The Front Porch Swing

[ducksanddoxies]

Mama is home! They got home an hour ago and I was so glad! There was too much nonsense happening these past couple days and I hate dealing with it all alone. I mean, I can, but it's not so great especially when you know that your family is mroe than willing to help you. The great thing is that they brought me a present from Round Top, Texas. I think you all will appreciate it. Hope you all enjoy my staging, haha! This little sign is going to find a new home on the bookshelves that I'm repainting. This was a great gift, especially alongside the beef jerky, apple pie, and the burlap bag I was given. I love food and burlap, so of course I'm satisfied, haha! Gotta be honest, though, now that everyone is home, I'm exhausted. They were gone only a couple days but there was so much to do and I had to do it alone. I think I just have to get used to handling these big issues alone.

I love this sign!

 

[perchie.girl]

I'm so excited....someone started a new thread, something or other wheelchairs, so I went to check it out. I know, I know, not supposed to leave the Porch because we usually get into trouble, but doggone it, if someone there has ideas about how to be able to get Kendra down to see the chickens close up we'd all be ecstatic! She wants to be with Katie and Evan when they are out there so badly, but all she can do is point and say, "Chicken!" She's way to heavy to carry and hold for long periods of time so when we do take her to the coop it's only for short times. Her balance isn't good enough for sitting her in a wagon - we tried that once and the stress on her back tethering was too much, even propped in with pillows. And we all know I don't have the friendliest chickens - they don't appreciate being picked up one little bit. Wouldn't it be great if someone had an idea so she could be like the other kids?????

I followed you over. I have several things that I can contribute.... and have already made some posts.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

I made Blackeyed Peas for dinner .... Grandma was very very happy....

she ate two whole bowls...

deb

 

[jmoeller]

Does anyone use an automatic chicken door??
This would be an extravagance for me way above my usual comfort zone so I'm very nervous about spending the money, but my kids all want to go in and get this for me.

. We will be going on vacation and even though my neighbor is wonderful about helping us out I don't want to become to much of a burden on her.

I am most interested in the people who use one in the northern states. We seem to have 9 months of winter in Wi. so I don't want one that I will be fussing most the year. especially during blizzards and at -20. I am looking at the Ador. but I'm worried it will ice up and not open or close properly.
Can anyone offer any insight or send me to a reliable resource? Please.
@Blooie welcome home. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Great pixs.


edited for spelling.

 

[TexasLisa]

Mama is home!

They got home an hour ago and I was so glad! There was too much nonsense happening these past couple days and I hate dealing with it all alone. I mean, I can, but it's not so great especially when you know that your family is mroe than willing to help you.

The great thing is that they brought me a present from Round Top, Texas. I think you all will appreciate it.

Hope you all enjoy my staging, haha! This little sign is going to find a new home on the bookshelves that I'm repainting. This was a great gift, especially alongside the beef jerky, apple pie, and the burlap bag I was given. I love food and burlap, so of course I'm satisfied, haha! Gotta be honest, though, now that everyone is home, I'm exhausted. They were gone only a couple days but there was so much to do and I had to do it alone. I think I just have to get used to handling these big issues alone.

I love the sign! What are you going to do with the burlap?

You did fine while they were gone.

I'm so excited....someone started a new thread, something or other wheelchairs, so I went to check it out. I know, I know, not supposed to leave the Porch because we usually get into trouble, but doggone it, if someone there has ideas about how to be able to get Kendra down to see the chickens close up we'd all be ecstatic! She wants to be with Katie and Evan when they are out there so badly, but all she can do is point and say, "Chicken!" She's way to heavy to carry and hold for long periods of time so when we do take her to the coop it's only for short times. Her balance isn't good enough for sitting her in a wagon - we tried that once and the stress on her back tethering was too much, even propped in with pillows. And we all know I don't have the friendliest chickens - they don't appreciate being picked up one little bit. Wouldn't it be great if someone had an idea so she could be like the other kids?????

Blooie left the porch??!!! Man, she takes a cruise and now thinks she can step out on her own.

That is exciting and I hope you and the others will be able to help each other out.

