Michigan

[RaZ]

Kimmie, cause "work" involving something you enjoy isn't really called work!

I hadn't thought much about the amount of "work" involved in having chickens and ducks. I do what needs to be done and it's all part of the fun of having pets of any kind. Silly is correct, when you enjoy it, it isn't work.

I wonder how many sacks of feed I've carried in the past year...

 

[EMAW]

I don't normally ask for prayers, good vibes, whatever... My sister has been rushed to the hospital for ER.. She has internal bleeding and bile duct leakage. She had her gall bladder out Friday... Things have not gone well. She has to self catheter every 2 hours just to pass water, has not had a bm in 3 days and now this... So, you see where I angling on this. Thanks so much.

Nova, prayers and good vibes for you and your family.



Teeville, prayers and good vibes also for you and your DD.

 

[EMAW]

Now on the tractor discussion, GO GREEN, foreign engines or not.

I think both my grandfathers would come out of their graves if I ever drive something that is not Green. My son has a picture from my one grandfather's farm with all of the Deere's lined up in the corn field. He never met my grand dad

, but he still looks at that picture and talks about the tractors almost every day. Great Grandpa would be proud

. I still to this day remember riding shotgun with both of them on the wheel well for hours, I loved everyone of those minutes.

 

[NovaAman]

Here is the low-down on my sister.

She's out of surgery. Has a blood clot over her liver, and one at her bladder. They're going to be keeping her for a few days.

Thanks for the prayers and the good vibes. Greatly appreciated.


On another note. My beautiful Vanna decided that the dog run looked so much more interesting... I don't think Vanna will feel that way anymore. The grass may be greener on that side of the fence, but it is certainly more dangerous. She is ok. Not a puncture on her. And she still has her tail. Big old rukus went up, I looked out the window, and saw my dogs getting her, and yelled at them, they let her go and she just laid there. I was amazed she just layed there! I thought for sure she was hurt, but nope. I picked her up, she buried her head in to my neck and face, and just chilled. I checked her over, and nothing. I think it all those feathers still... all that down and the dogs just got mouth fulls of that. Set her on the front steps, and she went on her way. Silly chickens.

 

[SillyChicken]

Here is the low-down on my sister.

She's out of surgery. Has a blood clot over her liver, and one at her bladder. They're going to be keeping her for a few days.

Thanks for the prayers and the good vibes. Greatly appreciated.


On another note. My beautiful Vanna decided that the dog run looked so much more interesting... I don't think Vanna will feel that way anymore. The grass may be greener on that side of the fence, but it is certainly more dangerous. She is ok. Not a puncture on her. And she still has her tail. Big old rukus went up, I looked out the window, and saw my dogs getting her, and yelled at them, they let her go and she just laid there. I was amazed she just layed there! I thought for sure she was hurt, but nope. I picked her up, she buried her head in to my neck and face, and just chilled. I checked her over, and nothing. I think it all those feathers still... all that down and the dogs just got mouth fulls of that. Set her on the front steps, and she went on her way. Silly chickens.

What?



ok, I jest..... but that is how I came up with my name.... darn silly chickens!

Ok so what kind of "work" is involved with having chickens?

opening and closing pop doors
feeding and watering everyday
keeping them parasite free inside and out
cleaning coops roosts - daily to weekly
building bigger or more coops (cause the first will never be big enough)
finding someone you trust to care for them if you go on a rare vaca!
watching for predators
shooting predators (in your Sunday best)
dealing with bad neighbors (same as predators, only you can't shoot them)
providing the right env for the coop (ventilation etc)
providing shelter/protection
collecting and eating or selling eggs - everyday
loving
chasing
hatching
brooding
bators (whole nuther list!)
chicks
healing
eating
culling
dying
treats!
roosters........good and bad
saddles
feathers
poop
fun (not to be confused with poop)
BYC
silly chickens! (not me, the chickens)

Maybe I should add: BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!!!

