Surviving Minnesota!

[MinnesotaNice]

Holms you would love the show, there are more types of birds than I ever guessed. I hate to say this but some of the "mini" ducks are cute. Judy even mentioned getting one, which is a shame, I hate to have to divorce her after all these years.

There are ducks that would fit in the palm of my hand. Chickens too. I have never thought much about bantam.s but darn they are cute. I bet the feed bill would go down too.

MinnesotaNice, Did you say boy or girl? If so I missed it..


I have fertile eggs, what kind of eggs do you need? I will not guarantee 100 or even 90% fertility as I have too many hens for the number of roosters I am running right now. BUT I know some are fertile. EJB's cockerel makes sure to breed the one everyday as soon a s they leave the coop. He is a horny guy. She tries to out run him, but she is not fast enough. Sven runs over when she screams but he is not fast enough to stop it.

Were they Call Ducks? Those are little and cute. Just let me know when you're ready for ducklings next summer!

I had a little boy! It's amazing how such a small human can keep me so busy all day and night. He's pooping in this picture, by the way. I thought you'd appreciate that!



As for fertile eggs, I was looking for Leghorns as I need some good layers and Welsummers. I'd consider Orpingtons, too. And I do still plan on getting Turkey's next Spring - Do you still have Mr. T?

LOL I hope you are wrong about the Cochins because I have 3 LOL!!! and.... NO I have 2 Wyandotte Roosters going to the big coop in the sky today. the ONLY rooster that has a reprieve is the Cochin.

Maybe yours will be better layers than mine! Lucky for them, I got them because they're beautiful birds....and it's funny watching them run!

Made some renovations to the cochins cages, we mounted the water and feeders after my New York Cochins decided to spill everything



My dad found a deer shed too

That's a nice shed! A guy in my hunting party trained his dog to find sheds. I've never seen him in action, but I think the idea of that is pretty cool.

If you all want to learn to evaluate hens, when pullets are coming into lay and which are good layers and which are not, download the e-book "The Call of the Hen", I think it is by Ben Hogan (or is that a golfer, I know I get two of them mixed up). It is called the Hogan method, I know that much. You can tell if they are coming into lay by feeling their pelvic bones and their spread along with the flexibility of those bones. It's a book that has been around for a long time.
You can tell when they squat or when their combs and wattles suddenly start to redden up a lot too.

"Bleaching" is the term used to describe when a hen is getting close to molt or getting to where she really isn't giving up eggs much any more. It is the lightening or fading of color in the legs and the face/wattles/comb. So look at your ladies right now and see how light their legs and faces are as they are dropping feathers all over the coop and yard.
You should also notice when their feathers start to fade in color or lose their lacing color, that they are getting close to molt too.
Along with all that, they may go hunch in a corner somewhere for a couple or few days as the molt is hitting them, and they look sick, then suddenly they are fine again. Call it PMS for hens. I would hate to go through what they do. I have read that a hen laying an egg every day is like a woman giving birth to a 9-pound baby every day. NO THANK YOU!!!!!

Great info, Minnie! One of my hens sounds like she's delivering a 9-pound baby every morning - she's worse than a rooster! I definitely wouldn't call it an egg song. More of an egg war cry.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Interesting about the pelvic bones. Sounds like what mike wAs doing.

Have any of you watched 'the Ranch' on Netflix? It's pretty funny. Ashton Kutcher, Sam Elliott, Debra Winger. Some good relatable stuff.... Lol...getting in a few episodes now.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Interesting about the pelvic bones. Sounds like what mike wAs doing.

Have any of you watched 'the Ranch' on Netflix? It's pretty funny. Ashton Kutcher, Sam Elliott, Debra Winger. Some good relatable stuff.... Lol...getting in a few episodes now.

I started watching it last week - I'm running out of shows to watch on my maternity leave! Funny story, my boys have the same names as the two boys on the show - Colt and Jameson. Complete coincidence.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Oh funny. Yeah DH is laughing his butt off at it now. Good funny stuff.

 

[duluthralphie]

Here are some of the call ducks, these were in a box ready to go onto the compost pile:
\

I wonder if dirty diapers or ducks smell worse, it could be a toss up....

I do not have Mr T yet.

 

[duluthralphie]

We watched the ranch for a few episodes and never got into it. So we went to other things. I must be too refined to get the humor in it.

 

[Cluckies]

I just won up to our dog barking and ending in a very deep howl, and then coyotes that were very close to the house howling back. I immediately sat up and went to my parents room. When I got there I could hear the coyotes really well. They must've been 30 feet from the house. Pretty daring seeming as we've set our dog off on them before.
To bad they were gone before I could pull a flashlight out to look for eyes..

Be careful, a pack of coyotes can kill a dog. I've heard they will even lure them in then kill them.

I had a little boy! It's amazing how such a small human can keep me so busy all day and night. He's pooping in this picture, by the way. I thought you'd appreciate that!


So cute!

As for fertile eggs, I was looking for Leghorns as I need some good layers and Welsummers. I'd consider Orpingtons, too. And I do still plan on getting Turkey's next Spring - Do you still have Mr. T?

My orp is not a great layer, lays maybe 2-3 times a week, My EE though, she lays like a champ, almost an egg a day April through September, then a long break until April again.


Quote:

We watched the ranch for a few episodes and never got into it. So we went to other things. I must be too refined to get the humor in it.

Yes, yes, quite right...

 

[KlopKlop]

Be careful, a pack of coyotes can kill a dog. I've heard they will even lure them in then kill them.

yes, i have heard the same. If i heard yotes that close to the house you can bet I would be locked and loaded and out the door. last thing i need is a pack of coyotes tearing up my flock and farm.

 

[Momof3plustwins]

...

As for fertile eggs, I was looking for Leghorns as I need some good layers and Welsummers. I'd consider Orpingtons, too. And I do still plan on getting Turkey's next Spring - Do you still have Mr. T?

we will be hatching out our buff Orpingtons this Spring. I should have eggs or chicks if you need. I am also toying with idea of using my RIR males over my Red sex link hens that lay nearly everyday. What does everyone else think of that?To keep up my laying flock without ordering more. I have chickens of both genders. I should not have to buy more unless I WANT too. Haha

 

[Momof3plustwins]

yes, i have heard the same.   If i heard yotes that close to the house you can bet I would be locked and loaded and out the door.  last thing i need is a pack of coyotes tearing up my flock and farm.

This is what I imagine our Great Pyrenese "Yeti" does all night long. He certainly barks enough! He also has a partner in crime "Kepler" who is half GP and half yellow lab. We haven't had wild animals in our yard for quite a few years. Even though Yeti is new to our farm this February as a pup. He turns one Dec. 6. Love that dog.