What did you do with your flock today?

[kurby22]

Morning after...I hate how seemingly the older I get the more anxious I get.
So much to be thankful for and too many much worse off than us!
They said no tornadoes but wind gusts got up to 79mph. So many huge trees uprooted everywhere and on people's homes. Carports and porches ripped off people's homes.
Wind!

Wow that’s rough!! I hate wind gusts! They are not my friend. I hope no one was hurt!

 

[BlueBaby]

Mosquitos are horrendous again. Good news is the repellent hubby makes works pretty good for the mosquitos without upsetting the chooks. I also turned on a few fans as we have no winds. Hope that helps blow the little away. I have seen it bad many times in my life but NEVER this bad and for this long by far. Terrible. Poor chickens.
Even the boys up Koke'e are getting swarmed.

I think that even over here in Arizona we will be getting a bunch of mosquitoes and other bug's this year after all of this rain that we have been getting. Many of my neighbors around here have not kept up with those fast growing weed's. The snakes should also start coming out soon, and they won't be able to see them ahead of time with all of those taller weed's. My yard is pretty clean right now.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Yes. I mean eggshells. You can only give just egg shells over and over again without any other form of calcium before they are no good. Having another source of calcium plus egg shells is fine. But the point of eggshells is to give calcium back to the chickens. Which if you don’t supply another source of calcium the shell will become weak and eventually be shelless. Their bodies can only supply so much calcium before it just won’t. Which in turn means less and less calcium in the shell.

I don’t know if you knew all that but if so I’m sorry for going into so much detail.

Ya know how we are all analyzing and over analyzing our chooks, their diets and behavior etc?
Well, up Koke'e last summer I tossed out my eggshells in the yard figuring the wild chickens would appreciate the bonus calcium. 6 months later shells are still there. Wild chickens, serious brooders, solely living off the land not needing additional calcium.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Ahhh man!!! I don’t like your weather! My cute chicken coops don’t either! I hope this round doesn’t bring you more

Oh I am sure it will I will try to get a photo tonight for perspective.
I am watching mainland weather on the TV this morning so know I should not complain about 🏝 too loud. It could be worse forsure! 🌬🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨🌨

 

[TropicalBabies]

I think that even over here in Arizona we will be getting a bunch of mosquitoes and other bug's this year after all of this rain that we have been getting. Many of my neighbors around here have not kept up with those fast growing weed's. The snakes should also start coming out soon, and they won't be able to see them ahead of time with all of those taller weed's. My yard is pretty clean right now.

Yikes! Glad we don't have to worry about those. Sorry you do!!
Maybe the mosquitos will be light

 

[kurby22]

Just went out to secure tarps for another round of daily rain If I have to endure the rain the least life could do is let me live in Western Oregon by the ocean!

As if I don’t have enough going on, I was asked to be a vendor at the next Poultry Expo so I’m going to sell quail chicks and quail hatching eggs! Wish I had some of your bags @TropicalBabies! I bet we could raise you a bunch of money for the kitties!

Nohope is still doing mostly the same! He got to travel to Fresno with us for the the poultry show and had ramen and Mac n cheese, eggs, and pizza crusts. This seemed to have renewed his interest in food! He’s eaten and drank water every day since, and yesterday he ate an entire serving of chicken mash! Not even two weeks ago he looked close to going…and now he’s eating and talking and his comb is more red than it was. This sweet boy clearly enjoys hospice!

Also did I show you the adorable picture I took on the drive home from Fresno? Ruby has indeed mellowed out now that his teenage phase is over and he is the most patient boy. He sat in her lap in the car the whole 3 hours. Perfectly content

Her love of the rooster boys knows no bounds. Wilhelm the Screamer and his bossy girlfriend Tanus are pretty adorable, they sleep in the nest box all snuggled together with his head tucked into her feather fluff. I had the audacity to discuss a bachelor pad and you'd think I had suggested Wilhelm be murdered for dinner! She sobbed for over an hour about the idea of splitting them up and making him lonely forever. Then she reminded me I rehomed Puff and Fluff got depressed, sick, and died. She spent the next 2 days giving me the evil eye and telling me I can’t ever split them up because they’re soul mates. SO…now y’all know why I have so many roosters and coops!

And lastly, I will leave you with some cuteness!!

