NY chicken lover!!!!

[rancher hicks]

Well it has been decided. The Roo should be going this weekend. QUESTION: I think that I know the answer to my own question, but not 100%... When we cull the alpha roo, The next one will step up and become the new top dog right? The girls should accept his new roll right?

Went out late this morning to collect eggs and check on Rosita's eggs. They were due to hatch tomorrow. I got my gloves and lifted her up, and wasn't I surprised to see 2 little chicks underneath her!. They look just like Peepers's chicks. One black and one that looks like a chipmunk. I thought that I had 2 maran eggs under her, oh well they are all so cute. I'll get some pics soon.

Everyone else is enjoying the dry day. DS and I went out after lunch to see all the ducks snoozing in the yard. Love seeing them all out there!

I recommend keeping two roosters at all times of breeds you want to hatch from. Wish I did and lost both my BR's and my Dels. Now I keep one older guy and one younger guy. Won't get rid of the older guy til there is a new kid coming up.

I've got two B. Marans, two Del, and two for the EE's. One EE and one Araucana. I'm not sure about the BR's but expect to have Roos for the CR's.

Nutty how are those chicks doing?

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

Weeeelll....it depends. If you only have 2 roos then yes, the second roo will step up, after a fashion and become alpha. If you have more than 2 roos left after the alpha is done in, then they will sort it out themselves and one will step into the alpha role.

As far as the girls accepting the changing of the guard? Some will be fine, some will challange and some will never let the new alpha breed them. Sooooo, it's a cr@p shoot....but I still do it...fairly regularly and I still hatch chicks....so someone is doing something right down there and I have nothing to say about who does with whom and where.

I recommend keeping two roosters at all times of breeds you want to hatch from. Wish I did and lost both my BR's and my Dels. Now I keep one older guy and one younger guy. Won't get rid of the older guy til there is a new kid coming up.

I've got two B. Marans, two Del, and two for the EE's. One EE and one Araucana. I'm not sure about the BR's but expect to have Roos for the CR's.

I have the large Speckle Sussex that will be the one going Unless someone else wants him?. Behind him I have a frizzle and young cochin that hasn't started to crow yet. So I have 2 to replace him, however the cochin roo thinks that he is a duck so not sure if he will crow or quack? I have a mixed flock for the moment (red sexlink, maran, frizzle, d'uccle, and silkies) till I decide what breed I want to go with, or perhaps I'll just keep a mixed flock. The SS roo does do a good job watching over the flock, but he has gotten too ruff with the girls and tries to attack me when I have my boots on. I'm just hoping that the frizzle will step up and take control of the flock.

 

[horsekeeper]

I giggled too when i saw that....lol

That one was really bowled over by the flash..

First they got scared and bunched up when I took the top off the tub, then they panicked when I took the ecoglow out and there was no place to hide, then totally freaked when the flash went off. I'm lucky nobody dropped dead.

 

[dragonlord483]

Welcome all newbies.  

One other things about the hoops. Better in the shade. In the open they get to hot to hatch. Poor broodies getting nothing since the eggs die I think. I've tossed more than a few. I really should just take the eggs and not let them try.  

Tabs,  DW's first day of Chemo.  She's been sleeping alot even before this.  She fell getting into the car afterwards, but didn't get hurt.  She's been having problems with her back.  

Everyone else, - 

Did some mowing and weed whacking yesterday.  Cutting skinny saplings to open things so i can see into the woods a bit.  Let the birds out cuz it's so hot and I can't see keeping them cooped up while I'm out there.  Of course they have to be in when I'm not home.  I've been marking everywhere in hopes the fox gets the message.  

I am not getting the up dates lately for some reason. When it rains the internet goes out.  Verizon sent a new modem. Considering Time Warner but the internet speed isn't as fast.  However we would be getting cable too, for the same price as phone and internet from Verizon. 

About the internet I saw on news that FCC signed a net neutrality bill meaning that all carriers regardless of price will all be same access speed

 

[rancher hicks]

About the internet I saw on news that FCC signed a net neutrality bill meaning that all carriers regardless of price will all be same access speed

Well I would be glad. I'm paying far too much for the phone and internet only. Verizon $75 when I could get TWC for $79.99 and get cable too.

We can not get Fios.

 

[Sally8]

Something weird is going on here....all my crows are gone! I've had crows here for years, and through the winter, but now. Not one! Now, I'm worried about hawks.
Anyone else lose their crows?

I've lost mine for several weeks before and they always seem to come back. I wondered about that myself as I've seen them chase hawks away. Hopefully, they come back.

