Southern NY, Dutchess county and below

[Toxic Chicken]

Do whats good for your hens...........not for you.

I am doing what's good for my girls , they want to be moms. A hen raising her babies is a beautiful thing. If I did what was good or easy for me, I'd just order female only chicks from a hatchery, forcing the hatchery to do the dirty work culling the Roos. Letting my Broody's hatch eggs makes them happy and I can send the Roos to a good forever home. Easy for me, no not really.

 

[queenchick16]

Was Caleb at the jersey show?
Had to sneak out of the house to get coffee this morning.didnt want to wake Richard. Now you're thinking ah what a good wife. Not exactly, I just don't want to hear him complain that I woke him up. Sad when you have to get in the car and drive around the block to get warm. My house is freezing .heats been off for a while now and he refuses to turn it back on.

You wait all winter for your flowers and with this rain and wind they have taken such a beating they look terrible. OK done complaining for the day....

Yesterday while sitting outside my polish juvenile Marge, jumps up on me and starts walking all around.she was a rip. I've never really had extremely friendly birds so it was a treat.the little black bantam came over and started screaming at her. That bird ( no name yet) sounds like a crow not like a chicken at all. I can see another Game of Thrones name in her future.

 

[warmheart]

smkchick, I am delighted that Miss Pauline is doing so well! May she grow strong and healthy and happy under your loving care.

Mags, I just know you're gonna have a kock-out butterfly garden this year! I'd love pics of it this summer, I'm sure it'll be busy and gorgeous!

My Barbu d'Anvers babies are doing well! Elmer needs to be on my shoulder all the time, and I think I've found a pullet from the hatch that I wish to keep. She's a super-calm Zen Master, who snuggles into my hand to make a nest for herself to snooze while I give her her evening Reiki treatment.

(all the chicks get a 7:30pm nighty-night Reiki treatment) Yesterday, this tiny chick fell asleep-- upside down-- in the warm golden sunshine during the chick's field trip. Her feet in the air, she calmly snoozed with the sun on her tiny downy tummy. I may select her, and she'd be Elmer's wife. Everything of her nature is soft, soft, soft. What do you think, folks-- Emmaline, nicked Emmy?

 

[Toxic Chicken]

My cream legbar is 7 months old already
No eggs yet. She is very skittish. I hope it's just her and not the breed.

 

[Toxic Chicken]

My 2 Broody girls. Squashed in the same box.
The P.Rock is definitely broody. The Cochin just started yesterday and still leaves the nest a bit so I'm not sure what she's really doing.

I'm still deciding if I should section off a some of the coop for her or move her to my little A frame coop.

 

[Toxic Chicken]

I went to my farm CSA today and visited
Mr Speckles

 

[Toxic Chicken]

I moved my P. Rock to her broody coop. The Cochin is definetly broody too. She's still in the main coop. I will have to section off an area for her with chicken wire. Eggs should be here later this week I'll give each girl 1/2 of them.

 

[Cheeky Chick]

Have an awesome time! And plan for some DD time with me next week...Carol, you in?

It was freezing, wet, threatening snow, and we had a fantastic time. I no longer regret giving up my tent or pop-up...the trailer has HEAT! The shows were great-Shilelagh Law was great, as usual, and we have another new favorite band-The Narrowbacks. Woot woot. We had to leave really early this morning, since Danny had to work tonight, but everything went smoothly, and we got home around 2. (5 hours trip-not bad at all!)
I'm definitely available for a DD trip! Just tell me when!

So if my coop only cost $450 and the bear tears it apart, he's not a bad bear?

Sorry. I know this is serious. I just couldn't help myself. With all due respect to NJ and the DEC, does the bear stop at $499 to avoid being shot? Okay, I'll stop now.

And how does one condition a bear anyway? sorry...

http://www.bearfruithair.com

Today I had a very emotionally disturbing experience with someone I considered a good friend for nearly 30 years. He lost his job 7 years ago for anger issues and hasn't worked since. He's become increasingly erratic and volatile ever since. He's always been a control freak, but today he got mad at me because I took down a post I had put up on my Facebook page and which he responded to - said I was censoring him. (This happened on Sunday, by the way. Like I remember Sunday! C'mon dude, I barely remember what I did this morning.) He went into a paranoid rant, bringing up things I said to him years ago that he's been hanging onto. I hung up on him and then found myself truly scared of him.

