Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[jvls1942]

another day shot, too cold and damp to work in the garage.. I don't feel like lighting a fire in MAY !
I changed the nest plans yet again.. I am making a 3 holer instead of 4.. I think 3 holes is enough for 18 chickens.. I have 10 nests for over 40 chickens and they use only 4.. some don't even use the nests..

goose #2 is really getting into nesting.. Now she won't allow any of the turkeys or chickens to lay eggs in "her" nest.. I'll say it again; I am so glad she decided to have her nest inside the chicken coop..

I had a turkey hatch yesterday,, in the incubator.. actually it might have been in there for longer than that.. the egg was dated 4/28.. it was none the worse for wear,and blended right in with the chicks.. I have to keep a better watch on those dates, eh?

I set a dozen more turkey eggs today.. I have a bowl full of guinea eggs to set too.. about 20 of them..

Do you have to have 2 mulberry trees (bushes,here we go 'round) ?? How fast do they grow? Remember, I am almost 70 and sliding fast ,, I would like to taste them in my lifetime.. LOL

I forgot who said they had only one cherry tree and still got cherries.. there might be a wild cherry or another tame one close enough for pollination..

My black walnut trees have killed off just about everything around them,,, except for the 2 cherry trees.. (so far) and blackberries...

 

[MustLoveHens]

Evening all!
dk1-Im so very sorry to hear of the unexpected loss you your beloved dog.

to you, your family and Murphy. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

bl4-Im so sorry for the loss of your friend.

to you as well. You will be in my thoughts and prayers too.

Raiquee-

to you too, you poor dear! I hope you get through your post partum...pardum..pardumm....blues quickly! Maybe a pressure cooker will "help" you get through the whole process quickly?!?

After all, you will be to busy trying to do "test cooks" before you need to "cook" for reals right??!!??

Ohhh also if your interested I can seed swap some seeds! Almost all of mine are heirlooms. PM me if you are interested!!

Raimel a zebu sounds cool, but I think they are warmer weather cows? I don't know a whole lot about them but one consideration would be that freshening a zebu cow maybe difficult unless your planing on having a herd with a bull? I only say this because you might be looking at costly? artifical insemination to freshen the cow.


I have decided on a meat rabbit breed. I'm going with Californians. They are a little bit easier (I hope!) to find from a quick breed search. New Zealands are very common but I really don't want New Zealands.
So, I have a list of things to have done by the end of the week and the chicken yard is number one and schedueled for tomorrow and number 2 is to hang the rabbit cages and clean the garage out really well to get ready to get some rabbits. Number 3 is to go through my seeds and then plan the garden. Dh wants to do one more pass with the rototiller and then set the weed fabric down. Then we plant!!! Yeah!

Lets see, I mowed the lawn today and dh found some itty bitty baby robins that fell out if a nest that we could not find. Absolutely no nest in the vacinity, so we had to go to Petco for mealworms and a fake nest. He has them all toasty warm and fed and watered. In the moring if they live, he will call a rehab center in Madison and take them there if the center will take them in.
I also moved the chicks off the three season porch and into the chicken shed/car port. They are not happy but I'm happy to get my porch back. Now I have to sweep, vacuum, blow it out, scrub, disinfect, and re paint it the floor. The floor was going to be re painted anyway this summer. It has needed a fresh coat of paint since we moved in. Task number 4!!

Ok gotta jet....I'm sure I have something to do....have a great night everyone!
Cheers!

 

[Hurley]

Sun's down, time to call it a day. Got a total of 51 bags of mulch today in 2 trips, dispersed 40 or so around all but the trees on the east property line, started working up the perineal bed at the front of the house, de-grassified all the poor trees that were getting taken over by the durn stuff, think it was a good day's work.

Let the rooster and the two girls for Carol back out of the coop where they were confined today. Think he mated with 5 hens in like 10 minutes,

. He was more than a little miffed that his harem was out scratching the land with me all day without their lord overseeing all. The girls had fun, though. Every time I'd dig up some weeds or a stray willow tree or whatever, they'd come tyranosaurus running at me expecting I must have hit the motherload the way dirt was flying. They had fun scratching up the fresh earth.

The boys had fine, each getting to take a trip in and help mommy pick up mulch (and getting to ride on the carts at Home Depot, which is a major hit).

Time to go knock some of the dirt and sand out of my eyes, ears, nails, hair, etc. Hear it's supposed to frost/freeze tonight, hope it doesn't kill everything I just planted. Grumble. It's MAY for crying out loud, spring has to come sometime!

 

[Ms.Frizzle]

Has/does anyone here go to the small animal auctions in Amherst? It’s held at 4305 Townline Rd Amherst Wi. It seems I always miss the add on Craigs list, and was wondering what the general experience here has been. Besides wanting to eventually add a couple more hens to my flock, I'd like to get the hang of what to look for at auctions. What little I've found (think dummies guide to buying) talks about going early and looking over the stock for illness and defects. Do they allow people to handle the chickens? I want to get my hands on prospective fowl to look for mites & check the overall body condition. I understand that many people bring their spent, ill, and otherwise unwanted poultry, but I also understand that there is occasionally the person who is selling their stock due to a change in breed preference or the inability to keep them anymore.

Any information about this location or what to look for is greatly appreciated. Felt like I'd have the best luck posting here since we're all from WI. : ) Thank you!

 

[jvls1942]

MsFri, I was to that Auction a couple of times.. most of the birds are required to be in boxes that go with them when sold.. It might have changed as I haven't been there for a few years..
that makes close inspection a bit more difficult..

kind of know what you want, try to get a price of what birds are selling for before you get there..

