Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

I would never pay 200 for a cord either!


Fuel oil is cheaper than that.



Bert Jr was attacked today, He lost some neck and butt feathers. Dang teen rooster are bucking for position and Bert Jr has Bert's mellow disposition, I moved him and Bertha in with the CXs.

When I picked up Bertha she squawked and one of Bert's half brothers attacked me. He has earned himself a trip to Freezer Camp! It is really weird, Berts kids that turned out white and red are mellow, the ones that turned out black/white barred with red bleed are Aholes. They will not be in the breeding program. I have decided to not lock up the Guineas anymore. I am going to put all the roosters in there and make it a bachelor pad. After camp day Ed and whichever BA I keep can move back to the coop.(maybe. The girls need a break too).

I have decided as soon as my whizbang gets done Guinea season opens. The old ones will be first if they are alive. If I like Guinea meat the rest will follow based on size. Unless someone here wants some guineas. I have decided to stop raising them, They are not worth the trouble they cause me. UNLESS you are interested in some, the they are perfect angels, and fun to have around.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Oh I forgot I was going to ask something.
I have one polish hen of laying age. She had started laying in August. She laid around 10 or so eggs total. Always normal eggs. She hasn't laid an egg now since August 16th. Not a one! Overall, her health seems fine. She does get picked on though. She is missing her tail feathers and most of her crown. But that isn't new. She has been the bottom of the pecking order always. So what could be going on? No feed changes or anything like that. I am stumped. Wondering if there could be something I am missing here that I can do for her. Any thoughts?

x2 on what LaLa said. I think she is stressed with being picked on. Silkies and Polish are so loving but chickens are prejudiced and even will flock up and have BFF's of similar coloring. They are not PC at all.

Big Bird Dies today in this heat. I found him lying next to the waterer. He has spent the last three day holding his wings out and trying to stay cool. This heat is terrible on the larger bodied birds.

I am hoping not to lose any CXs during this. It cannot end soon enough. I have several of the larger roosters holding their wings out too. I am letting them have lots of shade and water, I think that is about all I can do.

So sorry about Big Bird. Know you did your best by him. Do you also add ice to the waterers? I know it lasts like 2.5 seconds on those hot days. but I will take empty water bottles. Fill them with water again out of the tap and tuck them in the freezer for my two water founts on those nasty hot days. I then cross my fingers hoping they last longer than 2.5 seconds enough to get the birds' core temperatures down.

Do you remember that Minnesota Viking that passed away from heat exhaustion. Casey or something like that? He had a hot day of practice one day. Not feeling well. Went back out to practice in the heat again...a big guy. Well have you ever seen what happens to raw liver when you put it in a frying pan. The heat maybe on extra low compared to a frying pan. But the proteins start to change and pretty soon you have organ meat that does not function on a cellular level anymore. I wonder if that's what happens to these birds. It's just cumulative damage. Poor birdies.

Sorry you lost BB. I lost my big, beautiful Partridge Cochin. He was under a coop yesterday, I thought cooling down. He also started molting and lost a bunch of tail feathers. But today, he had a purple comb. I picked him up and started looking him over and he had the worst case of fly strike I could ever imagine. I put him down right there. I don't know what the cause was, he was acting normal until the last couple of days, and I just figured heat and molt had him down and out. So gross of a way to go, I just had to end his suffering as quick as I could. Another reason for me to part ways with those big fluff balls. You can see anything that is going on with them until it is really bad, unless you pick them up every day, and after doing inventory, I have 270 birds, no way I am picking up every one every day, or week for that matter. I do try to look everyone over when I go in to feed each pen, but I would be all day trying to pick them up. I am sure with the heat and influx of flies that it didn't take long for that whole thing to transpire either.

Oh Minnie. My heart is sick for the loss of that beautiful Cochin. I think I'll be breaking out the scissors and bath tubs for the girls and Tootsie this week. Sheesh..." Clean the Fluff Day" is officially on next week's docket.

We had another attack last night. Lost 2 roosters. Only a pile of feathers. No carcass again. Game camera was not turned on so no pictures but it was not in the right area of the attack. There are prints galore thanks to the rain. Am I dealing with dog or wolf? Would dogs eat the whole bird? Perhaps a hungry runaway. Should I call the DNR?

