Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Amyable]

Susie, I have 3 Polish hens in my flock...no picking as of yet. I'm impressed with their eggs, good size for such a skinny little bird (bigger than the Anconas'.) Mine are flighty, but I did sneak up on one last fall for pics.

 

[jvls1942]

well, after my disastrous attempt at making sticky buns yesterday, I tried again today.. they turned out just super..

got another turkey egg tday..#2.. and another duck egg.. I don't think the duck egg is fertile, but it is going into the bator anyhow, just in case..

I am with you Bigzio, it is nice to use the hose outside for watering. I can do all four pens in ten minutes and that includes filling the goose pool..

 

[Terri O]

Good evening! I am waiting for my supper to be done...the people went out for steak and shrimp--fund-raiser for the Relay for Life. Since I was up most of the night running to the bathroom I decided to stay home and have RICE for dinner...I mixed in some veggies and LO pork roast. At least I know I wont get Glutened this way...the bar seemed hesitant that my meal could be made gluten free. No thanks!

I was going to mention the ducklings in water thing and that muskovys roost--somebody beat me to it! My ducks have decided that they like the chicken coop this winter. Next winter they are NOT ALLOWED in there! They poop in the feeders and dabble so roughly in the water that they end up dumping the waterer over almost every night! They are just too messy to be with the chickens!

You guys have really cute Polish chickens! I have some kind of cross that has a little "pillbox" hat on the head. I always thought they were Polish crosses but they certainly dont have anywhere near the headdress that yours do! I would think that would be a neat bird to add to a flock.

I use a hose to water all winter long. I am lucky in that I have an old fashioned pit that my well pump is in. When I am thru watering I just pull the hose (all 175' of it) down into the pit and it stays thawed for the next day. I only had a problem one winter where I had to put a milk house heater in the pit cause the frost went down that far! That was one terrible winter for sure. It was nice when I had the pump in the barnyard (broken now) but then I had to drain the hose everyday. It is almost easier to just pull it into the pit. It would be nice to not have to drag so much around though...

Well-my rice is done and I am hungry...think I will go and check out some other threads while I eat...have a great night and sweet dreams to all! Terri O

(PS) The vet appt went well-horses behaved and no one needs their teeth floated! YEAH! Good for another year. MMMM--sticky buns...must not think about them.....

 

[Dandelion Acres]

Our polish hen is an absolute Sweetheart. She is very mellow, and no one picks on her. Of course her best friend is a Silkie, so that may help a little, LOL. Also a very good layer. Thats our 2 cents worth, lol.

 

[bigzio]

Saturday Eve All.... I just gotta say thanks for the congrats Doc. It's been a fun ride, and I hope the long winding road continues for awhile anyway....

Was able to get some of the black walnut trimmed back some.....those things grow like weeds, and if you don't spank them alot, they win and take over if they can. Not so much here!

Good to hear that some of the polish are still good layers... as a breed they were once known for being great layers. The ability for everyone to enjoy their breeds of choice, is just dog gone dang fun!

Suzies barb-u cue venzun was deeelicious tonight....The apple pie with frosting on top is heaven!
The veggies are always home grown....tonight the meledy was broccoli, carrots, and sparegus, just thought I'd share.

Glad you had one last hand on the ride home Jim! Did you scalp anyone enough to pay for gas? I know you have fun playing. We can maybe play a few hands at the bash....I'll bring the deck...

Be Safe.... ~ bigzio

 

[babylady4]

I never think of 'Scovies as ducks... when I think of ducks I think of the mallards or pekins........ thanks for the info, I had no idea they would roost!

Watching Jeff Dunham; gotta run!

 

[WIChookchick]

Hey All!
Was at a horse "extreme cowboy race" It was in name only... some of what the obstacles were, were stupid and dangerous. such as using a large diameter PVC pipe as a "gate" that the contestants had to lift off of one plastic barrel, lift over their head ON the horse, try to get the horse and themselves UNDER it and then put it back.
It was not secured to the other barrel in any way...
The rest of it was like watching pain dry on a hot humid day.... long, tedious and boring., my friend went off to follow a group on a tour of the facility, and I fed horse treats to a Clydesdale and talked with old friends who were there, bored as I was... can I have that 4 hours back? Yes I know I could have left, I kept hoping it would get better...

Here is the link to updated and new pics of the chickens.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5828634#p5828634

And here are new pics of the house
Yes the crap will be cleaned up, they are still renovating and cleaning up.

 

[Susie"J"]

Thanks so much for all the pics and info on the Polish chickens.

Are any of you hatching any this Spring ? If I order they have a 5 min. and I would like it if I could get only 2 due to the limit I have of space.
TO so happy you are finding things you can enjoy. Your bread looked great. I'm sure you feel much better now that you know what is best for you.
Had a good day today with DD29 and GS9 visiting. We cooked and played games and looked at all kinds of chickens on the net. Wish I could have alot more.
Sounds like some yummy food being made lately, sticky buns, pineapple upside down cake MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Sleep tight, Susie

 

[Amyable]

One extra tidbit about the Poles...they can't see very well thru all those feathers. I don't know how many times I've almost stepped on one and then had her explode out from under me when she realized I was right there.

WCC, I had to google where you lived; that house looks very much like a place DH and I looked at a couple years ago when we were house hunting. (it was near Hortonville though.) Very exciting for you

 

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:
the problem with Poilish is they get plucked, most of the time the headdress get pluck if you have them in a mixed flock, I've even seen them plucked so bad that the skull is exposed. as for laying the standard one I've had in the past are eather real good or very baf no in between, but those where mine. buff laced not so good, pure black very good, not the black with a white top

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/19130_100_0010.jpg

I had a Bantam White Crested Black Polish up until about a month ago (I gave her away to a local 4-H kid), and she had her head picked bald! She was in with a pair of Japanese and a Bantam Cochin Roo that were all raised together, but the picking at the Polish's head didn't start until she and the Jap hen started laying. They didn't pick her bloody - never even broke the skin. But they had all the feathers picked out BALD!

She hardly laid any eggs AT ALL, and she was a bit dumb and super skittish, even though all 4 chickens in that group had been handled as chicks and the others were very docile. But, then, maybe that's because she couldn't see!

And, like I said, she was a bantam, I'm sure the standards are completely different!

My quail eggs are due tonight! They started hatching last night, and the first chick was out this morning! We have 6 moved into the brooder now, 2 more that have hatched within the past hour that are still in the 'bators, 4 or 5 that I can see zipping, and around 10 pips that I can see when I peer in there with a flashlight.

97 of the original 99 eggs that went into the 'bator made it to lockdown - we had one go rotten, and one that must have had a hairline crack that all the egg evaporated out of and the brittle, empty shell practically disentigrated when I put the eggs in lockdown! When I candled before lockdown I only found about 6 clears that it doesn't look like anything developed in, but those quail eggs are so tough to candle that I threw them all into lockdown, just in case!

Anyways, here's a quick picture of the 6 dry babies in the brooder! 5 wild-type Browns and 1 Tibetan so far (the two that just hatched are both wild-type Browns as well - no Whites yet!

). They're all eating and drinking and running around like Looney Toons!

EDIT: We're up to 11 now - 8 Browns, 2 Tibetans, and 1 White!!!