Online Large Fowl Chat Thread

[CapricornFarm]

Gosh, Coach, you are having too much fun! I love doing that sort of thing. I am getting ready to clean out the garage, that is going to be a big chore.
today I put together the frame for the other run on that duplex coop. Then I put the welded wire on the outside, and did half the roof of the pen before I ran out of poultry staples. It was getting dark at that point anyway. I also burned brush today , I have not had a fire in a long time because it has been so darned dry. DH cut oak limbs for my perches for that coop. I just need to build the door and finish the top, then line with chicken wire inside to keep pesky coons from reaching in so far.
I have had a bunch of chicks hatch the last couple of days, speckled Sussex, silver lace wyandottes and a few others . Too cute! Selling some hatching eggs, which is good.
The weather has been wonderful, hope it stays nice and doesn't turn cold too soon.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Oh man, I almost screwed up tonight! I totally forgot to lock up the buff orps! At 11:30 DH says, is that chicken coop open? So I rush down there and two hens are missing!!! Finally I find them behind the run, but of course when I start to try and catch them, they start yelling "brawk!" and Hoppy the rooster starts yelling and comes out to see what is going on. I catch one hen, and put her in the coop. The other heads for parts unknown in the woods. Having no light, I start bumbling along trying to find her. Finally I spy her up by the garage. By this time, DH is out looking too. I get the net. We spot her near the bushes in front of the house. I miss because the bushes are in the way. She goes half flapping, half flying off toward the pasture. (Same as the quail I lost the other day). We lose sight of her. DH gets disgusted and says, well she will turn up in the morning, she is hiding. He goes in. I keep searching. Finally I spot her hiding under the trailer! Of course, even with the net I can't get her. She gets through the fence, just like the quail. I finally get through the gate and find her inside the goat house, trapped! Yay! Back to the coop for her . Now she probably won't lay any eggs for a week!

 

[CapricornFarm]

Today I finished putting the chicken wire on the roof of the latest run. DH built the door for the run, and I installed it. Filled the last gap with welded wire ,so I feel much better about the safety of those new Sussex. Now I need to remove those two pieces of plywood from the pop door , dig trenches, attach wire skirt and bury it. Then the Silver Laced Wyandottes can move in. Oh yeah, and I need to put perches and feeders. But closing in on getting it done. Cut and painted one piece of plywood for the next coop. I am repurposing my goat creep feeder into a coop. The roof fell in thanks to goat stomping, so that will be replaced. I want to house the Speckled Sussex in there.
I need to go mail eggs tomorrow , and my sweet neighbor is coming over to help me clean out the garage! That is a really big job, it is a two car sized monster with only one big door. I want to add a window and divide off part of it for my ceramics studio. There is a work bench, tools galore, a fridge, all my ceramic stuff, lumber, feed, incubators, etc. in there. I am sure it will be more than a one day job.

 

[Chicken Coach]

Good luck on cleaning out the garage .I've told my family that when it cools off we are going to do that,so it cooled off so i guess we will have to get after it.I'm so busy getting the booths ready that i'm having the kids to feed for me. Soon i'll be done and i can get back to coop building and i'm looking forward to it.

 

[Chicken Coach]

I forgot to tell you over the weekend we had 1 and 3/4 inches of rain. Hope you got some.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Well, we had to pass on cleaning the garage today because it rained all day and it is hard to do anything in there with my Kawasaki Mule right in the middle full of hay and feed buckets. So we worked on cleaning my sewing room. Ugh, way too much stuff in there. But so far I only found 2 things I want to donate to goodwill. My friend helped and discovered a quilt I was working on years ago with lions on it. She wants it, so I told her I would finish it up for her for Xmas. I did not get much done outside today with the rain. When I went to feed the chickens I discovered one of my light Sussex hens all bloodied, somebody pecked her head all raw. I suspect it was the new rooster, so I swapped him out for a different one and put her in a cage by herself. She seems to feel ok, eating and drinking fine but it made me sick to look at her all bloodied like that I am not usually sqeamish, but the bright red blood on the white feathers looked gruesome .
Got my two parcels mailed today, the po was out of bubblewrap! And naturally did not have the size boxes I wanted. Life is rough out here in the country.

guess I will survive until I go to town tomorrow .

 

[CapricornFarm]

mailed another box of eggs today, and plan to mail another tomorrow ! I bought a bunch of mouse traps, declaring war on the mice in the garage.
Don't know why my right wrist is so sore, maybe too much hammering. So I am taking it easy tonight. Rain again , seems like all or nothing here. The quail continue to hatch, over twenty of the cute little buggers now.
What is everybody else up to?

 

[Chicken Coach]

I spent all day moving furniture from the Saturday sale and then loaded different stuff to take tomorrow. A nice guy and his kids did come by and bought 3 yearling goats for 300 bucks yea!! I'm looking at cutting back for winter,but of course i want to keep everything---that makes it tough--

 

[CapricornFarm]

I only kept one doeling and one buckling this year and both can be registered . My buck busted out of his pasture so in 5 months we will have a lot of kids. Oh dear that's February. The kids will all be wearing fleece pjs again. At least some of the does are already bred.

 

[CapricornFarm]

went and returned cages today that I borrowed when I got the Sussex. When I got there to drop off the cages, I knew the lady would be gone. However, I did not know that her goat would be half on the milking stand with a chain twisted around her neck. She has a hot fence, so I had to figure out how to turn it off before I could free her. Goats are so curious, they are always into something. One of my bucklings got out and in with the herd, and every time he moved, one of the does was butting him. Poor guy, I had to chase him around and catch him.
I got some bags of shavings today, even though my stupid wrist was bothering me. I mailed eggs and got eggs in the mail. I took down the fan from the buckeye coop, I doubt they need it right now. Also worked on putting the layer of chicken wire inside the coop I am working on. Got one whole side done, and part of the apron buried and attached on one side. Also installed a light in the Sussex coop, hoping to stimulate them into starting to lay.
Hatched more chicks today, and candled four dozen eggs. Tossed four, had a few more iffy ones but left them for now. Will set another 4 dozen eggs tonight.
I got two mice in the traps so far. Plan to set four more traps tonight. I am ready for them to be gone.