Foothills Poultry

No, I ain't dead . . .

2012-01-10T22:22:00.005-05:00

I haven't really been busy(OR DEAD), just distracted. I have read most of the blogs that I am subscribed to, even if I didn't leave a post. I got over the pneumonia without ever going to a DR. I still get to coughing from time to time, but that may just be temp changes from going in and out. My lungs feel clear.

The chickens are doing well. I lost one and almost lost a couple others to worms. The one I lost was a Gold Comet named Celeste. The day she looked sick was just too late. Chickens are so good at hiding problems. I wormed her, but it was too late. She died that night. My bantam Mottled Cochin Cockerel got such a vitamin nutrient deficiency that he had a seizure. He took a few days, but made a full recover. There are a couple more, but all have recovered. I was using Ivomec for worming, but what ever parasite this is the Ivomec doesn't kill. I had just bought a bottle of Valbazen with the intentions of switching wormers when this all starter. The Valbazen does the job and has saved them.

This young man is my potential breeder for next year.He is a Black Standard Cochin. When I took this picture he was only 6 months old. This show line is very slow to mature and he had/has alot of filling out left to do. I plan to show him in a couple months. Come April he will replace his dad with the 5 standard Cochin Hens. His dad is moving in with some Black Giant Laying Hens. He will have 11 hens to keep his retirement enjoyable. He is with the laying hens during the days anyway so a permanent move will not be difficult. He just has to learn to go to roost with them in their house and not walk back to the Cochin house.

~~Matt~~

Here Again

2011-11-27T22:26:00.002-05:00

I am finally getting back to blogging. I missed reading everyone's blogs for so long. I have been sick and with the lack of energy I just didn't feel like sitting here reading. The end of last month I was feeling off, but mostly just tired. Nov 2 I got up with an upper respiratory infection with a cough. As that started clearing up after 4-5 days it moved south into my lungs. This was my first experience with walking pneumonia. The hardest part was trying to take care of the chickens. A round of the coops and I was gasping for breath and coughing my head off. I had NO energy and stayed completely exhausted. I was flat out useless. It is taking forever to get over this crap. The first 2 weeks were the worst. All I wanted to do was take a good deep breath. We had several days of beautiful weather that I was not able to take advantage of. I have so many projects that I want/need to finish.

My lungs have cleared up quite a bit, but I am still coughing and still have some fluid in my lungs. Maybe I should have gone to a doctor.

I skipped Thanksgiving. Everyone went up to my Brother's house in TN. I just did not want to go across the mountain. I figured it would get me sick again and I wanted to go to a Poultry show.

The poultry show last weekend was in Winston-Salem, NC. There were over 1500 birds in the show. It was a great showing of alot of very nice birds. I spent about an hour taking pictures and another hour talking. That was about it for me. That amount of dander and dust has had me coughing at full blast since I got home.

More in a few days.

~~Matt~~

FPC Show, county fair,

2011-10-25T22:58:00.004-04:00

This week I have been getting ready for the Friendship Poultry Club's Annual Fall Poultry Show in Morganton, NC. The show is at the Burke County Fairgrounds this coming Saturday. Lots of info on the BYC post about it. Sunday we set the show up for 650 birds. We all assumed that the giant Crossroads Show up in Indiana would make this a smaller then normal show. Not to mention a new law about AI testing for out-of-state exhibitors. Well we were WRONG. Tomorrow I am meeting 2 other guys at the fairgrounds to setup cages for an additional 200 birds. Should be a nice show. As far as weather it seems they rain is clearing out, but the temps will be cool for some. I am not showing. I love shows, but lost interest in actually showing. Not to mention my best birds are molting. I figure I will get back in to the actual showing sooner or later.

A couple weeks ago was the Burke County Fair. Mom and I entered alot of entries. We didn't do as well as we would have liked, but I ended up with $45 in premium wins and she got $44. This year was a bit chaotic. Those in the office didn't seem to know what those outside were doing/promising. The fair has been going down hill the last several years and this year was even worst. I remember when that fair was full of people everyday from the time it opened till they closed. Now the rides are getting fewer, they only take up about half the fairgrounds now. There are fewer barkers running games. The exhibits are also getting thin. They no longer have the motocross races, bike tricks, or even the demolition derby. Man those were fun to watch. I haven't seen a pig race in 10 years. It is really a disappointment that they are running it into the ground. They need new blood to run it, but the old folks in charge will never give up control.

Back to chickens: Alot of birds are molting. I couldn't even tell you how many are in various stages of molting. This means less then 20% egg production. Oh well. They have good food, clean water, and warm/safe houses to sleep in. I just have to be patient till spring. When the days get longer the egg count better go up.

~~Matt~~

a post just to post

2011-10-14T00:38:00.002-04:00

Not sure what to post about. I just feel I should make a post since I haven't made one in a month. The birds are molting, so the egg count is WAY down. One of the Sexlink pullets got pushed off the roost and broke her neck. She was never too bright and kept wanting to roost with the older birds on the top rung. That morning she was fine when I open the houses at 7:30 am. At 10am when I did a walk through she was stiff.

Other then that I guess everything is going fine. Entered a bunch of flowers, vegetables, pictures, and canned goods in the Burke county Fair. Did well enough, but not as well as I expected. I just don't have alot of enthusiasm about much of anything right now. I really need sleep.

~~Matt~~

Another month of updates

2011-09-15T20:14:00.004-04:00

I can't believe I haven't posted in over a month. I originally started this blog with the intent of posting at least weekly. This once a month is ridiculous.

Anyways ... Not much has happened the last month. I sold a couple extra Roosters, then ate a few that I knew we would never be able to find homes for.

I went to a the First SemiAnnual Carolina Chickenstock in Lincolton, NC on August 27th. It was a fun day with a crowd of poultry folks. I think there were 30+ folks there selling with buyers walking all around.

I spent the week and a half after that sick. That Monday was the start of it and I went down hill fast. It was some sort of stomach bug. I didn't eat for 3 days. My energy level was zero and I couldn't stay awake. I had to force myself to eat a turkey sandwich, which I managed to keep down and made me feel a little better. Took almost another week to get back to normal. Don't know what it was, but I could have done without it. Though I did lose 32 pounds in 10 days. That is what I call a crash diet.

Ok, back to birds. I have a few more to sell before winter. A trio of Mille Fleur d'Uccles.A pair of my Calicos.These 2 sets have been raised together by a broody hen. They were born May 31 and are currently in their final molt into adult feathers.

I also have a pair of mixed Standard Pullets to sell that are the result of a welsummer roo getting to my best black Cochin hen. These ladies have alot of growing to do and are going to be HUGE.

I lost a hen last week, but finally found her STUCK in a roll of wire. She had jammed herself in there after something and could not back out because her feathers would catch. She spent 24 in there with no food or water, but 'Midnight' was perfectly fine.

Other then that everything has just been going along in a nice smooth routine. I like PLAIN and routine.