Complicating matters is the fact that I owe him a huge chunk of change from when he bailed me out of foreclosure years ago. I gave him the interest in my mother's house, and a mortgage on my house, but he wants his money. (Yeah, okay, good luck with that...) I wish I could pay him off. I already sent him an email and told him I would make payments and suggested that he file a lien against my house. But it was really scary. He's a sick man and I don't know what he might do. He's not the type to premeditate violence, although he would be vengeful in other ways.

Bobby says I'm obsessing about it, but I need to get it off my chest. Hopefully, tomorrow it will be behind me. Laura (all 5'2" and 100 lbs of her) wants to go kick his 6'2" 250 lbs *** for talking to me the way he did. Bobby DID offer to load the 9mm, however. Nothing says "I love you" like violence!

The funniest part of the rant: This 50 year old, who moved home to Mom and Dad's when his marriage lasted 6 weeks, who's been fired from his last 3 Wall Street jobs because of his inability to hold his temper, who has alienated all his friends and has no love interest in his life, and whose therapist told him not to come back because she was scared of him, told me my life (complete with my own home, a self-made business, countless friends, successful daughter and new husband) is a disaster. HUH????

I told him to seek psychiatric help.

Okay, I'm done now. Going to sleep. The hubby's home tomorrow and at 7:30 it's Game Night with the girls. Dinner with good friends Saturday night and their son's wedding Sunday. Then the Memorial Day parade (complete with my favorite firefighters) on Monday. Life is good in this disaster area!!

Thanks for letting me vent.

And BTW, little Pauline the silkie is doing great. All she does is eat.

I'm frightened for you. Truly mentally ill people tend to obsess on imagined slights and brood about it, getting more and more angry. Document everything. File police reports, and make sure you watch your back when you're out. We love you too much to think you could get hurt!!!

smckchick, I don't blame you for feeling unnevrved by that man. He sounds really unsafe to be around, in a toxic sort of way. Even if he cannot help his illness (due to grossly impaired self-awareness), he's unwell, and his illness harms those around him. Although that's truly a terrible dynamic for someone so ill, it's good to have healthy boundaries with someone like this. Perhaps this may mean a no-contact agreement, including a no telephone contact agreement. Email can be used to settle things financially. If he won't respond to your email, you yourself can decide then how best to pay him back, and keep a paper and electronic record of the accounting. Your life is just beginning, with a wonderful new marriage, and plans for a bright future. Surrounding ourselves with those who uplift and support can help sweep away the oogey feelings that contact with someone like this gives us. I'm so sorry this happened to you!

CheekyChick, I hope you have a fantastic time this weekend at the Irish shindig! I'm so envious! May you and your family, the dogs and acquaintances all have an absolute phenomenal time up there!

What am I gonna do? I'd wanted a baby pullet to bond with me from the 6 chick Barbu d'Anvers hatch. And who's desperately trying to fly out of the brooder to be with me every time he can? A baby roo! Lemon chiffon colored mille fleur baby Elmer has learned to SHRIEK-CHEEP to call me to the brooder box, then flies to the rim, then calmly waits for me to pick him up. He's grafted to my lap on any group outdoor field trips. He's flown the brooder once today, looking to find me. I know I shared this pic before, but....!! I love him!!

Perfect little being. I want to hug him with that saucy look on his face.

I hate broody's. !!!!!
They make me do crazy things like bid on eBay eggs.
My family is gonna kill me.

My Lovey is still nasty brooding as of this evening-ebay might be my next stop.

I am doing what's good for my girls , they want to be moms. A hen raising her babies is a beautiful thing. If I did what was good or easy for me, I'd just order female only chicks from a hatchery, forcing the hatchery to do the dirty work culling the Roos. Letting my Broody's hatch eggs makes them happy and I can send the Roos to a good forever home. Easy for me, no not really.

Exactly. They hear their biological clocks ticking LIKE THIS... (stomps foot on the ground...)

 

[Toxic Chicken]

Is Broodyness catching??
I peeked in on my girls just around dark and what do I see, my silkie in one of the nest boxes !! Oh no 3 out of 9 hens, all at the same time ?? HaHAahaaa Haaaaaa
Maybe she just felt like sleeping in a fresh nest instead of roosting. I hope. Well I hope that's the last one cause I'm running out of nest boxes lol

 

[Cheeky Chick]

Is Broodyness catching??
I peeked in on my girls just around dark and what do I see, my silkie in one of the nest boxes !! Oh no 3 out of 9 hens, all at the same time ?? HaHAahaaa Haaaaaa
Maybe she just felt like sleeping in a fresh nest instead of roosting. I hope. Well I hope that's the last one cause I'm running out of nest boxes lol

You need to stock up on eggs for them to hatch...this way by next year you'll have more hens to lay, when some go broody..