NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lapeerian]

Holy moly, you had a cow growing up? That's just wild!

Growing up, I had water neuts for a week until they escaped the tank and we never found them again.

Good idea on the animal handling course.

I grew up on a dairy farm, so had a whole herd of 78 milk cows and 40+ youngstock to play with. Many days were spent leading/being dragged by a calf around the barn. And running barefoot everywhere. Dirt and cow poo included. I got my own personal Red & White registered Holstein calf when I was 7 or 8, but believe that was a diversion technique. Got the pony when I was 9. Then a bigger pony when I was 11, then bought my own horse when I was 13. We also had numerous reproducing barn cats and a border collie. My grandparents had chickens when I was little, but I wasn't directly involved with the care of them so never learned much about chickens till 2 years ago. I do remember mom got us ducklings one year. When they were big enough, we moved them to our grandparents pond. The snapping turtles got them. And we survived and moved on, such is life on a farm.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote:
You should stock it with trout ...you can harvest the older ones & the chickens would love your leftovers !

 

[Glasshen]

Gramma, I thought the same thing about that little cow. Just can't make it look right. Is it a dwarf, like a wiener dog?

 

[Lynzi777]

Gramma, I thought the same thing about that little cow. Just can't make it look right. Is it a dwarf, like a wiener dog?

It is a "dwarf", it's a Mini Highland.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Afternoon all. Its bitterly cold out but the cheeps are still outside. Had to take boiling water out to warm up the frozen water. Gave everyone some boss to warm up a little. Just a few flurries now and then.

Hope everyone is staying warm.

 

[Lynzi777]

Afternoon all. Its bitterly cold out but the cheeps are still outside. Had to take boiling water out to warm up the frozen water. Gave everyone some boss to warm up a little. Just a few flurries now and then.

Hope everyone is staying warm.

with being so far away from the grocery store, we go to SAMs Club a lot and buy in bulk. I keep about 5 of those larger OJ and Apple Juice containers by my door filled with water. I bring one out every morning and refill everyone's water. If half of it is frozen from earlier in the day or the day before I just top it off.

 

[Lynzi777]

You should stock it with trout ...you can harvest the older ones & the chickens would love your leftovers !

My neighbors across the street have a pond way out back behind the horse pasture that they stock with trout and bass. I don't think I could stock this thing, it seems as though no matter how deep I dug at it, it would just continue to fill in. It's not even a foot deep. The ducks do a good job disguising that.

 

[Lynzi777]

Wow, sorry to hear about the pipes! That has got to be a lot of work! That's a terrible fear with this freezing weather!
Your brooder sounds really good. Nice size too, not much bigger than a coffee table! Perfect! Isn't it nice to watch the birds right there in the living room? So convenient!
We bought a saw and are debating what type of "house" to make. We have thought of a multistory mall style to go up a wall. Something suitable for inside but are considering cleaning issues too. Like one of those hamster habitats but larger for chickens. We even considered getting them an exercise wheel.
I've been thinking on this "dust" concern. OK I wasn't going to say this on here, don't want people to think I don't know what I'm doing, so don't laugh. My dyson vacuum is way too strong to vacuum the birds, but was thinking that maybe I could get a small, less powerful vacuum with a gentle brush attachment to vacuum them. They are used to the vacuum and don't fuss around it at all at this point. Maybe this could resolve their dust or dandruff problems if they arise. Just don't want to wrinkle a feather. So far at 3 1/2 weeks we have no dust from the 3.

I'm beginning to think you should have invested in a parrot and not chickens. I really hope you can bring yourself to letting these birds outdoors. They WANT to be outside. There is so much out there for them to explore and EAT! With the amount of work you are and will be putting into these chickens, you aren't going to have time for anything else.

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

Wow, sorry to hear about the pipes! That has got to be a lot of work! That's a terrible fear with this freezing weather!
Your brooder sounds really good. Nice size too, not much bigger than a coffee table! Perfect! Isn't it nice to watch the birds right there in the living room? So convenient!
We bought a saw and are debating what type of "house" to make. We have thought of a multistory mall style to go up a wall. Something suitable for inside but are considering cleaning issues too. Like one of those hamster habitats but larger for chickens. We even considered getting them an exercise wheel.
I've been thinking on this "dust" concern. OK I wasn't going to say this on here, don't want people to think I don't know what I'm doing, so don't laugh. My dyson vacuum is way too strong to vacuum the birds, but was thinking that maybe I could get a small, less powerful vacuum with a gentle brush attachment to vacuum them. They are used to the vacuum and don't fuss around it at all at this point. Maybe this could resolve their dust or dandruff problems if they arise. Just don't want to wrinkle a feather. So far at 3 1/2 weeks we have no dust from the 3.

I'm not sure what others are going to say but I'm pretty sure that vacuuming your chickes aren't a good idea. I don't think that it will solve their problem. I'm pretty sure that they need to take dust bathes to keep their feathers and skin healthy. I could be wrong.

I would highly reccomend that you go visit a farm with the animals that you think that you would liketo have so that you can experience what farm life is really like. Go volunteer at a farm for a few weekends to make sure that farm life is really for you. Sometimes you have to really try it to see if it is really the right thing for you.

If you are thinking about getting one cow you might want to hand milk it instead of trying to buy a single milking machine. (they do have them and they are rather easy to "hook up") But you should also realize that for a cow to produce milk that she will have to have babies on a regular basis. If she stops having calves she will stop producing milk.

 

[Lynzi777]

I'm not sure what others are going to say but I'm pretty sure that vacuuming your chickes aren't a good idea. I don't think that it will solve their problem. I'm pretty sure that they need to take dust bathes to keep their feathers and skin healthy. I could be wrong.

I would highly reccomend that you go visit a farm with the animals that you think that you would liketo have so that you can experience what farm life is really like. Go volunteer at a farm for a few weekends to make sure that farm life is really for you. Sometimes you have to really try it to see if it is really the right thing for you.

If you are thinking about getting one cow you might want to hand milk it instead of trying to buy a single milking machine. (they do have them and they are rather easy to "hook up") But you should also realize that for a cow to produce milk that she will have to have babies on a regular basis. If she stops having calves she will stop producing milk.

Wow, I never knew that! Look at that, I learned something today! LOL That's TWO mini cows for me please!