NY chicken lover!!!!

[JLaw]

A cautionary tale for those who are tempted to love their chickens a wee bit too much and/or are having problems with egg production:


Every Friday a client gives me all the bread from her "meals on wheels"....she doesn't eat bread being diabetic. Every Friday the chickens greet me at the car door looking for bread, which I happily throw out on the lawn for them to peck at til their lil' hearts are content. Every Friday I collect 6 - 8 eggs.

Every Saturday I collect 2.

Every Sunday I collect 4.

Every Monday - Friday I collect 6 - 8.

Ya think maybe, just maybe, the breeds of chickens I have are put off laying when they have too many carbs?

The past week I've been feeding my chickens less. They now get food every other day or every 3rd day making them free range. I haven't had a drop off on eggs yet. Before I was going through a 5gal bucket feeding 28 chickens and 7 ducks. They don't seem to be starving ether but they have thinned down a little but I think some was too fat as it was since I'm not eating them.

 

[rancher hicks]

I wonder if you could convince them to bathe the cats as it actually isn't the hair itself that causes the allergy it is the dander that is attached to the hair when it comes out if the are bathed once every week or 2 they shouldn't cause a problem take from someone who has 3 boys and a husband who have severe allergies that is what I was told by the allergy doctor bathe the dogs and cats and you will see no problem and he was right. This one of the reasons I never wear perfume I wear food scented body sprays and deodorant as food scents don't tend to bother people with allergies.

Lord have mercy, they barely clean the litter boxes, at my sons house. My last visit I complained.

At my daughters the cats have their own room, but I doubt my stay at home SIL will wash the cats. Both of these cats are long hair too.

I like cats but I am wise enough to admit I hate cleaning the litter box, so I don't have any. I don't care what the ads say. There is not a cat litter out there that keeps the smell down.

I don't mind cleaning the coops so much cuz they don't have to be done every time the chickens poop. Though when it's rainy and muddy I really hate it. I really should have french doors put on the wooden coop. Make it nice and wide so the wheel barrow gets nice and close.

The thing I look most for in anything, be it animals, houses, cars, strollers, anything is how easy it is to clean.

One of my biggest pet peeves is the Refrigerator. Why on earth do they have to be so dang, big? If it were up to me they'd be half as deep. Stuff just seems to get pushed to the back and disappears. It's like magic or something.

Ice cube makers my fanny! I want one that cleans itself.

I think it would be nice to cross a toilet with a refrigerator. Every once in a while you just push a button and everything flushes down the drain and it's clean for another six months.

Okay I'm done for now. Gotta go to DD's for the picnic.

 

[Lynzi777]

We have 1 cat, an indoor car so yes we have a litter box but I stay on top of it. We use Fresh Scoop and have never had a problem with odors in our house. Even my friends ask where we keep our litter box because they're surprised it doesn't smell. I refuse to ever again have an outdoor cat after the problems we used to have with them bringing in fleas and transporting them to the dog. What a nightmare! And YES we HAVE had our animals on Frontline, Advantix, etc. It just barely worked if we ever had a cat that was allowed outside. We live out in the country now, have an indoor cat and no fleas in the house OR on the dog, and he goes outside. Problem solved! Lol

I'm going to have to try bathing my cat before my family comes up in July. My dad has really bad allergies and he always claims he's fine before he gets here and then once he gets here he starts sneezing and pulls out his allergy pills. I try to brush her outside on the porch as much as I can but like Nutty said, it's not the hair that's bothering him it's the dander.

 

[melbu23]

May I ask why you need grit ? Grit is included in their feed already .
If you add more grit to their diet .... they will get weird coughing / choking symptoms .
They will naturally get some grit when they are outside in the dirt .

oh I did not know that! I had been reading and people said that I should offer grit if they get to free range. I wont give it to them if they don't need it.

