Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

[Kris5902]

I have a strict *no children handling chickens without me there* policy. That way if anything happens I am strictly to blame & I can ensure the chickens are handled correctly & get put down if they start stressing. And I'm all for kids handling them ~ only learn to do it without everyone freaking out. I had 4 city kids not so long ago. Biggest animal they handled was guinea pigs but my broody was pretty docile so she was the one they got to cuddle & everyone got to collect an egg & hand out treats. Some of the new girls are much more skittish.

Agree completely, that is my system as well (I even expand it to adults! Only myself, and Andrew) but it’s a grey area on the farm here... the kid is more attentive to the chickens than anyone else, but when her friend is over they start to get “independent” and do whatever they want. There’s not much supervision, so I’m glad I’m now brooding up here (even with the 2am battery alarms), and that all my chickens, especially the boys, are about 3 kms away from the “farm area” proper. Doesn’t help this poor old girl at all, but at least the chickens I’ve committed to are safely isolated.

If I don’t have a house with heat by this coming winter, then I will have to move back to the city. I can understand the numbers, and our petrol bills, cost of storing our belongings in the city, and cell bills... we won’t be able to float another winter. Even with projected meat bird profits and Andrew picking up paying work at another Abbatoir. I have already figured out where all my chickens will be rehomed if that happens. Because, in all honesty I don’t feel that the Farm deserves to keep chickens.

 

[Ribh]

Agree completely, that is my system as well (I even expand it to adults! Only myself, and Andrew) but it’s a grey area on the farm here... the kid is more attentive to the chickens than anyone else, but when her friend is over they start to get “independent” and do whatever they want. There’s not much supervision, so I’m glad I’m now brooding up here (even with the 2am battery alarms), and that all my chickens, especially the boys, are about 3 kms away from the “farm area” proper. Doesn’t help this poor old girl at all, but at least the chickens I’ve committed to are safely isolated.

If I don’t have a house with heat by this coming winter, then I will have to move back to the city. I can understand the numbers, and our petrol bills, cost of storing our belongings in the city, and cell bills... we won’t be able to float another winter. Even with projected meat bird profits and Andrew picking up paying work at another Abbatoir. I have already figured out where all my chickens will be rehomed if that happens. Because, in all honesty I don’t feel that the Farm deserves to keep chickens.

Will you have a house? I know it can take so much longer when absolutely everything has to come across the water ~ & shoot up the costs! Even 1 good sized room with heat would work @ a pinch. We only had the living room floor down when we moved in & our kids used to run along the struts from room to room. They never fell which is pretty amazing. I know you want to stay so I hope it all works out.

 

[drumstick diva]

Hope you will have a house

 

[aart]

Well I’ve had a little hiccup again... I’m too embarrassed to put anything in the emergencies and disasters forum again.

I don't know why you'd be embarrassed....but also don't think you need to post there at this point, you've got this covered...you've BTDT, even got all the equipment and supplies. Treat the wound, watch her ambulation, go from there.
Bummer tho, dayum kids.

 

[Kris5902]

Thanks, @aart for your confidence in me, it really means a lot. She’s perky today, but still not bearing any weight on her left leg... I’ll watch her carefully and keep her here in the meantime. I’ll see if I can fatten her up some she’s just under 3lbs and has a fairly pronounced keelbone... someone is going on the chick starter mush and scrambled egg diet for a while.

Yesterday was pretty hard for me, sometimes it really feels like everything is just too much, especially with preventable injuries on top of things. We have this summer to get the house to lock up and get a wood stove in. Technically we aren’t allowed to live in it until it gets a final occupancy. But I can always just stick my cows and roosters along the road and we will see how far the building inspector can get his little hybrid car up our “driveway” in winter, aka “mud season”!

 

[Kris5902]

Oh and I do technically “have” a house... I just need to get the foundations done so we can put it up... that’s the part that’s so frustrating for me. Everything is just sitting around in the weather waiting for foundations that have been two years coming... which if I had been allowed to organize the build myself, I would have subcontracted to the construction firm on island to do, it’s a 1 week job for them. I had a quote.

