Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[okallthis4eggs]

Looking into one of these to brood chicks. Free range with no problems

 

[Wishing4Wings]

RR-Bummer about your girl. I hope your kids are ok. That must have been a bit upsetting!

Thank you everyone for your insight on the free ranging stuff. Today I let them FR while I was doing chores and most of them were in the run by the time I was done! I only had to wrangle a few. They must know when I don't have time to chase them around!
Only 1 egg today, but it is pretty dark compared to the others I have been getting. At least it was in the nest box! I am putting some nest boxes in the run too. Sometimes I find them in there.
SBMom-Those are some nice dark eggs! You will have a beautiful assortment of eggs in your basket!

W4W-Good luck with your girl. I am learning so much about chickens from all of you!

Here are the photos that wouldn't load last nite!


Run with a few chickens actually in it.


The two mini's with a not-so-mini.

Wow, your place looks great! I have a serious case of green grass envy... nothing but dry, dry, dry here. That run is awesome, but I bet the hens would like a nest box out there rather than venture back across the open yard.

My girls range in a 60 x60' fenced off portion of the yard that has a few large fruit trees. I planted some strawberry guava and a loquat to give them more cover. They mostly stay under cover. Not sure if they are attracted to the shade or if it's self preservation. I've got some pomegranate starts ready to go in this fall when it starts raining (if it starts raining

).

Waiting for eggs.... again! My quail are all at 8 weeks so should be getting eggs any day. I have around 60 quail now, and will be processing some of the scrappy boys in a few weeks. Doing a "practice" hatch for a BYC member in Indiana. We went thru all the steps, including the shipping! He plans to sell/ship quail eggs, and sent me 56 eggs yesterday. arrived today! Not a single crack, and will be checking air cells later tonight. Fun stuff, and I get to keep the chicks too!

My girls are still not laying, 3 eggs again today. Very odd. Using Purina flock raiser on all the birds and free choice oyster shell. Still fermenting also. Rebel went to rooster jail for the week (more, really angry with him!) he is getting too aggressive with my hens. He is pecking them after he "does his job" and doesn't let them stand up! Just stands on them, pinned down. He actually had one of the BAs head bloody by time I ran and grabbed him away

This made the 3rd time. So he gets jail and will meet the freezer if he does it again! Will be a shame because he is very people friendly.
My baby doeling, Sophie is doing great, happy little energetic baby. Sugar is an excellent Mom and frets, fusses and will not let her out of her sight. Sophie has started to eat pellets a little so I plan to start milking once a day very soon. Bo is insanely jealous, and is really becoming an ornery billy. He gets to go out to the fence line with me every day, But he has started to butt a lot. Hind legs standing up, full on! His back goes all spiked up, so I see it before it happens. When he does his "attack", I catch him midair by the horns and pin him to the ground. If he keeps at it, he gets his water bucket dumped on his head, and locked up in the livestock trailer. He will be pastured with the cows once I get the fencing done. I almost think it would have been easier to run new fence, taking forever to replace the bad posts, fix the fencing etc, then run the wire for electric fence (top, middle and bottom). DH is driving me crazy wanting to get cows like yesterday, last year even

told him he needs to help with the fence first, otherwise not happening till its done. They are too big to "make do" and am not dealing with an escaped cow. The poor guy last month that had his bull get out told me its a nightmare to deal with. I don't know if he ever found the bull.

Is Rebel an adult rooster? Just wondering if his hormones have settled yet. Does he treat all the hens the same, or is he just picking on a few? Very strange, and so unnecessary, for him to be so aggressive toward the hens. Glad he's spending some time in the clink!

RR, I'm sorry too, poor Sneaky Chimi.... but Dozer was just being a dog... it's unfortunate, but OK's right... if he was eating a fox, we'd all be cheering... I would try a training program before making any hurried decisions... Chester is pretty good around the chickens, and he's always leashed, my wish is that he stop peeing in the house... he peed on the new floor tonight... I could cry. I walk him and walk him, he will only take one pee towards the end of the walk. I've never known a male dog that didn't pee 28 times around every block... pee on each rock, tree trunk...

Sully, you have such a nice setup... I'm getting great ideas for what to build when I move!

I wanted to go back to the fair this afternoon, but Mylee was so grouchy and I swear her ears are made of cloth sometimes! so we both took a nice long nap and went to the fair at 6 pm. She got her face painted like a rainbow kitty - so pretty! and we went on so many rides, over and over - it was great, but we didn't get home until 11 ! She got a pony ride, and to feed carrots to a fabulous giraffe, she fed the goats again and totally fell in love with the Percheron horses - the people who own them were terrific, really sweet to Mylee and gave her a special tattoo of a horse named Ice. Mylee is so gracious (when she wants to be...) big thank you's to all the ride operators and the concession people - the guy who runs the small roller coaster that she loves actually stopped the ride so she could get on, then instead of 2 trips around, he let it run for 4! she made so many friends on the lines, then they would ride together, and I would have to sit by myself... lol... I overheard people say how adorable she is when we were waiting to get in the fun house... cuz we were dancing, and she got so into it... I'll post some pics tomorrow. I want to go back again tomorrow, but she actually wants to go climb "Vrooman's Nose" - a really nice small mountain that looks ... like a nose. and we'll have a picnic up top of hard boiled eggs, peaches, cheese and crackers and juice. Maybe she'll change her mind. the fair is gone by the weekend, and Vrooman's Nose is there forever...

