The Front Porch Swing

[ducksanddoxies]

Ha ha ah

Oh Lord, the egg song.


I have a production red and an Australorp that compete about being top hen. They actually 'battle' per egg song... FOR OTHER CHICKENS. They're not even laying.. they sing at the top of their lungs announcing another bird is laying an egg. And they will climb into the nestbox WITH the bird. They're rediculous They fight over nestboxes.. they always want the box the other is in. At one point I had THREE chickens in one of those plastic nestboxes. The two divas and the poor chicken trying to lay her egg.

Ha ha ha!

 

[ducksanddoxies]

The deed is done.  Floyd and Charlie are in the outside refrigerator, all cleaned, prepped and waiting for a couple of days before I wrap them for the freezer. Speckles got a reprieve.  It's strange, I don't know whether I should feel worse about butchering them or worse because I don't feel worse about butchering them.  (You may have to read that sentence a couple of times for it to make sense.)  When Ken was killing them it was harder than I thought it would be to see it.  But as soon as he had them hung those thoughts left my mind and I just got busy with what had to be done.  Does that make me less the gentle soul I always thought that I was?  I mean, I hunt.  I've shot cleaned and butchered many a deer, rabbit, and pheasant in my lifetime.  As soon as Ken was done with the hard part it's like that part of my brain took over, shoved my heart out of the way, and I just started right in. 

I think I'm gonna have to mull this over for a bit.  

I don't think it's wrong that it wasn't more difficult for you. It's a matter of respect. You respect that they sacrificed they happy chicken lives to provide for your family. It's a gift. Be grateful.

 

[perchie.girl]

Bacon? Never thought of that but it sounds fantastic! Gotta tell ya, Katie showed up while we were skinning the second chicken, and the first one was laying on a newspaper ready to go in for final cleaning. Neither of us heard her come up until she was almost at my elbow, and she asked, "Is today freezer camp day?" I sure didn't want her here for this, but she'd already seen quite a bit so there was no point in sending her home. Besides, if she had questions, this was the time to ask them. So I said, "Yep. You can go in a turn on TV and wait for me if you'd rather do that."

"It's okay, Gramma." She stared at the chicken Ken was skinning, Floyd, then looked down at the other one. Back and forth her eyes went, from one to to the other. "You know, Gramma, it looks like Floyd got all the food. He's really big. Charlie's mostly feathers and noise, huh?"

Gotto love the "kids" perspective.... Kind of sets us in place...

deb

 

[lazy gardener]

. 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?????

Is the wagon still big enough for her and not too tippy? My 7 y.o. was developmentally delayed, and spent a lot of time in clothes baskets. for that matter, both of my own children spent a lot of time in clothes baskets when they were youngsters, from the age of just learning to sit up, till they were about 2 - 3 years old. I'd strap a rectangular clothes basket to one of the cheap plastic toboggans, line it with a blanket, and put baby in, or set toddler in, and off we'd go. You could do the same with a clothes basket, or a milk carton with one side cut out. They provide a lot of support.

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.

I don't have an automatic door, YET. But, am in the process of planning a new coop to replace my hoop coop. This one will be stick built, planned size (for now) is 8 or 10' x 12. There's a thread with plans for home made automatic sliding pop door (think guillotine on slow motion) using the motor, and antenna assembly to a motorized car antenna. I think it may need a converter, and will be hooked up to a timer. Certainly much cheaper than the kits.

Further question for northern flock owners: How high is your coop from grade level, are you happy with this distance, what have you done to rodent/predator proof the space under your coop, do you allow chickens access under any part of your coop?

