Texas

[Starfire669]

Thank you!  We processed the largest of our Pekins and the amount of fat on him was ridiculous!  We skipped plucking and skinned and I feel like over half of his weight went into the bucket.  lol

Do the geese tear stuff up as bad as ducks?  Our ducks were eating our dirt.  The slightest puddle and they would drink out of it and eat the dirt and make holes.  Fresh water and numerous water play areas and they would drink/eat out of the nasty puddles first, then hang out in the fresh water.

My geese haven't really torn up my yard badly, so far I think they are less destructive than ducks, but they aren't full grown yet either. I will say that my geese did eat every marigold I had in my flower garden, roots and all, before I fenced it off from them. Mine spend a lot of time in the pools, even going so far as to try and guard the pools from the ducks. The are the worst about guarding the large kiddie pool. If they see anyone in it they come running to chase them out. So I bought a 2nd large kiddie pool, lol. They now have 1 regular sized pool and 2 large pools, and they can't guard them all as the geese stay together as a flock, so the ducks can and do get in, lol. When we has the rain and floods they did go and get muddy, but again not as badly as the ducks.

Good day all
Haven't had much time the last couple of days...been crazy trying to get the power run to the barn, shop and coop, but is done now.  Have lights and fans in the coop and light to see at night without using any extension cords...hurray!

DH worked in the coop until 2am last night to rebuild everything...new roost so the teenagers have a place now and redid the nest boxes so they quit pooping in them when sitting on the perch rails.  I think I had some sleepy chickens this morning after all the ruckus.
I think they will be much more comfortable now.

Today we do the floor, clean and fresh shavings.
Just got done raining a little but sun is back out so very muggy.

My little maran is improving..got her on meds and her eyes were open this morning and she is more active.  Will stay in lockdown for a while longer.

Had my own crisis yesterday..had to rush one of my cats to the vet...uterine infection..emergency spay...not cool.  She was on the list to get done but with all the money we spent on materials and bills had put it off...$437 instead of $100...bad decision but done now.

Therrychicken...So sorry for the loss of your roo...he was beautiful...

Winteree...I feel for you about Pete...I have been down both roads.  I have held onto cats that have been sick with no positive outcome and stuck with them until the end.  Not pleasant.  Not good for the animal and very hard on us.  But with the last three we went the other way and had them put to sleep.  We gave them hospice care for as long as we could but when it got to the point where they couldn't have any quality in their life we made the decision to do what's right for them.  My grey tabby Scrapper was 16 and I loved him so much...but when he could not even get to the box on his own...I wanted him to keep his dignity...so i made the choice to give him peace.  The same with my husbands cat Ducky...he was only 9 but got liver cancer...we did the same for him...as hard as it was and as many tears as we shed...when it was done he was at peace and not wasting away before our eyes.

Putting an animal down is NEVER easy especially if you love them and they have been family to you.  For us it was a choice to not be selfish with our own feelings and cling on to hope for an outcome that wasn't to be but to put the best interest of the animal first.  I will always make that choice from now on.  In the end it is all in God's hands but I believe if we have the means to give our animals peace and end their suffering God has provided that also and I am thankful we have that option.
Good luck with Pete and I hope for the best for you and him.

Starfire...how is Ebony and the ducky clan...growing and thriving I hope.  How's the injured foot?
I just had to treat one of my SLW...got his foot stuck in the wire..just happene that DH was out there and saw him or he would have been hung all night.  Had to put some blue lotion on the toe injury but he was walking just fine.

Always something right?
Well not getting work done sitting here and always too much to do.
Take care all...Magpie

Ebony is doing great, her limp is so much better that she was allowed out to free range for a few hours the past 2 days. Still making sure Daisy don't try to mount her, so that her leg continues to heal. But I am happy with her progress. The ducklings are getting huge, and they need a bath. My daughter graduated high school yesterday and everyone had to stay locked up. The ducklings spilled so much water they created a poopy pool in their water area and boy do they stink. I am going to steal the small pool as a bath tub for those guys later when the sun comes out. I can't stand the smell coming off them right now, plus well not healthy for them to be covered in poop either.

 

[TherryChicken]

yep today i took all of the chicks out of the brooder and disinfected everything with an iodine solution and put their feeders and waterier in boiling water and completely got rid of their bedding and replaced it with new dirt so i hope i covered my bases well. the chick that was sneezing wasn't sneezing today  but i did check it over to make sure his eyes and nose where OK along with the other chicks they all look OK so i hope the rest of their raising will go on with out a hitch 

well I hope so too, just keep an eye on them

 

[TherryChicken]

yeah it really sucks sometimes but yeah

yes it does, but as a good owner you just have to do whats best

 

[bnjrob]

Our daughter wanted to keep the feathers, I think that's why I said no to the fat, I could see it turning into a 'save everything' fest! Lol

LOL - at least she is wanting to save SOMETHING and not just throw things away and get a new one.

 

[bnjrob]

I have an order in for 1/2 a beef. It should be ready in a month or two. It's grass fed and should cost about $5.00 to $5.50 a lb. Which is really cheaper than what you can get at the store,
and MUCH better quality.

Now that is a bargain!

 

[TherryChicken]

Anyone near austin texas want to buy any muscovy drakes? I have 3 too many and its cauing stress and conflict on the flock. One is blue, one is barred blue, and one is chocolate and white. 2 young 5-6 months, the other is mature

 

[Starfire669]

My Daisy duck just went broody on me. She hissed at me yesterday before running off her nest. Today I walked by and she is hissing up a storm and refuses to get off the nest. There is only 1 egg in there and it is not fertile. My cayuga ducklings aren't old enough yet and there is no way I would let the crested breed, even if I had a mature drake at this point. But I feel awful for Daisy, there is no chance she will be a mommy this year. Next year I can give her as many goose, Cayuga duck, or chicken eggs she could want, but that don't help her now. Should I run her off the nest? What is the best way to break a broody duck?

 

[harley1975]

Here is a pic of my new Americana's I picked up at canton yesterday. Sure was a lot of birds for sell there. Turkeys , chickens,ducks, geese , guineas and peasants.

 

[tiedyemommy]

My Daisy duck just went broody on me. She hissed at me yesterday before running off her nest. Today I walked by and she is hissing up a storm and refuses to get off the nest. There is only 1 egg in there and it is not fertile. My cayuga ducklings aren't old enough yet and there is no way I would let the crested breed, even if I had a mature drake at this point. But I feel awful for Daisy, there is no chance she will be a mommy this year. Next year I can give her as many goose, Cayuga duck, or chicken eggs she could want, but that don't help her now. Should I run her off the nest? What is the best way to break a broody duck?

Sorry Daisy went broody on you. The timing is bad, but it's good to know she'll most likely become broody again, and in time for you to provide her some hatching eggs to sit on. Also glad to hear Ebony is doing better & has had some free-range time recently. Looking forward to hear she's made a full recovery soon!

 

[tiedyemommy]

My family & I would like more chickens, but we're not set up for chicks. So maybe we'll wait until we are set up for chicks...or maybe we'll find older pullets to bring into the flock. No decision made yet...and really, no rush...just thinking "out loud".