The Old Folks Home

[perchie.girl]

Deb, These days most people are finding romance online through some dating service of sorts. I know a couple and he was abt. 74 and she was 62 they had mutual interests and got along great!
They have been together for abt. 7 years and live together. They are good company for each other.

Or you might try just some chat rooms on like yahoo and see who's/ who. Just some thoughts.

I agree with Scg and Wisher everyone needs someone even if it's just friends.

yep I would love to have someone to enjoy my land with me. With or with out romance. Just a connection.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

deb --
The upside, though, of not being partnered is that you don't have to compromise. I imagine once you get back out to the desert you'll do things how you want to and enjoy the freedom. Of course, if you get lonely.... But that's another thought for another day in the future. Frankly, I think you're doing a stupendous job with all that's going on in your life. You've got gumption, gal!

Someone asked me once Dont you get lonely without a partner. There is a big difference between being alone and being lonely... I am not lonely. The lonliest I have ever been was in a room full of people. Once I got outside I was only alone.

does that make sense?

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Deb you sound like me - never married, no one ever asked. I asked once - NO reply. My son is 30 . My niece was married 5 yrs., divorced. Tried several dating arenas no- luck . She's supremely independent - non comprising at any level. Turned 50 in spring. Not any more likely than I am to fit into the "crystal slipper" if offered.

Had my son at 38- the best thing to ever happen to me. Would have loved to have another child or two and a decent husband. Wasn't meant to be.

Had mine at 34. Mine is 26... Dated a couple of times Pursued one man caught him ... then threw him back. Were still friends though.

deb

 

[ChickenCanoe]

@perchie.girl

There is a lady on facebook that has the most lovely nest boxes.

She says that she got the plan from an extension book 25 years ago.








She puts a heat tape in the middle of the roll of pipe insulation... That the eggs bump up against.

She also said "Here are some pics of our nest boxes. The floors are 1/2" hardware cloth. The floor angle is 1" per foot. It may be possible to modify existing boxes by adding a slanted floor and a covered front compartment for the eggs. The one in the pics is 24x36, but the design can be easily adapted to fit the space you have (rectangular or square)."

In most of the photos it isn't on yet, but she has a hinged perch in front of the two openings so that it can be blocked shut if need be.

The big open/screen side goes up against a coop wall, the way it is made there is a bit of a gap between the wire nest box wall and the coop wall, for some air flow and a very time bit of light.

Thanks for posting the great pictures. I'm trying to get my trap nests finished.
Eventually I want to add roll out nests to them and rather than trap the hens, I want to microchip them and install readers on the nests so each egg can be marked with the hen.

very nice I need to get some prototypes made out of foam core. I need the roll out part to be flush with the coop wall so I can pull a drawer out to gather eggs.

My concept is about the same size with a single door. My coop partitions are six feet wide and I still need to get food and water along the same access point....

coop... With the nests situated I can go down the wall inside out of 105 degree heat an collect eggs. I can also figure out a way to chill them too with water from underneath. part of their water circulation and eventually to their waterer.



Here is a to scale sketch in isometrice... yep I still draft just dont have any tools. execpt a straight edge




In my case I need to keep the eggs cooler in the summer time to give me a day or two to collect.
As it is I may be making that six by six cage door completely hinged so I can get into the coop and vaccume. Yep I am considering building a bg bag vacuume system.exterenally situated where I can open it up right at the compost area. Then I can pressure spray the wood for clenaing. Its dry enough that I can do this on a regular basis.

Each space will be big enough for approximately eighteen LF birds. So I want to do the cleaning part right. Thats why the perches are up at the end over the pop door. Ideally food and water will be outside I want to be able to provide each partition with access to their own. Water I can do outside

I am also considering doing a game bird feeder for outside. OUtside there is pleanty of space for feed stations and enrichment stations. Because I wont be able to free range the LF. Too slow for the predators.

deb

Nice setup.
It reminds me a bit of my breeder complex It is a hexagon shape split in half by a covered breezeway from which I can access all the nest boxes, roosts and bulk feeders while being out of the weather.
There are 5 units. 2 are for pairs or trios, a third for 3 or 4 birds and two can take a cock and 5 hens (that's where the trap nests are) The smaller units also serve as broody hen quarters. The complex has automatic water with varying nipple heights so I can add a chick height nipple if it is a broody house.

