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"They're plummeting to the ground! They're hitting like sacks of wet cement!" Don't think para-quail are the best idea.
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Jan 25, 2021 23:04
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Captain Log posted:Can an angry hen do any damage to a person? Ask my left eyeball. Spent two days on percocet and a week on antibiotics after Kennedy giving me a lacerated cornea. When everyone involved at the clinic asked "What happened? " and I said "Chicken pecked my eyeball" the response was without fail, "....What?"
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Feb 22, 2021 04:37
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That looks ideal for us! We lost our girls to a raccoon last year, and are going to get another set once chicks are available. We had three, but are going for six this time. (Morehens disease strikes again!) The city permit is for three, but we have a privacy fence all around, and it not like they ever check. We had a wooden kit coop that turned out to be garbage. We painted it to make it more weather resistant, and I built an add on that doubled the run space. Still, I had to do regular repairs and upgrade the wire nails to bolts and nuts to hold it together, replace the hinges and so on. This year we're looking at this little number: https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Chicken-Coops/Ultimate-Chicken-Coop-w-feeder-and-waterer-up-to-6-chickens-Green-p3075.aspx along with an automatic door closer. I had planned on putting together a run structure with 1 x 2 inch wood and hardware cloth. That's what I used for the run extension and it held up well. But this enclosure changes the game. Due to the murderous trash pandas I would run hardware cloth around the lower part and attach a buried skirt of the same all the way around. I know spending $1200 on chicken housing seems a lot, but stimulus checks are on the way eventually, and we miss our ladies.
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Feb 28, 2021 01:01
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Joburg posted:My chickies are 2 weeks old now. We’re supposed to have nice weather starting a Thursday so I’ll be moving them out to the empty coop. I sectioned off half of it so hopefully the hens will be curious and meet them through the wire. Maybe carve something out of erasers and glue it to him? Red rubber glove like Feathers McGraw?
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Mar 29, 2021 15:54
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Yeah, raccoon. Exactly what happened to our three girls.
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Apr 8, 2021 15:02
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perepelki posted:thank you! i think i probably will enjoy that quail, robert Oh, poo poo - I read that book as a kid!! Not much recollection of it, except for the title, though. More recently read "Enslaved by Ducks", which has been mentioned here before.
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Apr 19, 2021 13:11
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That is one contemplative chicken pic. How do I get past this? I've got to get to the other side of that road!
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Apr 20, 2021 19:41
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Chard posted:tiny man is even tinier than i imagined. his power must be immense So chicken powers are like homeopathy? The tinier the dose, the more potent?
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Jun 20, 2021 09:13
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It does kind of seem there are a few leftover parts you didn't use from your rooster kit.
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Jun 21, 2021 01:06
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BHB posted:Tiny Man puts his heart and soul into it when he crows: ATTENTION LADIES! HEED MY CALL TO ROMANCE!
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Jun 23, 2021 09:24
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"it has been nine (9) days since the last tragedy" This is going to be a sign sent with every order of quail, isn't it. Poor borbs. They just don't seem to get the whole survival thing.
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Aug 19, 2021 05:27
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BHB posted:those assholes would kill like 3-4 at a time and just leave them as a torn apart mess in the run. their way of life sucks and they suck. Our three girls had their heads taken off and the bodies left there by a raccoon. gently caress 'em.
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Sep 20, 2021 03:07
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Imagined posted:'Woody breast syndrome' sure has ruined most mass market chicken for me in the last few years. Ugh, so true. This past year it's become more common. My wife refuses to eat it, the texture grosses her out, and I'm not a huge fan either. It's also so random. Two breasts from the same package, one can be fine, the other woody. I even went to a high end, fancy store and got their antibiotic free breasts, and one turned out to be woody. The worst part is there's no real way to tell until it's cooked. So you take a bite that smells great and then - crunchy texture. Then the meal is pretty much wasted. I'll eat it, but won't enjoy it. My wife forages in the kitchen and looks sad.
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Sep 24, 2021 15:30
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Yeah, but the birds are all coming from the same stock, so you'll get a woody one sooner or later.
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Sep 24, 2021 15:43
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Joburg posted:
This will either be Head Chicken, or The Guardian. Our boldest chick became The Guardian - always first to investigate, most likely to keep watch from the coop, etc. Our Head Chicken was more first to eat, best comb/lobes/wattles, and fattest.
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Oct 6, 2021 18:25
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Might as well just give up and let them have it. They've got the taste for Jack o lantern blood now. Think how much chickeny joy will be had!
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Oct 14, 2021 16:08
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You could try the rodent baits. The only issue with them is you never know where Mickey or Rickey will end up when they kick the bucket. We currently aren't using our guest bedroom, which is lucky because there's somebody in between the studs behind drywall. Somewhere. It'll mummify soon hopefully.
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Oct 29, 2021 15:50
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freeedr posted:
Giving me flashbacks here! A couple of years ago that bitch Kennedy peck me right in the eyeball. But it got me a bottle of percocet and out of our end of year meeting, so not a total bad experience. Would not repeat, though.
