NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lynzi777]

Well since Rancher isn't around to boo and hiss at my silkie, I would like to take this opportunity to post a picture of my lavender roo from Geri Godina. I brought in the girls yesterday and bathed them - they were a MESS! YUCK! And today was his turn. I'm getting everyone cleaned up and ready to move into their new coop. I think I'm going to burn the old one - bleh! Then again, it would be smart of me to save it for a breeding pen.

But here is the man of the hour, he's clean and happy and back outside with the ladies where he belongs.

 

[why do birds]

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.

It would have to be deep enough for fish probably 5 feet. Do you have a Bobcat place close by? They are really good. We had some work to do and they gave us free lessons before we rented it! They have one called an escavator, it's a claw thing and it can really dig! They have 2 kinds, 1 has wheels and 1 has tracks. We got the one with tracks, like snowmobile tracks, and it worked great! I think if you are digging a round or oval with depth in the center, perhaps the one with tracks will work better so it doesn't get stuck. It would seem that it's possible to move the dirt from the center to the perimeter such that it would have higher walls. They are a little pricy to rent, so it's a good idea to use it for all the daylight hours that you can for each day you have it.
Not sure how long this would hold up. It may require some masonry to maintain the strength of the walls. Also, doing from scratch you may be able to add a bubble system and/or heating system as some fish species may require the bubbles for aeration. I think trout do. Not bass. I don't think bass need bubbles. Trout do best, according to research, if they have flowing water. We looked into those aquaponic fish farm systems but the numbers didn't come out right, energy expenses were too high. How are the neighbors trout doing? Are they able to live in a pond like that? Perhaps they have a water flow system?

 

[stonykill]

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

you need a mini cow and a mini bull

.

 

[Lynzi777]

you need a mini cow and a mini bull

.

You mean I can't say "cows" like one would say "chickens" and be referring to both male and females?

 

[stonykill]

You mean I can't say "cows" like one would say "chickens" and be referring to both male and females?

2 cows to me, a born and raised country boy means 2 females. You milk cows. Bulls breed. A steer, a young bull gets eaten. Or as newborns go to veal. So yeah you can, but I was being clear. You need a bull ...or at least access to one. Someone with a stud mini bull for hire. Good money in the stud service thing. My father years ago owned a boar hog named Harvey. Harvey got rented out to breed other farmers females.Harvey was well over 600 lbs when he finally went to freezer camp

 

[Lynzi777]

2 cows to me, a born and raised country boy means 2 females. You milk cows. Bulls breed. A steer, a young bull gets eaten. Or as newborns go to veal. So yeah you can, but I was being clear. You need a bull ...or at least access to one. Someone with a stud mini bull for hire. Good money in the stud service thing. My father years ago owned a boar hog named Harvey. Harvey got rented out to breed other farmers females.Harvey was well over 600 lbs when he finally went to freezer camp

Ohhhh OK, I see what you are saying, makes sense. In that case, I'll have one COW and one BULL please!!!

 

[why do birds]

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.

Oh Lynzi! We are realizing that someday our little ones will have to go outside into the world! We are thinking of building the Cluckingham Palace only because it's too cute! But those hoop coops are really nice too! We have to have our chicks hanging out in style.

when it's a little warmer out. For right now, they seem happy in the tub.

Your lavender Roo is spectacular! Absolutely stunning bird.

LuvMyChicks, I'd love to visit a farm and really understand all this farm stuff more but where? I took out, and read, every book from our local library on chickens goats and cattle. So, on paper, I could draw you a picture of what the fences for cattle is supposed to look like, and recite some of the diseases that the animals can get. I've watched tutorials on you tube but they're homemade and it's hard to find "Part 2's". Hands on experience is going to the NY State Fair and asking a few ?s. Some people talk to you, some don't. Cornell Extension on occasion has "trips" but these seem few and far between and if you are busy on that day your sol. How did you learn about all this stuff? What farm allows one to "volunteer"? There's some young farmer's program. We aren't young. This is our retirement plan. We've waited a lifetime to get out of the city. We just don't want to make too many mistakes. It's why we are meticulously repairing the barn and outbuildings, maintaining the property the best we can, and attempting to plan the infrastructure so that we have a "system" in place that is productive and sustainable. If the barn should have a heat/cool source, we should know now, so we can tie in the geothermal system. If we need a water system it must be in place with a plan for maintenance, and repair. It would be wonderful to know what successful farms are doing before we develop a system that may not work. We keep going to TSC and reading their books, too. We want to do what we can to be organic. We don't want a lot of animals, we want the healthy eggs to make healthy food to sell. $ isn't in a dozen eggs, $ is in a dozen slices of quiche! Love your input! Keep it coming!

 

[Lynzi777]

sorry not chicken related but I have to ask...Who here that lives out near Buffalo, plans on visiting the Buffalo Dinosaur BBQ??? It's due to open early February.

 

[Cass]

Thanks Cass! This is great info! I'm big into nail cosmetics and would love to do hoof care! That would be a big perk to have a hoofed pet! I keep looking at these cute toenails on these little chickens thinking, Oh hot pink would be soooo cute! They have those long ET fingers/toes (?), on their middle digit! But I'm not sure if it's ok to paint their little toenails so I haven't done it yet! When they get bigger I'll have to trim the feathers away from their little toenails so they can "sport the look" of their mani/pedi's. I see what you mean about them hatching big eggs! They are such little birds.

I hope you get prolific muscovies! They are some brilliant looking ducks. Just curious why did you choose the Muscovy? They seem like a very nice breed! Don't tempt me with those ducklings! We only have one spare bathtub until we move and the chickens are using it! We'd love Muscovy ducklings!

Muscovies because they think bugs are gormet food. If you have livestock you are going to have flies. So I got my ecologically sound pest control. And you can't let ducklings, raised away from their mother swim for long....the get water logged and chilled. Muscovies don't swim as much as other breeds of ducks, according to the "experts" on websites.....they lack as much oil as other ducks.

 

[Cass]

Seriously?

Someone could EAT one of those?

It's like a pet dog, it's on a leash!

Poor little tiny cow!

You eat the beef breeds. You milk the other ones and drink their milk. Personally? I'd breed the darn things....they cost almost $800 for a CALF. Then there are vet bills and vacinations and feed and hay (for winter) ....I don't think I could eat $500 a pound beef, no matter how it was raised.