9 Eggs today

Your fair sounds so nice and wholesome. A lot of the guys that run the carnival rides out here are pretty unsavory characters, and I'm generally hard to intimidate, but I would not allow young teens into the carnival without keeping an eye on them. Oh, that and the gang activity in the evenings.

They've really cracked down on this, but these days it's like going through airport security just to get into the county fair. What a world! Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong century.

Keep up the Mylee updates. That's how it should be!

Looking into one of these to brood chicks. Free range with no problems

Haha! Good doggie. Those ducklings grew in the bottom pic, and so many! They're so vulnerable on the ground at that stage and need a good protector. Mustacheio wants ducks now,

the little Call ducks that are so adorable. We'll see how his grades are this first quarter...

 

[MalMom]

No BR Eggs Today......One Is Broody And One Is .........................................Roger

 

[cheeka]

OK, too funny! love the dog pic... wish they could all be such natural guardians!

I'm loading pics now, over 300 between yesterday and today, lots that Mylee took herself... then I broke the camera! she was in the bath, and had splashed water all over, I went feet first across the floor, no damage other than the camera falling out of my pocket and landing on the floor to have the case split open and a few spring break. I did put it back together and with some cobbing, the battery holds in place and it does work! hooray! I have my super good camera, but I will not let Mylee or anyone else use it. I can't afford to replace it.
While Mylee is napping, I've made Pie stuff to put together when she gets up, and then she can feed them - it's her "important" job y'know... she takes care of them all now, even the big boys!

some of the carnie's are creepy... most are pretty regular...but because they deal with so many rotten kids and mean teenagers and drunk adults... I can understand their limited patience. I never expected them to treat Mylee with special deference, her gracious and truly cheery Thank You and sweet smile melts the hardest codger! there was one "slide" house with a rope ladder and bouncy spots and clankety bridges ending with an enormous slide was so cool, she was about 1/2 inch too short to go alone, but she needed zero help from me, and she would get so far ahead without running... they decided she could go alone - she can be seen along the entire "house" except in the big bouncy rubber tunnel, but no one is in there and she pops out after only a few seconds... Man! was she proud of herself to do it on her own! it was nice that they, too, encouraged her to be independent and strong.
anyway, this is photo heavy... but it just has to be that way, there is so much going on!




I couldn't hold her up for the giraffe and get a good picture, so that was the best I got... the last 2 I love, solo ride in the front car of the roller coaster and more new friends to ride with! these boys Mom was lovely, we spent a good while talking while the kids went on ride after ride

Now. this is MyleeView. she's amazing. I asked her to share tomatoes and take pictures of whatever she wants, but please get some of the Cluck Clucks. just a sample...







and then there are the "abstracts"


she has since had a bath, fought tooth and nail to not wash her face or her hair, but it's done... that's why the bathroom floor was so wet, from her tantrum after... but we sang "rats be gone" and her hair is silky and combed!

 

[cheeka]

oh yeah, she wants goats now.

 

[Sallysec]

Sully, the place looks beautiful. How many horses do you have ? Nest boxes in the run might be needed since that looks like a long way for them. They might feel safer just to lay in the run box etc.

RR I am sorry for sneaky and rebel, I hope the kids understand that sometimes these things happen and that it isn't rebels fault. It's part of being a dog and he doesn't know what he is doing is wrong. Training may help, it may not. Some dogs will have that instinct always. Whatever you decide, I hope it works out for you, the kids, and animals.

Cheeka, could you crate train him ? I know many people that adopted an older dog or a dog that had that issue and that worked well. Once you have him trained you could stop the crating. Mylees face looks so cute painted. The little chicks and silkie are getting Big!

JC sorry about rebel. I hope the jailing helps. If it doesn't I hope he tastes delicious.

 

[cheeka]

I do have a crate. I have finally found my old gates, and will try that first. I've never crate trained before, I've always had them, used them for travel mostly... but I can do it.

Mylee is allowed to take pictures of the chicks. I am not. Peach hides them and it is infuriating.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Mylee's hair got all combed out! Looks good, G'ma! Cheeka, that silkie chick is a bantam? How big do they get? Probably smaller than Peach? If they're really small, maybe I can get a couple to keep with the Seramas.

+

= Silkie! Either that or we'll have to get another Flemish Giant bun. Hubs keeps looking at adds.

How did you get Mylee to go to the fair instead of climbing Mt. Nose? When you do climb it, I hope you get some good pics.

 

[cheeka]

no bigger than Peach anyway, and actually, I am sure it will be smaller. some of the true bantam Silkies would be great with the Serama's. even if they are somewhat bigger... they are very gentle birds. might work out nice, how feisty are the Serama's?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

The Seramas are very docile with people, but I not sure about other birds. Like a lot of breeds, I think it's pretty individual. Know I couldn't put a Silkie in with the big girls, not with Biscuit the She-Roo out there. If the Seramas to picked on them I wouldn't have a place to keep them.

Maybe we should just get the bun.