NY chicken lover!!!!

[rancher hicks]

I totally agree with you about the coop. I saw this on CL a while ago and my first thought is...that chicken wire isn't going to stop much. It looks cute, but doesn't look safe enough. They are also asking for 6-8 hens..I'm not sure I would put that many in there with out free rangeing them, but that is just me.

If the coop was more secure then perhaps it'd be okay, but with the front open like that, a coon would tear into it pretty easy. Perhaps I'll go to the ad and reply to that affect/effect.

 

[rancher hicks]

hey rancher, i know you make alot of jellies and jams, do you make strawberry freezer jam? if so does it turn pink when you freeze it? just curious as thats what just happened to mine. i thawed one out and it turned red again, tasted great. just wondering if everyones does this

One thing I've learned about strawberries is not all berrieties make good jam/jelly. Some I've gotten are sweeter and the jam came out pinkish and didn't set well. The same with Raspberries. Some varieties are good for eating fresh, some for jams.

I don't do freezer jams cuz it would take up space in the freezer for other things, like bodies.

Use a tart berry for jam/jelly. Use sweeter berriety for eating as is.

 

[rancher hicks]

Morning all. Nice cool start to the day. Everyone is loving this cooler weather. All the little silkies have figured out the ramp thing except for one. Had to rescue him/her and put em inside. Silly baby. Swapped shifts with a girl at work so I dont have to close tonight. Winning! Does mean coop cleaning when I get home but thats ok. Working all weekend so I wont have any other time to do it.

Lynzi--glad to hear things are moving along for you. I hope you find a house soon so you can pack with knowing where your stuff is going. Good luck finding homes for everyone. Very kind of Ke5shd to take your birds for you.

Rancher--any word on DW leg?

Featherpicking wellies--there is a thread somewhere on byc about featherpicking. Some chickens do it no matter what. I have a couple who do it and Ive tried everything. I have a few hens who are bare butts and Bill, my former rooser, looked horrible because they picked him so. Said hens are done laying I think and so will processed as soon as the pullets start laying. Hopefully no one else starts. Havent seen any of that behavior in anyone else.

Enjoy this beautiful day everyone!

Yes, she's on a couple of other things and that's helped. Mostly she just gets tired and sleeps alot. She tries to push herself and fake it but I can tell when she's not feeling well.

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
I gotta ask. We watch the HGH channel, The Love or List it show? Are houses really that expensive in Canada and what are the wages like for people to afford those prices in housing?

My SIL's parents paid half a mill for there condo/whatever. Though his fathers' retirement is more when converted to U.$. They've got a postage stamp yard.

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

Got a busy day ahead of me today. I have a family reunion here at my place tomorrow and have a bunch more thing to do to get ready Like scrub all the chicken poop off of the porch! All the chickens are doing great. Had to give a few some fluffy butt trims last night, and gave my little silkie a little trim around her eyes. I am so in love with her. Every morning as soon as she comes out she has to come over to my feet and look up at me. I just think that she is saying "Good Morning Momma"

Eggs in the incubator are 21 days today, but no signs of any pips yet. I water tested them yesterday and they were all still wiggling so I hope that maybe they'll decide to come out today! I started out with 14 of my own and 6 of Lynzi's orp eggs...I'm down to 4 of mine and 3 of the ones I got from Lynzi. I hope that a few make it, but I don't know how it is going to work out with my home made incubator. I'm pretty happy that the 7 made it this far. The 3 Orps are a little early they should be locked down on Sunday so I have to keep turning them.

Oh and got a little surprise this morning when I went out to let everyone out this morning...


At first I thought that he got up there and was stuck, but nope he was just sitting up there. Got my glove and relocated him so he can do his thing, just not in the chicken run. Kids thought that it was cool to see it up close. They have been seeing a bigger one in the rock wall. Hope it stays where it is. I'm not afraid of them, but it still is a shock when you see them.

 

[rancher hicks]

Well I hope I can get some work done today.

CM has shavings on sale this week end and I can't wait. All the coops need cleaning. I usually stock up when they have a sale. They can't get Nobles anymore and that does upset me. They were my favorite.

