South Carolina









Our recent snow was fun while it lasted, I love taking pictures of animals in the snow.
We processed three of our five toms yesterday. Two I wanted gone for sure because they were starting to show aggressive tendencies (they didn't outright attack, but they had gotten into the habit of following me and trilling, which is the turkey equivalent of trash talk before a fight). The third had poor royal palm coloration, so he went too. We skinned the first one, and dry plucked the other two, which was surprisingly easy. They were HUGE. I didn't expect them to weigh as much as they did, having a lot of the normally small sized royal palm blood, but I guess their bourbon red blood lent them some weight. Plucked, with his head, feet, and wings removed, (still with the guts though) the biggest was 29 lbs. Big enough for a breed other than a broad breasted, but especially big for a mostly royal palm blooded bird. They are only supposed to reach around 20 lbs live weight. I kept the prettiest bronze boy and a royal palm boy with the cleanest coloration and a double beard for breeding with the hens. My hens are already at work replacing them, as I found a nest of 6 eggs yesterday. I'll have to find a broody for them, as my only incubator is at work incubating 21 various eggs and I only have one broody silkie at the moment, who is actually hatching hers tonight. Our two adult cows should also be dropping calves in the next few months, they're getting pretty big already. Spring is starting early around here, despite the unusual snow!
 
Our recent snow was fun while it lasted, I love taking pictures of animals in the snow. We processed three of our five toms yesterday. Two I wanted gone for sure because they were starting to show aggressive tendencies (they didn't outright attack, but they had gotten into the habit of following me and trilling, which is the turkey equivalent of trash talk before a fight). The third had poor royal palm coloration, so he went too. We skinned the first one, and dry plucked the other two, which was surprisingly easy. They were HUGE. I didn't expect them to weigh as much as they did, having a lot of the normally small sized royal palm blood, but I guess their bourbon red blood lent them some weight. Plucked, with his head, feet, and wings removed, (still with the guts though) the biggest was 29 lbs. Big enough for a breed other than a broad breasted, but especially big for a mostly royal palm blooded bird. They are only supposed to reach around 20 lbs live weight. I kept the prettiest bronze boy and a royal palm boy with the cleanest coloration and a double beard for breeding with the hens. My hens are already at work replacing them, as I found a nest of 6 eggs yesterday. I'll have to find a broody for them, as my only incubator is at work incubating 21 various eggs and I only have one broody silkie at the moment, who is actually hatching hers tonight. Our two adult cows should also be dropping calves in the next few months, they're getting pretty big already. Spring is starting early around here, despite the unusual snow!
Your livestock look amazing!
 
Well...time to start hatching again! Already have 11 EEs and OEs in the brooder and about ready to go outside to a grow out pen. Hatched out 5 wheaten/blue wheaten Ameraucana chicks, but they were promised before they even hatched and were gone on day 3.

Already started the year with one tragedy - actually many little tragedies rolled into one event. Came home from the grocery store to find a neighbor's dog inside one of my pens and dead chickens laying everywhere. 8 chickens gone and my breeding pens of Light Brahmas and Coronation/Light Sussex wiped out. One of my second generation Ameraucana hens gone and another one in "chick icu" in the kitchen. Of course, all the hens that had just started laying went into trauma halt and still haven't started back laying yet.

We've got all the pens reinforced now and (thank you, hubby!) finally finished the perimeter fencing.

Pictured is one of my little OE (pullet, hopefully) chicks in the brooder. This pic was taken on the 11th and she was hatched on the first, so she's much bigger now.



Oh well, guess that's all I have to report now. Happy hatching, everyone!
 

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