NY chicken lover!!!!

[magsrags]

Good grief not me

.......I do all the chores/cook in the early am lately....and am trying to figure out this old house and how to keep it and my clan cool. My garden will cost me more to keep watered than it is probably worth in veggies.

f a l l.....NOW THATS HOW I SPELL RELIEF...



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[magsrags]

I hear ya there but geez......lets hope the next winter isn't tHAT bad.

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I keep reminding myself how much I loathed this past winter...that gets me through the days! At least I can get outside and garden and see the changes in my plants (veggie, fruit, and flowers)...this makes me happy. Swimming helps too!

 

[magsrags]

I am lying through my teeth....it'll be cooler tomorrow.

I really am feeling bad for you. I wish I could rescue some of your feathered friends and adopt them out down here if even just to give them a fighting chance. What a shame the critters are just getting them all. I wish you better luck and an answer to your delima.

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[meepitqueenie]

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I know not much help now but I always bred the rabbits that i knew were poor mothers at the same time as another doe that was a good mother.

at one time I had my polish rearing the mini rex. miss the bunnies.

 

[magsrags]

I never raised bunnies and wonder if having the space I do I pought to study up on it a bit. Anyone got any input to get me started in the right direction? I'd like to have pets, not any used for meat.

 

[Cass]

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Have you considered putting the stupid valuable rabbit inside a hoop of hardware cloth the last couple of days before she delivers? Maybe if she has no place to go, she'll actually mother her babies?

You want to know the only time I ever got bit by a mother mouse? When I cleaned the male's cage and then put my hand inside her cage. She bit me. I withdrew my hand , washed them and she was fine with my hand in her babies space.

BTW it's gonna be cooler on Saturday....so only one more day and you'll be in the clear. Oh and weather man just said not as humid tomorrow and high of 92, instead of 99 like today.

 

[meepitqueenie]

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It would all depend on what breed of rabbit you want. I raised Polish rabbits for about 8 years. they are similar to the netherland dwarf in size but different in confirmation and what colors they can be.

I kept each rabbit in there own cage about 24x24. and you would need to start with at least one pair for breeding. larger breeds need larger cages.

this web site has some care pamphlets and somethings to get you started....
http://buckysbunnies.tripod.com/Care.html

but i would recommend going to a rabbit show... look around and what breeds might interest you. you dont have to get into showing. there are just a lot of breeds out there.

here is another good place to start- you could contact a rabbit club near you, or locate a show near you as well

http://www.nyrcba.com/

there is a convention show in October at the nys fairgrounds in Syracuse...

that was my favorite show to go to.

 

[magsrags]

Thanks so much! I appreciate the info. Had a couple of bunnies as a child (back in the stome age) but not since. Wouldn't mind having a few pairs of "nicely bred" smaller sized bunnies to maybe breed down the road.. A show sounds like the right place to start!

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It would all depend on what breed of rabbit you want. I raised Polish rabbits for about 8 years. they are similar to the netherland dwarf in size but different in confirmation and what colors they can be.

I kept each rabbit in there own cage about 24x24. and you would need to start with at least one pair for breeding. larger breeds need larger cages.

this web site has some care pamphlets and somethings to get you started....
http://buckysbunnies.tripod.com/Care.html

but i would recommend going to a rabbit show... look around and what breeds might interest you. you dont have to get into showing. there are just a lot of breeds out there.

here is another good place to start- you could contact a rabbit club near you, or locate a show near you as well

http://www.nyrcba.com/

there is a convention show in October at the nys fairgrounds in Syracuse...

that was my favorite show to go to.

 

[Sachasmom]

Well, the story behind the terminally stupid doe... I drove to CA for ARBA Convention and bought 4 Rex does from top show breeders, Rex can be very very expensive! :O One died the day it was due to deliver, one died that had HUGE enlarged kidneys and the other I culled for snot. (That one had a litter, also all culled for snot. Really BAD immune systems on the bunz from that breeder!) Leaving me with ONE from that trip, its healthy, its typy, its got great fur and size and lovely HQ... And absolutely cannot have a litter. Doesn't put them in the box, doesn't pull fur, might actually feed them if I found them live in time. Oh, and its hard to breed, did I mention that? I've kept it because I had the space, I just stuck a buck in with her and left it. So as far as knowing kindling dates? Yeah, not so much. Totally opposite from the Lilac doe I usually pair with a buck, she's hard to breed, but makes really really nice bunnies and always puts hers in the box, pulls fur and feeds them.

