Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[kristip]

BF4... sorry to hear about that chick. We had a failure to thrive as well. Carol tried to nurse it or me since I have the majority of the chicks at my place still for the kids and their school, but it didnt make it. It happens. So overall we had 15 hatch and 3 did not make it. 2 died within hours and 1 within a week. Oh well. Better odds than I thought.

BL- love the soap!!! There is a place out of CA that sells Zum soap which has goats milk bars etc and they are fantastic. Not cheap but wonderful stuff!

Well kids are having farm week at school so the 2 week old chicks are heading to school with me tomorrow. Kids are so excited to show off their babies. And this batch... star wars babies: Lea, Ewok, Wooky, yoda, Falcon, and some yet to be named... we are holding out and seeing who looks rooish. Only have 2 with tail feathers at this point... beleive that is a girlier trait although not conclusive. Most are EE's so hard to tell.

According to the weather channel this was the last freezing night weather for a while so can plant a few things now. Have some perenniels and fruit to put in. Saw the arctic kiwi at Jungs so had to pick some up. Have been eyeing them up for a few years now. Have a nice metal gazebo they can vine up! Here is to hoping.

 

[jvls1942]

good morning,, DrH, You are prolly way past me by now.. I thought I heard a horn earlier, though..

I will be going out to the Rib Mt truck stop after my DD#2 shows up.. look for a white lincoln parked on the west side of the building..

I LOL'd out loud at the comment, "if you can make soap, it must not be too difficult.."

my chicks have already graduated to the one gallon waterer and a feeding trough.. what little eating machines they are..

My Dels that are most likely to meet Mr Ax are about 1 year old.. They are well groomed, andnice and plump.. Not what you want in a laying hen..

found a red star laying dead close to the back door yesterday.. no marks or anything,, just dead.. buried her in the dumpster.. I was surprised at how heavy she was..

today is due date for some eggs to hatch.. I do not see any pips yet, but I usually am not good at spotting them.. Annie is my spotter for that..

Nora looks like a polar bear.. we can feel the puppies moving in her.. she is such a patient dog.. even the vet commented how calm she was even as he clipped her toe nails.. I wonder if that will carry on into her pups? she may not be any good for a working dog, but she is a heII of a great pet.. she is even starting to respond to some commands, not as independent as she first was..

Maybe you can make some good tasting soap for mouth washing ? I know somebody who might appreciate that..

I am holding back a bit on setting this next batch of eggs.. they are really piling up..

I am thinking , just for record keeping, I am going to start up bator #3..

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

 

[chikenscratch]

Good morning to you all!

So sorry to hear of the losses

I hesitated going out to the coop this morning, but was pleasantly surprised by the warmth. My chicks are now between 6 and 7 weeks old. They are mostly feathered and are mostly non-distinguishable as cockerels or pullets to me. Of my 3 RIR I have 2 roos and one pullet. I have 3 barred rocks and I think I have 2 ladies and one roo (are the roos smaller than the hens in the breed? The ones that I think are pullets are larger than the one that I think is a roo. The "roo" is the only one of the 3 that has a red comb and waddle.) Then I have one that is a hybrid of RIR and something, we cannot tell what gender it is. Lastly, we have 3 Red Stars and I am really confused on their gender (my red stars are the 6 week olds. Two are larger with longer tails and darker feathers, but none of them have red combs or waddles). Any suggestions?

Besides the chicken gender determination...I have been planting and weeding my garden. So far I have planted peas, mustard greens, turnips, dill, tomatillos, and radish (all up already). This past week I planted yellow squash, zucchini, more peas and corn. My DH planted garlic in the fall and it is doing well. He also planted cilantro and chard. We have lettuce and tomatoes growing indoors until it is warm enough to move them outdoors. I have a friend that has sprouted excess brocolli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and basil that I will be getting soon. If only the weather would turn warm (65-75 range) and stay there for a bit

.

 

[jvls1942]

I never saw a red star roo.. but I thought they were way differently colored than the hens. ??

I too am ready to plant my garden.. but , we all must remember, this is Wisc, and this is still early spring.. especially for us farther up Nort.. I really want to get my potatoes in, though.. corn should be planted after the oak leaves look like squirrel's ears..

On barrocks, the comb on the rooster is longer , that is, it reaches farther toward the back of the head than the hens' do..

 

[Celtic Chick]

Lastly, we have 3 Red Stars and I am really confused on their gender (my red stars are the 6 week olds. Two are larger with longer tails and darker feathers, but none of them have red combs or waddles). Any suggestions?

Sorry, but that made me chuckle. Red stars are sex link chickens, so you tell the sex by their color. Males are white, I think, and females will be red.

 

[tiki244]

jim wrote ..."buried her in the dumpster"..... I just had to LOL at that! ! Each to his own


So sorry to the rest of you for your losses

Truly am

I have used Adams dog flea and tick spray on mites and it works well. You need to apply it after ten days again though.

I still don't think it would hurt to treat the wheatons for cocci just in case. They do have a wierd smell when they have cocci. I had one partridge silkie a couple years ago with a vaulted skull and just cute as a button. Same thing it just didn't grow and was cold and got sick and died. Could have been any other chick but that one. Then I treated the rest for cocci and sure enough they were a lot more lively after that. So sad .

One of my Ameraucanas decided to lay me an egg with the white part all packaged up nice and neat seperate from the yolk.

I have a SUV I can sleep in if need be. And room for my dog.

 

[tiki244]

.

I need to water my garden. I think I will wait untill next week to plant my cold crops after I am done remodelling. Even my garlic looks dry. Taking buckets out just doesnt seem to help. I would be at it all day. I am enjoying the time getting rid of the quack on the sides of my beds too. Enlarging them a bit. NJ you or aweful or aweful funny lol

 

[chikenscratch]

The one on the bottom (center) is the red star as a chick and the one with white tipped wings heading under the perch is also a red star



The picture below shows all 3 at about 5 weeks


The picture below is one of three as they look now!

 

[chikenscratch]

Here is one of the two barred rocks that I think are pullets



The one below I think is a roo



I am open to discussion on the rocks and red star! I would like to start naming them, but I don't know their genders.

 

[tiki244]

How cute! Like CC said their girls!


Woo How old are they?