South Carolina

[Joycats]

Quote:
Thanks Susanne - I will definately try the pepper flakes next time. I'm still really swollen but at least I can walk today. I wasn't able to put any weight on my foot at all last night. Staying in one place just really doesn't work for me. Taking Claritin is a good idea but I'm allergic to antihistamines. They give me hives - the exact opposite of what they are supposed to do.

I'm sorry to hear about your hen. I lost a buff orp this week too and I'm sure it was the heat. Oh and as for the black chickens, certain cultures just really prefer dark skin and meat. I've had several asian and indian people ask to buy my black jersey giants and even my SILKIES!!!! To eat! One little asian lady just didn't understand why I wouldn't raise black silkies for her, she wanted them to cook. As you can all see, I'm not the usual farmer or business person. It's all about the animals. I'm crazy I know. I refuse to sell a rooster for meat, but I turn around and give one away to live on a farm and have his own hens.

 

[Lroach711]

Lost another egg out of my broody's nest today..I think she stepped on it and smushed it.

it was soo sad! There was a little baby in there and I just know how cute it would've been. And then there were six...

 

[gvilledh]

After three hours without power, I'm finally online again. I'm sure the girls are happy to have their fan back on in the coop! Here are a few pictures from this afternoon.
Lucy, our Silkie, finally was slow for a few seconds so I got something other than a blur when I snapped a shot of her. I brought them some clover and dandelion greens and she loved them. She really loved the scrambled eggs and decided it was okay to eat out of my hands.

I love the Silver that is showing up on her now.

Lacey, the smaller SLW, was on the highest part of this stump first, but Buffy wanted to be there. They were trying to share, with Buffy standing to remain higher up.

This way worked, at least for a few minutes. Then, something else got their attention and they were off again.

They love this stump, we are just trying to figure out a way to add a few roosting areas to it. We are going to try in the next week or two to level off the cut areas. We need to get in tomorrow and get the little branches off again. I don't want a chicken getting cut on one.

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

Quote:
How do you manage to have time to write all that on the eggs? Do you write it on there as you collect them or wait until you are ready to set them?

I do write the roo name on the eggs but the date doesn't matter to me as I set them all together what I collected that day as well as week old eggs. I don't want to look at each egg to see when they hatch but that is a good plan. I suppose I could look when I candle them.
I like doing the trays with color coding. It makes for a pretty chart, huh?

Everyone thinks my hutch side wall design is pretty interesting! A magic marker for each tray and hatch and under line the hatcher date!

It is really just what works for each individual. Sometimes it takes a while to get a system set up and then you continue to tweak it along to make it easier for your life.

mine needs tweaking .......

I put the breed on when I gather..... well I would, but right now, only getting from the silkies and hamburgs, pekins and mallards... so I can tell those apart!
when I set them I put the date due to hatch on them.

I also did manage to find a magnetic dry erase board that sticks to the incubator well. I thought it would be too heavy but it isn't (glad my bator is metal)
and I was writing what was due & when it was due on there, but sister's kids wanted to play with it one day when they were here (months ago) and I just never did write on it again..... that and if I set three batches of silkie eggs, was a headache to try to remember which batch was due when so I started writing date due on eggs

I also have some marked 18 - RMR

those are shipped so already marked for breeds

It is marked with incoming and outgoing at the bottom. This square board is pretty big so plenty of room

ETA: as tall as my bator is - I just pull out a rack then I can tell at a glance what to put where. Makes it easier for me if I want to set more & have to candle to make some room....then I can just fill in the empty spaces with the eggs I have to set (I do clean the thingys before adding new eggs - just no need to remove the whole kit & kaboodle to do so.) And if one rack has some due on the 12th, some on the 18th, and some the 22nd, then I can just tell by the eggs - no need to look for a piece of paper that I keep losing

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

Quote:
I don't think the bigger one is a boy. Of course, they could have been wrong when they sold her, but she did feather in at the same rate. I skipped yogurt today and went bearing scrambled eggs with oatmeal in them. No one cared for them last time but today was a different story. I kept Lacey with the others, just made sure she got extra. At first she was taking the egg and getting the oatmeal pieces out of it-silly chicken. She seemed to have caught up a little since yesterday. It amazes me how fast they grow. As for being at the bottom of the pecking order, they have a stump they get on during the day. Lacey was sharing the highest part with another pulley who we think is a leader. I will post pics from today later.

