Southern NY, Dutchess county and below

[Cheeky Chick]

So, I've been overcome with baseball. Coaching teeball was good today-we've started coach pitching to them, and they're getting some good hits! We are the mighty MUDHENS!

The girls nest boxes are done, and of course, now the girls want nothing to do with the inside of the hen house. Them things is be scary! Sometimes, I wonder what goes through a chickens mind, or maybe what doesn't...

My daughter is at job #2, and I have to stay up until 10:30 to pick her up. I'm hoping doing laundry and playing with the little chickens will keep me awake. The boys mowed the lawn and whacked the weeds, so I can't follow them around and tell them to do stuff. My yard is BIG, with lots of weeds, trees, grass and bushes. It's all done. They worked hard today. Maybe I'll make them a pizza.

I'm watching "Eat Pray Love" (kinda in the background) I love this movie. The boys have bailed, calling it a chick flick.

Only my little guy comes in every now and then, looking for food.

One of my friends is giving me a dog run (yeah 2 months too late) 10x10x6. My husband keeps asking me if I'd like a pig or meat chickens. I'd get too attached to a pig, and meat chickens? I'm not sure I could deal with that either. I'm picking it up tomorrow, we'll see what goes in it. I'd like a goat, frankly, but he doesn't like their eyes.

 

[Cheeky Chick]

lol I have a bad habit of posting something, Remembering something, Posting it, and then like "Oh yeah" Posting something else xD

You post good stuff though, I find your posts interesting. And heck, if I get to read more posts-I'm a happy girl!

 

[goldeneggtees]

You are SO INCREDIBLY talented!!!!!!!!!
What beautiful and creative designs! I am very impressed. Gonna send the link to all my friends and family. Beautiful work. I predict that you are going to be much in demand.
All best,
-Carolyn252

Carolyn, thanks so much for the very kind words! Glad to hear you like everything. Forgive me for not responding sooner. I'm still trying to get my site to where I want it to be and it's going to take some time.

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday!

 

[Carolyn252]

Several milestones in the chicken world for me. I got some of our spare fencing panels and set up a small section outside the ChickArena for the two new little three-month old buff Orpingtons that I got last week from Roberta (a/k/a "stoopid"). [ ugh, how I dislike that nickname for Roberta; she's such a NOT stoopid person]

Anyway, the big girls came to the fence and were curious and watchful, but only one Delaware pecked at the newbies. No problem, though; it was only one peck and I don't think it actually landed. After about three hours, I watched one of the little girls wiggle through a slight gap in the fence and she joined the big girls in the big fenced backyard. I let the other little one join her sister and they had about an hour of endless grass and shrubs and sunshine to wander around in. One Delaware would march toward the BO's every now and then, but I threw a wooden clothespin toward her when she got too close and she was immediately distracted and walked away.

DH then constructed a roost board for the BOs in their little wooden henhouse. I'm going to go outside and put them on it. Not sure if they'll stay there or not. We'll see. I made a perfect little ladder for them to use; we'll install it tomorrow.

Yesterday we drove to Hicksville's Agway and bought a huge bag of Layena crumbles for the BOs; they won't eat the pellets that I've been giving them. Also bought a starter/grower feed which I'll offer them for the next four weeks. By then, they'll be 16 weeks old, and I'll then start adding some Layena to it.

We're keeping their names, as given to them by Roberta. "Laverne and Shirley". They are SO sweet.

One of my Delawares ("Necklace") keeps eating her eggs. I've tried a bunch of deterrents, but she's still at it. So today, I ironed a big piece of black fabric and clipped it to the top front edge of the nest box. Used black binder clips a/k/a pinch clips. It covers the entire opening of the nestbox, but is free and loose at the sides and the bottom.

Then I took each big girl and one at a time, lifted them up and put them into the nest box from the back door (the egg collecting door).

They HAD to be brave and push their way past the scarey new curtain in order to get out, and they did, so now I know that they know that it's safe to go through. [I only have three hens, so it was no big deal for me to show them all.]

The curtain is to make the nestbox very dark; supposedly Necklace won't be able to see the egg and will therefor not go poking at it and eating it. We live in hope.

I also upped their protein intake considerable today. Took cooked talapia fish and shredded it (was leftovers from a restaurant dinner), added skim milk to it and set it out for the three big girls. They ate it all.

They get a quarter cup of 32% protein kibble EVERY SINGLE EVENING, so I really don't think that the egg eating is from a nutritional need.