But now I am short on cages and moola for feed, plus I am always tired. Today was hard, I still have not fed yet, its still too hot out and I feel kinda sick. So the doe is on the cull list for next week when it cools down anyways, she's run out of "second chances" Unless someone wants to come rescue her and pay me meat price for her, lol


I did have another doe kindle today (In the box, thank you very much) She did look awfully rough though, so at least I now have someplace to put these two buns. I do usually breed a bunch of stuff all together, but sometimes they don't get with my master plan!


I did have one bun heat stroke and die today, oddly enough, not one of the ones I was worried about and checking on all day. Sigh. The Silkies look okay though.


I'm also missing another two ducks, both of the Khaki Campbells are MIA and I assume, dead. Odd that the predator wanted a pair? I caught the hen and her last 8 chicks (she refused to sleep in the pen, gee, I wonder why?) and stuck her in a rabbit cage. Looks like the chickens are going away tomorrow. I'm going to cull all the appleyards on Sat (assuming they don't get eaten tomorrow) Which will leave me with the Cayugas, the Buffs, the Calls and the Runners. I'd have my husband rip down the pen and redo it to at least keep them safe at night, but whatever it is is coming at like dawn and dusk? Stuff is just gone, no feathers, nothing. Its too hot to leave them locked up all day, I'm surprised that the Broody duck let anything eat one of her ducklings, she's VERY aggressive, so its likely larger than a mink then, I'm thinking Fox, Coyote or Bobcat. I'm wondering how it got in the silkie pen though, I didn't see the wire pulled up, can Foxes climb? So I was leaning towards a mink, but maybe its a Fisher. Or maybe I have BOTH a fox and a Mink. I'm not amused.


On the plus side, if this guy buys the chickens tomorrow, I can then afford to go run to the feed store and get a new leg trap. Wonder who would like to be bait???

I really really wanted to beat my husband to death today. Really.

Its like we just cannot catch a break here, I had horrible problems with Hawks all fall/winter and they finally find something else to eat and then other stuff just moves on in. I'm "guessing" with the amount of stuff its been taking is that it is feeding a den of something, oh yay, baby predators!


Saw one of the stupid neighbors disease ridden cats and told Sacha "Get it"... She oblidged, but dang, its fast. I'd leave her out there to deal with whatever this is, but I have my doubts she could catch it. Plus its really too hot out there for her.


Oh, did I mention someone wanted to trade me TURTLES (err, Torises? ) for the Calls? I'm like really, TURTLES? Ummmm, No?

 

[elieugene6]

I'm also missing another two ducks, both of the Khaki Campbells are MIA and I assume, dead. Odd that the predator wanted a pair? I caught the hen and her last 8 chicks (she refused to sleep in the pen, gee, I wonder why?) and stuck her in a rabbit cage. Looks like the chickens are going away tomorrow. I'm going to cull all the appleyards on Sat (assuming they don't get eaten tomorrow) Which will leave me with the Cayugas, the Buffs, the Calls and the Runners. I'd have my husband rip down the pen and redo it to at least keep them safe at night, but whatever it is is coming at like dawn and dusk? Stuff is just gone, no feathers, nothing. Its too hot to leave them locked up all day, I'm surprised that the Broody duck let anything eat one of her ducklings, she's VERY aggressive, so its likely larger than a mink then, I'm thinking Fox, Coyote or Bobcat. I'm wondering how it got in the silkie pen though, I didn't see the wire pulled up, can Foxes climb? So I was leaning towards a mink, but maybe its a Fisher. Or maybe I have BOTH a fox and a Mink. I'm not amused.


On the plus side, if this guy buys the chickens tomorrow, I can then afford to go run to the feed store and get a new leg trap. Wonder who would like to be bait???

I really really wanted to beat my husband to death today. Really.

Its like we just cannot catch a break here, I had horrible problems with Hawks all fall/winter and they finally find something else to eat and then other stuff just moves on in. I'm "guessing" with the amount of stuff its been taking is that it is feeding a den of something, oh yay, baby predators!

Yes I have just recently read in an article that foxes are great climbers. As for the den of baby predators, I am dealing with my own fox problem right now. Not as bad as yours it got a guinea that wandered off and maybe a meaty. Difference is I know exactly where the den is as I stumbled upon it when putting in posts for my electric fence. I was more than happy to shoot it if I happened upon it again near the house but then today I discovered the pups outside the den. This is the first she has made her way up here and I assume it's because the pups are so big and she has to compete with mama coyote for food. My solution is to get rid of mama coyote and her pups first. I like foxes but not coyotes. Anyone know if shooting at them will keep them away for awhile? She has been back there for awhile now 3yrs at least and she never used to come this close. Coyotes on the other hand come up and have taken chickens and keep returning. I wish I knew where her den was. There would be a trap out already