Surviving Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

I just combined my 10 day old chicks with my 4 day old chicks!!

It is too funny. When I put the first one in the cage, one of the little ones ran up and chest bumped him.. He is half the size of the one he chest bumped! Now they are jockeying for position. I never realized pecking orders started so young!

 

[Dandelioness]

That is funny, Ralphie. It surprises me every year how soon the strutting and flying begin. I'm glad your little rehab center is showing promise. I had to laugh at your syringe comment. My dad was a medic, so we always had syringes and stethoscopes around. No needles or anything. We used them as waterguns - extra precise! Anyway, I wormed my lambs last fall and had to actually BUY a syringe at the store.

Coffee, are you moving within Minnesota? I think I would try to keep some stuff, too, especially if they're telling you they're going to remove them! I have a nifty thing that attaches to a propane tank. I use it for burning certain weeds during certain seasons, but I've had to use it to thaw ground, too. Maybe you have something like this available. Good luck!

Bogtown should be checking in soon with more from As the Lab Turns (into a Civilized Creature). I am particularly keen to hear the exciting conclusion to the spicy egg episode!

Rhetts, as I was doing my thing with the animals today, my husband who also has an affinity for gasoline, performed a similar act. Forgive me, but I won't be sharing your remote lighting technique with him! LOL Silly cats - sometimes I have no idea what they can possibly be thinking.

I should post pics of my fun day today. The phone app is not letting me, though... it'll have to wait until I get to the pc.

Sounds like a good day was had by all.

 

[Cluckies]

Good day! well someone asked how my girls are doing. They have gone nuts. They are fighting. Alot. I don't know what is going on. spring fever? Hard to say. Cluck-clucks comb is all bloody, but, it is her own fault, she started feather picking again and the girls don't care for it, maybe they will stand up to her and make her stop.

Today also, Mother wasn't eating, and she was puffed up the first time I let them out to free range. The second time she started eating, but then she grabbed a rotten old earthworm, I chased her and so did Fi, but we couldn't get it away, she ate it. that probably isn't going to make her feel any better...

 

[duluthralphie]

Good day! well someone asked how my girls are doing. They have gone nuts. They are fighting. Alot. I don't know what is going on. spring fever? Hard to say. Cluck-clucks comb is all bloody, but, it is her own fault, she started feather picking again and the girls don't care for it, maybe they will stand up to her and make her stop.

Today also, Mother wasn't eating, and she was puffed up the first time I let them out to free range. The second time she started eating, but then she grabbed a rotten old earthworm, I chased her and so did Fi, but we couldn't get it away, she ate it. that probably isn't going to make her feel any better...

She probably thought you were going to take her worm and eat it again....

 

[Bogtown Chick]

All in all a good day. Gorgeous 58 degrees. Maybe we will be able to grow some coconut trees one day.

Did a Brainerd run today. One last before the trip. DD needed a carry on that met Delta's requirements. My favorite airline.

Sadie Mae ate the laced cayenne egg. I think she came in the house shortly after. Licking her chops. There are no remains of that egg any where. She likes bedeviled eggs too it seems.

So we're a week out from the spay job. DS broke out the four wheeler and did some donuts in the yard and up and down our dirt road. Sadie Mae I'm sure running 30-40 mph with the boy. Came home from Brainerd to see a bulge in her skin at the surgical site. I'm sure she blew the muscle sutures. I just want to cry. Idiot dog. Idiot kids. My wallet has massive vaccuum noise coming from my purse.
F-f-f!
Will hold her food in am and call vet. DH was informed that he will be taking her down.

 

[Dandelioness]

So I went into my coop today and found little 4-5wk old rabbit kits had gotten strong enough to jump above the barrier I have along the bottom of the colony pen I made for them in there. They stayed pretty close to mom and the chickens didn't mess with them (they will eat young kits when they're little like mice). But I enlisted the Boy in repairing a cage we already have with much smaller holes all around. The cage is pretty roomy, as rabbit cages go. They'll just have to stay in there until they're too big to escape or I get a separate rabbit colony built for them. Here are some pictures of the delinquent family. That one little kit just sat there in the sunbeam and watched me cleaning the coop out.



Also found a secret nest today...


I also spent the evening filling blown out egg shells with mustard, to be set out tonight as a booby trap. I still have an egg eater, and I'm getting a little miffed. I've added shell grit to the feed (in case the culprit didn't notice the hopper), been adding red pepper to the feed, even chaining the dogs and dumping a Costco sized can of tuna over the feed once a week. STILL EATING EGGS. I solved this problem a couple summers ago, but this hen or hens is seeing through my tricks. I may need to retrofit my nest boxes to be the rollaway type. I know the mustard won't stop the behavior, just mark the one doing the eating.