We have 1 cat, an indoor car so yes we have a litter box but I stay on top of it. We use Fresh Scoop and have never had a problem with odors in our house. Even my friends ask where we keep our litter box because they're surprised it doesn't smell. I refuse to ever again have an outdoor cat after the problems we used to have with them bringing in fleas and transporting them to the dog. What a nightmare! And YES we HAVE had our animals on Frontline, Advantix, etc. It just barely worked if we ever had a cat that was allowed outside. We live out in the country now, have an indoor cat and no fleas in the house OR on the dog, and he goes outside. Problem solved! Lol

I'm going to have to try bathing my cat before my family comes up in July. My dad has really bad allergies and he always claims he's fine before he gets here and then once he gets here he starts sneezing and pulls out his allergy pills. I try to brush her outside on the porch as much as I can but like Nutty said, it's not the hair that's bothering him it's the dander.

we also have an indoor cat. Used to have 3 but are down to 1 now. I don't mind cleaning her littler mostly cause I hate the smell more. My DH is allergic to cats also but seems to be fine around our cat. Bathing is supposed to help but most cats dont like water so much so bathing is a struggle.
Talking about bathing, I think I will be giving Emma (our Buff Orph) a bath soon. I love her feathers, they seem much softer then those of the meaties.

 

[SunnysideupstateNY]

WARNING: Lots of baby chick pictures!!!

Today was their first day out of the coop. Mama stood up to the other hens to protect them, it was good to see.

Thank you to our service men and women.
I don't like to say "happy" memorial day, to many have died or sacrificed a lot for us to say it that way.

 

[Lynzi777]

Cute pics!!!

Everyone here just the "dawn treatment" I remembered that I have my Orps a spray down last summer of dawn and water solution and I never saw another bug on them the rest of the year. Figured I'd give it a try on the silkies and sizzles this year. Not sure if it'll protect against mites but I know it keeps the lice away! I have yet to see any on them so I figured now would be as good a time than ever!

 

[Cass]

Cute pics!!!

Everyone here just the "dawn treatment" I remembered that I have my Orps a spray down last summer of dawn and water solution and I never saw another bug on them the rest of the year. Figured I'd give it a try on the silkies and sizzles this year. Not sure if it'll protect against mites but I know it keeps the lice away! I have yet to see any on them so I figured now would be as good a time than ever!

Blue Dawn and water is a wonderful insect killer on your plants too. It's the only thing I use in my garden, but must be reapplied after it rains to be effective> (But isn't that the case with most bug killers?)

 

[elroddo]

After I had mentioned that my wife painted the brooder and you all mentioned the smell we put it outside for a few days and it has no smell, so hopefully it won't bother the chicks which should be here Wednesday. She painted it because she was trying to do something nice for me, we honestly didn't think about odors bothering chicks. I'll have to post a picture of it later, she did a great job painting it and she also did most of the build herself.
As to the fox that was posted a few pages back, thats a grey fox, a seperate species from red fox. the 2 breeds rarely intermingle, and in fact red foxes will typically kill a grey. Grey foxes are interesting in that they can actually climb trees, and do so to avoid confrontations with red foxes and coyotes.

 

[Cass]

After I had mentioned that my wife painted the brooder and you all mentioned the smell we put it outside for a few days and it has no smell, so hopefully it won't bother the chicks which should be here Wednesday. She painted it because she was trying to do something nice for me, we honestly didn't think about odors bothering chicks. I'll have to post a picture of it later, she did a great job painting it and she also did most of the build herself.
As to the fox that was posted a few pages back, thats a grey fox, a seperate species from red fox. the 2 breeds rarely intermingle, and in fact red foxes will typically kill a grey. Grey foxes are interesting in that they can actually climb trees, and do so to avoid confrontations with red foxes and coyotes.

That was so sweet of her, really. However it isn't the "smell" per say, it is the fumes from the paint when you heat it to the 90 degrees new chicks require. Keep an eye on them and have a large plastic tote ready to put them in if any of them are acting weird. (fumes can kill little chicks--older chicks and adult birds are not as bothered....but ammonia build up in the coop can kill even an adult bird)

And thanks for the image of foxes in trees....like the bear in the woods wasn't enough reason to stay in the mowed areas of the property. LOL

 

[melbu23]

After I had mentioned that my wife painted the brooder and you all mentioned the smell we put it outside for a few days and it has no smell, so hopefully it won't bother the chicks which should be here Wednesday. She painted it because she was trying to do something nice for me, we honestly didn't think about odors bothering chicks. I'll have to post a picture of it later, she did a great job painting it and she also did most of the build herself.
As to the fox that was posted a few pages back, thats a grey fox, a seperate species from red fox. the 2 breeds rarely intermingle, and in fact red foxes will typically kill a grey. Grey foxes are interesting in that they can actually climb trees, and do so to avoid confrontations with red foxes and coyotes.

That is interesting about the fox. I had no idea they could climb trees.
As for the brooder - I want to see pictures =). My hubby build my chicken tractor which turned out nice and I much appreciate his help!