Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

Pics
Date sort Score sort
fisherlady said:



Congrats on the successful auction!  Good luck on the move... I'm sure you all will be glad to be settled again. 
Click to expand...


Actually, NOT so well at the auction. I totaled $81 out of 50 birds. 7 were geese, 17 ducks, 4 roos, 10 silkies & 12 rainbow chicks. We spent $60 on gas. Only benefit, I just cut my ffeed bill by 2/3.

Blarneyeggs said:
wingstone said:
Animated-winter-snowfall-at%20country-farmhouse.gif

are we ready???
Click to expand...


No! I can think of at least 10 more things I wanted to get done outside before the snow comes!


LMP, let me know when you head to roots for plants, maybe we could meet up there?
Click to expand...

KEEP IT! I DON'T WANT IT!!!!!!!
 
LittleMissPurdy said:
they are calling for -15 to -25 with the wind chill on Friday...we are going to have a 20-30 mph wind here, with the temps. being 10* for a high(daytime)..Three days are going to be really bad with the temperatures like this...
should I do more for the birds?...I know they are very cold hardy, but man!!! They have plenty of ventilation...they are pretty protected from the wind-itself...

the coop is surrounded by the wall, 98% of the wind comes from behind..so they are good there. Should I put anything in thee with them? I think maybe some straw..then I think BUGS!..(*.I use sand for litter)
I have feed bags..i think i am going to be putting them on the outside of the coop..maybe where the nest box is...there are "gaps" in the bottom, thinking maybe wrap the feed bags around it? I do plan on leaving the little window open , there is also 2- vents on the other side, we put them in this past fall for extra ventilation. (the pic was taken during the summer, ahhh..warmer days are coming..)...Any ideas from others or do you think they will be okay in this with the temps?
Click to expand...
I haven't read through the last three pages of the thread so if this is outdated info I apologize XD Don't have time to finish reading but wanted to just make this note on your question about straw before I am off to chores and work this afternoon,

When we first finished the coop this past summer I was determined to stay away from straw. (I remembered the horrible soup it would turn into with the horses and other livestock we had growing up and did NOT want it anywhere near my chickens in my own yard) So I had been using aspen chips and pine shavings which were working wonderfully. No mess, no smell whatsoever even in the humid heat of the hottest summer weather. Then we went with sand because I got a load for free and was curious about how it would work in the run. I'd heard people sift it with a cat litter scoop and it's really easy to clean. It was great to clean up and I really liked it. Then winter came and it got cold. Someone gave us two bales of straw to use on the run floor of the raised quail pen. Works great for them. So one day I decided to throw a couple of flakes in the chicken coop and down in the run.

BIGGEST MISTAKE I've made since starting to keep my own chickens. D: Oh my God! You would not believe the horrible smell and mess they made out of it in their run. Problem is they dig in the sand which is under the straw. This mixes the straw down into the sand which then leeches the moisture up out of the ground well below the level where the chickens would be affected by it. The straw actually caused my otherwise always bone dry run to become wet and swampy. Which was NOT a good thing in below freezing temps. Took me two days last week to dig the nasty stuff and unfortunately most of my sand which was stuck to it out of the run.

What I'm getting at here is, I'd never EVER again throw straw over the sand in my run. horrible horrible mistake I will not repeat.

All I'm doing for my guys is close the coop door at night (which I don't usually do now that they're grown) and probably take the waters in the house so they don't break with the super cold and expanding ice inside them. The chickens sit up on their roosts all night anyway so stuffing the coop with straw or something else would be pointless IME. They're not going to be snuggled down into it anyway. Unlike the quail who do snuggle into the straw. For them I'll put another couple of flakes in there and fluff it all up.
 
Last edited:
Blarneyeggs said:
http://www.farmshow.state.pa.us

My advice for Farm Show would be, dress warm enough for standing on the bus stop but not too bulky as you will be carrying your coat with you throughout the show. I usually wear a wool sweater. free admission, $10 parking, bus from parking to show. Pack your beverages and bring them with you as the drinks are pretty pricey, $3.50/Pepsi, if I remember correctly. Check out the website above for what day you want to go. The poultry is there all week, but the other livestock is not always there. Also check the arena schedules to see the shows you're interested in. We like the barrel racing so will shoot for that.

Chickenboy100, & Chippysmom: we may be there on Saturday, I'm not a name tag kinda girl, if I do decide to wear one, it will say something like 'cleopatra' , 'Queen Latifa' or 'Papa Smurf'.
Click to expand...
Are you showing or just looking? We are supposed to go showmanship, but if it's really bad weather, we may have to miss.
 
Anyone have any advise or good articles I can read on how to store eggs till I want to hatch them? I want to try and hatch some this year on my own. Hubbys uncle has a small bator from when the kids were younger they used to hatch them for some reason....or I might just try and make one the article sally posted was great!
 
Brittany,
Store eggs for hatching in cartons fat end (air cell) up between 50-65F. Prop 1 end of the carton up a couple inches & tilt the carton the opposite direction a couple times per day to keep the yolk from sticking to the shell. Ideal storage is 10 days or less but eggs can be stored for 3-4 weeks & still hatch.
 
Brittany7 said:
Anyone have any advise or good articles I can read on how to store eggs till I want to hatch them? I want to try and hatch some this year on my own. Hubbys uncle has a small bator from when the kids were younger they used to hatch them for some reason....or I might just try and make one the article sally posted was great!
Click to expand...

I just keep them somewhere out of sunlight, like a basement stairwell or (in my case) a dark corner of the kitchen counter. Moderate humidity and temp 55 to 65 degrees. We place them pointy side down in a cardboard egg carton and place a piece of 1 inch board under one end. 2 or 3 times a day we change where the wood block is (end for end or side to side) so the eggs don't have the yolks stick in them. We write the collection date on the end of the egg and then we keep them for about a week, then put the oldest in the fridge as we get fresh ones. We don't wash them, though I also don't save eggs covered in large amounts of poo, small amounts I don't worry about. This allows us to always have a 'clutch worth' of eggs from our favorite hens and roos on hand when someone goes broody. Though I have had to search for breeder eggs a time or two, and any eggs brought in by car or mail has gotten the same treatment for 24 hrs or so before we placed them with the hen.
 
SilkieSensation said:
Brittany,
Store eggs for hatching in cartons fat end (air cell) up between 50-65F. Prop 1 end of the carton up a couple inches & tilt the carton the opposite direction a couple times per day to keep the yolk from sticking to the shell. Ideal storage is 10 days or less but eggs can be stored for 3-4 weeks & still hatch.
Click to expand...
tongue2.gif
you got your answer in quicker. LOL
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom