Maine

[superchemicalgirl]

As soon as you see him start to do the deed (and efficiently... mine tend to "fall off" the first few weeks) you should get fertile eggs. Personally I'd wait a few months for the pullet eggs to get bigger, but that's my choice and hatching pullet eggs is not "wrong."

 

[ashandvine]

Quick Emergency questions:
I went to check on my broody and throw her out for a few minutes. I bought 12 Maran eggs. My son broke two accidentally. 12-2=10. There are only 7 in there! What's more, we put four lav lavs in there and there are like... 6 now. I don't see Maran eggs or shells ANYWHERE. What the heck?? I know the other lav has snuck in there the last couple days for sure now. What do you think I should do?

Can I candle them all at this point or is it too late and I need to leave them alone?? They are due to start hatching this weekend.

I know, I know. I meant to move her this weekend to her own spot. I got some very upsetting news and its totally thrown me into zombie mode. I am sorry. I want to know which ones are the most recent so I can just throw them in the frig... or incubator I guess. I have never done this and while the net has great pics I need to know if I SHOULD, and then build something, still make it to this function at the kids school, all the regular night time routines and find/build a broody box for this hen so no more sneaky losses or gains happen.

 

[Widget]

Even with all the heavy downpours from yesterday my hoop house pen made it through without any issues.

The chicken wire supported the tarp with no sagging. Not that it was bone dry around the edges but now I know my design does work.

Now on to designing the top to the old dog kennel. I think I can make a slanted roof with the help of pvc pipes, wire and tarps. That way rain can just run off and I can have a bit more head room than i do in the hoop house run.

All this why I am impatiently waiting for Apple to have their developers' conference in a couple weeks. According to the rumor mill Apple should announce some great updates to most of their product line. And since I really need a new laptop and iPod I have to wait. No sense in updating and have Apple come out with something new a month after I buy. Problem is my first generation iPod Touch and my iBook G4 can no longer be updated. And both have charging issues. Both have been used and abused over the years so I can't complain. The iBook has been dropped and knocked to the floor thanks to the dogs on numerous occasions. Unfortunately a couple years ago they snapped the end of the battery charger off inside the computer so I have had to charge the battery outside the computer. Annoying but I've dealt with it. But now the battery is failing. Instead of the normal 4-5 hour charge it tends to only hold a 2-3 hour charge. This is only the second battery I've had and this one has lasted over a year being charged one to two times a day. Not bad for an aftermarket battery that cost $25 instead of the almost $100 Apple wants for one of theirs. So I just ordered another $25 battery to get me through a few more weeks. PCs may be cheaper but as I like to say PCs drool. Apples rule. Can you tell I am a die hard Apple fan ?

 

[chicketychickchick]

Okay I have to admit that I am a bit addicted to House Hunters and House Hunters International. I am amazed by what some people want and what they don't want.

First of all everyone seems to want stainless steel appliances. Really? Yes they look great but a white refrigerator and stove work just as well. To me if the appliances still work than who cares. When they wear out I can replace them with whatever I want.

Second they just have to have a master bedroom the size of Canada. Why? You sleep there. And the closet have to be the size of Russia. Again. Why? No one needs that many clothes. Or shoes.

Then there are the number of bedrooms. The majority of the people say they will have lots of guests so the spare bedrooms need to be huge. They are guests people. They aren't staying permanently. So what if they have to sleep in a twin bed or even a double. If they don't like it then they can go to a hotel.

Yard size is always interesting. Toss up between a large yard, fenced in yard, corner lot, pool, street noise. Very few ever seem to worry about livestock though. . Dogs yes. Kids yes. But no chickens.

Finally there is the commute. I swear people on the show think a 30 minute commute to work is pure torture. Wow. I guess they have never been to Maine. I have a 35 minute commute. Yes in the winter during a nasty snowstorm it is terrible. But the rest of the time is is relaxing. And here I can have chickens, horses and goats along with plenty of 'wilderness' instead of neighbors who are so close I can watch their tv from my living room window.

I too like to watch House Hunters. But unlike you I get the whole stainless steel appliance thing. Of course non stainless functions, but do I really wanna look@ a harvest gold stove and an avocado green fridge. No, I don't think so. My kitchen is the hub of my house. I LOVE to cook/bake. I spend so much time in there I want it to look & feel fabulous. Stainless appliances are sleek & modern and balance out the wooden cabinetry. However I do agree with you now re: the master bedroom/closet. But there was a time in my life when I worked in an office and I was a wicked clothes/shoe/purse horse and NO closet was big enough.

