We did not have fun here last night. Hail up to nickel sized. Mowed down almost all of our sunflowers (which I picked and propped up to try to save). AND we lost a 30' tall maple tree. Thank God it hit nothing but grass. It was in the back of our acre lot near nothing but the back tree line and a creek. It didn't appear to even whack the closest trees. The pain will be getting rid of it little by little in our second trash bin! The main trunk will probably just be rolled back to the property line. If I had access to a commercial sized chipper, I'd chop it all up and put it in the chickenyard, @Leahs Mom !!! We can only rent a chipper that goes up to 4" diameter branches, and that will definitely not work for much of the tree.
DH's car was not in the garage, but since it's a 2001 Toyota, it actually and surprisingly was undamaged by the hail. I know it has thicker sheet metal than my 2010 Toyota does. We gotta get the chicks out of the garage sooner rather than later...
Our aggressive roo was culled today and is chillin' in brine to be eaten in a few days. He was a turd and got me yesterday after a break of many months, so that moved up his expiration date. I also started to cull my cockerel chicks, which I just detest doing. I have an ad on Craigslist and have mentioned them here, and still have the younger ones. Prices are down to $6 for a lav and $3 for a black/lav split Orp cockerel.
If anyone who has done business with me in the past wants a black split or lavender cockerel FREE, PM me.
I may also have just a few remaining Orp pullets available for sale, one half-English black/lav split, and a couple of 100% English black (possibly split) pullets. I love the way the full English black pullets look and may just keep them. They are really beautiful for their age. I also have an English blue pullet that is funny looking right now, but she's the youngest by a full week and in that half down, half feathered stage, while the others have their full wing feathers at least. I'm keeping the blue pullet for now. They are all Cogburn's kids with my three English blue hens. If anyone is interested, just PM me.
Our oldest Australorps are 5-1/2 and we already identified one that is not laying, and we suspect most have quit. One stays forever, Lillian, named after my late MIL. She was our "roo substitute" before we got into English Orps and just had a mixed hatchery flock of layers. We just love her and she stays until she dies a natural death. The rest are going to be tested individually to see if they are laying before they start molting. I think the old hens that look the best (untouched by roos, fat and glossy) are mostly non-laying, though they may just be bossy or clever enough to avoid the Jubilee roos who live with them. Those boys are slow, but they tag team and a hen is literally screwed if both boys are nearby and they can't outrun or outfly them.
I hope anyone near the even worse storms last night is OK! I hate hailstorms with a passion.
