Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

[rjohns39]

Morning Kris

 

[V Dutchuk]

So, yesterday I neglected all my poor little chickens... no cuddles for anyone, the boys knocked over their waterer at about 4:30... it didn’t get refilled until almost 7. There was a lot of foul language, it was windy, I got rained on a few times (the worst held off until just after we finished everything! I was so grateful for that as we finally had dinner), but it’s done. Chicken tractor #3 is complete! I’ve got all the materials for #4, but not enough hardware or tires. Chickie Hawk and the three rehab girls are outside and I almost got my brooder set up!

I have one of the large Eco-Glow brooders and love it!!
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Today, I still have to fix my solar, but I’ve got my inverter up and running in the barn as of 6 am today on a Deep Cycle marine battery. Heating plates went on, feed, water, bedding went in. I closed it up to make it smaller, and we drove down to the dock to meet the little float plane at 7:50. My chicks are here and all settled in! I still have tons to do, but they look ok. I'm prepping to bring them in the trailer overnight if it looks like there’s any heat problems. I don’t think the heating plates are doing as well in the barn as they did inside. But they are here for better or worse!

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I added two more heat plates (20’s and I have another 2 if needed as well) but am now having a well deserved coffee break! By 10 am I had already put in 4 hours of work... it’s going to be a loooong day for me, but I’m happy to have a start on this project

 

[Kris5902]

Morning Kris

Hi Bob glad to hear from you!
I will start out with the happy news today. We had to go to town yesterday, and I got to spend a lot of the day with and adorable little 18month old and his Mom and their Dog. Their car broke down and we gave them and their supplies a lift home with us.

We have a new little friend, it’s confirmed... I have a recycling frog I’ve been trying to relocate somewhere safer for about a week now, and it is most certainly the same frog. I keep picking him up and moving him somewhere safer, but he just keeps coming back! I hope it works out better for him than the last one... I found a poor little frog baked onto one of the lids for my tub about a month ago.

I got my first egg from the meat birds yesterday while we were out or this morning super early, I’m not exactly sure which, as we got in very late last night. So we may be moving on to phase two of the Red Ranger and CX breeding projects sooner than expected. But boy is it every tiny! Also got a shelless one this evening, so onto the layer mix it is for these big girls!

I am pleased to say I did not forget the preparation h for the chicken with the prolapse, she got a coating of theta this evening and I put it back in again. Tomorrow she will be getting a solid bath. The schedule got all messed up with yesterday being a full day in town.

I’ve opened up all the lower cabinets to let my cats hopefully take care of the rodents I’ve been seeing and hearing under the trailer, there are just too many holes where the plumbing and gas lines run in that invite rodent incursions in this RV.

 

[Kris5902]

To the less happy news... After a very bad day attempting to work in the Abbatoir today Andrew is very seriously looking at our options for returning to the city. I really don’t want to leave, as I love the chickens and farming and many of the people here. But if his family cannot learn to be civil and polite then we can’t stay. Today was quite awful. I left at noon with a panic attack, having started at 7, Andrew continued to work until 7. We got home shortly before midnight last night. We were up and working before 5am actually, setting the chickens up for the day and burying Whisper. Our first meal of the day was 8:30pm dinner.

I would like to give them a little longer to learn to be less demeaning and rude, but by then we may not have enough cash left to leave. It’s something we will have to discuss further. I can find homes for most of the chickens if needed, but I was just starting to have success with breeding and raising them for a profit.

Most of me wishes we hadn’t sold our house and left our successful careers for this. We sold for just under 1 million in September 2017, we had over half of that after the mortgage and all our debts (CC and Carpayment) were settled. now we have 20k that his aunt took from us “for the house” and no way to cover expenses for winter: gas for the vehicles and generators, propane, our storage locker and phones. I’ve got $130k worth of house parts piled on the ground and no foundation to put them on. We have a few months to figure out what we’re going to do. But our ex-roommate is willing to support and help us get back on our feet in a move back to the city if we need to.

Yesterday our town trip was to the Vet, I needed to put one of my cats down. They are 16, and his thyroid problem and kidney disease was getting the better of him. It being the right thing to to for him doesn’t make it any easier for me, and I will always feel that I failed him horribly in the last two years. He relied on me to keep him safe and properly fed, housed, and medicated. At least he got to spend his last two months with us again, even if our trailer is barely fit for habitation. Here are some pictures of him from Happeir times.

I just wanted to say thank you all again for being a part of this site and all the support and compassion you have shown me. You’ve become dear friends and I do hope I can find a way to continue to farm and keep my chickens.

 

[BlueBaby]

@Kris5902 I wish you luck in whatever that you feel is the best thing for you to do. Life is short, and you need to be able to enjoy what you can of it without suffocation. I understand what you are going through. Move if you have to, and then eventually get your own land where no one else can tell you what you can or cannot do.

 

[drumstick diva]

OH Kris

 

[rjohns39]

Morning Kris

I'm so sorry that you're going through this and about your cat

 

[BY Bob]

To the less happy news... After a very bad day attempting to work in the Abbatoir today Andrew is very seriously looking at our options for returning to the city. I really don’t want to leave, as I love the chickens and farming and many of the people here. But if his family cannot learn to be civil and polite then we can’t stay. Today was quite awful. I left at noon with a panic attack, having started at 7, Andrew continued to work until 7. We got home shortly before midnight last night. We were up and working before 5am actually, setting the chickens up for the day and burying Whisper. Our first meal of the day was 8:30pm dinner.

