Michigan

[Hopper]

Good morning all! Opa that pound cake sounds perfect!

Got the door to the coop finished with insulation and plywood. The nest boxes are now divided. Run and coop clean with new bedding. A new roost bar in the run just because I found a cool branch. Got the electrical too so today will work on that. Then we should be set for winter other than plexiglass on the windows. Now I just have to sit back read the forum and be patient for the girls to start laying! Me wants eggs! Oh when will my roo start crowing? I think but really not sure the chickens were hatched the first part of June maybe? They all still cheep no cool sounds yet!
Happy Lords day all!

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Quote:
Olive, The Icelandics are larger than bantams but not as large as the dual purpose birds I have. As far as the other question you may need to aks that over on the Icelandic thread, hopefully someone can help you. For me, I will only breed the Icelandics with the Icelandics. They are very good foragers! Here is a pic showing both the Icelandics and the dual purpose birds together. You can see that the Icelandic pullets aren't quite as big as the others.

 

[sj3364]

Finally got to sleep in this morning for the first time in a long time. I wish I was one of you "up with the sun" types but I love seeping in! Though now that means 8:00 instead of 10:00 or 11:00. Still, it's good!

Spent all day yesterday, with a few breaks when the rain really started coming down or when the thunder started rumbling, working on some coop remodel/completion. Does everyone change something about their coop once they build it? I started out with a run with a flat chicken wire top. Then I put a trap over it to give the chickens shade all day and dry in the rain. This, of course, lead to me having to either run out and remove the tarp or bail out the top were the rain collected. Also, the run was 4 ft tall which required awkward hunching anytime I needed to go in there.

So we added a peaked roof and also framed in the hole where the chickens go in/out of the coop. Before it was attached directly to the coop. Now I can move the run if I want to do some serious raking of the run area or any other reason I would need to move the run. I got to test out the effectiveness of my new run roof with all the rain we got yesterday.

I also added ventilation to the gable area. I have lot of windows for summer but needed some vents for the cold months.

Lastly, I had chicken wire separating an area for my chicks. However, this did not give the chicks access to the perches and did not give me access to the main coop area. So I changed the orientation of the chicken wire to give them more space, access to the perches and a nesting box, though I hope to have everyone integrated by the time my little pullet starts laying. It also give me access to the whole coop again so I don't have to poop scoop through the nesting box access or the pop door! My little ones were using their new perches this morning and like their new little area so much they didn't want to leave the coop.

Today, I am kicking back and relaxing. Maybe I'll take my daughter to a movie. Ahhh. That sounds like a great plan for the day.

Have a wonderful day, everyone.

 

[deekay04]

Cake for breakfast is the best! I love when there are birthdays in our house because I'll eat cake for breakfast for days! My boyfriend is a little disgusted by how much I love cake. Ill pick one up at the store or make one just because...
Anyway, chickens rushed out of the coop this morning and were chasing each other around. Must be this cooler weather making them more lively. And the fact that they think everytime I come around they get shredded zucchini from our garden. I swear, its chicken crack! Have a good day everyone!

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

& WELCOME to all the newbies! I am glad to see so many new folks joining in!

 

[babigyrl22]

MMmMmMmmm blueberry waffles numnumnumnumnum....the smell of these babies got my DH out of bed. Sooooo gooood.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

sj3364 [b :

Does everyone change something about their coop once they build it[/b]?

Well, I am having to come up with another breeder pen just because DH wants to keep this breed, that breed, oh and the other breed too.......

I don't need the breeder pen yet but it will be easier to build now before next spring when there will be 3 feet of snow on the ground.

I had Peanut Butter Monster cookies for breakfast since DH wants a late breakfast or early lunch before he leaves to finish taking his motorcycle endorsement training class.​

 

[snowflake]

Opa, how far do you sand down or blunt the claws on the roo? My hens are really taking a beating this summer. Have to get rid of 1 roo but my oldest is such a good watch dog. I plan on keeping him. his spurs are over 2in long but curl up so I don't think that is getting the hens so much as the toe nails. I think my DH most likely has that tool.

 

[LoveMyChicklets]

Yay babies! Woke up to 2 more chicks in the bator this morning. Three more to go in there!

Wanna see??? I know we all love lil' fuzzbutts

2 Polish and 2 Blue Wheaton Ameracauna/EE mix:

Does anyone by chance know why the 2 EEs are colored different? I swear the only daddy could be the Blue Wheaton Ameracauna and either another BWA or my EE mix. Our showgirl roo hasn't been in that pen in over 2 months because they were fighting and he was losing

Just curious if anyone knows.

Wow, I am seriously craving some blueberry pancakes now!!!!!! YUMMM!

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
Have you tried pickyourown.org? The blueberry season is all but over for this year, but for other things and for future years, you should be able to find sources there.