Texas

[brown444439]

Hi,

I live in McKinney, TX. Can you tell me what the good areas of Austin where one can raise chickens? I would also like to get a pot-bellied pig and maybe some ducks,

Thanks for your help.

claudia

 

[mi2bugz]

Anyone near Waxahachie to Dallas have any day old chicks for sale? My first time broody has hatched 1 out of 2 chicks so far (still sitting on 2nd egg). I am new to this as is the momma. She is doing great but worried about 1 lonely little chick when they go in to the flock. Heard mom will eventually roost and chick will sleep on floor..so I was think the chick needs a couple of friends lol.

Thanks
~ Nicole

 

[TherryChicken]

Our newest addition, Maddison, Maddie for short, a harlequin Great Dane. If you stand on one foot, tilt you head to the right, rub your tummy and squint a little, her shoulder markings look like a Great Dane.

beautiful

 

[LBejaran]

Hey everyone! I just keep on disappearing from this thread, haha! Here's an update on what's been going on:

Ever since I came home from Austin, I've been on a roll. First, we started with the broodies and gave them Muscovy eggs, mystery duck eggs, and any hidden nests we came across. I also was given a Dutch Bantam duo (I was prepared for pay for them, but the lady was actually just wanting them to go to a good home because her hometown was just barely enforcing the laws banning backyard chickens) that have been taking care of a 3 feed store chicks.

We hatched out about 11 chicks but we've lost several. Several of the eggs were from pullets, so I'm pretty sure that they just weren't strong enough. The other chicks came from some of my older hens and they have been flourishing. Of course, the one time I actively try and avoid Naked Neck eggs is the time we end up with more than half of the chicks being NN, haha!

Out of the dozen duck eggs we had, only seven hatched. Unfortunately, we lost two of the mystery breeds to weakness (they weren't very strong from the get-go), one to the neighbor's young puppy, and another one disappeared out of it's pen. I don't know how (that thing is everything-proof. A mouse couldn't even find a way in there, so I don't know how that baby got out!), but we ended up with only 3 ducklings. One is a mystery duckling (I have no idea what it is) and the other two are muscovy ducklings with tuxedo coloring.

When I came back from Austin, Dad took me to my favorite chick guy and he sold me a "muscovy" duckling. I'm pretty sure he was mistaken because this male muscovy duckling is starting to look a heck of a lot like a female mallard.

The last time Nivia and I went duckling hunting, we bought three ducklings, thinking we'd be getting at least one male because that is how it always goes when we buy chickens. Well, we ended up with 3 females (one Blue Swedish and two mallards). I swear, this is either a miracle or a curse. I kinda need a male mallard-breed duck, haha! All I have is Che and he's a gimpy Indian Runner who can barely walk straight. He can only breed properly in a pool.

Earlier this week, Mom and I went to one of our favorite farm and feed stores in Donna. There, for the first time ever, I saw that they had two muscovy males! For $15, we picked up the bigger male and he has been sweet on my female muscovy ever since.

Mom just bought me an incubator this week, too, so we have been collecting Australorp eggs for the past couple days. Hopefully they'll be only Australorp chicks and not a weird mix, haha! We also made an investment and bought seven eggs from a local rancher and friend of mine: 3 Silkie eggs and 4 Class A Silkie Serama eggs. These Silkie Serama eggs were $5 apiece and though it was pricey, the breeding stock was beautiful and I know that they are one of those breeds that you should invest in if you hope to have them in the future. The Silkie eggs were significantly cheaper ($1 apiece) and I'm hoping to be able to hatch them out successfully. We'll see what happens after that.

Mom also expressed to me the desire to start a business. We have no experience, but she wants to sell plus size clothing because of how hard it is to find clothing that fits me and girls my size. Oh, and plus size prom dresses! Loads of girls here can't go to prom because they can't afford an appropriate dress for prom that will fit them. So now I'm gonna plaster myself up and make a dress form to work with. We just bought an old wedding dress today that we are going to try and revamp. Surprising, for such a beautiful dress, it only cost us $5 at the Salvation Army. I don't think it'll take much to make it prettier, though, haha! Between sharpening up my sewing skills and learning how to reupholster chairs and raising chicks/ducklings/goslings and trying to get some yard work done and planning for my little brother's late graduation party and trying to make grass grow faster in the dirt-spots all over the yard, there is a lot going on here.
So yeah, that's the story! As you can see, I've been lazing around.

 

[LightningTFarm]

I had a very bad day yesterday. When I went out in the morning I found one of my original Welsh Harlequin ducks with a prolapsed vent. She was my only golden phase Welshie. I know she was fine the night before. I brought her in and put her in a warm bath to clean her off, and she was bleeding from her vent. I called every vet in three counties trying to find one who might treat her, and finally found one in Lufkin. My daughter took her but the news was not good. The vet said it might be possible to save her, but the cost would be astronomical and she was not even a show quality duck. I thought I was going to have to put her down, but she died on the way home. So, RIP Joy.

