Minnesota!

[BlackBrookPoultry]

Sorry, but I have to admit, I'm glad its you and not me.

 

[FoxyChicken]

Sorry, but I have to admit, I'm glad its you and not me.

Haha, I totally understand! I have the same feeling whenever we get missed by a storm and somebody else gets it bad. What goes around comes around I guess.

 

[joyfulkeeper]

My heart goes out to you all who got snow again.
So after waiting on a broody, and then on DH to make a broody box for the coop, I got impatient and found our large dog crate in the barn, cleaned it up and put it in the coop. So with a cardboard box in the back corner for a nest, and shavings all around, I just put Ms Broody-butt in there with 8 eggs. She settled right in and didn't make a fuss at all. We are so excited! She got off the eggs for a couple minutes to eat when her food was brought to her and then settled right back on the nest. Does anyone have experience with a broody hatching?

 

[joyfulkeeper]

I tell you, what you all need are some good hardy BUCKEYES! They go outside even in the cold and rain and snow. They are super hardy and Minnesota nice too, even if they did originate in Ohio. Hee hee hee.

Ok, I haven't gotten them out of my mind. Please tell me about your Buckeyes. How big are they, good for meat? How many eggs do they lay? Are the roosters good to the flock and friendly with people? How are they with foraging and fertility? ... I want a good cold hardy dual-purpose breed that lays a good amount of eggs. My hatchery australorps and orpingtons have no meat on them but have been great layers.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Ok, I haven't gotten them out of my mind. Please tell me about your Buckeyes. How big are they, good for meat? How many eggs do they lay? Are the roosters good to the flock and friendly with people? How are they with foraging and fertility? ... I want a good cold hardy dual-purpose breed that lays a good amount of eggs. My hatchery australorps and orpingtons have no meat on them but have been great layers.

I will happily PM you a link to all the info you should need to get a clear picture of what a Buckeye is.

But just to answer part of your query... I had a fellow stop yesterday that I know through 4-H who was looking for some hatching eggs for his niece to do a Science project for school. He was going to be the one who got the chickens after she was done. So, I introduced him to Buckeyes. He had never heard of them (he is a dairy farmer with a few layers). So, I walked over and picked up one of my Buckeye roosters, (who coincidentally spent the entire 3 hours I was working in the pasture today, following me and crowing for me today), and I handed him to the guy to feel how much he weighs and how meaty he is. He said, "You just walk over and picked him up!?" (he watched me do it). Yes, I did, because that is the way a properly bred Buckeye is. They are docile and friendly, even without handling, which I do not do other than to move from pen to pen as chicks and juvies or if I need to cage them for some reason. Buckeyes will gather under your feet to see what you are doing and to look for treats, to the point even of getting stepped on. I LOVE my Bucks! and if I could have only one breed, they would be the ones, hands down. I have a few breeds, as you can see, and this winter, the only breed I did NOT lose any of was the Bucks.
I will PM you the rest.

 

[bericswife]

Hey fellow Minnesotans!! Enjoying the torrential rain fall today here in Maplewood, hope ya'll stay safe and dry!!

 

[Cebarmlds]

The wind has been crazy gusty, an old oak tree full of holes near the coop broke- about the top ten feet of it part of it landed on the roof of the coop but no damage because it was basically hollow.

 

[aussiegal318]

Welcome bericswife!

The wind has been crazy gusty, an old oak tree full of holes near the coop broke- about the top ten feet of it part of it landed on the roof of the coop but no damage because it was basically hollow.

Glad to hear there wasn't any damage erlibrd! I've got an oak near the coop that will need to come down for the same reasons. Half of it came down 4 yrs ago & it has termites. It makes a great chicken buffet. I think I will need to get the other side cut before it falls. We had so many trees come down the first 5 years here that I still have a huge wood pile & I've used fire wood for trading material.

 

[Cebarmlds]

Welcome bericswife!



Glad to hear there wasn't any damage erlibrd! I've got an oak near the coop that will need to come down for the same reasons. Half of it came down 4 yrs ago & it has termites. It makes a great chicken buffet. I think I will need to get the other side cut before it falls. We had so many trees come down the first 5 years here that I still have a huge wood pile & I've used fire wood for trading material.

Thanks. My husband wanted to cut it down when we built the coop but I liked it there and it was home to little birds

, there is still 12 or 14 feet of it standing so it shouldn't be a danger now.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Oh Erlibird: I'm glad for your good luck on no damage of your beautiful coop.
The wind is rockin' and rollin' the trees up this way too. We kind of like our trees around the coop area as it keeps it cooler in the summer. But, yah, days like this...makes ya nervous.