Maine

[Cknldy]

Hey ash- are you sure we aren't psychically talking to one another? Haha! My last incubator hatch is due to come out on the 9th then I was going to turn it all off for the year. But dh says 'Why don't you stop collecting and let them sit? It's not like we NEED more eggs right now?' I stopped collecting from the ROs on the 23rd (except for the odd shaped eggs) and sure enough one of the girls went broody! Today is day 3 with her setting 20 eggs. I had to take 2 yesterday because the other girls keep adding to her clutch and she can't get them all under her. It was so funny because she had an egg on each side of her breasts with all of the others tucked under. When is the best time to move her and her clutch to separate quarters since there are 4 other girls that refuse to use the other nest box and 2 males in the coop. The broody kept trying to dust bathe after eating but a male kept trying to mate thus disturbing her so much that she went back to her eggs. First time broodiness for her and me...

 

[anyasmifya]

Good Afternoon Fellow Chicken Enthusiasts!

It's amazing how summer like it's been. It came so suddenly. I think we skipped spring altogether!

I am now keeping my chickens enclosed in what I have termed "Chickatraz" they seem to be handling the confinement pretty well. The run is huge!

Anyway, I was out this morning watering my squash, pumpkin and cucumber plants and noticed cucumber beetles on them. And some weird fly-like insect. Any ideas on what that may be? I am tempted to let the chickens in the garden but my plants are still small and I know that they will scratch up a bunch of them! So, without the use of my chickens How do you control the cucumber beetles? I do not want to use any pesticides. I have too many ponds near by. Thanks to whoever decides to respond. I appreciate it!

 

[lazy gardener]

Anya: Chasing cucumber beetles is a lesson in frustration.... the best time to get them is in the early morning when they are sluggish. After it heats up, catching them is difficult, because they are such fast little bugs. If they don't fly away, they drop into the soil and disappear. Last year, i hit them with Sevin, which is much more effective than Rotenone.

 

[VardoChicken]

Well, the 3 kids are about 2 1/2 weeks old now and growing like weeds! We've named them Rosie (the Riveted), Spot and Stella. We made them a HabiBrooder (like a HabiTrail cage for hamsters) with PVC coupling as they were getting a bit cramped in their single container. They now have a warm and a cool side and have worked out getting through the connector just fine. Except it took poor Stella a few tries (there's always one...) There's a dimmer switch to regulate heat and a thermometer just to be sure.

We bought them a few mirror bird toys and hung a ladder from the top for them to work on their roosting skills. They've learned that when the brooder top opens, good things happen - feeding, petting and mealworms! Those are a huge hit

They're just a little spoiled...

Here's their setup:

 

[quailtrail]

@VardoChicken like that setup!!!

 

[lazy gardener]

Sweet set up.

I'm hoping to make the acquaintance of Rocky Raccoon tonight. I just got the fence charged yesterday but didn't run it last night because the battery won't hold a charge. He's knocked down posts at the back of the run 3 nights in a row. Tonight, the fence will be charged. Running a battery charger attached to the battery attached to the fence. So, if he pays a visit in the run, he'll get a shocking experience. If he chooses plan B: a live trap baited with left over ham scraps, I have further plans in store for him.

 

[buckabucka]

Nice photo of the chick traveling through the connector!

Anya, I crush cucumber beetles by hand. Some get away, but I make it a daily chore when they arrive. It has helped a lot that I have the cucumber beetles in the hoop house. They fly up onto the plastic and I crush them. Also, check the undersides of leaves for their eggs and crush those too. I haven't even planted my cucumbers yet, so no bugs here. I hope to start them this weekend.
Have you ever tried Surround? It is clay powder that you mix with water and spray on the plants. It is ugly, but effective.

Good luck with your late hatch, ash! I don't have an official count yet, but somewhere between 15 and 20 of my 25 chicks are cockerels.

 

[quailtrail]

Sweet set up.

I'm hoping to make the acquaintance of Rocky Raccoon tonight.  I just got the fence charged yesterday but didn't run it last night because the battery won't hold a charge.  He's knocked down posts at the back of the run 3 nights in a row.  Tonight, the fence will be charged.  Running a battery charger attached to the battery attached to the fence.  So, if he pays a visit in the run, he'll get a shocking experience.  If he chooses plan B: a live trap baited with left over ham scraps, I have further plans in store for him. 

can't wait to hear which option he chooses

 

[quailtrail]

@buckabucka that stinks!!!!

@ashandvine what are you looking at incubating?

 

[VardoChicken]

@lazy gardener - good luck with fending off or catching that raccoon!

Not going to lie - I'm dreading the thought of my little chicks out in s coop on their own. Already told the DH that the coop we build is going to have to be Fort Knox before I let the chicks out there solo. I'm supposed to be getting 3 older girls from a friend who has agreed to care for them until we move into our new house. She said there's been a fox trying toget at them from under their coop. She has it pretty well fortified, but I can't help but wonder how they're faring.
I like the idea of the electric fencing. Any luck with motion-sensor lights, too? I've heard a perimeter of dog poo doesn't hurt, either...We sure have enough of the stuff with 3 big dogs!