Surviving Minnesota!

[Cebarmlds]

I found this snapper in the road near home and called DH to help move it and he showed up with a snow shovel. It worked really well. I didn't know snapping turtles will lay their eggs into November!

 

[bobbi-j]

I found this snapper in the road near home and called DH to help move it and he showed up with a snow shovel. It worked really well. I didn't know snapping turtles will lay their eggs into November!

View attachment 1131896

She doesn't look too happy to see you.

 

[Cebarmlds]

She doesn't look too happy to see you.

No she wasn't, it's amazing how fast they can move. They look so tank like you'd think they'd be slow.

 

[duluthralphie]

If she is laying eggs now, she is defective, you should have eaten her and removed her bad genes from the gene pool....


Snapping turtle is great, We use to eat it as a kid. I have not had any in close to 50 years now.....So I would have driven up for some.....

 

[duluthralphie]

Good evening . Picture time . Backfilling was done today . View attachment 1131841 View attachment 1131845View attachment 1131846 View attachment 1131847View attachment 1131854

Jerry. looking great! How long are you going to be up there? I want to get up there and see you before you go.

 

[Tfred1399]

I've had my full of misbehaved kids this week. My boat gave me a long look and accused me of neglecting her.

Off to Lake Catchawhopper tomorrow in pursuit of smallies. I'm a novice bass guy, so we'll see how it goes. May take oldest kid with. She fancies herself a bass pro.

 

[MagpieDucks]

Wow, that's one big snapper!

Got my first egg from my pullets from this year. Hatched April 3rd. Late layers... At least was in the nest box! Others are slacking off so it's nice to have some new layers well the others are taking a break.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

BC that Black rooster looks very good. Is it something you got from an Illinois resident ?
Holms, your cats are quite prolific. Even when relocated to the Mn. Banana Belt.
I have my fingers crossed, as it looks like a day with no rain. Now if my birds can only fly fast enough to win a race !

Yes those are from the chicks I got from our Illini tourist almost a transplant.

I will be having a camp day this weekend. 2 spent hens and two cockerels. My coop is really like a can of sardines right now and it needs attention removing piles of molt feathers. Cleaning out the run in preparation for new fall leaves and setting up the broody hutch for Miss kitty.

We need to winterize the rv as well.
A good weekend to get things done.

 

[duluthralphie]

The winner today is me!!!





Congrats to me!!

 

[duluthralphie]

My botulism theory on our limp or lame birds is shot to pieces.

A Dr Saad from the animal board of health says botulism is spread by maggots eating on dead carcasses. I doubt any of you have dead carcasses around. I know I don't. Mine hit the incinerator/crematory as soon as I am done with the bodies if I necropsy them or sooner if I don't.

I know I spend way too much money on LP gas cremating worthless dead birds. I have thought of burying them, but I really do not want them in the ground.

He said the birds feed on the maggots, which kind of rules out the botulism also. As my free range birds never got lame the few I had were in 2 pens not adjacent to each other.....Contrary to popular opinion I never leave a dead bird lie in a pen or run. (ewww gross)...

I would think if whatever I had was caused by maggots on dead carcasses it would be free ranging birds that came across maggots in their roamings.

It could be possible for them to find a dead carcass of something killed and partially eaten by a predator, especially with all the damage I took from fur bearing critters early on this year.

However, that would not account for anyone else having the problem... They did say the only way to tell would be a necropsy, but they are $80 as I recall and losing 4-5 cheap worthless birds is not worth my spending that money. If it was an epidemic or hit my more valuable birds it would be different.

Other that that. Nothing new. I am going out to load birds and head south in a couple of hours. I found I have to keep back at least one RP girl and maybe two. I thought I had two RP hens, but only see one around here. That is not unusual as Turkey hens are idiots and run 1/4 a mile away to nest in fox and coyote dens...... I need extra hens every year just to make up for the ones that run off and die when I finish collecting and hatching their eggs.

They are stupider than a snapper laying eggs in Sept. BTW did you know when we were kids we had an area to the east of this house we planted turtle eggs every summer/spring? We would plow them up while working the fields, we would actually get off the tractors put the eggs in a bucket (the ones we could find) and bring them here to plant. Every fall about this time we would watch them hatch, dig out and run for the swamp. It was cool. We would pick a lot of them up as they hatched and take them to the river. See I am an environmentalist! I don't just kill and eat wild things, I hatch and save them.

I even set a timber wolf free from a leg hold trap once,,,,,of course, the game warden found it at the same time I did and was standing there watching me. That could have influenced my actions a tad.