Mahonri's 3rd Annual, BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[emvickrey]

I haven't had a boring day. I rarely do. Today was moving day for my MIL. She went to the nursing home today. She lived with me. So with the 100+ children, grandchildren and inlaws It was me and one of her daughters that handled it all. I get the honors of sorting thru all of her stuff and deciding what goes to goodwill, what to store for her and whats trash. I called all the hospital equipment places to pick up her stuff. But first thing this morning I had to get her packed and ready to go and got called early to take her. The insurance insisted on a chest xray before she was admitted in the nursing home so I had to get her there and standing up long enough for them to take pics. Which is a feat in it's self. Then to the nursing home and unpacked and put away her things. I came home and checked on my chickens and found one of my favorite roosters dead. After dealing wtih all that I got to get started on clearing out one of her dressers because somebody was suppose to come get it and after I emptied it and moved it out of her room they decided they would come tomorrow.

I managed to sort most of her cloths and ran another check on the chickens. I got some eggs packed away, played a little farmville and i'm back on here. It's 11:44pm here now and i'm thinking about seeing if I can find my kitchen sink. I know it's in there somewhere under those dishes.

I won't be bored tomorrow either. I have to make another trip to the nursing home and a doc appt for myself which usually is an all day ordeal. A trip to the post office again, a trip to the grocery store. Of course tend to my feathered friends and hopefully i'll get to visit with them a while. I could go on and on.

I'm never bored. So if your bored come on over. I have lots of work to be done and sure could use some help.

 

[Grumpypantsmomma]

Sorry couldn't resist after seeing others canceling pics, mine are blurry and I need a much better candler but the little red c shaped thing is my little alien chick, i actually could see its little heart beating. WOW! I have done plenty of canceling in my last few hatches but this is the first time i could actually see the body and little heart beat. all my other chicks this early alls i could see were vein. much tinier then the pic makes it look.


hope to get better pics when i Find the real candler my kids got ahold of!

 

[cowchick11]

Here is my photo with my 26 eggs! Taken on the 18th, whatever day that was.

 

[Pinx]

I had a lot of catching up to do! The hawk pictures are amazing, I honestly wouldn't have been in the right mind to think about not killing it... it would have been an after thought.

After reading that exploding eggs take longer to blow then I thought I have settled down quite a bit. I candled all my bantam eggs again tonight (12 days left for me!) for my 7 year old son and 2 year old nephew to see. 3/4 of the bantam eggs had the little floating black dot. My husband and brother in law were just as amazed as the kids I think lol. The other eggs I could see faint to prominent veins, but no black dot so there is still hope for them? maybe...

Then there was one egg that looked completely different then the rest.. I think that one might be bad. I tried again with my large eggs and couldn't see a thing. I wish I could. I really need to invest in a better light. Oh and out of the 5 eggs that were from my hens (their first eggs) and set later then the rest, I can see veins in 3 of them. The 2 that were set the 17th I can't see anything yet but I still have hope. I'm so excited. I was so worried that I would kill them all before I got halfway through the hatch and I haven't!

I was not bored at all today either. My hubby finished partitioning off my coop for the 27 chicks and 5 ducklings that have outgrown their brooder. They were so happy to have more room, the ducks were zooming around everywhere and a couple of the chicks were squaring off with each other. They still have yet to venture further then the 1/4 of the coop they started in. I bet it is pretty intimidating going from the brooder that was getting pretty cramped to that big ol' room. They still have their heat lamp and they were comfy as could be when I went out to check last. Got my eggs candled, drooled over Seramas off and on all day (I want some bad!), house cleaned, son did his home schooling, figured out my Doberman is coming into heat again

, horses fed and a blanket put on my old gelding because the temps are dropping and we might have snow tomorrow

, and brought my sister over to the dark side... she wants a duck!

Though I haven't done near as much as some of you have today. I could never be superwoman... I like my down time lol. Ok I'm going to bed. Can't wait to catch up on the pages of posts that will be waiting for me in the morning lol.

 

[SunnyDawn]

OK here's a story for any other insomniacs up late. I found this online so some of you have probably already seen it. Anyway...

WHY WE SHOOT DEER ​

Why we shoot deer in the wild. (A letter from someone who wants to remain anonymous, who farms, writes well and actually tried this) ​

I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its
head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home. ​

I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up - 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. ​

The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it, it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope, and then received an education. ​

The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. ​

That deer EXPLODED. ​

The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer-- no Chance. That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals. ​

A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. ​

I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. ​

Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I
didn't want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand....kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back. ​

Did you know that deer bite? ​

They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when ...... I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and slide off to then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its
head--almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts. ​

The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective. ​

It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left
hand and pulled that rope loose. ​

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day. ​

Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp ... I learned a long time ago that, when an animal - like a horse - strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape. ​

This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the
back of the head. ​

Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.. ​

Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. ​

I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope......to sort of even the odds!! ​

All these events are true so help me God... An Educated Farmer ​

 

[AK Michelle]

Mia is home, after a long flight from Minneapolis, and I couldn't be happier!

 

[kathyinmo]

OK here's a story for any other insomniacs up late. I found this online so some of you have probably already seen it. Anyway...

WHY WE SHOOT DEER

Why we shoot deer in the wild. (A letter from someone who wants to remain anonymous, who farms, writes well and actually tried this)

All these events are true so help me God... An Educated Farmer

Oh my gosh......... I am laughing out loud and have tears.
That is hilarious!

 

[Mahonri]

Congrats on the gorgeous pup Michelle.

And SunnyD... years ago my dad sent me that deer story. I remember the first time I read it I had tears streaming down my face from laughter. Thanks for the memory.

Seriously, I was asleep. Well, she called again, I got up to check bator temps, put on some more silvadene and of course I had to check the thread. I can see we've slowed down a little since Saturday and Sunday. I can actually catch up in the time it would take a deer to attack me.

 

[kathyinmo]

Mia is home, after a long flight from Minneapolis, and I couldn't be happier!

Sweeeeeeet ! ! Congratulations!

 

[wolftracks]

OK here's a story for any other insomniacs up late. I found this online so some of you have probably already seen it. Anyway...

WHY WE SHOOT DEER ​

Why we shoot deer in the wild. (A letter from someone who wants to remain anonymous, who farms, writes well and actually tried this) ​

I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its
head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home. ​

I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up - 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. ​

The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it, it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope, and then received an education. ​

The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. ​

That deer EXPLODED. ​

The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer-- no Chance. That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals. ​

A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. ​

I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. ​

Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I
didn't want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand....kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back. ​

Did you know that deer bite? ​

They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when ...... I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and slide off to then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its
head--almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts. ​

The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective. ​

It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left
hand and pulled that rope loose. ​

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day. ​

Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp ... I learned a long time ago that, when an animal - like a horse - strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape. ​

This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the
back of the head. ​

Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.. ​

Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. ​

I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope......to sort of even the odds!! ​

All these events are true so help me God... An Educated Farmer ​

​

Last time you posted this I put it on my FB. I love it.