I would like to give them a little longer to learn to be less demeaning and rude, but by then we may not have enough cash left to leave. It’s something we will have to discuss further. I can find homes for most of the chickens if needed, but I was just starting to have success with breeding and raising them for a profit.

Most of me wishes we hadn’t sold our house and left our successful careers for this. We sold for just under 1 million in September 2017, we had over half of that after the mortgage and all our debts (CC and Carpayment) were settled. now we have 20k that his aunt took from us “for the house” and no way to cover expenses for winter: gas for the vehicles and generators, propane, our storage locker and phones. I’ve got $130k worth of house parts piled on the ground and no foundation to put them on. We have a few months to figure out what we’re going to do. But our ex-roommate is willing to support and help us get back on our feet in a move back to the city if we need to.

Yesterday our town trip was to the Vet, I needed to put one of my cats down. They are 16, and his thyroid problem and kidney disease was getting the better of him. It being the right thing to to for him doesn’t make it any easier for me, and I will always feel that I failed him horribly in the last two years. He relied on me to keep him safe and properly fed, housed, and medicated. At least he got to spend his last two months with us again, even if our trailer is barely fit for habitation. Here are some pictures of him from Happeir times.

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I just wanted to say thank you all again for being a part of this site and all the support and compassion you have shown me. You’ve become dear friends and I do hope I can find a way to continue to farm and keep my chickens.

I am so sorry about your kitty. I had to put down my cat, Dr. Zoidberg, last year. I understand how you feel.

Please, please, please remember that you don't need to have chickens to visit with us on the web. I really feel it all works out for the best, whatever that winds up being.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

It’s just not the same as the feel of a real book... I do also read online, but prefer hard copies

I know what you mean. I have 5 bookcases full, and some in a box. I need to buy another bookcase.

I too prefer hard copies. My bookcases are jammed to overflowing...

I agree. It's the feel and smell of a book that can't be replaced.
We've run out of wall space for bookcases...

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I’m going to go on yet another little rant here. I am quite annoyed. Last year when we picked up replacement layers, as the farm chickens were dropping like flies, we were sent to this farm up island on Vancouver Island, for ten birds. We were told to buy 8 hy-line reds and that I could pick out two “heritage” breeds which actually turned out to be a selection of less high production hybrids. The chickens all had horribly trimmed beaks, but were otherwise in decent condition.

Well the outdoor coop/mud pit wasn’t secure, chainlink doesn’t stop a raccoon from reaching in and tearing a head off, and we lost one of the two Columbian Rocks. No plans to fix the issue, and it had happened the previous fall as well with one of the red layers that were in there, prompting them to be moved to inside the coop of doom. Armed with my newfound chicken knowledge from this site I bought a roll of hardware cloth and proceeded to wrap the heck out of the run, so far no more losses.

So I’ve slowly brought these girls up and into chicken tractors, been treating the lice, SLM, and various reproductive issues in the older hens, the prolapse and crop issues are in those “new” layers. Key point is: NO ONE THERE WANTS TO DEAL WITH CARING FOR THE CHICKENS! Literally, as in it has been said out loud, “chickens are disgusting” “I hate chickens, but eggs are too expensive”. So... I’ve been buying all the feed, caring for the birds and bringing them all their eggs, nicely cleaned, with no compensation. Andrew and I have barely been eating eggs (just the damaged ones) mostly because our kitchen situation sucks, and I’m always sold out at the market now.

So good news is I’ve finally been given permission to treat the remaining 3 SLM girls in the coop of doom chemically to deal with the mites. The girls have all been on a 50/50 layer/whole wheat mix, not enough protein for their molt, and they are tiny 2-3lbs mostly with patchy feathers and have troubles eating due to their beaks. They could only buy the red chickens (real chickens, not my fancy pretend chickens I hatched with their weird colored eggs) last year because they are $17 and other breeds are too expensive, so that’s what I’ve rescued from them. And, you all know how I’m trying to start a DP sustainable meat breeding program (2lb layers are not a great place to start!)?

Well they “have” to have chickens down at the farm by the house, because “that’s where they have always been”. They went out and bought six more chickens! Nice chunky, I don’t exactly know what breed, maybe bifielder (spelling!) crosses. They are large, healthy, barred, with crests, and not de-beaked! Would be great to breed with, except of course for their “no roosters near the house because they are mean and loud” rule and the we have to have chickens here even though no one wants to actually care for them. Oh and BTW, they paid $25 each for them (really a great deal) regular price is $45, but the sellers (just like the Farm Owners here) are leaving for a vacation and need to move out their stock.

Thanks for listening and sorry for the rant... it just makes me so angry and frustrated. Basically Don’t get chickens unless you actually want them and are prepared to care for them! And they need food and water, and put up for the night, and let out in the morning every day. It isn’t fair to lock them up in a dark filthy mite infested coop their whole lives where they never see daylight or grass.

How exasperating and infuriating!

I don't follow their logic (or lack thereof) at all..