Ribh's D'Coopage

[Ribh]

Wow, Evening Jeannie

Not sure what the wow's for but it is really early here.

 

[rjohns39]

Not sure what the wow's for but it is really early here.

Depending on how you look at it, either really early or really late Guess it just depends on if sleep happened before now

 

[Ribh]

Depending on how you look at it, either really early or really late Guess it just depends on if sleep happened before now

Oh, I was in bed really early. Now I am up super early but will probably doze off again shortly. Fending off a cold always sends my sleep patterns really out of wack.

 

[Kris5902]

@Kris5902: you home yet? Waiting on your damage report ~ & which chicken you actually lost ~ as well as hearing all about your Canada Day weekend.

I made it home... finally. Jazz fest downtown Vancouver was wonderful, a bit large but very laid back with wonderful food and market vendors... I really wanted to do some shopping for pretty clothes (soft light dresses and pants) but restrained myself, which was good, because not only were my jeans on sale at the mall later that evening, but they even had 4 pairs in my size! Canada Day was HOT with no shade and I got a bit sunburnt despite two applications of SPF 50 sunscreen. I got one of the kids onto several rides, and it was a fun but exhausting day.

I’m a little disappointed, as I took them some chicken breasts and wings, as well as some of Andrew’s sausage. I think it will still be there the next time I visit as the eggs I brought them back in March are still untouched in the fridge. They eat eggs, they even ran out of store bought eggs while I was there and said they needed to buy more!? It really annoys me as they waste tons of food, complain about the cost of food and their finances, but won’t eat anything produced on my farm. I guess our Farm produce isn’t “safe” enough for them, despite everything being processed in facilities that can and do sell to grocery stores! I won’t be bringing them any more, that’s for sure! Some personal issues going on there that this isn’t an appropriate venue to discuss them, but Andrew will get an earful of Venting when he gets home!

I got to pass Andrew at the Ferry terminal on my way home and him on his way to work on Saltspring. We waved and blew kisses and got some funny looks from the ferry workers and some of the other customers. The ferry ended up leaving Saturna over 1/2hr late and not all the departing tourists made it on. So although we pulled in at 4:30, I didn’t get properly home until almost 6, with stopping to fill our water jugs and pick up some groceries. I knew I was in for a long day today when the “I’m sorry about the trailer” text came in before I even got there.

It looks like a bomb went off in here! The eggs are all piled in a mixing bowl now (they were piled in several random places!), nothing got washed, and I’m still assessing the situation. I don’t know who got which feed, why the layer pellets (only layer, not mixed as per usual) are by the meat birds. 1/4 bag of broiler pellets was wasted by rain and the lid being left off, that’s going to make for one happy raccoon. I saw him during the daylight last night, and I think I’m going to buy a trap and put him down, he seems partially blind and to have either a jaw deformity or infection, if it wasn’t for scavenging from my chickens I don’t think he would still be alive.

Oh, and back to the feed... some how the 1 scoop to the girls and 2 scoops to the boys twice a day for the meaties, ended up in DH’s (you can read it as dear or damn, this time!) head as scoops per bird! “Well it’s 1lb of feed a bird right?” (That’s how much a sheep gets of texture at lambing!!!)
I’m surprised they didn’t manage to eat themselves to death! And now I’m a little short broiler feed... Sammy and his girls were out of water, and hadn’t had any of their eggs collected. Andrew also said he “may have” forgotten to put him up once for the night.

I’ve got things starting to get to rights again now, but it’s going to be a long day, indeed. It was New Girl that passed, I’m hoping peacefully. So the first thing I took care of after checking on everyone was burying her in my little chicken graveyard. I was quite glad I took the time to dig an extra space for her when I buried Puffy and Bossy, as I wouldn’t have wanted her to have to wait another day, but hard digging after a full day of city public transit and then the ferries would have been difficult for me.

Honestly, I’m ok with how Andrew did with the chickens, it’s a lot of chickens to handle and with different groups needing different care and feeding. And he’s not as comfortable dealing with them as I am. To anyone on this farm thinking I’m lazy, I would challenge them to take on what I do with the chickens, except I know that it wouldn’t get done properly and I won’t put the birds in that position! So, I’m going to be working on some Roll away nest boxes next... I think that will solve a few of our chicken maintenance challenges nicely!

I’m also going to build a little enclosed huddle box that I can put into the meat tractor for my latest batch of chicks as a grow out pen. I need to build a couple more layer tractors as well as one more meat tractor, and refurbish/refine Mr Marans tractor, (a roost is coming loose!) as it was my prototype and I wasn’t sure the best way to go about building it, or even exactly what I was going to do with it design wise.

 

[WhoDatChick]

I loved his crowing and he was beautiful. My wife was behind us trying to keep him. Somehow I knew better. She really loved that boy until, out of the blue, he attacked her and almost knocked her down. Then he was dead to her. She is Italian and does hold a grudge, Lol. In 32 years I've managed not to get all the way on her bad side.

Oh, this is too funny!! I too am Italian and I know all about the grudges AND short temper ... he’d probably be dead to me too! No doubt

 

[WhoDatChick]

There is no danger in waiting it out as you can always separate. You will need to decide if it is too much for your flock.

In general roosters will always work with the end of the pecking order. He finds them food and will intercede with them if the top of the order tries to enforce the pecking order too vigorously. In exchange they will be grateful and welcome his attentions. The bottom also tends to be the younger more fertile members of a long term flock.

I would expect Vinny to keep focusing his attentions there.

