Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[Lelanae]

I fed the parents 22% protein pellets and they still were exceedingly poor layers. I kept them an extra year because so many people wanted them, but decided this year I was doing anyone any favors by making them more available, so I sold the whole pen.

Hi Dennis!
The welsummer I got from you is laying 5 out of six days--gorgeous medium sized dark brown and dark brown speckled eggs. The 2 Blacksex links both are laying blue eggs daily too.
What is your best dark brown layer? Welbars? I will be giving your information to a nice farming couple that I met at the Kennett Square Farmers market. They would like some blue egg layers, I think. They were kind enough to give a home to my two orpington 'roos--here is a picture of Laurence who looks like he is more interested in going home with me than in his new harem of about 50 hens!

 

[dheltzel]

Hi Dennis!
The welsummer I got from you is laying 5 out of six days--gorgeous medium sized dark brown and dark brown speckled eggs. The 2 Blacksex links both are laying blue eggs daily too.
What is your best dark brown layer? Welbars? I will be giving your information to a nice farming couple that I met at the Kennett Square Farmers market. They would like some blue egg layers, I think. They were kind enough to give a home to my two orpington 'roos--here is a picture of Laurence who looks like he is more interested in going home with me than in his new harem of about 50 hens!

Laurence -- Why are you leaving me mom?

I bet he's figure it out shortly. Sad to say, you may be forgotten almost completely when his hormones kick in.

I'm glad your welsummer is doing so well. Most of my breeds tend to lay well for a while, they cut way back at certain times of the year. The sexlinks and California Greys are the exception, but I suspect they will not lay as many years in total as the more "lacsidaisical" layers.

I will only be selling Welbars for dark eggs from now on. A good Welsummer is arguably a prettier bird, especially the roos, but other than that, I find the Welbars to be superior to Welsummers. I have some to sell now, and hopefully a lot next year.

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

Good morning everybody!
How do you use the chicken manure? I know you have to age or rest it for most uses. I was using pine shavings in my coop before, but I will have a much bigger coop. In the burbs, I had to bag everything up and put it in the trash. I guess this is where poop boards would be handy for "collecting".
That definitely sounds like a rabid animal. Groundhogs are usually the first to dive for cover and very reclusive. And I suspect they don't usually have that kind of stamina!
I think I'm going to build a " play gym" for my girls too when I have the time. Definitely looks like a great boredom buster. I'm sure the girls won't mind if it's held together by zip ties.... Lol.


2 days until settlement! I'm both nervous and excited! We moved most of our stuff up to the garage on the property. Today we will finish unloading the shed. Starting to get a little nervous now....!

Btw, in the trash a few weeks ago, someone had tossed a pack-and-play. I thought, hey, that would be a great chick brooder.... High five for all the trash pickers! (That wasn't even my latest find....)

...awesome!!
we dig very deep holes in the garden, that is where things like manure & clippings from plants go, unless fed to the chickens. It does wonders for the soil...it has all season(s) to do it's "thing"..by next planting time, the dirt is fantastic. We also use the birds to clear & turn soil over in the fall & spring...so anything they 'leave behind' is just an added bonus!

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

Gm all:

The ups and downs of byc are upon me....finished up a hatch.....7 of 11 went to lockdown and four hatched....two OEs hatched first and are doing great...the third was a CCL boy who had a bunch of 'stuff' still attached after hatching,,,left it go for 24hrs then cut it off ...he went south last night....a 4th CCL boy hatched yesterday(very late) and he seems to be failing also....electrolytes don't seem to help....

On the up side I moved my x6 5week olds outside to their coop...always a great day....

having these animals is that..up & down, isn't it?!...I am sorry to hear your loss and failing. Hate it when anything goes, really.
On the brighter side, congrats on getting the teens out of the house!
They can go stir a ruckus with the grown-ups

@gonehencrazy ..looks great!!, big improvement...things things ALWAYS take time..too long mostly..but it will get there.
I would LOVE to run a bobcat!!!

, woulb be first in line for that one!

Thanks!! There is some work to do today due to damage to things

Bobcat was sliding all over the place. Pushed the big coop some, damaged the chicken door...barricaded them in last night with rocks. And some fence fixing!

good grief..

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Good morning everybody! How do you use the chicken manure? I know you have to age or rest it for most uses. I was using pine shavings in my coop before, but I will have a much bigger coop. In the burbs, I had to bag everything up and put it in the trash. I guess this is where poop boards would be handy for "collecting". That definitely sounds like a rabid animal. Groundhogs are usually the first to dive for cover and very reclusive. And I suspect they don't usually have that kind of stamina! I think I'm going to build a " play gym" for my girls too when I have the time. Definitely looks like a great boredom buster. I'm sure the girls won't mind if it's held together by zip ties.... Lol. 2 days until settlement! I'm both nervous and excited! We moved most of our stuff up to the garage on the property. Today we will finish unloading the shed. Starting to get a little nervous now....! Btw, in the trash a few weeks ago, someone had tossed a pack-and-play. I thought, hey, that would be a great chick brooder.... High five for all the trash pickers! (That wasn't even my latest find....)

