The Front Porch Swing

[LBejaran]

Thank you! 

That gives me an idea.  On another forum, people were saying if the hen isn't broody they might try to kill the chicks.  I could put the chicks in the coop but fence them off from Lena and Droopy.  Let them get acquainted.

I am feeling excited....have to get DH on board first.    (He can't say "NO" if they are already here--right?)

Lisa

That's the way to do it! Dad doesn't want me bring home anymore chicks, so I buy them without him knowing, hehe! He doesn't even peek into the brooder box, so it would take him weeks if not months to know for sure, mwahahahaha! <--- That's my maniacal laughter.

A couple months pass and he asks when I got that nice looking chicken...and I just pretend I didn't hear him.

 

[rrrmamma]

Lisa,
TSC has chicks right now, just sayin'. I set 24 in the incubator the day after my attack. I hated to take a chance with those eggs as I went from 12 a day to 3 or 4. I can't find POL right now so I will probably be at TSC tomorrow while my hubby is at a DR appt. right down the street. I will put them in the brooder in the barn under lights until the weather warms up then move them to a small pen in the run for them to get acquainted. A large portable dog kennel covered in a tarp works good for me for a grow out pen. It usually only takes a week for the big girls to accept the new little ones. Can't wait for this frigid weather to break. My arthritis flares and I don't feel like going outside. Maybe chickies will motivate me.
Deb

 

[Beekissed]

Now that I have caught up with the whole thread I would like to pull up a chair and have some tea. Lisa, so sorry about your losses .I lost half of my flock to neighbor's dogs last week. Still trying to decide if it is worth going for compensation.


On a lighter note. my dh surprised me with tickets to see the Eagles last night in Cincinnati. We got a great hotel room and really enjoyed the show. We don't leave the farm much, because finding someone to feed that we can trust is difficult.
Anybody here that keeps bees? We took a beginners class a few weeks ago and are ordering our hives. Hope we can still get bees this year. They are in demand and hard to find.
This thread is so comfortable. Thanks for letting me visit for awhile. Need to toss the cat from the bedroom and get some sleep. Last night was a lot later than usual for us and was a two hour drive home.God blessed us with good weather and clear roads for the trip. The sky was such a beautiful blue today.

Welcome to the Porch!!!

I'm so sorry about your chickens.

I had bees briefly some years ago but due to some weather and my inexperience, I lost it to swarming....but I've always wanted to get some again. I think everyone who has food for them should have bees...we need more bees. I built a top bar hive for mine and I'd do the same thing again if I was to do it all over again.

There's a thread on beekeeping on BYC I started back then and folks are still using it.

The Eagles???? How cool! I loved the Eagles back when...I'm so glad you got to do that and had a safe trip back. Please stick around and tell us stories whenever you get a chance!

Opinions please: As I have stated earlier, I am down to 2 hens. Lena (australorp) laid me an egg yesterday and is perking up and eating. Droopy (non-laying Barred Rock) is still quiet and is just barely touching the food. Both of them are survivors of a dog attack 3 years ago. I know you aren't suppose to put human thinking to animals, but when I let them out of the pen yesterday, they were looking for the others. They didn't stay out long, they went back to the coop on their own. I am thinking of getting some chicks and see if Lena and/or Droopy will take care of them. Do you think that would perk them up?

Lisa

Could be....you might try it and see how they accept them. Separate but within hearing and seeing until the chicks are around 2 wks...I brood mine right in the coop so the flock are used to them by then. Then I let the little chicks out...the big birds don't seem to see them as food competition when they are that little and they treat them gently, with just the lightest of pecks to the head when they are in the way.

Hi y'all,

Just stopped by to catch up. Hope Y'all have a blessed day today !!!

Bee, I know what you mean about certain expectations from people like Joel Salatin, I think he's became too well known. I think he puts out a lot of good ideas, It's a starting point for getting away from the old industrial model but, it's not the end all. He's only a man. And he doesn't do fermented food either!

Lisa, I don't know if chicks will make your girls happy, but I'd bet it will cheer you up! Death is hard, but life is a miracle every day. Nothing more cheerful than an armload of new peeps!

I love you guys! I know I don't say much, but I love to come here and get recharged.

I was just surprised and disappointed to find that what he wrote about and preached about in his books, he himself was not following. He had great ideas~I've used several of them~ but seems to have abandoned some of his standards concerning them and what I saw was in direct contradiction to what he is always criticizing other farmers for doing....he was doing it too!

 

[Beekissed]

It's a B-E-A-utiful day here today!

The snow is melting off a little and the animals are all sunning themselves while they can~Jake has dead Fanny tucked into his body and they are both sunning(poor guy!

)...I don't have the heart to take her away from him just yet. Had to go to one of the small towns about 25 mi. away and the deer were out running the fields and hills like fleas on a dog! It was amazing! But I'm thinking this winter has been really hard and they are trying to eat what they can to nourish their growing unborn before it snows again and covers the grass and browse.

I hope you all are having a warm,bright and beautiful day too!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Salatin is pretty up-front about being a Christian. I think I read in one of his books that he believes Genesis is literal, six days to create the earth and all the creatures upon it, for example. He is also pretty open about understanding there are comments on his animal husbandry techniques, though I don't think I've read anything in any of his writings where he mentions leaving dead animals in with the living, even when "company" is coming. But I admit I haven't read everything Salatin has written. He can be rather defensive about people criticizing the farm's procedures and policies. But he CAN be ... he has "enough" loyal customers and readers that he can afford to alienate a lot of people. He writes openly about that.

I consider Salatin to be a Motivational Speaker and a Charasmatic. There is practical information in his books, but it isn't always well organized. So, if a person only reads part of a book and then tries to implement the advice they might find themselves following an "outdated" version of the procedures which is also incomplete. That can be unfortunate, IMO, as he does seem to pitch at least one of his books as a "How To" manual.

Salatin is creating a video instruction course, and perhaps this course is more comprehensive. It is also rather expensive.

 

[enola]

It's sunny and 56º here today! Yep, just beautiful!

 

[Beekissed]

Read several stories in the news today that made me cry and thank God that He is still very much in evidence out there in the actions of His children. It's good to see these things when it seems like almost all the news stories focus on the bad things in the world.

Shout out to the Alabama House of Representatives!

Good job!

 

[Beekissed]

Here's some pics of Jake and his chicken. These were taken through windows at about 50-75 yds away, so please forgive the poor quality of the pics. If I go outside and try to get closer he comes to me and I can't get the shot.

 

[enola]

That is flat out DEDICATION! Not every dog is one in a million like that........

 

[TexasLisa]

Here's some pics of Jake and his chicken. These were taken through windows at about 50-75 yds away, so please forgive the poor quality of the pics. If I go outside and try to get closer he comes to me and I can't get the shot.

Bee, he is such a lover!!! Thank goodness it is cold there--think of the smell....

Lisa