Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

[BlueBaby]

Setting eggs for hatching at 3 pm on Friday! Everyone think “Marans like to lay lots of eggs on Thursdays and Fridays”

Have you kept daily egg laying record's on them to verify that?

 

[Ribh]

And for everyone who saw the fake moon (glare) in my Saturday sunset here she is at 6:30 in full daylight...

It was a very lovely fake blue moon...

chainsaw needed for sure”, it’s one of the tools I don’t use

I won't go anywhere near a chainsaw. Seen way too many injuries for comfort.

And quitting time, right before FIL showed up, so I was already leaving as he arrived.

Coming along; coming along. I can't wait to see the finished building!

last year this guy had (now bacon) a horrible mama pig, she squashed all but one of her babes and abandoned the survivor.

John used to work on a pig farm & tells a horrendous story of a big boar who went through the slats & how they got it out...Something to do with a long pole & a big thwack between the hind legs...

One more hatch before winter...? Brave woman!

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

So Monday I put “Roostie Roo” (Andrew wants to rename him Bob) into the hospital tractor for the evening, as I wanted to supervise his integration with the meat ladies to make sure everyone is safe and happy together. He spent much of yesterday in the “good rooster box” (renaming that too... positive reinforcement and all!) next to his prospective ladies. It was an entertaining walk from the hospital tractor to the meat girls tractor with him not exactly enjoying the ride and me needing both arms to carry/restrain him with Sammy trying to incite an incident, and dogging at my heels, but it worked out in the end! The girls seemed fairly receptive and he seems like a very well mannered boy.

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So at not quite full dark last night I went out with Andrew and we put him in with the ladies, and transferred the box to Goose for extra protection, she’s trying hard to make a comeback, and I did have one downed ranger girl that was able to stand again with a little TLC and a few weeks of rehab, so I’m going to give her a chance. As of this morning everything is looking good, he’s tidbitting for the girls, and seems polite. Of course they still outweigh him by about half again as much, so it could just be a good sense of self preservation.

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He is two days older than his girls at 22 weeks. I was surprised at how small he is for his weight, though he is nowhere near as heavy as the curvy girls, he’s easily more than double what even Mr Marans and Chickiehawk weigh! He’s got really thick legs and I’m super happy with my decision to save him from becoming “Roastie Roo” as his previous owner was going to eat him, then he thought of my attempted meat bird breeding program and decided to give him a few days grace.

Also on Monday when I picked him up I got to check out the other farmers set up, and see my Barnvelder boy “in action” herding his 30 ladies over to look for treats! He’s got a large free range set up with almost no predator protection, a 3 walled roosting spot, as well as a large fully enclosed run and rebuilt trailer as a grow out/meat bird area. I also got to see his pig set up which is combined with the free ranging birds (apparently the pigs will drive off eagles almost as well as dogs). I got some good ideas for what I would like to do in the future with some silvopasture and integrating different animal groups more effectively.

I’m snagging some coffee and a snack before heading down for my favorite chore, shoveling gravel! This time not for the road, but inside our house forms, so I’ll get some pics of those, as they are coming along well. Would be coming along better if anyone could stand to work with FIL, he’s supposed to be going to town today, so the coast should be clear for me to go use the shovel “incorrectly” (due to the old shoulder injury) at the site!

On the family front... Still not speaking with FIL, don’t have to deal with BIL (as he’s currently in prison for missing either a court date or a bail check in), not impressed at all with the treatment from the Aunts, and proposed a lease for at least the house area for our future security to Andrews cousin. That we are pushing forward, despite all common sense, can only mean one of two things; either Andrew and I are both completely insane and unintelligent, or we are far more committed to farming than we should be or is sane. Either way, I suppose by continuing to hatch chicks and procuring more roosters, I’m further committing myself to this place.

He is such a beautiful bird. His hackle feathers look crimped in that photo

I hope everything works out for you farm-wise. You guys are working so hard that you certainly deserve it! It's good to see that you have a method to deal with grumpy FIL

 

[Kris5902]

Do they really?

Have you kept daily egg laying record's on them to verify that?

