin for the coop roof this weekend which I am super excited about!

Also will be making more jam, depending on what we have time to pick.

Groceries and regular running

Sunday is my nephew's birthday party 3 hours north so that will be fun but will really cut into our time for projects this weekend.

Anyone else feel like there's never enough time?

We ordered a box of cherries which should be coming in this week.

Oh shoot got distracted and forgot to finish oh well I'll send more tomorrow.

 

[Molpet]

lice treatment for the flock. Can the turkeys get treated too?

if it's safe for chicks the poults can have it too.
I put sulfur in the dust baths and that helps ... I had a flock of black birds in the spring that roosted in the trees and then a turkey had a louse.

 

[BReeder!]

Fresh quail eggs for breakfast. Thanks for the gift, Faraday40. Or two new chicks are doing well also. I just checked on them in their brooder.

 

[Faraday40]

We are planning to go pick more raspberries tomorrow and maybe check out the last of the strawberries of the season from our local u-pick place. We are also hoping to get mulberries this weekend if possible.

Anyone else feel like there's never enough time? ALWAYS!

We ordered a box of cherries which should be coming in this week..

Are you making your raspberry freezer jam again?? Did I ever tell you that's our favorite?.....hint....hint

Our raspberries are just starting. They're either a little late this year or the chickens are eating more than usual. Do you go to your grandma's house to pick? What do you use mulberries for? We get way too many here. Everything is stained purple in June, so we actually look forward to the end of mulberry season. Of course, the free chicken food is nice.

I was up 'til 10:30pm pitting cherries & making pie filling again. I have about 5 cups of cherries left to process then I'm done for the year. Our tree is all but empty. (We couldn't get to the top & by this point they're probably no longer good. DH couldn't take the heat, so the cherries were mostly picked by the kids.)

 

[Faraday40]

Fresh quail eggs for breakfast. Thanks for the gift, Faraday40. Or two new chicks are doing well also. I just checked on them in their brooder.

So glad you like the chicks.... and the quail eggs.

The quail eggs are more of a novelty. We have a bunch of hard-boiled quail eggs in the fridge for snacks. The shell is thin, so if you peel underwater, you can sometimes "pop" the egg out. The kids also like trading them at school. We get so many spring-summer & then nothing. They're great for all those times you need just a little more egg. However when we get too many, I just make a really big quail omelet. If I didn't have chickens, I think I'd keep & breed quail. However, I prefer the the big golden yolks of our chicken's eggs. I'm hoping for a big quail dinner this fall when they stop laying. I'd love to use the quail cage for future rabbits. LOL

Your lucky son will grow up knowing the taste of "real eggs". That's what our son calls them. However, it will forever spoil him for going out to breakfast at restaurants. (I'm sure you've read about our DS's egg tantrum. LOL) Kids have more sensitive taste buds, so they can really tell.

 

[BReeder!]

No recent pictures of my turkeys they're still doing great things have just been beyond busy here and I have no idea if they're a pair lol. They are seeming to get some little bits of color in. In the last week we have made/canned brandied cherries, strawberry and also red raspberry jam. We are planning to go pick more raspberries tomorrow and maybe check out the last of the strawberries of the season from our local u-pick place. We are also hoping to get mulberries this weekend if possible.

Other weekend projects include cleaning the coop and a lice treatment for the flock. Can the turkeys get treated too? I haven't seen any bugs on the juveniles/chicks but figure if I'm treating everyone else I better treat them too as the lice will look for somewhere to go. We have identified where the lice came from barn swallows built nests well disguised in our coops this spring and because they've never done this and we're always looking at the flock and not the ceiling we didn't notice. Ugh. Wish we could just treat all the wild birds too. We will be inspecting the swallow nests for chicks and then they will be removed and burned. Now we know in the future we must be aware that birds will try this. Actually being inside the coop is a new one for us.

If the budget allows we will be buying the new tin for the coop roof this weekend which I am super excited about!

Also will be making more jam, depending on what we have time to pick.

Groceries and regular running

Sunday is my nephew's birthday party 3 hours north so that will be fun but will really cut into our time for projects this weekend.

Anyone else feel like there's never enough time?

We ordered a box of cherries which should be coming in this week.

Oh shoot got distracted and forgot to finish oh well I'll send more tomorrow.

Where do you go picking? I was looking for a place and didn't have much luck finding one. I found plenty of junk yards in my search instead of farms. Lol

 

[chickendreams24]

No recent pictures of my turkeys they're still doing great things have just been beyond busy here and I have no idea if they're a pair lol. They are seeming to get some little bits of color in. In the last week we have made/canned brandied cherries, strawberry and also red raspberry jam. We are planning to go pick more raspberries tomorrow and maybe check out the last of the strawberries of the season from our local u-pick place. We are also hoping to get mulberries this weekend if possible.

