The Front Porch Swing

[Oldmomma]

If any of you folks live in the Springfield, Missouri area this sweet angel was a cousin of mine, stop by and give a hug tomy cousin and his ffamily for me https://www.facebook.com/fundforhailey?ref=stream&fref=nf this one was hard coming just after my son died. Family could use lots of prayers.
busy day, took my suv into the local dealership to have a issue looked at and spent 6 hours there. Then went home and rested about an hour then headed to a local clinic to have my eye looked at, yesterday while sitting with my chicks one climbed up my arm and I turned my head to say hello and he picked me right in the corner of my right eye. It was on the crease of the eyelid but I got a blood bruise. She gave me some eye drops and everyone got a laugh me getting pecked by a chick or is that Hen pecked"? Lol Thankful it wasnt worse remind everyone to watch out when handling animals I forgot and they hadnt climbed up that high since they were week old.

 

[LindaB220]

Those sound like great improvements. I love love LOVE that Jake will be in with the birds. We know how much he LURVES his birds!

I used strings of LED outdoor holiday lights for my coop work light. I bought them after the holidays for a couple bucks a box, but they sell higher-quality outdoor string lights year-round.

You remind me my dusting box needs a new load of peat moss and sand ... I hadn't thought they were using it much, but all the "stuff" disappeared out of it, so

We do have some dead wagons, and the back halves of pickup trucks, etc., decorating the property, and I was hoping to use some to build portable coops, which could be set up with the electro-netting ... and then we could move the birds through the fields and let them help with some of the nursery maintenance ... but that idea didn't "fly" ... Dad has a very strong aversion to any kind of electric fencing. It isn't always easy to get the team up to speed with these "progressive" ideas.

I'm poking around for an idea that WILL fly because letting them free-range resulted in coyote lunch buffet ...

and I just hate to see them confined to a bare lot

.

For the current pastures, we've used a combination of metal T-Posts, wood 2 x 2 stakes we buy in bulk for staking trees, and nursery stakes (these are thin round metal stakes that can be poked into the ground very easily and we have thousands and thousands of them). Then we string that with chicken wire up to about 6' (supposed to be 1" chicken wire below, a little lapped on the ground to deter digging; 2" wire above -- and where they used the 2" below the chicks can get through, and where they didn't lap it on the ground the more intrepid hens get in and out at will, but they can also fly over the fence if they are determined, which some of them are, but those birds are also very savvy, so we don't worry about them much, they come and go as they please). It is about the least expensive fencing option we could think of, and it works okay. Ish. Exceptions noted. But we're going to need a LOT more of it, and soon.

I've never really used peat moss before. Do you wet it and let it expand or use it dry. Maybe wetting it is for planting?

 

[heartsizedfarm]

If any of you folks live in the Springfield, Missouri area this sweet angel was a cousin of mine, stop by and give a hug tomy cousin and his ffamily for me https://www.facebook.com/fundforhailey?ref=stream&fref=nf this one was hard coming just after my son died. Family could use lots of prayers.
busy day, took my suv into the local dealership to have a issue looked at and spent 6 hours there. Then went home and rested about an hour then headed to a local clinic to have my eye looked at, yesterday while sitting with my chicks one climbed up my arm and I turned my head to say hello and he picked me right in the corner of my right eye. It was on the crease of the eyelid but I got a blood bruise. She gave me some eye drops and everyone got a laugh me getting pecked by a chick or is that Hen pecked"? Lol Thankful it wasnt worse remind everyone to watch out when handling animals I forgot and they hadnt climbed up that high since they were week old.

Ouch!

 

[Tomtommom]

Getting serious for just the tiniest moment because I have a bare backed hen. No wounds or redness, but just skin. And summer could bring on sunburn right?

So I wondered what about spraying her back or rubbing something into her back that the roo wouldn't like the smell of? Do they have smell? Because I can't figure out how a little patch of cloth would stay on, even wrapped around wings as they show.