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Nov 16, 2021 17:00
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Cythereal posted:Have a wild chicken-adjacent showing that the lack of survival instincts runs in the family. Not so stupid - you can't get shot if you're sitting on the bow! 
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Nov 19, 2021 18:23
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Shifty Nipples posted:There is a bird in my neighborhood that I desperately want to identify but I only ever get a fleeting glimpse of it as it flies by, I just spotted it up in a tree and tried to get a better look with binoculars but I was shaking too much to see it clearly before it flew away. If I ever manage a picture I'll post it here since, well, why not I guess. How about a few descriptors? That could help us to narrow it down for you. Also location and type of habitat, etc. You might want to get something like Sibley's app. You can narrow down what gets shown by setting your state, and it shows male and female and eclipse plumage, has audio for songs and how to distinguish it from similar species. I finally found what was making this wheezy, whistly song after literally decades. Turned out to be a white throated sparrow. Never saw them, only heard them.
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Nov 21, 2021 01:27
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Since we don't get really cold temps too often, we would just top off the waterer with hot water in the morning and afternoon, and put a couple of reusable heat packs next to it. That kept it warm enough so they had pretty constant access to liquid water. The two times we had really cold and snowy days they got to stay on the glassed in porch with old blankets around the dog kennels we used as temporary coops, and replaced their water their often enough so it didn't freeze, except overnight.
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Nov 30, 2021 17:00
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Hey, it that coop the larger one or the smaller version? My wife and I are looking to get 6 chickens this spring, and I'm thinking the larger one would be good. Any thoughts on that model? Plusses, minuses?
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Feb 5, 2022 03:37
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It doesn't take a large predator like a coyote to take out your chickens. We lost all three of ours two years ago to a raccoon. And we have a six foot privacy fence all around. They (and possums) can scamper up and down them like they were stairs. A fox could get under it with just a few minutes worth of digging. We're in an area that is miles from any significant woods or undeveloped site, and we have all three around. And distance isn't much for animals as you might think. A few years ago a bear around here made it from the Dismal Swamp almost to the beach front. That's a dozen or so miles across neighborhoods, shopping, offices and light industrial areas.
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Feb 21, 2022 18:25
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We're going to get back on the chicken wagon this year! We're looking at one of the resin plastic coops, since our previous wood one was garbage and needed constant repairs. Also a walk in run with wire mesh to prevent another racoon incident. Going to get hardware cloth and bury it around the edge to avoid a dig through. We're going to get six this time, and a variety instead of all buff orps. The store has their chick list and we'll get one of each: golden laced Wyandotte, lavender orp, olive egger, light brahma, cuckoo marans, and a Rhode Island blue. Should make for a pretty flock! Technically our permit from the city only allows us three based on our lot size, but our neighbors have five and their lot is smaller than ours. Add in our privacy fence and the fact that nobody ever checks once the permit goes out. Should be good!
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Mar 6, 2022 02:35
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Imagined posted:We started trying to grow our own mealworms. It's pretty neat. Best part is the chooks will eat the worms and the oats, so just scoop em out and enjoy the show!
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Mar 14, 2022 15:32
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Well, that explains it! When we first got our first chicks, I had the bright idea of marking them flourescent markers. Just a small patchon the head. Then we could tell who was who by shining a uv flashlight on them. First go at shining it at them and they all freaked. And the second time. So plan B. Tiny zip ties loosely around the ankle. With three it was easy. Left, right and none. We kept that as they grew and we replaced the ties.
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Mar 25, 2022 00:40
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At lunch today one of the lower school teachers brought a new chick to show off. They'd had an incubator in the classroom and hatched eleven chicks. It just sat in her cupped hands, cheeping contentedly. Going to have to visit that class during my planning block tomorrow. And every day until they give them back to the farm.
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Apr 12, 2022 00:48
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I went to view chicks today, and the teacher knew all the different breeds of the chicks. She said the person who let them hatch the eggs raises the chickens for free ranging eggs. The chicks themselves were awesomely cute! They were at the "toddle, toddle, toddle -plop, sleep" stage. She has them at her desk, so they don't get mobbed. The chicks were all very calm, and didn't mind being picked up at all. A couple gave a slightly startled peep, but just hunkered down and enjoyed the warm hands while peeping softly. Makes me glad we're getting our chicks in a few weeks! The place we're getting from has a variety of breeds, so we're getting six different ones.
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Apr 13, 2022 00:57
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We managed to get the Formex large coop on sale, and it arrived today. We also got a large pipe frame, wire mesh covered 10 by 15 foot run. This time it will have hardware cloth around the base and buried to keep another Racoon Incident from happening. Even though our permit from the city only allows three hens, we're going for double that. It turns out there's no city Chicken Inspector, and we have a privacy fence anyway. A couple of other people in the neighborhood have more than the allotted number, and have for years. Our last girls were all buff orps, but this time we're going for a variety pack. Six different breeds. Olive egger, violet orp, cuckoo marans, gold laced Wyandotte, light brahma and a Rhode Island blue. Going to have a loooot of eggses!
