Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[animallover505]

aww!! Why do y'all get all the snow?? I've had one light snow all year!!!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I do home made yogurt almost daily for the babies and me too

they do get some scraps from meats, all cooked and a lotta mealworms. I was on a huge guilt trip for the worming. Feel a lot better about it now, many of the websites are saying to do it on a schedule. The vets here are really not interested in poultry at all. Still trying to find one

Chickens were only recently allowed inside the city limits of my town (I'm outside the limits) so everything 'chicken' is becoming in vogue now. That is a refreshing change from all the vineyard related stuff, of which I am not a fan, having lived here before the rise of the wineries. Talk about spraying, some are terrible! Given how many folks are attempting the few-pet-hens-in-my-suburban-backyard around here, I think an enterprising vet would do well to become the go-to vet for all the chicken owners in the county. They'd make a bundle! There is one local small animal vet that specializes in anything other than cats or dogs, so he may be the one. I'll have to call him and plant the seed.....

As for guilt trips, don't even go there. Not everyone can follow the same path and you are doing what you think is best. It's a tough decision because most of the information is anecdotal, people just sharing what works for them. There have been precious few studies about chickens outside of the factory egg and meat production settings, so indisputable facts are hard to come by. At the very least, I have not read of anyone harming their chickens by worming, so you can feel comfortable with your decision.

My mom used to make home made yogurt (back in the early 70s!) and she had this cool little yogurt machine with separate cups. I was young and did not like yogurt, so didn't pay much attention, but I'll bet that machine is still stashed somewhere up at the old farm. Time to go exploring! Is it cheaper to make your own than to buy it? The chickens sure do like it!

 

[BullChick]

aww!! Why do y'all get all the snow?? I've had one light snow all year!!!

When you turn 18, go to college on the east coast. When you have to walk clear across campus through the snow, you will begin to understand why we don't like it so much. Then when you hit 30, it will get to the point of "Oh, I don't like this so much anymore." And it gets worse each year after.
Who wants a good laugh??
Over the road trucking story! We were in Colorado, and I went into the bunk wearing sweatshirt and sweatpants. When I woke up, I was FREEZING! DH had called back, "Potty break!" then got out of the truck. I thought I had maybe just gone to sleep, and the truck had not warmed up yet.
I jumped up, put on a coat and boots, and got out still half asleep. The ground was white. I stumbled a few feet, and realized I was hot. REALLY hot! We were in AZ. It was 117* I had to pee too bad to go change, so I threw the coat onto the step of the truck, yelled at my husband, and endured the funny looks from the other truckers.
Realistically, being that hot was dangerous (it really was 117*), but I lived through it, so all is well.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I suppose I have been remiss in not worming my chickens, esp following the theory that they eat off the ground therefore likely have worms....but I haven't seen any signs. I had a recipes for a wormer using lye soap but all the places you'd expect to buy lye don't sell it....turns out it was being used to make crack. Can you believe that!? So, back to pumpkins. I really want a greenhouse too, but don't want the bill. I am thinking about using cattle panels and cover it with thick plastic sheeting I could roll up or down. Either way I need something to keep the chickens out of the gardens and flying is something they do pretty well, so even a fence would have to be very tall or completely enclosed. This spring, I'm not exactly planning out how many chicks I want to hatch ( yikes) but I want to make sure I have quite a few of my favorite pairs so I'll keep those marked and sneak them into the broody nest if she doesn't already have enough. I've decided to pretty much give God free rein since he's obviously done such a good job already, like I could improve on that.....just going to enjoy them and surprizes at the different colors and attitudes that pop out!

Well, if there's nothing wrong with your chickens, just keep doing what you're doing! And yes, I can believe that folks will turn just about anything into a drug. For a couple of years, I taught kids in a residential drug treatment program, where their choice was complying with the program requirements (including finishing school) or spending a few years in juvie. Those kids would sniff, smoke, or inject just about anything to take away their (often perceived) troubles. I think a few months living in a truly troubled world, like Ethiopia maybe, would have given them a better appreciation of the opportunities that they were wasting here.