I am at a loss still. Kids are so upset and frustrated. I can relate.

Oh no Rhetts. After seeing the track pictures and knowing where you live. Wolf.... Sounds like your two Roosters did their jobs as far as they could though. Giving the ultimate sacrifice and doing what they were born to do. Hero Roosters.

OK here is how my day went yesterday.... I went to let the girls out of the coop and i always say Pooper Pack,,,Pooper Pack,,just to give them a heads up Mommas coming so we can start our day and they wont be startled by the door.. ANYWAYS as i said that i hear this loud restyling inside the coop and i thought Holy Sh$t whats in there,,the girls are chirping away and i was scared to open the door but knew i had to.. so i cracked it open a little and there was some guy in there.. OMFG i screamed and yelled W$F are you doing in my coop!!! he was saying sorry sorry sorry i was just looking for a dry place to sleep.. i told him get the F off my property he is lucky i didn't have my gun on me otherwise i would have shot him.. and if he EVER comes back i will shoot him then call the cops...
So in the heat yesterday i spent the day wiring it and went and bought locks to lock the nest boxes,pop door,big door and screen door.. it was so HOT working in that heat i thought i was going to pass out couple times..i was sweating more then i could drink..
Again this was supposed to be a temporary home until my husband retired BUT for now i have to make it my permanent home..we are right off the freeway and there is a halfway house couple blocks away...nice house nice yard BUT way to close to people for me.. the lady across the alley said she had to get rid of her kids playhouse because people would always sleep in it..

had to edit,,guess i cant swear they automatically delete it...LOL

Holy Shizzle. Did you know that you can get a permit to carry a hand gun in the great state of Minnesota? And they even make them in pink colors to go with Stilletos?!

My Mom was a nurse in a State Run Mental Facility in Minnesota. Before she was forced into an early retirement, they brought into the facility older prisoners, pedophiles, those that were "low risk". They started asking my mother at 61 years of age, a LPN. To take these folks out to Dairy Queen and supervise them with her other lady nurse friends. My mother watched these "low risk" people watching the general public and their beautiful children too closely. Totally inappropriate to bring them out into the general public and it made her scared. She said that the next move before they tore the building down was to move these folks to half-way houses around the area. Some of the men...well I assume they were mostly men-- were so excited and were discussing how they'll probably get into little league coaching...etc. She wanted to vomit. Knowing that these men still needed to be institutionalized.

The state of mental health care in this country is scary. There are no institutions left. and somebody may disagree with me. But I totally think they are a perfect investment of my tax dollars. Just in case I want to go watch a Batman movie in my theater and not get my head blown off...for example.

Coffee 1st. I don't envy where you live my dear. OMG...

it was a beautiful labor day weekend, right?

And whoever said they are going for the crabgrass seeds, they were harvesting that like crazy.

It was me. It was Me! they love their grass seeds.


Well back from Lake Vermilion. It appears I have my whole Flock and Dixie is getting off the nest again. Less bick-bicking. All heads are accounted for. Tootsie always acts a little off when it comes to me. He lets me know he did not appreciate my absence and treats me like a stranger. I threw out some meat left overs and I think he remembers me again. LOL.
Turd.

Well we stayed in our RV on my husband's Aunts Lake Home property on Vermilion and it was a treat. There's some "dynamics" with this particular part of the family but we were appreciative for the free stay and power cord plug in for our comfy AC in the 5th wheel. We can deal with dynamics for free juice. And of course beautiful Lake Vermilion did not disappoint. We had a Bullhead fish fry feeding 21 people. (Most of fish provided by the professional bull head fishermen/women. ahem--my Dad once said, "Some people know how to fish. Some don't...." ) and plus we brought home 16 bullheads for our Freezer.

Here are my Bullhead fishermen.





We had good fishing weather when the sun was up. Muggy but it would hold off raining until night. We thought we were going to lose our canopy though Saturday night. The storm whipping shook our camper pretty good.