 

[ashandvine]

I too like to watch House Hunters. But unlike you I get the whole stainless steel appliance thing. Of course non stainless functions, but do I really wanna look@ a harvest gold stove and an avocado green fridge. No, I don't think so. My kitchen is the hub of my house. I LOVE to cook/bake. I spend so much time in there I want it to look & feel fabulous. Stainless appliances are sleek & modern and balance out the wooden cabinetry. However I do agree with you now re: the master bedroom/closet. But there was a time in my life when I worked in an office and I was a wicked clothes/shoe/purse horse and NO closet was big enough.

Stainless isn't all its cracked up to be unless you pay BOOKOO bucks for it. I know this now after having had two SS stoves and one frig. The quality of the stainless is better as you go up the line, which if you don't pay for, will actually rust. Its MOSTLY stainless. Stainless therefore isn't stainless and you have to clean is special either way or it gets streaks and is more likely to rust sooner. I was pretty disappointed to learn all this AFTER purchasing all stainless for the very same reasons you mentioned. Matching is nice though, no matter what you have. There is just something about that clean line of the SS and the warm wood... (sigh) I also love my kitchen, and have had to move into the realm of paying for it. I bake 2-3 loaves of bread a week in the least and almost every meal is from scratch and never the microwave. I don't own a single teflon pan. Sounds like we have a lot in common regarding the rest. I don't watch house hunters but I bet I would like it as I can sit with reality mags and just stare....

No responses on my egg questions. I tried candling but the light wasn't bright enough so I put broody and eggs back in her chosen nest and stapled a temporary wire door over it. I now have to take her out at least once or twice a day but at least I don't have eggs disappearing or being added.

 

[longgrove]

Thanks for the tip on the meal worms site, I've bookmarked it. One of my goals has been to grow as much of my animals feed on site as possible, Plan to plant some grey stripe sunflowers tomorrow that I've sprouted on papertowels (to check viability, the seed is from last year, about 2/3 was viable).

 

[buckabucka]

I came home last night to find DH had moved the giant hoop coop across the yard into position. It is not entirely finished, as it needs roosts, nesting boxes, hardware cloth around the bottom, and a few other odds and ends, but it is getting closer. I will have to take photos later.

About Apple, - I have an IPad, but it is frustrating to not have flash. And I can't post photos on the forum, although I do use it all the time.
I've never seen HouseHunters because I don't even have a TV! (I have chicken tv )

 

[hoppy]

you probably would watch it online.

I came home last night to find DH had moved the giant hoop coop across the yard into position. It is not entirely finished, as it needs roosts, nesting boxes, hardware cloth around the bottom, and a few other odds and ends, but it is getting closer. I will have to take photos later.
About Apple, - I have an IPad, but it is frustrating to not have flash. And I can't post photos on the forum, although I do use it all the time.
I've never seen HouseHunters because I don't even have a TV! (I have chicken tv

)

 

[hoppy]

if anyone wants to see the new stained glass i'm working on, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Stained-Glass-by-Bobbi/128299457204854

it's on facebook under stained glass by bobbi.
I will update it as I complete it. of course today I picked it to take a picture of the under side to see if i wanted to make it a sun catcher or a stone- and I dropped it, i can't believe I did that, it slid right off the glass I was using to hold it and onto the cement floor. totally shattered 2 big pieces but as luck would have it, none of the smaller ones- whew!

 

[MKandtheforce]

Agh I need to stop dreaming so hard, hah. I still live with my family for the time being (I'm 21), but my next major goal in life is to be able to afford LAND!! I really wish I could have a few acres and some room for a bunch of chickens, a couple pigs, a couple goats, a nice little cow, and a garden big enough that I wouldn't have to buy much produce. I mean, I garden here and I've been give the all-clear to build a chicken coop, but I so wish I could really jump in. Blah. Every time I see a goat, I die a little, haha. I've just been trying to content myself by reading memoirs about farm living.

Are there any other places in Maine I could buy Delawares? It looks like I'll be buying a rooster and three pullets from someone on here, but I'd like maybe a handful more. With the size of my [as of yet unbuilt] coop, I can have 10-12. Plus, if I start breeding, it'll give me more blood to work with.