Texas

[LBejaran]

This are some of my baby's. Only have about 50+. Won't stand still to count. Lol

Ohmygosh! Guineas everywhere! Beautiful!

That's how my excitement progressed, haha!

Lots of interesting (some not so good) stuff happened today. I went outside this afternoon and couldn't find the new BO/Blue Copper Maran pullets. It looks like the hawks got them. I hate those birds right now. I might be building a scarecrow very soon with mylar ribbons just to keep them out of the yard. I heard that they work to keep hawks out of the general area. It might just scare the chickens though, haha!

Then I went outside and got a couple eggs out of the nesting boxes. While still looking around for the pullets (I didn't want to believe they were gone), I found two eggs hidden inside a large wooden planter where we have a shrub. Score!

Still looking around for the pullets and nope, no birdies anywhere. Instead, I found a clutch of eight eggs! Some little bugger has been sneaking off nest in near my Dad's wood pile. So I take pictures and continue looking around. Unknowingly, while walking around, I stepped no something that gave way. My last thought was "Oh shi--!" before I fell into a 3 foot deep hole my Dad dug up for one of his unfinished projects. Mom had covered it knowing one of us would fall in. Unfortunately, that was ages ago and the wood had rotted. So my right leg went down into the hole while the rest of me stayed out, so I kinda did a weird split thing (a familiar position, considering I've fallen plenty of times into that same pose). Luckily, I didn't get hurt too badly.

Part of me was really glad that no one was there to see it. Another part of me is upset because I bet it would have been really cool if someone had seen it. Ah well, there will be more embarrassing falls in the future!

Anyway, this afternoon I took Nivia outside to see the hidden nest and I went to check the nesting boxes one last time. There was another egg! More than a dozen in a day! (Ignore that the hidden nests weren't laid in one day. It's still a lot of eggs.)

Except this one looked weird. It looked like it was glowing and velvety and I didn't want to touch it.



Boomshackalacka! Soft shell egg! Mesmerized, I made Nivia grab it (it made me want to cringe) and we took pics before bringing it inside. We'd never seen a fresh one before, haha! I'm going to see about upping the calcium a bit. One of my pullets must have just started laying and maybe doesn't have enough. All my other hens seem to be fine (especially that one with the hidden nest, the little punk). This little egg is going into the dog food tonight, haha!

 

[lovingmyhens]

Ohmygosh! Guineas everywhere! Beautiful!

:cd e That's how my excitement progressed, haha! Lots of interesting (some not so good) stuff happened today. I went outside this afternoon and couldn't find the new BO/Blue Copper Maran pullets. It looks like the hawks got them. I hate those birds right now. I might be building a scarecrow very soon with mylar ribbons just to keep them out of the yard. I heard that they work to keep hawks out of the general area. It might just scare the chickens though, haha! Then I went outside and got a couple eggs out of the nesting boxes. While still looking around for the pullets (I didn't want to believe they were gone), I found two eggs hidden inside a large wooden planter where we have a shrub. Score! Still looking around for the pullets and nope, no birdies anywhere. Instead, I found a clutch of eight eggs! Some little bugger has been sneaking off nest in near my Dad's wood pile. So I take pictures and continue looking around. Unknowingly, while walking around, I stepped no something that gave way. My last thought was "Oh shi--!" before I fell into a 3 foot deep hole my Dad dug up for one of his unfinished projects. Mom had covered it knowing one of us would fall in. Unfortunately, that was ages ago and the wood had rotted. So my right leg went down into the hole while the rest of me stayed out, so I kinda did a weird split thing (a familiar position, considering I've fallen plenty of times into that same pose). Luckily, I didn't get hurt too badly. Part of me was really glad that no one was there to see it. Another part of me is upset because I bet it would have been really cool if someone had seen it. Ah well, there will be more embarrassing falls in the future! Anyway, this afternoon I took Nivia outside to see the hidden nest and I went to check the nesting boxes one last time. There was another egg! More than a dozen in a day! (Ignore that the hidden nests weren't laid in one day. It's still a lot of eggs.) Except this one looked weird. It looked like it was glowing and velvety and I didn't want to touch it. Boomshackalacka! Soft shell egg! Mesmerized, I made Nivia grab it (it made me want to cringe) and we took pics before bringing it inside. We'd never seen a fresh one before, haha! I'm going to see about upping the calcium a bit. One of my pullets must have just started laying and maybe doesn't have enough. All my other hens seem to be fine (especially that one with the hidden nest, the little punk). This little egg is going into the dog food tonight, haha!

Wow! You have had a day! I'm so sorry about your Cochins. You are positive they are gone?? Were they that small that a hawk could take them and leave nothing??!! How many disappeared? I'm super glad you didn't get really hurt when you fell. That could have broken your leg.