The first Fall NC Poultry show is 6 weeks from Saturday on Oct 29 in Morganton, NC. I am looking for to the shows. I doupt I will show, but I really like to see other's birds. The best part for me is the people with similar interests. To be able to have a long conversation about chickens with someone and see their eyes glaze over is wonderful.

~~Matt~~

So Far For August

2011-08-12T18:40:00.006-04:00

***August 2nd***
The one time you miss a door to a coop you will know what predators you have running around at night. This was the scene that morning where a broody Pigie, white bantam cochin, was setting on an empty nest in the Bantam Cochin Coop.About 3 am Mom turned my bedroom light on and woke me up for an unbelievably deep sleep.
What I was told: A few minutes before Mom was awakened by a screaming hen. On the way out she yelled at me. Once outside she yelled again twice. She got to the screaming that was coming from the bantam cochin coop. With the flashlight she saw a HUGE possom on top of Pigie in her nest. The possum turned with a mouth full of feathers and hissed. Mom looked back towards the house and yelled at Dad to grab my gun, Ruger 10/22 loaded and ready is in reach just before you go out the backdoor. When she turned back the possum had went the back of the house and Pigie was laying outside the nest on the floor. Dad got there in a panic and had trouble figuring out how to take the safety off in the dark. He pointed and pulled the trigger. Shot the possum through the head with a 22 hollow point. Mom grabbed up Pigie and started back towards the house, Dad shot the possum again. Mom and Dad both thought something was wrong with me. I was fine, just asleep. I don't sleep and it was really odd for me not to be out the door first. For the first time in 3 days I had finally gone to sleep about an hour before and went down deep. The Cochin coop is about 30 yards from my open window, but none of this woke me up. Not my screaming hen, not Mom yelling, and not even a 22 going off twice.

What I witnesed: I awoke to see mom standing there with a white mass of feathers. I was so far into a deep sleep that it took a couple minutes for everything to register. Pigie was in shock, but had no visible injuries. Just alot of missing feathers. Being a loose feathered cochin is what kept her safe long enough to be rescued. The possum got nothing but feathers for its last meal. Being in shock Pigie would not stand or use her legs. She just kept trying to go to sleep. I kept her awake for about an hour. Mom got a carrier ready for her to stay in the house. I put her in and let her go to sleep. Early that morning I got her out to make sure her legs worked. She walked around and complained so I put her back in. I kept her dark till 9:30. She was doing well so she went back out after a mealworm treat. I took her to her Lot. She got some water and went into the coop. She was favoring her left side, but otherwised seemed fine. I sat her out several times that day to make sure she was back to eating. By the evening the limp was gone and she seemed back to normal. Even this didn't break her from being broody.All in all Pigie ended up with ALOT of bruising on her left side and 4 cuts/scrapes that we cleaned and medicated. Those have heeled now and most of the bruising is gone. She is still broody and is refusing to give up on the empty nests. I know she will not break till she starts to molt this Fall.

August 7th:
We now have a new LGD(Livestock Guardian Dog). Mom and I went and picked her up on Sunday. She growls/barks at anything new and completely ignores the chickens.

Does anyone remember seeing Pekingese on the LGD list?Ok, maybe she should be called a LAD(Livestock Alarm Dog) since she is too little to protect anything. That is standard welded wire behind her. From that you can see she is about 6" at the shoulder. She came with the name 'Princess', but Mom has decided she is more of the 'Dixie'. That has led to an official name of 'Princess Dixie', though we will just call her 'Dixie'.She has taken up with Dad and follows him everywhere while she is outside. When mom gets home Dixie becomes her dog again. This particular LAD is inside more then out.

She does not like me yet. Her first evening she was extremely nervous and I was the one that caught her to move her to section off the house. She gets half the house at night with access to Mom and Dad's room. I am on the other side with Tabitha . I call Dixie "Growl Butt" since she is still growling at me. She is starting to let me pet her and will take treats from me. I guess I just have to take it slow and be patient.

We had Pekingese many years ago while I was growing up. I need to find the old pictures and scan then in. Except for the cream coloring on Dixie, she looks exactly like my 'King'. King got out and ran over on my 8th birthday. It was during the party and I haven't had another birthday party since. After King was Dusty, Little Foot, Cuddles, Lidia, Rowdy, and puppies every couple years from Cuddles and Little Foot. They made beautiful babies. Dusty, a rescue we did, was Little Foot's Mother. All have been gone for many years, but I will always love the breed because of them.

**That is about all that has happened so far this month. Just been too Hot and Humid to do anything outside for any amount of time. By the time I check and fill waterers, I am spent and soaked. The extreme heat(for us) seems to have broke for awhile. Hopefully I can get some work done around here.

**I have been reading all the blogs that I subscribe too, but have not commented very much.

~~Matt~~

I hate Heat ... some Pictures

2011-07-27T00:32:00.007-04:00

*****This Heat SUCKS*****
Still too damned Hot. I had a bad episode last Wednesday and about went out. It was 94 with a heat index of 109. When I first went out the door I was already feeling queasy, but needed to feed the bird supper. It only take about 20 minutes. About half way through I was dizzy, head was killing me, felt like I was going to puke, and everything was starting to ripple. I pushed on, IDIOT. By the time I was done I was forcing my eyes open and fighting to stay upright. I almost tripped over Barbara(cat) trying to get back to the house. I managed to get to the living room couch and hung on for the trip. I had my head pressed against the back of the couch and had ahold of the couch and was pulling down with my hands trying not to 'float' away. Everything was spinning and rippling. My brain was floating and the sweat was flowing like a river. Tried to drink some water, but it was all I could do not to puke. The ceiling fan is all I had to try and cool down. I just set there holding on. It was about 30 minutes before I could open my eyes. Another hour and I had to try to shut the birds up for the night. Luckily Mom was watching me closely and took care of most of the birds. I went in and took a shower, then a cold shower to try to cool off. Took another hour before I managed to eat a cubed steak biscuit. I forced each bite down and a bottle of water, but by the last bite I was feeling quite a bit better. In fact I went and made another. Took 2 days to be completely back to normal. I would call that a lesson learned.

*****Picture Day*****
I went out to take some pictures today.

This is JJ. He is a my big Black Cochin Roo. He is Show Quality, but his feathers are tore all to pieces. His tail mound is almost gone. He has gotten nasty and wet so much that his feathers are kind of flat now.This is Nicolette and Scrunchy. Scrunchy is a frizzled bantam cochin mix who is broody. Nicolette is a Standard Splash Cochin that is also broody. I had them shut out of the house to keep them away from the nests. Nicolette used to be a show hen, but tore her comb up a couple years ago.This is JJ's and Nicollete's son, Smoke. This Blue boy is only 9.5 weeks old. He is looking really nice, but time will tell whether he will be a show bird/breeder or if I have to find him a home.This is JW. He is a 14 week old Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch. He has another molt to go before he is in his adult feathers/colors. I am hopeful for him since I need a new breeder.This is one of the Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch Pullets(Creamalicious). Also 14 weeks old and needs one more molt to adult feathers. I am keeping her and her sister(Dovey) no matter the quality.This is my one eyed Mixed breed bantam, Caramel. She is 5 years old. I love her to death and do whatever she demands of me. We were cricket hunting today.I have 7 chicks from the TriColored Mixes running around. At least 2 of them are Caramel's. They are mixes, but they breed true. BigSis is raising 5 of them, as well as 3 others, and Dumpling has the other 2(no Dumpling pictures)
AND just because she was in the way I had to take some pictures of Barbara.
Here is the Album for anyone that wants to see the rest of the pictures.

