***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[bardies]

Weaning calves this week. I was filling feed pans for three of them when a chicken jumped up on the flimsy wire 'upper' fence (essentially a see through cut out in the wooden privacy fence), the separates the dog yard from the cow yard. The chicken then proceded to jump into a large, young, steers pan - totally unnerving him. Then, I started to hear a peep peep PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEEEEEP.... you guys know how it goes. Very unhappy chick sound. I look over the fence and there is a lone little black shadow in the tall grass of the dog yard (time to let the calves int here to graze it down). Dumb sex link hen had laid and hatched a nest in the dog yard. The said dogs are a lab and shar pei mix. They are both good with chickens, but still... I wouldn't have trusted either with a tiny squeaky toy ball of fluff. Anyway, caught the hen, put her into another feed trough. Went around and caught the baby - looks like the barred rock roosters are still working! - a black sex link pullet and tucked her under one of the two perpetually broody barred rock hens. No more peeping - no reaction from the hen. Later this after noon - the two hens (previously guarding opposite back corners of the coop) are now sharing one back corner and one chick. So far so good!

Oh, so you guys know, the white heifer calf from last December - La Nova Cowgirl - still has her blue eyes! Way cool, but so very hard to get a picture of - just very very dark, but every once in ahwhile, the light shines just right and she has her eyes open wide enough and you can see the color.

 

[bardies]

he is going to take some getting used to, but reminded me of some of the earlier Dr's...as always i miss the previous drs, but will get to liking the new guy too...kind of felt sorry for Clara!

Oh, no spoilers! It may be awhile before we actually get current. We haven't even met Clara yet.

 

[bardies]

Mercy sakes, @NanaKat ! It's one thing after another, what a lot to worry about on top of everything else you have going on :-( I've got a portable swamp cooler and a fan on the deck where 3 x-pens are with rabbits in them. It really makes a difference. It's worked so well I'm going to get a few more bigger ones for the birds next summer.
Here's some Bun Pens. Not as elaborate as Kass's set-up but it's too hot to set fence posts so their Bun Yard has been on hold. I'm ready for 80 degree temps.
Hey-I'm just counting my blessings that I don't have as many rabbits as Kass. Yet

The last picture is my 4 mo old English Lop, Dennis. He just got neutered a few days ago.

Nice bunny houses, Mitzi! DH has been seeing a lot of face book pics and videos lately of 'micro' pigs. What ever you do....DONT LOOK!!!!!! They may have the buns beat in cute factor.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Another fiasco with my chickens today.... PRAY for me! Gosh darn it why does this have to be so HARD???????
We have a small ac in the shed to keep the temps down a little for the chicks. The heat exhaust fell out of the window at some point today. I was too busy to check them and assumed the ac would keep them cool. Lost 95% of my breeding work for the last 8 weeks. So frustrated and mad at myself. Lost dome sfh chicks from Leigh shilling and a pair of Rees line cream Legbars. Half of my test breedings from my cl boy I'm growing out. I'm furious with myself and sick.

 

[erinszoo]

Our first housing was hutches four feet off the ground with hardware mesh floors. We had two males and one female (long story) and each portion was 18" x 4'. Our vet told us, before we figured out our rabbit died from wry neck, that she might have had heat stroke, so we moved the hutches from the yard space into our chicken house and built in solid floors. We have a small a/c in the house for really hot weather. Since we went almost two years without losing another adult, we figured we were fine on the housing end. We clean them out three times a week and use pdz in them.

After reading through this, the other girl who died recently could have cocci because we found out our daughter was putting the rabbits down in the deep litter bedding of the chicken house and letting them dig through it. Teenagers ... ugh.

But the one who's refused to get pregnant and knowing where we got the starter buns from makes me really think its the genetics of the stock.

I don't know that I want to delve in deeper with housing set ups where we live now, though since we are actively trying to buy some land and move.

the species of cocci that affect chickens is different from the species that affect rabbits.
They will refuse to breed if they are ill or in pain.

She's not ill or in pain. Eating normal, poo is normal, no temp. She do the deed, she's just not getting pregnant. This has been ongoing for many months. The last litter she had was in Feb.

 

[Kassaundra]

he is going to take some getting used to, but reminded me of some of the earlier Dr's...as always i miss the previous drs, but will get to liking the new guy too...kind of felt sorry for Clara!

x2

 

[Kassaundra]

Did you see the new one? He is older, getting away from the young guy trend. If you did see it, did you like? Does one just adjust to the new Dr and enjoy the continued theme?

I agree w/ Robin, and worry they might lose the younger audience they have been developing.

 

[Kassaundra]

Another fiasco with my chickens today.... PRAY for me! Gosh darn it why does this have to be so HARD???????
We have a small ac in the shed to keep the temps down a little for the chicks. The heat exhaust fell out of the window at some point today. I was too busy to check them and assumed the ac would keep them cool. Lost 95% of my breeding work for the last 8 weeks. So frustrated and mad at myself. Lost dome sfh chicks from Leigh shilling and a pair of Rees line cream Legbars. Half of my test breedings from my cl boy I'm growing out. I'm furious with myself and sick.

and to @hotcurltr

so sorry for both of your losses.

 

[postalpoultry]

Anybody know of a sale coming up? I've got the itch (and it MUST NOT be ignored)
plus I have way to many ducks goin into winter LOL
I know chupps is next wk end but hope for one NOW you know how it is

 

[Ksane]

@bardies I've seen the "micro pigs" but they don't grow up very micro lol Thankfully I seem to be drawn to the soft fuzzy animals-whether birds or rabbits. I can literally sit for hours petting the rabbits, sooooo soft!! And my precious little Serama boy- he just melts right into the crook of my arm and we can sit like that for hours also. You haven't read a book or watched a movie until you've had a sleeping animal on your lap :-D
When I was a kid I used to run my hands through a bag of flour over and over. It was so soft! That's what the rabbits feel like. My husband just says I'm weird.

Another fiasco with my chickens today.... PRAY for me!  Gosh darn it why does this have to be so HARD???????
We have a small ac in the shed to keep the temps down a little for the chicks. The heat exhaust fell out of the window at some point today. I was too busy to check them and assumed the ac would keep them cool. Lost 95% of my breeding work for the last 8 weeks. So frustrated and mad at myself. Lost dome sfh chicks from Leigh shilling and a pair of Rees line cream Legbars. Half of my test breedings from my cl boy I'm growing out. I'm furious with myself and sick.

Oh my gosh, Rinda :-( I couldn't take it if I lost as many as you have, poor babies. We've all done stupid stuff that resulted in losing birds-all of us. You do so much all the time and have so many projects going, plus 4 kids. Maybe you can take a step back and breathe for awhile. I don't see how you do it. It's an effort for me to keep up sometimes and my youngest child is 18.