 

[granthamkk]

Ohmygosh! Guineas everywhere! Beautiful!

:cd e That's how my excitement progressed, haha! Lots of interesting (some not so good) stuff happened today. I went outside this afternoon and couldn't find the new BO/Blue Copper Maran pullets. It looks like the hawks got them. I hate those birds right now. I might be building a scarecrow very soon with mylar ribbons just to keep them out of the yard. I heard that they work to keep hawks out of the general area. It might just scare the chickens though, haha! Then I went outside and got a couple eggs out of the nesting boxes. While still looking around for the pullets (I didn't want to believe they were gone), I found two eggs hidden inside a large wooden planter where we have a shrub. Score! Still looking around for the pullets and nope, no birdies anywhere. Instead, I found a clutch of eight eggs! Some little bugger has been sneaking off nest in near my Dad's wood pile. So I take pictures and continue looking around. Unknowingly, while walking around, I stepped no something that gave way. My last thought was "Oh shi--!" before I fell into a 3 foot deep hole my Dad dug up for one of his unfinished projects. Mom had covered it knowing one of us would fall in. Unfortunately, that was ages ago and the wood had rotted. So my right leg went down into the hole while the rest of me stayed out, so I kinda did a weird split thing (a familiar position, considering I've fallen plenty of times into that same pose). Luckily, I didn't get hurt too badly. Part of me was really glad that no one was there to see it. Another part of me is upset because I bet it would have been really cool if someone had seen it. Ah well, there will be more embarrassing falls in the future! Anyway, this afternoon I took Nivia outside to see the hidden nest and I went to check the nesting boxes one last time. There was another egg! More than a dozen in a day! (Ignore that the hidden nests weren't laid in one day. It's still a lot of eggs.) Except this one looked weird. It looked like it was glowing and velvety and I didn't want to touch it. Boomshackalacka! Soft shell egg! Mesmerized, I made Nivia grab it (it made me want to cringe) and we took pics before bringing it inside. We'd never seen a fresh one before, haha! I'm going to see about upping the calcium a bit. One of my pullets must have just started laying and maybe doesn't have enough. All my other hens seem to be fine (especially that one with the hidden nest, the little punk). This little egg is going into the dog food tonight, haha!

Wow! it looks beautiful. I am so sorry to hear about the pullets. The clutch of eggs you found - are they still good? How long can they be out before they are inedible? Just curious.

 

[LBejaran]

Wow! it looks beautiful. I am so sorry to hear about the pullets. The clutch of eggs you found - are they still good? How long can they be out before they are inedible? Just curious.

It certainly looks interesting, haha! I do miss those little pullets. They were so calm and were beginning to fit into the flock.

The eggs are still good, I think. They were underneath two wooden planks beneath the shade of three oaks. I don't doubt they'd be good for awhile longer. Some hens lay extra large clutches (12-15 eggs) and it could take several weeks for them to lay that amount. In Australia, they don't refrigerate eggs. They just have them out on the counter until they eat them. I think most eggs can last awhile before they actually go bad. Refrigeration certainly does keep them fresher longer, though!

My younger sister told me not to pick them up and to see if the hen that laid them will hatch them out. I guess we'll see if she still wants to hatch them. If she decides to, I'm going to try and sneak the eggs out and replace them with other hatching eggs (muscovy, olive eggers, who knows what I can hatch!). I've been needing a hen to go broody, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon, haha! I've got a fever and the only prescription is more chicken math!

Wow! You have had a day! I'm so sorry about your Cochins. You are positive they are gone?? Were they that small that a hawk could take them and leave nothing??!! How many disappeared?
I'm super glad you didn't get really hurt when you fell. That could have broken your leg.

Actually, they were two 2-month old pullets. I looked everywhere, including in The Field behind our property and I couldn't find them. It's likely that a couple hawks swooped off with them. The only other guess I can come up with is that they found a way into our neighbor's yard and they can't get back. It's possible but unlikely. I really am unhappy about losing them, but now I am dead-set on fixing this hawk problem. I'm gonna start the construction of a large scarecrow this weekend (or the planning) and in a couple weeks, I'm going to fix the problem permanently.

Someone said to use fishing line tied at the top of your fence and to run it across your run. I don't have a run, so I'll have to extend it across the yard and criss cross it a couple times. It needs to be extended up above the top of the fence, though, so it won't be obstructed somehow by people or trucks that may come into the yard. Hawks are supposedly able to see this fishing line even from way up high and it will obstruct their line of flight if they were to dip down and try to take a bird. I don't want any chicks to be hatched if they are going to be at risk.

