Last year we had such a mild spring, was able to put the chicks out at a month with no heat at all, they were only partially feathered, but had been hardening them off during the day in a little pen outside, they did just fine. But the weather has been so darn fickle this year, it's summer one day and back to winter the next. Just use the heat accordingly, if they're shivering or huddling. Otherwise, try not to over do it.
Getting my 10 (2 boys, 8 girls) Buff one day old ducklings Tues or Wed, so excited! And they will all be NPIP certified. Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, would like to sell fertile eggs and hatch more to sell as well, and maybe in late summer sell some of the flock off. So keep your eyes peeled as we will definitely be offering them in all forms.
All of my Pekin eggs that I took away from the cannibals have died in shell, but I was expecting that as I didn't have a bator at the time. However, have one now, just got a little
Brinsea tabletop that does all the work, on day 3 now and it works great.
Brinsea had a special on them and with free shipping was cheaper than any other new ones. Gathered up 7 fertile Pekin eggs, and what I love about this little bator is I can shine my candling flashlight right through the plexi top and watch development without touching them. Very sweet! Nice too because it does the auto shutoff every day for cooling.
NOW HEAR THIS, and listen to this miracle, if it works! Pennies are good for more than sitting in a jar. Going to do a copper penny bartop, and was reading up on it. Know how much all of you adore slugs, but here's how to keep the little suckers off your plants. Take an old ball, any sturdy old ball, tennis, volley, bowling, better days gazer, what ever, take your gorilla glue or outdoor hardy glue of choice and glue those pennies all over it to cover. Set it next to the plants the slugs love most, and they will never come back. You can place as many as you want with absolutely no harm to your plants, unless you have hydrangeas. If you put one or two under the bush, it will turn all the flowers BLUE, pretty cool, huh? Bonus is the copper balls look nice, and you can put them on a pedestal, like an old chafing dish stand and can always find those at flea markets, or make one with birch branches.
Here's the real trick, and if this works, I am going to dress myself in pennies. BLACK FLIES, might have the cure, they adore me and I am so allergic to their bites, take months to get rid of the lumps they leave, and if they hit a lymph node, swell up like a ping pong ball. Take a zip loc bag, put 5 (seems to be the magic number, 5 only, no more no less) pennies, put them in the bag with a cup or so of water, zip it up and hang them all around from tree branches, fences whatever. It is supposed to chase the flies away, and if this is true, will be wearing bags around my neck for sure. Don't know how far apart to place them or anything, but for 5 lousy cents, will probably have them everywhere. Apparently it is an old trick used by dairy farmers in their milking barns. And they SAY that if you hang one by your front door, the flies won't follow anyone inside. Someone wrote that they took a trip to Israel, and all of the restaurants there have these bags hanging by all doors and windows to keep the flies out. If this all works, what a great natural solution without killing anything, just making them go to the neighbors for lunch.
If you want to shine your pennies before making your copper balls, just put them in a jar with some plain vinegar and a few pinches of salt, swirl them for a few seconds and then take them out onto an old rag or piece of towel, add some baking soda, and rub for a minute or so. Then rinse the pennies in water and leave out to dry. They will look like new and you can re-use the vinegar, just add a few pinches of salt each time. Don't know how long it will take them to re oxidize outdoors, but would imagine they would stay shiny for a while. Would guess you could rub the vinegar, salt and soda solution on the balls if you want to keep them shiny. You can copper penny just about anything flower pots, sculptures, bird baths, whatever. Think I can predict a penny shortage soon, get them while you can; Banks will sell you a box of $50 for face value, and if I can do my bar top for $50 and a few other little expenses, it will look like a million bucks! If you are going to cover a wall or shower or counter or anything in your home with pennies, the surface underneath should be painted black, it seems to be the best color to bring out the copper.
With you all in having prayers answered that the Boston massacre has ended, at least for the perpetrators. For those who were maimed, it will never be over. Let's just hope these guys did not have friends with the same intentions, and if they did, they can get it out of the guy they caught. What cowards, not terrorists, they were cowards. if you got something to say, use your words, not violence!
That RIR sounds like a total doll!
), carrots, parsnips, leeks, onions, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, corn, herbs, all sorts of stuff. It is a pretty huge undertaking. I definitely need more space for seedlings next year. Some are getting a little leggy. I hope my second planting of broccoli goes better than the first, almost all of which withered and died. 
