Surviving Minnesota!

[aussiegal318]

We are home! I can spend time cleaning the stinky coop. Hate when it get let go, but this time it just had to be. I think I'm just going to get the tractor out & do the alpaca pen also. All chicken are accounted for. Chuckie high tailed (without any tail feathers) it to his old coop which is in the alpaca pasture. There is something dead out here, the dogs have rolled in it again! Time to take a hike around the property.

Coffee sorry to hear about the accident. I hope you are feeling better.

 

[aussiegal318]

These chicks are so cute!!! I love them so much! The Blue Cochin is Gizmo and the Aussue cross is Scooter. Yes we did name chicks who will be sold but they were named when they were put in the incubator at egg stage!

Adorable! I almost want some chicks. I'm just leaving that to the hens. I have to admit every time you say 'Aussie' my brain goes to the dogs.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have never heard of anyone naming their eggs before!

Glad your home Aussie!

I did the NPIP school in St Cloud yesterday. I would have learned a lot if not for the fact I refuse to learn more than one thing a day,

I have decided the one thing I have learned is egg cleanliness. I have believed what I was told and what I read on here about eggs.

Nearly everyone hear says you cannot wash hatching eggs. The told us at the school the eggs should be washed in 105 degree water and wiped with a solution of 1 ounce of chlorine to 1 gallon of water. They said unseen contaminants on the outside of the egg can cause a lower hatch rate. Also by washing them you decrease the chance of an exploding egg.

SO I am going to do that from now on, I have not been happy with lightly sanding the eggs. Hopefully it will work. They also do not want us hatching in the same room as we incubate in. They will not approve your "hatchery" if you do that. Of course, they want so many things I may not get approved anyways. A lot of what they taught was not geared toward us little backyard people. But it was all interesting.

They want waterfowl a LONG ways from other birds, they do not want 2 species together, they do not like wild bird feeders. And one of the guys insisted I would have blackhead because my turkeys and Chickens live together. He kept saying as soon as it rains and the earthworms come to the surface they will eat them and die.

He did not believe me when I said I do not have 6 earthworms on my whole farm, and I doubt I have one. He said earthworms are everywhere. I told him he was welcome to come and try and find one. He refused my generous offer.

All in all it was a good day.

My hatch went on at home without me, only one white sport, all but 1 of the SS hatched.

 

[memphis]

Cute chick's Holm.

Interesting info from school Ralph. So...do they come & inspect your set up? We've had almost 10 inches of rain down here the last two days. My chickens have eaten so many worms I'm surprised they can walk. But so far it hasn't affected my turkeys.

 

[duluthralphie]

Cute chick's Holm.

Interesting info from school Ralph. So...do they come & inspect your set up? We've had almost 10 inches of rain down here the last two days. My chickens have eaten so many worms I'm surprised they can walk. But so far it hasn't affected my turkeys.

There is a "field day" they will come out and "teach" me how to actually draw the blood from the birds. At that time they will look over my stuff. Because I keep my incubator in the basement in an "unoccupied" area of the house I might be ok. I have running water and a sink there. However the walls are just cement block or poured cement which they do not like, because it is too porous.

I am planning on moving the hatching and incubating area next year to an old building we have here. but the walls in there are just old chip board. I am hoping if I paint it, it will pass.

I did have one of the guys say, even with all my "wrongs' I probably have healthier birds because they are immune to so much from living outside free ranging and being on an area that has had chickens for over 100 years. They have either beat every pathogen or died, but they worry my chickens would spread those pathogens because of their immunity to them. There is not a lot of thinking "outside" the box at the school.

They were very anti-free ranging.

 

[lvie]

I have never heard of anyone naming their eggs before!

Glad your home Aussie!

I did the NPIP school in St Cloud yesterday. I would have learned a lot if not for the fact I refuse to learn more than one thing a day,

I have decided the one thing I have learned is egg cleanliness. I have believed what I was told and what I read on here about eggs.