~~Matt~~

I am melting...

2011-07-12T01:33:00.000-04:00

It is almost 2 in the morning and I am still up. It is just too hot and humid to try and lay down. With 2 window fans going it is still 82 in my bedroom. The rest of the house is worse. I have lived in this house all my life, except for my years at Appstate, and it has never had AC. Then, of course, it has never been this hot. Tomorrow or today, will be even worse. 99 degrees with a heat index of 110. I can't take this and I am really worried about my birds. They have water and shade, but I am letting them out all day to find the best spots they can so that they can try to survive this. The heat is supposed to break Thursday, but I don't know if everyone will make it till then. We are in the beautiful foothills of NC and it is NOT supposed to be this hot here. Humid, YES, but not this damned HOT!

~~Matt~~

Babies and newest additions

2011-06-13T00:45:00.006-04:00

I took some pictures Friday and thought I would share. I currently have 5 Broodies with a total of 33 babies. That will most likely be it for this year, unless I go into chick withdraw in late Summer.

Daisy, standard Orpington, has her 7 babies that were hatched May 20th. 3 Standard Black Cochins, 1 Standard Blue Cochin, and 3 Standard Black Cochin mixes.
Pockets, Bantam Cochin, has 3 that were hatched April 15th. She lost several for different reasons, but she is a great mother. She has a Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch, a Cream Light Brown Dutch, and a B&W from my bantam mutts. All her remaining chicks are little ladies.
Lacy, bantam cochin, has 7 babies that were hatched April 15th. 2 Cream Light Brown Dutch Boys, 1 Cream Light Brown Dutch Girl, a pair of Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch, and a pair of Faverolle Mixes.
Big Sis, Bantam Cochin, has 8 little ones that were hatched May 19th. 6 of the Tricolored mutt bantams and 2 of the B&W ones.
The last mother is Dumpling, a mottled d'Uccle bantam. She has 8 babies that were hatched May 31st. 6 Mille Fleur d'Uccles and 2 of the Tricolored mixes. These eggs were the first 100% hatchrate I have had in several years. She has no interesting in her babies being seen and took them around the house as soon as I got close.
Got 5 Gold Comets from a friend a couple weeks ago. They have settled in and enjoy getting to go where they want. I actually bought them as chicks from Shook Poultry. I was planning to keep a few for myself, but a family friend bought them all from me. He called a couple weeks ago and told me to come get mine. He had got them all expecting to lose a few. He only lost 4-5 out of 60+ chicks and needed to get rid of a few. I brought these 5 home with me. That is JJ, my big Standard Show Cochin, trying to stay cool. The pure Cochins with Daisy are his children. That is Karla in the back. We rescued her a few months ago and she really likes JJ now.

Hope you enjoyed the quick post of baby pictures.

~~Matt~~

Still Here

2011-05-25T23:29:00.010-04:00

A month has pasted since my last post. I am not sure how I managed to keep putting it off so long, but I am still here.

* * * Mother Hens * * *
Both mother hens have done a wonderful job with their babies. Pockets still has her 4 and Lacy her 7. The little ones are growing well and several are getting really independent. Here is Lacy 4 days ago taking a dust bath. Most of the babies were asleep while mama was busy, but I woke them up.
Also have 2 more hens with new babies. Daisy, a standard Buff Orpington, has 7 Standard Cochins. Well 2 are mixes, but the other 5 are from my show birds. Originally Maggie, an Ameraucana, was supposed to be their mother, but when a newly hatched baby rolled out from under her she ignored it. I found the baby and thought it was dead. It was non responsive and cold. I removed the other 3 babies and unhatched egg and gave them to Daisy. I had a few others in a bator hatching as well which she got later. Daisy took them immediately even though she was setting an empty nest. She is turning out to be a fierce mother and I have the marks on my arm to prove it.Anyways, I was about to take the dead one to bury it when its beak slighty moved. I waited and the beak moved again. I took the baby and put it in the incubator. After an hour it was trying to lift its head. Another hour and it had rolled upright and stretched out. At 5 hours it was completely normal. Here is the 'not so dead' chick the next day.
Big Sissy, bantam cochin, has 8 babies from my mutt bantams. 5 are tricolored, 2 Blank and Whites, and 1 mystery. The 2nd and 3rd pics in my blog banner at the top are what the tricoloreds will look like.

* * * Other Things * * *
The gardens, flower and veg, are coming along nicely. The first of my dahlias is just barely starting to open. The Tulips and Daffodils have died back and that bed is getting planted in annuals this week. I do this for one reason and that is entrees for the local fairs. I cleared $99.50 between the 2 fairs last year.

I went to a Poultry Show in Newport, TN on May 7th. That was the first time I had been to that particular show. It will be the last as well. The folks are great, but the facilities are HORRIBLE. There were also several sick birds in the show. I am glad I did not show. If I had of registered birds they would have not entered the building. NO WAY would my birds be put that close to sick birds. Once I got home I immediatly put my dirty clothes and shoes in the washer and took a shower. I only went through the building once, but managed to take some pictures. An album is here, Newport Show.

I built a new coop for the Mottled Cochin trio and friends. It is 3'x4' and eventually there will be 5 girls and a Roo in there. The coops are only for sleeping and have next boxes for the girls. It is not finished but close enough that they can sleep safely at night. It is just too blasted HOT and HUMID to do anything right now. No pics right now.

There is more, but I think I have went on long enough for one post.

~~Matt~~

New Families and a Nestbox Giveaway

2011-04-26T13:57:00.008-04:00

**11 days old**
click the pictures for full size versions

Lacy has 7 babies. Lacy is a pet quality Birchen Cochin. She has 5 Cream Light Brown/Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch, 1 bantam Faverolle, and a Faverolle mix(yellow with black wings).
Pockets is a show quality Bantam Cochin. She has 2 Dutch and 2 from my mixed pets. The black and white is from Baby Oreo and Andy. It will look like oreo if it is a pullet or a B&W Andy if it is a cockerel. The Black is from Andy and Midnight(bottom right of the previos link).Pockets originally had 7. One Dutch I helped hatch, but really shouldn't have. It had a leg that was fussed bent at the knee and dead below that. There was no way for it to recover, so we put it down. A Dutch was found on it's back dead 10 minutes after I let them out to explore in their 8x10 pen when they were 2 days old. A second Oreo baby died a couple days later from some sickness. The last 4 have been fine since.

