Illinois...

[Faraday40]

Just found this thread. I'm from Illinois (few min South of Champaign) Looks like I have a ton of reading to get caught up on this thread!!

 

[Faraday40]

Normally we don't let the birds out to free range until 8am. (Don't want the roosters crowing & waking anyone up.) Today we're still trying to figure out our new morning schedule with the kids back at school. The roosters need to stay inside the garage until 8am..... but the birds that spend the day in the chicken tractors can be led out at any time. So that's a chore I'd like the kids to do before school.

The broody hens & chicks go somewhat easily. If mama is gently guided, the chicks simply follow. The turkeys like to spend a few min flying around the yard while we take care of the chicks. Then we herd the turkeys into their own chicken tractor. Today the turkeys discovered the swing set.

It always surprises me just how well these big birds fly.

"Get the turkeys off the swing set" is just another one of the sentences I never thought I'd hear myself say.

 

[Molpet]

Normally we don't let the birds out to free range until 8am. (Don't want the roosters crowing & waking anyone up.) Today we're still trying to figure out our new morning schedule with the kids back at school. The roosters need to stay inside the garage until 8am..... but the birds that spend the day in the chicken tractors can be led out at any time. So that's a chore I'd like the kids to do before school.

The broody hens & chicks go somewhat easily. If mama is gently guided, the chicks simply follow. The turkeys like to spend a few min flying around the yard while we take care of the chicks. Then we herd the turkeys into their own chicken tractor. Today the turkeys discovered the swing set.
View attachment 1516916 View attachment 1516917 View attachment 1516918

It always surprises me just how well these big birds fly.

"Get the turkeys off the swing set" is just another one of the sentences I never thought I'd hear myself say.

LOL yep they start with the swing set and then it's the trees. I usually am out there an hour before sunset. Every time I am late they are up in the trees. I couldn't reach one with a 20' pole recently and she spent the night out .. I guess the owl didn't come by

 

[chickendreams24]

Just found this thread. I'm from Illinois (few min South of Champaign) Looks like I have a ton of reading to get caught up on this thread!!

Welcome to BYC and the Illinois thread!!

I'm not from Illinois but from very southern WI. I call this thread my BYC home.

Some people thought he was sweetgrass on FB
R2elk, who raises sweetgrass, thought he was a calico
he is handsome what ever he is
I am excited to see what comes out this year white poults and him.
The hen is brown
R2elk thought she was a



View attachment 1516868

I couldn't help but notice that last thought wasn't completed lol

Either way absolutely your tom is beautiful! I don't care if they're sweet grass or calicos actually I light prefer calicos I think so they don't breed true and I can have a variety! Lol I really love the looks of palms too.

Have you been on portersP rare heritage turkeys site lately they have a recessive slate and recessive lilac I think it is that are amazing!!! How cool would it he to have some of them. Wow I never knew turkeys were so cool and so diverse.

Uh oh I'm in trouble.

Normally we don't let the birds out to free range until 8am. (Don't want the roosters crowing & waking anyone up.) Today we're still trying to figure out our new morning schedule with the kids back at school. The roosters need to stay inside the garage until 8am..... but the birds that spend the day in the chicken tractors can be led out at any time. So that's a chore I'd like the kids to do before school.

The broody hens & chicks go somewhat easily. If mama is gently guided, the chicks simply follow. The turkeys like to spend a few min flying around the yard while we take care of the chicks. Then we herd the turkeys into their own chicken tractor. Today the turkeys discovered the swing set.
View attachment 1516916 View attachment 1516917 View attachment 1516918

It always surprises me just how well these big birds fly.

"Get the turkeys off the swing set" is just another one of the sentences I never thought I'd hear myself say.

Gotta love those sentences. They look great! I sure hope mine don't end up sleeping in the trees. I often see a huge owl here. I'd rather not clip their wings since I think it's important for them to be able to fly for predator escape and such. If I have to clip wings I will.

The one we think is male is already getting very big and is very strong!

 

[Molpet]

I couldn't help but notice that last thought wasn't completed lol

ha I just linked the post and didn't say hen may be Narragansett Semi-Color Semi Gray

so basically I don't know what I/we have

I can spend hours on porters calculator.. I am in trouble too....now I want a pair of everything

 

[chickendreams24]

Long night here last night as we were canning peaches with my Mom and Grandma until midnight. Still not done.

At least one more night maybe two.

Disappointed in the peaches this year. We layed them out like we do every year and within a couple days 1/3 to half were moldy and rotting(a few disintegrated) before even becoming ripe. Idk what was different this year.

That's a lot of money down the drain...

Okay not down the drain. What could be fed to the chickens was/is(they'll be getting a bucket of the skins we peeled off today). As for the rest of it all the worst ones went into the latest build DH2B has been making a black soldier fly compost bin.

