Texas

[hensfortherapy]

Here is the link for his graduation announcement.  

He designed it himself.  While you are there take a look at some of his work.  

Congrats!

 

[RustedOak]

Finally getting a piece of the storm... heavy rains and thunder/lightning. Some of my friends across town are getting pretty big hail but we haven't seen any. I'm sure my tomatoes and strawberries (and ivy and fern on the porch) will be grateful! Made some progress on my chicken tractor this afternoon, now a good rain. I'll sleep like a big ol baby tonite. Be safe everyone!

 

[LightningTFarm]

I thought I would never get all these posts read! I had to go to a conference in San Antonio from Friday thru Wednesday, and was working like crazy before we left to get everything done. I tried to keep up on my phone but didn't really have time to do much. It's late and I'm tired, but I feel so good that I am all caught up.

I hope everybody is safe after all the storms and tornadoes. What a picture of that tornado at the ballgame!!

Ms Jellybean, I have a good recipe for lemon cookies I will have to post this weekend, made with the lemon poppyseed muffin mix that comes in a pouch. I made a few changes to it to amp up the lemon flavor and they are sooo good! I love checking out the recipes that you post.

I thought of you today, Lisa, and your bathroom brooder. I had to put two ducks in my downstairs bathroom to give them time for their necks to heal. Male ducks have incredible sex drives and will practically mate these poor girls to death! It's partly my fault because I didn't want to get outside when it was so cold to cull my extra drakes. Over the past few weeks I culled five drakes, and now have just two Saxonies and two Welsh Harlequins, but the damage was already done. One poor girl not only lost all the feathers on the back of her neck, when I got home Wednesday I saw that she had lost some of her skin. So, I put her and another girl with no feathers on her neck into the bathroom to give them a break and let their necks heal. I will be bleaching the whole bathroom by the time they go back outside, but it's worth it. The amazing thing is the dogs only hang out outside the door when I am in there - otherwise they just ignore it.

I am lucky that my daughter has a friend who is an ag major at SFA in Nacogdoches, just down the road from us. She stayed at the house and took care of the dogs and the ducks for $20/day. She did a great job. It's nice to know I can bring my daughter with me when I travel for business, or we can go visit friends, and I don't have to worry about our animals.

Now if I could just find somebody to buy some of these duck eggs!

 

[henless]

So glad everyone made it through the storms ok! We didn't get anything until about 3am when the thunder started. Got a little bit of rain, but not that much. It is much cooler this morning, 54 degrees here.

@orumpoultry ~ Awesome pic!! You need to enter it somewhere.

@LightningTFarm ~ You have some pretty ducks! It's nice to have someone you can trust to come and take care of your animals. DH and I will have to find someone if/when we go on vacation. We usually just stay home.

@A1momof3 ~ Here is the only pic I have of my coop decor. I just hung my sign up yesterday, and still have a ways to go as far as "decorating". Please ignore my orange extension cord hanging from the ceiling. It went to my Premier heat plate that I took out the first of the week. Even on a ladder I can't reach high enough to take it down. DH will have to do it for me over the weekend.




Need to do a few things and make a grocery run.

 

[tjo804]

Ok I have got read and get caught up on all the days happens in a little bit but I need ya'll option. DH can't see what I am wanting when it comes to my pen/run. It is going to be somewhere around 14 x 25 x 7ft tall. He was thinking T-bar and wire, I said NO we have to cover this pen. I was thinking wood frame with wire and covered. How big is ya'll, and how did you cover it and with what did you cover it with.
Thanks for your help and pics would be great!

Mine is 8 * 24 we used 2*4 s for a full frame and covered everything with chicken wire. I know that is said to be not so good but I have not had any trouble with predators getting in.( 2 years) With the drought most of the shade trees have died and now I am thinking we need to add some quarter inch plywood on top and sides to add some shade.
We are going to do the same to the back of the coop but DH is thinking he wants to use 4*4 s as corner posts to make it more sturdy or something.

I would like to use smaller stronger wire but as DH is the builder I do as *we* agree.

 

[tjo804]

Quote:
the best advice I have heard on this subject is "If they are going to end up in a pot, it is going to be mine". (jajean) You have no way of knowing especially when dealing with strangers! Cock Fighting? I'd rather enjoy a nice dinner with my roosters.
My sister had a friend who would get *free to good home* puppies and kittens to feed her snake!
Not all strangers are kind. Just my opinion.

 

[RustedOak]

Good morning all. Hope everyone fared well in all the stormy weather! On the mason bee convo, they are solitary bees and don't hive but you can welcome them into your garden area (they're amazing pollenators and don't sting) by giving the females a place to nest. In nature, they nest in deadfall or in wood that has been dug out by woodpeckers or boring insects. You can duplicate this by drilling holes in wood 2-3 inches deep. There are lots of simple DIY plans for "mason bee hotels" that would look cute around/in the garden area. All you got to do is google it!

 

[TexasLisa]

I'm curious to know how that works for you. With my luck non will be pullets.