Will post results tomorrow.
-Carolyn

 

[Toxic Chicken]

I was looking out the window over the kitchen sink, when my EE Nana flew up onto the back of a deck chair to look at me. I said hi to her and she attempted to fly through the window and bounced off the screen. I opened the back door to make sure she was ok. She ran full speed into the house and into my bedroom , flew into the brooder that used to be hers. It now has the orpington and Ameraucana chicks in it. They all froze still and became silent just looking at each other. Then Nana looked at me with the stink eye and started complaining. She was like ' I KNEW it ! Your cheating on ME!!!' I held her for a little while before putting her back outside. She is just too funny.

 

[Cheeky Chick]

I was looking out the window over the kitchen sink, when my EE Nana flew up onto the back of a deck chair to look at me. I said hi to her and she attempted to fly through the window and bounced off the screen. I opened the back door to make sure she was ok. She ran full speed into the house and into my bedroom , flew into the brooder that used to be hers. It now has the orpington and Ameraucana chicks in it. They all froze still and became silent just looking at each other. Then Nana looked at me with the stink eye and started complaining. She was like ' I KNEW it ! Your cheating on ME!!!' I held her for a little while before putting her back outside. She is just too funny.

Poor Nana. Thought she was an "Only chicken".

 

[Cheeky Chick]

Several milestones in the chicken world for me. I got some of our spare fencing panels and set up a small section outside the ChickArena for the two new little three-month old buff Orpingtons that I got last week from Roberta (a/k/a "stoopid"). [ ugh, how I dislike that nickname for Roberta; she's such a NOT stoopid person]

Anyway, the big girls came to the fence and were curious and watchful, but only one Delaware pecked at the newbies. No problem, though; it was only one peck and I don't think it actually landed. After about three hours, I watched one of the little girls wiggle through a slight gap in the fence and she joined the big girls in the big fenced backyard. I let the other little one join her sister and they had about an hour of endless grass and shrubs and sunshine to wander around in. One Delaware would march toward the BO's every now and then, but I threw a wooden clothespin toward her when she got too close and she was immediately distracted and walked away.

DH then constructed a roost board for the BOs in their little wooden henhouse. I'm going to go outside and put them on it. Not sure if they'll stay there or not. We'll see. I made a perfect little ladder for them to use; we'll install it tomorrow.

Yesterday we drove to Hicksville's Agway and bought a huge bag of Layena crumbles for the BOs; they won't eat the pellets that I've been giving them. Also bought a starter/grower feed which I'll offer them for the next four weeks. By then, they'll be 16 weeks old, and I'll then start adding some Layena to it.

We're keeping their names, as given to them by Roberta. "Laverne and Shirley". They are SO sweet.

One of my Delawares ("Necklace") keeps eating her eggs. I've tried a bunch of deterrents, but she's still at it. So today, I ironed a big piece of black fabric and clipped it to the top front edge of the nest box. Used black binder clips a/k/a pinch clips. It covers the entire opening of the nestbox, but is free and loose at the sides and the bottom.

Then I took each big girl and one at a time, lifted them up and put them into the nest box from the back door (the egg collecting door).

They HAD to be brave and push their way past the scarey new curtain in order to get out, and they did, so now I know that they know that it's safe to go through. [I only have three hens, so it was no big deal for me to show them all.]

The curtain is to make the nestbox very dark; supposedly Necklace won't be able to see the egg and will therefor not go poking at it and eating it. We live in hope.

I also upped their protein intake considerable today. Took cooked talapia fish and shredded it (was leftovers from a restaurant dinner), added skim milk to it and set it out for the three big girls. They ate it all.

They get a quarter cup of 32% protein kibble EVERY SINGLE EVENING, so I really don't think that the egg eating is from a nutritional need.

Will post results tomorrow.
-Carolyn

I hope it works for you! That's a really inventive idea. I'd probably try to put blinders on the chicken or something equally as futile.

 

[Cheeky Chick]

So what're everyone's Sunday plans? I have NO sports, so today the 2 Cochins go into a dog crate inside the run with the big girls. They need to start joining the group. I'll miss them in my house so to ease MYSELF into it, they'll be coming in at night...

It's thorough coop cleaning day too. So all the hay gets raked, fresh put down, and everything gets wiped down too. It doesn't smell at all, but once the hot weather comes, I'd like to keep ahead of hot chicken poop smell.

 

[Coldspringchicken]

Hey there just ran across this we are from cold spring (the forgotten westeren side of putnam)

 

[Cheeky Chick]

Hey there just ran across this we are from cold spring (the forgotten westeren side of putnam)

Hi!