Tea Time.... Relax with us and have a cup of hot tea!

[vehve]

Sorry for your loss, poodle. I lost one to a hawk a couple of weeks ago, and went through the same worrying with finding her friend, they had ventured about 100 feet outside our yard when the hawk nailed the other one. Luckily, she came back after sunset and seemed to be fine. My joy was short lived though, because a few weeks later, I wasn't paying proper attention when I locked the birds up, and I missed that bird. She was standing right outside the run, but it looked like she was inside it when I closed the door and then let the dogs out. A few minutes later, we heard a terrible commotion and our dachshund had gotten that one too. Luckily it was a quick death, but still a sad moment.

 

[3goodeggs]

Rough day!!
I am sorry.

Give DD a hug for me. My son has an aquarium in his room and he spends a great deal of time and money caring for it and its inhabitants. He has a special tank set up for the ones that start to decline and gets quite bummed when they don't make it. Some of them are referred to as 'annuals', and when he gets two and a half years out of them he should be delighted, but he bonds and it is quite distressing when his Methuselah fish die.
I imagine following it up with the chicken death was difficult on her too.

I am also sorry for the violence of the thing. Bad stuff happens and we can steal ourselves to it, but seeing it happen and not being able to stop it or undo it, that gnaws on us.

 

[TeaChick]

@poodlechicks ,

Today I drank raspberry leaf tea. It tasted so good.
My poor little 5-month-old roo is trying to attract the older girls now. He did the "dance" for them, but none paid any attention. Poor guy, he just stopped and started preening, pretending nothing had happened. It doesn't help that he's also

very afraid of them.

Same here. My youngest roo is the oldest of my NH males, and he's about 4 months old. He's mounted his pullets (they're not ready, so they're all what's the matter with you, why are you biting my neck??????? and the only one of the hens he can mate with is the one that's blind in one eye...

But I just promised my senior roo to a man who works at my feed store (not that I own it, just the one I use and like). Anyway, he'll be going to his new home early next week. They guy has a hen and my roo is such a good free ranger and so nice to the girls, I just couldn't send him to freezer camp.
I got off the subject, didn't I?

Sorry about that.

Well, I bit the bullet and tried chamomile tea for the first time in years. I still like Earl Grey better. The chamomile tastes a bit like you would try to make tea out of your lawn.

I've been trying to figure out an accurate description of chamomile for years. That's perfect!!! I drink it in the evenings and with enough honey or sugar and lemon to cover up the lawn taste. lol

yep. Fresh chamomile has an apple aroma, but once that has voltalized it is just straw tea.

I need to get more chamomile seeds!!!

But the main reason I'm logged in today is to be able to say what happened today to chicken people who will understand...

This morning, DD's fish died. As I was cleaning out the fish tank and saying the proper good byes to the departed(DD really liked him), I peak out the window just to see a hawk eating my hen! It was so swift that I didn't hear a peep. The others made it to the run and were terrified. I ran outside, shooed the hawk and gathered the remains of my dear hen. I wouldn't let that bird have another bite of her. Then, I went to the run and coop to make sure everyone was there. One other hen was missing. I looked everywhere and not a sign of her. I decided that I would go back to the coop area at dusk. She was probably hiding somewhere and wasn't coming out in broad day light. I closed the chickens in for the rest of the day, as the hawk was patiently perched on a nearby tree waiting for dinner. It was warm outside today and I knew it was the last day I could plant before the snow, so I planted the 22 bulbs I got at the market the day before. I thought of my hen and how sweet she was. I thought of the fish and how we had fun watching him take food out our finger. I planted some life for them. I was looking out the window as the sun was setting, hoping my other hen would come out of hiding. That's exactly what she did. What a relief! I rushed outside to meet her. She was scared of even approaching me. I opened the door to the run and she went in. She ate and drank so much, the poor thing. And then she went right inside to roost for the night. Tomorrow and for a few days after, the chickens will stay in the run.
And I'm glad the day is over.