**Nestbox Giveaway**
The fine folks over at Life on a Southern Farm are giving away a "HenPals" Chicken Nest Box.

~~Matt~~

Chicken Med-Kit

2011-04-19T22:58:00.004-04:00

I have been asked several times what all I keep on hand for those just in case moments. I figured I might as well post the entire medkit I keep handy.

Antibiotics:
* Tylan 50 - injectable - great for respiratory problems
* Amoxicillin 250 mg capsules - Sold in petstores/feedstores/online as Fish-Mox - Works for almost any bacterial infection of wounds and respiratory.
* Sulmet - Liquid you add to water - used to treat Cocci
* 3-1 Ointment - any triple antibiotic ointment will work, just make sure it has NO pain killer in it.
* VetRx - 2-3 bottles are kept. vicks vaporub for chickens with an immuno bost.
* Oxytet or one of the others - low grade Water soluble shotgun antibiotic, mostly for preventing secondary infection.

Parasite Control:
* Ivomec - 1% cattle injectable, but I do NOT inject it. I apply to the skin to be absorbed to take care of both internal and external bugs. Change wormers every 2 years to limit resistence.
* Watkins Red liniment - Add small amount to water for a natural wormer and digestive system adjuster.
* Sevin Dust - 5% carbyll
* Poultry and Garden dust - Permethrin based

Disinfectant:
* Oxine AH - Good Article - If any bird is sick I mist the entire coop each morning and night to help keep it from spreading.
* Bleach - for cleaning waterers, bators, and other equipment.
* Iodine

Syringes:
* 18 gauge needles - I keep a couple of these for drawing the thick wormer
* 25-28 gauge needles - these I use for the smaller bantams
* 22-25 gauge needles - for standards
* 1 CC syringes(no needle) - These are the ones I use for injections when needed
* 3 CC syringes(no needle) - I use these for worming birds one at a time with 3-7 drops

Other:
* Aspirin - 5 tablets to a gallon of water for a mild pain killer
* Epson Salt - 1 teaspoon dissolved in 1 ouce of water. 2-6 CC of solution is giving orally to clean out the system quickly in the case of toxin injestion.
* Rags - Towels and napkins for various issues and a couple cloth rags.
* q-tips
* short and long tweezers
* Vet Wrap and non-stick gauze - For covering wounds.
* Good Scissors
* Good Knife
* Needled and thread - plain thread works just fine. It will absorb.
* Squirt Bottles - several in the 16-32 ounce range that can make a very fine cloud of mist or stream.
* Measuring cups and spoons
* Colored Leg bands/zip ties to put on birds if I need to keep tract of one in the crowd of like birds.
* Pad of paper to keep tract of everything and a pen.

FINALLY
Hatchet - For a quick end when all else fails

I know this seems like alot and more then a little over kill, but what if you need it and don't have it. Besides most it is budget friendly and long lasting.

~~Matt~~

Incubator Eggs.

2011-04-06T13:47:00.003-04:00

There are still 30 eggs in the bator. I candled out 6. 5 of those were infertile and 1 started, but stopped after just a few days. The others are all coming along.I wasn't planning for more then a few to hatch, but I just couldn't resist filling the bator up.

We lost power in Monday night's storms for about 6 hours. After being without power for 90 minutes I moved the eggs from the bator and placed them under a couple hens to keep warm. I shouldn't lose too many with the cool spell.

I brought the eggs back in after the power had been on for an hour or so. I can't leave them out with the hens yet because the ladies are not seperated from those still laying. If I left them the others would push in and eggs would get broke. This weekend I will have a couple broody houses and lots cleared and cleaned, so I can get a couple settled and then move the eggs out to let the girls finish hatching them.

I finally got some sleep last night. I had gone so long without sleep that I was getting physically sick. The exhaustion was bad enough, but when the nausea and headaches started I gave up and took a pill. I hate taking pills to sleep, but I really had to sleep. I slept a little over 4 hours last night. I am still tired, but finally ate without having to fight to keep it down and my head has settled down. Today I can think straight, so I need to work on the new Bantam Mottled Cochin house. Hammering wasn't fun when I saw 3 nails. LOL. I try to always hit the one in the middle. :) I only managed to whack one of my fingers.

~~Matt~~

Finally set some eggs

2011-03-27T00:09:00.002-04:00

This is my first setting of eggs this year. There are Dutch eggs, Bantam Faverolle, and eggs from my pet mutts.The tiny eggs are the Dutch Bantams. They are actually white with some light cream colored ones, but the camera made them all brown. That the the setting tray for my King Suro 20. I rearranged the eggs to get one more in there for a total of 36.

I started these yesterday, but I have the bator running half a degree high to hatch a day early. I will move a few eggs to a standard sized broody a few days before they are due so that they hatch under the hen. I have ordered some chicks from Shook Poultry. They are about 40 miles down I-40 from me, so I can go pick the chicks up on April 14th. I am only keeping about 5 of the chicks and those will be going to the prepared broody hen. As long as a chick hatches under her the adoption process goes simply. I just remove the bantam chicks and put in the standard ones. The bantams will go to a bantam broody or 2 that I have around that will also have some of the bator eggs to hatch out themselves. Spring has Sprung and I have 7 hens that are fully broody and countless others that are heading that way.

~~Matt~~

This and That...

2011-03-10T23:30:00.006-05:00

Wow, it has been over 2 weeks since my last post.

We lost little 'Sandy' to a neighbor's husky that climbed 2 fences to get in to the chickens.Mom was pissed. Sandy was her little girl. Sandy was the friendliest little girl you have ever met. For once Animal Control came out and dealt with the situation. The Husky is back in the house where they had kept her since the fines over a year ago because of a different neighbor's kid almost getting bit.

There was a Poultry show on March 5th at the Burke County Fairgrounds. This show is normally in Salisbury, but that club was forced to relocate the show on short notice.There were over 900 birds registered. Even with the dreary wet weather, the outside sales were busy.

I was planning to put a run of bantam eggs in the bator, but have decided against it. I just don't have the energy to deal with chicks. Lack of sleep has me completely run down, insomnia is great. I have decided to sell some of my adult birds. They are a bit crowded in the hen house and I just don't have the motivation to build a new house for them. I am selling some Black Australorp laying hens as well as my last breeding quad of Ameraucanas.

Oh and the "This" and "That" part of the post are actually a couple of Silver Laced Cochins in the living room. They are about 9 weeks old and need to start going out at least on warm days. That is if we ever have some dry days. If you take the top off the box/brooder they jump out in a second. They run around the living room looking for treats. They bite toes and fingers and will eat anything you give them. They love the mealworms and have found the bins once. I don't have a lid for the top bin. The little pigs were feasting fast when I figured out where they were while I was cleaning their box. They are both girls and will eventually join Chitter Butt's flock of pet cochins. I will get pictures if they will be still.

One last thing is the most spoiled outside cat you have ever seen.Dad was egg hunting(evidence in left hand) and Barbara just had to stop him for a brushing. Her long hair is really bad for getting matted. There are 4 brushes in different places outside for when she wants a good brushing.

My brain is fuzzing out again, so I am going to go lay on the bed and watch the clock till morning. AGAIN.