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Apr 24, 2022 01:07
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Going to get our new flock tomorrow! Six girls of various breeds. We decided on cheese varieties for the names. Got the feed, grit, and new waterer for them. They'll have a brand spanking new Formex coop and a 10 by 15 foot wire enclosed run. I'll be putting hardware cloth around the base of the run to prevent another raccoon incident. Won't likely have any eggs until fall, but that's secondary. Of course in the long run we'll be lucky if we get under $1 per egg, what with all the new digs. But we'll have a mini flock of pretty girls! This time I know that you don't hold your top chicken on your lap and get your tasty looking eyeballs too close to the pecky bit.
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May 3, 2022 19:06
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Ok, back on the egg express! Just got our new set of girls: 2 light brahma, 1 Maran, a gold laced Wyandotte and 2 very different appearing olive Eggers! They're in the house now, and just got introduced to the wonders of cooked egg. They weren't sure about it at first, just walking over it and eyeing it suspiciously. Then one brave soul started to peck and after a taste did the "I've got something delicious!" trill, ran away and all the others wanted in. Naturally they all ran after the first one, ignoring the egg right in front of them. So I did a little math and with those breeds we can expect 21 to 31 eggs per week. We don't use nearly that many! So freebies for friends.
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May 8, 2022 00:35
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 Meet the girls! Light brahmas Edam and Mozzarella, Easter Eggers Florette and Pecarina, gold laced Wyandotte Colby and cuckoo maran Abbaye. This is an older pic, they're getting wing and tail feathers now. They've also discovered the joys of scrambled eggs and instead of running from The Hand, dash over to investigate, even standing on The Hand to eat. Mrs. Underbridge found a worm and gave it to them today. She was "Ew, I'm not cutting it up!" No need. The girls tore it up. They're also hop flapping, and eyeing the rim of the brooder, so the wire lid went on. They were not happy with the new sky. And for extra squee, sleepy chicks! 
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May 13, 2022 09:07
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Our girls are doing a lot of growing! At just over two weeks they're at least twice the size they were when we got them. Pecorina is now putting out her body contour feathers, while the two brahmas aren't even partway done with their wing feathers. They have been introduced to the joys of live prey, but it took a few minutes. I dumped a couple of dozen tiny crickets in the brooder and afirst they were afraid of the little moving dots. Then Edam kept staring and staring, getting closer before finally giving an experimental peck. She was sold immediately and ran around giving the "I've got a treat!" trill. That got others interested. Some were slower than others but Edam went into beast mode and snarfed up almost half of the crickets. Pecorina got about a quarter, and the other four finally managed a couple each. They've also decided that chopped fresh corn is tasty enough to take from The Hand.
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May 19, 2022 14:19
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Some pretty chickens there!
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May 19, 2022 18:41
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Adrienne Broody.
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May 21, 2022 19:24
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There's a short vid on YouTube where a cat is outside playing with a live mouse it just caught. A hen runs up, grabs the mouse from under the cat's nose, takes a few steps and proceeds to viciously wham the mouse on the hound a few times. Then a quick gulp gulp and the mouse is gone.
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May 25, 2022 17:20
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So the two brahmas we have, Edam and Mozzarella, have grown at different rates. Edam is way bigger than Mozzarella, almost twice the size. Edam is also one of the greedier chicks. We, uh, didn't get a rooster by accident, did we? Because that would be a violation of our permit (along with having a few too many!), and not something that can really be hidden. Please tell me Edam is just bigger because she's a big old piggy chick!
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May 27, 2022 15:05
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When getting more feed and grit at the feed store (godthat sounds farm-y!), I spotted a treat you hang for chicks. It's been looming at the chicks almost a day now. At first they were all "Nope!" but have at least gotten up the nerve to be close enough to touch it. They eat up any part I flake off (it's a solid, slightly greasy cylinder), but haven't started to associate it with The Object. I'm sure somebody will give it an annoyed peck soon and realize that it's a giant treat. It's just frustrating that they're taking so long! BTW, the chicks are five weeks old now, and at the awkward puberty stage. But our method of bribing them is working! Abbaye just wanted to sit on laps when we had them out for supervised lawn time. And poop. Mrs. Underbridge got hit three times, the last one a nice wet cecal poop. I managed to get away clean.
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Jun 1, 2022 23:04
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Well, it didn't take long! There's maybe a fifth of it missing already! Sometime during the day some brave soul made the discovery and the others followed. I bet it's an extension of that "I've got a treat!" behavior where they will run after the one with a treat and try to steal it, even as they step directly on a pile of that very treat. "You're eating that? gently caress you, give it to me!"
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Jun 2, 2022 05:21
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Just completed the large Snap Lock coop for the new flock. Pretty easy to put together, as long as you remember which side goes out. It's pretty big, and so should be good for our six chick flock. Next up is the huge run, a metal pipe and wire mesh affair. I'll be adding increased protection by burying chicken wire around it and covering the lower couple of feet with hardware cloth. It's tall enough to walk upright in, and ten by fifteen feet. The coop will be under the mulberry tree for shade, but they'll have afternoon sun off to the side. And the occasional dropped mulberry. It's weird, last year was the first year the tree produced anything. This year the birds discovered it and picked it clean before we had a chance to get any.
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Jun 8, 2022 04:49
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