Who is with me?

[riqui1]

Part of my life was spent on my aunt's beef farm and in that time I learned that in order to get on in that type of business, there were three types of cows - the auction cows, the milkers and the Normans. The auction cows didn't bother me. I could get along okay with those, as when they went to auction, I had no idea what REALLY happened to them. The milkers were the cows that I got to know everyday, I got to pet and they all had names. The Norman's were the Jersey cows that, due to their yellow fat, couldn't be sent to auction, as consumers don't like the way the meat looks with that fat. My aunt kept those to eat...and all of them were named Norman. You knew what their purpose was...so you didn't get attached.

I think that I can keep this same attitude with the chickens. If I just treat them as objects and not pets, then it shouldn't be a problem. I am running into an issue with my 9 year-old though. He is threatening to become a vegetarian all of a sudden. Of course, in the same breath, he asks for meatloaf for lunch and says that he wouldn't mind if we raise rabbits to eat! What?!

 

[riqui1]

The cornish would be that easy to house? That's great to know! I had a feeling that I wouldn't want to mix them, but didn't want to go through building a whole separate coop for birds that are only going to be here 8-10 weeks at a time and only 2x a year or so! That's wonderful; thank you!

My intentions are to build a coop that has a run on it of significant size, but to also let the chickens free range as much as possible. I am just paranoid and don't want to do it without someone out there with them, just to keep them and all of the predators in check. Therein lies one of the benefits of having older children that love being outside! lol I was led to believe that I was going to have to be careful of hawks and the like with my silkies, due to their size.

As for the eggs and my children, my 9 year-old eats brown eggs at his grandparent's. The 14 year-old eats ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING and the 4 year-old eats...hot dogs. lol I guess that maybe I just need to get over it and go into it with a more open mind...just like I preach to the kids.

WWD: What do you mean by "no room for black roos in the color progression"?

Will I end up with a cross between my silkies and my Araucanas or do chickens not do that? How do you keep something like that from happening, if not keeping them housed separately? Probably not possible, short of teaching them to read and then putting up signs...

 

[countrybum]

Quote:
WWD the above is a question that I was going to ask also. I love my Black Roo, he is gorgeous with the green tinting. I love my red roo and my red and white roo and my speckled roo and my .....

Still, what is the deal with the black roo? You can bring him here.

Riqui, yes the Ameracuana will breed the silkies and vise versa if given the chance. That is why 95% of my babies are mixed, because they free range and are housed together and I am not going to separate them.

Chickiemama, I will eat my birds before I buy the ones from the torcher chamber. I know what my birds are fed and how clean their living conditions are, meaning; they do not have to waddle around in their own feces, or live and eat rotting dead carcasses.

 

[riqui1]

AAAHHH! That's it!! I now understand how this happens!! I just got into chickens to replace the ducks that my son lost! I NEVER wanted chickens! Now I have six chics, possibly 24 more eggs on the way and am justifying why I need Cornish X chicks, guineas and others!! This is a crazy, sneaky disease that it seems only rotten zoning enforcers or really irritable spouses could help to stem!!

I WILL NOT GET AN INCUBATOR THAT HOLDS 600 EGGS OR HAVE MORE THAN 50 CHICKENS!! THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT!! At least, that's what I am telling myself now...

I just need to get away from this computer for a little while. That's it...that'll stop it... Going to fold laundry and not think of chickens!!

 

[countrybum]

Quote:
Just remember that here "WE ALL UNDERSTAND."

We do not try to enforce this bad habit, or do we offer you eggs.

But now if you need eggs to fill your incubator, you are more than welcome to mention it and we will accomodate you with your need.

How can anyone in their right mind not enjoy the goofiness and craziness of chickens. OH and their beautiful colors and I just love the little happy dance, you know, the one the roo does before it jumps on top the little hen.

Trust us, we are only here to help you.

Just hang in there and sooner or later you will understand that there is nothing wrong with you, it is the people around you that have a problem.

Let me help you.

#1) You need the 24 chicks to accomodate egg production for your family. This will save money on buying eggs and you can always sell extras for cash to buy feed.

#2) CornishX will fill the freezer and save on buying extra meat. You can get CornishX for 99 cents each. Cheaper than buying that chemically fed chicken from the store. I do not feed medicated feed.

#3) Guineas are great for the spotted fever tick and just ticks in general. Since having my Guineas, I rarely find a tick on any of my animals and have never found one on me.

Anything else I can help you with just let me know. I saw you mentioned your son losing his ducks, well, if I get some duck eggs after the ones they are sitting on hatch, I will let you know.

I am not trying to enable.

 

[nhnanna]

Quote:
Just remember that here "WE ALL UNDERSTAND."

We do not try to enforce this bad habit, or do we offer you eggs.

But now if you need eggs to fill your incubator, you are more than welcome to mention it and we will accomodate you with your need.

How can anyone in their right mind not enjoy the goofiness and craziness of chickens. OH and their beautiful colors and I just love the little happy dance, you know, the one the roo does before it jumps on top the little hen.

Trust us, we are only here to help you.

Just hang in there and sooner or later you will understand that there is nothing wrong with you, it is the people around you that have a problem.

 

[countrybum]

nhnanna I must say I love your dog.

 

[nhnanna]

Quote:
Thank you. Your dogs are gorgeous also.
Alot of people think she is a German Shepard until they see he ice blue eyes. I also have her mom & dad and they have the ice blue eyes as well.
This is Mya, the first born and my spoiled baby.

This is Shania, the mom

This is Rocky better known as dad

 

[riqui1]

Where can I get Cornish X for $.99 cents each?! I did go fold laundry...for a little while. Then I came back to the computer! lol

I found someone, locally, that is selling guinea keets. In looking up more information on these, it seems that these are more than just typical birds. They are snake killers!!! This, and this alone, is enough to sell the idea of having them to my husband!! I don't mind snakes, but...I don't need them under my feet either. Is there anything to raising these birds? Can they also be kept right with the other chickens? I like the idea that they will help to keep the insect, mouse and snake population down; we can use it around here. Kitty is a great hunter, but she is getting older! I make my 14 year-old retrieve and remove the snakes. Unfortunately, rattle snakes were reintroduced into the area though, so I am not doing that nearly as often anymore! He gets bit 4-5x per year now!! Any info anyone can share on guineas will be greatly appreciated too!

I love the pics of the dogs. I wish I had been able to get one when one of our mallards ran down the lab's back and started attacking his ears! Poor puppy didn't know what to do! He didn't move though...just took it and left the room when the duck got down!!

As for more ducks...I told my son that he could get some duck eggs at the end of winter. He loved his Pekins, but they seemed to have really weak legs... It bothered me how often one was limping. It always healed, but still... I need to figure out a good breed for him to constantly be able to hold, but to be hardier than those seemed.

CB, thank you for being a "helper" and not an "enabler." It is nice to know that there are places that I can come to in order to have people to understand my thoughts...some of them, at least. Especially since these are all very new thoughts to me...and they are coming faster than I can process them!! lol I really never, ever pictured myself in this situation!!

Now...I am going to go call that guy on the guinea keets!!

 

[chickie_mama]

Guineas....

Need I say more????? I've been trying and trying to have guineas. DH suggested just buying keets.... but I told him it's not the same as hatching them myself.