Surviving Minnesota!

[holm25]

You talk to too many people!

My phone reset and I only managed to find around 40 of my contacts so i don't talk that much anymore lol!

 

[MinnesotaNice]

@duluthralphie

Your best friend heard me chopping through the ice the other day and had to come see what was going on!

Your poor lonely Pekin doesn't know what to do with herself!

For those of you with SS's do the girls sound whiney a lot? Mine have been whining for a few weeks now, They have water and feed. They are not giving me many eggs. They have nothing to whine about. They just like to whine, I think.

I haven't seen my SS near the nest boxes. My pair have been wandering off together and ignore the other birds. They clearly think too highly of their speckles.

I'm addicted to Snapchat too. My parents ha to put a data limit on my phone cuz I usually go through my 3 gigs in about 3-4 days. But we r getting wifi set up on Friday hehehe. I am always on Snap when I do chores which usually means I take about an extra hour to get them done.

I also text a lot. It's a good thing we have unlimited call and text. I was on the phone for 5 hours the other night... oops... And was sending on average 400+ texts a day (over the summer mostly but still do a lot of texting now)... My dad tells me I talk to to many ppl lol

As in one conversation took 5 hours? I don't like anybody that much. Lol

Ralphie you have not smelled vile until a broody Muscovy poops on you . It is some sort of defense . You try to check the eggs and they fly right into you and poo .

Muscovy poop is the worst. They blow it right at you if they're peeved. And it's not just a little bit. Ish.

 

[holm25]

Yep one conversation was 5 hours lol. It was my best friend tho

 

[lvie]

Quote:
to - too - two or TuTu.

 

[lvie]

Lvie I hope u guys figure out your car troubles!

Thanks Holms! I hope we do also. Its is a 2009 Lincoln with only 116,000 on it and not a problem at all until now.
We will get it done.

Congrats on that 'friend' thingy although I don't know what that is all about. Anyone that wants to explain to me I would welcome it.

 

[lvie]

Quote:
to - too - two or TuTu.
So Ralphie? My pineapples are f-r-o-z-e-n. Stay out from under those trees if you have any.

 

[memphis]

Yes Ralphie, my SS are quite chatty. They are also the last to start back laying. MNnice, mine are clannish too. They are easy going with all the other chickens but I find them off by themselves quite a bit. Finally I figured out they were out foraging while the rest were taking naps in the shade. The SS are by far the most ferocious foragers.

 

[duluthralphie]

I haven't seen my SS near the nest boxes. My pair have been wandering off together and ignore the other birds. They clearly think too highly of their speckles.

Yes Ralphie, my SS are quite chatty. They are also the last to start back laying. MNnice, mine are clannish too. They are easy going with all the other chickens but I find them off by themselves quite a bit. Finally I figured out they were out foraging while the rest were taking naps in the shade. The SS are by far the most ferocious foragers.

My SS are slightly Peeved they are in a breeding pen and not running around the yard, I think. I get close to the pen and Lizzie and Margaret start whining and running after/towards me. When I go into the pen they whine louder as if that will get them out of it. At least with them when I get an egg it is fertile unlike the PC.

 

[destiny_56085]

Do you have cats? Maybe cats would help keep them out? We had birds in all the put buildings u til the cats came and went through the buildings all the time.
What about an owl statue thing? Or an eagle? Just something to scare them? They are nasty birds. Maybe if you killed one and hung it out by the building?

I eliminated all cats a few years ago. They were cute, but preyed on all my birds. They would climb the wire, reach through and grab birds if they could. If a Muscovy or Peahen hid a nest and came out with babies, they would all be dead within a day. One of the mother cats had kittens back in the hayloft and I'd catch her killing one of my mom's free range layers daily and taking it back to feed her kittens. Bye bye kitties

As for the starlings, I've tried lots of things. I've gone out with a pellet gun and pegged some off. I've gone out at night and netted a bunch. I held some captive in a cage in the barn so they could relay the message to their buddies. I put plastic sheeting up on all the coops in the barn and wired up any holes where they could get in. It took them less than a week to figure out how to burrow holes in that plastic to get in. Stupid things would all be in the pens every morning and I'd chase them out and net whatever I could too. I've tried a radio in the barn too. Shutting up all the barn doors didn't help either. They came in through the top hayloft entrance and somehow they managed to get back in too. We have 8 nesting pairs of bald eagles on the lake just a half mile from us. I talked to an old turkey farmer and eh said that they poison them with formaldehyde. ....not even sure where or how to try that.

 

[holm25]

I eliminated all cats a few years ago.  They were cute, but preyed on all my birds.  They would climb the wire, reach through and grab birds if they could.  If a Muscovy or Peahen hid a nest and came out with babies, they would all be dead within a day.  One of the mother cats had kittens back in the hayloft and I'd catch her killing one of my mom's free range layers daily and taking it back to feed her kittens. Bye bye kitties

As for the starlings, I've tried lots of things.  I've gone out with a pellet gun and pegged some off.  I've gone out at night and netted a bunch.  I held some captive in a cage in the barn so they could relay the message to their buddies.  I put plastic sheeting up on all the coops in the barn and wired up any holes where they could get in.  It took them less than a week to figure out how to burrow holes in that plastic to get in.  Stupid things would all be in the pens every morning and I'd chase them out and net whatever I could too.  I've tried a radio in the barn too.  Shutting up all the barn doors didn't help either.  They came in through the top hayloft entrance and somehow they managed to get back in too.  We have 8 nesting pairs of bald eagles on the lake just a half mile  from us.  I talked to an old turkey farmer and eh said that they poison them with formaldehyde. ....not even sure where or how to try that.

Jeez those birds are terrible! Good luck on getting rid of them! They come nest in any nook or hole they can find in old buildings or houses here and are all over in the trees this time of year.