~~Matt~~

Lack of Motivation and a Giveaway

2011-02-21T23:02:00.003-05:00

Lack of Motivation
This past week has been really nice weather. I should have gotten ALOT done, but the truth is I have done very little. I just can't seem to get motivated. I would get setup to start and get distracted. I spent 2 hours the other day just walking around and talking to the chickens. They do talk back, but most get bored with me if I don't have some sort of treat.

I did managed to open the vents/windows on the coops to let air in. Lack of ventilation is extremely bad for chickens and as it gets warmer they need more and more circulation of fresh air.

After getting rid of the mite infestation their egg production has gone up. They have been producing 30-38 eggs per day. Good thing cause feed just went up to $12.50 per bag of layer.

Giveaway at "Life on a Southern Farm"
They are giving away a set of double nests. They are very generous folks.

~~Matt~~

Signs of things to come...

2011-02-17T16:53:00.002-05:00

These are in front of the house in one of my flower gardens. That is a Crocus cluster with some Daffodils coming up and in the upper Left you can see a Tulip that is also coming up.Here is another garden that is DRY...DRY...DRY. This garden is full of Daffodils and Tulips as well. I will plant this garden in Annuals after the Spring flowers die back. The Annuals are primarily for Fair entries in late Summer and Fall.These last 2 shots are in a small flower garden that was never weeded this winter. That is feeder leaves for some Irises in the second picture.It really does feel like spring today. The wind is irritating, but the temps are nice. We were in the high 60s today and supposed to be 74 tomorrow. I just hope the fruit trees don't bloom. I know there has to be at least one more stretch of bad weather this winter.

Got 30+ eggs from the gals today. I have lost a few customers because I had "the nerve" to raise my prices to $2 a dozen. Yes that is not a typo. They are pissy about $2 when I am giving 11.50 for every 50# bag of feed. That is ok. I just picked up 8 new customers in the last 2 weeks when mom and dad went to sign papers for the lady that does their taxes.

~~Matt~~

Poultry Show

2011-02-10T16:12:00.003-05:00

It is that time of year again. Spring is coming and the Poultry Shows are starting. First up is the Friendship Poultry Club's Annual Winter Poultry Show in Morganton, NC this Saturday(Feb 12). The show is at the Burke County Fairgrounds, 145 Bost Rd, Morganton, NC 28655.

This photo was taken at this past Fall's show.The winter show is in a different building at the fairgrounds. The building we are using this time is larger and heated. It won't be really warm heated, since that could make birds used to outside temps sick. The building should be about 50-60 degrees.

There are 936 birds registered for this show. It is going to be a great show. The largest in alot of years.

If anyone is in the area feel free to stop by and look around. There is no fee to look around. I will be there all day. Just look for the short, really fat, balding guy.

~~Matt~~

Another Day

2011-02-04T23:44:00.003-05:00

Today was a drizzly and rainy day. Though they are not happy about the rain, all my birds seem healthy. That I am very thankful for.

The day is about over. Nothing eventful happened. BUT 32 years ago on this day(Feb 4) I entered the world. With my weight I never thought I would make it this long.

We don't really celebrate birthdays. This year I did receive a number of 'happy birthdays' from my online friends. That is rare for me.

~~Matt~~

Eggs, boys, and whatever

2011-01-27T22:23:00.008-05:00

Some of the hens have FINALLY started laying again. This is a Black Australorp in the Layers' House.Milk crates are handy. For several weeks we were getting 2-6 eggs per day. Now we are up to 12-14. The numbers are still LOW, but better then nothing. Found mites on some birds, mostly fluffy Cochins, so had to dust and treat everyone. The re-dust will take place tomorrow to get any eggs that hatch. Takes a while and about 7 pounds of 7-dust to dust 115 birds. Not everyone has mites, but if you miss one the critters will migrate.

My Welsummer Cockerels have grown up to be perfect gentlemen. The oldest 2 are 5.5 months old. This one is Tonk. He will most likely be my breeder this Summer.I am also keeping his brother, 'Honk', for a backup. 'Honk' will get to live with the laying flock of 30 or so hens. They are great young men that will follow you around like puppies. I wanted to take a picture of 'Summer', their sister, but my camera died right when I got her to hold still.

This is the group of younger ones. They are 3 months old. This male will be sold. I may sell a couple of the girls that have bad feathering as layers with him.
Andy has fell right into Dot's former flock. Andy is my Dot's son. I lost Dot last year and just a few weeks later I was able to get Andy back from the very generous friend I gave him to a year before. I don't know if it because he looked so much like his Dad or that he had the same calm attitude, but the ladies accepted him immediately. Here they are Monday when they got out for their freerange time. They were headed to the dry area beside the building for a bath.The Tricolored hen directly in front of him is his Aunt(Nougat). The TriColored in the bottom left is his Grandmother(Caramel). The other Tricolored next to the building in his Mother(Peanut). The 2 B&W mottleds are his Great Aunt(Lil Oreo) and her daughter(Baby Oreo). The black between the Oreos is 'Midnight'. The Black with Gold wings and flex is 'Flexxie'. The Black just behind her is a Cochin/Dutch Mix(Dutchin). The White butt belongs to Puff a Columbian Wynadotte/Cochin mix. The red game/EE mix(Little Red) moved in with the bantam flock 4 years ago and never left. All the ladies except 'Lil Red', 'Dutchin', and 'Puff' are all Dot's daughters. He almost always produced girls with his hens.

As always the yard protector is hard at work.I love taking her picture. She was very proud of herself that day, since she had ate a bird that morning. She doesn't mess with chickens no matter how small they are, but will take out a sparrow in a second. She had her yearly vet visit about a month ago for her vaccinations. She weighed in at 10 lbs.

~~Matt~~

beyond BORED ... RaMbLiNg

2011-01-11T23:50:00.004-05:00

Ok, I have a list a mile long of things that need to be done. The problem? Every job is an outside job. I need space to build chicken houses. I need to be a little a warm to run a skill saw and keep focused on what I am doing. 45-50 is warm enough for me. These days of highs in the mid 30s just don't work. Not to mention we got 5 inches of snow Monday and it won't melt. I need some dry ground to get started on.

I am going to start with the 8x8 floor of the split house. Then I am going to use that floor as my work space to build a 3x4 house for Mom's bantam cochins and a set of vertical nest boxes for the freerange bantams. Their nest boxes will be 2 nests wide and 3 tall. Need to be wide enough for bantam cochins and favorelle. I left a space in the middle of the house on the front to build the nests outside of the house. Dumpling's face, a mottled d'Uccle, is so red it looks like it could start to bleed. She should be really close to laying again and is going to need a nest soon.

There is no space in the buildings to work. Having 2 pack rats as parents leaves ZERO space for work space.

I need to get out of this house and get busy. I guess this is my version of cabin fever. Some of the chickens got tired of being in the houses and made their way out into the snow. I think Dad is bored too, since he went out with the snow shovel and made trails for them. He removed all the snow in the trails so they would be able to walk on the ground.

