Okies in the BYC The Original

[mjgigax]

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Thanks for the link!!!!!!

 

[BetsyOK]

A friend gave me an easy and VERY tasty recipe for black eyed peas last year. To your cooked black eyed peas, add 1 can of Rotel original and about any kind of long sausage (cut up). Cook awhile to blend the flavors. Wonderful!

 

[mjgigax]

Hapy New Year All!
I have been out of town since the 26th and it took forever to catch up on the thread.
Bantam Cochins all all I have and I love them. I researched long and hard to choose what breed to raise and although I now only have experience with bantam Cochins they definately have lived up to what breeders have said. I love fluffy butts and feet and sweet personalities and I am not raising them for egg production or meat.
My 5 little hens are sure busy (for Cochins) my egg count since Dec. 10 is 32 eggs!!!!!!

 

[Greybear23]

Put that over rice and you have a close likeness of the Hopin John that Buffalogal was talking about. Lynn

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[donnie]

well my new years hatch , finally started .... so far one black lav split chick and one that is zipping , still waiting on the buff orps , the rest of the black lav splits , anconas , blue laced red wyandottes and whatever else it was i set lol





Everyone got their black eyed peas , greens and hog jowl cookin , and make sure you eat it with a knife .....

 

[poultryand bees]

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Thanks for the link!!!!!!

If ordering from Darkeggs.com, you may want to ask if the chicks will be coming directly from them. The Welsummer chicks I ordered from them in 2008 were drop-shipped to me from Ideal Poultry. I wasn't expecting that.

 

[Greybear23]

That is a good idea Marybeth, I bet if you asked there are a lot of Hatcheries that drop ship from other hatcheries. I did run onto a couple that raise their own stock though, most of them are expensive this time of year anyways. Lynn

 

[poultryand bees]

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Sorry for the delay - I took "a long winter's nap" right after my last post. Now that I am well rested and alert. . . .

Africanized bees are already in Oklahoma - primarily in the Southern part of the State where it is hot and dry. "Theory" says that Africanized bees can't survive cold wet winters, but the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture has identified them in several counties that are further North into Oklahoma.

The best "defense" to keeping Africanized bees controlled is to have managed hives of European bees so that the Africanized bees don't have the opportunity to genetically take over an area. In Florida, where municipalities made the mistake of prohibiting managed beekeeping, several counties have been overtaken by Africanized bees. As long as there are sufficient European drones available in an area to keep the Africanized genetics diluted, you can prevent total takeover by the Africanized bees.

The main problem with Africanized bees of course is their very agressive behaviour. You don't have to be particularly close to their nest in order to be on the receiving end of their stings. And, unlike European bees that will lose interest in you if you get sufficiently far from their hive/nest, the Africanized bees will literally cover you with bees and when those die and fall off, another wave comes on. The best thing you can do if under seige by Africanized bees is to take shelter in a building or car. Yes, you will be stung by each bee on you, but they can only sting you one time before they die. It is the unrelenting replacement bees that make them so dangerous.

The Oklahoma Apriary Act requires that full fledged Africanized colonies be destroyed. Bee hives that are questionable regarding Africanized genetics must be requeened with a paint marked European queen.

Africanized bees fortunately don't tend to be as large of a colony as European bees. The Africanized bees like to make their nests in small areas close to the ground, like water meters.

I take swarm calls and if the swarm is in a water meter, I wear full protective gear until I am sure, by virtue of the behaviour of the bees, that the bees are not Africanized.

In the area of the State where you live, Al, you need to be careful. You are in the part of the state that has weather the Africanized bees thrive in.

So, when do you want to get some beehives of European bees and put them on your property, to help be part of the solution to keeping Africanized bees under control in Oklahoma?

By the way - the Southwest Oklahoma Beekeeper Association will be hosting the Spring Conference of the Oklahoma State Beekeeper Association at the Stephens County Fairgrounds in Duncan, on Saturday, February 26. Everyone is invited.

 

[poultryand bees]

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donnie - do you separate the eggs in the incubator some way so that you know which chicks go to the correct variety of hatched eggshell?
I just set all the eggs that have been laid in the past few days, under a hen that is determined to go broody. I have been pulling the eggs from beneath her this past week and she just moves to another nestbox where there are a couple of eggs. Since I put Wazine in the water on Thursday, all the eggs for the next few weeks will be fed back to the dog and the chickens anyway, so I decided to let her try and hatch some of them. Since there are EE roosters and NN roosters - and a wide variety of hens in the chicken yard - it will be interesting to see what we get. I bet any resulting hens will lay eggs, regardless of their heritage.

 

[artsyrobin]

hi guys...hope you all had a great new years day! got a question- i have files on my computer, polish and houdans- what is the difference between the two in looks? i am having a heck of a time trying to figure them out!