Maine

[suzMEchicks]

About noise: we took the grandkids to Smiling Hill Farm today.I couldn't believe how loud the Guinea Fowl were!chicken's version of screaming. There are some days mine are really loud for no reason. I run out expecting a brawl and they all look up innocently like What? Or I go to look in the nests. No one's working on an egg. Are they bored? Are they arguing? Is there a hawk in the sky? For my little group the R.I.R. are usually the ones who are squawking the loudest.
Yes summer is winding down.sigh.

 

[suzMEchicks]

Bucka: where did you get the blueberries? Picked?

 

[Cknldy]

Oh, don't talk about Summer winding down! It just started didn't it? The leaves have never changed so early in the year where I am. I don't have all of the summer building chores done and I'm not ready for Fall chores. Every year I say I'm going to stockpile for the chickens for Winter so it will look like I spent nothing extra and it seems every year it doesn't work out. This year the kids worked so hard helping me with farm stuff so I do have quite a bit of grit and the such. I really wanted to have raised beds put up so compost could be working in them over winter and be ready by Spring. The hog lot took over the time only to find out we aren't getting the hogs this year! Talk about one upset woman..the kids and I have been working hard on that lot but hey, at least when it is done anything can go in it Fall? I say bring back Summer weather for the last few months of Summer!

 

[buckabucka]

suz, - I got the blueberries in Washington, ME, from a guy who just works for himself. They are not organic, but are very clean (no leaves, stems, or green ones). He said he is trying to quickly fill all his orders, because the Asian fruit fly arrives on Thursday.

Cknldy, summer always goes too quickly. It is supposed to be rather cool next weekend (for August), but we may take one last camping trip anyway. I am in full panic mode about school (teaching) but rushing around doing everything non-school related instead.

 

[lazy gardener]

i now have 3 of the new girls laying.

 

[mlowen]

i now have 3 of the new girls laying.  

Yay! It's so exciting to watch them mature and come into lay.

 

[lazy gardener]

I sent my feather picking EE off to a sleep over along with 2 of my friends roos (both from my hatch) today! She'll get to visit with them for a couple of days before being invited to a barbecue. I'm hoping that with her gone, the missing feathers from her 4 victims will grow back. She had a fettish for the tender little feathers under the beak, as well as muffs and beards on the EE.

 

[buckabucka]

First real fight amongst the bachelors here today. One had a bloodied comb. He is fine, really, but was totally freaked out and terrified of the perpetrator. When I locked them up this evening, I watched for a long time to make sure they had settled down. It makes me nervous, because tomorrow morning I am leaving for a few days of camping. I hope the neighbor that will check their food and water does not find a blood bath and a pile of dead cockerels.

I did tell her to leave them confined to their pen. So far, their confinement days usually result in a lot of bored sleeping, while the days I let them out, there is a lot of running, chasing, chest-bumping and sparring. I'm crossing my fingers that they can coexist for 3 more days . After that I am home and able to pen offenders in isolation.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I'm in a similar situation here but the boys seem to be making each other limp, not bleed. The good news is it slows them from chasing women a bit.

I've started telling them how delicious they're going to be. It won't be long, now.

 

[buckabucka]

I had the limping going on last year. My cockerels are here until October 4th. They'll be 22 weeks then, which is a little earlier than they usually head to freezer camp. It may feel like a loooong fall, breaking up their battles, but I am always in favor of slowing time down. The cockerel that was bleeding is the only one I planned to keep, of course. It is quiet out there now, so I'm hoping he survives the weekend.