Minnesota!

[Bogtown Chick]

Blood streaks are a new pullet laying her first egg. Unless you've got somebody with a prolapsed vent and pickers. Best to set some time aside tonight and look everybody over while they are easy to check on the roost.

Whitewater is gorgeous. The south branch runs through my cousin's farm. Dad used to swim in the pools as a kid. Did you go to Mauer brothers in Elba? Favorite stopping place for us.

The chickens have been poofing their feathers a bit more and despite their various stages of molt the look huge and beautiful standing those feathers up a bit more out there on the lawn.

Gave some tuna fish and chislic as a treat tonight.
Pretty birdies.

 

[KlopKlop]

Klop bloody eggs are normal.

The blood was outside on the shell, not bloody spots inside

 

[KlopKlop]

Blood streaks are a new pullet laying her first egg. Unless you've got somebody with a prolapsed vent and pickers. Best to set some time aside tonight and look everybody over while they are easy to check on the roost.

Whitewater is gorgeous. The south branch runs through my cousin's farm. Dad used to swim in the pools as a kid. Did you go to Mauer brothers in Elba? Favorite stopping place for us.

The chickens have been proofing their feathers a bit more and despite their various stages of molt the look huge and beautiful standing those feathers up a bit more out there on the lawn.

Gave some tuna fish and chislic as a treat tonight.
Pretty birdies.

I would be surprised if this was a pullet's first egg. it was 'normal sized' and those girls are all old enough. i wouldnt rule it out, but i will definitly be checking chicken bums tonight.

Funny how when it comes time to be dealing with animal bums, be it dog cat chicken or otherwise, it always falls to me and DW has 'other things to do'

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Minnie I can't get over your carwash luck. Lol. What an @$$!

 

[KlopKlop]

Blood streaks are a new pullet laying her first egg. Unless you've got somebody with a prolapsed vent and pickers. Best to set some time aside tonight and look everybody over while they are easy to check on the roost.

Whitewater is gorgeous. The south branch runs through my cousin's farm. Dad used to swim in the pools as a kid. Did you go to Mauer brothers in Elba? Favorite stopping place for us.

The chickens have been poofing their feathers a bit more and despite their various stages of molt the look huge and beautiful standing those feathers up a bit more out there on the lawn.

Gave some tuna fish and chislic as a treat tonight.
Pretty birdies.

We came across on the backroads and enjoyed the fall colors, arriving at the park on 39 just to the north. I love driving through the bluffs with the dairy farms and pastures in the bluffs with oak Savannah's. especially in the fall with the palette of colors. DW even made a comment to the tune of 'It would be nice to have a couple cows on our place some day' which makes me very happy

We did swing down to St Charles for gas then up to Elba to hike up to the fire tower. My pups were brave enough to climb it with me, but just barely.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

As promised. It is long...

Lesson’s from a small coop chicken keeper, in winter, in Minnesota

(Mostly learned from mistakes I’ve made my first year)

1 – Ventilation
Ventilation is good, drafts are bad.
Keep the ventilation up high. Do not let it run from low, up over the hens, and out.
Keep the hens’ heads out of the ventilation as well.
It should be passive ventilation, no wind, no drafts.
So, I wasn’t ready for winter last year when in November it went from 53 degrees and 100% humidity to 4 days later, below zero and still 80% humidity. It was terribly, terribly wet. And cold.
My chickens were up high, in the ventilation. I had the high roost up over the vent holes at the bottom, the ventilation came right up and over them. My fault, 2 ended up with frostbite. The two closest to the ventilation holes on the bottom.
Took out the high roost, so now they are on a low roost on the back wall the farthest away from the low ventilation holes as they can get. No new frostbite after that.

What about the coop door to the run? Wouldn't that bring air up into the roosts? I'm going to cover the run in thick clear plastic, so that will eliminate most drafts and wind. Sometimes I miss having two chickens in one of those overpriced Fleet Farm coops. So much easier.....but so incredibly boring.

Also, what do you think about this idea - heated water bucket with the horizontal water nipples? I found one on Amazon. That, or I'm going to try the heated dog bowl.

http://www.amazon.com/API-Quart-Hea...8fs4vvL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR157,160_

 

[Coffee 1st]

Any one know why I can't upload photos anymore? I just got a IPhone 6S+ ?? I use to be able to just hit the square with the picture frame on it then scroll through my photos and click upload now I can't.. Any help would be great... Thanks

 

[KlopKlop]

Any one know why I can't upload photos anymore? I just got a IPhone 6S+ ?? I use to be able to just hit the square with the picture frame on it then scroll through my photos and click upload now I can't.. Any help would be great... Thanks

I havent been able to upload photos from my iphone since they updated to the new iOS 9 version

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Klop and coffee I'd contact BYC administrators and let them know there's some issues with BYC app and bugs operating under those new systems. I'm guessing they are on it trying to work it out... But it may not hurt in case they haven't heard there's some software compatibility issues.

I'm still on a 4s with no room to do the ios8 update for that matter let alone 9 in sure. I'm hoping I'll still be able to do basic stuff at least until May. (Can get a new phone then).

Funny how they keep wheedling and wheedling with the new stuff. Forcing you to upgrade.

Minnesota nice the small pop door to the run opens when it's -5 or higher. The birds stay roosted in the coop keeping feet warm any colder than that so I just shut the pop door to the run to conserve any naturally produced heat in the coop. May as well. I found a lot during some of our colder winters I could open the pop door at noon when the temps approached -5 or 0 F. It does make a difference in my coop as far as temps go. Even with a nice wrapped run.

 

[lalaland]

hey, do you all count your chickens when they roost?

This is getting crazy. That rooster isn't doing anything to anyone, but every chicken is all discombobulated. I have a 6 year old hen who has always, and I mean always, roosted in one spot for 6 years. Not tonight, and at least 2/3rds of the flock were in different places. It took me so long to count, and I came up short, and had to go do a search. Came back in to recheck, and found two different hens practically roosting on top of other hens, which is why I missed them.

glad everyone had a good weekend, except....minniechickiemama at the car wash, and coffee trying to post....