NY chicken lover!!!!

[happyhensny]

Stonykill: Great tag sale find!

Featherz: Congrats on all your chicks. Hope you find the tractor you are looking for. We are currently repairing our John Deere 1010. We use it to mow the lawn (3 acres of it). Today put up a temporary fence to let the chickens out in the front yard where the grass is getting tall. They are doing a good job, but I hope the tractor is fixed soon.

I will need more chickens to eat the whole yard and then more again to eat the grass where we planted our pine trees (2 more acres). Yup, must need a whole lot of chickens. Oh honnnnneyyyyyy....... (recieving stink eye from DH).

Oh, pine trees. Uh, we have a couple acres of Pines that DH father planted when he was a kid that they apparently planted too close together. They are about 35-40 ft tall now and we HATE them. Sorry. We have been clearing them since we moved in, 12 years ago in order to build a pole barn, chicken barn and now the new goat area. They blow over in winds, snow pushes them over. Wish they had sold them as Christmas trees. Bet DH Granddad is laughing at us now.

Chickens? Someone needs chickens?

I think I spy some BA's in there-how many did you set and what did you end up with?

 

[featherz]

Oh, pine trees. Uh, we have a couple acres of Pines that DH father planted when he was a kid that they apparently planted too close together. They are about 35-40 ft tall now and we HATE them. Sorry. We have been clearing them since we moved in, 12 years ago in order to build a pole barn, chicken barn and now the new goat area. They blow over in winds, snow pushes them over. Wish they had sold them as Christmas trees. Bet DH Granddad is laughing at us now.

I think I spy some BA's in there-how many did you set and what did you end up with?

I set 50 and hatched 38, if my count is correct. I think I may have miscounted how many were in, as it seems I had more duds than that, but maybe not. One chantecler is a bit weak and hatched late, still in the incubator. Two I just discovered died overnight (one chantecler and one I think was a BA).

I know one BA egg did not hatch, so I think I have four BA left. And I think four chanteclers. Hard to tell on the australorps, since all the eggs I got from SCG that were not NN were OE/EE, all variations on black.

I'll make sure they are all eating/drinking/pooing and put 10 or 15 on CL since I ALSO now have a bunch of broodies.

As for tractors, we do have a lawn tractor, but it had to get repaired since DH would start running it through the woods to make trails. He wants a 'dig holes' real tractor, but as he's never used one and has no clue what to look for in a used one, I think we'll end up with a POS if we don't get 'educated'. I keep telling him to go talk to our neighbors - they have an 80+ acre farm and have tons of equipment. Heck, our properties touch, maybe they'd even let him rent/borrow something.

 

[java girl 2]

well it look like my eggs for the hatch-a-long are gone!!! bad incubator!!

and I was counting on them for meat chickens/turkeys!!!

and now my turkey hens are not laying no more eggs and I got rid of most of my birds of the meat chicken breeds.

does anyone have chicks or turkey poults/eggs that would like to trade for some of my hatching eggs or knows who will?? say an egg per chick and/or turkey poults/egg and meet me at the schylerville auction or JP north auction on the 21st/22nd or the 28th/29th?? I think its going to have to be the 28th/29th. I have black/mottle Javas and one pair of buff orps, I have an ee hen but don't know if she's carrying the fertility of the rooster I have now. if you want to do this, please PM me!!! P.S I can only pay in eggs right now!

 

[vmdanielsen]

Annie, I saw an ad in Albany craigslist for a flock of chanties in Vorheesville. Are they yours? Good luck! Ginny

 

[demp4]

13 new chicks yesterday and last night.... more pips and zipping today! lots of BCM hatched which I was doubtful of since a friend told me they are hard to hatch in the bator that they have hard time getting thru the membrane... We had no problems with them begin able to break thru the egg.

Update on our Delaware Roo: Today he is standing but his weight is all on his butt which he is leaning on the back of the cage to support himself. Put out his right foot over and over like he wanted to walk but didn't trust himself to take a step. I posted on the diseases forum and they told me to try Vit B complex sprinkled on his food. As soon as my kids get up we are heading to the store to get it. I feel so bad for him.