The deed is done. Floyd and Charlie are in the outside refrigerator, all cleaned, prepped and waiting for a couple of days before I wrap them for the freezer. Speckles got a reprieve. It's strange, I don't know whether I should feel worse about butchering them or worse because I don't feel worse about butchering them. (You may have to read that sentence a couple of times for it to make sense.) When Ken was killing them it was harder than I thought it would be to see it. But as soon as he had them hung those thoughts left my mind and I just got busy with what had to be done. Does that make me less the gentle soul I always thought that I was? I mean, I hunt. I've shot cleaned and butchered many a deer, rabbit, and pheasant in my lifetime. As soon as Ken was done with the hard part it's like that part of my brain took over, shoved my heart out of the way, and I just started right in.

I think I'm gonna have to mull this over for a bit.

Blooie: First, I love your avatar pic. Awesome!!! My hubby has been the axe man. Unfortunately, my meat roosters are reaching the day of reckoning, and hubby is not able to do the deed. He's still recovering from back surgery. On a side note, I am deeply grateful for the skill of a surgeon who was able to remove his pain so completely and successfully. God has greatly blessed us with a good surgical outcome, and the timing to allow me to have an income to replace hubby's lost wages until he is able to go back to work (soon!) I can't wait until I can have some days at home to catch up with all of the details i'm missing. Any how, I digress... sorry. I've found that once the head is off, the bird is just meat that needs to be processed. It will be hard for me this year to do the axe, but, I'll just have to get through it. My prayer is that i will be able to process each bird without any misses.

Gotto love the "kids" perspective.... Kind of sets us in place...

deb

Last year, when we processed our birds, my 12 y.o. hid out in the house. The 7 y.o. wanted to be outside in the thick of things. She laughed hysterically when she saw the birds run into the bushes without their heads. Not exactly the reaction i was expecting.

 

[Loc20chick]

He's still recovering from back surgery. On a side note, I am deeply grateful for the skill of a surgeon who was able to remove his pain so completely and successfully. God has greatly blessed us with a good surgical outcome, and the timing to allow me to have an income to replace hubby's lost wages until he is able to go back to work (soon!) I can't wait until I can have some days at home to catch up with all of the details i'm missing. Any how, I digress... sorry. I've found that once the head is off, the bird is just meat that needs to be processed. It will be hard for me this year to do the axe, but, I'll just have to get through it. My prayer is that i will be able to process each bird without any misses.

Thankful to God on hearing of your Hubby's successful surgery and great outcome. Praying for a speedy recovery

 

[lazy gardener]

Thank you.

 

[Blooie]

Is the wagon still big enough for her and not too tippy? My 7 y.o. was developmentally delayed, and spent a lot of time in clothes baskets. for that matter, both of my own children spent a lot of time in clothes baskets when they were youngsters, from the age of just learning to sit up, till they were about 2 - 3 years old. I'd strap a rectangular clothes basket to one of the cheap plastic toboggans, line it with a blanket, and put baby in, or set toddler in, and off we'd go. You could do the same with a clothes basket, or a milk carton with one side cut out. They provide a lot of support.

It's more a matter of the tethering in her spine, LG, than her being too big for the wagon or it being tippy. The spinal cord adheres to the surrounding tissue so when it stretches it causes further damage. I cut and pasted this from the SB website because it explains it so much better than I can:

"Tethering can happen before or after birth in children and adults; and most often occurs in the lower (lumbar) level of the spine. All forms of SB can be accompanied by spinal cord tethering; but it rarely occurs with Spina Bifida Occulta (SBO). In children, a tethered cord causes the spinal cord to stretch less as the child grows. In adults, the spinal cord will stretch during the course of normal activity like bending and stretching. If a symptomatic tethered cord (tethered cord syndrome) is left untreated, it can lead to progressive, permanent spinal cord damage.
What is tethered cord syndrome?
Tethered cord syndrome is the presence of several clinically recognizable signs (observed by a physician), or symptoms (reported by the patient) that occur together as a result of the tethering. These signs and symptoms can include: sensory disturbance, significant muscle weakness (as determined by neuro assessment), pain, and incontinence."

