What did you do with your flock today?

[MaeM]

Awww! She loves you

IKR?! This is how she reacts when she sees me:

I am heartbroken because I can't be with her full time like before (I had to move away due to a situation of violence) but at the same time, I feel so BLESSED because whenever I see her I can feel her love... and almost like thankfulness because she is a chronically ill hen and I provided her with all the extra care she needed and I feel like she knows and appreciates that.

She motivates me to keep fighting for my health and for a place to be reunited with her.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Hey gang, Happy Aloha Saturday!!
I don't have the bandwidth yet, to go back and read posts, looks like this thread is moving. I'll get there... been a whirlwind here. My head is so jammed I did not check my chickens water and Kekaha coop was out and Kokee 3 waters were low. Such a bad mom... especially since it is so hot in Kekaha and I am so close. 50 ft... and I could not do it?!! Well, when it dawned on me, and I filled the water, the chooks sat around it like elephants. Thank goodness no one got sick from my negligence.
Last group of guests left the cabin last eve. Others left during the day, and the sweetest left the day b4. So lots of goodbyes and hugs and such.

My boy. He is still on Maui, where he wants and needs to be right now. He is at the Maui War Memorial that is seen on TV and he says they are taking good care of him. He will hopefully get his unemployment set up there and then be willing to make a decision. Is this redundant, like did I mention b4?... feel like I got beemed up by a spaceship
So I apologize. Some really horrific stories coming out of there...
Anywho, just waiting for his thumbs up.... or maybe I won't wait.. .I'm still hoping to go get him, maybe go see him today. It has been nice staying in constant contact with him, I'm just unsure of what the next move is. Waiting for a sign, but maybe just need to make a move.

 

[kurby22]

Too adorable for words
Your bobtail boy reminds me of Sylv, my lavender boy I lost.

Ahh those lavender boys really are special I wish they had stronger genetics It’s fascinating to me how many of my lavenders die or get sick from things or never even make it out of the shell. They are always the most friendly and curious and gentle of my birds though. I just adore lavender chickens.

The lavender gene in quail is also weird—but most often makes the boys super aggressive. In all my quail hatchings (150+ quail), my worst behaved males were all lavenders and I have yet to hatch a female lavender. Super interesting.

I’m sorry you lost such a wonderful boy!

 

[kurby22]

Hey gang, Happy Aloha Saturday!!
I don't have the bandwidth yet, to go back and read posts, looks like this thread is moving. I'll get there... been a whirlwind here. My head is so jammed I did not check my chickens water and Kekaha coop was out and Kokee 3 waters were low. Such a bad mom... especially since it is so hot in Kekaha and I am so close. 50 ft... and I could not do it?!! Well, when it dawned on me, and I filled the water, the chooks sat around it like elephants. Thank goodness no one got sick from my negligence.
Last group of guests left the cabin last eve. Others left during the day, and the sweetest left the day b4. So lots of goodbyes and hugs and such.

My boy. He is still on Maui, where he wants and needs to be right now. He is at the Maui War Memorial that is seen on TV and he says they are taking good care of him. He will hopefully get his unemployment set up there and then be willing to make a decision. Is this redundant, like did I mention b4?... feel like I got beemed up by a spaceship
So I apologize. Some really horrific stories coming out of there...
Anywho, just waiting for his thumbs up.... or maybe I won't wait.. .I'm still hoping to go get him, maybe go see him today. It has been nice staying in constant contact with him, I'm just unsure of what the next move is. Waiting for a sign, but maybe just need to make a move.

You most definitely have no reason to feel guilty about the waterers! It is immensely difficult to think of extraneous things when you are in momma mode and stressed. The brain just can’t split up that much to handle it all! I’m glad that all the guests are gone so you can focus on helping your son however you are needed! I think I would want to just get on a plane too—just so you can tangibly hug him and see him. It would help my brain calm down to see with my own eyes, even if you rationally know he’s okay. I’m glad he’s doing alright I’m sure he’s going to feel some survivor guilt and want to help however he can if he’s anything like you! I hope the donations coming from people like Bezos help everyone move forward as quickly as possible! Hugs!!

 

[FBMcrazy8]

It sounds like he needs some serious help! I know I let Ferdy have the run of the house but he's house trained and quite honestly, rarely leaves my side. I cannot imagine keeping 10 chickens in the house, let alone a hundred - plus ducks and dogs! The smell must be indescribable!
There was a man in the Netherlands died of the Bird Flu he contracted from the ducks he kept in the house. From what I remember, he had similar numbers.
And how horrible that people want pet birds for cheap food! It makes me feel sick at the thought. Thank god you're able to suss out the dodgy buyers.

I absolutely loved my rabbits and kept those two 9 and 12 years respectively before they passed. I'm sure your friend has given you a full rundown of what to watch for but flystrike is about the worst I can think of. Over here, there are products you can buy which protect against it but as with chickens, in my experience, vigilance and good hygiene is usually enough to prevent it. One thing that affected one of mine in later life was a blocked tear duct but eye drops and antibiotics kept it under control.
I'm sure you'll have great fun keeping rabbits. Mine were just like dogs and very affectionate.
On the breeding like, well, rabbits you could get one or both neutered? It wasn't something they did when l was a kid but if I ever got more, I'd definitely get it done. They are very social animals and like living in groups so it makes sense to me to let them live together without the added certainty of unwanted pregnancy.