I'm so sorry for your loss!!!
We've had a lot of problems with hawks here lately too. Sunday there was one on the ground and DH had to go outside to shoo it away. They come 'round a lot. We don't have a run, so the chickens we have are good at hiding from hawks (if they get any warning, which on Sunday they didn't).

for your DD too for her fish!

ETA: I'm glad your other hen was hiding and that she came back!!!

 

[poodlechicks]

Rough day!!
I am sorry.

Give DD a hug for me. My son has an aquarium in his room and he spends a great deal of time and money caring for it and its inhabitants. He has a special tank set up for the ones that start to decline and gets quite bummed when they don't make it. Some of them are referred to as 'annuals', and when he gets two and a half years out of them he should be delighted, but he bonds and it is quite distressing when his Methuselah fish die.
I imagine following it up with the chicken death was difficult on her too.

I am also sorry for the violence of the thing. Bad stuff happens and we can steal ourselves to it, but seeing it happen and not being able to stop it or undo it, that gnaws on us.

Sorry for your loss, poodle. I lost one to a hawk a couple of weeks ago, and went through the same worrying with finding her friend, they had ventured about 100 feet outside our yard when the hawk nailed the other one. Luckily, she came back after sunset and seemed to be fine. My joy was short lived though, because a few weeks later, I wasn't paying proper attention when I locked the birds up, and I missed that bird. She was standing right outside the run, but it looked like she was inside it when I closed the door and then let the dogs out. A few minutes later, we heard a terrible commotion and our dachshund had gotten that one too. Luckily it was a quick death, but still a sad moment.

I'm so sorry for your loss!!!
We've had a lot of problems with hawks here lately too. Sunday there was one on the ground and DH had to go outside to shoo it away. They come 'round a lot. We don't have a run, so the chickens we have are good at hiding from hawks (if they get any warning, which on Sunday they didn't).

for your DD too for her fish!

ETA: I'm glad your other hen was hiding and that she came back!!!

Thanks for the support, guys!

It is so good to talk about these things with chicken people. Others just don't seem to understand how losing our chickens is hard on us.
It was rough on the children to find out one of the hens was attacked. The good news is that the one who came back was Tweety, DD's favorite. She lost her betta fish, but got back her hen. Tweety is the black sheep of the BO world. She gives us trouble to go back to the run every evening, pesters the younger chickens, is a less than average layer, refuses to be touched and is the tiniest of the bunch. But my daughter is in love with her, so I am so glad she came back to us. Now, I don't know which of the 4 BOs I had was killed, as 2 of them look exactly the same now after the molt. And then there's tweety...

Vehve, how sad. Once, I was so busy I locked my poodle in the orchard with the chickens and went on to do what I had to do inside. Hours later, DH comes back home carrying the dog. But luckily this dog just ignores the chickens, or just hangs out with them. But even though she is so laid back around my chickens, I would never leave her alone with them. What was I thinking! Daschunds are tough, determined little guys. Then again, my friend got 2 of his hens killed by the neighbors poodle. You never know...

3goodeggs, raising fish was a passion that I transferred to my children. This fish was special to my daughter because it was a lone betta in a small tank, so she fed him and talked to him. He let us pet his head. I have raised fish for as long as I can remember and it indeed takes a lot of our time and $$$ . I was trying to get this little guy used to a real betta diet, but he would only eat betta flakes. I think that's what made his health deteriorate over time. I have "revived" this betta many times, but this time he just gave up on us.

Tea, funny you mentioned your 4-month-old roo trying to mount the hens. Mine is 5 1/2 m.o. and hasn't even tried. The girls are all older than him, and give him a really hard time. The only hen his age is that one I helped hatch, which is also blind in one eye. He helps her get around, but hasn't tried anything yet. I think he figured out how short he is compared to them all.

Well, I better stop blabbing and finish getting ready for tomorrow's snow storm. I might end up with no internet connection, so if you don't hear from me,

A BLESSED THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES!

 

[TeaChick]

Yeah, other ppl seem to think they're "just chickens", but to us, even if they're not pets, we give so much of ourselves to them that it's really hard to lose one.