Oh, okay great... this is good to know! Thanks so much

 

[WhoDatChick]

That was exactly what happened when I first introduced Chickie Hawk to his ladies, suddenly the Columbian Rock had a friend/protector and the pecking order got all shook up! But it was only a couple weeks before things settled down. The top hen in there would even defend me from his actual attacks at first, so imagine my surprise when he was being a real jerk and I walked straight at him holding him back with the trusty chicken stick, and she swooped in and attacked my stick holding hand from the side and behind. Turns out once she decided the little pink wasn’t that bad after all she was just as willing to defend her man from me!

Mr Marans on the other hand, being about the same age as all the pullets he was in with, favors the top hens. But she was also the first to start laying by a week and to accept his attentions. Now sometimes Mr Maran will have an “extra frisky” morning, if the ladies really aren’t having it, (and I know this probably isn’t the best solution, but so far hasn’t created any problems for me, and I do this because the tractors are a little small when you consider how many chickens are in them so there’s not much room to evade his affections for them) I will pick him up and hold him foot ball like but in front of me, gently stoking his comb which sort of covers his eyes a bit and calms him down. Only for a minute or two until all the ladies are out at the feeders and eating and when I put him down he remembers his manners and gets to showing them the food they are already eating! Might not be a good idea though it works with him it wouldn’t with Chickie Hawk or Sammy...

This is all so very interesting!
That was my plan.. if he gets a bit too much then I was gonna hold him for awhile and see how that works.. I can hold him but I have to catch him first ...

 

[WhoDatChick]

I made it home... finally. Jazz fest downtown Vancouver was wonderful, a bit large but very laid back with wonderful food and market vendors... I really wanted to do some shopping for pretty clothes (soft light dresses and pants) but restrained myself, which was good, because not only were my jeans on sale at the mall later that evening, but they even had 4 pairs in my size! Canada Day was HOT with no shade and I got a bit sunburnt despite two applications of SPF 50 sunscreen. I got one of the kids onto several rides, and it was a fun but exhausting day.

I’m a little disappointed, as I took them some chicken breasts and wings, as well as some of Andrew’s sausage. I think it will still be there the next time I visit as the eggs I brought them back in March are still untouched in the fridge. They eat eggs, they even ran out of store bought eggs while I was there and said they needed to buy more!? It really annoys me as they waste tons of food, complain about the cost of food and their finances, but won’t eat anything produced on my farm. I guess our Farm produce isn’t “safe” enough for them, despite everything being processed in facilities that can and do sell to grocery stores! I won’t be bringing them any more, that’s for sure! Some personal issues going on there that this isn’t an appropriate venue to discuss them, but Andrew will get an earful of Venting when he gets home!

I got to pass Andrew at the Ferry terminal on my way home and him on his way to work on Saltspring. We waved and blew kisses and got some funny looks from the ferry workers and some of the other customers. The ferry ended up leaving Saturna over 1/2hr late and not all the departing tourists made it on. So although we pulled in at 4:30, I didn’t get properly home until almost 6, with stopping to fill our water jugs and pick up some groceries. I knew I was in for a long day today when the “I’m sorry about the trailer” text came in before I even got there.

It looks like a bomb went off in here! The eggs are all piled in a mixing bowl now (they were piled in several random places!), nothing got washed, and I’m still assessing the situation. I don’t know who got which feed, why the layer pellets (only layer, not mixed as per usual) are by the meat birds. 1/4 bag of broiler pellets was wasted by rain and the lid being left off, that’s going to make for one happy raccoon. I saw him during the daylight last night, and I think I’m going to buy a trap and put him down, he seems partially blind and to have either a jaw deformity or infection, if it wasn’t for scavenging from my chickens I don’t think he would still be alive.

Oh, and back to the feed... some how the 1 scoop to the girls and 2 scoops to the boys twice a day for the meaties, ended up in DH’s (you can read it as dear or damn, this time!) head as scoops per bird! “Well it’s 1lb of feed a bird right?” (That’s how much a sheep gets of texture at lambing!!!)
I’m surprised they didn’t manage to eat themselves to death! And now I’m a little short broiler feed... Sammy and his girls were out of water, and hadn’t had any of their eggs collected. Andrew also said he “may have” forgotten to put him up once for the night.

I’ve got things starting to get to rights again now, but it’s going to be a long day, indeed. It was New Girl that passed, I’m hoping peacefully. So the first thing I took care of after checking on everyone was burying her in my little chicken graveyard. I was quite glad I took the time to dig an extra space for her when I buried Puffy and Bossy, as I wouldn’t have wanted her to have to wait another day, but hard digging after a full day of city public transit and then the ferries would have been difficult for me.

Honestly, I’m ok with how Andrew did with the chickens, it’s a lot of chickens to handle and with different groups needing different care and feeding. And he’s not as comfortable dealing with them as I am. To anyone on this farm thinking I’m lazy, I would challenge them to take on what I do with the chickens, except I know that it wouldn’t get done properly and I won’t put the birds in that position! So, I’m going to be working on some Roll away nest boxes next... I think that will solve a few of our chicken maintenance challenges nicely!

I’m also going to build a little enclosed huddle box that I can put into the meat tractor for my latest batch of chicks as a grow out pen. I need to build a couple more layer tractors as well as one more meat tractor, and refurbish/refine Mr Marans tractor, (a roost is coming loose!) as it was my prototype and I wasn’t sure the best way to go about building it, or even exactly what I was going to do with it design wise.

.... you poor dear

 

[BY Bob]

This is all so very interesting!
That was my plan.. if he gets a bit too much then I was gonna hold him for awhile and see how that works.. I can hold him but I have to catch him first ...

The good part about chasing him is that he looks weak to the girls. It's embarrassing for him. Of course the downside is tripping will doing it.

 

[WhoDatChick]

The good part about chasing him is that he looks weak to the girls. It's embarrassing for him. Of course the downside is tripping will doing it.

Oh ga.. that’s true!

He has been very good so far today.. but like I said.. it’s the evenings for him.. so we’ll see how later goes