Yes. When I HAD a broody, she molted at that time. Normal.Hey all! Is it normal for a hen rearing chicks to go through a molt or partial molt this time of year? My silkie mom looks all raggedy and is losing some downy feathers. I looked for lice and mites but saw nothing.
We put ours in ourselves. It's not as hard as you would think. We built dutch doors for the individual pens for our alpacas, so that we could close the top or bottom if needed. My husband used a reciprocating saw, ans cut out the wall at the door measurement, plus the trim width. He framed the opening with 2x4's. We went to Menards and got the metal trim pieces to go around. All you would have to get special besides the trim, would be metal barn screws, the kind with the rubber seal on them. It's intimidating looking at the side of a pole barn, not wanting to screw it up, but it's much easier than you would think. A lot cheaper to do yourself.
The green you see around the door on the inside is paint. It's actually all wood on the inside.
There was a window before we put in the doors. We sort of winged it. We went by the service door design that we already had in the barn, to install the new doors.
She is adorable!Ooohhhh those turkey poults are sooo cuteMy husband actually told me no for the first time (pertaining to poultry) and wouldn't let me get any at Rural King. Of course its partially my own fault, since our RK is now enforcing the 6 minimum rule, and I really don't need any more chicks at this exact point in time. I've gone from 8 to 36 in the last 4 months
. 12 out of 13 Easter Eggers hatching didn't help those numbers any lol. When I read reviews and posts about the new incubator I got, it said expect only a 25% hatch rate for the first time. I set 13 thinking I'd get between 3-6....oooooopsies.
Here is my Blondie who gets to stay no matter what it ends up being. My first hatch ever and was yellow instead of the usual chipmunk, I took that to mean it was special. Also (as if I needed another reason) It loves being held by me!!
I really like the fence, we are adding pastures too, and those will be hotwired. So far the only broodies here are geese and a Turken hen luckily.Hi All! I am running by for a quick visit! I started my new job last month and freaking love it! The only thing I don't love is the drive! An hour each way! I will be starting working from home one day a week this week and will eventually be able to go up to another work from home day a week. I got kind of used to being bored at my job and spending all day online, and I am now so busy at work I can't get on! I am just so happy I made the move to the new company.
My evenings have also been busy with seed/fertilizer spreading and a ton of new fencing! I did want to share the fence posts I use in case anyone was looking for a really nice looking/easy fencing solution. They are priced about the same as wood posts but are made out of a composite material that won't break or shatter, and they pound in like t-posts (but look like nice wood or pvc fencing). They are also self insulating so you can use them with electric fencing. They come in white, black, cedar or hickory colors. Pasture pro fence posts.
Picture from the site, I was too lazy to get pics of mine (mine are the hickory color)
In other news, I have three broodies that I am currently battling. Two silkied ameraucana and a bielefelder/isbar mix. Seriously, one of the reasons I wanted to get rid of those isbars is that they were so broody! I also caught about 10 of the girls fighting over eating an egg yesterday. So now I get to figure out how to retrofit some roll out nest boxes. Grrrrrrr. My only consolation is that it might also help with the broody issue. If they can't find any eggs they might give up!
Beautiful chickOoohhhh those turkey poults are sooo cute. 12 out of 13 Easter Eggers hatching didn't help those numbers any lol. When I read reviews and posts about the new incubator I got, it said expect only a 25% hatch rate for the first time. I set 13 thinking I'd get between 3-6....oooooopsies.
Here is my Blondie who gets to stay no matter what it ends up being. My first hatch ever and was yellow instead of the usual chipmunk, I took that to mean it was special
. Also (as if I needed another reason) It loves being held by me!!
I'm anxious to see how his/her feathers come in. I'm having the opposite problem with my DH. He told me a few days ago that he wants to raise turkeys next year. I was a little surprised. I didn't think he'd wanna see any more birds for a while, since every time I go to the feed store, I come home with more. 
Well, the coop has a floor lol...we are working on framing the walls this week. Everything is so behind schedule because of the weather we've had. I am so excited for all this sunshine! I'm also tying to get the garden planted. Cool weather veggies were planted in early March and growing nicely already. Time for my seedlings to go out today. :yiipchick I wish I could share pics. But my one year old shattered my phone this week. I guess if you put a phone in a mixing bowl and press on it, you magically lose the entire screen. It took no pressure at all. I will get some pics soon with DHs iPad. Oh and 6 Australorps followed me home last week....I have officially banned myself from any store that sells chicks. I have a problem...lol. I told my husband if we need feed, he HAS to go. He just laughed at me. I was serious! Lol!
Beautiful chick
Quote: Thanks Leahs Mom for digging this one up! We really need to do something with our dutch barn doors. Our barn builders made them, but they have never fit really well and are rather flimsy. We keep saying we need to redo them. I need to show these pics to my DH for inspiration!!
Well, the coop has a floor lol...we are working on framing the walls this week. Everything is so behind schedule because of the weather we've had. I am so excited for all this sunshine! I'm also tying to get the garden planted. Cool weather veggies were planted in early March and growing nicely already. Time for my seedlings to go out today.I wish I could share pics. But my one year old shattered my phone this week. I guess if you put a phone in a mixing bowl and press on it, you magically lose the entire screen. It took no pressure at all. I will get some pics soon with DHs iPad. Oh and 6 Australorps followed me home last week....I have officially banned myself from any store that sells chicks. I have a problem...lol. I told my husband if we need feed, he HAS to go. He just laughed at me. I was serious! Lol!
Quote: Turkeys are easy. Poults can be fragile the first 3 days, I will not sell any until they are past that stage, personally.
Quote: LOLNo kidding. @Greenthumb83 It depends on what you plan for, do you want a meat only breed, or a heritage turkey? Meat turkeys are broad breasted but will not reproduce. After 6 months old, they are huge, and the bone structure won't support the weight. Flip (heart attack) is common in them. Anyone getting a BB turkey needs to understand they wont live much beyond 6 months.
Heritage breeds will reproduce naturally. They live for years. here is a link from the Livestock conservancy:
https://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/resources/internal/heritage-turkey
