The Front Porch Swing

[Triple Willow]

Lindz... I'll give you my addresss so you can forward any extra jam you need to get rid of. LOL Looks yummy!

 

[lazy gardener]

Bee (or anyone else), I would like to pick your brain on electric netting fence. What do you keep it charged with? How well does it work? Thinking of getting one but they look complicated, which I doubt they are, so I must be over thinking it.

Pick my brain! You won't find much meat there! I have an electronet fence, and love it. Came from Premier 1. You have to be sure you have a charger that is compatable with the fence, and puts out enough power. Read the accompanying literature to the fencing before selecting your charger. If you don't get a charger strong enough, you'll be disappointed, and it won't repel your target predators. You can run your charger from solar, deep cycle battery, or household current, depending on the style of charger that you buy. And you don't have to buy your charger from the same company, though one stop shopping might be more convenient. I do suspect that it may be more costly. When i set my fence up last summer, i didn't think it was working because i'd grab the fence, and not feel much. Then one day, i took my shoe off and stuck my toe in the damp grass. It gives quite an impressive jolt. That's what Rocky raccoon will feel. My chicks can still slither through the fence and it doesn't bother them, most likely b/c they don't have much contact with the ground when they do it. Also, the scales and feathers associated with chickens make them more resistant to the voltage.

Premier sells fencing that is 100' and an other model that's 168'. If you have the space for it, i'd recommend that you buy the longer fence. The single prong posts are easier to set up and to move, but they aren't as stable. I chose the double prong posts, and have been happy with them. You'll need to add extra posts (which you can buy at any farm supply store), UNLESS your yard is pancake flat.

 

[RachaelS]

Quote: LOL! Thank you for that info. I need it to keep the chickens in also, so not sure if that is my best bet.

 

[Triple Willow]

How very sad.  That's what our educational system has done for us:  Tried to remove us so far from our creator that they would have us believe that we are on an equal plane with animals.  
Yep!

I don't want to laugh at the inevitable aspect of death when it comes to responsible chicken keeping, but i found your comment amusing, especially in comparison to the folks who would propose that we all keep a stun gun or gas chamber in our back yard to do the deed.  IMO, dead is dead, the quicker the better... just one step along the continued circle of life from birth to the crock pot.
I agree. I have said several times how I hate killing chickens. When I do kill them I want it both as painless and as quick as possible. Wish I could figure out how to make it painless for me. But then again, maybe it shouldn't be painless for us...? I keep walking by my roo pen every day thinking about how I need to "get around to" killing them.

 

[LindaB220]

Hello all, hope your day is great. Mine is way behind because my internet keeps going out. I've got all my eggs in the incubator but I don't have a reliable candler. I really think all my SBEL's that got heat spiked are dead. Light on one side but darkness on the other. And the darkness is getting bigger. Sometimes I think I see veins but the light is so wretched that I just can't tell. So I'm just keeping on going. Hope they don't start exploding. None are cracked or dripping.
We're all doing well, Aimee is doing much better with good food and lots of water. Two days off.

 

[Triple Willow]

@Bruce... Thanks. Turns out they are not rumpless, so not Araucauna.

 

[LindaB220]

Not entirely true.

http://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/gms2-breeding-for-blue-eggs/

Long story short, if the blue egg color in the female is recessive and the male does not carry the gene or his is recessive as well, you may end up with another color.

That's what my SBELS's are Leghorn and Cream Legbar

 

[enola]

Well Bee, I have to say that you have a really nice looking pine blanket chest there. I suppose you could use it for a casket when your mother dies. However, given your description a few weeks ago of how active she is, I suspect that won't be for some time. 


You turned a pretty little girl into strawberry jam!!!?????  

I asked the question of TW since I thought it might be pertinent to someone who knows true Araucana with respect to what one looks for and when to determine gender. 


Unfortunate since the only way to get new SOP colors is to breed them and when consistent, apply to the APA.

Do yours have ear tufts Enola?

Interesting, I looked at Wikipedia (yeah, I know) and the article said that everywhere except in NA, Araucana chickens have no wattles at all. They also have tails, muffs and beards. All three are disqualifications in Canada and USA. Sounds like the only similarities are the ear tufts and blue eggs.
Are there other chicken breeds that are nearly NOT AT ALL identical in some parts of the world?  Bizarre.

Bruce

No, mine do not have tufts. I will not purposely breed a chick that dies right before it hatches, just to have feathers growing out of it's ears.

A perfectly double tufted Araucana is a beautiful bird. But, you have to hatch a lot of chicks to get one with nice double tufts.

My rooster I am using now does not have wattles. Not even tiny ones. Since I have no interest in showing my birds, I don't breed to color standard. I breed for conformation first, good temperament in roosters and the blue-est eggs in hens.

I do need a new rooster for some genetic diversity. I am having a hard time finding one that doesn't have wattles or what is called dropped tail feathers. Both are definite signs of cross breeding.

Do you have Araucanas, Bruce?

 

[LindaB220]

Yes...those people. Those people need to get out of the coop for awhile and look at the big picture if the term rooster offends them.

Yeah...I haven't been back on that thread, nor will I. Cannot stand to deal with pedantic people pontificating on proper poultry palaver..... One fella even said a person couldn't breed if they didn't know the proper terminology.....and I asked how he had children, as I'm sure he didn't know the correct terminology on THOSE parts.

Yes, bless their little hearts!

Southern for "why, aren't they just dumber than dirt?", said in a sweet southern twang.

Heh heh

 

[dpenning]

Bee (or anyone else), I would like to pick your brain on electric netting fence. What do you keep it charged with? How well does it work? Thinking of getting one but they look complicated, which I doubt they are, so I must be over thinking it.

I got the electric fence from Premier to create a run for my chickens. So far so good. I got the solar charger and I can tell you it does put out quite a good zap. Both my hands were tingling for a little while when I got zapped. I do see sparrows perching on the top strand but never for very long. All 4 of my dogs have had their noses zapped and will not go near it again. So far I'm impressed but it has only been up for 3 weeks.

My spousal unit wants me to order another section to enlarge the run to go around our holly bushes so the girls can keep them grasshopper free but I"m waiting to hear in another thread if the chickens will hurt the holly plants.

Setup was very easy, drive a ground rod in and connect the charger to the fence with a clip like used on jumper cables.