 

[Lapeerian]

Home today and tomorrow with little girl because daycare is on spring break, so calling around to see what chicks are in.
Cortland TSC: RIR, Tetra Tint, Red Sex Link, Cornish Rock and Peking Duck.
Ithaca TSC: Cornish Rock, Ducks, Red Sex Link and Straight Run (yeah, the Cortland store is much better at knowing what they have.)
Vestal TSC: Cornish Rock, bantams and whatever else was sent to them (even more clueless than the Ithaca store, told me to call back in 2 hours)
Norwich TSC: Cornish Rock, couple Partridge Rocks left from last week, Peking Ducks, Red Sex Link, RIR and some Silkies.
Hamilton TSC: pullets and straight run and ducks (really?)
Auburn TSC: Call back in an hour, they are running errands and picking up chicks.

 

[rancher hicks]

Stony - congrats on the find. You know I just remember a kid I was friends with in younger days my sis used to call "Stoney Burke". He was the star of a TV show back in the 60's.

Featherz - hope the chicks don't do you in. I've got more than a few, but unwilling to "give" them away and I'm expecting more in a couple of weeks. Only a few of those are staying though, so I will end up with about 30. Not including the eggs I stuck in the bator just cuz. I gave away most of the Del hens and am hatching their replacements. It looks as though of the 10 I now have I might end up with 5 or 6 hens.

Happy - thanks for the recipe. I'll have to write it down. DW went and bought two doz white eggs to color with Darcy and then didn't cuz Darcy is sick. She's the only grandchild we have near us.

I do like NN's but Lord have mercy where would I put them. Now if I could get trades of pullet for pullet then I could work them in. I'd be willing to trade as soon as they are sexable. Though not this year.

Featherz - I was told by a friend who researches these things to buy earthquake insurance. Not sure how that will work with holes in the yard. However with prices what they are it can't hurt to store a few things. Chocolate is one thing I'd hate to do without. And by the way, the Swiss do NOT make the best chocolate.

I would gage whether to buy a tractor on how much you think he would use it. DW wants an expensive sewing machine and she can sew, but she doesn't sew enough to warrant an expensive machine. I would spend according to the use it will get.

\Well take care folks, places to go and people to annoy,

Rancher

 

[Lynzi777]

Is it really possible to have a "runt" chicken? I'm beginning to wonder about the littlest chick I have. I understand he's the youngest (born 4/3/12) but he is just so tiny! So not only is he a silkie with 4 toes not 5, but he's tiniest. LOL He's going to be my Chicken Little of the 3. He's not as lively either as the other two, so I'm kind of worried about him. Hope he makes it ok.

 

[Framac]

Well a good weekend for me, and I hope everyone else had a good weekend.

I think I now have 4 broodies. 3 Orps and an Americana. Do they often go broody? She is only 7 months old.

I had a so-so hatch
6 of 6 RIR with one very strange little one, more below.
1 of 2 BLRW
0 of 1 Mutt eggs from a friend.
6 of 15 Jersey Giant Shipped eggs (started with 24) I have read a lot about how giants take an extra day, and technically I am only on day 22-23, so I'll probably leave them for a few more days. I was hoping for 10 or 12.

So the Weird RIR chick. My wife and I move the first dozen last night and noticed one guy was acting weird. We looked at him and he has no EYES. None. Just little divots were the eggs should be. The baby was crying, and it was late, so I'll deal with him tonight. Has anyone ever had that happen? I believe he has found the water and feed, but don't see a future for a blind chick.

42 in the Incubator Friday, and 2 of the 4 broodies are sitting on eggs, if the others are serious, I'll give them eggs this week.

 

[greymane]

Well pre incu days were gone looonnnnnggg ago. The Egyptians or some other group was hatching with stone oven type incubators. Not sure of all the details but you can look it up.

Of course you can always rely on a broody hen but they are unreliable and unpredictable. I've had hens go broody when young and then never again. Others more than once and right now have Frenchy who if she is serious this would be her third time in four years. She hasn't laid and egg in I don't know when. She's my little bantam Frizzle.

Holy cow! Go away from the computer for a couple days and ten new pages of posts!!

I am pretty sure these days, you could just stick some eggs under the butt of most teenagers (as they sit at the computer or video game) and they would hatch your eggs just fine!

Auction was less that exciting Saturday. I do have to say, though, they had some of the nicest looking roosters I have seen in a long time (at auction). Just really great colors and condition.