"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[Melnic]

I posted the wrong picture. This one shows how long it was.

oh my! Looks like you got there just in time!

 

[LemonMeringue]

oh my! Looks like you got there just in time!

Yes! I yelled to him there was a big snake and my girl helped get the babies outside. Nasty snake peed on me while I was pulling on its back end!!!

It had gone partway through the wire into one of the coop stalls. He went in and got it by the head. I'm so glad he was here and we were outside! I often put the babies down to play like that because they enjoy it and they get to socialize with the adults too. But if its just a regular day I leave them for a couple of hrs before checking on them. Yikes!

 

[MamaKitty913]

Yes! I yelled to him there was a big snake and my girl helped get the babies outside. Nasty snake peed on me while I was pulling on its back end!!!

It had gone partway through the wire into one of the coop stalls. He went in and got it by the head. I'm so glad he was here and we were outside! I often put the babies down to play like that because they enjoy it and they get to socialize with the adults too. But if its just a regular day I leave them for a couple of hrs before checking on them. Yikes!

I probably would have peed him first

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Our snake drama from Monday. We saw a small garter snake, then a green racer in the tree. No big deal, they were small. We were working on the pergola in front of the chicken barn. I had set down the black Cochin juvies to play inside the barn on the floor. They love to dust bathe in the sand. After a little bit I decided to go check on them. And this is what I came in to! 3 ft way from the babies. I freaked! We killed it and he was dinner. Along with spaghetti squash casserole. Don't mess with my chicks or broody hens!!!!!

did he taste like chicken?

 

[LemonMeringue]

did he taste like chicken?

He did indeed taste a lot like chicken......with a little fish thrown in.

The cat kept trying to steal it out of my hand since we were eating outside! Lol

 

[1zooman12]

Hello Lemon Meringue,
I read with a great deal of interest your saga of the herpetologist's dream in your arena. In looking at the photo it is too small and the shading is such that I could not identify the specimen you folks had for dinner. So what species was it that graced your property and do you opine that it was a hazard to your chicks? An enquiring mind would like to know…
About 3 month's back on a warm sunny day, I was sitting near my eastern property line in a chicken pen filling in an almost escape hole when up from the neighbor's creek bed came a slithering citizen of some magnitude, about 2.5 ft in length, that is, and as it approached me I realized that it was a California Garter Snake. Maintaining it's land cruising speed it came through the property fence, crossed the small gap to the chicken pen fence and actually entered my lap! Of course, I intercepted its travel and held it up for inspection and despite snakes being deaf I, nonetheless, welcomed it. For a wild critter of the reptile ilk it surprised me by being docile and did not attempt to bite nor to empty its chemical repellent from its anal glands. Nor did it struggle to get away. We had a nice sojourn. I put it on the ground beside me and it slithered away as if nothing unusual had occurred. Have not seen it since. A visit like that does not occur but once in a life's time and it took 76 years at that! A moment like that is a rather pleasant experience; and I can tell you that that character far exceeded the quality that I sometimes get at my homestead! What say you?
Ain't chicken farming a grand adventure?
Sincerely,
Neal, the Zooman

 

[lakones]

Well, it was a chicken kind of weekend I guess. We moved the 4 week old blrw chicks out to the mini-coop in the backyard and the 1 week old cuckoo marans got moved to the bigger brooder box. Started working with the campines to see if they will free range with the rest of the flock...BAD idea!!! The buff cockerel would have none of that!!! The buff jumped the campine and in the end the campine had a pretty good cut on his ear lobe. Argggggg........ Treated and separated him for the night, he got to go back to his girls yesterday.
I had a load of sand dropped off last week so I mixed some of it in with the pine shavings to dry things out a bit. I'm not sure that I want to use it over the whole run though. It is river sand, aka fill sand, that does have small rock particles and such, but it seems a bit fine for them to be on all the time. Although they are liking it for dust baths and naps while free ranging.
We got some very agitating black gnats this weekend. The white Araucana looked like she had jumping polka dots. I mixed some vanilla extract and water and gave the coop a good spraying a couple times a day. That at least seemed to stop them for a while. Too much water around here, guess it makes good breeding for gnats because we generally do not have a problem with them.
I read an article about sexing the cuckoos and , if f it's correct, it looks like I have 8 girls and 2 boys. Yay! It's based on the color of the front of the leg shank. Darker line down the front of the shank = girl, light colored leg shanks all the way around = boy. The will tell...
Ok, last thing, I use herbs and flowers as natural pest control in my gardens and have been reading about the benefits for the chickens. Any experience here? What I have in the gardens is Oregon, purple basil, chives, Rosemary, marigolds, etc...

Sorry for the long post...

 

[timbowsr]

On the FB south La.pages. You have to join them but I saw them there. You could list a ISO add. Pam

We were able to find a breeder about an hour away from home, around Iowa. Returned yesterday afternoon with a dozen healthy little Delawares!! My wife and daughter live on facebook, but it never dawned on us to look there. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[LindaB220]

Just throwing out there I am done hatching and have eggs available can ship eggs, or hatch by order and picked up. I have not seen anyone with games here but if u may know somebody I'm in st Tammany

Wow, with those pictures, you need to be on the sell threads. Lovely birds.

 

[LindaB220]

Now thats a

. Chicken math is a disease is spring. I need a 12 step program. LMAO!!! Jam looks yummy but I'm to busy with math! Pam

Pam, I'm loving the Genesis 1588 I bought. Two clears (besides a few darks I can't candle and the rest of the 40 are growing and perking. WHAT am I gonna do with that many? Handyman will not come to help finish the growout pen. It looks like I'm gonna have to put a tarp over it instead of tin and rig it up myself. It's 3' x 12' and will hold them fine for a couple of months. The only door was 1/4" particle board that rotted and broke off. This is the new pen I bought through CL last year. When Clint brought it home for me I found out that the hardware cloth was actually green mesh cloth. It worked ok for the 4+ week olds last year but now I think I'll have to change to a better door and put fencing around the mesh. I'll have them in the storeroom for the first week. With the door open. It's not insulated and will be hot. I may have to put them out in the daytime under the trees. A lot to move, but it's temporary. SIL Clint is about to have a stroke about me getting MORE chickens. He had to feed and water the others while I was gone the three weeks. I've taken back over now that I'm home. Getting better every day. Not easy and still painful but, you know, what can't be cured must be indured. Dr cut my pain pills back and lowered the strength. Sigh. But I'm still out shoveling holes in the coop. It's doable.Clint just about died when I told him I wanted him to hold the big roosters so I can remove the thingys with the pliers. My 2 poor hens in with the new rooster. He's not nimble enough yet and they are a wreck. The two year old rooster is a dream. None of the girls have any nicks or lost feathers. He coos to them at feeding time and stands back while they eat. The young one hasn't learned yet. They are both my quality white rocks so I may not keep the 2nd one if I have some good new ones coming.