Michigan

[chicken grandma]

I hereby motion that Nova be in charge of a weekly recap post.

I second that!

 

[taprock]

I can see one of my eggs wiggling so I haven't given up totally yet.

I'll not go into all the disasters of the past two days. Loads of my stress comes from good 'ole 5/3rd bank, which at this point I have nothing good to say about. I will tell you about my chick dog experience this morning. My bantam's are still in the dog crate in the basement. In the morning I let the dog out the back door and then while he's out water the chicks. I just leave the door open and see who is adventurous and pops their head out each morning. So dog goes out, water chicks, close the cage back up, let the dog in and then I went out the back door to feed and let the chickens outside out. I came back in 5 - 10 minutes later to the dog sitting in the middle of the floor next to the dog crate of chicks. Strange, but .... then I see a chick hiding behind the man door for the garage that is propped against the wall. Leo the boxer is just staring at it not moving. I grabbed the chick and put it in the cage and then Leo does his pounce. He has grabbed chickens in the past so I'm not sure why he didn't this time. However if he hadn't seen it I would have missed it. It was Miss Hoggy the Sebright a very devious and flighty little thing.

Nova I loved your recap!

 

[NovaAman]

Well, I guess I could....HAA!

I found the spot where the deviant dog got out. Fixed that. I didn't make it to lowes to get another pack of furring strips. BUT I do not work tomorrow, so, will go then. I have to get the hinges for my summer coop door. Poor chickies were panting big time this morning even with the coop door left open. I am going to cut drill in an few dime sized holes right at roost level at a slightly upward angle so if it does rain, it wont go strait in, but the wind will still be able to go thru. Yes, there is plenty of ventilation already, but the wind was not blowing in a direction that would benefit them... SO, put some more venting on the east facing wall. Right now its on the north and south walls.

I have cock fight central here today. The un-named roo, Roopert, and Rock decided that it was the perfect time to see who was the big man. Well hell, time to make the appointment for their camp stay. I am only keeping Ugly Boy. And only because he is so weirdly odd looking. LOL. I will have to get a new pic of him. Its Belle Mai's brother. She's pretty, and he... Well he has both the single and the mulberry comb thing going on, his crest is all sorts of messed up... LOL. BUT he has a pattern that is out of this world. babigryl... she can attest to this... Well anyway, I had to keep breaking it up. They can wait till they get decked out for camp to do their battling.

7 roosters crowing... WOOHOO! Talk about a wake up call.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Hey all! I'm new to the whole chicken loving life.

I dont have any chickens yet

but Im trying to convince my mom to allow me to get about 6 hens once i sell my 2 Pekin ducks..
But I was wondering... What are good breeds of chickens for S.W. Mi? I would prefer they arent bantams...(to try to limit the number of predators that would thing of trying to snatch a few.) I would like them to be good egg layers too.
thanks guys!

& Welcome! My Delawares and Black Austrolorps are my best layers and they are a good dual purpose bird too.

Eggs going into lockdown tomorrow night.
Candled all 30 eggs at 13 days. 12 look pretty good, I guess. Large and dark.

Finished my brooder today.
Made it out of a kitchen base cabinet turned upside down.

Very nice! Are some of these eggs ones you got from me? If so I can't believe it has been 3 weeks already. Good luck!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

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

On the leadership part, i was guilty of not being dominant enough in the beginning of this behavior, it wasn't until the neighbors kid started harassing him that it started, he was a year old at that point. . I can be a very dominant person, when i am sure of myself, but ii do not like conflict as a rule, that's my fault for not persisting a little harder...
I also did not make my skirmishes "memorable", that's why i say now to make sure you make it a memorable win, not just a dance around the yard with a stick and walk away. I finally won the battle and then chased him around for a week, no hugs or affection until he accepted me as "fit to lead", . but i don't know how to make that apply to ALL humans, not just myself.....
As far as understanding the intricacies of an animal's body language, i understand it a little too well,.

It's people I'm not so good with.
A friend had a dog that he got late in it's life with no training, he turned it around by "giving it a job" so that's what i did with my roo. Aside from general rooster duties, his "job" is to fetch the girls in for me, whether it be putting them away early in the afternoon or late in the evening. I tell him to go get the girls, he will bring them to me, and if there are stragglers he will go back out after them once i get whoever he brought safely put inside. It also works when i want the girls brought out to work in the garden with me, i call for him and he will round up the girls and walk them out. I have him taught that they are not to be out there without me, so that is another bonus! If i get interrupted and have to leave the garden suddenly he will take them back to the coop. (he will also come when called, and jump onto my knee. (was the sholder, but i couldn't handle the claws! ) I guess he's a feathered sheepdog.

The two i had to give up on were purchased as teens, i don't have any way of knowing how they were handled previously. I will not buy another grown roo unless i know how he was handled.

Quote:Originally Posted by Juise I ran out of the chick starter feed today.
I thought that the extra calcium in the laying mash would hurt the chick's liver??

 

[Mish]

I second that!

Me too!!! Your posts are always great Nova. Even with the browser window open I don't always have time to read the posts so it does take a while to catch up if at all. Your auto spell is always fun and I just remembered the German treat thing you mentioned a while back. I didn't think it was the right word at first and it made me wonder, so another laugh.

 

[Juise]

Quote:

I'll spread the word on Juise's pregnancy on all the forums I go to

x_x


I did the ants pants dance today. I stood right on top of a giant ant hill, one that I knew was there, but forgot about like a bloody idiot. I stood right there cutting grape vines, when the crawly feeling began to steal over me. I looked down and I was absolutely covered in those huge black and red ants up to my waist. I lost no time in legging it, but, of course, they do not shake off, so to hell with what the neighbors think, I dropped my pants and made for the house in a hurry. I'm not being eaten alive by monster ants for the sake of modesty!

 

[Juise]

Quote:

I thought that the extra calcium in the laying mash would hurt the chick's liver??

Yes, that is why I was asking!

P.S. Who wants to come take down a tree for me?

I am scared to do it because it is relatively near the house and also right next to the 6 foot wooden fence surrounding the pool.

 

[a6a5puma]

Thanks Hillbilly Hen! I was looking at Rhode Island Reds or Orpingtons.. But now that I've seen how cute Delewares are I want some of those! Are they nice and friendly?

Also does any know or does anyone live around Kalamazoo that has some Dellies? The Tractor Supply is the only place I know sells chicks.. but they arent anymore...
Chicks or eggs please

thanks yall!

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

Juise...

Awesome! I would have done the same thing!!!