Well it's already dark out and I better head down to the coop and tuck in my feathered friends.

I'll be back...

Edited to conform to BYC TOS.

 

[Cluckies]

@Bogtown Chick , nice bullheads! Welcome back, glad you had a great time!

 

[Rhetts]

Bogtown-both of my parents worked for the state of Mn at the Regional Treatment Center in Fergus Falls my whole life. I grew up involved with all kinds of folks. Was a sad day when they decided that all the facilities were to be closed and every patient was sent to half way homes. Just not the right place for some of them. My dad was forced into early retirement too. Mom is still being bounced around between two homes/centers ran by the state.
Some of my fondest memories are doing things with the patients. Ah the memories.

 

[scandiafowl]

Bogtown-both of my parents worked for the state of Mn at the Regional Treatment Center in Fergus Falls my whole life.  I grew up involved with all kinds of folks.  Was a sad day when they decided that all the facilities were to be closed and every patient was sent to half way homes.  Just not the right place for some of them.  My dad was forced into early retirement too.  Mom is still being bounced around between two homes/centers ran by the state.
Some of my fondest memories are doing things with the patients.  Ah the memories.

Do I remember those days. We worked with the folks that wanted to live in community. Lives that had an everlasting impact on me.

 

[aussiegal318]

I took a motorcycle ride up to wabasha and then down the river and back across. Found lots of great roads down in the bluffs, for sight seeing and riding both. I was amazed how many cool farms j saw with goats and geese and Llammas and the like. One place had to have over 100 goats for sure! Came home and we are on for chicken tv now that the weather is nice!! Welcome back all!!

Was that place with the goats closer to Red Wing? There is a place that rents out goats to clear land; They bring as many goats as needed & fencing, you have to fence off any trees or areas you don't want damaged or cleared. Up over Diamond Bluff way they have quite a few sheep, most of those farms have Aussies from the breeder I got my 12 yo from. She always needs untrained sheep, so she keeps borrowing sheep & sends them back trained & sometime sends a dog too. I love the River Run. Used to drive the bus for the senior apartments in Red Wing during the Fall color rides & I just let them tell me where to go because they knew the best places.

 

[KlopKlop]

Was that place with the goats closer to Red Wing? There is a place that rents out goats to clear land; They bring as many goats as needed & fencing, you have to fence off any trees or areas you don't want damaged or cleared. Up over Diamond Bluff way they have quite a few sheep, most of those farms have Aussies from the breeder I got my 12 yo from. She always needs untrained sheep, so she keeps borrowing sheep & sends them back trained & sometime sends a dog too. I love the River Run. Used to drive the bus for the senior apartments in Red Wing during the Fall color rides & I just let them tell me where to go because they knew the best places.

it was southwest of wabasha on highway 60 if I am remembering right. It looked like it may have been a dairy operation. There was a pen that had lots of kids in it and there was full grown goats browsing all over in the hills

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Wow! It sure has been awhile since I've been able to get logged back on Backyard Chickens! I lost my phone, a.k.a. my life link, back in June. I'm slowly but surely getting all my usernames and passwords figured out for everything again. Learned my lesson the hard way. The part that really kicks me in the arse is losing all of the pictures I never backed up....sigh....

@Bogtown Chick , great pictures from Lake Vermilion! Beautiful area!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Thanks for the Welcome Back All.

Lake Vermilion is a gorgeous Lake. "Little Bit of Money" on that lake. The lake lots for sale are outrageous if I do say so.

Kids are already tucked in bed. Tomorrow they are off to school. And it will be nice quiet lunch breaks at home for dear mother.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Welcome back on @MinnesotaNice.

That's weird Cluckies that Michigan thread was popping up for you. Sometimes I follow up on what you guys are talking about on other threads so...

I was looking at that Michigan thread that shut down in 2012 and then opened a new thread. I think they did a lot of clean up but. I reread TOS and will be careful with my innuendo, cussing (according to Ralphie) and politics. (well I'll really try anyways). If anybody has a beef with me just PM me first before turning me in. Because I really really like you all and I'd hate it if we were "flaming" mad at each other. LOL. But serious too...

xoxo
BC