The Middle Tennessee Thread

[1HappyFamily]

Stopping in to say hello! I'm in too much pain to sit & write for too long but had to say hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend & that you're off to a great start this week!

 

[matlock585]

Well I'm kinda starting to worry about my eggs now, I'm a week away from lockdown. I candled last night, I can't really see anything but mass, and the air pocket at the round end of the egg looked kinda small. I've been keeping my humidity around 50%, so I decided to up it some. I added more water and held it closer to 60% most of the day. I candled again tonight, and only 1 egg showed a bigger air pocket, and the other four all looked small. Maybe nickel sized or just smaller. The eggs seems to be developing to me though, as the mass grows each day and the open space is smaller. Ya'll think I'm still good?

 

[matlock585]

Also, as a sidenote, There's a thread in the incubating and hatching eggs category ya'll should check out. It is titled "egg in my bra is cheeping". It's the story of a lady who had 5 eggs under a broody, 4 hatched and mom left the nest so she took the lone cold egg left and stuck it in her bra till that night when mamma got back on the nest. The next day she took it to work with her in her bra again, and it started cheeping that day. Stuck it back under the hen and it hatched. Great story with some very funny name suggestions.

 

[HBuehler]

matlock...that late into the process you won't see much.The egg is so full of chick it's just a mass in there..hopefully you can still see the veins.As long as they are still there chickie is fine

So far this week we have sold 33 more chickens and only bought 5!! I no longer have the Wheaten Ameraucana flock but did keep Levi my Blue Wheaten Roo and a few chicks.Around here if your a chicken you had better hope you have a name and recently that hasn't been enough to keep you here but it helps

I have some beautiful boys looking for a yard to protect I'll give them to anyone that isn't going to invite them to dinner

No good update on the flu recovery...I'm sick of people blaming my chickens though.. no we didn't get it from our chickens...Meg is still sick along with my hubby but they are making progress.

 

[believer01]

So much to catch up on....

Troyer and Brown Chick, are Buckeyes a type of chicken? If so, I guess that means that they're not easy to raise? Will they go after copperhead and rattlers?

Tracyree, glad to hear hubby's ok with the chickies! What's that saying, Real Men Like Chicks?

Radfarm, we really need to see pics of those chicks on your shoulders! How cool! Guess they must like you a little bit, eh?

1HappyFamily, I hope the pain is gone!

Pain no fun!

Holly, hope the family gets over this crap!!! Okay, I just thought of one thing we hadn't discussed, have you tried Oregano oil for them? That stuff is nasty, but it kills everything bad!

Matlock now I gotta go try to find that thread! Too funny!

I'm tired and stinky, but my girls got a nice, big coop now. Mike did an awesome job expanding it, much sturdier than I would have been able to do! And he put the cutest trim on the door. Everything fits so nicely together I won't have to do much winterizing on the new part.

Knowing that most of the girls lay in the morning right now, I put the wood chips from the nest box in a cardboard box. I tried to lock them into the section of 'pen' that only has a 40" fence and no top. Was only about an hour when Mike and I realized that Gypsy Rose Lee was in the coop with us! I petted her for a minute then put her back on the other side of the fence. Looked up just in time to see her squat under the fence and scoot back into the chainlink pen and into the coop! Little Stinker!

She wanted "her" nest box and she wanted it now!!! Wandered in and out for awhile (too much noise and activity) and finally snuck in and laid an egg while we took a lunch break.

Meanwhile, Scarlett was on the other side of the fence trying desperately to join Gypsy! She flew up into the chainlink a few times so I went in her section and grabbed her before she could hurt herself. Took her to the cardboard box and set her inside. Did I mention I even put the golf ball in there? Well she started making that sound that says, "Ohh, girls, come lookie here"! So they came. Perhaps they hadn't noticed the new nest box before. Such head twisting, eyeballing and tail shaking you've never seen.... you could read their clucks and coo's....."don't tell me she thinks we gonna sit in that thing"! And, "Oh no you don't, not me"!

Second time I put Scarlett back in there she stayed and layed an egg. That's my good girl!

Next week I get to bring some new girls home! Yeah!!!

 

[HBuehler]

I know I showed you lots of chickens while you were here but one was a Buckeye..they are a fantastic chicken and do catch mice but honestly that's over rated with them...all of our chickens are great mousers that won't pass on a great game of mouse tag

They are not hard to raise but don't ship well as day old's..mine were not hatchery stock so I'm not comparing them I have no idea how they do.
I had thought about the Oregano but Meg won't take anything liquid pill or other..never has even when she was all sewn back together and her eyes swollen shut mouth swollen open not as much as a pain med went in her.Worse problem is she was 55 pounds soaking wet and now she's down to 47 pounds and 4'6" tall she didn't need a diet

just no appetite to eat.
But the good news is this is usually done in 14 days and we are on day 12

so that must mean she's going to be better soon

It put my bathroom remodel back several days but I found the kids bathroom and bombed it with cleaners and threatened the cat so we all have an agreement now and since I can't really go anywhere I have dug more junk out of closets and the attic than anyone can imagine and clearing it out of the house so some good will come out of the bad...still not done though.

3 of my new birdies flew in this morning..was worried about them shipping in this heat but they actually got here quick.Ethan though HAD to see them as soon as we got them so I got them out of the boxes..adult bantam Cochin's...after that one refused to go back in the box so she perched on the edge all the way to Sonic,the gas station and home...the car hop at Sonic looked a little caught off guard when she ducked down and was met by my little cochin hen looking at her like Hurry up I'm thirsty...doesn't everyone order a cup of water no ice with some strawberries for a chicken

 

[believer01]

Oh Holly! You are tooooo much fun! I so hope your young'uns remember all these neat things when they get to be all growed up and serious! "Yeah, there was this one time when Momma took us thru Sonic with a Cochin and..............."

 

[HBuehler]

So,you haven't heard about the trip to Speckeldhen's in GA when I bought Levi

I'll have to tell you that one when you come back..lets just say it involved a smart mouthed tiny town cop,my very serious husband and a jeep full of chickens..while rest of us were practically peeing our pants trying not to laugh.Oh yes,our kids will have lots of laughs when they grow up but if you can't laugh and have some fun in life then what's the point/

Hey,how's the coop going? The ladies were talking and since your building it they had some ideas...it's really hot and they are tired of holding their wings out and panting to keep cool so they have asked for central air...and then it gets so brr cold in the winter so a central heat and air unit was the winner, 2 automatic feeders one with feed and one with treats and they promise not to only eat the treats

and lastly dimming lights so they can turn them down low at nap time if you forget and leave them on. Whoops one more..they know I sometimes don't get the doors open when they want them open so automatic doors to the outside...Don't worry they don't ask for much

 

[cpegram]

That is too funny Holly

hey all a gorgeous hot day. I go back to work tomorrow it sure won't be fun with all that dark clothing. Oh well my parents are leaving out tomorrow.

I always hate seeing them go *sigh* a couple more years and they are moving down. I can't wait

 

[believer01]

Please don't fergit to tell me that SpeckledHen story, ok? Sounds like a winner.

Why don't we have a story week, where we post our special stories...be they funny, sad or heart-warming!?!

Holly, please give the girls a message for me okay? "Ladies, the coop is cute! It is functional. It has shade. There is some green stuff...... since there's no electricity out there the chance of a/c or heat is nil ,,,, I did hear bout somebody with hvac as well as curtains on the winders, so maybe you could go home with them!?! Let me know, ok?