We don't have a run, only a large backyard where the chickens range, so it makes it harder to do this kind of thing. However, if done properly, I won't have to worry about hawks swooping down to eat my chickens. I fear, however, that if a hawk were not to see these lines and were to get down onto the property and not be able to get back out, that my dogs would kill it. Not liking hawks to eat my flock doesn't mean I want them dead. I just don't want them here.

 

[Brookshire11]

Here's my EE escape artist, Pearl

And my lap chicken, Eloise

Fearless Freya wanted a picture too

 

[jajeanpierre]

It certainly looks interesting, haha! I do miss those little pullets. They were so calm and were beginning to fit into the flock.

The eggs are still good, I think. They were underneath two wooden planks beneath the shade of three oaks. I don't doubt they'd be good for awhile longer. Some hens lay extra large clutches (12-15 eggs) and it could take several weeks for them to lay that amount. In Australia, they don't refrigerate eggs. They just have them out on the counter until they eat them. I think most eggs can last awhile before they actually go bad. Refrigeration certainly does keep them fresher longer, though!

My younger sister told me not to pick them up and to see if the hen that laid them will hatch them out. I guess we'll see if she still wants to hatch them. If she decides to, I'm going to try and sneak the eggs out and replace them with other hatching eggs (muscovy, olive eggers, who knows what I can hatch!). I've been needing a hen to go broody, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon, haha! I've got a fever and the only prescription is more chicken math!


Actually, they were two 2-month old pullets. I looked everywhere, including in The Field behind our property and I couldn't find them. It's likely that a couple hawks swooped off with them. The only other guess I can come up with is that they found a way into our neighbor's yard and they can't get back. It's possible but unlikely. I really am unhappy about losing them, but now I am dead-set on fixing this hawk problem. I'm gonna start the construction of a large scarecrow this weekend (or the planning) and in a couple weeks, I'm going to fix the problem permanently.

Someone said to use fishing line tied at the top of your fence and to run it across your run. I don't have a run, so I'll have to extend it across the yard and criss cross it a couple times. It needs to be extended up above the top of the fence, though, so it won't be obstructed somehow by people or trucks that may come into the yard. Hawks are supposedly able to see this fishing line even from way up high and it will obstruct their line of flight if they were to dip down and try to take a bird. I don't want any chicks to be hatched if they are going to be at risk.

We don't have a run, only a large backyard where the chickens range, so it makes it harder to do this kind of thing. However, if done properly, I won't have to worry about hawks swooping down to eat my chickens. I fear, however, that if a hawk were not to see these lines and were to get down onto the property and not be able to get back out, that my dogs would kill it. Not liking hawks to eat my flock doesn't mean I want them dead. I just don't want them here.

Do you have a rooster or two? They should be good at keeping an eye out for hawks.

Also, do you have cover for them in the open areas. Some hawks are pretty aggressive, especially if they are starving, but just being able to run under something will help.

Some chickens are just stupid, too. My Ameraucanas are fabulous free rangers. If anything sounds an alarm, they all run for the fence line and cover. I have another bird, a Polish, who just stands in the middle of the yard with her head up looking around for the danger. (Yes, I tape up her top knot, so she can see.) She is hawk dinner waiting to happen. A breeder friend of mine said that some birds were just stupid and that a lot of breeds have had their natural survival instincts bred right out of them.

I hope those two turn up.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Here's my EE escape artist, Pearl


And my lap chicken, Eloise


Fearless Freya wanted a picture too

Were these birds sexed or straight run? Pearl is very pretty.

 

[8isenuff]

So excited! I got my new roo today! He is a splash BLRW! NOT show quality, but very pretty in my books! I have three hens and only one is a Wyandotte....he seemed to know that and picked her out immediately!! I'm a little worried though cause he's SO big!! By girls are only about 6-8 months old and he has to be full grown. HUGE! At least compared to my hens. He wanted to get right to work....

 

[Brookshire11]

Were these birds sexed or straight run? Pearl is very pretty.

Thank you!
"Sexed" supposedly. But obviously they aren't right all the time.
Just hatchery stock.
I know.."Eloise" looks like she might be a roo but I'm hoping not. She's very fluffy and round so..

I'll wait til she crows or lays an egg! lol
That chicken next to Pearl in the first pic is my roo, Pan. They're the chicks in my profile picture
They're so big now! The other girls aren't so photogenic. They don't like pictures lol

 

[hensfortherapy]

So excited! I got my new roo today! He is a splash BLRW! NOT show quality, but very pretty in my books! I have three hens and only one is a Wyandotte....he seemed to know that and picked her out immediately!! I'm a little worried though cause he's SO big!! By girls are only about 6-8 months old and he has to be full grown. HUGE! At least compared to my hens. He wanted to get right to work....

What's his name?