The Random happenings of my day to day life.

[Jferlisi]

So i figure today is as good as any to start a Thread of my own with what happens in my day to day life. Quick background story, i live with my sister and her husband as a live in nanny. They have two boys and he works construction as a super for a company that builds bridges all over the us, so he isn't always home. We live in AZ, but before that i lived in CA. I moved out here in the fall of last year (2011) and brought a few of my girls with me and since then we have grown to 16 chickens, alot of babies and 6 ducks. I will post hopefully daily and will have alot of pictures for you all =D.

My BiL is home for the weekend and invited a friend and his wife over for a BBQ. So i cleaned up the house and then worked outside so far. Im glad its not a really hot day today cause that would have made cleaning outside stink. Cleaned up the duck area and trimmed some of the bushes in there so i can get to there house and also wash out the side of it. While the whole time being yelled at.
Here is the culprits of the yelling. They dontt have names since i don't know the genders yet. I know one is a drake but i dont know which. LOL

Im still waiting for daisy my pekin hen to start laying. She is the one on the right looking at me. LOL

I did the rounds checking for eggs since i have 6 broody hens right now. 5 are sitting on eggs, well 4 really my lavender ameraucana isn't she kinda just shares with my black ameraucana and my silver lakenvelder. Between those 3 they are sitting on 6 silkie eggs and 13 EE eggs. My SS is sitting on 8 silkie eggs and one of my silkies is sitting on 4 silkie eggs. All from my own eggs. I don't want to give my other silkie eggs yet cause i know she will sit on anything and will take any chick i give her so i want to make sure the first timer hens, the ameraucana's and the SS will sit full term and take care of the chicks. All the EE's are due to hatch thursday and same with the 6 silkie eggs. Im going to be driven mad with babies. I have 12 im trying to sell right now. LOL

My rooster who is in the witness protection program is very happy. LOL hes old, age unknown and my silkie has been attacking him these past few days so he is in one of the coops with a broody hen. LOL

Well i hope you all enjoy my post of my fun filled days and crazy chicken mishaps. LOL

 

[americana-lover]

wow! Sounds like a busy day everyday!

 

[thaiturkey]

How do you deal with those swimming pools? We have four goslings who, for the time being, share a couple of large bowls. The jump into clean water. poop in it and then bathe and drink. The water feeder is mainly ignored The water is changed at least three times each day and they always mess up the clean water immediately. Bigger pools like yours must take up a lot of your time.

 

[Jferlisi]

So for a short update today, Took our heeler to the groomer to get her hair trimmed since she was shedding like crazy all over the house i was sweeping up wads of it daily. Didn't get much sleep last night, nathan (2 year old nephew) wasn't feeling good last night so he was waking up every hour to two hours crying last night, so i was too. =/ He finally feel asleep at about 4 and didn't wake back up till about 8. But hes feeling fine now.

Thaiturkey - I just clean it out about once a week. I have a water pump thing with a hose and i use the water it to water the plants and everything. But yes they get it very dirty very fast. It takes up maybe 30 minutes of my day when i clean it. We are looking into getting a filter for it so i dont have to empty it weekly. Even tho i use the water for plants and things i still feel like im wasting water. =(

Americana-lover - I do but i think its good for me. I love being out door, i just wish i had a garden here like i did before i moved out here. The ground is so rocky and turns to like clay when wet. I would need to do alot of work for it. And where im at its good to have something to do since im not around much.

I hope everyone has had a nice weekend, we had a BBQ last night and the girls got all the watermelon rins to pick clean last night. They were super happy. You would have thought they were having there own little party down by the coop with how much noise they were making. LOL

 

[thaiturkey]

Thanks for the update. I enjoy reading about daily domestic doings with flocks because that the main part of keeping poultry and we're still learning.

Thanks also for the tips on swimming pools. We have a concrete lined pond but the goslings are too small yet to be a match for the cat fish in there - hence the bowls of water. We have a small pump of the type you describe and that would help if we got a bigger swimming pool. I just worry a little about their preference for poo water over clean water for drinking.

I wouldn't worry about 'wasting' a little water. It recycles itself! With a little help from nature and the water works, that is. We have rainwater butts to catch run-off from the house roof and use that as much as possible. That water is also free from added chemicals. We also sank a borehole for garden watering during the dry season. The underground water courses would just take water right past us so our occasional borrowing of water that goes back into the ground should please any eco-expert.

 

[Jferlisi]

We dont have gutters or anything and we are on a well. I just dont like it. =/ also we dont get alot of rain so i dont think rain catchers will help.

 

[thaiturkey]

As far as well water is concerned, I see it as us taking water from the ground and returning most of it after doing some good with it. The remainder will also be recycled.

 

[Jferlisi]

As far as well water is concerned, I see it as us taking water from the ground and returning most of it after doing some good with it. The remainder will also be recycled.

True, Im weird i guess. LOL

 

[Jferlisi]

So today i had someone come and buy a few of my blue and the last of my blue partridge chicks. Now i have one blue silkie cockerel left to sell out of the 8 chicks i hatched out. Im keeping the lighter one. =D

Also since today was (i feel) a nice day outside so i cleaned out the coop. It was really needing it.


OOOPS, spilled the water. LOL, The whole time i was cleaning the coop i was being informed that i wasn't wanted in the coop by my broody hens.

Here is the finished product.

 

[Jferlisi]

I went out today to find two new silkie babies under one of my broodies.

I cant wait to see if any of my EE's will hatch. One started to hatch and didn't make it overnight. =(