 

[Shetland lover]

Power came back on at 5:30am! Thank You Lord!!!
The temp dropped down to 30s after all the crazy wind pushed through and the tornados kept at bay thankfully!
@TropicalBabies that radar looks as bad as the mosquitoes sound!
I'm gonna try to get the lean-to coop going today cause the Buff babies are getting picked at by the others quite a bit.
And just when I think the pecking order has been established things change ... is it a seasonal thing too or just part of it for em to challenge each other out of nowhere? Lizzy and Cathy were going at it this morning.

Mine go a bit crazy this time of year. I think it's the hormones starting to surge in time for spring. Gladys is my top hen but the pecking order changes constantly with my other 3 girls.

 

[Shetland lover]

Be weird not to be anxious w/ 80mph winds. That's crazy. Almost a cat 1 hurricane. Wind makes me nervous too.

Spring my chooks act weird-er. Boys squabble more. Few weeks ago I had a few few girl throwdowns. Never had so many b4. I'm a bit crowded now as my norm and I think that has something to do with the squabbles too.

We had 70-80mph winds a week or so ago. I always worry about the run falling in on the chickens and crushing them in the middle of the night. I worry much less about the house. Totally irrational, I know!

High winds always remind me of my ex's thoroughbred. He was jet black and 17.1 hands. He used to go berserk if it was more than slightly blowy, rearing and bucking. I'm only 5'4 and the number of times I'd be in a collecting ring dangling from the end of a lead rein while he behaved like an idiot... Crazy thing is he was a real gentle giant and a complete gentleman in any other situation

 

[Shetland lover]

Just went out to secure tarps for another round of daily rain If I have to endure the rain the least life could do is let me live in Western Oregon by the ocean!

As if I don’t have enough going on, I was asked to be a vendor at the next Poultry Expo so I’m going to sell quail chicks and quail hatching eggs! Wish I had some of your bags @TropicalBabies! I bet we could raise you a bunch of money for the kitties!

Nohope is still doing mostly the same! He got to travel to Fresno with us for the the poultry show and had ramen and Mac n cheese, eggs, and pizza crusts. This seemed to have renewed his interest in food! He’s eaten and drank water every day since, and yesterday he ate an entire serving of chicken mash! Not even two weeks ago he looked close to going…and now he’s eating and talking and his comb is more red than it was. This sweet boy clearly enjoys hospice!

View attachment 3421595
Also did I show you the adorable picture I took on the drive home from Fresno? Ruby has indeed mellowed out now that his teenage phase is over and he is the most patient boy. He sat in her lap in the car the whole 3 hours. Perfectly content
View attachment 3421596

Her love of the rooster boys knows no bounds. Wilhelm the Screamer and his bossy girlfriend Tanus are pretty adorable, they sleep in the nest box all snuggled together with his head tucked into her feather fluff. I had the audacity to discuss a bachelor pad and you'd think I had suggested Wilhelm be murdered for dinner! She sobbed for over an hour about the idea of splitting them up and making him lonely forever. Then she reminded me I rehomed Puff and Fluff got depressed, sick, and died. She spent the next 2 days giving me the evil eye and telling me I can’t ever split them up because they’re soul mates. SO…now y’all know why I have so many roosters and coops!
View attachment 3421599

And lastly, I will leave you with some cuteness!!
View attachment 3421600

Oh my! My heart is exploding with all that cuteness! Nohope looks so much better than in the last photo you posted. Do you think he might use a chicken wheelchair? It might help him regain some sort of normal use in his legs?
I'm definitely with your daughter on the rooster thing. I adore my roos and can't imagine not keeping them now. When i started out, I only had hens. And i know they don't need roos but I think they enjoy having them around - most of the time anyway . They were perfectly happy before but they absolutely blossomed once we added roos.

 

[kurby22]

Oh my! My heart is exploding with all that cuteness! Nohope looks so much better than in the last photo you posted. Do you think he might use a chicken wheelchair? It might help him regain some sort of normal use in his legs?
I'm definitely with your daughter on the rooster thing. I adore my roos and can't imagine not keeping them now. When i started out, I only had hens. And i know they don't need roos but I think they enjoy having them around - most of the time anyway . They were perfectly happy before but they absolutely blossomed once we added roos.

Yeah if he keeps improving I my try a wheelchair! He just built up the energy to come up over the box edge for a pizza treat…so energy is improving too!His last bath I cut off a bunch of his butt feathers and that seems to have helped too!

I have a huge soft spot for the roosters too, they’re so funny and filled with personality and the good roosters seem to mellow out the nervous ladies a lot! I wuv them all