Washingtonians

[itsren]

Almost all of my adult birds are in molt right now.
The POL birds are about the only ones laying right now.

Is this why people seem to get new birds in the spring - to help them carry through the winter with eggs?

 

[Chickielady]

Just for something to read, while relaxing in my porch chair last eve, I picked up my Excaliber Dehydrator how-to booklet.
Recipes & stuff I had not thought of.
VF:
There is a whole section on squash...slice, then blanche slightly, pat dry & dehydrate.
Then you get squash chips & can store them in a container & use when needed.
You can dice them and do same.
This would be a great way to have them just tossed into a pot of stew or soup.
Love the dehydrator.....works excellent for green onions & herbs.
I love the dehydrated diced yellow onion...dehydrating does intensify flavours.
I toss a handful of dehyd. onion in soups & stews and the flavour is awesome.
Much more than fresh onions.

I am running out of feed, so a nieghbor is picking up a few sacks for me this afternoon.....she lives just down the street here.

DH is just ready to paint the enterior of the house down there...............after a week of fixing holes in the sheetrock, screws, staples, and dings.
Then he primed...now he masks off stuff today.
It could be another week before he gets back.
I have eggs to ship Tuesday, but I am sure either 1 of 2 neighbors can drop the box off for me.

Other than that...all's well here !

 

[itsren]

Thanks guys! He's now taking 1000mg Vicodin and it's helping. What the deal was, is that the Fire Department DOES have excellent medical insurance; the most we've ever paid for anything, including William's eye surgery, was a $15 copay.

But the dental insurance isn't great. It covers exams, cleanings, x-rays 100%, but ANYTHING more like drilling a cavity or root canals or anything, we pay 40%. I think this is going to end up costing us several hundred dollars, but the alternative (no insurance) would be far more! Anyway, they *could* have started the procedure yesterday but wouldn't have been able to finish until Tuesday; we would have had to pay for several things twice, like anaesthesia/numbing, drilling, etc. So it's half our fault he's still in so much pain, but saving that much money was important to us.

That makes sense. So sorry he's going through this. Boeing's dental insurance isn't that great, either. It sounds very similar to yours. But, we're glad to have some insurance. Some things they won't cover any at all.

 

[Chickielady]

Is this why people seem to get new birds in the spring - to help them carry through the winter with eggs?

Actually most breeders get flock replacements for older hens, especially 4 years or older.
I hatch in January so my pullets lay by July.
ALL birds molt.
It lasts just a few weeks and then they go back to laying again, and have a fresh warm coat of feathers for winter.
They are refreshed after a hard summer of laying also.
My older birds started molting 2 weeks ago, and by next week they will all be laying again.

********************
Edited to add:
Birds I hatch in January will still molt before winter.
Chickens go through a mild juvenile molt, and a hard molt by 1 year old.

 

[Chickielady]

When I had my last root canal, the tooth was so painful (I had bad dental work as a teenager that had a domino effect). I had to keep holding water on it. I was told that warm water helping means that it needs a root canal and cold means it's fine. That hasn't been my experience. Any water with a temp difference from my mouth has helped me. Anbesol did help me some as well. Put it around the base of the tooth and down the gum so it can soak in where the pain is. Nothing will really make the pain go away, though.



I went out last night to check on all the birds late. The silkie cockerel was standing weird and I took a closer look. He had EE chicks under him. I knew that they would climb under the silkie pullets when they got to cold since there is to much chick to fit under the brahma now. I did not know that the boy would let them under him as well. Usually he's at the front guarding all the girls behind him.

DH thinks it's going to be hilarious when the brahma doesn't have chicks anymore and the silkie tries to mount her. He's a tiny fraction of her size.

So cute about the Silkie boy !
I have had a few cock birds do that very thing.
I have even found one on a nest of eggs when the broody went out to take a break.

 

[Chickielady]

He read something about crushed up garlic helping, so he did what it said and put some on the tooth. It burned like crazy, made him drool all over and eyes water badly but when that finally wore off the pain was gone...for 45 minutes.

wow....that does not sound good, would make me puke !
Not good for the breath either.

 

[itsren]

Just for something to read, while relaxing in my porch chair last eve, I picked up my Excaliber Dehydrator how-to booklet.

A few weeks ago I was looking at Dehydrators on Amazon. Wasn't sure what to get - and wasn't sure if it was worth the expense, so I never ordered one. I'm still up in the air over whether it would be good to have or not.

I was considering this one because it looks like it could make fruit leather...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...TF8&keywords=dehydrator&qid=1348935712&sr=8-2

I'm sensitive to molds, so, according to my allergist, I'm not supposed to eat dried food. But, I was thinking if I made it myself and it dried quickly, I might be able to get away with it.

Thoughts?

 

[itsren]

Actually most breeders get flock replacements for older hens, especially 4 years or older.
I hatch in January so my pullets lay by July.
ALL birds molt.
It lasts just a few weeks and then they go back to laying again, and have a fresh warm coat of feathers for winter.
They are refreshed after a hard summer of laying also.
My older birds started molting 2 weeks ago, and by next week they will all be laying again.

********************
Edited to add:
Birds I hatch in January will still molt before winter.
Chickens go through a mild juvenile molt, and a hard molt by 1 year old.

That's cool! I was under the impression that they molted for months and would stop laying for months. I really have not been looking forward to molting because I didn't want feathers everywhere - I'm hoping my 24-weekers won't molt this year. Will they?

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
I like garlic....a lot.

I use it for everything! Yeast infections, ear aches, tooth aches, headaches, fever, flu, etc. There's tons of uses! We are never without garlic here

 

[itsren]

Well, I'm off to cook my kids some eggs. They're spilling out of the carton again. I really need to get into the habit of making them for the kids regularly... but I don't, because I can't eat them. I know... bad mom. Now that we have our own chickens, they get eggs more often because I don't like to keep more than one carton in the fridge.

Have a good day everyone!