I made Blackeyed Peas for dinner .... Grandma was very very happy....

she ate two whole bowls...

deb

Deb, you are spoiling your grandmother and I am glad. Give her a BIG hug for me!

Lisa

 

[Blooie]

Deb, great ideas!!

 

[LindaB220]

Deb, great ideas!!

Love your new pic. Pretty woman. I love black eyed peas too. Good idea. I made a corn casserole that was so easy and so good. Aimee has put some ribs on overnight and I finished them up. Good eating. I'm going to do a boxed jambalaya today with ground meat. Add to it and make a good meal. The woman finally came and picked up her dog last night. Wanted us to pay for vet bill today.

Had another baby a Coronation Sussex so that gives me one of each along with the Basque. That is one amazing little fellow.They are supposed to be super friendly, not afraid and look you in the eye. He hollar'd at me four different times last night so I got up and gave him a cuddle for a few minutes. So cute.

 

[Loc20chick]

Mama is home!

They got home an hour ago and I was so glad! There was too much nonsense happening these past couple days and I hate dealing with it all alone. I mean, I can, but it's not so great especially when you know that your family is mroe than willing to help you.

The great thing is that they brought me a present from Round Top, Texas. I think you all will appreciate it.

Hope you all enjoy my staging, haha! This little sign is going to find a new home on the bookshelves that I'm repainting. This was a great gift, especially alongside the beef jerky, apple pie, and the burlap bag I was given. I love food and burlap, so of course I'm satisfied, haha! Gotta be honest, though, now that everyone is home, I'm exhausted. They were gone only a couple days but there was so much to do and I had to do it alone. I think I just have to get used to handling these big issues alone.

Love your present..

You are a hard working girl but as you say it's always good to have help and its more fun when working with others, that's why I love the porch. I may not have help at home but good to know we support each other here on the porch

 

[LindaB220]

Love your present..

You are a hard working girl but as you say it's always good to have help and its more fun when working with others, that's why I love the porch. I may not have help at home but good to know we support each other here on the porch

Ditto, on this. It's the support that important.

 

[Tomtommom]

Good to know on the Layer feed.....some threads had me scared to death that I'd go out and find all of my chickens dead from one feeding of it! So far the oyster shell is a bigger hit with the boys than with the girls, but they are like that - anything new and edible (or not) in the run and they are knocking the stuffing out of the others to get to it first. Oh, well. I guess this evening I have to figure out how to separate the boys from the girls, since tomorrow is D-day for them. I read somewhere (I think it was one of my chicken-raising books) not to feed the chickens being processed so their crops wouldn't be full, but I don't want the ladies to go without. Fact or fiction? And we still haven't decided pluck or skin, but leaning toward pluck. I liked the idea of trying both to see which we preferred, but Ken says one way for all or the other way for all - he's not standing out there all day dinking around with it.

Guess this is where "picking your battles" comes into play. In the overall scheme of things, is it worth an argument? Nope. So whatever he decides we'll do.

Broke open my egg after Katie got to see it. ("Oh, Gramma, it's just the right size for Kendra!") It was perfect! One tiny little blood spot on the yolk, but was that egg ever small! The picture makes it look bigger, but that's a small little berry bowl, not a cereal sized bowl. What really surprised me was how deep golden the yolk is and how firm the white is. I'm pumped!

I can't wait until tomorrow to see if there are any more eggies. Oh, I know, sometimes they are erratic with laying at first, but a girl can dream, can't she?

IB, my nest box slopes so the eggs roll out, and it would have worked today except I had put wooden slat at the back of it to keep the artificial eggs from rolling out of the nests before they served their purpose. It's gonna work very well, making it much easier for Katie and Evan to gather eggs without having to go into the coop if Ken and I are out of town. If you look at the picture of the nest, you can see a white board at the back - that was the barrier to keep the dummy eggs in. I had moved the real egg before I thought to run in and grab my camera, but when I first saw it it was flush up against that retainer, so it would have rolled all the way into the outer access area. You're so smart! I wouldn't have thought of using gate panels as a ladder into the nests. I'll remember that little trick for sure!