Closest I come to a record on them is “I’ve sold three dozen eggs since my last Marans egg... so I’m due for some, please!” I’m going to be hatching out a bunch of “marsbars” (as the breeder I bought from describes the hybrid, don’t know if that’s an “official” term or not ) Marans/isbar Olive eggers by the looks of things. But I really wanted to add some more pure Marans this hatch... so far I have one egg. One. I’ve just given them a few mealy worms and words of encouragement (it’s sifting day but necessary, as they live under my coffee table and I’ve been putting it off for a while)

Fence is dealt with, and brakes are fixed on one of the Jeeps ONE working vehicle!!! Yay! Next up is some awning repair (duct tape, my beloved tool), getting my truck (it was returned a couple days ago but FIL needed it) to fetch some pond water for the chickens in buckets, because the water is still off at the farm. Then on to sausage making for the evening fun.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Closest I come to a record on them is “I’ve sold three dozen eggs since my last Marans egg... so I’m due for some, please!” I’m going to be hatching out a bunch of “marsbars” (as the breeder I bought from describes the hybrid, don’t know if that’s an “official” term or not ) Marans/isbar Olive eggers by the looks of things. But I really wanted to add some more pure Marans this hatch... so far I have one egg. One. I’ve just given them a few mealy worms and words of encouragement (it’s sifting day but necessary, as they live under my coffee table and I’ve been putting it off for a while)

Fence is dealt with, and brakes are fixed on one of the Jeeps ONE working vehicle!!! Yay! Next up is some awning repair (duct tape, my beloved tool), getting my truck (it was returned a couple days ago but FIL needed it) to fetch some pond water for the chickens in buckets, because the water is still off at the farm. Then on to sausage making for the evening fun.

I hope they start laying lots more for you Kris flThinking egg laying thoughts...)

I'm glad one of the jeeps is working.

How's you shoulder holding up?

 

[Kris5902]

I now have full range of motion with my right arm! I’m still babying it a little though, being extra careful with lifting, especially at and over chest high.

I may have spoken a little too soon about having a working Jeep I’m still hearing a rubbing noise and am now leaning towards some other sort of issue, maybe with the driveshaft or in one of those other “make the wheels turn” type parts. But we do have “my” truck back, so good news there!

We skipped out on the sausage making last night, because we still weren’t able to wash our dishes from last Saturday there will be bleach... because we need those pans for tomorrow! Also my back was busy reminding me most of yesterday that I’m not 20 anymore, and that I’ve never really been cut out for prolonged hard labor!

 

[Ribh]

I now have full range of motion with my right arm! I’m still babying it a little though, being extra careful with lifting, especially at and over chest high.

I may have spoken a little too soon about having a working Jeep I’m still hearing a rubbing noise and am now leaning towards some other sort of issue, maybe with the driveshaft or in one of those other “make the wheels turn” type parts. But we do have “my” truck back, so good news there!

We skipped out on the sausage making last night, because we still weren’t able to wash our dishes from last Saturday there will be bleach... because we need those pans for tomorrow! Also my back was busy reminding me most of yesterday that I’m not 20 anymore, and that I’ve never really been cut out for prolonged hard labor!

I hate unidentifiable car noises! I always imagine the worst... Any sort of physical exercise makes me cringe. The brain can gallop all day & all night but the body generally refuses to co~operate & insists it's older than Methuselah & needs lots of gentle coaxing to get up & go anywhere. Glad to hear the shoulder is doing so much better.

 

[aart]

I hate unidentifiable car noises!

IKR!?
Auditory Automotive Anxiety.

 

[Ribh]

IKR!?
Auditory Automotive Anxiety.

Definitely! The result of decades of driving old bombs around...

 

[Kris5902]

So I’m back and forth with my Hoppy. Some days she gets on fine with Sammy, Missy, Mrs B, and Croppy. Other days not so much. Last night she holed up under the barn and Andrew had to shoo her out with a very long 2x4. I was a little distraught at first when we returned from picking my mom up for dinner and couldn’t find her. We gave her treats and I placed her in a cat carrier and in the brooder with my August hatched chicks. Tonight she roosted right next to my little white devil boy, like she was high up on the pecking order.

By the sounds Mrs B was making at roosting time I’m beginning to think that chicken “baby brain” is contagious. The littles were doing their “locating peeps” to settle into bed and she started purring and clucking while closing her eyes up in response to them. Sammy has been particularly defensive of the barn in the morning, but I don’t know if that’s him trying to be paternal or just being a jerk. He’s not showing much paternal interest in the June hatch babies

What is it that @WhoDatChick is always saying about chickens and crazy!