Texas

[hensfortherapy]

So I guess turtles and chickens get along okay.

I am getting excited. I found Miss Priss on the nest for the first time in 4 months. 6 hours later and still no egg. Maybe she is going broodie? I hope so. It would be her first time and she is over 3 years old. I would try and find 1-3 three day old Buff Orpington or Sussex chicks.

 

[bnjrob]

I've been looking through my heirloom seed catalogue. If I get everything I want to try this year, I'll probably end up paying about $85.

I'm so bad at prioritizing this kind of thing. It's so stressful! I need to go back to the drawing board and see if I can do without some items. I want to supplement my chicken feed with certain crops, so maybe the big price tag is worth it. Decisions, decisions.

If you save the seeds though, then even with the original cost being substantial, in future years of saving seeds, you'll recoup your costs.

 

[hensfortherapy]

This is Princess. She is a Rhode Island White. (That's what they told me when I bought her in June ) Does anyone have this breed? What color eggs do they lay?
Boy is she appropriately named.

 

[Melissa Rose]

Quote:
Hi

Are yours Red Eared Water Sliders? They can get realllllly large. We have a small pond at the base of our property that I stocked with Red Eared Water Sliders and Golden Mud Turtles when we first moved in. About 12 years later my hubby called me down to see what was stuck in the over fill drainage shoot. It was a Red Ear that had to be about 14 inches across by about two feet long

It took me a good 20 minutes to wrestle him out of the drainage grate

. Red Ears are great though

They are very "dog" like and will come to be hand fed

 

[Melissa Rose]

Quote:
I'm out 281 North near Timberwood Park

You do have to be careful with them around ponds. If they are too deep they can fall in and drown

. You can get a smaller species like a Cherry Head or even an African Leopard Tortoise and make them a habitat that would blend in with your garden. You can always keep them in their habitat when you are not around to supervise. But be warned

they are not "slow" creatures at all. They move extremely fast and can disappear on you very quickly before you know what happened.

 

[ellie32526]

I was certain I would have no roos. No, no, no, no--NO Roos. None. I currently have six. SIX!!! Two Ameraucanas are beautiful and deserve to be shown and bred. Two are ugly Wheaten Ameraucanas that haven't been troublesome enough to over come my incredible list of plausible excuses to avoid processing them. Another, a Silkie, is ugly but doesn't cause any trouble at all, so why should he be killed? The last is my pathetic double-copy frizzle (some call them curlies or frazzles) who is just too pathetic to get rid of. Instead of processing him, I am in the process of buying him two very good show quality and fairly expensive pullets from two of the more important Cochin exhibitors and breeders in the US. There is something very wrong with me.

LOL, I totally understand. I too question my sanity both with chickens and dogs. I have rescued/taken in 6 (dogs) of my own and then a 7th that my mother brought when she moved in so our house is never quiet. I started out to get just a few chickens, just enough to provide eggs for my own family. I reasoned that 6-8 hens would be easy to care for and should not be too expensive. I somehow ended up with twice that many hens and two unwanted roos that were added FREE with my order. I originally thought if they survived I would kill them to eat, but then I couldn't do it. So I said I would list them on Craigslist to give away to a needy family - but then they would just eat them and I felt bad, so they are still with me.

 

[hensfortherapy]

I will have to look at Princess's comb. I was reading a thread on BYC from a couple of years ago on Rhode Island Whites and it seems they are rare and should have a rose comb. It also says they lay orange jumbo eggs. She hasn't started laying eggs yet. She should in a couple of weeks yeepie! I am guessing she is really a White Plymouth Rock.

 

[lovingmyhens]

Hi
  Are yours Red Eared Water Sliders?  They can get realllllly large. We have a small pond at the base of our property that I stocked with Red Eared Water Sliders and Golden Mud Turtles when we first moved in. About 12 years later my hubby called me down to see what was stuck in the over fill drainage shoot. It was a Red Ear that had to be about 14 inches across by about two feet long  It took me a good 20 minutes to wrestle him out of the drainage grate . Red Ears are great though  They are very "dog" like and will come to be hand fed

I have 2 RES, one musk and an eastern painted. They are fun to watch. The best is when they get on top of each other to bask.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

So I have a question about bedding in the house. We currently use sand and add straw when it is going to be cold. Cleaning the straw out is a total pain without losing a lot of sand. I wondered what methods others in Texas use. I am thinking of straw during the winter for warmth and sand in the summer for coolness. Any ideas? I am looking for a quick cleaning method. Thank you for any help.

~ Nicole

Sand harbors e-coli. Don't use sand at all. See here for ideas.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I've been looking through my heirloom seed catalogue. If I get everything I want to try this year, I'll probably end up paying about $85.

I'm so bad at prioritizing this kind of thing. It's so stressful! I need to go back to the drawing board and see if I can do without some items. I want to supplement my chicken feed with certain crops, so maybe the big price tag is worth it. Decisions, decisions.

I get my seeds from Baker Creek. Where do you get yours from? Have you tried dragon tongue beans? They are yummy!

This is Princess. She is a Rhode Island White. (That's what they told me when I bought her in June

) Does anyone have this breed? What color eggs do they lay?
Boy is she appropriately named.

RIW lay brown eggs.




I found another chicken breed to add to my list. My list keeps getting longer! I am going to have to move to keep them all. I think zoning laws say I can have 12, but I think my yard is too small for that many. I only have about 1/4 acre.... It's a Sundheimer. Aren't they pretty?

Extremely windy here today. At least it is warm though.