Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[motherhen71185]

My FBCM hen has givin me 5 eggs now in the last week. And I am happy to say they are much darker now than the first couple. They look like Maran eggs now!! YAY!

 

[stake]

My FBCM hen has givin me 5 eggs now in the last week. And I am happy to say they are much darker now than the first couple. They look like Maran eggs now!! YAY!

a big congrats....and I was going to boast my second chook has just laid her first egg.....lol....I will catch up though, I have a pair of BCM chicks in the bull pen....

 

[BirdbyGavin1103]

That pond is so pretty! The ducks are cuties too!!

BBG, I hadn't thought about alcohol not hurting your teeth. Good point!
The chicks are most likely EE. The fathers are RIR or Ameraucana.
The kitchen is the next carpet to go.

I know on the family farm (40+ years ago) they used whiskey and shine (they'd place a few gallon jugs with cork toppers in the silo before filling it, when it was empty again the jugs were 3/4 or fuller with about 180 proof) for MANY things. I know whiskey was used for babies cutting teeth and if they had colic, and for mouthwash. Shine was used for cleaning and carburetor starter, among other things. I'll message you bout the chicks. I'm hoping to get all the carpet out of my house. I hate carpet, between all the dirt it holds and how hard it is to get rid of fleas if they get in. Between Gavin and the dogs I've gone through 4 carpet cleaners in 7 years.

Very nice! You are going to come do one for me, too, right? I moved the rest of these guys' siblings to the big pen w/ the big birds. I moved my turkeys to the kennel. Out of 12 BBBs, I have 5 left. I am NEVER getting BBBs again. I'll stick with heritage breeds.

Sorry bout the BBBs.

I don't think you have enough of a slope for one like this, sides I only fixed it I didn't build it lol.

What a great looking pond.!!!!! I can see why the ducks are having so much fun! Its only summer for a little while...............let em play!

That looks really good!

WOW! AWESOME pond!

Thanks everyone! Gavin was a HUGE help, he did most of the scrubbing, rinsing and using the shop vac to suck the dirty stuff out. That's the most help he's been all summer

. It's been in for 7 years, but maybe 3 of that it's been usable. My mom had it installed (paid way too much for it too) and didn't clean it seasonally or skim it daily so the filter clogged and the pump burned out. So I moved a lot of the stones on the side closest to me in the photo (they're all retaining stones/blocks) so it wouldn't fill up and go stagnant. I did replace them and buy a cheap pump bout a month before the 2011 flood. Thank goodness I had, we had water for flushing and dishes while we didn't have power (ours was out somewhere between 1 and 2 weeks). That pump burned out when the power came back on, so I moved the stones again until yesterday. I got sick of cleaning the kiddie pools everyday, and my yard being muddy as a sty from draining and cleaning them daily, usually twice a day.

The left side has a little garden area with a weeping dwarf cherry (or something like that) and to the right is a domestic honeysuckle bush, and zebra grass (I think that's what it is) behind it on the bank. All of which were put in when the pond was. The chickens and ducks LOVE laying/dusting under tree and bush. I'm guessing the ducks may use the grass come spring, so I need to trim it a bit this fall.

I'm hoping that when we do the fall cleaning I'll have enough to expand it, since I want more web-footed babies. There's a product called Rock-on-a-roll that gives the look of bedrock/boulders, but it's thinner than most pond liners. If you go to the website/google it they have pictures and a video of it's uses, it really does look like stone. Anyway I want to remove the stones against the far bank, and use that rock stuff to make it look like there are naturally protruding boulders there and plant strawberries in between for ground cover, color and of course snacks for Gavin and the birds. I'll use it to hide the liner around the edges too, I might even use it to cover the retaining blocks, make it look liked pieced boulders. The guy I've been emailing from the company said it'll give the ducks that little bit of extra grip to get in and out easier, which was the selling point for me.

Along with the other 2 methods mentioned I thought I would add the one that has worked for me. I routinely do deviled eggs for family events (sure makes for a great offering and we always can get them fixed without having to go to the store for special ingredients!

