Surviving Minnesota!

duluthralphie · Mar 1, 2019

MNChickMom said:
I have a group of 3 week old bantams in the house, they are getting an eviction notice on sunday

Your birds go to a heated 5 star hotel... mine go to a shabby cold hovel.

CindyinSD · Mar 1, 2019

Lows around 30, heat panel/MHP available? I put mine out after 4 days in the heated (kind of) garage last fall under those conditions and they did fine... barely used their heat panel. Negative 17 might be pushing your luck tho...I don’t know.

duluthralphie · Mar 2, 2019

I have caught some very very bad chickens causing problems....

I caught a DOM rooster, eating eggs. He was chomping on the turkey eggs in his pen, I have 3 turkey hens with him and 6 dom hens. The Tom that was with him was removed yesterday.

I have not gotten many eggs lately in this pen. I now know the cause. However, when I caught him, he tipped the egg bucket over and 2 RP eggs broke on the ground. He is a lucky rooster. He is still alive. My first thought was a soup chicken. However, he has nearly perfect barring, a great U shaped back and a flawless comb.

He will live a long life in a prison cell from now on. I need his sperm, I do not need him. If I knew how and had one of those AI nitrogen tank things. I would have Holm rob him of all his sperm and fill enough tubes to last 10 years, then gladly stew him.....

To make matters worse, I caught 4 Chanticler hens eating an egg... I put the two I did not catch eating in a cage. I will see if they give me eggs. My rechargeable Dremel needs a new battery. I will be using a dog nail clippers on that entire pen this afternoon...I will now try to order a new battery for the Dremel.

On the bright side none of the Toms I threw out of the breeding pens were killed, yet.
One is hiding over by the layer hens trying to maintain a low profile. The other two are with the other Toms, but have swollen snoods and bruised bloody heads.

I guess that is the price that have to pay for getting to reproduce.

(I know, I may seem a little calloused towards the birds and injuries, but I grew up on a farm, I care for the birds. But life on the farm is not without risk.....

jerryse · Mar 2, 2019

Ralphie you need Holm to train you in AI . You could also keep him confined and bring a hen to him every day . Long enough for him to do the deed . Once used to this it should happen fast .

camboy77 · Mar 2, 2019

duluthralphie said:
I have caught some very very bad chickens causing problems....

I caught a DOM rooster, eating eggs. He was chomping on the turkey eggs in his pen, I have 3 turkey hens with him and 6 dom hens. The Tom that was with him was removed yesterday.

I have not gotten many eggs lately in this pen. I now know the cause. However, when I caught him, he tipped the egg bucket over and 2 RP eggs broke on the ground. He is a lucky rooster. He is still alive. My first thought was a soup chicken. However, he has nearly perfect barring, a great U shaped back and a flawless comb.

He will live a long life in a prison cell from now on. I need his sperm, I do not need him. If I knew how and had one of those AI nitrogen tank things. I would have Holm rob him of all his sperm and fill enough tubes to last 10 years, then gladly stew him.....

To make matters worse, I caught 4 Chanticler hens eating an egg... I put the two I did not catch eating in a cage. I will see if they give me eggs. My rechargeable Dremel needs a new battery. I will be using a dog nail clippers on that entire pen this afternoon...I will now try to order a new battery for the Dremel.

On the bright side none of the Toms I threw out of the breeding pens were killed, yet.
One is hiding over by the layer hens trying to maintain a low profile. The other two are with the other Toms, but have swollen snoods and bruised bloody heads.

I guess that is the price that have to pay for getting to reproduce.

(I know, I may seem a little calloused towards the birds and injuries, but I grew up on a farm, I care for the birds. But life on the farm is not without risk.....

On the bright side Hoover is not there to cause any more troubles. I accept payments in the forms of fresh caught crappies or sunfish.

MagpieDucks · Mar 2, 2019

duluthralphie said:
I have caught some very very bad chickens causing problems....

I caught a DOM rooster, eating eggs. He was chomping on the turkey eggs in his pen, I have 3 turkey hens with him and 6 dom hens. The Tom that was with him was removed yesterday.

I have not gotten many eggs lately in this pen. I now know the cause. However, when I caught him, he tipped the egg bucket over and 2 RP eggs broke on the ground. He is a lucky rooster. He is still alive. My first thought was a soup chicken. However, he has nearly perfect barring, a great U shaped back and a flawless comb.

He will live a long life in a prison cell from now on. I need his sperm, I do not need him. If I knew how and had one of those AI nitrogen tank things. I would have Holm rob him of all his sperm and fill enough tubes to last 10 years, then gladly stew him.....

To make matters worse, I caught 4 Chanticler hens eating an egg... I put the two I did not catch eating in a cage. I will see if they give me eggs. My rechargeable Dremel needs a new battery. I will be using a dog nail clippers on that entire pen this afternoon...I will now try to order a new battery for the Dremel.

On the bright side none of the Toms I threw out of the breeding pens were killed, yet.
One is hiding over by the layer hens trying to maintain a low profile. The other two are with the other Toms, but have swollen snoods and bruised bloody heads.

I guess that is the price that have to pay for getting to reproduce.

(I know, I may seem a little calloused towards the birds and injuries, but I grew up on a farm, I care for the birds. But life on the farm is not without risk.....