Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[jvls1942]

anyone have a idea how much the large straw bales cost about? I'm doing a straw bale garden this year and I know I can get small squares for 3 bucks each but maybe the 3x4x8 large bales would be better.

I think you would be better off with the small bales financially.
.
you have to get them out early before planting ..

stand them on their sides so the strings are not touching
the ground,
the strings will rot and the bales will come apart if the strings touch the ground.

what are you going to plant in them ?

........jiminwisc....

 

[corewassen87]

I think you would be better off with the small bales financially.  
.
you have to get them out early before planting ..

  stand them on their sides so the strings are not touching
the ground,
   the strings will rot and the bales will come apart if the strings touch the ground.

what are you going to plant in them ?

........jiminwisc....
  

im not entirely sure what's going in them yet. Just wanted to give it a try. I'm now thinking the small ones too. Them big ones are like a thousand pounds. Idk how I'd even go about moving them. I've seen everything grown in them before in pictures online....so it's gotta be true! Lol

 

[chikenscratch]

Got my asparagus patch ready for growing season today and dug up all the strawberry plants that had managed to root in outside of their beds. I planted 50 back in the beds to fill in weak spots and have 250 bagged and ready for new homes. I love this time of year. Going to top the beds with composted sawdust and chicken poo. Still have to spring weed the onions. Then I will start to tackle the main garden. Also going to revamp the mushrooms growing area. Chickens gave me a dozen yesterday and 11 today. The banties are outshining the lf. Hoping for several more warm dry days!!!!

If you are going to the chickenbash and if you could spare some asparagus roots, I'd love enough to start a patch!

GG, it's nice when things go as planned.
I never seemed to get good results on purchased hens.

I took an incubator to a school where my niece was principle. principal . choose one.
I think the teachers got more of a kick out of it than the kids did.

after selling those chickens, we are waiting to see how many of the remaining ones will lay.
I don't expect much from the black productions. they never impressed me much .
they are all purchased from two different people.
I am ready to let them go as soup chickens.

........jiminwisc.......

Jim-at what age do you butcher out your chickens for eating vs. soup?

anyone have a idea how much the large straw bales cost about? I'm doing a straw bale garden this year and I know I can get small squares for 3 bucks each but maybe the 3x4x8 large bales would be better.

I get mine for $4 each

Good morning all. On "egg rotation" does that mean teeter totter style tip up/tip down or does it mean a 180 degree flip?

 

[dustergrl]

Where are you at bl4? I'm in (well, just outside of) West Bend.

Hello from southern WI!

First week at the new job: I love it!!!! It is so nice to be working in corporate offices; and I even get to wear my blue jeans.

CS, they have instructions for installing a computer fan into your incubator on this site. I did that with mine and it has been just fine.

Started the process for my relocation package today...... it will be so nice to get our own private country estate and get my birds! It could not happen at a better time, as they JUST had a heroin bust one block down from out house yesterday. Cops came in complete with SWAT team...... the school was locked down as well.

I hope the sun appears soon!

 

[jvls1942]

good morning,
I usually don't butcher the old layers, if I do, they are for soup.
for meat I buy the Cornish X. I don't pay too much attention to their age. I start butchering when some of them reach four pounds dressed out. usually around 9 weeks I guess.
for the first batch of birds, I butcher the smallest ones .
If we have 50 birds, we do about 10 per batch,
I do the smallest ones because I figure they are not converting feed to meat like they should.
then on the second week I pick 10 of the smallest ones again.
by the 3rd week it doesn't matter much, I just catch them at random.
by the 5th week we have mostly 7 pounders left.

egg rotation:
in the auto turners the eggs are set in point down , air sac up. they just rock back and forth from about a 45* angle over to the opposite side 45* angle.

If you are rolling them by hand, they are lying on their sides and then you roll them 180*. X to O if you marked them..
If you roll them by hand, do not roll them the same way every time. roll them to the left this time and then to the right the next time.
make yourself a formula, X = Left O = Right.

I didn't close the coop door last night. it was raining,
I got up early and shut it this morning, I got all but one chicken in. about par for the course.

coffee is done. bbl

corey, on those large bales, there is a lot of straw that you would not be using, no matter if you set them the 3 foot way or the 4 foot way.
it is important to set the bales out way early before planting time, you have to soak them and hopefully they will begin to decompose.

 

[GranolaGirl72]

In this corner in the variety color shorts, the OLD GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And in the far corner, wearing black and white...... the NEW GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Interesting. This morning when I went out to check on the two separate groups, the new gals had ripped the pop door off its track and roosted with the others no problem. Of course they were still in there as I think the old ones would not let them leave to coop at dawn. I threw a feeder and a water bucket in the coop, put the pop door back on and went to work. Now home, I took herbs and a cabbage I had cut in two out and opened the door so they could co-mingle. Right away, the two buffs ran in to use the egg boxes and the alpha one is still in there. I left the other 7 together to run the 5 eggs I had so far inside and warm my fingers up again. Some scrapping from the barred rock, but overall these ones are ok. We will see what happens when I go back out and let that other buff out of the coop.

 

[Bambi123]

In response to Chikenscratch The "experts" say viability decreases rapidly 7 days after being laid. I have heard of people incubating eggs up to 2 weeks old with varying results. (not more than 40%)

 

[corewassen87]

good morning,
I usually don't butcher the old layers, if I do, they are for soup.
for meat I buy the Cornish X.  I don't pay too much attention to their age.  I start butchering when some of them reach four pounds dressed out.  usually around 9 weeks I guess.
for the first batch of birds, I butcher the smallest ones .
If we have 50 birds, we do about 10 per batch,
I do the smallest ones because I figure they are not converting feed to meat like they should. 
  then on the second week I pick 10 of the smallest ones again.
by the 3rd week it doesn't matter much, I just catch them at random.
by the 5th week we have mostly 7 pounders left.

egg rotation:
   in the auto turners the eggs are set in point down , air sac up.  they just rock back and forth from about a 45* angle over to the opposite side 45* angle.

If you are rolling them by hand, they are lying on their sides and then you roll them 180*.  X to O if you marked them..
If you roll them by hand, do not roll them the same way every time.  roll them to the left this time and then to the right the next time.  
make yourself a formula,  X = Left   O = Right.

I didn't close the coop door last night.  it was raining,
I got up early and shut it this morning, I got all but one chicken in.  about par for the course.

coffee is done. bbl

corey, on those large bales, there is a lot of straw that you would not be using, no matter if you set them the 3 foot way or the 4 foot way.
  it is important to set the bales out way early before planting time,  you have to soak them and hopefully they will begin to decompose.

yup Jim I'm gonna do small ones. There so much cheaper and easier to handle too. I'm gonna stack them two high this coming weekend and run a few rows for myself and a row for my ma cuz she can't get down on the ground to garden so I think it'll be the cats arse for her.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
I started a row last year, but never followed through.
I got the bales out too late for one thing and they weren't ready for planting time.
two high sounds like the cat's meow for Ma.
If I did it again, I would do it two high for myself, too.
maybe next year..

........jiminwisc.......

 

[Bambi123]

If anyone is looking for some chicks I currently have a couple available and will have more in the next few weeks...

Available now: 1 pure white bearded silkie and one silkie mix (White bearded silkie roo over Golden comet hen) Nice looking chicks. 2 weeks old

Lavender Orps, Bantam Cochins, and silkies in the incubator now...due Easter weekend.

Blue Laced Red Wyandottes early May.
I am in Weyauwega