The Old Folks Home

[ronott1]

I guess its too late to change it. Tracking says the box is in arkansas for some strange reason. Anyways.... i have a 12lb boston butt smoking with pecan, hickory, apple, and cherry wood chunks. Just picked 8 yellow crookneck squash. Bought a hamper of cream 40 peas from farmers market. Vidalia onions are in season. Gonna pig out in a few hrs.

The problem with the heat is if the package is stuck on a truck. If it is offloaded, it should be cooler.

I hope they make it ok!

 

[Bunnylady]

Im sure alot of u have heard of vidalia onions. They are grown in georgia and are as sweet as an apple. They are grown from an heirloom seed.

I've heard that the "secret" of the Vidalia onion is the soil in which it is grown, not the variety. There is some mineral lacking in the soil around Vidalia, Georgia; without it, an onion can grow just fine, but it lacks its usual "bite." You can take the same varieties of onion that are grown around Vidalia, grow them elsewhere, and they won't be quite as sweet.

 

[subhanalah]

I've heard that the "secret" of the Vidalia onion is the soil in which it is grown, not the variety. There is some mineral lacking in the soil around Vidalia, Georgia; without it, an onion can grow just fine, but it lacks its usual "bite." You can take the same varieties of onion that are grown around Vidalia, grow them elsewhere, and they won't be quite as sweet.:/   

that's a bummer. I wonder if it's the same thing that makes onions toxic to chickens? Maybe Vidalias are different? Anyone know?

 

[bamadude]

Well nevermind then on the free seeds then debbie downer.

 

[Bunnylady]

 

[sourland]

"Debbie Downer" -

 

[Bunnylady]

 

[CanuckBock]

Says DUCK...not DOG eh?​

First day out for the use to be not so lil' Crested ducklings...on golden pond. Them ducks grow up so quick and first day on paddle duty...like a duck to water, eh?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChickenCanoe

If I lived in a constantly cool climate, I'd have Chanteclers and Orloffs. A friend in Wisconsin raises whites.

I laughed when I read Orloffs...James Hopkins of Lakeview Fowl Trust in Ontario sent out an awful lot of White Standard Chants, even to places like Holland. He says one of the "contributors" to his lines also kept white Orloffs...so it would not surprise me to see a bit of Orloff in many of the White Chant lines as Jim recalls some of the progeny had a really Orloff look to them.

Russian Orloffs are spectacular birds. Sigrid has some photos of Moscow Orloffs (page 115) in her Colour Genetics publication and I was smitten with them the first time I gazed upon them. Very interesting breed.


Very glad you figured out the circumstances that caused the mink to visit your coops ...nice to know but makes it no less frustrating dealing with them. Things out of balance always seem to have extreme consequences and you paying such a high price for construction up from your land...sheesh--ain't that the case...you pay big time! Still nice to know the reason... We have Pine Martin/Fishers here and no less a threat. Having the 2 Snowshoe hares show up this winter and knowing porcupines frequent the area...the Martins DO have natural prey here besides all the dependents we choose to have. I find it interesting they have been known to take bobcats and wild turkey, carrion like deer from road kills, and some suspect cats and dogs too. Sounds like a most fierce predator!

Since the Martin/Fisher is from the mustelid or weasel family...

Wikipedia:

I have a buff brahma Cockrell and a blue buff Colombian easter egger...If they mate I'm bound to get more blue buff colombians, right?

Depends...Buff Columbian is a really simple recipe genetically...Gold (gender linked s-series) and Columbian on either eb Brown (grey down) or eWh Wheaten (white down). What is frightening is that an exhibition quality Columbian pattern has taken literally at minimum 100 years to select for -- talking perfection in diamonds in hackle and saddle (male) and tail pattern balance combined with feathered footing if the breed has it like Brahmas do (that breed is eb in the e-series). Simple colour genetics with plus or minus modifiers to get that perfect Columbian pattern. The bantam lines of Brahmas that we own were worked upon by Murray for some 65 years before we acquired them--not for the faint of heart as you gotta watch and select constantly against the pattern sliding into smuttiness--not crisp & clean--has dotty dots of dark colour to mess it up.

Murray's pure strain of bantam Buff Brahmas one generation from the foundation he sent us
​

My main concern is that Easter Eggers come from Araucanas which were primarily bred for "the novel characteristic of blue eggs" (SOP APA 2010). Nobody really gave a hoot about the plumage colourations which thus resulted in the freedom of focussing upon the decent egg production for blue eggs, being highly valued over what the birds looked like (function over form so to speak). You can have lots of colour pattern variables in Araucanas, never mind Easter Eggers (which by my understanding are not a "breed" but more thought of as a bird that lays anything from blue to green to other colours in eggs). Without someone watching what colour genetics are IN an Easter Egger for at minimum five or more years...anyone's guess what an EE may have.

Columbian does not have to be pure to be expressed in one form or another so cannot even be certain that any of the progeny will inherit Co but likely and hoping both sides of the mating will be pure for it.

One dose of blue dilution on a black base = blue feathers in birds. The female EE dam will throw 50% of her offspring the blue dilution allele and the sire will throw no blue dilution at all to his kids.

IF the parents are Co/Co and s"+"/s"+" (Brahma male) & s"+"/- (EE female), I expect you will have statistically half Buff/Blue Columbian and half Buff Columbian chicks. All bets are off though on the EE female as she could be hiding any number of colour patterns.

Breed them and watch closely...sounds like a FUN project and of course, you'll know about the colour genetics in you EE by breeding her and seeing what is thrown. Good times!

Happy Canada Day!

​

Wonderfully spectacular sunny and warm Canada Day...thanks Cynthia!

Never had my camera on me but I caught one of the bluebird Dads standing on the top of this flap pole Rick made...it is getting hot enough, I figure the Dad won't be standing on the metal cap too many more times, especially in the afternoons when it heats up.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

Edit to re-load photo not showing up...

 

[bamadude]

Yea what she said

 

[bamadude]

My bootylicious boston is getting close