Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[joletabey]

Laney- you will be under three hours from Cynthia, and about 30 minutes from me!

Cynthia, I looked - WOW! Skye was stunning. I see what you mean, she was much fuller and fluffier. But the other two are nothing to sneeze at and I will be super happy to get Dusty babies! This is going to be fun!

 

[Cetawin]

Beth - Penelope has been in some of the pictures but she is really a shy little thing. Her mama is my Spoiled Rotten Van Riding SLW.

I had some Skye eggs in the batch Cyn sent me but sadly, she only one of them started and it did not make it to hatch. I so wanted one of her babies because she was absolutely gorgeous.

 

[joletabey]

Wahoo! The run is basically done. I have some more wire lacing to do on the overlap pieces and I have to put netting over the top, but the Dellie Darlings will get to move to the coop this week!!!

Then I can take better pictures! It's supposed to rain cats and dogs tomorrow, so it may take till Monday or Tuesday to move them, but the hard part is done! YAY!!!

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
Hooray for you!

Me too! I just finished up the outside brooder! It is inside the breeder barn (which is not actually a barn). It is a dirt floor, with small gravel. So, we added about 6 inches of sand. I am not using shavings. I won't brood new chicks there. This is for older ones. The ones in the garage are going there, and they are 4 weeks old.

My new brooder is a double decker. The one I described above is the lower part. The upper part will have to have shavings, as it is on wood. Not quite finished with it yet, as I still have to prime/seal and paint. These brooders are 8 foot x 5 foot, and each can be split into smaller sections. I think the heat lamps will be plenty of heat, but if not, I am thinking I can still put a small heater there too.

Woohoo!!... DH can reclaim the garage. Now, tell me ... Do you think the sand will be okay month olds? I was figuring that broody hens have their chicks in all kinds of areas ... grass, rocks, sand, etc. Anyway, I am gonna give it a try!

How's everyone's weather? We must have hit 60 today, or at least high 50s; but drizzle off and on. I am sick of my muddy back yard! First snow (more than usual for this area), then melting snow, now rain! And, if you know Missouri ... well, it's just a big rock, with a little dirt/clay sprinkled over it ... the water does not soak in well, and it takes forever to dry up!

 

[joletabey]

Kathy - your set up sounds really great! I don't know about the sand, but if there is a heat source, I would think it would be OK - how is it to clean?

The weather here was - dismal - but it's not snowing and it's above freezing, so I am not going to complain. There is a sharp wind, and tomorrow we are supposed to get between 1 and 3 inches of rain - they have already put out flood warnings. It's pretty rocky, here, too - every time I try to put up a fence or dig for a garden, I hit rock. Mud is STILL better than snow!

 

[Laney]

Hooray for the ones that got their outside work done today. Long day today. I finally committed and let the hairdresser cut off all my hair.

I hope the chicks will still love me without all the hair to snuggle in and snack on. Got absolutely nothing done on the farm today. I did pick out some nice ebony wood for my hubby to make a pen for me out of though.

Have to go clean out Pebbles and SawsAll's cage now.

Laney

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I have sand in the layer's coop run, and I love it! Much cleaner than just dirt! However, I need more in there. I only had about 4 inches of it, and I need 10 inches of it to work better.

My brooder set up .... hopefully will be able to clean easily. I have swing out doors on them, not lift up lids. But, before I use them, I still have to prime/seal and paint. I hate that part!

BTW:

I HAVE A PIP! (YELLING!) Today is day 20. My first time incubating my own silkies. I stuck in 20 eggs. I'm not keeping them. They are for a gal I work with. Even though, I am still so excited!

Next most exciting news ... I sold the Seramas, and the 2 white Silkie roos (that were too hard on my girls!) YAY! Awww, yes, an eventful day here!

 

[joletabey]

Laney- is that you BEFORE the cut or after? You still have long hair in the picture, and it's very pretty!

Kathy, congratulations on the sales - that must be a relief. It's hard to think of a silkie being hard on anything, though. They look like total wusses. Adorable, but not at all tough.

And YAY! for the pip!

 

[speckledhen]

You look great, Laney! Oh, my friend, Ellie, in California made me a pen out of hickory wood! She does this in a shop in her garage, I think. It's so special, I'll always treasure it.

 

[Laney]

Thanks Beth, Cyn. That is the after picture. Over the last 5 months I've had about 14 inches taken off of my hair. It took me that long to work up to trusting the hair dresser. I've had shorter hair a few times in my life, but as a rule this is about as short as I go.

Cyn, pen making is my Mother In Law and Husbands new hobby. My husband has been keeping a list of everyone who visits the Folly and wants to make them a pen out of wood from the Farm. He made himself a fountain pen from the cypress siding off of the goat barn.

I'm going to get a pen and pencil set made out of black ebony wood. The pen set will have platinum metal, the pencil gold metal. They will both be the same style though. I'll have to post a pic for you in the rambling section when they are made. Maybe we can work out a trade and he can make you a beautiful pen for eggs LOL.

I saw the most amazing woods today, bloodwood, rose wood, some woods I couldn't pronounce the names of...and some acrylics with colors that were gorgeous.

Pebbles and SawsAll are all clean and dry now. They've been throwing the marbles out of the waterer. I think that Pebbles is offended by them because he is old enough to be without them. However, SawsAll is a bit narcoleptic and I don't want to chance her falling asleep in the water dish and drowning.

Laney