Texas

[mandaleigh1981]

....the funny thing about this is that our burglar's DID call ahead!

Did you know them?? Hearing stuff about break ins ticks me off. Nothing worse than someone who takes something they did not earn from someone who works hard every day.

People can be such trolls. This seems to be a growing trend, too. More and more people feel entitled to things that they in no way earned, and that breeds the mentality that it is ok to take from someone else who has more than they do.

Edited by staff

 

[autumn123]

Love those two pictures mandaleigh!

Hi everyone. I live in a rural area off hwy 80 between Terrell and Wills Point. I have 3 hens, one just started laying a couple of weeks ago. I got my hens from a great guy at a place called Polish Farm near Poetry. Dan has a great set-up with lots of chickens and he has an excellent reputation. He regularly takes a few chickens to Northaven Gardens and does a backyard chicken informational program. His chickens are healthy, although he sometimes doesn't have just exactly what you want as far as breeds - which is OK with me.

I am not into one particular breed over another or pure breds as long as they are good layers. Mutts are totally fine with me! I now have 2 white hens that appear to be mixes of leghorn, EE's, Aracuna, or some other white breeds. One of these is now laying and the other can't be far behind. A few weeks ago, I took one of the original birds back to him because it was a rooster! He did tell me when I made the original purchase back in May that since they were only 4-6 weeks it was very difficult to tell the sex unless it's a sex-link breed. I do not want roosters right now because I don't want chicks yet. Maybe next year. So, I got a RIR pullet that's now about 14-16 wks old to replace the rooster.

I did not isolate the new one simply because of where I got her. Dan looks the chicken over carefully before he sells, and if there is any health problem within his flock, he won't sell at all. There was some difficulty introducing her to the two established ones. She was kind of small and younger than them so they were picking on her too much. I kept them separated between the two areas (little enclosed run under the coop) and the repurposed 6x8 dog kennel. She had her own feeder and waterer, and they could see each other at all times. I would switch them out between the areas. After 1 week, they were sleeping together, and after another week, I was able to put them together all the time. That little RIR grew FAST and is now totally able to defend herself.

I can't wait until all three are laying, as I eat 2-3 eggs for breakfast every day.

Before I can expand the flock, I have to expand their living area. Right now, the coop with attached run is inside of the 6x8 kennel. I covered the chain link with hardware cloth and my hubby built a roof for the kennel that is lightweight made from aluminum poles we already have and can be raised for extra head space while I work or to get eggs out of the nest box. Our main concerns around here as far as predators are hawks, dogs and raccoons. The entire kennel area is secure from these, but we found a snake in there last week. I'm pretty sure that the coop and little run are snake safe, but not the yard. I check it each evening before they go in as it is open during the day. The only thing I'm worried about is a snake stealing eggs as there are some days I'm not here around laying time. We have two dogs that are outdoors when we're gone and they are very territorial. I'd guess critters go elsewhere rather than deal with my dogs.

I did lots of research before I got the chickens, and I was very worried about keeping them healthy. But I have been diligent with the cleaning, and probably a little lucky too. They have hay and shavings covering the wire floor of the inside run and also inside the coop. The open area is mostly sand with a little hay here and there, and there is a dusting area in one of the corners. I put a mix of sand, DE, ashes and rosemary and they use it daily. The coop has a slide out drawer for the floor so I empty that every few days. Once per week I also stir the litter and rake the sand, and thoroughly bleach wash the feeders and waterers. Every other week, I open up everything, remove anything that comes off and wash it, replace the litter, dust for mites. I make a small portable pen with some old kennel panels so they can scratch around in the grass and exercise. I put them in that while I clean and every couple of days just so they can stretch out. I remove the food and water from the coop and put it out there for about 30 minutes, then there's no trouble herding them into the pen - and there's definitely no problem getting them back into the yard - they run right into it!

The only real problem I've had is when I need to handle them to check for mites, wounds, etc. . These chickens WILL NOT let you pick them up! I had to get a landing net (like for fishing) to catch them. Then I have a chair and a towel handy nearby. I sit down, get her from the net, wrap her up and cover her face with the towel so she can't struggle and hurt one of us so I can inspect her.

Well, that's my chicken saga for the first 4 1/2 months!

