- Nov 1, 2012
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Wow, OUCH!! I wish you a speedy recovery!
Why, thank you!
They loved it and the 2nd time ot they explored pretty far.Everyone seems normal thank goodness
That is absolutely fantastic!! They must have been in heaven on that green grass and that looks like a huge fenced in area!! We have tried tomatoes several times but it just doesn't work here. The deer figure out some way to get to them no matter what we do. We would need an 8 foot fence around our whole property and that's not happening. We have such a nice view into the woods and it would completely block it and we're not even talking about $$. We put tomatoes on the tennis court one year and they walked across the bridge to it and ate them. Another year we put a small fence around the area and they pushed it in and ate them. Another we put them in pots on the patio about 2 ft. from the house and they ate them too. I think my DH is trying something new this year and growing them upside down next to the coop. I'll keep you posted... should be interesting. I can grow my herbs every year and that makes me happy. I have parsley, sage rosemary, thyme, tons of basil, and lemon balm and we have jalapeno peppers too!
Oh, and how do you keep the dog away from the chickens or is she ok with them?
We had problems with squirrels eating our tomatoes last year. I blocked out the chickens but the squirrels climbed the fence of bird netting and went in through the top. I think it was 10 feet up but somehow they figured it out. They were delicious tomatoes too. Our dog is an outside dog so she'll keep the deer away, plus the fence is 5 feet high too which I know they could jump but with Maxie guarding, I don't think they would. We do have deer around here but I guess since the dog is outside we never had a problem. I have a lot of herbs in the ground too, so nice when you can walk outside snip a few off and then cook with them. I work with what grows and works here, so far I have never been successful with melons, it is a challenge for me now.
Maxie stays locked in the garage while the chickens free range and so far I am out supervising while they explore. I really am supervising since my garden areas are not blocked off from the yet. This will be the challenging part. We may try to see if Maxie will coexist with the chickens, but I am really afraid that will never happen. She loves to chase things and does not always listen very well. She does leave my garden alone when I tell her no, but I am not sure if she'll be able to resist the chickens.
She was so confused when we unleashed her. She finally took off and ran like a race horse along the perimeter of the whole fence. She is a weird dog though. She only goes out and explores while we are there and if there is a squirrel or large truck to chase, otherwise she just lays in the garage. Maybe she is getting old? I is a lot more fun to watch the chickens, they really take advantage of the yard.
That is so true, I will have to tell my DL that one. "Win-win"
We're all just as bad!! A little chicken crazy we are!!!But I just added another bird to my order from Meyers! LOL! I'm insane!!! My son is going to be so upset with me! I added the Black Copper Maran's femaleOf course if one of my other 1st choices opens up, then I will switch...
I need to STOP looking at the Meyers page! I'm at my max # of chickens!!!!
Nice, congrats, I hope they arrive safe and healthy.
That's be good if you can change him/her out at the swap. I should have taken my WR out of the flock a lot sooner then I did, she was a terror to the younger ones and she started doing it as a chick. Not a rooster, just a bully. Now that she is gone (she became chicken stew) they are all so much nicer and more friendly too.I know, as soon as I finished posting I saw Nancy's post above mine and felt guilty for posting so many pics after her heartbreaking newsHere is a pic from yesterday when most of the other girls were hanging farther back she edged over to me to be petted, of course our Buff Orpington was on my lap when I took this. I joked with my husband yesterday that I wish we could have all Orpingtons and Dorkings. Just reacting to the drama with our Buckeye who is very likely a roo or a really aggressive pullet, frequently picking fights. Yesterday s/he jumped up in the air and aimed her claws at another chick, twice. Finally Amelia or Golden Buff tapped her on the head twice and Clara our EE raised her hackles back at the Buckeye. I've never seen Clara have conflict with anyone, she is such a giant hawk compared to them. Seriously considering taking the Buckeye to a local TSC swap tomorrow and just cutting our losses, we were going to wait until she crowed. Her comb also just turned pink yesterday. Early suspicions were extremely slow growing tail (like had a smooth short fuzzy bottom two weeks after all the girls had one inch tails) and standing tall while the others hid when my husband had an epic sneeze. Also the loudest. Sigh.
You guys are really bring up my list for next year, now I need a BCM.You could always trade your Australorp for the Black Copper Marans *innocent smile* I was debating between the two and chose the BCM for the darker eggs, feathered feet and pretty copper neck. She is a sweetie, she used to perch on my finger, hunker down and go right to sleep. I know Australorps lay more but come on you know your son wants chocolate eggs! Lol. Though I can't actually speak for the eggs, ours are only 5 and a half weeks old
Same with the Cuckoo Marans with the hatchery birds. I have 2 but only one lays the darker eggs. I have a Golden Buff too that lays a really dark egg like the maran. The other maran lays pretty spotted eggs but just regular brown. My Meyers BO, RIR and Golden Buff are my best layers even better then my Light Brown Leghorns. Even my Buff LAced Polish lays a lot more then I thought she would.
My BA lays about 4 to 5 times a week. My EE's lay about the same.. I want more EE's, I love those green eggs.Thank you... all the girls are ok so hopefully it was a freak occurrence.
For what it's worth I have 2 BA's and neither are fantastic layers. One only lays a few times a week and the other I think about 4. I would rather have ordered just 1 BA but my DH wanted a big black bird and I got 2 in case one ended up being a roo or died. I figured since he worked outside every Sat and Sun for 3 months to build my run the least I could do was get a chicken he wanted. LOL.
My RIR and EE's are my best layers... 6 a week and my RIR was the first to lay and my one EE the week later. Although one EE waited till she was 10 months old to lay but it's a pretty green egg so worth the wait.
Good to hear that the rest of your flock is doing okay.
Oh wow, a week, how exciting! You are so right about "winning the lottery" when they have what you want. You have a great selection coming, so jealous!
So how many chickens do you have already? and how many are you getting?
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