OHio ~ Come on Buckeyes, let me know your out there!

[OHhappychicks]

I don't think they appreciate the cramped quarters for quarantine but I've got to much money in my other calls to let anything be a risk. I highly doubt these are sick. The guy i got these from is the one who raised butterball, the butterscotch call who won nationals year after year. He hatched him, raised him, and then sold him.

I know. I don't like to quarantine either. But they could be healthy in their former environment, but bring something that yours are susceptible too. I quarantined the ones I got from you and Brian even thought I knew you all were very up on it. I only quarantined for 3 wks though instead of 4. They are very pretty, so don't take any chances.

 

[OHhappychicks]

thanks for the info minihorse!

DW decided we weren't taking the puppies. we only have 6 left. i could take some turkeys and a another group of chickens, tomorrow but i think im going to work on the property.

i noticed a few of you posting about selling, i think most of us get a little overwhelmed in fall and winter. you dont have to get technical with overwintering. we just put up plastic to block the wind, offer a lamp or so for heat, and another to keep the water thawed. if you notice any frostbite on combs, rub the other's combs with vasaline leaving a thick coat. when watering, i use lukewarm water to kind of help with heat. if your feeding ground corn, try to switch to cracked - the extra energy it takes to digest will help keep them warm.

Good info! thanks

 

[OHhappychicks]

That was a long day, and I was only there 3 hours. LOL. Oh my aching back! I looked around for you, Mandy (and Brian!) but I don't think I could have found you if you were wearing a Barney costume! That crowd was INSANE. And that was after a half hour drive (er, crawl) down a 2 mile road! I thought of you everytime I saw calls lol especially the one guy selling nice snowies. Oh! Was it you that tried to call a couple times?? Everytime I caught it, it was too late. I tried to call back but it didn't go through for some reason. It showed up as Columbus so I thought maybe it was my sis' new house number. I'm sorry! It would have been nice to have a walking buddy so I didn't walk around looking like an idiot talking to myself.

I did come home with a chicken-sized rocking chair to adorn the coop interior (I'm dying to see one of them sitting in it.. baha), a nice pair of black runner ducks, a pair of modern game bantams (yay!) and a single silver Sebrite hen who I am now strongly suspecting is a rooster..which is ok too, but he sure had me fooled..very feminine looking roo. I was going to use a hen in a NN cross, but since I have both sexes, it'll still work. Almost took home some button quail (oh me! so cute!)..and a bunch of other gorgeous breeds..and guineas..and a turkey..and puppies..LOL, but I restrained myself.
And the reason my back hurts so bad is I walked around the entire grounds 3 times looking desperately for the showgirls. They weren't there!

Not a single one. Ugh. I'll have to find them somewhere else I guess..

Not one show girl?!! Aww shucks! I really hope you find one or two,or three so I can get one, two or three from you next spring!! I'll need some more for my one little show girl! I'm hoping it is a hen!!

Do you have hens or roos. I just had an idea! If we have a mating pair together, maybe one of us could loan the other for a week or so and make some showgirl babies!!!! Just a thought, in case we don't find anymore between now and then. Would we have to quarantine for 4 weeks? Well we have time to think about it since mine is only a couple of weeks old!

 

[minihorse927]

Wow, I'm still up. That was suppose to be butterbean earlier.

 

[ShayBaby]

That was a long day, and I was only there 3 hours. LOL. Oh my aching back! I looked around for you, Mandy (and Brian!) but I don't think I could have found you if you were wearing a Barney costume! That crowd was INSANE. And that was after a half hour drive (er, crawl) down a 2 mile road! I thought of you everytime I saw calls lol especially the one guy selling nice snowies. Oh! Was it you that tried to call a couple times?? Everytime I caught it, it was too late. I tried to call back but it didn't go through for some reason. It showed up as Columbus so I thought maybe it was my sis' new house number. I'm sorry! It would have been nice to have a walking buddy so I didn't walk around looking like an idiot talking to myself.