Doubt it... They have like 200 taste buds (no kidding, chickens can't taste much at all!), so I doubt their sense of smell is much better. Now their hearing is impeccable, and their sight, as long as it's not directly under their beak, is pretty good too.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I've never really used peat moss before.  Do you wet it and let it expand or use it dry.  Maybe wetting it is for planting?

We just mixed it in there dry. It was an idea I got here somewhere, and I gave it a shot and they seemed to like it. Or at least it all disappeared over the winter.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Little penguin Freedom Mutt checking out his big white belly.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Little penguin Freedom Mutt checking out his big white belly.

 

[OHhappychicks]

@OHhapppychicks... I'm sorry you went through that.

I would have to make the same decision your daughter did.

Thank you Triple Willow. But learned alot about myself and my walk with the Lord thru all of that. Saw God's grace, mercy, comfort and love abound!!!

 

[LBejaran]

I haven't had a chance to post a picture of one of our new chicks!

We bought about 6 chicks this weekend, one of which was actually free because he is kinda...deformed. I was disturbed that the feed store hadn't culled him earlier, but he was bigger than most of the other chicks. Any normal, decent seller of chicks would cull once that sort of injury took place (heck, if the chick came out of the shell with an injury, they'd cull).

Well, this is Mr. Q. He was named by Nivia. She said the name was because his beak was chueco (crooked).

He's cute, but I had a hard time not being sad while looking at him. It's kinda like seeing a neglected dog; you know he'll be fine but you're sad he got that way in the first place.

 

[Beekissed]

I believe you have coined a new word! Let's see if we can get it in the dictionary next year!

Lisa

I love it!!! Blooied! We could even add a prefix of "Ka" and a hyphen to it.

I need to get a sand box going for my girls. I just have a small dish and it's not big enough. What kind of sand? Mine has tiny rocks in it.

Edited to add:

http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/AGAP/frg/Mulberry/Papers/HTML/Mulbwar2.htm

I tried sand this winter and they wouldn't touch it. This year I'm going with their native soils, which are primarily clay so when they dust in them it's a very, very fine powder...like silt.

Those sound like great improvements. I love love LOVE that Jake will be in with the birds. We know how much he LURVES his birds!

LJ, you wouldn't believe how much he pouted over my killing the meat chicks this time....he pouted for a couple of hours after the dirty deed even. Just laid there with one of the big, orange legs sticking out the front of his mouth and a sour look on his face....kept stealing looks at me like I'd just shot his mama but wouldn't look me in the eye and wouldn't come around me for awhile. Finally, later on in the day, he consumed all the legs I left for him, but he still wasn't happy with me.

That dog is a fool over "his" chickens.

Getting serious for just the tiniest moment because I have a bare backed hen. No wounds or redness, but just skin. And summer could bring on sunburn right?

So I wondered what about spraying her back or rubbing something into her back that the roo wouldn't like the smell of? Do they have smell? Because I can't figure out how a little patch of cloth would stay on, even wrapped around wings as they show.

Just out there looking at the bare backed hen and considering the duct tape idea. I think it would work if I put a gauze pad on the bare part and duct tape over it. I have bright blue duct tape for emergency mending of torn horse blankets. Should be interesting.

Before you go with your gauze idea, you could apply some castor oil to the skin to heal and condition it, while also encouraging feather regrowth.

My broody sisters are co-parenting the chicks. I ended up with 6 including a little deformed one with bug eyes. It was so cute but it was weak and didn't make it. So now the sisters have 5 chicks that are doing good. I don't get to see them much because if I open the door they call the chicks back under them. It is too cute!

Lindz, are you feeling any better?

I've never seen anything like that bug eyed chick! Looks like an alien.

Little penguin Freedom Mutt checking out his big white belly.

LJ, I just love the looks of this little guy...I've never seen markings like that before on a chicken, even a mutt. Do you have any idea of the breeds involved in that cross? He looks to be part Delaware with that bulgy, meat chick lookin' butt of his.