)

I thought I'd go nuts the first time I tried peeling fresh eggs, then I tried this method mentioned on a thread here on BYC.

Bring your water to a boil, while it is heating use a straight pin or sewing needle to poke a hole in the rounded end of the egg. You only need to poke it in a very short distance, just through the shell. I simply place them pointy side down back into the egg carton until I have all of them done. Then add them to the boiling water and set your timer to 14 minutes. (I prefer my eggs very hard boiled for my deviled eggs, shorten the time if you are looking for softer boiled eggs)
Once your timer goes off then drain off the hot water, and refill the pot with cold sink water and let it run over till it is reasonably cool. Then simply roll the egg on the counter to break open/loosen the shell and peel. I rarely have a stubborn egg now, even use the eggs laid that day without problem.

Finding that tip on BYC has saved me untold hours of frustration when peeling eggs!

Thanks for sharing! I always have problems peeling eggs, no matter how fresh or old.

 

[galgo98]

Anybody at or going to green dragon today?

 

[nbenevento]

That is awesome! How much do you sell them for? Once I get more hens laying I'm going to do the same thing. I tried to get them to come in but they wouldn't budge. Once it got really dark I was too scared to go back out (hubby wasn't home). They survived the night, thank goodness!
When you boil fresh eggs put 1 tsp baking soda in the water. They peel without the shell sticking every time

My silkie is still sitting tight on her nest. I'm so excited to have my first broody!

I'm glad to hear they survived! I sell my eggs for $3.00 a dozen and I ask them to swap me or return the egg cartons.

 

[msladyhawke]

Anybody at or going to green dragon today?

I am going.

 

[LisaYolkUm]

Morning all, so I went and go the mail this morning and was looking in the local paper - Reiff's Poultry near me off 45 has started pullets for sale ready for pick up August 8th $6.85 each and are red sex links (Forgot to add the phone # before 570 966 0769)- I ordered 2 as hubby is impatient waiting for the other girls to get old enough to lay lol

There goes the chicken math!

Then looked on my facebook and saw this if anyone is interested ...



A & J Farms - The Poultry Hatchery
LOCAL PICK UP -- SPECIALS -- AUGUST 2ND HATCH -- SPECIALS

Brown Leghorn
White Leg Horn
California White Layer
Dominique
Black Sex Link
Rhode Island Red
New Hampshire Red
Barred Plymouth Rock
Ameraucana
Buff Orpington
Black Giant

ALL PULLETS LISTED ABOVE -- $2.65 -- @25 OR $2.99 EA.

BROILERS -- RED OR BLACK -- $1.85 @ 25 CHICKS OR $2.15 EA

DUCKS -- MALLARD -- BLUE SWEDISH -- WHITE PEKIN
$2.50 @25 OR $2.99 EA

GUINEAS --- $4.25 EA -- FRENCH - LAVENDER - PEARL- PIED & WHITE

------------------------ 315-257-9100 ----------------------

------------ THESE SPECIALS ARE BOOKING FAST ---------

PLEASE PLACE ORDERS FOR AUG. 2ND BY PHONE -- PICK UP ONLY

wow! that is such a good deal and great variety...............its just so far for me! I am in SE PA.............................oh man!!!!

 

[LisaYolkUm]

In the bullpen..............that's funny-------------little tiny chickens .........."in the bull pen" omg!

a big congrats....and I was going to boast my second chook has just laid her first egg.....lol....I will catch up though, I have a pair of BCM chicks in the bull pen....

 

[tweetr1979]

wow! that is such a good deal and great variety...............its just so far for me! I am in SE PA.............................oh man!!!!

Well from me in central pa, it is only 3hrs 15mins from me (4 1/2hrs from philly). If you just wanted red sex links you could come to the place near me and that is just under 3hrs from philly. I guess it just depends what you want, how old you want them and how badly you want a certain type.

 

[Diz78]

I just got back from my SIL undercover wear party. Out of all the stuff I could get I buy tea tree oil for my chickens. This is how I know my life will never be the same. Lol