Surviving Minnesota!

[I Love Layers]

I just won the auction of the breeding pair of LF Cochins from Jamie Matt's!! So excited!!

 

[duluthralphie]

I just won the auction of the breeding pair of LF Cochins from Jamie Matt's!! So excited!!

Grats..


I am just trying to imagine me locked in a room with 40 pre-schoolers for 7-8 hours a day. I have a feeling what would happen would make the national news...

I got almost nothing done all day. I went to start my chainsaw to slice up the fallen tree into bobcat size pieces and the stupid thing would not start. It took me about 6 hours to clean the carb, change the filters and replace the fuel lines and primer bulb. Chainsaws are not made for people with hands the size of mine to work on.

I got the plucker assembled and working, but I see I need to move the legs, I did not pay enough attention and I put the axil under the hole the feathers and water comes out. Oh well, that should only take 10 minutes.

I asked for and got 2 volunteers from the rooster pen to give it a trial run tomorrow. One has a crookedcomb the other has no crest. To bad the one with the crooked comb has great size and color.

The turkeys refused to go into the pen tonight at first, they all played dumb. They saw I was carrying a feed sack and could not chase them until I set it down. I let my oldest batch of poults out to free range for the first time today. These are my seed turkeys I got from Kevin Porter. I only let them out for a couple hours while I could watch them. I paid way too much for them to let something munch on them. BTW Layers, I know how you feel about those chickens, I felt the same way about my Porter turkeys.

JJ and Sidekick were real good with the youngsters, the other one (nameless for a reason) was a PITA to the youngsters. I had to chase him away a couple times. The hens seemed to like them I thought the one that lost her poults was going to adopt them all.

I think I found another rooster in my Pullet pen. I moved him but am still not 100% sure on it.

Ed, Edna and the family were all idiots tonight, they forgot were they live. I finally got all of them except Ed into the pen. After about 20 minutes of chasing Ed, I no longer cared about his dignity and used the landing net on him. He protested fairly badly about that.

Ed was harassing Bert today, that will not be allowed. Ed may find himself living in a pen and not free ranging if he keeps this up. I have been thinking about taking the Guineas from Edna so Ed's behavior could speed that up. Edwina still has both her chicks, knock on wood. I am thinking about penning them up too, I know Ed would not hurt them, but I am not so sure about Edna.

I got in from chores and moving the tree around 8:30, lots of lightning to the north, Good luck on the weather Northerners. I thought it was around 10, I guess summer is over and we have to get use to early darkness again....

 

[Cebarmlds]

A bear was here again, knocked down a bird feeder, my DH insists on feeding the birds. I say they can eat bugs but apparently what I say doesn't mean crap. I was planning on leaving the outer door of the coop open tonight but had to go close it.

 

[duluthralphie]

A bear was here again, knocked down a bird feeder, my DH insists on feeding the birds. I say they can eat bugs but apparently what I say doesn't mean crap. I was planning on leaving the outer door of the coop open tonight but had to go close it.

Feeding wild birds is a must...My kids say only old people do it, but they are wrong, I do it!

 

[MNChickMom]

This weather is ridiculous....around 6pm tonight we ensured 5 minutes of pea and marble sized hail (on my 1 week old shingles) and now it is booming and flashing like mad again.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I got 12 birds checked in at State Fair. It's 4 fewer than I signed up. I have some molting and found some mites on others, and I forgot I could have taken one more Buckeye pullet. Oh well. We will see how the ones do that I took up: a trio of older Dark Cornish LF, a young trio of Buckeyes, a young trio of New Hamsphires, a pullet of each of the Bucks and NHs, and one little bantam Salmon Faverolle. I should have signed up a few more bantams though, she may be the only one of her breed It is kind of a bummer when there is only one exhibitor in a breed.
It seemed to be a smaller show this year, Urches didn't bring theirs, so that knocks the size of the show down considerably.
It was hot as heck in that barn tonight, I hope my birds can chill out and rest tonight.

 

[duluthralphie]

Good luck


Minnie,,,,


We got hit by lightning here. I have no phone, TV or Internet, Just
my iPhone. So it is read and not type much time... We got some hail too.lots of lightning!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Ran down to Brainerd tonight. Wrapping up school shopping and Prepping for Camping trip Shopping. Heading to Lake Vermilion this Friday. Walleye fishing is usually spot on and it's such a beautiful lake to be on. DH relatives have a spot on Moccasin Point.

I went to fleet farm and got a another bag of grower/starter and a bag of layer feed. I figure the 18% will help prep for & speed the molt... and help get my new hens to where they need be-- by October we should be well into the Layer feed. I also am trying a compacted bale of straw from Fleet Farm. That sucker was heavy! Surprised me a bit. We'll get the nest boxes nicely lined. Trying also a shaker bottle of "FRESH COOP" its for the bedding. Helps with moisture and ammonia. Has DE and Citric Acid in it. I saw Ralphie's plucker there. Also got a bag of BOSS to ammend my scratch bag. The flock will really be under foot with a few hand fulls of that. I love shopping for chicken stuff....

We have high humidity up here. Some clouds but no lightning that I saw. Fog banks though putting moisture on my windshield on the way home. It was kind of a PITA as I wanted to leave the AC on too.

Congrats Layers on your new birds.

Erli: I quit feeding wild birds because of bears. While away on camping trips (without a dog in the yard, probaby) they would come in and not only bend my metal feeder down but destroy other things. We put in apple trees and they just would destroy and strip off the grafts, spread garbage from kingdom come, etc. Also and more over the deer would clean out a feeder in a couple hours. I could not afford to feed the "birds" any more. Plus I got chickens ...and I guess those became my birds to feed. The wild sparrows now are quite often in my black rubber feeding bowls that around the yard. So in essence...I still feed wild birds.

 

[Cebarmlds]

Bogtown, I am happy to feed the birds during our winters but in summer they don't need it and I keep a birdbath for them year round. I also grow sunflowers that they peck from. If the bears go into my garden or destroy my apple trees I'll be really mad. So far they haven't noticed it. Maybe. A week or so ago a neighbor called to let us know an injured bear was around his house, limping badly. We didn't get a good look at this one last night to see if it was injured. The barking scared it off. Our dog stays inside at night she isn't very big.
I am not allowed to make all the rules around our house, DH thinks he has rights.

Good luck Minnie.

 

[Cebarmlds]

Oh! I was first, Good Morning All you peeps