That muscle weakness is why it is so hard for her to maintain balance. Thing about how your back muscles fire to adjust your position when you shift your weight even slightly when standing or sitting. She can't do that very well because her muscles are weak, and because the nerves in her lower body don't fire well. So things like that wagon ride on uneven ground can easily cause further injury to her spinal cord. In her chair she has a solid back and seat assembly, all one piece. It's a pain in the butt because her chair doesn't fold for transport, but it holds her securely in her straps. It's why she didn't learn to sit unassisted until almost a year and half of specialized seats and physical therapy. Trying to maintain balance for her is actually painful at times because her spine moves, but her spinal cord doesn't.

I love all of you, my friends, for caring so much about one little girl! God forgot to tell Kendra she has a disability, and we're not gonna tell her either. We'll just do what we've always done...adapt, adopt, and adore.


Blooie: First, I love your avatar pic. Awesome!!! My hubby has been the axe man. Unfortunately, my meat roosters are reaching the day of reckoning, and hubby is not able to do the deed. He's still recovering from back surgery. On a side note, I am deeply grateful for the skill of a surgeon who was able to remove his pain so completely and successfully. God has greatly blessed us with a good surgical outcome, and the timing to allow me to have an income to replace hubby's lost wages until he is able to go back to work (soon!) I can't wait until I can have some days at home to catch up with all of the details i'm missing. Any how, I digress... sorry. I've found that once the head is off, the bird is just meat that needs to be processed. It will be hard for me this year to do the axe, but, I'll just have to get through it. My prayer is that i will be able to process each bird without any misses.

Thank you! That photo was the product of makeup and a great photographer! Teehee I'm so glad that your husband shook whatever ailed him and was able to get his surgery done. I'm especially thankful to the Good Lord and the skilled doctors that he's doing so well. I'm pretty much over the chicken processing thing. It was temporary, and the support from everyone here was helpful. We didn't do the axe thing. Ken just shot them in the head and they dropped right where they were, just like pheasant hunting only these pheasants had been raised in my house for almost 6 weeks. <sigh> You're a strong woman, you'll be able to do what has to be done when the time comes - I have total faith in you!

Last year, when we processed our birds, my 12 y.o. hid out in the house. The 7 y.o. wanted to be outside in the thick of things. She laughed hysterically when she saw the birds run into the bushes without their heads. Not exactly the reaction i was expecting.

Katie surprised me too. She was very matter-of-fact asking Grampa what this part was, or what that part did. I had to turn away when she admired what a pretty pink color the lungs were. I was trying not to laugh at the image of an 8 year old girl admiring the look of a chicken's internal organs. Silly baby!

 

[aussiegal318]

Hello mind if I pull up a chair & sit a spell. Sounds like many of you live like we do, a little differently. My husband has been in a wheelchair for 40 yrs so nothing is normal in our house. We have 5 dogs , 4 cats, 23 chickens & 5 alpacas. Our daughter, son-in-law & 2 grand sons live with us. Guess you could say its one big party.

 

[bruceha2000]

Oh Lord, the egg song.

I have a production red and an Australorp that compete about being top hen. They actually 'battle' per egg song... FOR OTHER CHICKENS. They're not even laying.. they sing at the top of their lungs announcing another bird is laying an egg. And they will climb into the nestbox WITH the bird. They're rediculous

They fight over nestboxes.. they always want the box the other is in.

At one point I had THREE chickens in one of those plastic nestboxes. The two divas and the poor chicken trying to lay her egg.

I have some that do that. The Faverolles will sing with a hen that has laid. Peep (Cubalaya) sometimes sings for no ****** reason at all I think, there are neither girls nor eggs in the nests.

Bruce

 

[Blooie]

Welcome to the Porch! There's always some home baked goodies and plenty of sweet tea to go around. The big, beautiful Percheron is Katee, the mangy looking English Setter is Molly, and the turtle under the bucket is, well, he's the turtle under the bucket! We've got swings, deck chairs, overturned buckets, porch steps and porch rails to sit in at the end of a long day! I'm Blooie, the resident nit-wit!