Michigan

[taprock]

But I am going to talk to her about this option and see if she wants to add this breed to her research project. She is looking at Silkies, d'Uccle, Cochin and now maybe these.

Thanks for the pictures and info.

Just in my experience the d'Uccle were much calmer than the Cochin. My son used one for his 4 -H showmanship last year and they did great together.

 

[Opa]

Bantam eggs are the perfect egg for making pickled eggs. Due to their small size the brine will penetrate into the center of the egg much quicker and the end result is much better than with a large egg. My middle son pickles every bantam egg I give him. He recently made 6 dozen Atomic Eggs(habenero peppers & eggs) to take with him next week when he heads to Missouri to visit my other two sons.

Vorwerk hens weigh about 20 ounces, the roosters about 26. They are very good layers of a cream colored 35 gram egg. While they do occasionally go broody it isn't excessive like silkies.

A couple of years ago I was letting them free range for a few days to see how far they would travel from the coop. For several days they stayed under the apple trees and less than 30 yards from the coop. Then the started foraging near the back of the mowed area about 100 yards from the coop. I herded them back to the orchard only to have them move to the back again an hour later. Twice more I moved them and when I was just sitting down to eat supper Hope informs me they are out back again.

I told her I was eating supper while it was hot and if a coyote got them they had no one to blame but themselves. As I was just finishing my burger Hope yells "Coyote" and launches out the backdoor. I jump up and follow to discover a very large coyote within 50 from the back door. He was extremely bold and only with much yelling and running at him did he finally amble off into the brush.

As we started looking for the Vorwerks I discover a pile of black tail feathers. Convinced that he had gotten one we started rounding up the others. A few we found on top of the chicken coop and the other up in the trees.

Once we had captured and recaged all the birds I counted and then recounted and came up with no missing birds. Further examination of them resulted in having one hen with all of her tail feathers missing.

Apparently when the coyote caught the hen he only had a mouthful of tail feathers. Based on that experience leads me to believe they would be reasonably safe as free rangers.

 

[chicken grandma]

Opa,
You make a very good point here. A chicken that can fly has a way to defend itself, even if it is a smaller bird. A Silkie and a Cochin bantam has a smaller wing. I don't know how well they could defend themselves by flying.
I have looked at both those chickens but never owned one.
Again, I think your Vorwerk breed would have an advantage over some of the other bantams in that it is hardy and has a way to escape predators. Are the Vorwerk bantams calm for kids to handle?
The D'uccle has been the easiest chicken for my children to handle but it did need the most protection from predators.

 

[Mzkynd]

Gaming-Gamers... Does Angry Birds count? How about Mah Jongg?

I love Mah Jong, of course i have only ever played the computer version, would love to play an actual game, last time I went to New Orleans they had the most gorgeous handmade Mah Jong sets, drool worthy!!!

Anyone got any good cough remedies? Besides ODing on cough suppressant (which I've taken, with little difference). I'm coughing my lungs out here, and can't seem to calm it for very long. Mint tea with honey soothed for a few minutes, a hot steamy bathroom made no difference. Going crazy coughing, I'm willing to try anything!

I agree with everyone else about the honey and cinnamon. but another home remedy that I do and swear by ( i call it my herbal thera flu, lol) is a tincture of fresh ginger and garlic , just chop up a few pieces and simmer then add honey to sweeten and to help with cough. it might not sound the best but always works for me

. On a completely different note..... Some jerk stole all of my diapers off my clothesline today

$400 down the drain and I'm left with 6 prefolds 1 diaper cover and 3 kids in diapers. I have never been this frustrated and mad in my life.

Who freaking steals diapers?!!! what a crappy thing to do to someone, I hope your day picks up and kudo's to you for using cloth diapers


I can see why everyone was posting that they were getting caught up on this thread with their morning coffee/tea etc.. lol boy can you guys chat

 

[Juise]

I appear to have an albino artichoke? Has anyone had this happen before? I can't imagine it will live long, but it's kind of interesting.

​

 

[Olive Hill]

It's normal. Approximately 20% of artichoke plants grown from seed are not viable.

 

[Farmerboy16]

I had let Bella out to the main pasture yesterday, and she was very happy to be out of the pen.

Yesterday, I was weed wracking the weeds under the fence, and Bella saw what I was doing, and came running to find out what I was doing.

One more week before she can go in the pasture where the steers are!! They have been mooing at each other, and I would find them eating grass together along side the fence.

 

[Juise]

Quote:

It's normal. Approximately 20% of artichoke plants grown from seed are not viable.

Well, I suppose what is actually weird then is that I have never had it happen before, lol.

 

[Juise]

I wonder what would happen if I gave it chlorophyll...

 

[NovaAman]

SO, Farmerboy... I hear you're giving me your cow... LOL. She's such a sweetie. Look at that face!