I think the reason that all our chickens are laying at the moment is a combination of the added light I've got for them, and the fact that the last week or so we've actually had 2-3 sunny days, when the 2 months before that has been just rain and cloudy weather.

I started adding light a little over a month ago for one flock and they started laying about 3 weeks ago and all have been laying for the last week. I added light to another building 2 weeks ago and have been getting an egg or 2 for nearly a week. Yesterday I got 6 out of 7 older hens in there.

Thanks everyone. I had forgot how hard it is to tell them all apart. lol I have been going thru the catalog looking at the pics trying to decide. Some I have figured out and a couple I think might be Marans. I really don't care as long as they lay eggs. lol

V them being from the extreme cold and lights would be the right combination.

The feathersite has lots of chick pics for each breed and variety.
The chick pics are at the bottom of each breed page.
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKChickensA-C.html
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKChickensD-O.html
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKChickensP-Z.html

Thanks, Ron.

Looks like you're getting a Christmas week heat wave.

I know we're not alone but unseasonably warm is an understatement to say the least. We set a record of 72 on the 12th. It's hitting 67 on Wednesday.
I put a liquid syrup feeder on the bees yesterday since there's no chance of it freezing before they use it up.
I made a candy board yesterday with 12 lbs of candy in it I'll put on at the end of the week that should take them through spring.

Not on this thread!

I am so old that I read the post and then could not remember if I should be outraged by it or not

Looks like you guys are getting some rain and snow.
Any chance it is putting a dent in the drought?

The egg gods like me today... I have already collected 4 and have found 1 for sure, possibly a second, that were eaten before I could get them. This is the most eggs I've had in a day in over a month! Way past time those slackers got back to earning their keep!

On another note, I'm finishing up the last of some chicken and broccoli Alfredo I made a few nights ago. It's amazing how many meals you can make out of 2 chicken breasts, 4 head of broccoli, a box of pasta and a jar of Alfredo sauce (extended with some milk and Parmesan cheese). I've been eating it for 4 days now. Glad though that this is the last of it... time for something new.

Days are getting longer starting today. The slackers will be back in business in the next month or so.

The pasta still sounds good.

I agree on the pig smell, that's about the worst animal produced smell there is. Wouldn't want to live down wind from a broiler farm either...

And as much as I like dogs, I can't stand them barking for no reason at all. Luckily, most of our dogs stay quiet unless there's someone at the door.

Not looking like much of a winter here, so people are coming up with alternative methods to spread Christmas spirit.

The Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC had a story about Finland last night. She said that Norway wants to give Finland a mountain for Finland's 100th birthday. That will make 4300 ft. the highest point in Finland (about like Oklahoma).
Happy early birthday.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Someone asked me once Dont you get lonely without a partner. There is a big difference between being alone and being lonely... I am not lonely. The lonliest I have ever been was in a room full of people. Once I got outside I was only alone.

does that make sense?

deb

I couldn't have put it better myself. Most of the time I prefer to be alone.

No kids for me.


CC... yeah I have temperature stabilization issues in the LG, too. The best I could figure out was to put giant heat sinks into it - basically filled 12 oz bottles with water - to help stabilize the temp.

All might not be lost. Don't give up.

I need to get something into the incubator for meat and eggs next year.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Someone asked me once Dont you get lonely without a partner. There is a big difference between being alone and being lonely... I am not lonely. The lonliest I have ever been was in a room full of people. Once I got outside I was only alone.

does that make sense?

deb

It makes perfect sense.

I couldn't have put it better myself. Most of the time I prefer to be alone.

No kids for me.


CC... yeah I have temperature stabilization issues in the LG, too. The best I could figure out was to put giant heat sinks into it - basically filled 12 oz bottles with water - to help stabilize the temp.

All might not be lost. Don't give up.

I need to get something into the incubator for meat and eggs next year.