I am ready for winter to end, but if I complain too much I know we will go straight from Winter weather Summer HEAT.

I have got to get out of here tomorrow. I know how to drive in the snow/ice. When I lived in Boone I drove in it every winter with no problems. Even with my 2 wheel drive truck I could still go. I knew my limits and never once got stuck. I did a 180 spinout on 105 once, but luckily didn't hit anyone. I came to stop in a lane going the opposite direction, so I just went that way since some cars were coming up behind me.

Ok, I guess I will this sleep thing again. Had no luck the past few nights. Maybe tonight.

~~Matt~~

New project and a pair of silkies

2011-01-06T15:23:00.005-05:00

I went today and cashed in the Christmas present my brother gave. A $50 Lowes gift card was perfect. With prices of everything on the rise I figured I better get what I needed now. $50 doesn't go far, but it was only $5 short for 8 pieces of OSB. This is what I make all my chicken houses out of. I also had some $10 cards I got from mypoints.com. I do surveys and click on their email adds to gets points. I have been on there for several years and have receive over $300 in gift cards. Mom is on there too and gets walmart cards for her points. If you want an invite to join send me your email address and I send out an email invite. Yes, I get points for everyone that joins that I invite.

Anyways back to the new project. Andy's and Chitter's flocks need new houses. This there setup. Andy and his ladies sleep in the camper house and Chitter's is the one on the right. The lot is divided behind Chitter's house.As you can see these houses are about as REDNECK as it gets. Both are made of scrap and whatever else I could find.

Here is their new house. It will be a single 8x8 house split down the middle giving each bantam flock a 4x8 house. I am also adding on a large lean-to shelter on the back. I will take pics as I go.The 2x4s and 4x4s I got at a warehouse sale for less then 1/4 the price of new. Most are almost new except a few tacks. You can't really tell in the picture, but it is a fairly large pile. I keep it all in the woodshed so that it stays dry. Just have to leave a path in the middle wide enough for the wheel barrow.

I am finally ready to find a home for my pair of Silkies. Mopsy(female) and Topsy(male) are 6 month old Splash Silkies. Mopsy is taking her afternoon nap.Both have very nice toe seperation. Though Mopsy has a broke toe. Her fifth toe on her Left leg points straight down. At 3 weeks old her toes were perfect. I didn't mess with her till later and at 12 weeks old the toe was fussed in the new position. It I had paid better attention I may have been able to splint it. This does not affect her breeding capabities, but if shown it would be a few points off on the Judge's card. I got their eggs from a breeder in Florida(NOT Porto). I would like $30 for the pair, but will settle for $25 to the right home. I don't want them spending their lives in cages up off the ground. Mopsy loves a good dust bath and pecking at the grass. She is not yet laying. Some silkies don't start laying till 7-12 months old.

~~Matt~~

Snow

2010-12-26T12:25:00.003-05:00

It started snowing Christmas Morning about 9am. We ended up with 8 inches.

As always, click on the pictures for the full sized version.
Little Spot is NOT happy. He jumped out of his pen/lot only to sink down to his wattles in the snow. There is no crust on it yet, so the lighter birds can't go anywhere. Spot is a runt Dutch bantam. He is full grown, but only weighs 13 ounces. I am looking for him a home. He is a very sweet little man. I got him out of the snow and put him under the picnic table. He was picking up the snow and calling for girls. WrongWay, mixed girl that is his, would NOT come. If you go to the album below you can see her in the picture with the pair of silkies. That is where they sleep.The freerange bantams are staying in/under their house. This is their house under the big cherry tree. I hope that snow falls before the winds come in.If you would like to see more my album is public. Feel free to hav a look.
Snow Album

~~Matt~~

PROOF and a big bird

2010-12-17T14:58:00.006-05:00

Everyone knows that when you open a new bale of shavings they can smell kind of strong. Some enjoy the smell, but my sinuses don't. If I can't stand it then I never put them straight into a brooder. Instead I have a couple of those old bushel baskets that I fill with shavings and let them air out. I normally keep 1 basket full all the time. That way I always have some if needed.

Lately someone has been spreading shavings all over the feed section of the building. There are even shavings on the table and the corn can.

I already knew what/who was doing it, but now I have PROOF!!!Barbara was annoyed at being woke up. That sun is really warm today, it almost fells like Spring. She even curled her upper lip at me. You can see her exposed upper K9s if click on the pic to see the full sized one. Not taking the hint I got a better shot then had to pet her.By this time is was, "OK, you caught me, now go away and let me sleep."

This was my amusement for the day(find it where ever you can).