The first year chicken keeping I was the same way. Everyone was all "Oh don't give layer to non-laying birds! Their kidneys!" I believe it was our dear Bee who finally pointed out that leafy greens have more calcium than layer

So now everyone eats layer. I got one bag of grower for my littlest ones but I can keep my fatty birds to stop eating the stuff

The layer is cheaper than grower here... so it all works out. You gotta figure little growing birds need to grow bones too, I would imagine the calcium would be good for that. Right?

Hey Everyone, got some good news. Two things, actually. The most important to me is Aimee found little Tinker. A 6 lb Yorkie that has squeezed thru a tiny hole to escape from the boarding part of her business. Ten days she has been in the woods. Thankfully for the rain and bugs and stuff. The first seven days, they had plenty of calls spotting. Aimee even saw her at 5am the other morning but the stinker ran like crazy. A neighbor and customer called and said I'm looking right at her. Aimee tore over there and of course she ran. Aimee is so beat up, clothes torn, legs scratched. But she outran her. Or rather got her cornered in the woods. I've just spent 45 min holding her after her bath while Aimee pulled ticks off. I quit counting after about 40. The first thing I did was walk in with my bottle of Nutri Drench and squirted a squirt in her mouth. She has had water and a small gourmet dinner. Now she's et and gonna sleep good. By the way, Aimee was so thrilled that when they got to the car, she called to tell the owner. And you know what? It's not convenient for her to pick her up today. She did say that Tinker was the childrens dog, but jeez.
The other thing I was going to tell you was one the Basque eggs that I left in the incubator hatched, I guess the other two are duds. I didn't really expect that , it just seemed a little different. Tom has promised to send me some more in Sept. just for shipping. Nice of him. My other 11 little tiny whirlwinds are having a good time. Swarm the fermented feed. Yes, a good day.

Glad you found the little one. I bet that was more adventure than she'd ever had in her whole life

Little froo froo dogs want fun too.

So sorry for your losses. There was no way to know that you'd have an ant invasion. I'm blessed to have my flock doing ant patrol for me. Every day, we sprinkle a pound or so of scratch on the many ant nests in our yard. For the past few years, with our sandy loam, and most likely the deeply buried rotting tree roots from when we cleared our land, it's been the perfect habitat for ants. In the late summer, the queens come boiling up out of the ground, to the point where the ground is so covered with them that you can't walk without crunching a couple dozen with every step. These are black ants, not terribly big, but size varies. (we also have red ants and carpenter ants, but not fire ants.) The ground will be covered, and there will be clouds of them in the sky. Last year was the first year with chickens. About a week before the queens came out, I took a shovel, and opened up all the nests behind my house, inviting the chickens to a banquet. Surprisingly, they were happy to oblige! There weren't as many ants this summer, but, i expect the problem will take years to solve. The ants also love to invade any bales of hay or straw that i have around, and they will move into the mulch in my garden and flower beds, under every rock, under, and in flower pots... you get the picture... 2 days ago, i opened up a couple of bales of straw, and found several flakes that were totally infested... so I invited the older girls to clean up the straw so i could use it in the garden... again, they were happy to oblige. The younger girls are not so willing yet, but I expect they will get the hang of it soon. on an other insect related note, for some reason, we don't have the clouds of dancing dragon flies that we used to have. I think that may make the ant problem more severe.

We have all sorts of different ants this year. Big orange/brown ones.. they seem pretty docile and loners, they're huge though. Got the little black ones. Larger black ones. Fire ants. The chickens don't eat them, I wish they did

I have volunteer black soldier flies in my compost. That's a first for us too... There are thousands wiggling away in the compost. They're supposed to be really beneficial, so I was happy to see them. They compost stuff FAST and then you can feed them to your chickens. Funny enough, about 3/4 of that compost is chicken shavings

So basically they're making food out of chicken poop.

Love your present..

You are a hard working girl but as you say it's always good to have help and its more fun when working with others, that's why I love the porch. I may not have help at home but good to know we support each other here on the porch