Cable guy came yesterday and showed me how things had to go. The remote needed to reset the tuner on the TV. This is in the Guest Bedroom, not the main TV. It's an older RCA tv and a newer Universal RCA remote. I still can't figure out how to get into the menu with out switching channels to 2 and then can't click on the menu to a channel. It will have to do until we get a new TV in there.

 

[rancher hicks]

Got a busy day ahead of me today. I have a family reunion here at my place tomorrow and have a bunch more thing to do to get ready Like scrub all the chicken poop off of the porch! All the chickens are doing great. Had to give a few some fluffy butt trims last night, and gave my little silkie a little trim around her eyes. I am so in love with her. Every morning as soon as she comes out she has to come over to my feet and look up at me. I just think that she is saying "Good Morning Momma"

Eggs in the incubator are 21 days today, but no signs of any pips yet. I water tested them yesterday and they were all still wiggling so I hope that maybe they'll decide to come out today! I started out with 14 of my own and 6 of Lynzi's orp eggs...I'm down to 4 of mine and 3 of the ones I got from Lynzi. I hope that a few make it, but I don't know how it is going to work out with my home made incubator. I'm pretty happy that the 7 made it this far. The 3 Orps are a little early they should be locked down on Sunday so I have to keep turning them.

Oh and got a little surprise this morning when I went out to let everyone out this morning...


At first I thought that he got up there and was stuck, but nope he was just sitting up there. Got my glove and relocated him so he can do his thing, just not in the chicken run. Kids thought that it was cool to see it up close. They have been seeing a bigger one in the rock wall. Hope it stays where it is. I'm not afraid of them, but it still is a shock when you see them.

Well I would be freaking out. There is only one kind of snake to me. The "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! snake" . That's the sound I make as I run across the yard screaming like a girl.

Which I think is better than the "Thud snakes" my sister sees. That's the sound she makes when she hits the ground passing out.

How big and what kind was it?

Seriously if they just go their way, they live. If the mess with me they die.

 

[AQHAchick22]

Quote:
Yeah they are really that expensive, it's disgusting. Everything up there is more expensive though...food, alcohol, general good. There is a reason that Canadians constantly come across the border to shop. As far as wages go, the minimum wage is higher up there ($11 in Ontario where I'm from) I definitely made more when I had a job up there. However, the sales tax is 13% and everything being more expensive off sets it.

 

[wny egger]

Morning all. Nice cool start to the day. Everyone is loving this cooler weather. All the little silkies have figured out the ramp thing except for one. Had to rescue him/her and put em inside. Silly baby. Swapped shifts with a girl at work so I dont have to close tonight. Winning! Does mean coop cleaning when I get home but thats ok. Working all weekend so I wont have any other time to do it.

Lynzi--glad to hear things are moving along for you. I hope you find a house soon so you can pack with knowing where your stuff is going. Good luck finding homes for everyone. Very kind of Ke5shd to take your birds for you.

Rancher--any word on DW leg?

Featherpicking wellies--there is a thread somewhere on byc about featherpicking. Some chickens do it no matter what. I have a couple who do it and Ive tried everything. I have a few hens who are bare butts and Bill, my former rooser, looked horrible because they picked him so. Said hens are done laying I think and so will processed as soon as the pullets start laying. Hopefully no one else starts. Havent seen any of that behavior in anyone else.

Enjoy this beautiful day everyone!

thanks pharmchickrnmom..i found a few good threads on the topic..hes not doing it as much these last couple days ..he was getting pretty bad tho ..bite the backs of just my wellies ..i was thinking i may have to change his name from levon to marv albert..

 

[why do birds]

Wow you guys are GOOD!!! Took the advice, got the Dumor layer feed. We got it out of the car and put a 50/50 mix into the chicken coop last night and look what we got this morning. That stuff works FAST! 2 hens and 2 eggs! Wonder how many eggs we'd get overnight if we give them the straight stuff!

Sooo.....do we incubate them or eat them? They have hard light brown shells. DH was almost asleep this morning and I ran into the room before he was completely out and said, "Hey, did you put these in the chicken coop, like you did on April Fools Day????" and he's like, "OMG NO! Really?" And he starts smiling and had to go thank the chickens before he went to sleep! They're too beautiful to eat. Incubate? Or wait for a broody hen and eat their eggs until one goes broody? What do you do?