Just wondering, do you know if myxomatosis is an issue with rabbits over there?

I think having one or 2 in the house isn’t a big deal. Or even more. Especially when they are sick. I don’t know if you remember but my rooster was inside, my ducks, even my goats had to come in when we got the winter freeze over here. But to have ALL of them living in your home is a bit much. He has mesothelioma, or did, I guess he recovered or something. But anyway, if you even had that, adding that many to your house is a death sentence.

I didn’t really put much thought into flystrike with the bunnies. They will be staying inside. I won’t have them outside. But they are being litter trained and they are doing pretty good with it so far. My friend has hers separated but also in the same area. I was kinda hoping with the 6 kids it would be easier. I have considered having them fixed. I want to know for sure though I have. We think it’s a boy or girl but we aren’t 100% sure.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

I would love to see that!

I told her I needed to see it. Maybe next year or later this year I will see it. I have 3 more hatching today and then another 4 hatching in about a week. I only ended up with one hen out of the ones that hatched. Go figure . I’m hoping to put a lot of girl vibes in the ones hatching. I considered decorating the incubator and the area around it with pink. Maybe trick some boys to be girls

 

[kurby22]

So I discovered I’ve been a neglectful chicken owner :-( We’ve had soccer and school start this past week, and daughter came down with COVID…so I haven’t gone out and spent daytime time with the babies in a couple days, just out at night to make sure all the doors shut and the rats stay out. Well yesterday I went out to check on things and give treats and refill waters…and did a head count and discovered Sia missing. We looked everywhere I could think to look and she’s nowhere to be found. My best guess is she found some way to get out of the run and is either hiding extremely well in the yard or she got taken by something while wandering free. :-( Escaping is NOT her style and adventures are not her thing, so I don’t have a clue why or how she disappeared but I’m rather devastated She was such a sweet and beautiful Silkie . There’s no sign of feathers, no sign of damage, there’s been no chicken alerting of danger…so whatever happened happened fast or when we weren’t home. She’s also broody so maybe she found some really great spot to hunker down after escaping…but with a Fox and huge rats…I don’t feel that she has much hope for showing back up. :-( I miss her presence and think Duchess does too :-(

Today I spent some time with the Cooplex clan…they’re all such sweet birds. I think I will be moving a few of them to the general population bantams soon…especially with Sia being gone. There’s literally only 2 birds in one of the coops. All the others cram into the Omlet Cube like weirdos. Gonna move Brillo, Smokey, Paddy (Lav cuckoo satin boy), and Ruby Jr. at the minimum. I’m also going to be selling or taking to auction the roosters I can’t keep pretty soon. Lots of boys in my Ameraucana hatches and three have DQ flaws that shouldn’t be bred with at all sadly. They’re Al such nice chickens though, I just love bantams!

Also, Shadow has been allowed in the house more now that he’s been to the vet and started vaccinations. Still not allowing interaction with Miyuki till he’s gotten all the shots, but he definitely loves being inside

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Ants fascinate me! We have loads on our allotment, black and red wood ants. I'm sure the red ants have formed a super-colony. I once spent an entertaining half hour watching them dismantle a corner of puff pastry and carry it off.
I might feel a bit different if it was fire ants or bullet ants I had to deal with!

I never met anyone else that takes the time to actually observe ants. For. Way. Too. Long. When i moved down south and was introduced to fire ants for the 1st time, well, thats a whole different type of observing. Its called from a distance!!! research how to get rid of them

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

The chickens had another fun romp in the wilds of my backyard last evening. And one of the cockerels was able to prove his worth as a protector of the flock!

After they'd been out for a while, the neighbor's cat was slowly moving down the hill of my lawn, heading towards the pasture and woods. My light colored pullet saw it and ran towards it, curiosity I guess. The cat didn't seem phased, and continued slowly walking.

The cockerel then ran over to cat, keeping close and clucking a warning, I guess. The cat wasn't afraid and kept on moving. Once it made it to the woods, the cockerel and two pullets stayed in the corner watching and clucking. Pretty cool to watch! Wish I had my camera with me.

This morning I found two pullets trying to lay in the single box at the same time. Later I saw that there was an egg in the box and one on the floor of the run. So I put together two more nest boxes. Now there are two side by side in the run, and one in the coop. I put a fake egg in each box so they know what to do.

Two eggs so far today. I'm expecting a four egg day any time now. I'm going to make a cheese omelot today out of the eight little eggs I've collected over the last three days. Might be a 9 egg omelot if I wait long enough. LOL

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Thanks for sharing that cute story

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

If we all lived closer we could surely have a grand time eating and chatting.

I say it every year! Imagine a gathering of all BYC people together?! The conversations/knowledge/community.