What did you do with your flock today?

[ChicksnMore]

I know! The husband put out 4 more snap traps and has caught 5 tonight. I hate it and I love it.

Quail do fly but not far and their cage isn’t big enough to escape a rat that finds its way in. They are also sitting ducks at night…unlike chickens that want to be up high, quail are ground lovers and want hiding places in plants and ground cover. Caught one of my pretty hens in the camera tonight
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We made it to my Mom’s house this evening…but I swear all the chickens and quail come together to get sick and have dramas so I won’t leave. I had to leave Scott in charge of three injured quail, 4 chickens that seemed off so I brought inside, Nohope the chicken in a box that needs to be hand fed each day, 7 chicks in the house and eggs hatching in the incubator He’s less than thrilled but being a trooper!

So tonight I got to visit with my mom and sister and spend time with my 3 year old niece and my Moms menagerie. Aria is a huge fan of Oreo and now wants one of her own Guinea pigs Such a super sweet pig!
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We do not need a Guinea pig, we do not need a Guinea pig…

Such a happy kid and piggie! We used to have guinea pigs when the kids were younger. What was funny was hubby's the one that really loved them and vice versa. He never picked them up but liked to feed and talk to them. When he got home at night there'd be an explosion of piggie whee whee whee's to greet him. It was adorable .

I slipped in the mud! A very stupid and annoying accident. I tried to save myself but landed on a concrete kerbstone. I'm just in a sling for 6-8 weeks if I behave myself, surgery to pin my clavicle if I don't. It's my right arm though so I'm getting very frustrated.
I get the test results later today. Fingers crossed!

Ouch! Hope you're doing ok and only need the sling!

We did the pee trick. Our neighborly resident fox then proceeded to pee where we peed...not only hilarious, but his potent pee (smells a bit skunky) is what I believe really keeps the rodents away from the coop...well, that plus he hunts them.

I know people think I'm nuts that I actually love having foxes around, but if you've ever seen a Fox tilt his head listening intently to the ground, then do a high jump pounce, and come up with a nice, fat rodent in his mouth...well, it's kinda adorable & I do appreciate the dude's rodent duty efforts. My flock is safe in predator proof pens & coop, Foxy has never even tried to dig a hole, he just hunts rodents & kinda follows me around sometimes, accompanies me to my 1/4 mile walk to the mailbox & lays down at the firepit when I have a fire going. & No I do not feed him (my neighbor does, though). When I take photos of sunsets, he sits & gazes at the sunset with me. He also chased off the coyote...now that is one mean dog there, coyote boy ran right up to the pens, was looking at my flock & licking his chops, even gave me a shiver.

My Foxy...he thinks he is my dog. I told him he's a good boy taking care of the rodents but don't get any idea about chicken dinner. Well, since I've moved here & had Pigeons since 2006 & Chickens since 2015, my neighboring fox family & their kits have been awesome, somehow we've got a lucky synergy here. Tons of wild rabbits here too, foxes have only gone after moles, mice & rats. Go figure. Now if I could only teach him to chase off hawks. The Crows do, but they don't patrol here daily.

Here's my fav boy, Foxy.
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O that's beautiful . Lucky lucky you!

 

[ChicksnMore]

We had a freeze warning for last night. Haven't checked all the plants well yet, but all the birds are all ok. Our last freeze is usually early February. March, April and May is usually my favorite time of year...this year's been an odd one. On the good side, my spinach is loving it and thriving with no thought of seeding yet.
Skipping my walk this morning, so also skipping my store errands. Which means I also get to put off my bathroom remodel project another week . Kinda makes me happy...lol.
Heading outside instead to putz and see what needs done.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

@Maidenwonderland
Welcome back! Time definitely flies thats for sure!


I don't see how you keep up with...much less your DH! Wow! Definitely a keeper!!!
My DH just told me he went down and was checking em out last night and how one was chasing another one and his eyesight is really not good (2 more surgeries comin up actually! ) but i tried to explain to him thats why i need to finish up the side coop and finally just rehome the ones i know i dont need even though family members will not be too happy. They each have their favs lol!

That's is truly awesome! Tag teaming those to be babies!!!

@Shetland lover sure hope your results are A+!!! And I'm so sorry you got hurt so badly! That's a pretty bad injury!

@PopoMyers u washed a chicken one handed!?! Whoa!!! And I'm so glad you are doing well recovering!!!

I'm sorry if I missed anyone! Tried to catch up and I must think I can remember who did what and not hit the quote button...or miss the button all together!?!
But look what one of the workers brought us for free!!!
Best looking rain barrel ever! And sure beats me trying to do a trashcan!
So once the side coop (sure need a cutesy name for it) is done and grandbabies are all here and situated we'll attach the old gutter they ripped off the house to the main run and hook this bad boy up!
We hit 86° yesterday yall!!! With a "feel like" 89 for the beginning of April! I got a feeling it's gonna be a hot summer!
Gave all my babies some frozen egg bites I had made that that just seem watery when you thaw em to eat. Weird

@FBMcrazy8 saw bout the massive tornados in yalls area...you ok?!

Yes we are good! I seen where someone else asked about the storms we were getting but I forgot to respond. Things are super crazy. There was 2 the hit in a town not far from us. They were close together, and at one point looked like they combined. We ended up bringing down both brooders, chickens and duck (which I think they all need a diet, they are ridiculous heavy ), yo be close to the basement door so if we had to go in fast we could. I wasn’t prepared for it, otherwise my goats would have been in here and my 2 broody hens. We last had heard that they weren’t expecting anything out of it and it was going to be scattered. We even watched the radar and seen it miss us all together. My husband wanted to get some stuff down outside and I told him I didn’t think it was a good idea. He even made the statement it was going to miss us. I responded with “And how many times has it been completely wrong.” Of course it was wrong. The tornado ended up hitting a town my family is in. One family member got hit real hard. I don’t know how bad yet. But everyone is ok. We aren’t cool enough though to make news on like the Today show. The Quad Cities is about an hour away though…

 

[TropicalBabies]

We did the pee trick. Our neighborly resident fox then proceeded to pee where we peed...not only hilarious, but his potent pee (smells a bit skunky) is what I believe really keeps the rodents away from the coop...well, that plus he hunts them.

