NY chicken lover!!!!

[rancher hicks]

For my waterers I cut 2 X 6 s into squares that are just the right size to sit the waterer on top of. Then I stack them up as the chicks grow raising it up to height so they can't kick chips up into it.


I got lots of hits for the chickens I had. 1 BM and roo and I think the other 4 were all pullets, plus the EE and CR. I kept on BM roo and he's beginning to crow. Very badly too I might add.


Then tonight I went out to close up and candle eggs under the EE hen and one egg in my hand was cheeping so hatching is due for it, but then as I reached for more eggs to candle I felt a broken shell and sure enough there was a chick there. Not sure what kind and I will be taking them so she'll finish the other eggs. She has Dels and an EE I know. I'll be taking chicks for a while so they hatch all the eggs or most of them.

I do wish I had more space for brooding mothers. If this darned weather would co-operate.

 

[randys]

Rancher Hicks you appear to know a lot about chickens. How long have you been dealing with chickens?

Randy

 

[Tough Old Bird]

Looks great! How many birds do you have?

Thanks, KateBean. To answer your question: ZERO!

But hopefully, very soon, I will have around 8 or 9 pullets to occupy the new coop, thanks to Rancher & Marquisella.

Then tonight I went out to close up and candle eggs under the EE hen and one egg in my hand was cheeping so hatching is due for it, but then as I reached for more eggs to candle I felt a broken shell and sure enough there was a chick there.

Surprise!

Hope the others hatch successfully under your broody EE, Rancher. And I also hope the weather improves, as you said. It's brutal tonight, and I got soaked at my older son's baseball game, which the umps did not call. So they finished all the innings. Misery!



RANDY - nice coop and adorable pullets having some fun in their new digs!


Thanks to everyone for the nice words on the new coop. C'mon good weather...we have more work to do!!


G'night all!


TOB

 

[ChicknGuy]

Hi and welcome. There is a buy sell trade part in the forums might help with turkeys. I think you have a few up by you/ Syracuse area. I'm south east an hour south of buffalo.

Welcome ChicknGuy!

Just moved the chicks outside again into the run while the adults are free ranging, what's the first thing they do? Decide to take a dust bath in the food! Ugh, looks like I need to get a tray of sand to put in there!

Welcome!!!

Check out Craigs list for WNY (BUffalo) I have seen turkeys pullets in there for sale. Chickens & ducks as well.

WEST? Aren't you in a great lake or something????

Welcome and raised in Massachusetts!!!

Thanks all for kind words! A very helpful bunch indeed. I'll check out CL and no I am not in the lake, lol. Also will check out buy/sell part of forum. Take care.

 

[Henicillin]

this is smething I have been wanting to do for years now but I FINALLY see it possible this year. So I did it. I am zoned AG. I'm sure that helps. To get the tax breaks you need to do at least $10,000 in revenue a year for 3 years straight. OR have an established farmer use your acerage. I could not get any of the local farmers to do the later. The girls are making me money this year, add to that the remaining 27 acres they don't use and plant, harvest wild stuff, collect maple sap etc, I can write off more acres. I NEED the tax break. It is ether get my taxes lower or have to sell the property my family has owned for 3 generations. The taxes have gotten that bad.
Plus I enjoy farming. And I can do it while doing my regular furniture building job from home. Win win for me

thanks!

I think you'll need a couple of turkeys for that farm of yours. You know, to make it more farmy. Congratulations!

 

[Henicillin]

We had an unwelcome visitor last night. A bear pulled both of our hives apart, tried to get into the run but gave up (he's tall - he bent the crap out one of the aluminum support poles that hold the netting over the run - the run is six-foot chain link fence, so that defeated him), then came up on the deck, knocked over all my patio furniture (it looked like a drunk staggered through), and cleaned out our little bird feeder. Stupid blasted thing.

One hive is empty anyway - we have a nuc coming from Betterbee this year to repopulate it. He sampled honey from that hive, but that was about it. The active one has brood, which is what Yogi was after, as bee larvae are nice, fatty, protein-filled treats, and the bears are, of course, famished now that they're coming out of hibernation. He was surprisingly delicate about it - rather than tearing the hives apart, he essentially disassembled them by taking the supers off, pulled a couple of frames out of them to eat what was on one side, and managed not to kill the queen or the workers. The bees were Not Happy today - they were going after everything in the yard, as they're in ticked-off mode. Alan had to put the hives back together this evening, which I'm sure was fun. Ironically, the insurance inspector is FINALLY coming tomorrow to look at the roof and the bees' deck where we keep the hives. Had the deck not been smashed in December, or had the inspection been when we requested it, the hives wouldn't have had this problem. *snarls* It SHOULD be covered, and, when it's rebuilt, it will be getting a hot wire.

My dog tried to warn us by barking her fool head off, but we figured she was just running her mouth about deer, so we told her to shut up. I guess we should have listened!

 

[stonykill]

I think you'll need a couple of turkeys for that farm of yours. You know, to make it more farmy. Congratulations!

I really want Narragansette turkeys. But yes turkeys are on the short list to add.

 

[vmdanielsen]

We had an unwelcome visitor last night. A bear pulled both of our hives apart, tried to get into the run but gave up (he's tall - he bent the crap out one of the aluminum support poles that hold the netting over the run - the run is six-foot chain link fence, so that defeated him), then came up on the deck, knocked over all my patio furniture (it looked like a drunk staggered through), and cleaned out our little bird feeder. Stupid blasted thing.

One hive is empty anyway - we have a nuc coming from Betterbee this year to repopulate it. He sampled honey from that hive, but that was about it. The active one has brood, which is what Yogi was after, as bee larvae are nice, fatty, protein-filled treats, and the bears are, of course, famished now that they're coming out of hibernation. He was surprisingly delicate about it - rather than tearing the hives apart, he essentially disassembled them by taking the supers off, pulled a couple of frames out of them to eat what was on one side, and managed not to kill the queen or the workers. The bees were Not Happy today - they were going after everything in the yard, as they're in ticked-off mode. Alan had to put the hives back together this evening, which I'm sure was fun. Ironically, the insurance inspector is FINALLY coming tomorrow to look at the roof and the bees' deck where we keep the hives. Had the deck not been smashed in December, or had the inspection been when we requested it, the hives wouldn't have had this problem. *snarls* It SHOULD be covered, and, when it's rebuilt, it will be getting a hot wire.

My dog tried to warn us by barking her fool head off, but we figured she was just running her mouth about deer, so we told her to shut up. I guess we should have listened!

If you have electricity out there how 'bout a motion detector light so when dog is barking and the light goes off you can see who it is. Sorry to hear of your loss.

 

[Henicillin]

The bloody bear came back and finished the job. Poor bees. I'd like a bearskin rug right now.

 

[vmdanielsen]

The bloody bear came back and finished the job. Poor bees. I'd like a bearskin rug right now.

and a big pot of bear stew? Poor Amy. Sorry for your troubles...