What did you do with your flock today?

[TropicalBabies]

I haven’t found any in the coop yet but I’m sure it won’t be long. I’m hoping though that since it is up high, they will be too lazy. Haha yeah right! We have flat lands basically. So for them to make their way to our house, they have to be pretty brave. There isn’t many trees or anything for them to hide. At least not until they get closer to the house. I’m hoping that it won’t be bad out here. Especially since one side of the house has new foundation. And some other parts has a sealer on it.

I'd imagine when they harvest up all that corn, stop the water and let the fields go fallow you will have a major battle on your hands. You may find yourself like your daughter, not liking a few years ago to being able to catch and feed to chooks easily

 

[TropicalBabies]

Ok. Not everything that glitters is gold. I came up Koke'e with 2 feeders. A $40 galvanized gravity feeder that I drooled over when I first started raising chickens but did not buy till years later and a $160. Grandpa's step on feeder. Both are wasting my feed and time and the chickens are not able to eat clean, dry food out of either for long, plus doves have found us out and we are getting robbed blind on top of the weather loss.
So, I had left over 1 gal water bottles and a few 2" pvc elbows and just finished Making new feeders that I know will work. So, essentially $200 vs about $10 and the $10 is gunna win.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

I'd imagine when they harvest up all that corn, stop the water and let the fields go fallow you will have a major battle on your hands. You may find yourself like your daughter, not liking a few years ago to being able to catch and feed to chooks easily

Yeah, that’s when I’m expecting the problems. They may notice them and get them themselves. Crossing my fingers on that!

I don’t know about all that I honestly don’t get why people keep them as pets. Granted that is my view, but I’m trying to keep them out, not bring them in.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Ok. Not everything that glitters is gold. I came up Koke'e with 2 feeders. A $40 galvanized gravity feeder that I drooled over when I first started raising chickens but did not buy till years later and a $160. Grandpa's step on feeder. Both are wasting my feed and time and the chickens are not able to eat clean, dry food out of either for long, plus doves have found us out and we are getting robbed blind on top of the weather loss.
So, I had left over 1 gal water bottles and a few 2" pvc elbows and just finished Making new feeders that I know will work. So, essentially $200 vs about $10 and the $10 is gunna win.

I hope that works out for you! I leave mine in a trough feeder. I considered the grandpa feeder but I didn’t want to pay the price. And at the time I was planning on bringing the babies that I had out to their and until they got big enough they wouldn’t be able to open it. Which would still be a problem when I get different chicks. And the whole reason would be not to have mice running around. I think for sure the chipmunks and rabbits would have a hard time in the run. But I leave it out there in the run and if they don’t have it empty about an hour before they go inside for the night, I dump it and they scratch around at it.

Let us know though how it works for you because I have considered doing something like this.

 

[TropicalBabies]

I hope that works out for you! I leave mine in a trough feeder. I considered the grandpa feeder but I didn’t want to pay the price. And at the time I was planning on bringing the babies that I had out to their and until they got big enough they wouldn’t be able to open it. Which would still be a problem when I get different chicks. And the whole reason would be not to have mice running around. I think for sure the chipmunks and rabbits would have a hard time in the run. But I leave it out there in the run and if they don’t have it empty about an hour before they go inside for the night, I dump it and they scratch around at it.

Let us know though how it works for you because I have considered doing something like this.

I did not buy the grandpa feeder (i'm too cheap ) I was given it and another $ feeder from a customer (and friend) who's chickens were afraid of it. Honestly I do like it and it works great in the dry weather scenario I have down the mountain. But up here in the cool soggy wet it is failing... chickens are like, meh! and I no longer trust the feed inside. The dampness is getting to it.

The bottle feeder I have made and used for years so I don't expect any fickleness but will let you know. As I only have little 1 gallon bottles so far they may give me some side looks but hopefully more of a, about time mom! will be all I notice.

 

[kurby22]

Goodness! I’m gone for a couple days and y’all go crazy I will have to try reading it all better later when I have some time to catch up.

But I caught enough to see some convos about mice! So wanted to share my current fun…

Bought a live trap and we plan to set it out this weekend I saw them inside one of my coops I thought was protected too, so gonna have to do some shoring up inside too.

Also, it’s going to be 105-111 outside starting Thursday so I’m stressing out big time about losing more birds :-( The heat seems to trigger a lot of ailments and I’m getting PTSD. Fluff’s dry pox is all better and I put him back out and Ferdinand and Emilio were attacking him So Ferdinand went to a rooster rescue (animal rescue—she has goats, pigs, rabbits, geese, ducks, peacocks…) on Sunday and Emilio is in male jail until Fluff gets resettled.

Last excitement of the last couple days, the lone bantam egg that my broodies managed to hide from me that didn’t die hatched yesterday! After all the other eggs died I worried a tiny bantam might get killed if the rats got in so I moved the egg and Broody Betty and she quit the egg. So I stuck it in my cheapie incubator with little belief it would survive and sort of forgot about it.
I was in my Monday staff meeting and glanced over…

she’s all alone though! Poor tiny girl…I made the joke “and the cheese stands alone” So her name is Brie and she’s precious

 

[FBMcrazy8]

I did not buy the grandpa feeder (i'm too cheap ) I was given it and another $ feeder from a customer (and friend) who's chickens were afraid of it. Honestly I do like it and it works great in the dry weather scenario I have down the mountain. But up here in the cool soggy wet it is failing... chickens are like, meh! and I no longer trust the feed inside. The dampness is getting to it.

