Surviving Minnesota!

[Bogtown Chick]

I'll be looking for Wellie hens but not until mid April.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Well when your birds stop laying after a year due to reproductive issues as a result of breeding practices by hatcheries there is room for a little 'snobbery'. IMHO.

 

[duluthralphie]

I'll be looking for Wellie hens but not until mid April.

I do not think he will have any until April or May because they are moving to a farm, from St Paul...

 

[jerryse]

Here is my cure for egg eating hens . Take a dog toenail trimmer and shorten the beak to the point of bleeding . Have blood stop powder on hand in case it is needed or cauterize to stop blood . The idea is to make it tender so when they peck at a egg it hurts . All hens will join in once a egg breaks . So the sooner you catch the guilty one the better . It is kind of like trimming your finger nail too close . It is sore for awhile .

 

[duluthralphie]

Here is my cure for egg eating hens . Take a dog toenail trimmer and shorten the beak to the point of bleeding . Have blood stop powder on hand in case it is needed or cauterize to stop blood . The idea is to make it tender so when they peck at a egg it hurts . All hens will join in once a egg breaks . So the sooner you catch the guilty one the better . It is kind of like trimming your finger nail too close . It is sore for awhile .

Does this affect their eating or drinking in any way? Not that I care, I would eat the egg eater!!


BTW How do I know my Broody hen has given up her Broody ways? When I am in the shed she just yells at me for being mean.

 

[KlopKlop]

I just ordered chicks!! 17 Speckled Sussex and 10 gold comets. I ordered 2 cockerels and 15 pullets on hopes to breed Sussex someday.

The bad news is they won't come until 3/22 as they were sold out for the next 2 weeks. That's what I get for waiting. I tried ordering online yesterday for delivery this week but the website was having issues. Turns out it can't handle 'sold out' situations well

 

[lvie]

Good morning!!
Coffee time..


I sold some Creamettes yesterday to a guy that raises Wellsummers. He will be hatching some this spring. I think I am going to get a few. He claims their eggs are as dark as a Maran.

He got his from Whitmore Farms. I am not crazy about the comb, but I am going to try and cross them into a pea or cushion comb and keep the dark egg. It will most likely fail. but I have lots of time to waste. (I hope)..

As I recall someone on here wanted to get some Welsummer. If you let me know I can pick them up or have him get ahold of you. At least they are not hatchery birds....I so like sounding like a chicken snob!

Good morning!!
Coffee time..


I sold some Creamettes yesterday to a guy that raises Wellsummers. He will be hatching some this spring. I think I am going to get a few. He claims their eggs are as dark as a Maran.

He got his from Whitmore Farms. I am not crazy about the comb, but I am going to try and cross them into a pea or cushion comb and keep the dark egg. It will most likely fail. but I have lots of time to waste. (I hope)..

As I recall someone on here wanted to get some Welsummer. If you let me know I can pick them up or have him get ahold of you. At least they are not hatchery birds....I so like sounding like a chicken snob!

Hi Ralphie,
Well, I was looking for Wellsummers. I ordered the hatchery ones which I am cancelling the whole order. It consisted of Welsummers, Easter Eggers and Wyndottes (bear with my spelling please.) It will cost me to cancel but I have decided that I need to do that. I won't do the hatchery thing again. I have learned my lesson. I think I will separate SC's flock mates, the Roos, who are rather large compared to SC and SS. The Roos run all over them. Plus the SS is suppose to be a friendly, mild chick and I do not want them to pick up the baddddddd habits of unfriendliness from the creamers. So I am going to set them up in a separate box today.

Nice weather for this week. Took a few strips of plastic off the run. The flock has been out on the river bank pecking away on these warm days. I have been out working on wood clean-up on the river bank. And observing Tom Hanks and his calling the girls and being protective. I like it! But the RIR seem to have their own agenda and do not stay with the flock. Also going to make a saddle to go on poor little Ruby. She has no feathers on her back. Poor girl. She is at the bottom of the pecking order and I simply must give her special treats because the other flock members won't let her near the general treats when I throw them.

Sun is out. Air is warm. Its gonna be a good day. Ralphie, let me know what to do to get the Wellsummers. If you are picking some up soon I need to get some of the $$$ over to you. Jus let me know.

 

[jerryse]

Does this affect their eating or drinking in any way? Not that I care, I would eat the egg eater!!


BTW How do I know my Broody hen has given up her Broody ways? When I am in the shed she just yells at me for being mean.

No it only stops them from pounding their beak on hard surfaces .

On the broody does she sit on the nest at night or is she still in isolation ? If you put her back in her original pen check the nest box at night . Some are very stubborn . I use the stubborn ones for broodies . You can move them and they will not quit .

I forget if cream is dominant but I noticed most of the crossed males look cream . The Rees picture looks silver . I wonder if someone added silver to the breed or if it is a range of color in the cream .

 

[duluthralphie]

No it only stops them from pounding their beak on hard surfaces .

On the broody does she sit on the nest at night or is she still in isolation ? If you put her back in her original pen check the nest box at night . Some are very stubborn . I use the stubborn ones for broodies . You can move them and they will not quit .

I forget if cream is dominant but I noticed most of the crossed males look cream . The Rees picture looks silver . I wonder if someone added silver to the breed or if it is a range of color in the cream .

I saw that too, That is why I asked you again. The Rooster in the Rees does not look at all like mine.

Some of the problem, I think, is the English birds look different than ours do. I think they have more genetic diversity than we do which means they have a broader range of colours (spelled like the brits do)....

 

[Dandelioness]

FOILED AGAIN!

Just came back in with six eggs - but all of my mustard-filled booby-trap eggs were eaten! I looked carefully at every beak, muff, and wattle. No mustard staining.

Another old wives tale debunked.

Thanks for the idea, Jerry. Would the beak tip grow back, like rabbit teeth do? I have 37 birds, so that could take some doing, but I will keep it in my back pocket. It may be easier to convert my nest boxes to rollaways. I have "solved" this problem with nutrition before, maybe I need to give it some more time. In the meantime, I'll just have to do frequent egg checks in the hopes of finding the guilty party. My pressure cooker is waiting for her... matzo ball soup, I think...

The rabbits are super cute, but they are mostly for eating. We are new to it, this is our very first litter. It was my 8yo daughter's idea to raise for meat. She wanted a pet rabbit, but I think she's overheard me trying to figure out ways to make our animals pay for themselves. We were eating dinner and she said she'd like a mama rabbit and I could eat all the babies, in a very business-like fashion. 0_o Well, I ran it by my husband, because while I clean and dress most of our meat I have not been able to do the deed on even the CXs. He said his dad raised rabbit in his garage in St Paul and remembered it was good meat and said he'd take care of dispatch. You can raise them up for almost nothing with some hay and grain. We still pet them and take good care of them. More than one family member has asked me to make a hat or mittens out of the fur when the time comes. They are standard rex and very soft. Just like the chickens and the lambs, I feel using as much of the rabbit as possible and giving them good lives are very important things to model.

There are inside things that need doing, but I had a hard time coming back in this morning! I guess I have several egg checks to look forward to!

Have a good day, everyone -