There’s a whole bunch of burocracy involved, but basically as we don’t personally own the land, my husbands family does, we aren’t allowed to build on it. Only a legal owner can apply for a special “owner/builder permit”, so we were stuck going through his father. He wanted to do the foundations himself to “save us money” but he now refuses to work on them, he wasn’t building them to the engineers specs, he tried to put the house in the wrong place, it’s just been a nightmare. And if we suggest having someone else finish them he throws a fit and says he’ll tear it all out and fill in the excavation.

Thanks everyone for listening and being so supportive. It will get better. I just do what I can everyday, and hope for the best. I will find a way to make things work. Some days I just think I should have said forget convention and legal buildings, to heck with the government regulations on buildings, and built one of those illegal earthship houses out of recycling all the junk around here. (It would be cool to do!)

 

[Ribh]

Oh and I do technically “have” a house... I just need to get the foundations done so we can put it up... that’s the part that’s so frustrating for me. Everything is just sitting around in the weather waiting for foundations that have been two years coming... which if I had been allowed to organize the build myself, I would have subcontracted to the construction firm on island to do, it’s a 1 week job for them. I had a quote.

There’s a whole bunch of burocracy involved, but basically as we don’t personally own the land, my husbands family does, we aren’t allowed to build on it. Only a legal owner can apply for a special “owner/builder permit”, so we were stuck going through his father. He wanted to do the foundations himself to “save us money” but he now refuses to work on them, he wasn’t building them to the engineers specs, he tried to put the house in the wrong place, it’s just been a nightmare. And if we suggest having someone else finish them he throws a fit and says he’ll tear it all out and fill in the excavation.

Thanks everyone for listening and being so supportive. It will get better. I just do what I can everyday, and hope for the best. I will find a way to make things work. Some days I just think I should have said forget convention and legal buildings, to heck with the government regulations on buildings, and built one of those illegal earthship houses out of recycling all the junk around here. (It would be cool to do!)

Ooooh .... I love recycled houses! I am so sorry it's so tough & you might nudge FIL about money wasted if good building materials are rotting on the ground. He sounds a PITA.

 

[Kris5902]

I always thought it was supposed to be the mother in law that was hard to deal with, but we got on great. She was a wonderful person, although I wouldn’t have wanted to piss her off.

 

[Ribh]

I always thought it was supposed to be the mother in law that was hard to deal with, but we got on great. She was a wonderful person, although I wouldn’t have wanted to piss her off.

I got on great with my MIL too ~ though again not someone to piss off. She would've loved what we're doing just now & be so interested in the chickens.

 

[Kris5902]

So I’ve put Chickie Hawk up for the night with his new GF’s there was just one mating attempt, some more feathers flying, but they settled down quickly with the darkness. Which is a far cry from how most of their first meeting today went. I thought girls that squat, an enthusiastic boyo, things would go well, but no...

I’m going to say pissed off hens win over teenage angstie cockerel any day. Wow, the top hen was NOT impressed by him at all. She looked like an attacking Canada goose, spread wings charging him making this ungodly noise that was almost reptilian. She flared hackles, attacked with her claws in a full frontal assault, then mounted the poor guy with the help of two of her associates. He outweighs her three to one, but that didn’t stop her.

So it takes me about an hour to bang together a 2x2 integration box. During which poor Hawk was stuck in a crate. He’s acting far more gentlemanly now he was tidbitting, calling the girls... he just doesn’t get that they aren’t that into his affections. I think there is hope for him yet. Also hopefully, the new girls learn to roost and “chicken” soon.

Puffy, Bossy (formerly known as B****y) and their new friend are in the barn with the chicks, pending building of the rehab coop. That was slightly delayed today due to rain, chicken hormones, and the like. Oh, and the goats now have friends... there were 30 of them around the trailer, and I’m pretty sure we now have about 10 in permanent residence in our closest field. I think I will have to chase them out with the broom tomorrow. Oh, and goats and chickens get along just about the same as cows and chickens.