For those that don't know black soldier fly are safer than maggots as their innards digest worse stuff and are said to even kill botchulism- although I wouldn't test it.(I'd have to ask DH2B about that again) they can take compost and break down what would take worms 3 months in I think the number is three weeks. They also are said to take 10 lbs of stuff down to 1 pound. They're self harvesting meaning they climb up out of the bin and fall into holes and down into a bucket. They are also something like 40% protein give or take.

They vomit up their entire digestive tract and pupate their skin before leaving the bin no muss no fuss and no rotten food in their systems or on them for the chickens to get sick from. As adults they don't sting or even bite they have no mouth parts.

They out compete flies and maggots and other insects producing a pheremone or enzyme that will drive the competition away.

This one is all DH2B and I'm glad he's getting involved and excited. Of course not all of the larva can be fed or the life cycle would end(also for reference this is a naturally occuring insect and will not become an invasive or anything)

At peak DH2B hopes that we can harvest 1-2 lbs of larva a day! Idk if the bin is big enough but we'll see. That's a lot of chicken food and I think will supplement our whole grain ration very well. Of course the system will either be shut down during winter or dh2D will find a way to overwinter it. The larva should be here this week as they've already shipped.

Some of you might remember creating an aquaponics trout system is also on our list of projects we want to do at some point the BSFL will also make perfect food for them.

The storms were pretty bad here last night. We got half an inch in the first wave. Idk how much total. We lost a lot of limbs I'm scared to see how our front trees look from the side the wind came from.

Narrowly escaped what could have been a horrible accident today. DH2B moved the canner and unknowingly bumped a knob on the stove turning on a burner under a cardboard box of peaches. Luckily I found it in time. No fire but it may have been as much as 1-2 hours! That's so scary. We are so careful about such things but he didn't know he had bumped it.

I can't even imagine it makes me sick.

Allergies are bad here today. I've lost my voice again. This is the second time in a month or so. It's never happened before and I hope it's just allergies. Tea and soup for me today.

 

[chickendreams24]

I'm thinking about contacting them for information about the recessive slates.

They're so amazing looking oh my gosh! If course I would have to keep them separate for breeding pure but I could do that.

I would probably wait until spring but I may contact them and see what they say. Such as requirements and such.

I don't believe turkeys are susceptible to chicken Marek's so it could be perfect.

We have space enough and I love to help rare breeds out.

I haven't figure out their turkey calculator at all yet sadly I hope to at some point.

 

[Molpet]

Disappointed in the peaches this year. We layed them out like we do every year and within a couple days 1/3 to half were moldy and rotting(a few disintegrated) before even becoming ripe. Idk what was different this year.

I have had issues with mold on garlic and onions , I think it has been too humid.

[QUOTE="chickendreams24, post: 20390356, member: 370927"

I haven't figure out their turkey calculator at all yet sadly I hope to at some point.[/QUOTE]

for the calculator you change the ones that are different and leave the rest as they are.
https://www.porterturkeys.com/turkeycolorcalculator.htm
If two sets are listed, the male is on the left, female on the right https://www.porterturkeys.com/phenotypesandgenotypes.htm

 

[cavemanrich]

I can spend hours on porters calculator.. I am in trouble too....now I want a pair of everything

You may be inclined to change your screen name to NOAH

Narrowly escaped what could have been a horrible accident today. DH2B moved the canner and unknowingly bumped a knob on the stove turning on a burner under a cardboard box of peaches. Luckily I found it in time. No fire but it may have been as much as 1-2 hours! That's so scary. We are so careful about such things but he didn't know he had bumped it.

I can't even imagine it makes me sick.

Allergies are bad here today. I've lost my voice again. This is the second time in a month or so. It's never happened before and I hope it's just allergies. Tea and soup for me today.

Soooooo glad tragedy avoided,,

 

[chickendreams24]

I have had issues with mold on garlic and onions , I think it has been too humid.

You may be inclined to change your screen name to NOAH


Soooooo glad tragedy avoided,,

Thank you I too am glad tragedy was avoided. I can't even imagine. The loss. Our home, our animals, my life.

I'm inclined to go buy like a hundred fire extinguishers and fill the house with them but I know that's a knee jerk reaction. LOL I have however decided we don't have enough and will be adding more.

Add to that I swear our coop got hit by lightning last night(but it may have been the irrigator behind the coop idk) and I'm feeling a bit on edge.

For future reference if the coop was on fire but not completely engulfed yet I am a crazy person and would run out and into my coop to try and save my birds. Idk if it would work and I probably wouldn't be able to get them all out but you better believe I'd throw the doors open and chuck as many as I could outside. Then I would worry about collecting the surviving birds later.
Thankfully we live about 1-2 miles from a fire station although it's volunteer they are quick to respond and all live locally.