 

[mandaleigh1981]

Needing advice everyone! Going to pick up some 1 month old JGs today. Will be keeping them separate at first, but just looking for advice on socializing them in with the rest of the flock. We have 4 roos, but only one is dominant, and we have not had any problems with fighting; but this flok was raised together and are all 7 mos old. There are 25 total in the flock right now, 21 hens and 4 roos....or pullets and cockerels, whatever, they are 7 mos old. I do have two separate runs with a separate coop area in each.

 

[Italia]

Italia - I was thinking of your garden photos when I saw these: http://dangergarden.blogspot.com/2013/02/so-about-those-display-gardens-at-nw.html Not so much the first few, but I saw a giant old sumac tree and thought how pretty they are in the Fall and how well they do in Texas. Do you have any Flame Sumac ? There are also some succulent gardens.

Thanks for sharing Tammy.

I do have lots of flaming sumacs. That hundred year old one in the pics is really cool. It is to bad it was not leafed out for the show.
They have been growing out of pure rock where we have cleared out the cedar. They love the new septic so I need to cut them out. After we cleared so much land at first I was happy that anything green was growing, but now I have a lot of work to get the wild that I thought I wanted under control. I will post some pics in a month or so when they all turn red. Even though they are poisonous the animals never mess with them. In tandem with the red oaks though they sure do look pretty!

 

[Italia]

So my husband calls me the craigslist culler. We had just inherited nine roosters we did not need and I have been freaking out on what to do with them. No takers at all and my husband can not do the deed and I have been unable to take it on either.

Here is the great news. I found a guy in Hamilton Tx who comes through Austin to get fencing.He picks up roosters on his way through. They have 5 acres set up for rooster adoption and a processing plant! He is taking all of my roos! Now I no longer have to fear hatching out roos. It was almost to the point of it taking the joy out of hatches out of fear of how I was going to rehome the little guys. So far I have been lucky and found homes, so finding this guy now is a life saver. I feel like a weight has been lifted! I did not really see until now how stressed I was about this.

 

[uglychickens]

Did you know them??  Hearing stuff about break ins ticks me off.  Nothing worse than someone who takes something they did not earn from someone who works hard every day.     People can be such trolls.  This seems to be a growing trend, too.  More and more people feel entitled to things that they in no way earned, and that breeds the mentality that it is ok to take from someone else who has more than they do.  

I swear its the breakdown of the family that is the root cause of this... In the 80's they changed the laws so that single mothers can get food stamps... Now it's children having children.

Edited by staff

 

[Italia]

I swear its the breakdown of the family that is the root cause of this... In the 80's they changed the laws so that single mothers can get food stamps... Now it's children having children.

The breaking down of the family unit and the new normal bias has gotten out of control. Masses of people are angry and scared and that leads to all kinds of problems.
So many people all around the world are having a hard time supporting just themselves, never the less a family. When you look at the bigger picture it almost seems by design. If everyone is to busy being concerned with disease and poverty it is hard to have time to lift your head to see the war mongering greed that world leaders do on a daily basis. Next on the blood bath list is Syria. But nothing to see here folks....... just take it. Here is a government check. You wouldn't bite the hand that feeds you? Would you?

 

[mandaleigh1981]

I swear its the breakdown of the family that is the root cause of this... In the 80's they changed the laws so that single mothers can get food stamps... Now it's children having children.

You know every time someone realizes that DH and I have 4 children, together, and no others with other people they are so surprised! That is too sad. Or that after 12 years of marriage we are completely happy with one another......society sucks now. Women need good role models. I sawy we need more Miranda Lamberts and less Miley Cyruses. I also think a lack of discipline with children is fuel on the fire. There are no consequences for bad behavior anymore. I tell you, if my daughter acted like Miley Cyrus I would whoop her butt no matter how big she is. My sons all have very good manners and open doors and say yes ma'am and no ma'am. This is because that is what is expected of them. And I don't have to beat them to achieve that, they have all been spanked a handful of times and the oldest is 11. DH and I just make it clear what is not tolerated in our household. My oldest has a little bit of a smart mouth (as do I) and we allow him to express himslef as long as he is not disrespectful to adults. Anyhow, there's my two cents.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Here is the great news. I found a guy in Hamilton Tx who comes through Austin to get fencing.He picks up roosters on his way through. They have 5 acres set up for rooster adoption and a processing plant! He is taking all of my roos! Now I no longer have to fear hatching out roos. It was almost to the point of it taking the joy out of hatches out of fear of how I was going to rehome the little guys. So far I have been lucky and found homes, so finding this guy now is a life saver. I feel like a weight has been lifted! I did not really see until now how stressed I was about this.

