Surviving Minnesota!

[BantyChooks]

Ohio is north for me! Lol
Your rough around the edges cause all your edges have been frost bitten too many times!

I can't deny that.

 

[duluthralphie]

Beautiful day! I just came in for lunch...Will have to have a small supper after eating now.

 

[duluthralphie]

[QUOTE="Bogtown Chick, post: 19111587, member: 131906"
Ralphie I would so love a turkey. They aren’t very bright as adults either huh?

[/QUOTE]


I had the opportunity to witness the intelligence of turkeys today.

I was working in my shed getting my truck ready for the trip to Hutch with a ton of birds. I saw the group of turkeys walking from the bard area towards their coop. They were chucking and jiving the whole way. Turkey laughter and chatter. It was weird, they were acting like they just got their city cousin to pee on the electric fence.

I decided I should go see what they had gotten into. I walked towards the barn and I see a Tom up against the electric netting. I thought my fencer had stopped working.

Then I heard him making a "chirp" and he would shake or jerk like he was going into a seizure. As I got closer so I could hear the fencer firing, I noticed his chirps and jerks were synchronized with the fencer firing.

When I realized he was being shocked every 1/2 second I unplugged the fencer and ran (ok. walked briskly) over to him. He had not moved from the netting, even after the fencer was turned off.

I saw his head was dark black colored, not a normal color for my turkeys. I went to pull him off the fence and he was stuck to it. One strand of netting was in his mouth wrapped around his lower beak. I unwrapped him and threw him back inside his fence.

This was one of my two Thanksgiving day turkeys. He had one wing clipped to stay inside the fence. HOWEVER, I have since learned a turkey can clear a 42 inch fence in a single bound.

He appears to have jumped out to join the rest of the turkeys and then decided to pick a fight with his roommate on the other side of the fence. As we all know the surest way to get two toms to fight is put a fence between them...

Anyways, BC, Was the turkey in the fence stupid? Was the rest of them smart for acting weird so I would go save their buddy?

Or was it simply gang activity and they were laughing about it?

Turkeys are hard to understand at times...

 

[Cebarmlds]

That's weird. Hope he's going to be ok.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

[QUOTE="Bogtown Chick, post: 19111587, member: 131906"
Ralphie I would so love a turkey. They aren’t very bright as adults either huh?

I had the opportunity to witness the intelligence of turkeys today.

I was working in my shed getting my truck ready for the trip to Hutch with a ton of birds. I saw the group of turkeys walking from the bard area towards their coop. They were chucking and jiving the whole way. Turkey laughter and chatter. It was weird, they were acting like they just got their city cousin to pee on the electric fence.

I decided I should go see what they had gotten into. I walked towards the barn and I see a Tom up against the electric netting. I thought my fencer had stopped working.

Then I heard him making a "chirp" and he would shake or jerk like he was going into a seizure. As I got closer so I could hear the fencer firing, I noticed his chirps and jerks were synchronized with the fencer firing.

When I realized he was being shocked every 1/2 second I unplugged the fencer and ran (ok. walked briskly) over to him. He had not moved from the netting, even after the fencer was turned off.

I saw his head was dark black colored, not a normal color for my turkeys. I went to pull him off the fence and he was stuck to it. One strand of netting was in his mouth wrapped around his lower beak. I unwrapped him and threw him back inside his fence.

This was one of my two Thanksgiving day turkeys. He had one wing clipped to stay inside the fence. HOWEVER, I have since learned a turkey can clear a 42 inch fence in a single bound.

He appears to have jumped out to join the rest of the turkeys and then decided to pick a fight with his roommate on the other side of the fence. As we all know the surest way to get two toms to fight is put a fence between them...

Anyways, BC, Was the turkey in the fence stupid? Was the rest of them smart for acting weird so I would go save their buddy?

Or was it simply gang activity and they were laughing about it?

Turkeys are hard to understand at times...[/QUOTE]
Ralphie. . this is not how you are supposed to fry a turkey

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Ok I don't know how that happened but. . anyway. .

 

[Cebarmlds]

I got the plastic on the run today, it was a beautiful sunny day for yard work. DH shredded and bagged leaves with the rider then he dumped them and I filled 29 bags, what isn't used for the chickens this winter will go into the garden in spring.
The weather forecast for Friday doesn't look so good

 

[Cluckies]

Cluckies - I did the apple cider vinegar routine in the water for that little sick bird I inherited. I am sure she had sour crop. I left her in the house in a kennel over a weekend we were gone with the ACV and fermented food (what I read said that they really do not need any food for a couple days) Seems to have cleared her up completely and she is thriving. Just sayin to you in case it could work.

I can't get her to drink anything right now... hopefully she starts again soon, then I'll try it.

I'm buying ACV in bulk!!

lol

So I've been worrying myself over this whole "the coop needs ventilation but not a draft" issue I keep reading in articles about coop building. I have the four windows open on the north side of the coop and we have the roof open under the cupola (plus we haven't finished the ridge cap yet). I went out to set up a dirt bath for the chicks today, the wind is blowing, up to 50mph they're saying, and there isn't even a slight breeze in the coop. And the chickens have been locked up in there for a couple weeks due to "fox watch 2017" and it's not even a bit ripe in there, we haven't finished the floor yet so I only have two bags of shavings down. I think we might be okay for the winter.

I assume you are in MN? you have your North windows open? For winter are you closing the North windows? do you have South windows?

I got the plastic on the run today, it was a beautiful sunny day for yard work. DH shredded and bagged leaves with the rider then he dumped them and I filled 29 bags, what isn't used for the chickens this winter will go into the garden in spring.
The weather forecast for Friday doesn't look so good

I gathered leaves the other day for chickens for winter fun, only 7 bags of these large paper Menards bags. That is plenty for my girls, they love digging through those in winter.

 

[Elise Ferguson]

I assume you are in MN? you have your North windows open? For winter are you closing the North windows? do you have South windows?

MN yes. No south windows, the chickens would blow away if we had south windows here. Most the wind out here on the prairie comes from the south or southwest. Not great for light but the north windows keep it ventilated but not drafty.

 

[jerryse]

Morning . Nice afternoon yesterday . Got some work done . Got to change the fuel filter on the truck today . It quit on me yesterday . I was hauling tree tops into the woods after cutting a couple of dead trees near chicken coop . Steep hill into woods . I think that stirred up enough gunk in the fuel tank to clog the filter . It was over due for a change most likely .