NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lapeerian]

Cortland?  I am originally from Groton but now live down in the Hudson valley.  There is a place near Cortland I think by McGraw or Mclean that does Apple products and maple products along with other stuff... can't remember the name but when we went it was amazing lol.

Hollenbecks Cider Mill? It's outside Cortland, I work there on weekends in the fall.

Beer Can...are you the one that has a pond?  My husband dug a pond years ago.  Now it has
filled with mud...sides fell in I guess.  He lined it all with large rocks and it was fine for our Call Ducks for many years. Now it has cat tails and MUD.

I called Oneida County Extension.....asked what I could do to revive the Pond.  She said I was lucky to have the man made Pond for so many years.  I am trying to find someone who would clean the Pond.  It is looking so poorly.  Any suggestions?  Thanks Aria

Try your local Soil & Water Conservation District. I know our SWCD has technical assistance and also keep a Contractors List, people you could hire to excavate the pond.

 

[Beer can]

Beer Can...are you the one that has a pond?  My husband dug a pond years ago.  Now it has
filled with mud...sides fell in I guess.  He lined it all with large rocks and it was fine for our Call Ducks for many years. Now it has cat tails and MUD.

I called Oneida County Extension.....asked what I could do to revive the Pond.  She said I was lucky to have the man made Pond for so many years.  I am trying to find someone who would clean the Pond.  It is looking so poorly.  Any suggestions?  Thanks Aria

My pond is spring feed which helps alot, moving water keeps things from growing. But I have to make a ditch, divert the water to do that, stream runs through our front yard and feeds the neighbors nice probably acre pond. Ours is aprox a 1/8 acre? I haven't bothered the last few yrs cause if I don't it grows tons of duck weed (high in protein) and the chickens love it, lots of frogs and tadpoles and salamanders when I scoop it up and feed them also.
For cleaning out a pond, I agree with ChickenCowboy02 suggestion, depending on size, mini excavator or a big one depending on the size of pond. They do a nice job with little disturbance of the surrounding area. Do you have a 'pennysaver' for your area? Craigslist might be great for some stuff but the good hard working cheaper old timers that will work hard for the $ are rarely online, word by mouth and newspaper ads. I have my own large backhoe now but used to hire out some work from a guy with a nice small one $45hr not sure what a small excavator would cost, should be less than a 100hr today ?
I'd have to ask my dad what he pays now to strip his bluestone quarry, it's been 15yrs since I hired them, not sure where your at but I highly recommend Lafever excavating in Bovina Center, Delaware county. Big excavator and the operator I know is the same, can move mountains, bet he could dig a five acre trout pond in half a day. Was $140hr, and if I remember right $500 trucking. Might sound like a lot, but you only have to pay once for the investment.

And;
"She said I was lucky to have the man made Pond for so many years"

If you have a problem with the pond holding water, place not far from me did, must not have sealed, no clay IDK, I'm not a pond builder, looks nice now for yrs, they make liners for those situations and they put one in, pond liners.

 

[LavvyTaffy]

Poor Red has to stay in a coop by herself tonight:-( the roos were giving her too much attention. She was bleeding in some spots:-(

 

[AmberKnits]

My dad used to dig out the shallow areas of their pond with an excavator as well. They had cattails that would take over. We hired a farmer with an excavator last summer to do a few jobs for us, and it cost a lot less than I'd expected it to cost. I think the guy asked for about $40/hr. But he was an older gentleman who refused to charge the going rate.

 

[LavvyTaffy]

Also, barley straw works good on the weeds, cattails, etc. Just put in a straw feed bad and tie opening up so none gets out, then tie a rock to it and throw in.

 

[Gramma Chick]

I moved my TSC chicks outside last week - they are the most skittish group of chicks I have ever had. I think my hatched here babies must get used to us
talking around the incubator and are calmer. Who knows?

I think incubated chicks think you are mom ..
The 2 hens I hatched do ...Both would come up to me to be picked up ..One is still alive and still does

 

[tao chick]

Every time: An early hatcher (3 am on day 20) in my incubator is chirping loudly for its friends to come out. I mostly slept through it and will not open the incubator until tomorrow morning unless they get themselves in trouble.

 

[DrumlinPoint]

--

I moved my TSC chicks outside last week - they are the most skittish group of chicks I have ever had. I think my hatched here babies must get used to us
talking around the incubator and are calmer. Who knows?  

Of all the chicks we have this year, the TSC chicks are the most skittish by far. (We didn't incubate any this year.)

 

[too many roos]

Hi everyone. I'm having a problem with silkie roosters I have too many. Originally I bought 6 and 4 were roosters, 1 female died from being eggbound we got rid of 2 already but don't have room for any more. I just bought a bunch of chicks most were pullets but I got 3 more silkies and unfortunately 1 is definitely a male. He is 3 weeks old now. I either want to get rid of him or one of my adult males, he's a year old.

 

[cow whisperer]

. Some of my flock. Mostly in the pic is Rhode Island Reds but there is a single Buff.