I know people think I'm nuts that I actually love having foxes around, but if you've ever seen a Fox tilt his head listening intently to the ground, then do a high jump pounce, and come up with a nice, fat rodent in his mouth...well, it's kinda adorable & I do appreciate the dude's rodent duty efforts. My flock is safe in predator proof pens & coop, Foxy has never even tried to dig a hole, he just hunts rodents & kinda follows me around sometimes, accompanies me to my 1/4 mile walk to the mailbox & lays down at the firepit when I have a fire going. & No I do not feed him (my neighbor does, though). When I take photos of sunsets, he sits & gazes at the sunset with me. He also chased off the coyote...now that is one mean dog there, coyote boy ran right up to the pens, was looking at my flock & licking his chops, even gave me a shiver.

My Foxy...he thinks he is my dog. I told him he's a good boy taking care of the rodents but don't get any idea about chicken dinner. Well, since I've moved here & had Pigeons since 2006 & Chickens since 2015, my neighboring fox family & their kits have been awesome, somehow we've got a lucky synergy here. Tons of wild rabbits here too, foxes have only gone after moles, mice & rats. Go figure. Now if I could only teach him to chase off hawks. The Crows do, but they don't patrol here daily.

Here's my fav boy, Foxy.
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That's incredible love it!! Love your stories and attitude towards them. Keeping your chooks safe is your kuleana and you have done well.

Rats! We have had a few here too. We actually shot them with a pellet gun and yes, trap. I have set a trap in the roo coop and locked the chooks out. Worked great. I also have a milk crate that I plan to use if needed. Set trap and put the empty milk crate upside down and over trap to keep cats safe. Thanks goodness have not gotten to that point yet.

@Shetland lover sooo sorry . Hope you get a good report and have a fast recovery.

Hows the hand today @PopoMyers ? Your such a trooper! You must have your sights set on your recovery. Hope today is good.

@kurby22 Your husband is a Saint. Before getting Ari a hamster maybe ask your dh lol. LOOOVE the quail cam.. could do that all day long. They should have their own channel.
Vet school may be cheaper than Noah's ark pretty cool she has a grandma with a hamster ♡ I hope your visit is wonderful.

@FBMcrazy8 @Gammas Bearded Babies looking at the weather and hope you both are safe and drama free. Scary stuff those tornados.

 

[TropicalBabies]

@maidenwonderland @Vata Raven @Mr Spot @Vanakrishna
Great to see you join in!

My internet is so slow I feel like I have dial up. DH's setting were off on his phone again so he used all of our data while on vacation, to counter, he switched our plan to use no more data while our cycle timed out and well.... I'd prefer if he just left his phone at home but I will save my breath and exercise my patience.

@ChicksnMore looks like we are having coffee together.
bathroom remodel? Do tell & lucky you. My Nancy would be beside himself.
I moved the couch while he was gone (we really need better functioning furniture bad!) And he is beside himself

 

[TropicalBabies]

I let Koke'e roo out of roo pen and into garden yesterday. All was well till I went in to make lunch and was gone for 20 minutes... seems he and Spider got stuck in a rut of fighting at the fence. Both dummies were bruised and bloody so had to clean and doctor them up. Spider lost his spur but has his nub so will grow back (not completely unhappy about that one). It seems he is feeling the worse for it, Koke'e boy seems fine obviously Spider is not the young buck that he was just last year. Well, he is my love and I enjoyed my time cleaning him up. Be easier if he did not feel the need to fight at the fence forsure.

Good news is person is still interested in Koke'e boy and hope to do a hand off next week. Hope he heals up quick... lol

 

[Vata Raven]

Spider lost his spur but has his nub so will grow back.

Wow, it's huge. Are you going to keep the raptor claw?

 

[TropicalBabies]

Wow, it's huge. Are you going to keep the raptor claw?

I think I will keep it for a bit and then probably pass off to grandson who collects unusual things. It would be a good addition

 

[Shetland lover]

The Darn mud! It's as bad as ice. So sorry you slipped. I'm trying to get the large bark nuggets mulch for my muddy pens now...no one has it, all they have is the shredded mulch. They had some mini nuggets, I bought them because it's better than nothing but wow I sure hope they will get the large nuggets in stock soon. Muddy pens & too much rain...equals falling on our butts & possible bumblefoot chickens. Not good.

I broke my back on ice! 18 years ago on my 3rd date with DH
I've completely switched out all my wood chip for sand. It's been a massive improvement. I was having to replace them every 6 months and often couldn't source decent ones!

 

[PopoMyers]

washed a chicken one handed!?! Whoa!

My shower has a hand held attachment with a long hose and a concentrated stream setting. Four fingers work a little on the other hand. Had to put hand in a long plastic bag, but it was good enough to steady the hose. She just stood still facing the right way for me to direct the water, which loosened most of the poop and dirt cement. Then used good hand to get the rest off. After that I trimmed her up while wet, then DH came to take her out of the bath onto a towel on the floor, dried, the back out she went.
Hand's getting less swollen, and have more mobility each day, but cannot get it wet for 5 more weeks, and the thumb is immobilized. It's my dominant hand. Where there's a will, there's a way, a then there are friends and family.