I love the music from the 30's and 40's. The War music was so great. Love Big Band. I have a collection of old 78rpm records and a wind up record player to play them on.

I was raised on The Big Band era. When my Dad died, I requested his music for that time period and got them. I can't listen to them yet, but I will one of these days. I can still picture him sitting in his recliner, tapping his foot, with a smile on his face listening to them.

There is a swarm of bumble bees around my coop area. I mean there is a lot of them and a few red wasps. How do I get ride of them??? I am allergic to stings and I am not afraid of using what I need to kill them but I have no idea what I can use that wont harm my chickens when I get to put them out there. So I need something that will kill the bee but want hang around when I put the chickens out there in a few days. If I get hit by a couple of them, I will end up in the hospital. Any ideas??

Call the Bee Society or County Agent in your area. If they can't help, they can recommend someone. Good luck!

I thought I would never get all these posts read! I had to go to a conference in San Antonio from Friday thru Wednesday, and was working like crazy before we left to get everything done. I tried to keep up on my phone but didn't really have time to do much. It's late and I'm tired, but I feel so good that I am all caught up.

I hope everybody is safe after all the storms and tornadoes. What a picture of that tornado at the ballgame!!

Ms Jellybean, I have a good recipe for lemon cookies I will have to post this weekend, made with the lemon poppyseed muffin mix that comes in a pouch. I made a few changes to it to amp up the lemon flavor and they are sooo good! I love checking out the recipes that you post.

I thought of you today, Lisa, and your bathroom brooder. I had to put two ducks in my downstairs bathroom to give them time for their necks to heal. Male ducks have incredible sex drives and will practically mate these poor girls to death! It's partly my fault because I didn't want to get outside when it was so cold to cull my extra drakes. Over the past few weeks I culled five drakes, and now have just two Saxonies and two Welsh Harlequins, but the damage was already done. One poor girl not only lost all the feathers on the back of her neck, when I got home Wednesday I saw that she had lost some of her skin. So, I put her and another girl with no feathers on her neck into the bathroom to give them a break and let their necks heal. I will be bleaching the whole bathroom by the time they go back outside, but it's worth it. The amazing thing is the dogs only hang out outside the door when I am in there - otherwise they just ignore it.

I am lucky that my daughter has a friend who is an ag major at SFA in Nacogdoches, just down the road from us. She stayed at the house and took care of the dogs and the ducks for $20/day. She did a great job. It's nice to know I can bring my daughter with me when I travel for business, or we can go visit friends, and I don't have to worry about our animals.

Now if I could just find somebody to buy some of these duck eggs!

Glad you made it home safely. I bleached my bathroom and I am now in the process of painting it. I hope your ducks will be okay.

So glad everyone made it through the storms ok! We didn't get anything until about 3am when the thunder started. Got a little bit of rain, but not that much. It is much cooler this morning, 54 degrees here.

@orumpoultry ~ Awesome pic!! You need to enter it somewhere.

@LightningTFarm ~ You have some pretty ducks! It's nice to have someone you can trust to come and take care of your animals. DH and I will have to find someone if/when we go on vacation. We usually just stay home.

@A1momof3 ~ Here is the only pic I have of my coop decor. I just hung my sign up yesterday, and still have a ways to go as far as "decorating". Please ignore my orange extension cord hanging from the ceiling. It went to my Premier heat plate that I took out the first of the week. Even on a ladder I can't reach high enough to take it down. DH will have to do it for me over the weekend.




Need to do a few things and make a grocery run.

I love your coop!

Lisa

 

[A1momof3]

Good Morning everyone!!
Yes we did get rain last night but I believe the Lord spared us any of the really bad stuff. I have already been praying for those that were not as lucky.

@everyone.......I was going to quote everyone to reply but I am trying to save time and get this in before DH wakes up. LOL As far my bees I just prayed about it. LOL I know that may sound funny but I don't want to kill them and I am really not sure where their home is. I do need them around for my garden so I figure God made them and so I just turned it over to him to move them and keep me safe. I looked on line last night for the bee people in our area and I didn't find anyone and what I did find out side my area will charge. So I'll see how the days goes.
Thank all of y'all for your thoughts and opinions on the bee issue.

Well, I didn't get this out be fore DH got up..... so 2 peeled grapefruits later I am back to finish my thoughts. LOL Got to love the spoiled guy!

@henless I love your coop and I am glad I am not the only one doing chicken coop décor. If it is good enough for the fancy farm girl then it's good enough for me. I did order a special light yesterday and I have some metal signs I am going to put up so far. I am looking for old galvanized feed buckets and tubs to plant some things in for the out side of the pen. I wanted to go to Canton this weekend but I need to finish the coop first. So maybe next month I can make it to Canton. Maybe some of y'all can come to Canton to next month.

Well Hope y'all have a great day and I pray all is safe.

 

[hensfortherapy]

This weather is crazy. We did not get any of the rain or bad weather here. I hope no one sustained damage. Now it is cold again. The wind is what is horrible. Planned to work in the yard today. Change of plans. I guess I'll work on the wedding reception table runners.
Later Chickies.