The Old Folks Home

[yinepu]

How he has grown!!! ANd the stripes are gone. Will he be a black as an adult?

Paco should have a black head and brown body.. he was DNA tested as a male and was our "first born"

Dorian and Rose still have some lighter feathers mixed into their bodies (with Dorian having the most).. they aren't stripes anymore.. just a smattering of light feathers here and there... those 3 were all hatched out within a few days of each other.. so Rose and Dorian may end up being a bit lighter as adults.. or they might moult out and become darker like Paco

even our youngest who is about the size of a small turkey (which is still small next to these guys) has lost it's stripes

 

[yinepu]

I would like to see more pics of your emu baby, maybe a full body shot with something close by for reference?

Here is a pic of a tote that Stumpy made. I got it as part of a trade that she and I made a while back. Isn't it great?! I just love it!

I have so many feed bags that some day (hopefully) will become feed bags... *sighs* if I ever get around to it

nice bag though... I don't think we have that brand locally.. most of my "nice" bags are dumor or purina... I only get those once in a blue moon.. our regular feed comes in plain paper bags

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
They look like they would make short work of a predator!! Huge beaks and lots of power behind it! How close are they to final adult size?

 

[yinepu]

They look like they would make short work of a predator!! Huge beaks and lots of power behind it! How close are they to final adult size?

They can get to be about 6 feet tall..
So they have a little more to grow before they reach full adult size.

the mallards are no longer allowed in the emu's area..the emus chase them out as soon as they see them
and if any chickens get out of the coop the emus chase them down and herd them back to the coop for me. They allow the muscovys (they are afraid of the muscovy drakes) and don't care about the turkeys at all. Only one cat is allowed in their area now.. and some days they chase him out. For now only one dog (our great pyr) is allowed in their area.. we did get a second livestock guardian puppy.. but she was so tiny when we brought her home that we want her to grow a bit before she goes to live with them

 

[Stumpy]

This may be a dumb question, but are you raising the emus for meat? It would be so interesting to have such large birds.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
FUnny the logic behind who is allowed and who is not!!! My muscovey drake chases my turkey toms, so they are minus most of their tail feathers !! Heehee I'm sure the puppy needs time to grow up and become confident before tackling a large bird. ALways about balance.

 

[Arielle]

I have my lasat bact of BO still in the house. I had planned to move them yesterday but thought they were too small to cope with the bigger chicks. But today they are every where! Bathroom floor, kitchen, TV room! On my lap! Just gotta love buff orpingtons.

I was just reading on the heritage thread--lots of great wisedom there, though I don't dare tell Bob that I do name my chickens , a few, and while I don't hug them, I do pet them. Who can resist a willing buff. It's stitting on my leg while ai type preening itself. Hope its a girl.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Thanks for the picture update! I love to live through you with your emus.

 

[Arielle]

I rehomed about 18 birds out of the house and into the juvie coops tonight. THe house is quiet. Peacefully quiet. (THe rest of the chicks, the littlest ones. are asleep. )

ANd it's my last night of vacation home alone. Of course I didn't get everything done that I wanted to but a few things are completed.

EE are using their new nest box. THey stand on each other to have the honor of laying in the corner of their coop. THey have the WHOLE floor to lay on, but only one corner will do. I built the box large enough for 3 hens side by side, just in case. But I'm sure they will still fight over the prime location!!

Found one hen in a special laying area long after dark. She squawked when I removed her to roost in a secured coop. I don't think she realized she could become chicken dinner for a fox!

I washed 3 wool blankets in the washing machine. I've learned the hard way to eliminate the agitation cycle by standing in attendence the whole time --makes me think of my grandmother using the old washer with the rollers. I can still hear her caution to keep fingers away. Funny the things we remember. Blankets are dried and ready for storage.

Need to clean LG hatcher for another batch of marans; I looked at my older chicks and they are all boys. Hoping for a few pullets in the next two batches!!

 

[Wisher1000]

I went out and candled my two peafowl eggs. I have movement in both! One just sort of swayed a bit but the other was cuttin' flips! They don't look like the chicken eggs that I have candled before. They seem to be developing all on one side of the egg, along the long axis. Is that normal? Is it possible that she is not turning them enough? The air cells look good, maybe a bit big, and the veins, black dots, and shadowy places are all on one side of the egg. Should I go out and turn them? Yinepu, HEEEEELP!

They are on day 8 and the veins were easy to see and the eye (I guess) is quite dark. There is a well defined shadowy mass to one side and I think I saw the yolk on the other side.