Holy Cow! At 5pm we had the biggest downpour that I've ever seen. I'm surprised my garden wasn't or hasn't been washed away. If its coming east, hang on.

 

[Sally8]

Hello everybody! I'm pretty new here, live just outside of Ithaca in Newfield. I have a question for you NY folks- I'm thinking about building a hoop coop out of cattle panels that will have one solid, wooden wall on the wind side with the rest covered by a tarp/plastic. Will that get my birds through a brutal winter like the last one or should I build a solid wooden one instead? 

Thanks 

Hi, I hoping to have a hoop coop as well by next winter but my motive is for a place for the chickens to get out of bad weather. And maybe double as a greenhouse. lol. Several people on here ave them but Armorfirelady has hers documented. Just check out her profile page. The hoop coops look so easy and less expensive than my wooden coop with 2 additions, so far.

 

[smazourek]

Yes I can.

Now this coop has the back wood and the door covered with hardware cloth, which I cover with feed bags in the winter or just drape the tarp over it. Because it's in the sun it gets far to hot on days like today. I'm planning to stick a small window in the wood side to get some breeze and ventilation going. There is a fan in the run but it's still to hot. Even with most of the plastic removed from the run. Lots of shavings and they're fine all winter. Many times the water does not freeze all the way. It's not in the shade and gets the morning sun. It's four panels long. If it needs another tarp I just add another. Ollies has them rather cheap.

Excellent, thank you! My birds currently free range during the day and I'm hoping they can keep doing that. I've got a little 8x4x4 cattle panel coop for them now (little because I have 27 birds, they won't fit in there much longer

) and they really don't go in there when the sun shines at all, they much prefer the tall weeds- so hot in the summer hopefully won't be a problem, though it's good to know I might want to incorporate a back window in my design. I'm liking warmer in the winter, also hoping that I can figure out how to do a deep litter floor that will also add some warmth.

 

[smazourek]

Hi, I hoping to have a hoop coop as well by next winter but my motive is for a place for the chickens to get out of bad weather. And maybe double as a greenhouse. lol. Several people on here ave them but Armorfirelady has hers documented. Just check out her profile page. The hoop coops look so easy and less expensive than my wooden coop with 2 additions, so far.

Thanks, I'll look her up

 

[Tough Old Bird]

Okay so I let everyone out and there is no fighting, bloodbath or anything else. Did have a visitor though. A young doe traveled into the woods beyond our rock wall and my brats were in there scratching for goodies. She was very curious about them and kept trying to walk up to them to sniff them and look at them but they kept moving off. Finally they came back over the wall and were digging around their coop. I was sitting in my chair not far away from them and was careful not to move. The doe hopped over the fallen tree and came over to see them. My reds all ran almost up to her. I think they were trying to figure out what she was. "Dude, check it out! It followed us home!" She stomped her foot a little but they refused to budge. She finally shook her head some at them and they backed off. I dont know who was more afraid, the chicken eating deer or the deer eating chickens. It was classic! The doe finally wandered off. Dh then decides that it would be nice to have dinner outside since its a perfect day. I looked at him and said "with 40 freeranging chickens?" We ate inside.

That is a memorable sight! Too bad you didn't get a photo of that! How cute!!

ha ha ha ha ha I HATE when I do that - I put an egg in a pocket or even a hand - make a mental note it feels thin .... say be very careful with this one ....

Then I am totally on another mental track not even 5 min later ... Crunch ... Do Oh !

Been there -- done that!!!!

Welcome all newbies.

Tabs, DW's first day of Chemo. She's been sleeping alot even before this. She fell getting into the car afterwards, but didn't get hurt. She's been having problems with her back.

YES - welcome to our chicken loving newbies!

Rancher, my best friend went through several weeks of chemo last year. She always took the anti-nausea medicine as was instructed and never got nauseous once. She would be OK the day of the chemo, but then she would have 1-1/2 days where she just wanted to sleep and had a lot of aches and skin sensitivity. But then she'd start to feel more like herself by the end of the 2nd day and feel pretty good again. Everyone is different, of course, but I thought it might help to hear what my friend experienced. She is doing great now and healing up very well from her reconstructive surgery two weeks ago.

Holy Cow! At 5pm we had the biggest downpour that I've ever seen. I'm surprised my garden wasn't or hasn't been washed away. If its coming east, hang on.

I hear there are big t-storms expected for the southern tier. I'm hoping they skirt south of us, but just in case, I guess I'll go and shut up the man door of the coop, or else I'll have everything soaked in there in the a.m. I left it open because it was 78F in the coop at 7:30. Kinda uncomfortable.....


TOB