***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[jcatblum]

well my min brinsea will be in this week, will be getting cochin eggs from joe!! woohoo!! lookout... i have started! can't resist his gorgeous cochins! i love the orps on that thread- but not the price!

Robin you will love the brinsea! I personally don't hatch in mine too often, I hate taking it apart to wash it-- those tiny feathers get everywhere! I tried blowing it out w the air hose & it still didn't get the tiny feathers around the fan. I tried counting how many chicks hatched-- darn things won't sit still! Seems my EE hatch almost a whole day before my RIR. We have many different color of EE-- imagine DD will pick her favorites, blues, and anything else that catches her eye. Then the rest will come to the Blanchard sale. Heading out now to let the birds & goats out, they can play in the grass while I play in the dirt. Need a day to go to OKC & to grocery shopping, but the weather looks so nice this week I can't talk myself into spending a day away from the farm.

 

[Tony O]

Quote:




Put a mirror in with it

and that will keep him/her company.

It's so cute to watch them snuggle up against each other.
Whenever I have just one that I can't put with anyone else, that's what I do and it works every time.

 

[Poco Pollo]

It has taken some time for me to catch up on the thread. Robin - glad the little guy is doing better. Bfrancis - Congrats on your testing.

I'll check back tonight to see if there are fewer than 100 new posts

I need to learn to read faster, or maybe I just need to be twenty years younger. The hurrider I go, the behinder I get.

 

[sikesjj]

My two year old is in love with your peacocks and is asking her Daddy for some.
They are beautiful, we kinda stalk them at the zoo when we go, she loves them.

Well, we have survived our initial NPIP testing..all birds are healthy!

Chickens weren't too bad, only had one bantam hen get away and after several minutes she was reunited, our single tom turkey was interesting...catching and putting him on his back on the ground to do the test, he was way too big to hold, lol. Peafowl survived all the handling, not one of the train feathers got broke and only one hen lost a couple flight feathers...note to self: Self, next time holding the cocks wear gloves! Those dudes have got some super sharp spurs!...The quail were the most unique, the coturnix didn't mind the handling so much...but the new world quail are NOT a touchy-feely bird...but glad it's all done...until next year, or additions.


Thanks again to Maribeth! We do appreciate your mentorship through this process...and yes, I did sign up for the class in April

For fun, here are pictures of the peafowl from last week to get an idea of what we had to deal with:

 

[Ksane]

I see broody as the hen's version of PMS and considering it is or soon will be spring.... its logical that they are "in the mood" at this time of year.
Are there supplements or light therapy or some other technique You use to get them off of broody? I would think that just like the light plays a role in our cabin fever / seasonal depression... it must play a role in triggering broodiness in hens.
Any insight from other BYC hobbyists?

That's exactly what I liken it to also. My 2 Cochin bantams and my Black Silkie (from Betsy) are bound and determined to set. I just keep pulling them off and blowing on their stomachs (lol seems like the thing to do) and setting them down and they waddle off and go eat and run around. 2 hrs later they're back sitting on imaginary eggs again though. I haven't yet resorted to doing much about it except blowing on their stomach and telling them to get some fresh air

Um actually, yes, I do. I don't want to hatch too many though so if we could plan on about.....6? eggs that'd be great.

I did that with one hen..it worked, but I kept hitting my head on the cage.

rofl! I laughed at this visual! That's exactly what would happen to me if I tried the hanging cage method!

I'm thinking about getting an incubator......I've got my Little Giant but I want a better one that I don't have to stress over water levels and all that, going to look up a brinsea like Robin's getting. Let's face it, I blew every good intention I ever had about not getting more chickens or hatching any eggs, it just didn't work-you people are evil and you've corrupted me! I'm going to 'learn' how to let the little cockerels go. I really really really want to avoid completely bringing in any adult chickens. I'm tired of worrying about diseases and quarantining, etc, etc. I love these birds so much but if I want to have several breeds then I'm going to have to just keep 3 or 4 of each breed. Carl is going to hatch my Dark Brahma and Lavender Ameraucana eggs for me. Robin, the Lavender Ameraucana eggs sell for anywhere between $40-$70/doz depending on time of year (ridiculous, I know), they're beautiful and breed true. Would you be interested in a trio of them assuming even 1/2 of them hatch? It'd be nice to have someone on the list that breeds that color and you're way better at that stuff than me. You could just have them, no charge. You have a heart of gold and it makes me want to help you.

 

[mefordz]

That's exactly what I liken it to also. My 2 Cochin bantams and my Black Silkie (from Betsy) are bound and determined to set. I just keep pulling them off and blowing on their stomachs (lol seems like the thing to do) and setting them down and they waddle off and go eat and run around. 2 hrs later they're back sitting on imaginary eggs again though. I haven't yet resorted to doing much about it except blowing on their stomach and telling them to get some fresh air


oh please
tell me you didnt say that!

do they giggle when you do it?

kinda has the oppisite effect on the roosters doesnt it mitzi?

I'm thinking about getting an incubator......I've got my Little Giant but I want a better one that I don't have to stress over water levels and all that, going to look up a brinsea like Robin's getting. Let's face it, I blew every good intention I ever had about not getting more chickens or hatching any eggs, it just didn't work-you people are evil and you've corrupted me! I'm going to 'learn' how to let the little cockerels go. I really really really want to avoid completely bringing in any adult chickens. I'm tired of worrying about diseases and quarantining, etc, etc. I love these birds so much but if I want to have several breeds then I'm going to have to just keep 3 or 4 of each breed. Carl is going to hatch my Dark Brahma and Lavender Ameraucana eggs for me. Robin, the Lavender Ameraucana eggs sell for anywhere between $40-$70/doz depending on time of year (ridiculous, I know), they're beautiful and breed true. Would you be interested in a trio of them assuming even 1/2 of them hatch? It'd be nice to have someone on the list that breeds that color and you're way better at that stuff than me. You could just have them, no charge. You have a heart of gold and it makes me want to help you.

cmon mitzi, big bator, more eggs, more eggs more babies, more babies more pullets,more pullets, more roosters. you know your gonna do it, just go for it!

 

[Kassaundra]

In for a food break, been digging in the dirt w/ the girls again today. I keep trying to telll them earthworms aren't good for them, they shouldn't eat them, if they had hands they would

while they slurp them down.

Another thing I can't seem to make them believe ......................................... spiders are our friends, not food.

 

[mefordz]

well my min brinsea will be in this week, will be getting cochin eggs from joe!! woohoo!! lookout... i have started! can't resist his gorgeous cochins! i love the orps on that thread- but not the price!

dont worry robin, if you can wait a while the price will fall like it does with all the "fad" breeds.

happens with them all, at first they are stupid high, then people get a few and fi9gure out they are just chickens and the price drops way down.

 

[Ksane]

oh please
tell me you didnt say that!

do they giggle when you do it?

kinda has the oppisite effect on the roosters doesnt it mitzi?

rofl! I'll have you know my girls LIKE it when I blow on their stomachs

I don't blow on the roosters bottoms though, there's just something not right about that haha!

 

[mefordz]

In for a food break, been digging in the dirt w/ the girls again today. I keep trying to telll them earthworms aren't good for them, they shouldn't eat them, if they had hands they would

while they slurp them down.

Another thing I can't seem to make them believe ......................................... spiders are our friends, not food.

stop telling them chickens stories like that! worms are food, and spiders are nobodies freind!

cept for some crazy people that is!