NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lapeerian]

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Lapeerian,  I made the switch to a heated H20 bucket for my horse last winter.  My friend did the same for her 2 "boys".  I find my horse drinks more because the water isn't so icy cold and we got so sick of breaking and scooping ice from the buckets.  One benefit for you to haul the warm H20:  you must be in great shape, LOL!

TOB

I have 3 heated buckets, but no electricity yet. Hopefully next year! Parents got me a breaker box and frost free hydrant for Christmas. I was excited! Bought the house in 2009, barn built in 2010, keep working on projects each year. It's getting there.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Just gave the chickens a new treat. Last night we had Maine lobster. We enjoyed it a great deal and haven't had fresh lobster in a long time, so it was all the better. I looked at all the debris left over and thought perhaps the shells could be good grit and calcium for the birds. So this morning I dragged almost one leftover shell in and cut it up a bit with my kitchen scissors. When I took it out, some of the girls were excited about the rice and salad but leery of the red shells. Not Stewy! She bustled right over and chowed down on a big bit of meaty stuff. Stewy has come a long way. After her molt she has beautiful feathers, and no one messes with Stewy anymore. So the others plunged in and scattered stuff all over. Am going to try the food processor to make things more compact...don't tell DH...misuse of a tool...very bad.

How nice ! sharing your lobster with your chickies . Chickens are funny ..When you give them new stuff ...They look at you as if to say - Is This food ..?
That is what a food processor is for LOL ..to process food ...No reason it cant be used for chicken Food .

I use mine all the time . I take all our veg , fruit scraps and process them ..mix them in the the food . I ferment so it is like mush & easy to mix stuff in .
I found they were wasteful with the pellets ..and first started just moistening it with a little water .Till I found out how to ferment the feed .
They had ocra in their food today .It was sliced so I didnt even have to process it .My hubby found some at the store 75 % off .

 

[Gramma Chick]

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I assume you mean they would be having a free for all beating each other up ! How many Roos do you have ? All the same Breed ?

 

[Gramma Chick]

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Quote: How about a very long extension cord ? or two ? That how our chickens water dish stays warm . They have outside extension cords .

 

[rancher hicks]

I assume you mean they would be having a free for all beating each other up ! How many Roos do you have ? All the same Breed ?

Well I have one coop with 5 birchen marans and 1 light sussex. The roo in this one is a Birchen marans. The BM eggs are easy to tell from the sussex since they are dark. The plan is to put in a couple of EE/Amer hens to get some Olive eggers. Their eggs of course will be easy to tell since they will be green or blue.

Another with Dels an EE hen and two frizzles that has three Del roos.

Another with 4 lav orp, 3 ee's , 1 Rir, 4 CR's hens and 1 Lav Amer roo, 1 CR roo and 2 Blk Orp roos.

Another with 2 SLW and 7 Br hens and a BR roo.

Another with 4 young EE/Amer , 1 Del ,1 Br and 1 BM pullets and one Del cockereal.

All the roos get along with their coop mate buddies, but to let them all loose in the yard would be a bloody war. If you introduce a new roo before he is too old they work out the pecking order with little fuss.

When ever I do have a mix of young non laying hens/roos with older laying hens/rooster, I switch the whole coop to non med grower until they are old enough and begin to lay.

I'm only hatching Dels, BM and EE eggs. as yet. I'll have to separate the others out and once that is done they'll have to remain separate. Once you separate roosters to their own flock/coop they can't go back together. Though no rule is hardfast, there are always exceptions.

 

[rancher hicks]

How about a very long extension cord ? or two ? That how our chickens water dish stays warm . They have outside extension cords .

This is how I run electricity to the coop. Though none yet to the hoop coops.

 

[Gramma Chick]

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Wow thats a lot of roos ...Do the crow at each other ?

 

[Gramma Chick]

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Quote: How about a very long extension cord ? or two ? That how our chickens water dish stays warm . They have outside extension cords .

Look at this egg I found in my coop today ...1 1/2 inches itty bitty perfectly shaped ..Maybe one of the hens coming out of molt ?
Cant wait to crack it open to see if it is a yolk or a white ..LOL

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Morning all! It was such a nice day yesterday and we got some meltage. The cheeps were happy about that. I was going to do some housekeeping in the coops but must have slept wrong or something cause I couldnt turn my neck. Felt like whiplash and painful. Better this morning and I can actually turn it some. Hope it goes away soon. Work should be interesting.

I did manage to get a few pics of my silkies. They are missing me sitting out there with them. Every time I open the door on their coop, they run over for attention. Silly birds. The terrorists and big girls only come running if I have the red coffee can in my hand. That means goodies. It seems like the rir eggs are getting bigger now. Do they lay jumbo size? These are pretty big.

Gramma--I have been getting those little eggs from time to time here. Only once did one have a yolk in it, otherwise they were all whites. Still tastes the same!

Rancher--I thought I had a lot of roos but you have me beat hands down! Hows the noise level at your house? Mine are pretty quiet actually. Only crow in the am, if a predator is around or if one of us steps outside. Makes for happy neighbors.

Have a good day all!

 

[stonykill]

Wow thats a lot of roos ...Do the crow at each other ?

phhht....that's nothing. I put 10 roo's in the freezer recently and have around 25 more of them ...all at various ages. Sure they crow at each other. All the time