 

[bonniehen]

i love to just sit back and listen to all of you I have gained such wisdom and now a little of whats coming down the road thanks

 

[Juise]

M.sue - Hmm, I don't need any testy chickens, even if they are pretty. Neat looking feathers don't matter so much to me compared to attitude. I've always been a sucker for mutts, which is how I ended up with this little rooster! I put back a nice little leghorn pullet to get the mutt, argghh. It would just have to be a boy. Although I can't really identify any definite saddle feathers, and he hasn't crowed yet, I think it is never the less pretty obvious, heh.

Taprock - Good luck with the garage sale, I really hate them. Well, I hate having them, I like going to them. XD Which reminds me, there is one around the corner I wanted to check out, I notice as I went past yesterday that they had a pair of sawhorses... I could really use those, and give my FIL back his, LOL. He's so nice, he hasn't even asked about them, hehe.

Nova - Is your sister near? If you think she wants to try some laxatives as Silly Chicken suggested, I have a number of packets of "Smooth Move" tea (yes, really, Smooth Move...) that I bought for post-birth, and never ended up wanting to use them. I could drop some off. Things were way less painful after #2 than they were after #1, I tore a lot and hemorrhaged with #1 and was waaaayyy out there with blood loss, and then absolutely everything was agony for quite awhile afterword. After #2 I was able to get up and go to the bathroom by myself soon after, and was totally blown away by how much everything didn't hurt. I am so never having another baby not in the water, if I can help it. It was awesome. Glad Vanna is okay.

RBahmer - Funny story

Swampducks - Welcome back! I had the same problem with my feet, and had those fancy arches that the doctor molds to your feet and all. I was told that I should never ever go barefoot, not even in the house. Well, I have always enjoyed being barefoot, and losing my shoes as quickly as possible whenever possible, and that just wasn't advice I could cope with. Never go barefoot!? Impossible! I love feeling the earth under my feet, the dirt, the grass, the sand... not so much the feeling of accidentally stepping in chicken poop and the cold squidgy sensation of it squirting between your toes, but, oh well.

I began looking into it, because I am not a person who easily takes any doctor's advice about anything without trying to educate myself, and found significant evidence to the contrary. I began never wearing shoes unless absolutely necessary and making a concerted effort to walk more on the outsides of my foot. That is normally the problem with the arches, you end up putting too much pressure on the inside of your foot, spreading that arch out and straining the tendons. It was very easy to see on the shoes I had. Ok, still have, because I don't grow. The front insides were especially worn out, near my big toes. In fact, on my birkenstocks, I wore all the way through them under my big toes. Instead of your feet weakening because you are using them less and less with shoes and even less with arch supports, being barefoot allows your feet to spread properly to support you and become stronger. It is recommended to start slow if you are not used to being barefoot, but I really recommend looking into it. My feet have never felt better, and actually my back is better than it was as well.

One thing I particularly liked while reading into it was to compare your hands and feet. They are very similar. What would happen to your hands if you were told that you must always wear stiff gloves to "protect" them? If you wore the kind of soles on your palms as we do on our feet, usually thick and inflexible. Not only would your body lose a lot of sensory input, which I also think is important, but your hands would very quickly become weak and even malformed. They wouldn't be able to properly do their job, and even trying to would become painful. Okay, I am done, just something I wanted you to consider, I have been very happy with how much less my feet hurt these days, so I wanted to share with you as you have the same issue. The only flare ups I have had in years now were while I was pregnant, and that doesn't really count, lol.

Also, yesterday I stepped on a tree frog, and he most certainly would have been a goner if I had been wearing shoes.

As is, I felt it as I started to put my foot down, and I didn't squash him.

 

[Juise]

Oh, on the "Go Green / Blue" note, I really don't have any interest in that sort of thing, but... when one of the babes we used to have in our care was just starting to talk, her Dad taught her to say "Go Green!" Ok, she really said, "Go Geee!" but whatever. He was all green gung ho, and would show this off as often as possible, when he said, "Go White!" She would respond with "Go Green!" Sooo my DH and I worked very hard teaching her to respond with, "Go Blue!" every time instead, it was hilarious.

Oh, the foiling.

