Illinois...

[Molpet]

For others who use it, is there any harm to soil / compost/ gardening that I should consider?

they say it will realise the nitrogen back into the garden.. a good thing

 

[Junibutt]

@Junibutt
Yes, I'd pull the tiny babies out. (the one getting beat up & a friend) You may try putting them in again in a couple days to a week, but for now, they need warmth, food, & water. My broodies are caring for the tiny chicks 1st & giving the little ones preferred treatment. Since the other chicks are 2 weeks older, I know they're OK. They already know how to eat & drink just fine.

Ok, it turns out that the yellowish brown chick was not the only one. any chick with yellow or brownish down became a target. I removed 6 of them. Remaining 4 chocolate or black chicks are with her and she does not have any problems with them. In fact they are riding on her back all the time. I am not sure how to explain it. All I can think is that since the 2 week old chicks are black cuckoo marans x orp chicks, she thinks the black/choc chicks are like them and the rest are someone else's chicks. It would be cruel but next time I hatch chicks with her I will give her eggs that would hatch both colors and see if she still discriminates or its just an adoption issue.

P.S. As for back riding, they climb the ladder and jump on to mom's back from there. She walks around with her legs bent (so the chicks won't fall) then goes back to the ladder where another one jumps on her back and knocks the first one off. I will try to make a video.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

That is HUGE! I have a friend that goes mushroom hunting and comes home with a side dish for dinner always. You could call him a mushroom expert, he knows what is edible and what will kill you.

 

[Junibutt]

BTW- The kids' fav chick "Grumpy" is still alive. It had its eyes closed & stopped eating/drinking. Yesterday it drank & ate a little, so by last night, it perked up. It's walking, peeping, eating, drinking, but probably still weaker than it should be. I honestly thought it would have perished by now, but DD's not giving up on it.

Maybe Mr/Ms. Grumpy inhaled something that did not go well with him. Any Cedar shavings around or peppermint oil? Either way glad he is feeling better. Has the other one's eye cleared out.

@chickendreams24 we got these eggs from Papa's Poultry

 

[cavemanrich]

Hi there!
We live in the western suburbs (St Charles) and are looking for some help. We have 3-4 Australorp chicks that we want to process this summer (a broody Orpington hatched them for us and we'll keep 1-2 for eggs). We have never processed a chicken before, but would like to learn how. Is there anyone or any place in the Chicagoland area that helps with this? I'm not even sure it's legal to do that in our backyard so I'm wondering if we'd need to transport them

It is not legal in Chicago to Process your own chickens, so peeps can take them to a few places that do it. The one in mind is Johns poultry. I have purchased live chickens from there before. I suggested it to someone else some time ago, and they were very satisfied . They had excess roosters and pretty many. The service was quick and they were on their way home after a short wait. These are pros that do this all day long. About 25 miles distance from St Charles. This link will take you to google map page.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/J...937d576d57beca!8m2!3d41.9235643!4d-87.7754291

 

[Faraday40]

We have decided not to breed choc orps next year, so we are looking for a new home for our dear Brick. I'd like him to go to someone who "wants" him - not just someone who will take him. He's a perfect little gentleman - definitely a lover not a fighter. I really enjoy this beautiful boy and I'm not in a rush to get rid of him. I just thought I'd put out the word & hopefully find a member of the Brick Fan Club who has some interest.

I also selfishly hope to find a BYC member's home so I may receive pictures & updates.
PM me if you want to know more about this wonderful rooster. (Double Barred Chocolate Cuckoo English Orpington)

Here he is on guard duty:

 

[Junibutt]

We have decided not to breed choc orps next year, so we are looking for a new home for our dear Brick. I'd like him to go to someone who "wants" him - not just someone who will take him. He's a perfect little gentleman - definitely a lover not a fighter. I really enjoy this beautiful boy and I'm not in a rush to get rid of him. I just thought I'd put out the word & hopefully find a member of the Brick Fan Club who has some interest.

I also selfishly hope to find a BYC member's home so I may receive pictures & updates.
PM me if you want to know more about this wonderful rooster. (Double Barred Chocolate Cuckoo English Orpington)View attachment 1052722
Here he is on guard duty:View attachment 1052723

Wow, he is a real beauty now. Maybe one of his black cuckoo (slpit to lav) sons will make you some lav cuckoos next year.

 

[Faraday40]

Wow, he is a real beauty now. Maybe one of his black cuckoo (slpit to lav) sons will make you some lav cuckoos next year.

Tempting. I actually don't have a single one left right now. Because they're male, I've been giving them away. Of course with Brick around, it wouldn't take much to hatch more.

I plan to keep one lav roo, and I happen to have 2 very gentle, beautiful ones to choose from. I would also like to keep a laced orp roo. If Grumpy fully recovers & turns out to be male, my decision is made. (No matter the gender, the kids will not allow me to rehome "Grumpy." He's the fav chick from your eggs & DD's fav is usually a male chick. He seems perfectly normal today. I'm wondering if he ate something. ) I have 2 blue laced, 2 silver laced, & 2 gold laced orps.

Then I have a great Appenzeller Spitzhauben: Drumsticks. He reminds me of Brick in a few ways: Gentle, has a group of females that follow him around, likes to strut, and is so handsome. I plan to sell him as part of a Spitz pair, but I'm enjoying watching him grow more beautiful each week. I suppose that's what reminds me most of Brick. The pics don't do them justice. He's just stunning!

Here's the female

 

[Faraday40]

Last week we picked about 7lbs of cherries from our bush. I just finished pitting & making all the pie filling today. So….. we went out to pick some more. Today’s haul was a total of 11 lbs!


The whole family is covered with cherry red splotches & splatters. We’re quite a sight! The kitchen looks like the scene of a horror movie. Fun day. Now I get to start pitting this new batch. More Fun! I think I’ll be buying an auto cherry pitter for next year.

 

[Molpet]

saber tooth groundhog... has been digging under neighbors shed and eating my lettuce .. neighbor had her son put out conibear traps and I was worried about my cats, so when an opportunity arose i took care of the problem.. or at least a couple so far... but this poor girl, she was in good shape , but I think she would have had major problems later.... never had nursed, but I think she was looking for a spot