Nevadans?

[Lacy Blues]

Missy,

Just to let you know, I think spring comes April/May? 4H is starting to wind down for the year by then. They work from about August to May/June, depending on when the county fair is held. At least the ones we were involved in did it that way. So you might want to start on that bantam duck project sooner.

I don't know if Seth is in the local 4H or what but maybe he would know about the local club?

It was nice to meet y'all today at lunch.

Sorry I missed you Aubrey. You mentioned you came in around 3:00. That being the case, was that you with the blue hair and fishnet stockings? Were you at Joann's after that? If so, I think I saw you but sorry I didn't get a chance to say hello. I'm a little on the shy side in person and there was NO WAY I would walk up to someone and ask "Are you Aubrey?"

 

[chicharomirinda]

It was good to see those of you who made it to Carrow's today. It's always enjoyable to chat with chicken peeps.

we missed you aubrey! sorry you had to spend so much time at the dmv.

Sorry I missed the show too! But my nephew agreed to help me clean my garage today and as those of you who also have bad backs know you have to take that kind of help when you can get it!

I hope someone took pictures of the get together at Carrow's - I would love to see them!

oops! I didn't take any photos at the get together this time. sorry. We missed you but it was good you got help with your garage.

 

[chicharomirinda]

I know what I'm going to say isn't chicken stuff but from the ones who do believe in prayer, please pray for Staff Sgt. Rayvon's family. My son Alan is in Afghanistan and he has lost a fellow soldier there. They just got there a few days ago. I hope no one is upset I post this, I personally feel we should remember our soldiers who will not be home for the Holiday's this year.

Anyways, see you all tomorrow.

such sad news. definitely will pray for that family. there are so many families who have sacrificed so much. it's good to remember that.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Sorry i missed everyone today. I had to get to the DMV otherwise id have no way to get to work Monday morning. (two and a half hour wait!!!) I did go by for a few minutes around 3:00 but i was in and out.

2 and a half hours!!! Yikes! I need to go and get a moving permit to have our Mazda smogged but I can't hang there that long! I think I'll avoid the Saturday thing. Hope you got everything you needed done. You wouldn't want to have to do that again anytime soon.

Sorry I missed the show too! But my nephew agreed to help me clean my garage today and as those of you who also have bad backs know you have to take that kind of help when you can get it!

I hope someone took pictures of the get together at Carrow's - I would love to see them!

Oh shoot! I'm sorry I didn't even think about it! Aubrey's the one that always remembers to take pics.

I wish I could say that you didn't miss anything but we had a blast! We filled that huge table they set up for 25 people and were so busy sharing funny stories of our chickens that we never even stopped to think about pics. Poo! Next time I guess. We did miss your and Aubrey's shining faces though!


OK I promised Vegas Chick a pic of the waterer. I got the drinking cup waterers from ebay. They came with pipe connectors but I didn't use them. We just wrapped the threads with teflon tape and screwed them into the holes we predrilled into the food grade barrels (make sure the drilled holes are smaller than the OD of the threads, you can always make the hole larger but once you go too big you're in trouble). The barrels were $20 at the surplus store. They have white or blue. I got blue cause I didn't want to have to worry about algae growth and the white barrels let too much light in. Excuse the dirty blanket on top. We have been covering them on super cold nights figuring that would slow down heat loss.




Oh, I forgot to mention, the cup waterers are trigger activated. The chickens have to hit the lever inside the cup to break the seal for a moment to get water to flow into the cup. They figured this out by themselves immediately though. I thought we might have to show them how to use them but they ran right over and in a few seconds had it down pat.

 

[sherylreno]

Sheryl, do Welsh harlequins slow down in egg laying after a certain age? Someone on Craigslist is selling 2 hens for $10 (each?) and it doesn't say the age, so I texted to ask.

Yes, as with all birds, they will slow down but unlike chickens it'll take them a whole lot longer. They also live longer than chickens. John told me to tell you, yes they do slow down when they get old and die, then they tend to stop laying. Whatever, John. That's a great price for WH's. If you want a show quality bird then you should take Mel. He's the perfect size, color and shape they are looking for. In order to show any duck you must feed them duck feed too so their coloring will come in perfectly. All 3 of my drakes are show quality birds but Mel is the best of them and 2 hens are show quality as well. Misty isn't show quality and yet she produces only show quality birds. Sierra is show quality but does not produce show hens but her drakes are the best. I just don't get it.

Here's Justin and Sierra. Their shapes are really good. This picture was taken just
before Sierra's feet turn black. Black feet on the hen is part of the standard.