Good morning! Great score on the Pack and Play...we have 2 old wood playpens we modified as brooders/hospital pens/isolation pens. They are perfect for it. Sending good vibes your way on closing....once that happens though the real work will begin, we probably should hear from you most days because all your projects will have you exhausted! LOL I never minded that kind of exhausted though, being tired when you know you accomplished something just never seemed as bad.

I agree! Being tired from a har days work is wonderful!

Good morning everybody! How do you use the chicken manure? I know you have to age or rest it for most uses. I was using pine shavings in my coop before, but I will have a much bigger coop. In the burbs, I had to bag everything up and put it in the trash. I guess this is where poop boards would be handy for "collecting".

I feel the warnings about not using fresh manure are overblown, and that is my horticulture degree speaking. Organic gardeners make "manure tea" with fresh manure to replace the liquid fertilizer you can buy at the store. The scientific facts are that soluble fertilizer of any sort is a "salt", and like salt on a slug, if you get too much, too concentrated, it will suck the moisture out of living tissue and kill it. Plants have root hairs that are very sensitive to drying out, either by fertilizer salts or real dryness. It is the same for the tissue being attacked, it dies. If you over fertilize, it has an additive effect during a dry spell. Hydroponics runs with a pretty concentrated mixture of chemical fertilizers (salts), but because the roots never dry, it's not a problem, and ensures the plants are never limited by a scarcity of nutrients. I use fresh manure of all types, all the time. The key is moderation. Don't put it on delicate plant tissues (leaves or roots), and don't put it on too heavily, but if you spread it thin, it works great without any composting needed. Actually, the composting happens "in situ" in this case, the free ammonia with either evaporate (what you smell) or leach into the soil in the next rain. The majority of the N is locked up in organic matter and as the bacteria and fungi consume the organic matter, they excrete excess N. It becomes a slow release fertilizer. Keep in mind that this is also cumulative and too much a of a good thing can still turn bad, so don't keep adding manure to the same area and get a buildup. Composting is to eliminate the free ammonia component, hopefully getting the ammonia locked up in the bodies of microrganisms as they consume the more fibrous parts of the bedding. I'm not arguing against composting by any means, just saying you don't need to regard fresh manure as "plant poison" as many writers would argue. Do an experiment if you want. put a pile of fresh manure all around, but not touching the stem, of a weed. Compare how it grows to others that don't have the manure. Or use another plant if you think weeds grow anyway.

Thanks Dennis! I feel better about it getting the info from a "bonfied" horticulturist.

Gm all: The ups and downs of byc are upon me....finished up a hatch.....7 of 11 went to lockdown and four hatched....two OEs hatched first and are doing great...the third was a CCL boy who had a bunch of 'stuff' still attached after hatching,,,left it go for 24hrs then cut it off ...he went south last night....a 4th CCL boy hatched yesterday(very late) and he seems to be failing also....electrolytes don't seem to help.... On the up side I moved my x6 5week olds outside to their coop...always a great day....

Sorry you lost one, but I'm glad to hear the others are doing well.

Chicken yard improvement. The people that owned this place dumped just about everything up in the "woods". This is now our chicken area. Last week dad burned all the brush. This weeks project was leveling the mound of concrete, asphalt and lord only knows what else. Goal was to use the block, rock, whatever to reinforce the **** he built to slow down the water that runs off the hill when it rains. Note: I decided it was a good plan to take my chicken killing dog to work yesterday as a precaution...smart of me since chickens were definitely out of the fenced area during "construction." Also rent a quality bobcat...wheel fell off and project was not totally completed. BEFORE:

AFTER:

No more mound!!

The reinforced dam...little hard to see because of the tree shadow. Now the plan is to build a covered run so they have a yard protected from snow. Last winter the four stayed in the coop for few days but there are too many for that this winter. Second goal will be an attempt to plant grass

Great job! That must have been a lot of work!

I fed the parents 22% protein pellets and they still were exceedingly poor layers. I kept them an extra year because so many people wanted them, but decided this year I was doing anyone any favors by making them more available, so I sold the whole pen.

Hi Dennis! The welsummer I got from you is laying 5 out of six days--gorgeous medium sized dark brown and dark brown speckled eggs. The 2 Blacksex links both are laying blue eggs daily too. What is your best dark brown layer? Welbars? I will be giving your information to a nice farming couple that I met at the Kennett Square Farmers market. They would like some blue egg layers, I think. They were kind enough to give a home to my two orpington 'roos--here is a picture of Laurence who looks like he is more interested in going home with me than in his new harem of about 50 hens!

