Michigan

[1muttsfan]

The past two days have just been one rotten thing after another!    Today is hatch day for my enormously expensive eggs and nothing!

I know we need the rain, but it is just so dreary today!  Off to pout and watch the incubator.

 

X2

 

[SillyChicken]

The past two days have just been one rotten thing after another!

Today is hatch day for my enormously expensive eggs and nothing!

I know we need the rain, but it is just so dreary today! Off to pout and watch the incubator.

give it a couple days, maybe they're shy. Hope they do hatch for you!!

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

One of my friends is looking into getting laying hens... I am not sure what size bird/eggs she is looking for yet...
Will you do me a favor and list your favorite laying breeds and what sized eggs you get? Please and thank you!

My Delawares and Black Austrolorps are my best layers and I get large eggs from them. And they are good tempered chickens.

Sorry your hatches aren't going well.

 

[SillyChicken]

One of my friends is looking into getting laying hens... I am not sure what size bird/eggs she is looking for yet...
Will you do me a favor and list your favorite laying breeds and what sized eggs you get? Please and thank you!

You should have her go through the breed selector on BYC. It helped me decide on the birds I wanted. I have Salmon Faverolles. They are a heritage, utility bird. they lay a med sized light cream colored egg. The birds are very good to eat as well. They are very docile (the roosters are even nice) and take confinement and cold weather very well. They can also be on the broody side.

 

[SillyChicken]

There are far too many perfectly good roosters in the world to waste time with those who can't be trusted.

That said, I also think some people are simply not cut out to own roosters, ganders, drakes, dominant personality dogs, pigs, and so on and so forth, in general. I think there are two factors that determine a person's potential level of success with animals and I think they're both, largely, in born / can't be taught. 1) Ability to read and mimic communication via body language, and 2) innate personality.

Animals have been bred to communicate with body language for centuries, at the same time humans have been bred to communicate without it. To the point that many people straight up do not even see the subtleties their animals use when communicating with one another. If you can't read and then speak with body language, you can't communicate with most animals.

On the personality side of things, for animals being dominant and/or having a strong dominant is a matter of life and death. Most of the animals we keep as pets are social animals, they live in packs, herds, gaggles, flocks, etc. For them they either have to assume the dominant role or have a leader who is dominant enough to inspire a complete feeling of safety and confidence. Some people -- many people -- are simply NOT dominant people. Their natural instincts are fear, flight, avoidance of confrontation. These people are not going to inspire confidence in animals, they're not going to be seen as a leader, so they're going to be challenged.

Of course, the play between the two sets up a whole scale of potential success -- dominant people who have a strong ability to read and communicate with body language will likely be highly successful with animals; timid people who have no ability, on the other hand, would have very little.

Being honest with ourselves about where we fall on that continuum and choosing animals accordingly can save a lot of frustration -- and, for the animals, lives, since many problems arise from mishandling/communication on the part of the human.

I couldn't agree with you more Olive!!

​

The last dog we fostered had some real behavior issues, biting the owner, aggressiveness...etc.. There was nothing wrong with the dog, he was just frustrated. They just didn't know how to be a pack leader. ONE firm correction (I didn't even touch him) from me and he's been a perfect gentleman ever since. Matter of fact hes fit in so well here, we adopted him. That was Gino>>>>>>

People tend to humanize their pets and I'm not saying we should treat them without compassion, but, we should treat them in the manner they understand. that allows them to communicate with us and respond as we want them to.

 

[sarah92480]

People tend to humanize their pets and I'm not saying we should treat them without compassion, but, we should treat them in the manner they understand. that allows them to communicate with us and respond as we want them to.

x 2!! Very well said. I agree.


taprock keeping my fingers crossed for your hatch!

So I'm entering the end of my last shift at this job that I hate. Is it weird then, that I feel sort of sad about it? I also feel like I have butterflies thinking about leaving. It's very strange. I guess maybe it's the fear of the unknown...or leaving something "comfortable" even though it's unpleasant...I've been here almost every day for 5 years after all. I've said goodbye those I care to speak to, and the rest I am already friends with on FB or have their ph#s. I can't believe after all the crap w/this place, I still fell anxious. But I'm off to bigger and better things, so I'm happy about that.

 

[Mom 2em All]

Aww, we are going to do meat chicks next year and I'm worried I'll get attached. Stay strong!!! Haha

Thank you. I will!! LOL

too late for me...*sigh* they are so friendly!
They come right up to me, go between my legs. one is a roo, one is a pullet. They are so big..they are nine weeks. *sigh*

Here are my 4 week old mille fleur d'uccles. First the pullet, then the cockerel.



Also, here is my ee Newton at @8-10weeks and more recent


Sorry the pics are so big. I don't know how to re-size.

oh oh oh!!!!!!!!!!
I am going out to take pictures of my d'uccles...they are nine weeks? Almost nine weeks. I think. I will count that, too..

 

[teeville5]

Tee- Newton is beautiful! How is he attitude wise? I think I'm going to end up with two EE Roos that were supposed to be pullets. On the d'uccles, looking at my two babies, is this how your male looked or was his comb already bigger? I'm kinda hoping one is a roo but I don't need two!

Quote:

Oh... Did you see the pics in the link I posted of my two EE? Newton looks just like Buttercup. Grrr! But at least I can see how pretty he might turn out.

Thank you. Newton has a good temperament with us. I basically showed him early on that I was a good guy, but also the boss. He watches over his girls very well and keeps them near. He was good with our bantam roos, though he did tend to chase Gomer when he got too close to one of his girls. With our BR roo, though, it's a no go. He goes for him anytime he sees him so I have to keep them separate.
Also, I did add an edit to my earlier post about your ee's. I agreed that they look to be boys and that's why I posted Newton's photo because he looked a bit like your Buttercup.

As for the comb size of my d'uccle, I started to see significant growth from about 2 1/2-3 1/2 weeks old. It got redder first, then size. They both had tiny combs at first so I thought I had 2 boys, but it thankfully didn't work out that way.

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I have told her about BYC and sang it's praises

I hope she will join!

Sorry about the hatch... be patient a little while longer...Make sure the humidity is up too... don't want shrink wrap babies

I am a groomer and you have to be firm with some animals to get the job done, but mostly they want to know that you are confident in what you are doing and are going to keep them safe. You can't give them mixed signals and expect them to understand.

 

[Ferrret]

Commenting on skinned chickens and what to do with wings, I have seen a few people take chicken, turkey, and other bird wings, pose them, then preserve them to be sold as costume wings or doll wings. Not something for everyone, but when done right they can look quite beautiful. If wing feathers are in decent condition you could sell them cheap for arts and crafts things.

Handicapped toads, I had one last year that I thought I had hurt while raking. I got a couple pictures then let him go, haven't seen him since. He could hop alright, but preferred to do a sort of crawl.



Millie and Fleur are doing well, Millie is quite skittish and doesn't seem to understand getting treats, but Fleur is becoming friendly. Millie just runs around clucking, looking confused, while the others gobble up treats around her. She does forage and will eat scratch, but bread or left over veggies don't interest her.
When roosting, Fleur likes to snuggle up practically under one of the Marans, which I didn't expect. She's also set herself between the Marans, which caused quite a fuss. Our Maran sisters like to roost side by side and throw a fit if anyone gets between them.

No one has gotten pecked badly, and they all seem to get along now.