Speaking of the poultry show, did anyone noticed the SLW's there? They were hatchery birds and someone entered them anyways. I couldn't believe that. If it was someone from our page sorry but the shock was over whelming. I guess they figured since they were the only ones then perhaps they could win. I can entered Sylvia then because her lacing is great but her body shape isn't exactly where it should be. The 3 SLW's body shape wasn't at all to standard. I know, I'm a chicken snob.

 

[Lacy Blues]

The SLW probably just had super adoring owners who didn't know any better. I know the first time I had my own chickens, I got rhode island reds from a hatchery and I thought they were beautiful. Now, I know what a red is supposed to look like and those production birds are absolutely nauseating.

BIG chicken snob here.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

Yes, as with all birds, they will slow down but unlike chickens it'll take them a whole lot longer. They also live longer than chickens. John told me to tell you, yes they do slow down when they get old and die, then they tend to stop laying. Whatever, John. That's a great price for WH's. If you want a show quality bird then you should take Mel. He's the perfect size, color and shape they are looking for. In order to show any duck you must feed them duck feed too so their coloring will come in perfectly. All 3 of my drakes are show quality birds but Mel is the best of them and 2 hens are show quality as well. Misty isn't show quality and yet she produces only show quality birds. Sierra is show quality but does not produce show hens but her drakes are the best. I just don't get it.

Here's Justin and Sierra. Their shapes are really good. This picture was taken just
before Sierra's feet turn black. Black feet on the hen is part of the standard.



Speaking of the poultry show, did anyone noticed the SLW's there? They were hatchery birds and someone entered them anyways. I couldn't believe that. If it was someone from our page sorry but the shock was over whelming. I guess they figured since they were the only ones then perhaps they could win. I can entered Sylvia then because her lacing is great but her body shape isn't exactly where it should be. The 3 SLW's body shape wasn't at all to standard. I know, I'm a chicken snob.

Lol thanks, John. That's good to know.

Here's the ad. I just texted the seller, and they are 1.5 years old and about to come out of molt. I think I'm going to do it. I am sooooo impressed with the egg laying of the two I got from you! I'll talk to Sahara about taking Mel. The only problem is that I'm thinking of hatching a few ducklings out in the spring, and I'm concerned about the close genetics. If I let my blue swedish drakes father them, then they'll be mutts but won't have crossed genes. And it might be hard to tell the difference in whose eggs are whose.

How much noisier do you think 4 girls will be, versus two? My girls have started quieting down now.

http://reno.craigslist.org/grd/3412760928.html

 

[americanvalkyrie]

The SLW probably just had super adoring owners who didn't know any better. I know the first time I had my own chickens, I got rhode island reds from a hatchery and I thought they were beautiful. Now, I know what a red is supposed to look like and those production birds are absolutely nauseating.

BIG chicken snob here.

Yeah, I have so many chickens that I think are beautiful! But most of them are hatchery girls. And I remind myself that because they ARE hatchery stock, there are hidden things that a breeder girl might not have. Like intelligence, when it comes to my brabanter.

 

[sherylreno]

I can understand them doing that. I had no idea how the hatcheries ruined most breeds. When John and I went to Sunny's house to pick out the chickens she showed us a RIR. John said, that doesn't look like the RIR we had in CA. Then Sunny said, nope, she's a hatchery and that's what the hatcheries did to the breed. Then I understood. I thought my chickens could be show quality as well but once you learn what to look for, you end up laughing at your stock.

Thanks for the prayers and well wishes. Staff Sgt. Rayvon was in the Army for less than a year. This was his first deployment. He was an Engineer and there was an accident by the way it sounds from the official notice that went out to the family members of the soldiers over there. I do not believe the Taliban was involved in this one. Such a young person too.

Now Lacy, how many people do you know who would run around town with blue hair and show up at a poultry show?

There's only one girl I'm aware of in this whole town, Aubrey, the new "That Girl"! Sorry to have missed you Aubrey.

I thought of bringing Leroy to the show so everyone could see this beautiful rooster but thank goodness I didn't. The chickens that hatched out this year did not go into the covered run. You couldn't get the older ones out and the younger ones would not go in there. Well Leroy, bless his little heart, just looked like a bunch of wet feathers hanging off this soaking wet rooster. The guy looks huge when dry but the same size as the older hens when wet. I think I need to find a chicken salon so they can get their feathers and nails done? It's time to spread the alfafa all over the yard again so we don't go slipping and sliding all over.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

I thought of bringing Leroy to the show so everyone could see this beautiful rooster but thank goodness I didn't.

There was a huge dark brahma at the show that had kind of a growly sound. It fit her because she was monstrous. But she also had a glistening nose, and when she squawked there was a bit of mucous in her beak. I don't know if she really was sick or not, but I told my family not to touch her cage. It just made me think about how chicken shows are breeding grounds. That's one of the reasons I suggested Sahara show a duck. Plus, she read in her duck book that there is a lot less work to get them show-ready.