I was originally out getting shots of what was scaring the crap out of the chickens. This bird flew over the area about 20 times in a circular pattern.The Seal is the NC Highway Patrol. Sadly they are looking for an elderly lady with alzheimer's. With the urgency of the search I assume she is in the later stages. There have been several vehicles go around the neighberhood. I hope they find her before it starts getting dark. It may feel like spring now, but tonight is going right back down below freezing.

~~~Matt~~

Christmas...Bah! Humbug!

2010-12-14T23:05:00.003-05:00

I have tried to get into the Christmas Spirit, but I can't. I do love Christmas Music and listen to it all the time. That is about as far as it goes. I just have ZERO interest in Christmas this year. I am always down this time of year, but this year is just a waste of time.

I went out in the building and went through the lights. Thought that would get me going. I replaced all the bad bulbs and got the carriers of light strings ready. Then I just packed them away and put them back for next year. oh well.

I guess I will pull the tree out this weekend. Everyone is coming here for Christmas and mom at least wants a tree. Yes, I still live at my parents house. 31 year old loser has no means to go anywhere else.

I did all my christmas shopping. Got something for my Brother and Sister-in-Law. A card with cash for each Nephew. Dad wants cash to go to a specific shop for a new chain and replacement blade cover/oiler thingy(technical term) for his favorite chainsaw. Mom is a mystery so it will most likely be a gift card. Her Birthday is 3 days after christmas so I have to find something for that too.

I don't know why I am so down on Christmas. Maybe it is because I am a hermit. I don't give out my address, then again nobody asks for it either, so I don't get Christmas cards. I am rarely anywhere, but home, so no "merry christmas" greatings from those happy people you just want to smack. OH well, no big deal, just another season of COLD weather. At least I have my birds.

OK, that is it for my pitty party. I do not want fake sympathy merry christmases either. They are just insurting.

~~Matt~~

Snow, COLD, back to Laying, etc...

2010-12-06T21:54:00.005-05:00

This was Saturday.I had made a feed run on Wednesday and left my truck in the back yard. It is hard to see, but there are about 40 birds under there. LoveBug, Blue Standard Cochin, is in front of the passenger side tire. There is a Black Australorp to the right heading around the work shed wall to the open side and that is Friendly in the middle making a run for the shed. Friendly was bought at TSC 2.5 years ago at 1 day old as a Buff Orpington which she is not. She has a blue tail.

The snow stopped 20 minutes later and it melted immediately. The wind and cold have been horrible since then. I have the coop vents covered with cloth or towels to keep the wind from blowing straight in. The cloth still allows enough air through for proper ventilation, but keeps the wind from wiping out all warmth from the birds own body heat. I do not put heat lamps in the coops. It managed to get up to 38 today, but that wasn't till 3pm. I went around every 2 hours to put water out for each flock. I normally don't have to do that till mid-January. It will be colder the next 3 days. The birds and I both hate that it got cold so fast. This wind just makes it unbearable.

Most of the birds are not laying, but 3 of the 2.5 year olds have started up after a long molt. Friendly(XL brown egg), HeadOn(XL Green Egger EE), and Baby Blue(medium Blue Egg Amearuanca) are each laying 3-5 eggs per week. Also 2 of my Standard Cochins are laying, but JJ(Rooster) is only 4 months old. My show line is slow to mature and he won't start mating for at least another 2 months. Even then he won't be mature enough to get the job done for another month. So I am looking at late March before I can start setting the standard cochin eggs. I hope the girls cooperate and don't go broody on me.

This little lady is Sweet Cheeks.She is 3/4 bantam Faverolle and 1/4 Dutch. She was hatched July 5th. She laid her very first egg today. She has been "squatting" for a month, so I knew the time was coming. She is the size of the Bantam Faverolle(2-2.5 pounds), but her egg was only the size of a Dutch egg with a little blood. Her eggs will get larger as she cycles and matures.

I am 90% better. All I have left is an occasional cough that is just plain irritating. I did manage to go to the Winston-Salem Poultry Show. I only stayed till just before 11am, but had fun while I was there. I took a few pictures of birds. Some are blurred because I didn't pay attention to the camera settings. The album is public.
Photo Album

~~Matt~~

Andy, Sick, Show.

2010-11-21T22:28:00.004-05:00

As planned, I picked up Andy last Saturday. He settled in immediately with his new flock. Normally I would have quarenteened a new bird for 4 weeks, but I decided to take the chance. So far it has worked out.He is a handsome young man. He has some differences to his Dad, but you can see that he is obviously his Dad's Son. Once Caramel, Nougat, and/or Peanut start laying this spring I am going to be setting every egg I get from them. Andy is very timid and I am hoping he will accept another Rooster into the flock with him next Fall. I hope to keep one of his sons. Especially if one grows up to look more like Dot. No matter what happens Andy will have a loving home here forever. He is the last remaining direct Son of my Dot.

The day I went to get Andy I felt a little off. That night I felt worse and worse as the sleepless night progressed. By morning I was sick as a dog. Stong hacking cough that would not stop and my sinuses were on fire. The cough caused a major headache, strained throat, sore ribs/body, and my sinuses kept wanting to explode out of my FACE! My throat was never really sore, but the constant coughing strained it. Nyquil before bed, Dayquil during the day, and bags of cough drops 24/7 knocked it down to a livable point. Start sneezing like crazy 2 days ago and that seems to have cleared most of the sinus junk out. Still runny, but the pressure is gone at least. Still can't shake this cough and I am flat out exhausted. One round of the yard to check the chickens and I am DONE. I did manage to plant the last of the Tulips and Daffodils today. A bit late, but they will do fine come Spring.

I have to be completely better by this weekend. The Forsyth Fowl Fanciers Fall/Winter Poultry Show is Saturday, Nov 27, in Winston-Salem, NC. Specifically it is in the Pigeon/Poultry building of the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds. There should be lots of birds in the show and plenty of folks outside selling birds. It is FREE to go and look around. This is the only Fall show that I actually take the time to drive too. I am not exhibiting this year and I won't have anything forsale. I am just delivering already sold birds, so I am just going to enjoy myself. If you are within the few hours drive this show is normally worth it.

~~Matt~~

Actually Looking Forward to Tomorrow

2010-11-12T22:46:00.005-05:00

I don't want to jinx it, but tomorrow is going to be a great day. After losing my Dot I was heart broken. After I had calmed down I managed to find all the folks that I had given Dot's sons to over the years. Only one is still alive and tomorrow Andy is COMING HOME!!! He was hatched last year. Mom originally named the chick 'Candy'. After all the first hen was 'Snickers', who produced 'Caramel' and 'Nougat'. From 'Caramel' I got 'Peanut'. 'Peanut' was the mother of that chick so we named it 'Candy'. At 2 weeks old we had to face facts and the name became 'Andy'.

I raised him and his hatch mates. All my broodies rejected the incubator chicks. All the hens that will adopt anything already had chicks that were too old to integrate these with.

This is 'Andy' at 2.5 months old with the Dutch chicks he was hatched with.
Not long after that I found him a home with a great chicken lover. She is graciously giving him back. I am thrilled.

This is a picture she sent me a few weeks ago that was taken the day before.
He has his Dad's body, stance, face, and eyes. The only difference is the degree of white in his feathers. He is colored exactly like Dot, but Dot's white was more prominant. Andy's comb was tore off by another rooster that suddenly decided it didn't like him, but that is no concern. My problem is going to be seeing that face and trying NOT to falling apart. He is not as tame as his Dad was, but I am going to be spending alot of time with him.

~~Matt~~

Blog Neglect and Happenings

2010-11-03T16:34:00.008-04:00

I can't seem to keep up on my own postings. I have read every post on all the blogs I follow, but can't seem to make my own. When I do I can't seem to shutup, so brace yourself.

I guess everything has been going good enough. I do have a couple sick/injured birds.

