***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[VillamilFarms]

 

[LynSage]

Hey Lindsey, pretty bantams. Did you ever get Wyandotte Bantams? There are several breeders on the Columbian Wyandotte Facebook page that have some nice Bantams as well as large fowl.

I did! I found some and had them shipped from South Carolina.

 

[JarrodnJojo2016]

Lol, yup

If you don't know what I'm talking about click on the link in my fist post and you will see what I mean.
( l'm little bit of a geek, lol)

iits ok so am I!

 

[allenw]

Not a great picture but my millies out side in the cold yesterday.

 

[JarrodnJojo2016]

@allenw do you have any of thos for sale?

 

[Matt in Okla]

Poultry Netting , Predator Proofing Your Chicken Yard (video)

 

[dunnmom]

4 of my Buffs are completely bob-tailed right now. There's only one of my 6 that doesn't show obvious signs of molt yet, but she's got a few feathers that are starting to lose color and turn out. They just look so funny, but still thankful none went bald. I miss the eggs, but I know my patience will pay off in the end. By the way, I bought a dozen cage-free eggs from the supermarket that are dark reddish brown. They look like Welsummer eggs to me. I didn't think Wellies were used for commercial laying, though. Who knows...

 

[allenw]

@allenw do you have any of thos for sale?

Not at this time, the plan is to hatch a big bunch this spring but it could be fall before I sell any.

 

[Fallenone05]

One of my new layers left me a double yolker egg today. It was left by a cinnamon queen! I have two of them that start laying in the last two weeks.

 

[NanaKat]

My morning got busy when the boys brought in a newborn calf...obviously premature! Estimating she is about 5 - 6 weeks premature and unable to stand, but very alert. Her coat is like short velvet and was dry including the umbilical cord so we think she may have been born yesterday. Little at 20 pounds, Velvet is aggressive suckling on a bottle, headbutting the bottle and bawls with gusto....that is half the battle for survival. With help she trys to stand using her back legs for balance.
Momma cow really wants this baby so we will keep her in the loop with daily contact and encouragement. Roger and Larry milked out the mother of any she might have and we will get all that good colostrum down her. The vet says we should shoot for 1/2 gallon of milk in a 24 hour period...so looks like we have a baby in the kitchen again.
By 2 pm Velvet has taken 1 full cup of Mother's milk...the good colostrum with antibodies. She has wet and pooped too which is a good sign. Velvet gets plenty of encouragement from Red (the baby loving dog)who is licking her face and neck. The little doll tries to stand up and can now get her hind feet up and with a little help gets those front legs in position to balance and take a few steps.
That is my size 7 foot by Velvet's head to show you how tiny she is.




The necessity of dealing with the premature calf Velvet has made me the mother of invention. The regular calf bottle nipple was too big, the 1/2 gallon bottle for the small calf nipple was too cumbersome for the small feedings Velvet needed. A goat nipple came off the pop bottle too easily...so I took two plastic human baby bottles and cut down a small calf nipple to fit one and trimmed the goat nipple and added a plastic washer to hold the nipple under the cap for the other. Voila! Two bottles that will each hold 9 ounces of milk and be much easier for her to suckle and us to manage. Should make feedings a little easier.
The floor is covered with a plastic tarp covered by towels that can be washed frequently. We are also using clean towels warmed in the dryer to give Velvet a little comfort.