Texas

[LBejaran]

I had a clean patio last night.

It didn't last long.

I do know, however, that my chickens have pretty good digestion. The ducks are just gross. And I really wish Dad would get a move on and enclose the patio. I woke up to find out that it had rained and my brother texted me before he left for school, saying that it was raining and that the quail were getting wet.

Really? You couldn't just pull the tarp over them? What the heck, man?! I didn't wake up until an hour later when my alarm went off and it had already stopped drizzling. It was too late to cover them. Luckily, they have a little hut in there where they can lay (if they aren't actually all boys) and they were hiding under it.

So it was a frustrating morning. I'm just gonna sit back, wait until a reasonable time to call one of my clients, and paint eggs. I need to calm the flip down.

 

[bnjrob]

She doesn't seem to be broody. She moves around, and doesn't show much interest in the eggs that others come in a lay. Sometimes she's up on a nest box, and other times she's on the floor. She had a daughter a year or so ago. And that leads to another question. Our hens that go broody and have babies only seem to do so once. Is the one time family common?

There could have been a change in the pecking order and she is hanging back from the other as protection. Nothing to be specifically worried about unless there are other things to indicate a problem.

As far as going broody - think about what kind of chickens do you have as far as hatchery or breeder stock and breed of chicken - that may give you a clue about their broodiness.

Some breeds are more prone to going broody than others. And in hatchery stock - they can't afford to have broody hens. If they do, then the hens don't lay and hatcheries are dependent on selling large quantities of birds to make a profit. So the broodiness gets bred out of the genetics. Now a bird that came from a long time breeder is more likely to have that broodiness still in them, especially if the bred toward that as part of their breeding program. So then you would be more likely to see more birds that went broody more often.

 

[hensfortherapy]

Lol, yea. It may even be something you can reach from the internet. Try chickens.kiehle.com

We set it up when we got the auto-door opener before traveling out of state for Christmas. We were concerned if the coop door didn't open the birds would be crowded and unable to get food and water. With a camera we could check and if problems arose we could call a neighbor to intervene. After the string broke twice on the coop door opener we just got a neighbor kid to make sure they had food, water, and open/close the coop while we were gone. I finally (this weekend!) got the coop door string fixed again, timer set, and for good measure set up the camera again. I don't think we'll ever break even on the money we spent for the coop, auto-door, and camera but it makes the wife happy and the chickens are entertaining. A couple roosters also turned out very tasty, so it's not all money lost.  

I gotta get one of those cameras. Are they weather proof?
The pullet shut automatic doors are wonderful.

 

[erikk]

I gotta get one of those cameras. Are they weather proof?
The pullet shut automatic doors are wonderful.

There seems to be a gazillion IP cameras. I got one off eBay last fall for about $80 to my door. They seem to have gone up a bit or I'm just not seeing the same seller I got mine from. There are other places besides eBay too. Mine isn't weather-proof. I specifically chose an "indoor" model because it had features I wanted like Pan/Tilt. Outdoor cameras were more expensive and/or didn't have the combination of features I was looking for. I'll grant the chickens can be terribly, incredibly messy. I have no idea how they can mess up even the roof of the coop or how a big old smear of something can end up so high up on a wall. I already had to pull the camera and clean it up with a damp sponge once. I left it to dry overnight and it's as good as new so I put it back in. I do intend to build a real platform/mount for it with a sloped board above to keep chickens from trying to sit on it or something.

Anyway, happy with the IP camera I got except that I'm really a Mac person and some config like motion-detection/record require Windows. I have access to Windows on my Mac, I just don't usually boot that Windows partition of the hard drive.
My camera is like this model.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&_nkw=h502+camera&_sop=15

 

[jajeanpierre]

Would anyone near San Antonio happened to have mesquite limbs lying they want to get rid of ? I'm looking for a certain size. Preferably large enough for a hand to wrap around and Y shaped branches. Please let me know!

For parrots?

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Lots to catch up on after not being on pretty much all weekend.

