Surviving Minnesota!

[holm25]

Here are a few more Buckeye pics.







Ralph look how big Lucky is! Every time I hold someone and they squawk he runs over and flares his hackles! I think he will be a good protector!




Minnesotanice I got a pic of the cute little brindle calf too.




It's a bad pic but it shows how big they are compared to the layers already!

 

[MinnesotaNice]

OOOO and on friday afternoon i spent several hours at the elementary school talking to the kids about chickens! so much fun! AAAAND i brought one of my barred rocks to show them a chicken up close and she laid an egg right in front of a class of kintergardeners! we candled eggs they are hatching and 13 out of 14 have development! turns out my two roosters must be potent i am not an experienced candler and the room was far from dark so there could be some quitters but hard to say. i am not quite good enough to determine what a blood ring looks like vs a shadow of a developing chick. they were 14 or 15 days along.

Now that is cool!

We got Ole cleaned and fluffed up yesterday. He loves getting brushed!

I love the Cochin butt! And, of course, I love your buckeyes!

I am SO proud of myself!! I set myself a goal yesterday to get the framing and roof on to my coop before the rain comes!!! Well I DID IT!! My husband had to help me with the roof sheets but I got it done...oh BTW Happy (belated) Mothers Day to all you moms My husband took me for brunch and then I got to work....never even opened my laptop yesterday. Next is the siding and the run which I believe will be a bigger headache for me than the actual ccop! I hope to get that done this coming weekend. They have me working doubles at the post office so I can't get a thing done during the week The white tape around it is because one of my horses is a "butt head" and kept scratching his mane and butt on the corner of the building!

Looks great, @Siggie ! I feel like I may want to live there.

Minnesotanice I got a pic of the cute little brindle calf too.

She's getting big! How's the other calf doing?

Also, I finally got a duck egg! I'm assuming Cleo laid it. Her and I had a long talk and I told her no more mealworms or minnows until she lays an egg. Ta Dah! If I can get a few more this week, I'll toss them in the bator. She isn't broody.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Thanks BC! I posted it on the other MN thread so she will see it

. Some might think that the coop looks like a piece of junk but its rustic looking and I like that.

Ummm. That old barn peeling white wash look is highly desirable wood right now. I'm Pinteresting my basement right now...and the wood from your chicken coop would be a reclaimer's dream.

@MNChickMom Thanks! It was a little harder than I thought it would be but I'm getting it done!

@Bogtown Chick I tried using the pallets for the framing and it just became an insane headache so I am going to breakdown the pallets and use the boards for inside siding. We have some left over Tyvek from when we built our cabin and I am going to put that on the outside to stop the drafts. I am hoping to have enough ventilation....I have 2 - 1 sq ft vent openings on the front and back, a small one on the bottom of the end wall and then the large 4'x6' window on the front that will open all the way and the door will have a 2' x 3' removable storm window. The sq footage of the coop is only 80 sq ft and I have 22 birds but I am sure I will need to cull a few roosters before winter sets in. The run will be 10x10' in front of the coop and then a 3'x18' area on the side where I plan to gate off so I can grow greens and only let them on it when the greens are tall. They will have plenty of protein and other greens in the horse pasture when they free range

I still think I want to put them all in my 22'x14' greenhouse in the winter where I will have fall/winter cover crops growing for them.

They would love a green house in the winter!!!

Does anyone paint the inside of their coop? I bought some low VOC exterior white paint that deters mold and mildew...I also thought the white color would brighten it up?

It's a really great idea to paint the inside of a coop. Pests such as red fowl mites love hiding in unpainted wood and it is something that I wish I would have done as I built. Now I have a future task of painting the inside at some time I get off my tookus. Barn Paint is safe for animals. It only comes in white or red I think. You can find it at Tractor supply or Fleet supply stores. Have people used other paint without problems. Probably.

Here are a few more Buckeye pics.

You're killing me Holm....OMG....!

 

[holm25]

Minnesotanice she is getting huge! The other calf is doing good. He is getting 3 bottles a day and putting on some weight!

I was scared I sold u a dud of a duck for awhile there! Glad she is laying again and hopefully she lays many more!

 

[holm25]

Thanks BC.

We are doing a pallet wood wall in our back entry wsy oneof these weekends. It should look cool!

 

[I Love Layers]

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Minnesotanice she is getting huge! The other calf is doing good. He is getting 3 bottles a day and putting on some weight!

I was scared I sold u a dud of a duck for awhile there! Glad she is laying again and hopefully she lays many more!

Oh no, I had faith in her egg laying abilities. She just had to get to it.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

Well, I have my first case of bumble foot. I just happened to be checking over hens yesterday and saw it. She seems fine otherwise. No swelling on the top of her foot, just the pad from the growth. I'm going to "borrow" a scalpel from work and have at it this week. This pregnancy has caused me to be a bit of a wuss, so I hope I don't gag.

Should I keep her inside for a day or two afterwards or is she okay to venture back out with the other girls right away? From what I've read, they seem fine going right back out.

 

[holm25]

I am also glad u have development in your eggs! The 1 doz. I saved had zero starters. I candled them the night u were here and was worried but had faith in those little eggs! Hopefully you get plenty of babies! Will u sell them once they hatch or build up your flock?

 

[MinnesotaNice]

I am also glad u have development in your eggs! The 1 doz. I saved had zero starters. I candled them the night u were here and was worried but had faith in those little eggs! Hopefully you get plenty of babies! Will u sell them once they hatch or build up your flock?

I'll keep them unless I get, let's say, 5 chocolates. But I"ll let them grow out to juvies regardless of color. I talked to Al a bit about genetics and he said they could really be a carrier for any color. Time will tell.

I'd like to get a blue drake next year and another blue hen then hopefully get some silvers. I'm also interested to see what those barred hens throw with Caesar. I don't know if barring is recessive or dominant with only one carrier of the gene. I should have listened better in my Biology courses.