Nearly everyone hear says you cannot wash hatching eggs. The told us at the school the eggs should be washed in 105 degree water and wiped with a solution of 1 ounce of chlorine to 1 gallon of water. They said unseen contaminants on the outside of the egg can cause a lower hatch rate. Also by washing them you decrease the chance of an exploding egg.

SO I am going to do that from now on, I have not been happy with lightly sanding the eggs. Hopefully it will work. They also do not want us hatching in the same room as we incubate in. They will not approve your "hatchery" if you do that. Of course, they want so many things I may not get approved anyways. A lot of what they taught was not geared toward us little backyard people. But it was all interesting.

They want waterfowl a LONG ways from other birds, they do not want 2 species together, they do not like wild bird feeders. And one of the guys insisted I would have blackhead because my turkeys and Chickens live together. He kept saying as soon as it rains and the earthworms come to the surface they will eat them and die.

He did not believe me when I said I do not have 6 earthworms on my whole farm, and I doubt I have one. He said earthworms are everywhere. I told him he was welcome to come and try and find one. He refused my generous offer.

All in all it was a good day.

My hatch went on at home without me, only one white sport, all but 1 of the SS hatched.

What about the earthworms? They are not good for them? Huh? I have tons of earthworms. Tell me more please.

 

[duluthralphie]

Eartheworms are a host or a part of the cycle of blackhead. The chickens give it to the worms, the worms carry it and the turkeys eat the worms. I think that is how it goes.

I'm surprised you have many worms there, isn't your soil sand like here? Or is it because of the river?

I think you also need to have blackhead in the area too. It is not something I have more than a passing knowledge on, maybe someone else knows the whole story, it has never affected me and I have no worms so I really never studied it.


BTW we named our little chick with the wry neck. There is no sign of the wry legs after we used the patented Ivie leg brace. She runs around like crazy, eats and drinks. Even her neck is looking a little straighter, or we have gotten use to it. She lives by herself in a cage, so I take her out every night and massage her neck and let her crawl around on me.

We named her Igor.....

 

[jerryse]

Tilled the garden and planted radish and spinach . Need to buy peas and lettuce seed . Spinach is iffy here . We often do not get enough heat early to mature the leaves . By the end of May the day length makes it go to seed . It is often just growing good then tastes bad as it is bolting to seed . Did a plastic half barrel type pot with spinach seed . Going to grow that indoors for awhile . See if that helps . Fall spinach is difficult here . Too hot in late August so it germinates poorly . Just sits there until the fall rains start . The fizzles out .

Silver maples are budding . Gooseberry and bush honeysuckle are starting to leaf out .

 

[lvie]

Eartheworms are a host or a part of the cycle of blackhead. The chickens give it to the worms, the worms carry it and the turkeys eat the worms. I think that is how it goes.

I'm surprised you have many worms there, isn't your soil sand like here? Or is it because of the river?

I think you also need to have blackhead in the area too. It is not something I have more than a passing knowledge on, maybe someone else knows the whole story, it has never affected me and I have no worms so I really never studied it.


BTW we named our little chick with the wry neck. There is no sign of the wry legs after we used the patented Ivie leg brace. She runs around like crazy, eats and drinks. Even her neck is looking a little straighter, or we have gotten use to it. She lives by herself in a cage, so I take her out every night and massage her neck and let her crawl around on me.
I am
We named her Igor.....

Igor? Good name. I want to name another barred rock Geisla. I have to look up the correct spelling. Gilda and Geisla. Anyway, worms. We had/have the typical sand of Sherburne county and I have amended it in the garden, plus all the leaves and branches on the river bank make it more compost than sand, and hence, earth worms. Which are good for the plants but bad for turkeys. Since I do not raise turkeys I am not too worried and I am not selling chickens so I am not worried about spreading this if my chickies have it - but does it affect their meat?

 

[holm25]

I had to share this pic! Love having chicks around!