NY chicken lover!!!!

[Pyxis]

How is your blind chicken doing?

She's doing okay. She is now all settled into the cemani flock, but everyone, even the legbar pullet, is dominant over her. She's having a bad molt, which isn't helping. She eats when I'm in the coop, but I don't know if she's eating otherwise. I also showed her the water yesterday and she had a few drinks but she wasn't gulping it as it she hadn't had any so I guess she found that okay. I did have to take her off the roost - the night before her little 'handicapped' roost close to floor broke so I just put her up on the real roost until I could get something else in there, and she jsut stayed on it all day until I went out, afraid to jump down because she couldn't tell how far away the ground was.

Last night we got our garden fully cleared and tilled. I potted my geraniums. Then this morning something went in my back while dashing to make the time clock. I went to urgent care and had an xray. I have a curve in my spine but they think it was muscle spasms. I now get to take muscle relaxers and pain meds and a list of exercises to do. Maybe after a day or so I can get my garlic planted.

Feel better!

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Really? You should see this place. Junk tossed into the woods. Old tires and tarps, Huge cement slabs. I will never get it cleaned. We're in our sixties. Most of what I mow is uneven and bumpy. I just cleaned up where a twg pile was and underneath found broken glass. I had to clean that up and dumped it in an area to be buriend. So I've defined a perimeter and will work in that. The woods will still be woods. This I dug a trench next to and buried it. This I plan to paint and turn into yard art. I'd like to do the same with all the tires but can't figure out how to cut them in half. This other mess is outside the perimeter so will stay there. This guy was rescued and turned into lawn decoration I'm working on painting him green and adding chicken wire around his legs so Ivy can grow up. He has some holes stuffed with moss too.

reminds me of our property. 3 houses have burned here over the years and no clean up was done. Plus at some point in time this was a farm of some sort with the old wire fencing and barbed wire grown into trees and buried under years of fallen brush. We have only scratched the surface so far. Luckily I'm only 35 and have 4 wiling kids and an able body husband . My oldest girl is disabled so not much help from her but she loves playing in the leaf piles.

 

[rancher hicks]

It would be more work ...but instead of cutting the tires ...bury them 1/2 in the ground

Definitely more work than this old boy can do. I'd take them in but they're $4-5 each and I've got probably more than ten. The junk in these woods is a rotten shame.

Friend came by and took a lot fo metal. Two old wheelbarrows, bed frame, chain link poles and fencing. AND there is still more junk out there!

 

[rancher hicks]

reminds me of our property. 3 houses have burned here over the years and no clean up was done. Plus at some point in time this was a farm of some sort with the old wire fencing and barbed wire grown into trees and buried under years of fallen brush. We have only scratched the surface so far. Luckily I'm only 35 and have 4 wiling kids and an able body husband . My oldest girl is disabled so not much help from her but she loves playing in the leaf piles.

That's why I figured a perimeter and will just work with in that. P. Allen Smith and his garden rooms idea. Divided it up in the areas and work on each.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

That's why I figured a perimeter and will just work with in that.  P. Allen Smith and his garden rooms idea. Divided it up in the areas and work on each.  

That's our plan. First was clear area for the kids and dogs to play. Then came vegetables then chickens. Next is a chunk out back for cattle and such. The dang critter math is killer though. We only wanted 10 chickens, ever! And those were for the kids. Now it's a blasted egg factory soon to be a meat machine as well. It too fun to watch the girls chase bugs to want to give up now. So we shall keep cleaning and expanding their area.

 

[shodack]

Just have to share that for the first time today I got four eggs from my four chickens!!

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

Such a funny day! We let the girls out and for the first time when I started to walk toward the garage they were running after me. SEVERAL times. They were hungry monsters!

I've never seen them run WITH me before. They've usually been skittish. It was fun to see them run with their necks bobbing back and forth. Hahaha The Black Australorps are the friendliest and they let both my daughter and I pet them and feed them. The Golden Laced Wyandottes are the second friendliest. The EE's are skittish and temperamental. lol

So a quick question. Those of you who process them for meat. Do you have everything with you? I'm not sure we're going to get any for processing. I'm a bit nervous about not being able to get the job done. I've seen the cone method. We don't have the interesting tub that take the feathers out. For those who have just a few for eggs. What do you do with your girls when they stop producing? Do you let them get old until the pass? Or do you process them for meat? I haven't really thought that far but I suppose I had better get some kind of plan going. When do the chickens stop laying?

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

Just have to share that for the first time today I got four eggs from my four chickens!!

Hooray!!! How old are your chickens? What exciting news.

 

[rancher hicks]

That's our plan. First was clear area for the kids and dogs to play. Then came vegetables then chickens. Next is a chunk out back for cattle and such. The dang critter math is killer though. We only wanted 10 chickens, ever! And those were for the kids. Now it's a blasted egg factory soon to be a meat machine as well. It too fun to watch the girls chase bugs to want to give up now. So we shall keep cleaning and expanding their area.

yeah I figured 25 but now it's about 40 give or take.

Though with the price of egg commercial I could sell lots. I have none of late though.

FYI, everyone. The AI problem has not affected the meat bird industry. Nice article in the Hobby Farm magazine.

 

[shodack]

They are roughly 25 weeks old, I'm so proud!! I think the last just started laying in the last few days.
On your other question, our plan is to process them for meat when they aren't producing many eggs. In my village I'm technically only allowed 5 hens (though I'm planning to stretch that just a little bit by adding a couple new chicks each year to keep them productive), so keeping them as pets isn't feasible. I'm a vegetarian, but my husband and daughter aren't, and I'll be pleased they are eating meat from hens that were raised clean and healthy.