At a different auction I saw muscovy ducks go for $35 to $50 each.. come on !! I know the lady who bought the trio at $37/ea.. when she got them home and out of the box, one of the hens had no feet... froze off no doubt..

just as at any auction,,, buyer beware..

I bought a great rooster and some very nice button quail at Amherst, though..
try to be the very first bid, and then,,
Don't bid until the bidding slows down.. and you think it is all but over.. It takes a little timing.. that is what makes it fun..

 

[Susie"J"]

DV and BL4 sorry for the loss of family and friend. Prayers for all of you and your families.

Raiquee hang in and we are here for you.

I will keep an eye out for a slow cooker for you. Sometimes people have them and don't use them I'll ask around. I have had the same one for 30 years now and I love it.

Hurley sounds like you got a lot done on this cool windy day. The boys sound like good little helpers. I remember when my kids were little they were so much fun to work with.

David and TerryO looks like good progress is being made on the coops and run. I wish I could start on the addition of our coop but DH isn't ready yet

won't let me do it even though I can. The only time I get to do things that include (his) tools is when he is gone. Deer hunting etc. That's when I paint colors I want

and one year I installed tile flooring in the entrance way 6'x10' he was surprised and happy I did it

I guess he likes to do things for me.

I wish he felt like that when it came to house work

Cleaned out the coop yesterday and cleaned out flower beds. So windy today didn't do much outside. We took DH youngest son out to eat for his 22 b day and that was nice. Get to talk more on a one to one when it's not the entire family. Better get going and ready the chicks for bed. They eat and drink a lot ! Night all, Susie

 

[Terri O]

Good evening! Glad to hear that everyone had a prolific day. ODrH...you are probably sleeping already...that must have been a lot of work! All I did today was finish the screened window on my new coop and put the roosts in. THen we went to the dog park and a woman's Akita got into it with one of my BCs. She drew a bit of blood on my dog's leg...the woman was ticked that my DH knocked her dog on the head a couple of times with the ball flinger thingy. She has absolutely no control over that dog and had my dog on the ground by the neck! Geez!
Made a ham for dinner and sweet potatoes, braised celery (no idea why that popped into my head) and some cranberry sauce. All was yummy and I am stuffed! There is a ton left cause it was only me and DH...scalloped potatoes on the way

Man David...I think you will be able to keep monster chickens in that coop and run! Nothing, and I mean NOTHING will get in or out for sure! Nice job.
Raiquee--I hear you on the PPD. I had it really bad after my second too. I feel bad for you...that is a terrible thing to go through! It certainly doesnt help that the weather has been so gray and cold that you cant even get out with the stroller! I wish I could help you in some way...coffee?
Jim--I sure wish somebody would come and buy my ducks for $30 each! I would even include the feet for free!
Congrats on the peeping noises Kee--I hope they all hatch out for you!
Susie that is when I use DH's tools too! When he makes a big stink out of me using something of his I go out and buy my own...then it really ticks him off that I KNOW where my stuff is and he doesnt! Of course then he wants to borrow MY tools! HA---

Well it's time for me to go to bed...I dont understand why I am so tired...must be because I read all that everyone else did today! LOL! Sweet dreams! Terri O

 

[babylady4]

OMG Bin Laden is DEAD!!!!!! Praise GOD! Thank you GB for having the military stick it out!

 

[Dr HaHa]

Good Morning Everyone! Had to chuckle at Obama's comment about when America puts it's mind to something. How many years did it take? One more bad man bites it. Sounds a little suspicious that they buried him at sea that quickly. I'm sure Jesse Ventura with will have something to say about it. So much sadness to read. bl4 sorry for the loss of your friend!

TO sorry for the loss of your chicks!

dk sorry for the loss of your pet!

Rai

it'll get better! And I'm really sorry to anyone one that I forgot to say sorry to! Kee glad to hear you've got pips!

ontonoh once you get your coop done you'll have invested a small fortune but it's a good investment! Hope you haven't expended all your resources you'll need some for the addition!

TO if you would put the DH's tools back after borrowing them maybe he could find them.

We have a new member but it's so far back in the posts I can't find it. So a Big Cheesehead WELCOME to you! Man the hens are takin a beatin! Considering aprons, poor babies! Hope all is progessing well with Bigz! Made enough wood to keep us warm for a couple of weeks yesterday. Didn't spend anymore time than I had to out there. That wind was nasT! The down side to the water going away is now I have to haul water every day

Running some errands this AM then out to buck, split and haul the 2 logs out back.

Looks it's it's finally gonna warmup

Boy the yolks are yummie!

 

[WIChookchick]

Hi All,
Well we got moved, was at the old house till 2 am cleaning, you would not believe the soot from the furnace. We took pics, I will post them later in a day or so.

WE HAVE NO INTERNET right now. But will by Thursday.
The new house is wonderful.

I am sorry to hear such sad news about our WI BYC'ers loss of pets, friends and loved ones.

I found 3 roosters new homes.. but no one wanted Nic, my weird cross bred rooster, so he was stuck in a dog kennel all day on Saturday.

My apologies to Connie, I will call you.

In other news.. there is a wonderful Serama breeder in the Madison area, he has wonderful stock, adult birds, that are show quality in the teeny sizes too.
He just retired from a regular job 2 weeks ago, and only breeds Seramas. He is Npip and has a Wi registered flock. Edward Lilla.

I will be on either later today or tomorrow. Thank goodness for Mcdonalds wifi.
Carol