Michigan

[Olive Hill]

Morning all. I don't know about anybody else but I can't wait for the time change this weekend. This not getting light until 8am stuff is for the birds.... just not mine. It makes it very difficult to get chores done at a reasonable time.

Mom 2em All - I was giggling reading your post because your husband sounds like me. I bounce to roll over and toss and turn most of the night and my legs move... a lot.

So far my husband has never said anything about my sleep habits being disturbing though.... so far.

cwclub - You MUST get fleece fitted socks. They are heaven for the feet. As for the cat food, the chicken content isn't anything to worry about. If one of your chickens died in your run and your other chickens were hungry, they'd eat her. They're not nearly as hung up on the taboo of cannibalism as we are.

That said, even the cheapest cat food will always be more expensive than simply upping the protein content of your feed. Usually by 3-5 times as much.

 

[SillyChicken]

About the boots and socks! Where did you get them?

What a coincidence, I'm reading posts about RLS, while I'm sitting here this morning, bouncing my legs like a heavy metal drummer!

I'm definatly looking forward to the time change!

 

[cwclub]

Thank you everyone for the tips. I went out this morning to let my girls out armed with some dog food...crumbled up from the food processor...and they wanted nothing to do with it. lol But then I thought Hmmmmm hotdogs...well no hotdogs here but I did try smoky links, quartered and cubed...and they loved it. A new hit for chicken treats.

 

[keyt1969]

Quote:
Ours love cat food alone, but in the beginning we ground it up in the mixer then put it in their food. They won't eat it if it's not ground up. Ours are spoiled too! VERY spoiled!

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
The socks you can find just about anywhere during the cold months -- like now -- Kohls, Target, etc. If the ones near you don't have them try hunting/sporting goods stores like Gander Mountain, Dick's, Dunham's, etc. I prefer the sporting goods type ones to the frilly, pretty ones. They seem to be made of a different type of fleece. You can get the "good" type at regular stores too though. I've bought them at Kohl's the day after Thanksgiving. Look for the plain colored ones that they don't display prominently. Those are the ones I buy.

The boots you'll find in farm stores, mills, etc. TSC carries Muck brand. I bought mine from our local mill, same place I buy all my feed.

 

[Olive Hill]

I think I have an egg thief.

I collected eggs halfway through the day, as usual. When my daughter got home from school she said she checked for eggs again and there were three. She didn't collect them. Later we went to collect eggs and there were two. I looked under all the straw in the coop. Nothing. Snake? Rat? Whatever it is I'm not a happy camper. Then again, my daughter could have miscounted... but two is VERY low for the afternoon egg collection.

 

[justcelia]

I am sorry to hear about your missing eggs.
The girls are doing great! They are not worried about Missy at all! (Yorkie)
I do have to watch the amount of treats I give them. LOL!
Tweek (boyfriend) loved the eggs. He had never had fresh ones! He said he had been cheated all his life! LOL!
They had no problem goin in to the "coop" area for the night and seemed to enjoy the "run" area.
I cant paint till the spring.... Grrr.... Its pink, green and WOOD!

Celia

 

[keyt1969]

I was talking to a lady that has some female ducks I want. She says she has some Silkie call ducks. HUH? Never heard of them til I did a search. Now I'm starting to wonder if my calls are that. At least one of them. All 3 came from the same place, but she has a HUGE set up with just about every kind of chicken and duck. I know one of mine (who has suddenly turned up with a curled tail so maybe it's a Louie and not a Lucy) has some strange coloring that I've never seen on a call!

This is Lucy (Louie?)

Olivia

 

[Olive Hill]

They look normally feathered. All ducks have some fluff underneath and I think -- looks like you clipped their wings? -- that's what you're seeing. And yes, Louie is definitely a "Louie" not a "Lucy".

I have been craving sourdough lately, so decided to make my own starter a while back. I'm now overrun with the stuff. Anyone want some starter?

 

[Olive Hill]

Calls are admittedly not my arena, so I could certainly be wrong, but I think while grey (mallard-colored) calls aren't "uncommon" they're not as a hot a commodity as say the black pied calls. Maybe fewer people want the mallard coloring in the smaller, pet package? I don't know. Louie's base coloring looks to be grey (mallard) to me though, and then he just has white markings so... Grey Pied?