Thanks. I never give up till about day 24. I usually can't see into any of my eggs so I just hope and wait.
I figured 34 eggs cooking was a pretty good heat sink in an incubator that size.
The LG had been holding steady about 99-101 most of the time but it hit 103 about 5 days in and then that huge spike a couple days ago. There's really no reason for an incubator in a constant temp environment to all of a sudden jump 7 degrees. Well, yes there is a reason. The crappy finicky thermostat. You would think a company that has sold millions of these things would be able to invest in a more usable stable controller by now.
I was looking at the box the LG comes in. It is almost impossible to find the company logo. In big bold lettering it says STILL AIR INCUBATOR. Squeezed into the corner is a little giant logo. That's showing pride in your product.
I should have gotten my cabinet incubator refurbished by now but I've been busy with lots of construction outside.
I guess I won't be setting any more eggs till I get that done though.

 

[sourland]

Someone asked me once Dont you get lonely without a partner. There is a big difference between being alone and being lonely... I am not lonely. The lonliest I have ever been was in a room full of people. Once I got outside I was only alone.

does that make sense?

deb

That makes perfect sense to me.

 

[ronott1]

Looks like you guys are getting some rain and snow.
Any chance it is putting a dent in the drought?

The water experts say no, that the wet weather is not enough to end the problems from the years of low water.

California is not like the rest of the country. We do not get rain for 6 months of the year. Each year we have a drought that beats the worst drought then other places have ever had (not verified, that is what a water expert said). Really, when I say not rain, I mean no rain--Sometimes there will be a thunder cloud go by so for that reason they put in .1 inches for the entire 6 months. We get our rain mostly for thee months a year, Dec to Feb are the wettest months.

I think it is very hopeful though.

The big problem is the water storage. The ground water is so depleted that millions of residential wells are dry. The ground is sinking so fast that the high speed train will have to figure out a way to stay level--They will have to raise the track somehow every month or so to keep it level. Shasta lake, the states largest water storage is more than 150 feet from the top. The lake started going up last week.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:


yep... California's water comes mostly from snow. My well is down 100 feet. and its 450 feet deep one of the shallowest on the mountain. My well guy said its like that all over. Recovery time is slower also. But my well has been that way since the Simpsons sold the place to the Church.

San Diego has been in water conservation mode since I was in High school.

The last dregs of water from the Colorado feed the imperial valley Agriculture before it makes its way through Mexico. It used to Feed in to the Sea of Cortez. Now it falls short by about ten or twenty feet. They used to be able to pilot a Stern wheeler as far up as Yuma AZ.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboats_of_the_Colorado_River

We meaning the US sucked the Colorado river dry.

San Diego gets 60 percent of its water from the Colorado. We just had a Desalination plant go on line in Carlsbad December 14.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlsbad_desalination_plant

Also in the works is water reclamation. Santee has been on the leading edge for some time for water reclamation. Since 1959. And just recently they have started offering Santee residents Free water. You have to go and fill up totes there. It is considered only to be used as irrigation. But its as pure as any lake water....

Most of Santee public areas like parks are irrigated with purple water pipes. Purple pipes indicate reclaimed water.

http://www.padredam.org/130/Water-Recycling-Facility

and yep its reclaimed from sewage.

deb

 

[vehve]

@ChickenCanoe Nice of you to check in. Yeah, the mountain business is pretty fun. It would involve moving the border about a hundred feet. And it would move Finland's highest point from a slope to an actual peak. And like that story shows, it would give great publicity for both countries. Giving it away wouldn't be a big deal for Norway, it isn't even among their 200 highest mountains, but for Finland it would mean something, and would be a wonderful gesture.

Finland will be turning 100 years in 2017, that's what all this business is about. But all in all, I think it says something about the relations of two countries that they're discussing giving mountain tops as Christmas presents, rather than putting up walls and armed guards. My favorite story about border disputes is one between Sweden and Canada though. There's some small island somewhere, that both claim to belong to themselves. They regularly patrol there with ships, and keep taking down the other country's flag. At the same time, they always leave a bottle of whiskey there, and it's always a better one than what the other one had last left there.