The eggs and oatmeal will be great for her! I think this rain is really causing some health issues for my chickens. I was thinking about it yesterday and I guess this is the first year that it's really been wet since I started keeping chickens. We had an 8 year drought, so everything was so dry for so long. I'm having to learn about keeping chickens healthy in mud! I hated the drought, but did not miss mud.

I lost a keet - drowned.

We did manage to save the chick DD calls Dinosaur.

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

Quote:
Thanks Susanne - I will definately try the pepper flakes next time. I'm still really swollen but at least I can walk today. I wasn't able to put any weight on my foot at all last night. Staying in one place just really doesn't work for me. Taking Claritin is a good idea but I'm allergic to antihistamines. They give me hives - the exact opposite of what they are supposed to do.

I'm sorry to hear about your hen. I lost a buff orp this week too and I'm sure it was the heat. Oh and as for the black chickens, certain cultures just really prefer dark skin and meat. I've had several asian and indian people ask to buy my black jersey giants and even my SILKIES!!!! To eat! One little asian lady just didn't understand why I wouldn't raise black silkies for her, she wanted them to cook. As you can all see, I'm not the usual farmer or business person. It's all about the animals. I'm crazy I know. I refuse to sell a rooster for meat, but I turn around and give one away to live on a farm and have his own hens.

I am allergic to benadryl like that - hives & nausea.

I have found I can take childrens antihistamines instead of adult with little reaction.

 

[FarmerJohn3285]

Update on broodies. Rir hen stopped but an EE hen has started. Idk if I'm going to give her eggs to sit in though.

 

[Joycats]

Quote:
Thanks Susanne - I will definately try the pepper flakes next time. I'm still really swollen but at least I can walk today. I wasn't able to put any weight on my foot at all last night. Staying in one place just really doesn't work for me. Taking Claritin is a good idea but I'm allergic to antihistamines. They give me hives - the exact opposite of what they are supposed to do.

I'm sorry to hear about your hen. I lost a buff orp this week too and I'm sure it was the heat. Oh and as for the black chickens, certain cultures just really prefer dark skin and meat. I've had several asian and indian people ask to buy my black jersey giants and even my SILKIES!!!! To eat! One little asian lady just didn't understand why I wouldn't raise black silkies for her, she wanted them to cook. As you can all see, I'm not the usual farmer or business person. It's all about the animals. I'm crazy I know. I refuse to sell a rooster for meat, but I turn around and give one away to live on a farm and have his own hens.

I am allergic to benadryl like that - hives & nausea.

I have found I can take childrens antihistamines instead of adult with little reaction.

Isn't that wierd? I can also take children's benedryl, the one that's free of dye. I freaked the doctors out for a while. They just kept switching me from one antihistamine to another because I wasn't following the rules when it comes to symptoms. They nearly killed me, I was swollen and broken out with hives for nearly a year, off and on, until I said no more drugs.

I finally told my Dr. "don't you think the antihistamines might be causing this?" - he just couldn't grasp that concept.

 

[Joycats]

Quote:
My americauna's have made good mothers. I've never had a RIR go broody.

 

[RedBugPoultry]

Just a morning update~The hen that got bit by the snake is still alive. She sits huddled up in a corner a lot with her chick under her but she is starting to eat and she has encouraged the chick to eat from the time I put him back with her. Not sure if they are going to the water--need to move one closer to her. I really did not think she would survive a bite to the neck like that.

Also, the polish pen that came down with Cocci is doing better. They are interested in their food again and love running around when I let them out in the evenings. I will not take a deep breath though until I get them grown. The pics I posted yesterday are of the older pen of polish not these babies. I do love those birds!

Anyone needs some guinea keets? I just had another 10 hatch this weekend. Thats make about 80 we have here. We are hatching what is in the bator and calling it good for the season. People may start to buy again when it gets cooler but I just can't feed all these keets! I have been making some good deal on some pretty colored keets!!!! I have some that do not need to be on a light any more!