The bottle feeder I have made and used for years so I don't expect any fickleness but will let you know. As I only have little 1 gallon bottles so far they may give me some side looks but hopefully more of a, about time mom! will be all I notice.

Gotcha! I am too…especially because I don’t know how it’s gonna work for me. I do notice that you get WAY more rain that I do. I could see it being problematic.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Goodness! I’m gone for a couple days and y’all go crazy I will have to try reading it all better later when I have some time to catch up.

But I caught enough to see some convos about mice! So wanted to share my current fun…
View attachment 3241623
Bought a live trap and we plan to set it out this weekend I saw them inside one of my coops I thought was protected too, so gonna have to do some shoring up inside too.

Also, it’s going to be 105-111 outside starting Thursday so I’m stressing out big time about losing more birds :-( The heat seems to trigger a lot of ailments and I’m getting PTSD. Fluff’s dry pox is all better and I put him back out and Ferdinand and Emilio were attacking him So Ferdinand went to a rooster rescue (animal rescue—she has goats, pigs, rabbits, geese, ducks, peacocks…) on Sunday and Emilio is in male jail until Fluff gets resettled.
View attachment 3241634
View attachment 3241635

Last excitement of the last couple days, the lone bantam egg that my broodies managed to hide from me that didn’t die hatched yesterday! After all the other eggs died I worried a tiny bantam might get killed if the rats got in so I moved the egg and Broody Betty and she quit the egg. So I stuck it in my cheapie incubator with little belief it would survive and sort of forgot about it.
I was in my Monday staff meeting and glanced over…
View attachment 3241640
she’s all alone though! Poor tiny girl…I made the joke “and the cheese stands alone” So her name is Brie and she’s precious

That is crazy and those things look way bigger than mice if you know what I mean... they are practically cats! And exactly what I expected to see in my run with my fancy cameras... but I caught my cats patrolling instead! Was super happy though I know rodents are around. We get gifted carcasses every now and then.

Love the name Brie and SHE is precious ♡. Looks like you have a coworker!

Your heat sounds ridiculously brutal. Hey, how'd those box A/Cs in the coops do? My dh bought one, it read like it was the frozen water bottle infront of a fan theory, he never took it out of thebox and returned it. My coop is too open for it to be of any help to my chooks but I would put a frozen water bottle infront of the fan that I have in there and maybe do big fan with frozen bottles in run. Plus sprinklers... those temps are brutal. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you and your flock making it through well. ♡♡

 

[TropicalBabies]

I was able to take the blanket off today and can hear the chicks being little happy chicks. Whew! Will put blanket back on this eve. Day 5 today.
LOVE glamping.

Feeders are a hit and I feel WAY better about things. Plus I can move them in coop if need be because of weather. Yippee!

I have a question but gunna mostly aim it at @kurby22 but please anyone chime in.
I told you about my extra crower in the early mornings. I don't hear it every morning and I wonder if a hen is helping out Spider in the early morning mountain roll call cuz it is a little scary out here.
With that said, go ahead and dash my dreams. 4 months old

I don't see a boy clearly yet. 4 months old, no saddle feathers, no bleeding colors, no blotchy, no red comb or any wattles, no dorky behavior though I did see a small tiff yesterday between these 2. Maybe Spider has too tight of a ship But in all fairness Brahma x Ameraucana = slow to mature... and I have been fooled a time or 10 (at least lol) I have also owned 3 girls who have crowed but that was pre roo.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Goodness! I’m gone for a couple days and y’all go crazy I will have to try reading it all better later when I have some time to catch up.

But I caught enough to see some convos about mice! So wanted to share my current fun…
View attachment 3241623
Bought a live trap and we plan to set it out this weekend I saw them inside one of my coops I thought was protected too, so gonna have to do some shoring up inside too.

Also, it’s going to be 105-111 outside starting Thursday so I’m stressing out big time about losing more birds :-( The heat seems to trigger a lot of ailments and I’m getting PTSD. Fluff’s dry pox is all better and I put him back out and Ferdinand and Emilio were attacking him So Ferdinand went to a rooster rescue (animal rescue—she has goats, pigs, rabbits, geese, ducks, peacocks…) on Sunday and Emilio is in male jail until Fluff gets resettled.
View attachment 3241634
View attachment 3241635

Last excitement of the last couple days, the lone bantam egg that my broodies managed to hide from me that didn’t die hatched yesterday! After all the other eggs died I worried a tiny bantam might get killed if the rats got in so I moved the egg and Broody Betty and she quit the egg. So I stuck it in my cheapie incubator with little belief it would survive and sort of forgot about it.
I was in my Monday staff meeting and glanced over…
View attachment 3241640
she’s all alone though! Poor tiny girl…I made the joke “and the cheese stands alone” So her name is Brie and she’s precious

Are those rats in there? Wow... future thanksgiving dinner for your flock? Imagine the football game that would inspire!

Brie is adorable! We had a little dwarf cockerel named Brie! Super super sweet and pretty. A neighbor I adore fell in love with him though so I let her have him.

I was going to keep him, but I know how good a life he'll have with her and I get to visit him every so often when I go over to chat.

Bet your Brie grows up adorable too!