I walked Sasha around the neighbourhood yesterday afternoon and found more neighbours with chickens. They had a low (under 3 feet low) picket fence covered with chicken wire around the back yard with a mix of birds. I could actually name the kinds now! One was outside the fence and Sasha was really interested in her. The hen was quite frustrated she couldn't get back in the fence and finally flew over. That was the first time I saw a chicken fly. I am not so worried about my chickens getting out now. This hen was a white leghorn and just barely made it over the fence back into the yard. I want to go back and talk to them about their coop and set up. It was cute and looked easy to build.

I also met a neighbor that is remodeling his house himself so I might be able to ask him for some help with my coop. He needs to finish his project first though. His house was built in 1920. I love those old homes with their big porches....

Rain in the forecast this week. I sure do hope we get it. It has been really dry here this winter. The lakes are really low. I hope we don't get into stage 4 water restrictions.

 

[LBejaran]

Lots to catch up on after not being on pretty much all weekend.

I walked Sasha around the neighbourhood yesterday afternoon and found more neighbours with chickens. They had a low (under 3 feet low) picket fence covered with chicken wire around the back yard with a mix of birds. I could actually name the kinds now! One was outside the fence and Sasha was really interested in her. The hen was quite frustrated she couldn't get back in the fence and finally flew over. That was the first time I saw a chicken fly. I am not so worried about my chickens getting out now. This hen was a white leghorn and just barely made it over the fence back into the yard. I want to go back and talk to them about their coop and set up. It was cute and looked easy to build.

I also met a neighbor that is remodeling his house himself so I might be able to ask him for some help with my coop. He needs to finish his project first though. His house was built in 1920. I love those old homes with their big porches....

Rain in the forecast this week. I sure do hope we get it. It has been really dry here this winter. The lakes are really low. I hope we don't get into stage 4 water restrictions.

It's thundering outside around here. It's so cool that there are more chicken keepers in your neighborhood! There are only a couple people around here with chickens, but if you walk by their house (even if you are on the sidewalk), they look at you suspiciously and sharpen their machetes.

I'm actually thinking of finding other local chicken keepers to see if they'd be willing to group funds and order Coyote Creek organic chicken feed. The bulk price would be ideal, but buying 500 lbs of feed is kinda crazy for a moderately sized flock of chickens, haha! I know loads of the people around here only feed their chickens scratch, though. When I switched over to layer/hi-protein feed, I noticed a great change in the flock. Everyone is looking great, there are more eggs, and they are foraging more. I can't help but wonder what differences there will be if they are fed organic, non-gmo feed. If I were to buy it in bulk, it would only cost $23.50/50 lbs, not much more than the show quality turkey feed that I sometimes buy!

Now I just need to find these other chicken keepers. I've heard from a couple, but they only feed their hens corn/scratch and don't seem to care much.

 

[AussieGirl]

N

For parrots?

No actually I want to make a slingshot with.

 

[LBejaran]

N
No actually I want to make a slingshot with.

That's kinda awesome, haha!

 

[Ms Jellybean]

It's thundering outside around here. It's so cool that there are more chicken keepers in your neighborhood! There are only a couple people around here with chickens, but if you walk by their house (even if you are on the sidewalk), they look at you suspiciously and sharpen their machetes.

I'm actually thinking of finding other local chicken keepers to see if they'd be willing to group funds and order Coyote Creek organic chicken feed. The bulk price would be ideal, but buying 500 lbs of feed is kinda crazy for a moderately sized flock of chickens, haha! I know loads of the people around here only feed their chickens scratch, though. When I switched over to layer/hi-protein feed, I noticed a great change in the flock. Everyone is looking great, there are more eggs, and they are foraging more. I can't help but wonder what differences there will be if they are fed organic, non-gmo feed. If I were to buy it in bulk, it would only cost $23.50/50 lbs, not much more than the show quality turkey feed that I sometimes buy!

Now I just need to find these other chicken keepers. I've heard from a couple, but they only feed their hens corn/scratch and don't seem to care much.

Have you tired looking on Facebook for a group?

The one feed store near me sells Bryant feed and it is supposed to be as close to organic as you can get without being organic. You could look into that. It's non-gmo and doesn't have antibiotics in it. It is in crumble form, not sure if it comes any other way.