 

[BullChick]

Quote:
Well, if there's nothing wrong with your chickens, just keep doing what you're doing! And yes, I can believe that folks will turn just about anything into a drug. For a couple of years, I taught kids in a residential drug treatment program, where their choice was complying with the program requirements (including finishing school) or spending a few years in juvie. Those kids would sniff, smoke, or inject just about anything to take away their (often perceived) troubles. I think a few months living in a truly troubled world, like Ethiopia maybe, would have given them a better appreciation of the opportunities that they were wasting here.

True. 100%

 

[Wishing4Wings]

When you turn 18, go to college on the east coast. When you have to walk clear across campus through the snow, you will begin to understand why we don't like it so much. Then when you hit 30, it will get to the point of "Oh, I don't like this so much anymore." And it gets worse each year after.
Who wants a good laugh??
Over the road trucking story! We were in Colorado, and I went into the bunk wearing sweatshirt and sweatpants. When I woke up, I was FREEZING! DH had called back, "Potty break!" then got out of the truck. I thought I had maybe just gone to sleep, and the truck had not warmed up yet.
I jumped up, put on a coat and boots, and got out still half asleep. The ground was white. I stumbled a few feet, and realized I was hot. REALLY hot! We were in AZ. It was 117* I had to pee too bad to go change, so I threw the coat onto the step of the truck, yelled at my husband, and endured the funny looks from the other truckers.
Realistically, being that hot was dangerous (it really was 117*), but I lived through it, so all is well.

You must have been having a really cool dream!

For me, the heat is harder to take than the cold, but 65* sure is nice! I don't envy you having to build your new coop when the cold wind is blowing like that. My ears hurt just thinking about it. Maybe hubby can give you a hand tomorrow, or he can have 3 new house pets for a while until you finish.

I'm a fairly large, strong and capable person (I'm 5'9"), but it never ceases to amaze me how much stronger my husband is compared to me. Even my 14 yr old boy can lift and move things with an ease that I envy. Certainly a source of frustration when they can complete a chore in half the time it takes me!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

You guys are making me paranoid about worms!

The temp is 5 with the windchill. I have gotten the floor of the coop covered, and one end wall up. The roost about broke my wrist. I finally found two screws that are about three inches long. Trying to get them to screw in even with the electric screwdriver took FOREVER! And then the roost started spinning. I went to the other side, and the screw stopped going in about an inch from the end. I was so stinkin' cold, I forgot to charge the screwdriver battery. I just ran in the house. I know I have to go back out today, but I don't want to!

The snow is blowing in my face, and the boards are heavy, and and and...

I will give it a shot, but I may be hurrying it up tomorrow afternoon when my husband gets home. I hate to think the trio will have to stay boxed up, but if they stay in a box overnight, it will be no worse than being at the fair, right?
I am taking pictures as I go along. Do I add them to the coop page, or with "my flock" which I already started?

Sorry, meant to quote this also with my last post.


You guys are making me paranoid about worms!

Worms happen! No need to worry if you don't see a problem. Not to freak you out or anything, but did you know that there is a type of parasitic microscopic mite (Demodex) that can live in our eyelashes? (You'll have to google them, my creepy picture didn't post)

People that have them (about a third of the population) don't show any symptoms at all. They tolerate the mites' presence just fine. It is not a hygiene issue either. Creepy huh?

 

[ladytoysdream]

We have snow here in NY. Very cold and bitter here today. This morning, the water dishes had ice in them.
I like to use those heavy rubber dishes they use for horses , for the chickens water bowl. The bigger one, I can
put my boot in it, to crush the ice. Then rinse , and put fresh water in it.
I keep saying hurry up spring.

 

[BullChick]

Change in weather. Now it is supposed to be about 34 tomorrow with 5-10MPH winds. DH says he should be home around 11. Woo hoo! I just may be able to get the coop done after all!
Lesson learned. Be more motivated to get things done. If I had kept at it, the coop would have been done a month ago. At least I should not have taken it out of the garage, and torn half of the wire out. Like I said. Lesson learned!
9 eggs today. That is an odd number for me. I either got more after I collected, or the wind was scaring the girls.

 

[BullChick]

BTW, save the earth! It is the only planet with chocolate!!