He's such a looker!

 

[TillyPeeps]

Hi Dennis! The welsummer I got from you is laying 5 out of six days--gorgeous medium sized dark brown and dark brown speckled eggs. The 2 Blacksex links both are laying blue eggs daily too. What is your best dark brown layer? Welbars? I will be giving your information to a nice farming couple that I met at the Kennett Square Farmers market. They would like some blue egg layers, I think. They were kind enough to give a home to my two orpington 'roos--here is a picture of Laurence who looks like he is more interested in going home with me than in his new harem of about 50 hens!

That picture almost make me cry. All my chickens went to their new home yesterday. Before they left, Molly spent half day cuddling with me and she tried to hide in coop when it's time to leave. For some reason, she seems know what's happening. I was so depressed yesterday. My Welbar girl, Penny, she lays everyday, but her eggs are not very dark, although speckled. She was a sick chick who developed very slow, so her egg color may be different. My rhodebar lays very dark eggs, while she's supposed to lay light brown eggs. The Rhodefelder lays largest, dark brown eggs every day. But Dennis doesn't have rhodebar or Rhodefelder anymore.

 

[BullChick]

Birds break your heart. The drakes (except Jojo) are gone. Jojo's daughter was fine until the storm rolled in. When the chickens went for cover, the ducks all came out to play. She called and called for over an hour. The Muscovy can't cry out. The entire time I was just outside, she was in the back of the property, off to the side. She was just standing there. The whole darn time.
The Peking girl had her two SPR children to keep her company once the rain stopped for a while. Without her mate to call her, she didn't pay attention to the others coming for the scratch. It was the children that sauntered over after a few minutes, and I saw her kinda dazed waddling over.
I count the SPR babies often. Yesterday evening, there were nine. Today (all day) one is missing. On the plus side, a few were roosting on a branch I have outside.
The four doves have been down to two for a few weeks. One looked like it was nesting in the upturned heat lamp hanging in the coop this morning. But it seemed confused as to how to get back out. I just put on a glove, and put her out, and she kept flying back in. I finally got the door closed. The other one flew to her, and they are both in the coop now.

The rain is supposed to continue for a while. At least the heat isn't as bad.

 

[BullChick]

The extra drakes are gone, and it is now time to start naming the permanent residents. The SPR teens are officially named.

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers

The Muscovy girl is

Aretha Franklin

And Christopher now has the permanent name of

Janice Joplin

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

That picture almost make me cry. All my chickens went to their new home yesterday. Before they left, Molly spent half day cuddling with me and she tried to hide in coop when it's time to leave. For some reason, she seems know what's happening. I was so depressed yesterday.

My Welbar girl, Penny, she lays everyday, but her eggs are not very dark, although speckled. She was a sick chick who developed very slow, so her egg color may be different. My rhodebar lays very dark eggs, while she's supposed to lay light brown eggs. The Rhodefelder lays largest, dark brown eggs every day. But Dennis doesn't have rhodebar or Rhodefelder anymore.

Birds break your heart. The drakes (except Jojo) are gone. Jojo's daughter was fine until the storm rolled in. When the chickens went for cover, the ducks all came out to play. She called and called for over an hour. The Muscovy can't cry out. The entire time I was just outside, she was in the back of the property, off to the side. She was just standing there. The whole darn time.
The Peking girl had her two SPR children to keep her company once the rain stopped for a while. Without her mate to call her, she didn't pay attention to the others coming for the scratch. It was the children that sauntered over after a few minutes, and I saw her kinda dazed waddling over.
I count the SPR babies often. Yesterday evening, there were nine. Today (all day) one is missing. On the plus side, a few were roosting on a branch I have outside.
The four doves have been down to two for a few weeks. One looked like it was nesting in the upturned heat lamp hanging in the coop this morning. But it seemed confused as to how to get back out. I just put on a glove, and put her out, and she kept flying back in. I finally got the door closed. The other one flew to her, and they are both in the coop now.

The rain is supposed to continue for a while. At least the heat isn't as bad.

you too..

..
we are getting some seriously crazy stuff right now...it just keeps coming in waves....watching the radar...we are getting soooo lucky, you on the other hand

, getting it a bit worse....i know we will too. These mountains are incredible..they can either help break-up storms or hold them in...

How ya doing today?...had a late night, was wondering how you were holding up....

Bug will be here soon for our sleep-over

..
.got my 'to-do' list finished..mostly.There is always tomorrow i guess...sun is behind the mountain here at 6pm...then very dark by 8pm...doesn't leave much tie for outside work to be done, for
me anyway. Gotta stay out of that mean 'ol sun ya know!

...ahahha

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

The extra drakes are gone, and it is now time to start naming the permanent residents. The SPR teens are officially named.

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers

The Muscovy girl is

Aretha Franklin

And Christopher now has the permanent name of

Janice Joplin