Do you eat chicken? If you eat chicken, I really think you should look at slaughtering your own. Factory farming is just really, really horrible. Your chickens' meat will be healthier for you and they will have a good life until they have one bad day. If you do it right, the bad day is not as stressful as you would imagine. (As an aside, you have to really be prepared so you don't botch the process.)

Those roosters you "rehome" are slaughtered, and not always as humanely as you would want.

I always believed that if the world came to an end, I would die of starvation/malnutrition rather than be able to kill for food. After researching factory farming and processing, I've decided that I don't want to support that kind of cruelty so I am going to slaughter my own. I was having a lot of trouble finding a backbone to actually do it.

I've done everything I can to put it off. I've researched, I've bought the equipment but until two days ago I hadn't actually done it.

My (insert bad words) mini Dachshund got into the back yard when my Silkie cockerels (destined for slaughter) and two frizzle Cochin cockerels (destined for pets) were out. My husband was right there, not 20 feet away, and didn't hear a thing. Four chickens were badly hurt (of course the two most badly hurt were the ones I was keeping!). I tried to save my favorite three, but lost my favorite that night. (He was such a cool little bird--he was like a little doll you could play with.) The next two favorites are recovering in hospital cages.

That night I slaughtered one badly injured Silkie. I regret not slaughtering another at the time, but I didn't. The one I slaughtered was always going to be slaughtered and was really badly hurt. It was more a euthanasia situation--a no brainer. I processed him, too. It wasn't as hard to do as I thought it would be, probably because the choice had been taken out of it. I had researched the subject to death, no pun intended, and watched countless videos, read a lot and obsessed about it. I have been reading a BackYard Chicken board called, "Processing Day Support Group~HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!"

Killing that chicken was okay. I learned a lot from it. I now have to grow the backbone to cook it tonight.

 

[mandaleigh1981]

Do you eat chicken? If you eat chicken, I really think you should look at slaughtering your own. Factory farming is just really, really horrible. Your chickens' meat will be healthier for you and they will have a good life until they have one bad day. If you do it right, the bad day is not as stressful as you would imagine. (As an aside, you have to really be prepared so you don't botch the process.)

Those roosters you "rehome" are slaughtered, and not always as humanely as you would want.

I always believed that if the world came to an end, I would die of starvation/malnutrition rather than be able to kill for food. After researching factory farming and processing, I've decided that I don't want to support that kind of cruelty so I am going to slaughter my own. I was having a lot of trouble finding a backbone to actually do it.

I've done everything I can to put it off. I've researched, I've bought the equipment but until two days ago I hadn't actually done it.

My (insert bad words) mini Dachshund got into the back yard when my Silkie cockerels (destined for slaughter) and two frizzle Cochin cockerels (destined for pets) were out. My husband was right there, not 20 feet away, and didn't hear a thing. Four chickens were badly hurt (of course the two most badly hurt were the ones I was keeping!). I tried to save my favorite three, but lost my favorite that night. (He was such a cool little bird--he was like a little doll you could play with.) The next two favorites are recovering in hospital cages.

That night I slaughtered one badly injured Silkie. I regret not slaughtering another at the time, but I didn't. The one I slaughtered was always going to be slaughtered and was really badly hurt. It was more a euthanasia situation--a no brainer. I processed him, too. It wasn't as hard to do as I thought it would be, probably because the choice had been taken out of it. I had researched the subject to death, no pun intended, and watched countless videos, read a lot and obsessed about it. I have been reading a BackYard Chicken board called, "Processing Day Support Group~HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!"

Killing that chicken was okay. I learned a lot from it. I now have to grow the backbone to cook it tonight.

This is always what I say when people tell me eating deer is cruel. In my eyes shooting a deer is kinder than any slaughterhouse.