What did you do with your flock today?

[Bronx girls]

Today I put my almost 10 week old chicks in the see no touch pen inside the run with my girls needless to say the girls are not happy, hope this goes well will have them all in there for about 2 days wondering if longer? suggestions appreciated, sounds like everyone is having a good Summer so far

 

[CluckyandPeepsFlock]

Good morning!

Had some hang out/pool time pics I wanted to share this morning. Looking like another hot day in Florida so more pool time will be needed again!

Needless to say we don't leave the Shade Cloth area.

 

[ChicksnMore]

It's so strange, isn't it? The way some baby roos seem to get away with murder? Gladys normally gives all the boys a very hard time from approximately 8 weeks old until she thinks they've learned enough manners. Not with Stan. I think she's starting to regret that a bit now...

It really is something. No other youngster is getting away with it so I keep trying to figure out why this one is. He is very small and I've never had a bird like him for size from these guys. He's strong, healthy and a trouble maker though! I keep wondering if he's getting away with it because of his size? At any rate, I decided to take him out of the flock and put him with Snookie. Shes not quite mature yet though and he's so hormonal right now. So I put them in a small 4'x6' coop with a divider. Hopefully by the time she matures he'll have calmed a little and she'll be comfortable with him. Think he's small enough to be a good match. Shes grown well and a little bigger than I was worried she'd be.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Yesterday I was scheduled to take my motorcycle road test. We have a tropical storm close and I knew it could be a wet ride. It was a nice clear weather ride on my way in, from the top of the mountain, over 1 hour into Lihue town and during my road test too. I passed with just a few points off for a long skid stop . By the time I finished with my paperwork it had started to rain.... and rained half way back home. It was so hot and dry the second half of the ride, I was completely dry when I got back to the cabin lol.
I had to catch up on chicken chores and kitty snuggles and sleep. Today is breezy but still dry up Koke'e Gunna do a little more prep as I am sure it will get interesting up here.

That sounds like quite a ride! Is it hard to drive a motorcycle in the rain? I keep picturing a helmet with little wiper blades which I'm sure isn't a thing
Well done on your test!

 

[ChicksnMore]

Today I put my almost 10 week old chicks in the see no touch pen inside the run with my girls needless to say the girls are not happy, hope this goes well will have them all in there for about 2 days wondering if longer? suggestions appreciated, sounds like everyone is having a good Summer so far

I usually give it at least a week, then open an escape door for them or lift one edge just enough that the chicks can get back in and the adults can't. Just gives the chicks a way to get away if needed and a place to relax, eat n sleep safely. Once the chicks start feeling safe with the adults they'll start sleeping outside of their safety pen and integrations complete.

 

[kurby22]

Hooking my keyboard up, since I have fat finger syndrome. So many posts since the last time, and I finally have caught up. @kurby22 , @ChicksnMore , hoping the heat lets up soon. That is way too hot, even for AZ. Do your chooks do ok in that kind of temps? Mine are panting at 80. @TropicalBabies , so much going on, and so much to do, adventures and surprises abound for you. Congratulations on passing your motocycle test! Was there still gas in your motorcycle after Forest? Love the bag on travel. Hope the storm passes without affecting you too badly. Good thing you rescued the eggs from the roof. Love your little tool for that. Your flock looks very happy to be up Koke'e. Very pretty flowers for mom.
@Shetland lover , are you taking more courses, or are you all done? You are such a wealth of knowledge, and so helpful to so many of us. @kurby22 , @TropicalBabies where do you get all the special meds for your pets? Haven't seen the ones mentioned at the local feed store. Are the prescription?
Well, the latest happenings here.
Had a couple more escapees, who got caught in the netting I had put up last, so was able to catch the frequent flyer and clip her wings. My old lady Cinnamon tried that, and I came home to her stuck in the netting with her foot tangled up. Good thing I got to her before it tangled up more and cut off her circulation. Didn't clip her, and she was out again the next day. She hasn't tried again since.
Been warmer lately, so keeping their extra water containers cleaned and filled. Extra berries, watermelon rinds are the current treats. Velma is 16 weeks, and is about as big as the other girls. She is holding her own, still cautious of the pecks from the upper girls. View attachment 3582838
Houdini has been crowing at all hours. Middle of the wee hours, 10:00 at night, of course all day. I wonder if he is reacting to my neighbors motion activated flood lights in the driveway? We have a lot of critters and deer which activated them. I have taken to wearing earplugs to bed, and have been successful in not being awakened by him. Was losing sleep there for awhile.
Got the fake wooden eggs and distributed them among the boxes. Haven't had any eggs eaten, so far. It's only been a couple days. One I had put on the floor of the coop had been moved...I think the culprit tried and gave up on it. Yay!
Have been very busy, this week with Vacation Bible School, the garden chores, picking berries every other day for an hour and a half, taking care of cleaning and freezing crab meat that hubby catches 2 days a week. View attachment 3582839This takes quite awhile. So, haven't been updating you all.
@Smokerbill , congratulations on the eggs! Nice double!

That crab looks AHmazing! OMG…I need to be invited over

It’s good to hear from you! I was wondering if you were okay We miss hearing from you! But you’ve definitely been busy with naughty chickens and delicious crab

Well I will be grateful Daisy isn’t as mean a broody as yours! Leather gloves sound hot haha. That’s all I think about these days

 

[kurby22]

He's such a handsome young man! And a good start to his chicken education.
My cats are so good with the chickens and even the chicks. Grace hangs out with Gladys a lot. They like to sunbathe together. She was best buddies with my ex-batt, Connie. I even found them cuddled up together on our bed one afternoon!
Elliot occasionally slaps Gladys and Pru. We've decided he's a racist prick.

Elliot sounds like a jerk

I sure hope Shadow forms that kind of relationship with the babies! Just need him to also hate rats Be loving and sweet!! But not to rodents!

 

[kurby22]

If your birds are like mine, they'll think nothing of giving Shadow a peck on the nose now and then and he'll lose all interest in them.
Hope your careful with getting the chemicals on you. I imagine by the time you're done with all your birds you've gotten an awful big dose of it your self!

Yeah, I think from now on I should wear gloves. I definitely felt a bit yucky after doing them all! I tried really hard to keep it off of me, but it was rather futile!

A good peck on the nose sounds necessary no doubt! The chickens were a bit idiotic over him though. Flapping and squawking He watched them like, dude! What’s your deal?

 

[Nomadicus]

It's time for a round to make sure everyone has water and maybe a little feed. Feed would be better than having them out in the sun grazing under our heat advisory. The feels like is approaching 120°. I won't be out in it long. Drinking a bottle of Gatorade Zero before I go out.

 

[Smokerbill]

I went out and picked up the first egg of the day around 9:30AM, but I had to wait a few minutes to get it. The pullet was in the nest box, and I watched her go through the motions and contortions of egg laying. She was totally focused on being in the box and getting that egg out! After it dropped, she started to shift her focus to things outside the box, and then she moved on. It was a nice looking little egg! She didn't make a sound through the whole process.

Today's egg...


Today's egg on left, three from yesterday...

I wish I had your building skills! That looks like an awesome extension.

Thank you! Another nice thing about it is that I can close off the coop wall that's adjacent to the main run and create a separate living area, coop and run, for separating birds. I think I may need it if the cockerels start misbehaving.



I need to do something to control the bot flies. They seem to congregate in the sunshine, so the chickens hide out under the coop to get away from them.

I wonder if mixing some permethrin powder into some nasty cecal poop would work to kill bot flies? I'd set it up high, out of the chicken's reach.