Michigan

[taprock]

What is the best material to make a hen apron out of? Would old blue jeans work? and do they need to be paded or doubled up with material? I have a few hens that are looking a bit rough.... time to cull some roosters I guess!

I just use a double layer of cotton and it lasts a season. I would think jeans you would only need one layer.

Which brings up a question. I have a few girls that were hatched last spring who are looking awful. When would they be due to molt?

I also am thinking its time to cull roosters. Is a rooster almost 2 years old worth eating? Yesterday, Mr. Fuzzy (who my son raised and carries everywhere) pecked my son on the side of the head and drew blood. I told my son that was strike two, one being he always attacks my hubby. My son is just sobbing, I asked him if he was ok. "Yes" he says "But I would rather go to the hospital than lose Mr. Fuzzy" needless to say Mr. Fuzzy is on probation.

 

[Opa]

Quote: The wing feathers have no value and some hat makers use the primary tail feathers. Salt will work for preserving but it needs to be finely ground like common table salt.

 

[SillyChicken]

Thanks Sam

 

[M.sue]

Good Morning everyone,
Congrats everyone on the hatching

& WELCOME

to all the new comers!

Farmerboy......I want to come steal your cows....I just need to borrow a trailer!!

SOOOOO....I have a roo.
let out this little half-a.s.s. crow. Then everybody else chirped at me. Then he did it again. It was so hilarious. I filled their food and he did it again, nobody had moved. Every time I said something to him, he crowed. It was so cute and funny, but now I just hope he stays a nice roo and doesn't become a jerk.

Congrats.....I have another Roo too!! lol Mine sounds like a broken fog horn when it crows....so funny. My current project is integrating/acclimating them. I'm hoping it works out when I attempt to put them all together....I'm a little nervous with this, 1st time adding to my current flock and hate the thoughts of them all bickering and acting stupid.

What is the best material to make a hen apron out of? Would old blue jeans work? and do they need to be paded or doubled up with material? I have a few hens that are looking a bit rough.... time to cull some roosters I guess! Has anyone ever tried skinning a rooster?

I'm in need of making an apron. I also have one hen that is showing signs of wear & tear. Her feathers on the side are worn and my little bantam hen, Sparrow, needs a toupee! Wonder if there is a pattern? I'm not good at sewing. Never tried skinning one but I'm thinking about stuff my Bantam Roo!! I swear he's only nice & friendly when he knows I got treats.

I just tossed this together to give the DH an idea of what I was thinking about. I'll take picts and post them.

This looks like it's going to be nice and yes...post pics please!

Very nice looking birds you have there!

I would rather go to the hospital than lose Mr. Fuzzy" needless to say Mr. Fuzzy is on probation.

I might have to put mine on probation if he doesn't quit being so dang testy. I just hope he & my new Roo will be OK together

. The new one in time will probably kick his butt for we will double his size!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

My thoughts on rooster feathers..... yes, those feathers are worth a pretty penny! i did not know about the borax, thanks sam! I have not saved any yet, the roos i had to have put down i was attached to, so.... but i saw a decorative urn/vase in the flower shop here in town made with rooster feathers, and it costed $60!!!!

Now on the "mean" roos, i don't know.
All i CAN say, is if they go to make a battle with you, you better win it the first time, in a big and memorable way. I've tried taming, free ranging (with no interaction besides feeding) , housing seperate, penning seperate from hens, caging extra roo in the coop so the roos could get used to each other, brooming (cussing), etc etc and no good. I have come to the conclusion that each individual roo is different, though most people have the best luck with an untamed roo.
But i wouldn't advise picking a battle, and DO NOT allow kids to provoke the roo on purpose. That's the reason my current roo is "bad", a neighbor's 2 year old was screaming and running at the fence in the early AM, because he thought he was playing, but the reality is he was making my roo flock the fence thinking he was under attack. Went on for weeks before i caught him. Kid almost got his eyes took out, and it took me finally making the kid cry and bodily dragging him home and cussing them for it to finally stop. ( i did try to talk with them several times first) i fought him for a year before finally losing it on him, and only then did he mellow out. Had i "won" the battle in the first place, and chased him around for a few weeks, i wold have spared myself and possibly my guests a lot of headache.
A whole year of training and i still can't trust him unsupervised with visitors. But he still hops in laps to be hugged, and is affectionate, as long as it's on his terms and he enjoys being petted by kids as long as i'm holding him or nearby to "protect"him. Don't like men though.

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

Sara Jayne!

I found the cutest toad last night!!! My BF thought he had stepped on him on the way to the truck... I poked at him and he didn't move, just hunkered down. I thought "Darn, he's a goner." I picked him up to move him so he could die in peace. I was shocked to see that he had not been stepped on... he had a handicap leg!!! His right back "hopping" leg was just one straight nub of a leg. He could not hop away so he learned to turn into a little pebble instead.

I wanted to keep him... the BF said no, his name was dinner for someone else. I have a soft spot for special animals

But the circle of life continues... I will be looking for him tonight...
I have heard that if there is a bio disturbance in your area the first way to tell is the frogs because they are so sensitive... Here's hoping he was just a fluke...

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I like toads too, especially in the garden. Unfortunately, so do my chickens, but for entirely different reasons.....

 

[M.sue]

I like toads too, especially in the garden. Unfortunately, so do my chickens, but for entirely different reasons.....

lol.....My chickens like them too! Dh saw one hen swollow the whole thing in 2 big gulps!!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I've tried hobbling the roo, to stop him from flocking, and though it made him respect me more it didn't stop the flocking of male visitors. DH's uncle suggested i more or less straight-jacket him, in the thought that if he couldn't spread his wings he wouldn't be able.

I am actually wondering about that, if i could stop him from leaping at the guys he would stop getting the boot, he does enjoy attention, but associates guys with getting the boot and is on instant defense whenever one comes near.

 

[Mzkynd]

Morning everyone for some reason my multi quote button is missing

Oh well I am gonna take it as a cosmic sign to get my butt offline and take the pooches out while we have some sun today. last night's storm was amazing and scary at the same time. there were moments it felt like the lightening was hitting mere feet from my window, and it had the pitt bull scared to death so not much sleep!

Juise - I gave them some hard boiled egg, and a few pieces of whole grain bread. tried some fruit which they just snubbed. but the bread pieces had a game of chicken football going on and it was too cute.

Hubz comes home today with 3 more chicks, and we are going to start work on the coop, finally, him working out of town so much has us behind, but I have a quick question, my 3 chicks that I have now are around 3 weeksish ( they weren't too sure at the feed store, go figure) when I get the new ones which are somewhat same age, should I have too many issues with them being put together?