***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[NanaKat]

A tornado touched down in Haskell. We're ten miles from town, and so far all we've had is heavy rain and wind. This morning, before all the bad weather, I had a visit from the chicken-food-dish inspector. She's very particular about the cleaning and filling of her food dish. Most days, I don't mind that she's a control freak and wants to dictate from the highest possible perch. Today, however; she turned my jacket into a mono print. The wind just picked up. It's time to shut down the computers.

Good thing white can be bleached. Hope you all are okay! Our daughter in Harrah said they lost a tree in the front yard and limbs are down in the back yard tree.

 

[Kassaundra]

Have some good news to report about Tucker this am. He slept through the whole night w/o screaming in pain. Even though his next dose was to be at 1 am. This am before his pain meds kicked in he went outside to do his morning business and still wasn't screaming. And he is walking better, he was able to balance on his bad leg and hike his good leg to pee. He even laid on his back w/ his legs up (one of his favorite ways to lay but had not been able since this all started.) I am becoming guardedly hopeful.

 

[jrjoplin]

Have some good news to report about Tucker this am. He slept through the whole night w/o screaming in pain. Even though his next dose was to be at 1 am. This am before his pain meds kicked in he went outside to do his morning business and still wasn't screaming. And he is walking better, he was able to balance on his bad leg and hike his good leg to pee. He even laid on his back w/ his legs up (one of his favorite ways to lay but had not been able since this all started.) I am becoming guardedly hopeful.

That's great to hear. Hopefully he's on the mend or at least the meds are working well enough that he can go back to his normal routine.

 

[Kassaundra]

All the nakeds have new sweaters on tonight. Rudy was wearing it like a boss, Phyllis was throwing a temper tantrum, Houdini was already trying to figure a way out of it, and Stripey butt was just interested in going back to the food.

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

I have both Marans and Easter Eggers available right now.  Also Sapphires but they are an egg layer not dual purpose (Cream Legbar X White Leghorn; blue egg layer).  I'm way over in Coweta though.  Hopefully you can find some closer!

She's "over it" today. When I came home, she was off the nest and the cue ball was cold. She even tried to roost in a tree tonight. I wouldn't mind some chicks, but I don't want them badly enough to break out the incubator or care for babies myself just yet. Thanks for offering!

 

[BetsyOK]

Happy to read the good news about tucker!

 

[NanaKat]

Anybody else strip your gardens before the frost?
We are going to make chow chow and lots of fried green tomatoes...Hubby said he prefers that better than tomato pickles.
And this batch of hominy..30 pints total



We moved another herd home this weekend 17 cows and 18 bulls. We had already brought the bull and an injured cow home to treat her foot. My goodness those are big healthy calves!

Still battling a hawk that sneak attacks the free-rangers. He seems to know when we are outside and when we go in...and that is when he strikes. He always seems to do a fly-over when we don't have the gun with us.

 

[Matt in Okla]

So the girls are molting and have been for a while. It's starting to get cold like the frost this morning. Do I need to help them with heat?
It seems like they are still seeking shade during the day so it seems like they are "hot flashing" too!?!
Seems like they would want the sun with thinning feathers but I don't understand them any more than the other women in my life lol.
I'm giving them bread, scratch with wheat added and layer feed with oyster shell added and vegetable scraps.
I know I ain't getting but 1 egg a day from 5.

 

[Kassaundra]

Molting chickens don't lay eggs.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

So the girls are molting and have been for a while. It's starting to get cold like the frost this morning. Do I need to help them with heat?
It seems like they are still seeking shade during the day so it seems like they are "hot flashing" too!?!
Seems like they would want the sun with thinning feathers but I don't understand them any more than the other women in my life lol.
I'm giving them bread, scratch with wheat added and layer feed with oyster shell added and vegetable scraps.
I know I ain't getting but 1 egg a day from 5.

You don't WANT your hens laying when they are molting. Molting takes a lot of protein and energy. You want them to molt quickly and completely, then get back to laying. If they lay through their molt they tend to take longer to molt AND it's harder on their bodies. Molting takes 6-10 weeks usually. Sometimes longer though.

Chickens do NOT need heat. They need a draft-free coop with roofline ventilation, and a good layer of bedding litter. That's it. Especially here in Oklahoma where we tend to have mild winters. Even if we had an unusually hard winter, you would not want them to have heat because if an ice storm knocked out your electric and they were used to heat, they would freeze to death.

Give them time, give them good feed. No more than 5-10% of their diet shouldbe treats (bread, scratch, etc). If you want to give them a light on a timer, a 60 watt bulb is fine. Mine is a Christmas light timer that turns on at dusk and off 4 or 6 hours later (depending on what setting I use).