 

[Dandelioness]

And I separated out some breeders today. I could have chicks in as little as seven weeks...


I'm sure you can tell from my stellar photographic skills that this is a county-fair prize-winning Black Copper Marans rooster, three BCM hens, an Olive egger pullet, and four Rhode Island White hens. I'm trying to produce more BCMs, of course. And I'm not having any luck getting another RIR rooster yet so I thought I'd see if this BCM roo over the RIW hens would produce any kind of sex link. I imagine the layers would be just as good as or better than the parent stock - isn't that usually the case with your F1s??

Jerry or Ralphie - I am also thinking of crossing a nice looking Olive Egger roo with my Easter egger hens. It would either be the result of an EE roo over cuckoo Marans hen or BCM roo over my EE hens. I have a couple to choose from. Which one do you think would be more likely to carry/pass on the green gene?

EJB, was it you that was trying to develop a purple egg? How did that project go?

 

[Dandelioness]

All in all a good day. Gorgeous 58 degrees. Maybe we will be able to grow some coconut trees one day.

Did a Brainerd run today. One last before the trip. DD needed a carry on that met Delta's requirements. My favorite airline.

Sadie Mae ate the laced cayenne egg. I think she came in the house shortly after. Licking her chops. There are no remains of that egg any where. She likes bedeviled eggs too it seems.

So we're a week out from the spay job. DS broke out the four wheeler and did some donuts in the yard and up and down our dirt road. Sadie Mae I'm sure running 30-40 mph with the boy. Came home from Brainerd to see a bulge in her skin at the surgical site. I'm sure she blew the muscle sutures. I just want to cry. Idiot dog. Idiot kids. My wallet has massive vaccuum noise coming from my purse.
F-f-f!
Will hold her food in am and call vet. DH was informed that he will be taking her down.

Bogtown, that dog likes her eggs just like I do! Oh, what a bummer about the physical exertion - are you thinking it's a hernia or just a busted suture? Maybe it's something your vet can just tell you how to handle at home. And all this right before your trip - hope things work out.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

So I went into my coop today and found little 4-5wk old rabbit kits had gotten strong enough to jump above the barrier I have along the bottom of the colony pen I made for them in there. They stayed pretty close to mom and the chickens didn't mess with them (they will eat young kits when they're little like mice). But I enlisted the Boy in repairing a cage we already have with much smaller holes all around. The cage is pretty roomy, as rabbit cages go. They'll just have to stay in there until they're too big to escape or I get a separate rabbit colony built for them. Here are some pictures of the delinquent family. That one little kit just sat there in the sunbeam and watched me cleaning the coop out. Also found a secret nest today... I also spent the evening filling blown out egg shells with mustard, to be set out tonight as a booby trap. I still have an egg eater, and I'm getting a little miffed. I've added shell grit to the feed (in case the culprit didn't notice the hopper), been adding red pepper to the feed, even chaining the dogs and dumping a Costco sized can of tuna over the feed once a week. STILL EATING EGGS. I solved this problem a couple summers ago, but this hen or hens is seeing through my tricks. I may need to retrofit my nest boxes to be the rollaway type. I know the mustard won't stop the behavior, just mark the one doing the eating.

You've been busy! I will let you know that chickens cannot taste spicy like cayenne or hot sauce what have you. They're immune to the effects of capsaicin or the chemical that makes a pepper spicy. I just reread but maybe I missing the point of why your using cayenne... Maybe you suspect worms?

 

[jerryse]

And I separated out some breeders today. I could have chicks in as little as seven weeks...


I'm sure you can tell from my stellar photographic skills that this is a county-fair prize-winning Black Copper Marans rooster, three BCM hens, an Olive egger pullet, and four Rhode Island White hens. I'm trying to produce more BCMs, of course. And I'm not having any luck getting another RIR rooster yet so I thought I'd see if this BCM roo over the RIW hens would produce any kind of sex link. I imagine the layers would be just as good as or better than the parent stock - isn't that usually the case with your F1s??

Jerry or Ralphie - I am also thinking of crossing a nice looking Olive Egger roo with my Easter egger hens. It would either be the result of an EE roo over cuckoo Marans hen or BCM roo over my EE hens. I have a couple to choose from. Which one do you think would be more likely to carry/pass on the green gene?

EJB, was it you that was trying to develop a purple egg? How did that project go?

Since they are both olive eggers it should not matter which one . Blue and brown = green . Brown is hard to get rid of ( multiple genes responsible ) so varying shades of green . Depending on what they inherit .