Texas

[Kilsharion]

We got teased by rain here, nothing worth noting. But we def got the temp drop!

And when i got home i found......

My first farm egg since i was a little kid!!
Littlewing/sarge...the eggs is an off cream color, that the yokie you think? Mama-red will be lauong brown, right?

YAY!!!!!

 

[ellie32526]

Sudden drop in temps here in Dallas, keep 6-wk old chicks inside coop shelter?

Yesterday it was 83, this morning it's in the 40s (feels like 35). Should I keep the girls locked up in their coop shelter today? They're still having a hard time understanding the concept of the ramp: they know how to go down in the morning, but still haven't figured out how to go up at night. Thus, I'm concerned if it gets too chilly for them, they might not figure out how to go back in.

Thanks!

Oh yes, I def kept mine inside today. They want outside bad, but I just don't think it's a good idea. Have had the brooder lights on since the temps dropped. Yes, maybe I'm babying my babies, but better spoiled than sick with respiratory problems or dead. They will have all summer to get big and then they can get used to the cold next winter.

 

[ellie32526]

He asked me to move the bunny cage further from the brooding pen...

Too cute!

 

[Cockle-Dood]

You wouldnt believe how many people truly believe in jack-a-lopes too! I bet i coulda won money at the bar i worked at with those bunnie chicken pics!

 

[jnntefend]

We got teased by rain here, nothing worth noting. But we def got the temp drop!

And when i got home i found......

My first farm egg since i was a little kid!!
Littlewing/sarge...the eggs is an off cream color, that the yokie you think? Mama-red will be lauong brown, right?

Wooohooo! Love that first egg feeling! fry it up with some utter, so it really shines.

 

[TattooedKeeper3]

As long as they have a covered area to get out of the rain, let them out.

Chickens body temp is around 103* - their bodies operate better in cooler temps. What is chilly to us is not that chilly to them. Here in TX, chickens do not need supplemental heat even in the dead of winter unless they are chicks that are not feathered out.

To help ease your conscience about them being "out in the cold", you can offer them scratch/grains that will help keep them warm. You'll start finding that in winter when it is coldest, chickens will eat more than the do in summer - eating helps them produce body heat.

If they aren't figuring out to go to bed as soon as you'd like, you can try getting a flashlight and putting it in there with the beam on just before dark. As it starts getting dark, they often will gravitate towards the light. Throwing in some scratch can also give them the hint about getting back inside.

Also, I strung up christmas and halloween lights in my coops for them to see and me to see them when I check on them at night. That has worked out very well. It helped keep the critters away at night as well. They didn't pull to much electricity either which was great when the bill spikes during the summer.

What great memories to continue passing on to each generation!!! Made me smile today! Thanks!

Thank you and your welcome. I have many a fond memory with my mother and grandmother.

cold and raining here..

my old livestock dog has decided she's tired of living... so I'll be burying her as soon as this lets up..

I am sorry to hear that. My Rex passed on two years ago at a ripe old age of 21. I miss him still. I get to see a bit of him in our other dogs though.

I do believe he passed on some of his wily ways to our other male dog and now the girls do some of the same things he used to do. Crafty old man that he was. He was a Australian Shepard/Border Collie Mix.

 

[TattooedKeeper3]

Happy Birthday (on Sunday) TattooedKeeper3!!

I think I got my exercise in early this morning. I was working on the computer when I saw something flash on our security camera. I looked and there were 3 dogs in the yard and my girls were free ranging. I went tearing out the door (barefooted) screaming my head off. I ran them out of the yard (two went one way and one went the opposite). I found 7 out of 8 and herded them into their outer pen. After looking for Lena and not finding her, I got in the car to go hunting. I now have an idea where the dogs live. The owners will be getting a visit from me and a warning. By the time I got home Lena had come out of hiding (wish I could find that spot). They will be staying in the outer pen for the next few days!

Lisa

Thank you

I still have a week to go. I am itching to go antique and flea market shopping and have to wait til my B-day.

It is amazing how fast you can tear out of the house and run through pasture barefoot when dogs are roaming near your flock. I had something similar happen last summer. I was running out while loading the shotgun because it was a coyote at 2:30 in the afternoon. It was just strolling over to the chickens like it didn't have a care in the world lookin' for lunch. We had a wolf pack, couple coyote packs, and BIG CATS out at our old house. I chased that darn coyote barefoot lol through one corner to the other corner of our property. I got of a shot near it, to scare it off. It worked as far as I know, never saw it again.

Stray canines can do some damage to poultry flocks.....I am not a fan of them. Good luck finding the owners.

 

[bnjrob]

Also, I strung up christmas and halloween lights in my coops for them to see and me to see them when I check on them at night. That has worked out very well. It helped keep the critters away at night as well. They didn't pull to much electricity either which was great when the bill spikes during the summer.

Sounds good to me! Heck, I ran extension cords out to the pasture to run the Christmas lights that I decorated the chicken houses with for Christmas just to have some pretty lights to look at.

 

[TattooedKeeper3]

We're neighbors, I'm in Kemp. just getting started with chickens, awaiting our first delivery. Planning for a few dairy goats next spring possibly.

-Stephanie

That sounds about like Buffy, that's for certain.

And, I'm excited, too - he hasn't shown me the design plan he has for this one. So, it's as much an unknown to me as the rest of yah.

There must be one in every flock.

Mine is Icarus. I am not sure if this chicken is a rooster or hen yet. Either way the name sticks because it is always flapping to close to things it shouldn't. Poor baby has no sense, I am always rescuing it out of fences it gets stuck in, failed attempts at swimming with the ducks, getting lost from everyone and not being able to find it's way back. I have grown really attached to this little chicken.

 

[Kilsharion]

There must be one in every flock.

Mine is Icarus. I am not sure if this chicken is a rooster or hen yet. Either way the name sticks because it is always flapping to close to things it shouldn't. Poor baby has no sense, I am always rescuing it out of fences it gets stuck in, failed attempts at swimming with the ducks, getting lost from everyone and not being able to find it's way back. I have grown really attached to this little chicken.

Isn't it amazing how they worm their way into our hearts?