Other weekend projects include cleaning the coop and a lice treatment for the flock. Can the turkeys get treated too? I haven't seen any bugs on the juveniles/chicks but figure if I'm treating everyone else I better treat them too as the lice will look for somewhere to go. We have identified where the lice came from barn swallows built nests well disguised in our coops this spring and because they've never done this and we're always looking at the flock and not the ceiling we didn't notice. Ugh. Wish we could just treat all the wild birds too. We will be inspecting the swallow nests for chicks and then they will be removed and burned. Now we know in the future we must be aware that birds will try this. Actually being inside the coop is a new one for us.

If the budget allows we will be buying the new tin for the coop roof this weekend which I am super excited about!

Also will be making more jam, depending on what we have time to pick.

Groceries and regular running

Sunday is my nephew's birthday party 3 hours north so that will be fun but will really cut into our time for projects this weekend.

Anyone else feel like there's never enough time?

We ordered a box of cherries which should be coming in this week.

Oh shoot got distracted and forgot to finish oh well I'll send more tomorrow.

if it's safe for chicks the poults can have it too.
I put sulfur in the dust baths and that helps ... I had a flock of black birds in the spring that roosted in the trees and then a turkey had a louse.

Yeah thankfully we caught the infestation quickly so it should be easily eradicated. I just want to make sure I don't miss any.

Are you making your raspberry freezer jam again?? Did I ever tell you that's our favorite?.....hint....hint

Our raspberries are just starting. They're either a little late this year or the chickens are eating more than usual. Do you go to your grandma's house to pick? What do you use mulberries for? We get way too many here. Everything is stained purple in June, so we actually look forward to the end of mulberry season. Of course, the free chicken food is nice.

I was up 'til 10:30pm pitting cherries & making pie filling again. I have about 5 cups of cherries left to process then I'm done for the year. Our tree is all but empty. (We couldn't get to the top & by this point they're probably no longer good. DH couldn't take the heat, so the cherries were mostly picked by the kids.)

So far I just eat and freeze the mulberries and the chickens get some too. I want to try jam this year and I have a great aunt that makes pies from them. DH2B doesn't like them particularly because he says usually the ones he tries are tasteless. I love the mulberries by Grandma's they're very flavorful. We do have mulberries around us too though.

Where do you go picking? I was looking for a place and didn't have much luck finding one. I found plenty of junk yards in my search instead of farms. Lol

Pick strawberries or raspberries? Strawberries are at a local farm but are now done for the year. The name of the farm is Skelly's (of course I'm in southern WI so you would have to decide if it's worth the drive- you can ask Faraday40 about that lol) we are also raising strawberries ourselves but our patch has repeatedly been decimated.

Raspberries we have wild blacks at our home that produce small but sweet berries. The reds are an extremely old variety that was on my Grandparents property 45 years ago when they bought it. I assume it's an extremely old variety because it's been there so long. Anyway in addition they have much fewer thorns than the blacks and any other variety I've seen. We are transplanting some canes from my Grandma's patch here this year.

@Faraday40 we actually canned raspberry jam this year for the first time and it's great maybe even better than the freezer jam. Also I promised DH2B I would ask you for your pickle recipe as he opened a jar the other day and has been devouring them lol.

Well last night the grass got mowed so my hay fever is a bit better. Thank the Lord. I've been miserable.

This morning the babies got a clean out and now we're doing running more later everyone.

Lots more to do.

 

[Molpet]

DH2B doesn't like them particularly because he says usually the ones he tries are tasteless. I love the mulberries by Grandma's they're very flavorful. We do have mulberries around us too though

I have a bunch and some are tastlest and are the last ones the chickens and coons eat.. 3 trees in the poultry yards and one is the one everything wants to eat, I shake a branch and they fight over it, shake the other tree and the run over and spit them out. 50' apart

 

[Faraday40]

@Faraday40 we actually canned raspberry jam this year for the first time and it's great maybe even better than the freezer jam. Also I promised DH2B I would ask you for your pickle recipe as he opened a jar the other day and has been devouring them lol.

Can't wait to try that jam! Maybe I'll bake the bread & you bring the jelly & PB.

We picked about 2cups of raspberries this afternoon. Only 1 cup made it into the house.
Of course as we were back there picking, the chickens were at our feet eating all the low & dropped ones. I also got exactly 2 blueberries today. It's a daily game of which family member gets there 1st.

I'm not really a pickle person and only eat a few per year. I make pickles b/c DH loves them & we always have a surplus of cucumbers. I think the trick is using fresh herbs like dill & garlic. Although you could eat them after a couple weeks, DH says they taste better with age. That's one reason why I give them out as Christmas gifts. I'll send the recipe later via PM. DS really, really likes fresh cucumbers. We grow several varieties & eat about 2-3 per day in season. They got in late this year, so probably another week before the 1st ones start. I have to get my chicken fence up ASAP. I saw a few tiny ones with peck marks! No cucumbers means NO Pickles. I hope that will inspire DH to help me out.

 

[BReeder!]

I saw one of my Brahmas leading on the ground on her side with one leg stretched out. I ran over thinking something was wrong. She doesn't up and ran away - I obviously scared her by running. She is acting normal now. Is this normal behavior? This is the first time I saw one of them do this, but everything chicken related is still new to me as this is still our first year with them.