Utah!

[Iain Utah]

Thanks, everyone!!! Spirit is definitely as sweet as she looks!!

It's raining here, too!!

Cynthia, sorry about your showgirls. I don't know about chickens, but for waterfowl I weigh eggs before setting and know I need a target 16% weight loss to avoid fluid issues. Sometimes, even though my bator is only at 25%, I still have to mist/cool them every day to get enough evaporation.

 

[Iain Utah]

Great pictures Iain! Your little grey looks so sweet. I used to have a Toulouse and I am particularly fond of that breed. I am so glad that you are helping her.

I used to have a Toulouse goose named Pate and I really loved her. Because she was an only goose, and was probably confused as to what she was, when it came time for her to start laying eggs she took my female golden retriever Lacy for a mate. Lacy wasn't ready for that kind of committment and just wanted to be friends but Pate was just certain that they were made for each other and layed eggs so that they could start a family. The trouble was, when it came time for her to get off the eggs and go eat and stretch her legs she just couldn't convince Lacy to sit on them for her. She would go get the dog and lead her back to the nest over and over but Lacy just wouldn't get the point and sit on it. She was happy to follow her but she just didn't understand this new and somewhat pointless game that the goose was determined to play.
Eventually I had to move and couldn't take her with me so I gave her to a friend who had a male goose who had lost his mate and was lonely. I thought it would be the perfect home for her, and it was, just not in the way I expected. When she got there the male was thrilled. He spent a lot of time trying to woo her and convince her that he was the man for her but alas, it was not in the cards. She had decided early on in life that 4 legged animals made the perfect mates and in her quest to replace Lacy the dog she spotted my friend's goat (Louie) who appeared to be currently unattached and without a wife. They hit it off splendidly and soon were spending all of their time together. They would take long walks and every they day would go down the dirt road to visit the neighbor dogs. When they got there she honk at them through the fence and then she and the goat would turn around walk home together. They were very happy and eventually decided to start a family. Unfortunately, Louie turned out to be about as good of a father as my golden retriever and would not sit on the nest either. They never were able to have children but she loved him anyway.

As weird as it sounds, that really did happen. I guess she imprinted on the dog and never was right after that. Great goose though

What a GREAT story!!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Whittni]

Yeah nice story.

 

[bleemcfee]

Yep, raising the flock in Orem! Love it.

 

[RedIII]

Hahaha, my Icelandic cockerels aren't too sure of what to think of this rain. I opened their kennel to let them out, and they stopped, looked around for a minute, then decided they wanted back in. My big girls don't really seem to mind, though. Not even my prissy Welsummer.

Yep, raising the flock in Orem! Love it.

Welcome!

What kind of chickens do you have? Heeey, is that a double yolker in your picture? Awesome!

 

[Cynthia12]

Hahaha, my Icelandic cockerels aren't too sure of what to think of this rain. I opened their kennel to let them out, and they stopped, looked around for a minute, then decided they wanted back in. My big girls don't really seem to mind, though. Not even my prissy Welsummer.


Welcome!

What kind of chickens do you have? Heeey, is that a double yolker in your picture? Awesome!

Looks like a triple!!

 

[Cynthia12]

PICTURE OVERLOAD OF MY SUSSEX IN THE NESTING BOX...SHE'S BEEN LAYING FOR A WHILE NOW, BUT OH, SHE LOOKS PRETTY SITTING.


She has a sweet face. She squatted for me the other day, and just stayed there, until I patted her.
She's quite the talker!


She turned around so I could get her cute side.


Ok, now this side. I will go out later and see what she gave me. She lays a lot smaller egg than the
New Hampshire, but I'm sure they will get larger...plus, her's are a very smooth egg, and has a pink
tint to them..very pretty little egg.

 

[RedIII]

Loooove those pictures, Cynthia! Particularly the one in the middle. She looks pretty happy about posing for you.

 

[wgidir]

    Great pictures Iain!  Your little grey looks so sweet.  I used to have a Toulouse and I am particularly fond of that breed.  I am so glad that you are helping her.

     I used to have a Toulouse goose named Pate and I really loved her.  Because she was an only goose, and was probably confused as to what she was, when it came time for her to start laying eggs she took my female golden retriever Lacy for a mate.  Lacy wasn't ready for that kind of committment and just wanted to be friends but Pate was just certain that they were made for each other and layed eggs so that they could start a family.  The trouble was, when it came time for her to get off the eggs and go eat and stretch her legs she just couldn't convince Lacy to sit on them for her.  She would go get the dog and lead her back to the nest over and over but Lacy just wouldn't get the point and sit on it.  She was happy to follow her  but she just didn't understand this new and somewhat pointless game that the goose was determined to play.  
     Eventually I had to move and couldn't take her with me so I gave her to a friend who had a male goose who had lost his mate and was lonely.  I thought it would be the perfect home for her, and it was, just not in the way I expected.  When she got there the male was thrilled.   He spent a lot of time trying to woo her and convince her that he was the man for her but alas, it was not in the cards.  She had decided early on in life that 4 legged animals made the perfect mates and in her quest to replace Lacy the dog she spotted my friend's goat (Louie)  who appeared to be currently unattached and without a wife.  They hit it off splendidly and soon were spending all of their time together.  They would take long walks and every they day would go down the dirt road to visit the neighbor dogs.  When they got there she honk at them through the fence and then she and the goat would turn around walk home together.  They were very happy and eventually decided to start a family.  Unfortunately, Louie turned out to be about as good of a father as my golden retriever and would not sit on the nest either.  They never were able to have children but she loved him anyway. 
   
    As weird as it sounds, that really did happen.  I guess she imprinted on the dog and never was right after that.  Great goose though

OMGoodness.. I am sitting in this swanky hotel in London and had to read this out loud to my friends. They laughed right along and they are certainly a group who do not understand a chicken addict. I mean really, they are in shock that every town I went to I asked where the chickens were so I could take pictures of English coops and lovelies!

 

[Sphinx]

Welcome, bleecmfee!

Happy, I loved that goose story. That is great.

Cynthia, maybe IainUtah is on to something- with showgirls, maybe you'd better weigh them throughout to check for loss, and cool/evaporate them every once in a while if their weight loss isn't on target. That's still gotta be heartbreaking for them to be that close to hatch. Your sussex is so lovely. It makes me excited to see how mine will turn out. I almost didn't get her because my friend had one, and the eggs she laid were tiny, even when she was over a year old.

Wgidir, that is so funny that you're looking at the UK chickens. My mom gave me a story about a family who raised chickens in the UK as a birthday or mother's day gift, and it was quite cute.