I am hoping to finish painting the coop today, I have been waiting long enough to see if the Restore would get in some paint in a colour I like, I am going to splurge and just buy some all shiny and brand new. The new nesting boxes are done, and I need to make a new roost now, too. One that can accommodate everyone when they all go together. Still trying to figure out exactly how to do that in our coop, but I figure it will be a lot easier to paint first rather than after, so I will do that first. I would like a poop board this time around, too, to make things easier, and to be able to store the feed out there. We'll see what I can manage.

Speaking of the coop, I asked a while back, but probably no one ever makes it through my posts, tee hee... Safe to take down the winter covers and open it all up? Without those up, two of the walls, (opposite each other,) are only hald walls, with the top half being hardware cloth. Should I wait a bit longer, or should they be okay, do you think?

 

[EeyoreD]

I have a number of packets of "Smooth Move" tea (yes, really, Smooth Move...)

Is the logo a Biff looking guy with a thought bubble saying "Smooth Move, Ex Lax!"?

Swampducks - Welcome back! I had the same problem with my feet, and had those fancy arches that the doctor molds to your feet and all. I was told that I should never ever go barefoot, not even in the house. Well, I have always enjoyed being barefoot, and losing my shoes as quickly as possible whenever possible, and that just wasn't advice I could cope with. Never go barefoot!? Impossible! I love feeling the earth under my feet, the dirt, the grass, the sand... not so much the feeling of accidentally stepping in chicken poop and the cold squidgy sensation of it squirting between your toes, but, oh well.

I began looking into it, because I am not a person who easily takes any doctor's advice about anything without trying to educate myself, and found significant evidence to the contrary. I began never wearing shoes unless absolutely necessary and making a concerted effort to walk more on the outsides of my foot. That is normally the problem with the arches, you end up putting too much pressure on the inside of your foot, spreading that arch out and straining the tendons. It was very easy to see on the shoes I had. Ok, still have, because I don't grow. The front insides were especially worn out, near my big toes. In fact, on my birkenstocks, I wore all the way through them under my big toes. Instead of your feet weakening because you are using them less and less with shoes and even less with arch supports, being barefoot allows your feet to spread properly to support you and become stronger. It is recommended to start slow if you are not used to being barefoot, but I really recommend looking into it. My feet have never felt better, and actually my back is better than it was as well.

One thing I particularly liked while reading into it was to compare your hands and feet. They are very similar. What would happen to your hands if you were told that you must always wear stiff gloves to "protect" them? If you wore the kind of soles on your palms as we do on our feet, usually thick and inflexible. Not only would your body lose a lot of sensory input, which I also think is important, but your hands would very quickly become weak and even malformed. They wouldn't be able to properly do their job, and even trying to would become painful. Okay, I am done, just something I wanted you to consider, I have been very happy with how much less my feet hurt these days, so I wanted to share with you as you have the same issue. The only flare ups I have had in years now were while I was pregnant, and that doesn't really count, lol.

Also, yesterday I stepped on a tree frog, and he most certainly would have been a goner if I had been wearing shoes.

As is, I felt it as I started to put my foot down, and I didn't squash him.

I love your philosophy on shoes. Mostly because it suits my own. But I will say my experience has been the same. I have very high arches. I used to get shoes to suit those high arches, always being told that if I didn't I would be in trouble. I'd say I started slow but my life has always been the pushmipullu between shoes and barefoot. I had high aches when I wouldn't wear shoes all summer as a kid. I started with the Five Fingers and while I did have some aches in my feet, it was much like any soreness, I stretched the bottoms of my feet out and everything felt great.

Now when I wear shoes with "arch support" my feet hurt. Know what else? I haven't worn anything with arch support in years (and I'm a BIG girl) and my arches are still high. What I don't have is the stupid numbness on the top of my instep that came with trying to jam high-arched feet into a shoe that didn't account for the associated high instep.

I look at the goose poop as mud, or mulched grass, which it essentially is. And only wear footwear to keep my toes attached to my feet.

(yes, the side effect of this is that I have hobbit feet. Whatever.)

 

[EeyoreD]

Oh I should state that while I agree with your shoe stance I don't think I'll ever be comfortable enough to be nude with a chicken.