DeeDee is a Mille Fleur d'Uccle pullet that is in the house right now. Not really sure what is wrong with her. Found her Sunday morning in the bedding under the roosts. She had trouble getting going at first, but then went walking off. She seemed terrified of all the other birds. As far as I could tell she didn't eat all day. Since chilly weather has finally set in for Fall I cleaned out the medium carrier and put in some fresh shavings for her to sleep in the house. She didn't eat anything Sunday or Monday. She seemed really wobbly on her legs yesterday morning didn't want to move around much. She slept all day. Finally yesterday she ate a little late in the evening. Got up and started moving around more. Today she has been eating fairly well. She is finally pooping too. Her droppings are almost normal, except green. That means bile is getting all the way down her system. That could simply be from the lack of food for 2 days or could point towards some sort of sickness. Not sure if she is sick or got hurt, but I will give her every chance as long as DeeDee keeps going. The carrier has plenty of room for her to move around. Today is the first day that she has been doing that too. Her water has Sulmet in it. I don't like giving antibiotics so readily, but not knowing what to do I decided to try something.

The other sick/off hen is a Black Australorp. She went down Monday. Her legs just don't seem to work right. She was hatched in February. Monday she seemed to have a bad limp, but by the end of the day she was completely off balance. Same yesterday. Today she has been making her way around, though still off tilt. She has had a good appetite the whole time. Not sure if the two incidents are related or not. These ladies are on different sides of the yard with different flocks and never interact. If something is going around I hope it stops with just these 2. No one else seems off.

SHOW
The show this past weekend was a GREAT success. With 935 birds registered, it was the largest Poultry show in Morganton since the mid 90s. Took less time then expected for the 2 judges to get through all the birds. Everything was done by about 2pm. I was flat out exhausted. Too little sleep and then too much time on my feet ended me for the day. Not the best pictures, but...

Champion Standard was a Black Australorp Cockerel by Carol HippsChampion Bantam was a Black Cochin Pullet by Judy Gantt. Her bird was also SHOW CHAMPION.
FLOWERS
My dahlias are blooming like crazy. This one is about 8" across. I had to hold it up to get a picture, bacause the bloom is too heavy for the stem.Earlier in the year the purples were almost black. They are getting lighter as the days shorten.Also my Zinias are in full bloom. This weekend should end it all though. A good freeze is expected and then I will dig the dahlias. I have to pull the Zinnias in order get my tulip, daffadil, and crocus bulbs in the ground for the winter. That large bed will take forever to plant.

I hope my back in better by then. I have a muscle that will not stop hurting. Started the spasm on Sunday and is still pulling at my lung.

I guess I will leave it there for today. Ya'll have a good one,
~~Matt~~

Upcoming Poultry Show

2010-10-20T22:22:00.005-04:00

The FPC Annual Fall Poultry Show is in 10 days(Oct 30th) at the Burke County Fairgrounds at 145 Bost Rd, Morganton, NC. This picture is from last Fall.Should be 700-800 birds in this show. I will be there all day. The judging starts at 9am. Sellers area is outside in the parking area and in the covered outside section that is behind the show hall. The area behind the show building is also where the Raffle(donated items) and Silent Auction(donated birds) will be setup. Those end at 12:30 and 1 and you must be there to win. Be sure to visit the concession stand to help support the Hosting Club.

~~Matt~~

Devastating Day

2010-10-03T22:07:00.003-04:00

Today has been the worst day in I don't know how long. I let the birds out to freerange at 12:30. I normally don't let them out till 5, but I thought they deserved some extra time. They didn't seem happy in the lots with the cool air blowing through. The sun doesn't hit the lots till 3-4 pm.

Dot and his girls immediately headed to the neighbors as usual. The neighbors don't mind. We have been friends since I was born. I grew up with their sons.

At 1:30 I saw Dot and the girls heading back to the fence. That is about how much time it takes for them to realize the grass is not greener over there.

I had to step in to use the bathroom. I hit the fridge for a drink of water and headed back out by 1:45. I went to the neighbors to make sure everyone was back. I didn't find anyone, so went walking through my own yard. I found Dot's ladies heading up through the blueberry bushes, but no Dot. I looked around and then started walking. After 30 minutes I was worried. I covered this acre half a dozen times and the neighbors 1.5 acres the same. No Dot. Nothing. No body, No feathers, Not a single sign. None of the other birds were spooked. I searched till almost 5. My legs were rubber and my throat was killing me. Dot was gone. I even tossed out bread and everyone came, but Dot.

This was Dot a couple years ago.

He is/was 6 years, 4 months, and 1 week old. I hatched him in my first bator and he was my very first bantam. He was unique and can never be replaced. The few neighbors that were home have to be laughing after seeing a 31 year old fat man crying like a baby. I just kept breaking down. I still can't come to grips to the fact that he is gone.

I don't know what happened to him. No stray dogs around and the only other is Blue. He is another neighbor's basset hound. He doesn't bother the birds anymore and wouldn't be able to catch Dot. Just in case I searched that neighbors yard too. They are also family friends. The only thing that makes sense is a large Hawk. There has been a Cooper's through from time to time, but it hasn't ever taken a chicken. Dot was 3-3.5 pounds easy. There were no feathers and no signs. Whatever happened did so in the 15 minutes I was in the house.

Dot can never be replaced, but there are a couple of his sons in the world that I gave away last year. I am hoping I can find one still around and hopefully buy him back or rent him for a few weeks during the spring when at least 2 of Dot's 3 girls are laying. That is the only way I will ever get a descendent of my precious Dot that resembles him.

~~Matt~~

Dessert

2010-09-23T21:39:00.006-04:00

I haven't had any sweets in a while and decided I wanted something specific. I started thinking of cream cheese bars. I used to buy them at a stand at the Fleamarket, but they no longer have them. Only one choice left, I had to make them myself. I can cook, but looked for a easy recipe.Half are plain Cream Cheese Bars and the other half I added Pecans and Coconut to the top mixture. They taste great, but man they are SWEET.

Easy Recipe for Cream Cheese Bars. I recommend cutting back on the amount of sugar and use something else to fill in for it. I am letting myself eat one bar tonight, so I figured I would eat half of each of the ones in the picture. Just before I took the picture the saucer was also filled with grapes. I am smart enough to NEVER eat grapes after sweets, so I ate those to get a good picture. ;)

I haven't really done anything the last couple days. Just too blasted hot. I wish Fall would be here in temps and not just on the calendar.

~~Matt~~

Bantam House and other stuff.

2010-09-18T23:42:00.003-04:00

This the house for the freerange bantams. Primarily the Dutch are on the left side and the Faverolles are on the right. There are several mixes and others that sleep with them, but those are the breeds I actually keep roosters for. The standard Cochin does not sleep in there. She is just stealing food, they have their own house, food, and waterer.The house is about 80% complete. Which is what I call not done, but safe to live in. Here is the interior. The bird is Amber, a 3 year old Cream Light Brown Dutch hen. There are no nest boxes yet. I will do those sooner or later. A single stack of nests will run up the side at the front corner. They will be accessable from the outside. I am redoing the front tomorrow. I am reversing the way each side is, so that the doors go to the edge and open from the opposite side. Shouldn't take more then an hour since everything is done with screws. No cutting to do.
I would like to introduce JJ(jerry Jr). He is a Standard Black Cochin. He is 6 weeks old. I lost Jerry over the summer to the heat. Both JJ's parents are/were Show Quality(SQ) birds of the highest calibre. Chicks from the best parents have about a 10% chance of being equal to their parents. I have hopes for JJ since he is the only one that hatched from the emergency setting after Jerry died. I love the heaviness of the those feathered feet. All 4 toes are feathered. I do wish he had more yellow(skin) in his feet, but at least the bottoms are yellow.
Planted a tree a couple days ago to make a shade tree in the middle of the yard. This is a Biloba Ginkgo that I had potted. Just been sitting around for a couple years, so I let Dad have it to replace the Mimosa that was there. The cage behind the tree is 2 feet tall. It has alot of growing to do before it makes a shade tree.

Dad had a small mess of beans that he decided to dry. He can only use half the pinic table. Obviously the other half is off limits. Barbara had been playing and needed a place for a nap.

Ya'll Have a Nice Day.
~~Matt~~

Happy Dance ... Almost Done

2010-09-12T23:00:00.004-04:00

I finally almost got the coop done for the freerange bantams. Seems it took forever. Delays went from one thing to the next; Ear infections, sick from antibiotics, and then a catch in my back that finally released Friday evening.

The side walls and back have been up and the roof was on a couple weeks ago. Now the front is boxed in, wire on the side-vents, and the ladder roosts are in. