Surviving Minnesota!

[lvie]

I think the coop could be really cute after dressing it up. I will show another picture of it months down the road after its painted and
fashionably decorated. Heavy Tractor.

And that is SC who will be five weeks old tomorrow. The SS have now passed her up in size and with in two more weeks those roos will
transition outside when it is warm.

 

[Rhetts]

Yeah the tractor does look a little on the heavy side! LOL! Looks nice though! We made the same mistake our first year making portable coops that were WAY too heavy. Last summer we made one that I or the kids can move on our own if we shimmy it back and forth. Not because it is heavy but because it is 8' by 8'.

 

[jerryse]

How well do the feathers come off when wet? Doing it dry I was covered head to toe in down. I was assuming wet would make less mess but didn't know if the feathers came out any easier or harder. I go back and forth on the wax. Burning it though proved to be somewhat tricky as we were trying to avoid making it taste like char.

I was really excited to get the geese at first (2 years ago) but they have been my biggest disappointment. I will keep 2 breeding trios for now. Any hatchlings will be food. I currently have 5 extra males that need dealing with thus my goose cleaning questions.

I scald them and use a small picker . Still no fun . Ducks are easier . I gave up raising either . I now buy ducks at the sale barn when I want one . Coons are evil on ground nesters . Coyotes are the worst . Between them I can not raise any . Too messy to keep penned . Fox usually left adult geese alone but would grab a duck and run in daylight .

 

[holm25]

Ivie did I say she laid uphill? Oops I meant she layed down hill next to a bale feeder and couldnt get back up

 

[holm25]

Well my first batch of chicks should go to their new home on Tuesday! Five eggs are pipped and five eggs have hatched! Got a cute little red chick with gray down color which is interesting since I only have a splash Cochin roo and an AUSTRALORP cross roo. And none of the chicks that have hatched have feathered legs except for the one that hatched from a cochin egg so something must be up with the Cochin roo.

 

[holm25]

And I have two more orders to fill. Plus a duckling order and a gosling order.

 

[duluthralphie]

Ivie, Nice tractor, now you need a caterpillar to pull it around!

I tried the tractor in one piece the first year. It was a pain. I now make small coops 4x4, 4x6 or 4x8 that I can move with my bobcat. I make those panels that I use 2 torq head screws on each end to hold together. I can take one down move it and put it together in 10-15 minutes. Way easier than moving a tractor.


Cute chicks Holm, and grats on the sale. Now you are making money! If I sold ever chick I hatched and every egg I gathered I would still be 3 grand in the hole....

I think I do things wrong, I just sold 3 Creamettes 2 girls and a boy. I was worried the boy would die (knowing my luck and Murphy's law) So I asked if she wanted another boy and gave it to her.... again... I need to get more hard butt about that stuff...


I am having turkey hen problems, I might need Hom to come down here and wrassle them for me. They have not even laid a dozen eggs each yet and they are trying to go broody on me!..

I kicked one (blue) out of the nest again, There are only 3 hens in her pen, and she had three eggs under her, so she is not really broody, but acts like she wants to be. Young turkeys are stupid. They want to set, but they abandon nests often and forget they are setting. I will not let them have a nest of their own until 4th of July when they gets smarter...

And finally Gitmo worked! My Broody PC ( I put her back in the nest 3-4 days ago) laid and egg today! I got 2 PC eggs, so I know she is laying again.

I clipped Berts toes today I saw scratches on Bertha so decided it was time. I used a dog nail trimmer on him. He did not like it, I got a little blood on two toes and felt bad about it, but poop happens....

 

[holm25]

Thanks Ralph! If I fill these orders I will make $250+ dollars and thats if I dont get more orders. So I think for my age thats pretty good. I am putting half of what I make into my savings and the other half to get some more Buckeyes if I like the ones from Minnie.

Well I am the world champion turkey hen wrassler so I think I can teach that turkey hen a lesson!

 

[Rhetts]

I had to clip a roosters beak yesterday. He has always had a crooked beak so it doesn't get filed down like they usually do. He was doing pretty good eating and drinking so we let it go. I saw it was way too long yesterday and trimmed it back a little bit. Will have to do it a little more in about a week and a half when the vein moves back. Ah the joys of chickening!!

 

[lvie]

Good for you ambitious Holm.

Ralphie - you are too nice. Really. Now you can keep being nice to me (maybe the word is generous) - LOL. It is just who you are. Acceptance of your niceness will help Ralphie. You niceness will come back to you ten fold. Okay Ralphie - you are off the hook now. No more about nice Ralphie. Oh! The bill - I can send it to you for the niceness meeting.

I have six chicks in the brooder. The three SS and the three cream bars. Out of the six I kind of think that five are roos. LOL. I guess I will be learning a new talent this next autumn. Not looking forward to it but it goes with the territory.

Night everyone out there in the Surviving Minnesota thread.