Surviving Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

Hello Fellow Minnesotans! Im new here! Ive got an 8 bird flock in Minnetonka and so excited for my first egg!

Welcome to the thread..

Tell us about your flock...Yourself and whatever you want too...
Too bad you are just south of the Banana Belt... Are you able to grow rhubarb there?

 

[BantyChooks]

Welcome to the thread..

Tell us about your flock...Yourself and whatever you want too...
Too bad you are just south of the Banana Belt... Are you able to grow rhubarb there?

Look who the cat dragged in!

 

[duluthralphie]

We put up a chain link fence. I like it. It keeps the rifraf out.

I know, I was not allowed on the inside of the fence when I was there....

 

[duluthralphie]

I am feeling better today. Not great but alive. I hope to get a little work done today.

 

[BantyChooks]

I am feeling better today. Not great but alive. I hope to get a little work done today.

 

[MNChickMom]

Good Morning all,
Ivie I am sorry to hear about your dog's encounter with the chick. I can't comment further because I have not walked the mile in your sandals. (We don't have a dog.)

Welcome EMKAWA! We are fun bunch who like to chat.....not always about chickens.

It is T minus one week away from Fair Week in our neighborhood.....eeek.
Story Time
So on Saturday it was time to weigh the market hogs that are going to the fair. Copper my 12 year old's Red Duroc is normally the first one to the scale as he is the "alpha". Well the other 2 white pigs made it there first. So I recorded their weights while the husband and kids chased Copper round and round the fenced in pen 6 times. I stood in the doorway of the building with my clipboard and scale readout monitor. He came at the building entrance full throttle and right between my legs throwing me up in the air and at the side wall. I landed on the feed trough with my back/shoulders pinned between the studs of the wall. (18 inch studs.) Then he stepped on my lower stomach to free himself.

My 10 year old son....whom doesn't always see eye to eye with his Mom yells, "Hey Mom how much do you estimate he weighs?" I proceed to stand up with the help of my husband, I hand the scale monitor and clipboard to son, grab his show slap stick.

I yell to the pig, "This just got personal" 2 firm slaps of the stick and he is single handed on the scale and my son is yelling. "Mom, your estimate stinks he weighs 285."

So we are now filling the feed trough and water supplies, when my husband candidly asks the kids, did you learn anything from this experience? My compassionate daughter says, "Yes, Dont tick off Mom! She will get what she wants." My son (who is now available for physical labor) says with a chuckle, "Mom stinks at estimating. Never trust her estimates." My husband says, "What you were suppose to learn that is no matter what your previous experience with animals, they can always turn mean, watch what you are doing and never enter a pen alone."

All things aside they were nice to me and let me off the hook for helping with remainder of chores and I am only a little stiff and sore today.

 

[duluthralphie]

As to the neighbors, Erli and BC, they vacuum.

I hate neighbors. My "neighbor" and birth mother has become an issue with Judy and I of late. We think she is getting more memory issues. She does things that are not "normal".

We have started to think the the "stolen" birds are not stolen but she left the doors open or worse yet opened the doors in the night. We get cryptic answers from her when we ask her if it was her opening the door on the camera.

When I was 100% bed bound she might have left the doors open a couple nights or opened them. My siblings are blind to the fact she is getting older and could have memory or behavior issues. We live next door and she stays in our extra house so we can watch her. I guess this is what we signed up for.

I hope to start bird bathes this week. I am also hoping to see Holm this week, I have some chicks for him and an incubator for him. (HINT HINT)..

I have a "Theoretical' question for all of you.::::

NO confession should be inferred on this question..

A person has a "perfect" chicken of a certain breed. Everything is good with the bird. It will win the shows...however when it starts to lay eggs the eggs are "off color"... What do you do? Egg color is not part of the SOP but is listed as "economic benefits"...

Do you show the bird or not?

Purely theoretical..

 

[BantyChooks]

As to the neighbors, Erli and BC, they vacuum.

I hate neighbors. My "neighbor" and birth mother has become an issue with Judy and I of late. We think she is getting more memory issues. She does things that are not "normal".

We have started to think the the "stolen" birds are not stolen but she left the doors open or worse yet opened the doors in the night. We get cryptic answers from her when we ask her if it was her opening the door on the camera.

When I was 100% bed bound she might have left the doors open a couple nights or opened them. My siblings are blind to the fact she is getting older and could have memory or behavior issues. We live next door and she stays in our extra house so we can watch her. I guess this is what we signed up for.

I hope to start bird bathes this week. I am also hoping to see Holm this week, I have some chicks for him and an incubator for him. (HINT HINT)..

I have a "Theoretical' question for all of you.::::

NO confession should be inferred on this question..

A person has a "perfect" chicken of a certain breed. Everything is good with the bird. It will win the shows...however when it starts to lay eggs the eggs are "off color"... What do you do? Egg color is not part of the SOP but is listed as "economic benefits"...

Do you show the bird or not?

Purely theoretical..

I'm sorry, you're in between a rock and a hard place there.

As for the bird... Said theoretical owner of bird would probably get looked at funny if his bird happened to lay an egg in the cage. But based off past readings, I doubt it would be a DQ.

 

[duluthralphie]

Said bird owner if smart would make a scene and ask which jerk thought they were being funny by throwing the wrong egg in their cage!!

 

[BantyChooks]

Said bird owner if smart would make a scene and ask which jerk thought they were being funny by throwing the wrong egg in their cage!!

Said bird owner would be busted if someone saw their bird lay it.