I did come home with a chicken-sized rocking chair to adorn the coop interior (I'm dying to see one of them sitting in it.. baha), a nice pair of black runner ducks, a pair of modern game bantams (yay!) and a single silver Sebrite hen who I am now strongly suspecting is a rooster..which is ok too, but he sure had me fooled..very feminine looking roo. I was going to use a hen in a NN cross, but since I have both sexes, it'll still work. Almost took home some button quail (oh me! so cute!)..and a bunch of other gorgeous breeds..and guineas..and a turkey..and puppies..LOL, but I restrained myself.

And the reason my back hurts so bad is I walked around the entire grounds 3 times looking desperately for the showgirls. They weren't there! Not a single one. Ugh. I'll have to find them somewhere else I guess..

Not one show girl?!! Aww shucks! I really hope you find one or two,or three so I can get one, two or three from you next spring!! I'll need some more for my one little show girl!  I'm hoping it is a hen!! Do you have hens or roos.  I just had an idea! If we have a mating pair together, maybe one of us could loan the other for a week or so and make some showgirl babies!!!! Just a thought, in case we don't find anymore between now and then.  Would we have to quarantine for 4 weeks? Well we have time to think about it since mine is only a couple of weeks old!

Lol interesting idea! I'd be up for it! I only have one hen right now, since my sg eggs died. I'll keep a sharp eye out for any others, preferably started, before spring!!

 

[minihorse927]

Id loan you the blue silkie roo for a while for her. Lol
That way you could get some more SG for the two of you

 

[ShayBaby]

Aw, Good point!! Oh boy, she's not sick but I'd feel beyond awful though if he came down with something while here.
She's plenty old enough, but she's still not laying for me yet either. *fist shake*

 

[minihorse927]

Just say your not incubating anything else this year and then they will all drop the eggs. That's what happened here. Grow out pen had 6 eggs in it today!

 

[ShayBaby]

LOL. I'll give that a shot. I'll make sure I'm in ear-shot of everyone, too!

Woot! 6 eggs! I get excited when I see one out there every couple of days!

 

[KirstenJL]

Sometimes things seem to get that way. I'm not saying our chickies are stuff, but sometimes we get to the point when we realize instead of us having control of our stuff, they have control over us. It can cause undo stress in our life, so if downsizing is what you need to do to ease stress in your life, go for it. Life is too short! You can always replenish your flock when things calm down. I'm feeling a little stressed over my flock because my flock is so many different ages, It's hard to keep them housed and separated. It takes some of the fun out of having them. Dh and I were discussing just last night about what type of grow out tractor to build. I have the ones I got from you in our tractor, but as it gets cooler, they are going to have to have a little more shelter. It's fine right now for them, but when I get the sg & silkies from blessedchick, I will have to have something to put them in when they out grow the brooder tank. Then in nov I'm to get 3-4 buckeye pullets from pathfinders, but I think I'm just going to put them right in with the others. It stresses me out just thinking about it. I like to do things right, so I always quarantine my new ones, but they may not get it this time.

I've had that kind of summer, and now with winter approaching, I'm still overrun with boys. Two swaps and 40 days on Craig's List and I was able to give one roo away out of 11 (and possibly 14; the last three are still in down). I've not had to send any to freezer camp yet, but I have the address of an Amish neighbor who does chicken processing. It seems a shame to have to eat Araucanas with tufts though. They're pretty hard to come by. I suppose it would have helped if I hatched more than 7 pullets this summer! If I can manage to keep them over winter, I might have more luck in the spring. I plan to just keep a CL ad running.

I'm always planning how to make things run more smoothly, and the latest version is to have an all-female run with my broodies and the girls I want to breed, a broody pen, 3 pens for breeding roos (with girls I don't necessarily want to breed, but to form a stable social group), an all-boy grow-out/sale pen for the cockerels of the year (sometimes Araucanas take a long time to mature), and a "honeymoon suite" for stud breeding. I have all the pens in place except for the last two, and my hands are tied for the moment on that because I'm currently furloughed due to the government shutdown. The birds are all over the place though, and I'm not sure how to get everyone in the pens I want them in without a lot of strife.

Always an adventure! I've not ever eaten a home-grown chicken; guess it's part of my evolution as a farmer. If anyone has recipes that suit youngish dual-purpose birds that they'd like to share, I'd appreciate it!