Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Are my Ameracauna eggs supposed to be this green? I thought they'd be bluer.

They are gorgeous! I'm jealous!

I'm so glad they're all ok, it must have been so frightening for you.

It was! But everyone is back to normal and hiding appropriately when necessary.

I have already thought about them coming back, they didn't want to leave our house. The owner said the one pit has a strong prey drive and will kill anything small. I will be keeping my girls in for at least a few weeks now. It all works out because they will be in their new coop this week, so I guess it's perfect timing. The dog owners didn't want to take the dogs back and asked me to keep them. He wasn't mean to them but said he was just sick of them and his son dumped them on him. His son told him to shoot them, my heart sank when he told me that. I can't imagine how someone can look at their sweet faces and not want them. When he left with them I cried and I am tearing up now just thinking about them. I so wish I could keep them but with our 2 dogs, 1 cat ( and a stray I have been trying to warm up to us) 4 chickens and more coming next month I just can't.

That's a shame. I hope they find a good home. If we had more property, I would definitely take another dog. We love our pit mix and it was easy to desensitize her to our chickens, and we adopted her when she was about 4 years old. She still love to chase the squirrels and bunnies though.

Well, I got the two "Ameraucana" (I never know how to spell that) from the local ritzy ag store near LMP. I have no idea where they got them. They do have the puffy cheek feathers. Eh, green eggs are fine. They're all the same inside.

"ritzy ag store"? Isn't that an oxymoron?

it was a double yoker

They're awesome! I've gotten a few of them.

I think I've found my answer. My neighbor just shot a large black snake. my biggest fear is snakes, don't care what kind!

Sounds like a rat snake. I'd love to have a snake again!

Even though I've hatched and raised a lot of chicks over the years, I am still fascinated by them. It never gets old. Tonight I was feeding some 3 day old chicks some bits of hard boiled egg, they really liked it, but even more like to take it away from the others. Much chasing - even though there was a lot more in my hand. I put our first (hopefully fertile) turkey eggs in to incubate this week . . . I never hatched turkeys before.

Good luck! I love my chicken therapy too, never gets old!

I found this awesome egg basket at our local antique store love it!

Oreo playing in the sand with Princess

Maple and Princess have been Kid-napped! Lol

how many can we fit in here?

Daisy was laying her first egg but I think she was confused. She didn't lay down the entire time lol

me and Joel, my main roo ok I'm done with picture overload lol

Awesome pictures! Beautiful roo!

Great pictures! Lovely family and Joel is one good looking Roo. I was reading with my grandson on my lap, he looked at the picture of you and said 'Grandma, is that you?' I was quite flattered and said, 'you think that looks like me??' He answered, 'well, before you got old.' .

. The things they say... My 6 year old nephew was telling me the other day when tummy gets full and you have to poop, you do it in the toilet. But when they went camping, he pooped in the grass and the grass didn't like it.

Been missing in action lately, I missed many pages and not going back to read them.. Hope all is well with everyone, been hectic around here and just to tired most nights to fight with the tablet to read all this.. I really need an evening off, and just sit by a fire.. Please nobody throw rocks at me but, I can not wait till the slower days of winter get here. ( the non snowy days ) .. This weekends projects are Making and canning the ketchup Pulling the remaining beets and making pickled beets Starting a big pot of beef bone broth. This all has to be on Sunday since tobacco cutting season has officially started for us.

Wow is there anything you don't grow? Is tobacco hard to grow? Have you ever smoked your own?

So that was my original post. Today she hasn't come out of the run, we have a small run for them, but let them free range. She is just standing in one spot. How long should I give her to recover? I think maybe they broke something when they attacked her. I don't want to cull her but I don't want her to suffer. She eats but doesn't peck nearly as fast as normal. She never came out to free range with everyone else. Any ideas what I can do? as far as I can tell, no egg was laid either.

She probably just needs to get over the shock, I hope she gets better. Keep us updated!

Looks like someone broke open a pillow.

Little man telling me to back off with the camera.

Turkeys are counting the days.

Time to hang up and dry the money.

They are starting to actually look like bunnies instead of rats. So what did everyone else do today?

Awesome! Love the pics! Were the feathers from an attack?

 

[chiques chicks]

Looks like someone broke open a pillow.

Little man telling me to back off with the camera.

Turkeys are counting the days.

Time to hang up and dry the money.

They are starting to actually look like bunnies instead of rats.

So what did everyone else do today?

Canned sauerkraut.

Saw the teebaccer wagons out last week. Looked liked a real good crop!
Tried explaining the process to my city slicker friend, have to show the picture. One of these weeks I'll have to show her how it dries. When strippng time comes, I have plans that week. ;-) although I do have fond memories of time spent in the tobacco cellar. Always a great community time. Just a lot of work.

 

[wingstone]

Feathers everywhere are from molting.
Love sauerkraut, no one else in the house will eat it.
We are no where near done with tobacco, will be out there the next couple weekends...when will the SO be down here next.
I rather enjoy the stripping of tobacco, it is no longer heavy at that time, I see it as a very peaceful time with a nice cup of coffee....way to much work but it pays the bills all year long.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Feathers everywhere are from molting.
Love sauerkraut, no one else in the house will eat it.
We are no where near done with tobacco, will be out there the next couple weekends...when will the SO be down here next.
I rather enjoy the stripping of tobacco, it is no longer heavy at that time, I see it as a very peaceful time with a nice cup of coffee....way to much work but it pays the bills all year long.

I am so intrigued... Is tobacco hard to grow?

 

[wingstone]

Feathers everywhere are from molting.
Love sauerkraut, no one else in the house will eat it.
We are no where near done with tobacco, will be out there the next couple weekends...when will the SO be down here next.
I rather enjoy the stripping of tobacco, it is no longer heavy at that time, I see it as a very peaceful time with a nice cup of coffee....way to much work but it pays the bills all year long.

I am so intrigued... Is tobacco hard to grow?

Time consuming and tiresome would be more like it.
First let me say that you have to take a class yearly and be licensed to grow before you can even get a contract to grow it..
Tobacco growers are regulated by government now.. contracts are drawn up in January for the following spring planting..

We plant on memorial weekend, it is a 3 person job..not much big equipment out there for tobacco, it is mostly hand work, we do have a sprayer that is used to control the leaf hoppers but weeds are done by hand,,,, then in august after the plants all flower we go threw and break off all flower tops, 2 weeks later we start cutting, it gets hung up to dry till about thanksgiving

 

[stake]

Time consuming and tiresome would be more like it.
First let me say that you have to take a class yearly and be licensed to grow before you can even get a contract to grow it..
Tobacco growers are regulated by government now.. contracts are drawn up in January for the following spring planting..

We plant on memorial weekend, it is a 3 person job..not much big equipment out there for tobacco, it is mostly hand work, we do have a sprayer that is used to control the leaf hoppers but weeds are done by hand,,,, then in august after the plants all flower we go threw and break off all flower tops, 2 weeks later we start cutting, it gets hung up to dry till about thanksgiving

many years ago I worked as a telemarketer for a chemical company...(they sold pesticides for tobacco growers)....from what I know/knew, all tobacco farms are less that three acres...and can produce over 10,000 lbs/acre....and is highly regulated to support small farms...plants can grow 15' tall and as Wing said it is all manual work....my two cents....

 

[stake]

today's chicken news.....one of my ccl grils laid her first egg (one in middle)....not as blue as I had hoped for but its still pretty kewl to add a new color to the basket....

and an hour later my ccl/dork mix laid her first egg...its on the left a brown leghorn egg on right...just a tinge of blue....

 

[mimischicksnat]

This is my niece and her family. Not too far from where I have to move on to 2 acres with my 40 chickens...

http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/6657491-74/chicken-chickens-creek#axzz3BzroBgeU


Someone complained about chickens in a RURAL, FARMING community...

STAY IN THE CITY IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS WAY OF LIVING!!!!


ETA: I don't think it was them that the complaint was against, but still.....

 

[troyer]

Anybody on this thread want this 8 month old rooster? I want $20 for him his temperament is very friendly and docile toward humans. He is getting along with a dozen other roosters and does not chase them excessively, he does want his space though. He is second in command in the free ranging flock. He is a Cubalaya bantam project cockerel that is a bit too big, tail is pinched and has white in the tail. Don't be afraid to pm me and talk about him.







Edited to add photos.

 

[kada6305]

She probably just needs to get over the shock, I hope she gets better. Keep us updated!

Well today she is much better, still moving slow, But she chilled out in the coop a bit, laid an egg and is foraging around the 5 acres.