What did you do in the garden today?

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Like I told my DD @Sueby, I think everyone should experience raising chicks at least once in their lives. It quickly dispels the fairy tale of clean, fluffy, adorable little baby chicks and shows you the real dinosaur under all the fluff. LOL! They are so very cute in the very first week, but that is replaced by a messy little poop machine. So, nothing happening in the garden today. I did enjoy the morning visitation of a lot of wild turkeys, including two really big Toms that looked nearly as tall as me. They both stared down a man walking by with his two little poodles. The dogs didn't make a sound, they picked up their pace. I made the first batch of grape jam yesterday, today is round two. Tomorrow I'm hoping the grass dries out enough to mow and I need to bake more bread.

 

[Acre4Me]

LA LA LA LA LA I can't hear you!

well, you DID say that you are allowed roosters where you live!

Last year I incubated 3-4 batches of eggs, just for the fun of it - we only kept 2 chicks out of all the ones we hatched (kid begged to keep). All the rest we sold at auction. Knowing the dates of the auction, I would plan to begin incubation so that chicks hatched 3-4 days ahead. It was FUN! SOOO CUTE! Really amazing to see the hatch process and to candle the eggs during incubation.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I bought a nice incubator as a (pandemic) back up plan. I haven't needed it yet. Perhaps one of these days. Right now I have 11 female chickens in the big coop and run. I don't want to go over that number.

 

[Sueby]

I already have too many! I was pushing it already then they sent me that extra chick. I'm counting on my reds not making it too much longer (out of 8, I have 2 left, no one has made it past 3 years old & the 2 left are 3 yo in Dec so...)

I would love to have a broody raise chicks one day.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Even with a broody, I would still want to have an incubator on stand by.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

One of my remaining RIR's, Big Buffy is now in a full molt, The day before yesterday I noticed a lot of red feathers in the coop under the roosting bars. Buffy's back is naked, I'm not sure if she'll make it through the winter. I may have to make her a winter coat. She turned 3 last March, so this will be her fourth winter. So goes the chicken math.

 

[Sueby]

See my big issue is I don't want roosters & because of the respiratory infection I have in the flock I can't rehome so we'd have to cull. Because of that I'm pretty committed to day olds. I feel like it's the most responsible thing I can do knowing what I know.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

And with day olds, you are more likely to get girls.

 

[Sally PB]

Knowing the dates of the auction, I would plan to begin incubation so that chicks hatched 3-4 days ahead. It was FUN! SOOO CUTE!

Now, that's smart! Have them for sale at the absolute CUTEST time in their lives.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning Gardeners way to easy with the auction.
I can have roosters but only want 1. Right now that is Smudge