Surviving Minnesota!

[KlopKlop]

With all this rain my asparagus is coming up. Yum! I've picked a few meals worth and all of my patches haven't even broke ground yet. Mmmmmm

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Rain, rain, RAIN! Great.

@KlopKlop , I have yet to see any of the wild asparagus come up around my area. That would be amazing on the grill.

 

[KlopKlop]

Rain, rain, RAIN! Great.

@KlopKlop , I have yet to see any of the wild asparagus come up around my area. That would be amazing on the grill.

Only my spots that get full sun are up. ground is probably too cool yet in the shadier spots

 

[KlopKlop]

@duluthralphie Want to find an excuse to come down and get more Urch eggs? Can you swing through Nowthen and pick up a Snap Coupler cultivator for my AC I found on craigslist in Nowthen and bring down with you?

 

[duluthralphie]

@duluthralphie Want to find an excuse to come down and get more Urch eggs? Can you swing through Nowthen and pick up a Snap Coupler cultivator for my AC I found on craigslist in Nowthen and bring down with you?

 

[MNChickMom]

Morning!

I guess I can post now that someone else has... I was waiting for Ivie to post before I did.

How did you sex it? I did not know you could.

According to one of the forums on here.....look for red wattle, red comb, lack of feathering on the back, lack of tail feathers at this age and thicker legs. Since we ordered 11 hens and 1 rooster, we quarantied all the buff orps in a little pen....it was very obvious as "he" was the only one with the red wattle and red comb. He had no feathers on his back and no tail feathers started. We took comparision photos which I will have to figure out how to get off her "fruit flavored device" apple IPOD and onto my phone or laptop to upload here. We also had a photo shoot with my son's barred rock rooster and hens that was not as much fun figuring out who was who.....it was plain as night and day.

Edited to Include: You must do this during week 3 otherwise the hens wattle's and combs will start changing colors.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

According to one of the forums on here.....look for red wattle, red comb, lack of feathering on the back, lack of tail feathers at this age and thicker legs. Since we ordered 11 hens and 1 rooster, we quarantied all the buff orps in a little pen....it was very obvious as "he" was the only one with the red wattle and red comb. He had no feathers on his back and no tail feathers started. We took comparision photos which I will have to figure out how to get off her "fruit flavored device" apple IPOD and onto my phone or laptop to upload here. We also had a photo shoot with my son's barred rock rooster and hens that was not as much fun figuring out who was who.....it was plain as night and day.

One of my BR's is looking to be a male. They're pretty easy to sex even after a few weeks. The comb and wattles are starting to get red. It's fun to have comparison photos!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Good Morning Chickeners. This is the PERFECT day again. This is what we get on this Thursday, April 28th and so therefore, it must be perfect. Yes, Ralphie - thanks for waiting for me. I do appreciate that. Remember now, I will be leaving Friday night to take the train down to Ft. Snelling where my precious D-i-L and son will pick me up and we will go out to dinner.

I will spend the night with them and then leave for Arizona via SunCountry early in the morning. Warm weather for me this next week. So today and tomorrow I will be participating and then I am gone. I hope you miss me. I am not into streaming or any of that. Maybe I will check on you while I am gone. More than likely not.

I did get all the stuff done on my coop yesterday. ALL BY MYSELF and with hand tools. When I get back I will be finishing the outside of the structure.

Waiting to find out how you sexed those chicks MNChickmom Interesting stuff.

Have a great Trip Ivie!. Super fun to travel.

Good morning all!

Morning Kloppers

Morning . Got about a inch of rain overnight . Cooler temps for the next few days . Got the grass mowed Tuesday .

Morning Jerry. I need to get that mower into the fixit man for some simple maintenance. Oil change, battery, and a new black plastic thingy-ma-bop mower deck gaurd.


This report in from Kindergarten class candling:

3 silkies are good (out of 4)
3 EE's out of 8
4 Wellies
1 Bogtown Special (NH/BLRW)

2 Wellies she's not ready to call yet. So 13 eggs still incubating
There was one quitter. But others did not start.

On the home front: Dixie continues her buff-fluffy-silkie love on two eggs. Nothing kicked out to the back of the nest yet. I think I will candle again tonight and check on our Bogtown special as that one I saw nothing in. And then for fun the Wellie to see it jumping around in there. We are on day 9 of incubation. 12 more days~!!!

 

[jerryse]

I have been cheating with the broodies . I give them incubator hatched chicks . It is a real pain to manage a broody . Some quit when moved . Some break or kick out eggs . When done right they are excellent . I let them brood a week or so and then stick chicks under them and close the nest front with something like pegboard or wire . Next morning they are bonded . Just let one out into a rabbit hutch today . Returned one to the flock that was brooding the mail order chicks . They are 10 days old and started good . Got another starting to brood . I will give her some of next weeks hatch .

 

[Bogtown Chick]

The brooding hens are just a whole other leg of this crazy chicken science thing. Am sort of amazed by the drive/hormones of them. Dixie did this for us 2 years ago. After hatch--she cared for or brooded chicks 5 weeks. She laid her first post broody egg that day and kicked the two cockerels out from her care and returned to the main coop. You can set your watch by that bird's hormones.