 

[LightningTFarm]

Mom also expressed to me the desire to start a business. We have no experience, but she wants to sell plus size clothing because of how hard it is to find clothing that fits me and girls my size. Oh, and plus size prom dresses! Loads of girls here can't go to prom because they can't afford an appropriate dress for prom that will fit them. So now I'm gonna plaster myself up and make a dress form to work with. We just bought an old wedding dress today that we are going to try and revamp. Surprising, for such a beautiful dress, it only cost us $5 at the Salvation Army. I don't think it'll take much to make it prettier, though, haha! Between sharpening up my sewing skills and learning how to reupholster chairs and raising chicks/ducklings/goslings and trying to get some yard work done and planning for my little brother's late graduation party and trying to make grass grow faster in the dirt-spots all over the yard, there is a lot going on here.

I have seen some of the eggs you paint so I know you are an artist. Just the other day I saw a story on Yahoo about a girl who bought a wedding dress at a thrift store and painted it herself for her prom dress. She painted a version of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" on the whole dress. Here's the pictures. I bet you could do something similar either to dresses you find at thrift stores or ones you and your mom make. They would be totally original works of art that girls would be happy to pay for. I know what some of those quincenera dresses go for, so I know they will spend the money.

You are a go-getter, so go for it!

 

[LightningTFarm]

Here's some more stuff from the article:

Mother and daughter purchased the dress for $40 and immediately removed the train. Reidhead used the extra fabric for practice with her acrylic paints.
The dress had some lace and pearl details. Reidhead loved the details of the dress, commenting, "This will make for amazing textures! I’ll just paint right over them."
o begin, Reidhead first sketched the concept on paper. She decided to use the large tree in van Gogh's original painting on the side of the dress. To make the design circular, she determined the painting should mirror itself on the front and the back. Using a pencil, she then sketched the design on the fabric.
She began painting the dress from the bottom up. When describing the process, Reidhead explained, “As you paint you must let it dry. I used acrylic paint, so I had to wait to get the desired effect.” The tree was first and then the village along the hemline. She gradually worked her way up the dress, ending with the starry sky.
Painting the dress took about 10 days. The teen's mother, Karen Reidhead, noted, “She had it spread all over the dining table for a week.”
Go for it!

 

[LBejaran]

I have seen some of the eggs you paint so I know you are an artist. Just the other day I saw a story on Yahoo about a girl who bought a wedding dress at a thrift store and painted it herself for her prom dress. She painted a version of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" on the whole dress. Here's the pictures. I bet you could do something similar either to dresses you find at thrift stores or ones you and your mom make. They would be totally original works of art that girls would be happy to pay for. I know what some of those quincenera dresses go for, so I know they will spend the money.

You are a go-getter, so go for it!

That's beautiful! I don't want to ruin the wedding dress Mom bought, but if I find another white dress, I think I'll try something like this! Around here, you'd be shocked at how crazy the quinceneras get. Parents will save up thousands of dollars from the day she is born just so she can have a party. After that, they save up for the wedding. I bet if I can just get one really brilliant looking dress out there, I can really get us some business. Mom and I have our work cut out for us!

This just reminded me of a really annoying something that happened this year. My second cousin just had her quincenera and guess what? She didn't even know she was Hispanic! Her grandfather speaks only Spanish; her parents speak Spanish and English; her father is just about the darkest Hispanic man I've ever seen. Actually, I correct myself. She didn't have a quincenera; she had a "sixteenera". It was a stupid party. I just about smacked the girl and my little sister refused to go because the girl made mean remarks to her at school, not knowing Nivia was her cousin. Personally, I never had a quincenera and I never put much stock into it. Mom didn't offer one and I didn't ask for it. I guess the same could be said for prom, but I'm just too much of an introvert to truly enjoy that kind of party, haha!

 

[LightningTFarm]

There were a lot of Hispanic girls at my daughter's high school, and she got to where she was very down on the whole idea. She said the parents spent a fortune on the parties that the girls didn't really appreciate. She felt the money would have been better spent on their education instead. Hardly any of the girls were virgins anymore, anyway, she said, and the parents really couldn't afford the lavish amounts they spent. They got really out of hand.

 

[Starfire669]

My duck Ivory, has decided that my gander Snow is a handsome fella. She got in the pool with him twice this morning, invited him up, and he happily attempted to mate with her. I intervened, he was keeping her down an awfully long time and she started to struggle. But now I have to worry about horny little Ivory getting hurt by Snow. Just like Howard was too big for Ebony, Snow is way to big for Ivory and Daisy. The hormones around here are driving me crazy.

On a different note, several of my chickens combs have tired a bright hot pink color. They also have bright yellow legs, so they should start laying soon. I know Screwball is being particularly obnoxious with the ladies, so he senses it too.

Here is Ivory getting back in the pool after I had to physically pick Snow off her back.

And here is tiny Ebony, brave enough to swim the Snow. Snow did try and catch her, but she swam circles around him.