LOL We had a batch of chicks hatch at the end of January, and DS got three chicks (we thought were two girls and one boy) from a neighbor around the same time, so we put them all together. He lost the one we thought was a boy, and the two "girls" did so nicely taking care of the chicks, it was so sweet...until the "girls" started crowing. But they only mounted the big girls for several months, it was a long time before they started trying to mount the little girls they had helped raise. When we got down to only one male and three little girls, he didn't mount the little girls until they started laying. It was so sweet.

THANKS! YOU TOO, HON!!!

 

[3goodeggs]

@poodlechicks , I need to pick your brain for beta knowledge. My son just bought a baby Beta to replace the one he had in his community tank. We never knew how old the adults were when we got them, and he usually got to keep them about a year and a half before they declined.
Baby is in isolation now (quarantine) At what age can we tell if it is male or female? It is about two centimeters and very lively. blue with a round tail. I figure if it is female we can just keep adding babies until we get a male, Yes or no?
If it takes more than a year to find out.... could we keep three in a 50 gallon without battles?

 

[TeaChick]

Wow, have I been gone for a looooooong time!


How's everyone's tea today?

 

[3goodeggs]

The headache that has been hovering for two weeks has gone into full attack mode.
I am so glad I do not have to study for finals!
My son has been having to write college application essays every afternoon this week...
I could not do that either.
I sat in a ball on the couch drinking tea all day.

Good luck on the exams!

 

[TeaChick]

The headache that has been hovering for two weeks has gone into full attack mode.
I am so glad I do not have to study for finals!
My son has been having to write college application essays every afternoon this week...
I could not do that either.
I sat in a ball on the couch drinking tea all day.

Good luck on the exams!

I'm so sorry to hear about the headache!!! I hate those (the attacking kind)!!! I have to go lie down in bed for those (too many kids running around to use the couch).
I have to skip school work when I have those.
I hope you're feeling better!!!

Thanks! This is the last week, then I'll be done!!!

 

[poodlechicks]

@poodlechicks , I need to pick your brain for beta knowledge. My son just bought a baby Beta to replace the one he had in his community tank. We never knew how old the adults were when we got them, and he usually got to keep them about a year and a half before they declined.
Baby is in isolation now (quarantine) At what age can we tell if it is male or female? It is about two centimeters and very lively. blue with a round tail. I figure if it is female we can just keep adding babies until we get a male, Yes or no?
If it takes more than a year to find out.... could we keep three in a 50 gallon without battles?

I haven't logged in for so long. Sorry I didn't get to respond to your post earlier. Hope you still have the baby and it's doing well. I suppose it's grown a bit by now. They do grow fast. 2 cm is an itty bitty betta
First of all, Kudos to you for quarantining your fish! At this stage,it's very hard to sex them, but you can go by some characteristics that might help you a bit. It will be easier as the fish grows and it's easier to sex If you have others close to its age, but in your case you have just this one, so here it goes:
Look for the egg spot, located between the ventral and the anal fin. It's a white spot. Males for the vast majority don't have them. I mean, they definitely don't have them, but sometimes we "see things" in that area that aren't what we think they are.
Another thing that may help you is the body shape. Males have a more elongated body than females.
As your fish get older, you'll notice a membrane protruding a little out of the gills. This is the membrane that comes out when male bettas flare.
As for the community aquarium, I need to know the species of fish you keep, the number of fish, and what kind of vegetation you have in there. In theory, you could be adding babies till you get a male, but it will depend on your answers to my questions above. I would not recommend placing two male bettas in the same fish tank, unless you've had experience with this and had figured out how to keep them apart. Hence, my question about the vegetation in the tank. Other species may add "tension" to the aquarium and believe it or not, make your bettas more aggressive towards others.
I've had bettas that did very well in community aquariums, but I've had some (one in particular) that kept all the other fish from eating and would pester each and every fish in the tank. He would also find the ghost shrimp that were hiding inside shells and bring them out of hiding. He was a pest
Let me know how it is going. I'll be glad to help you if I can.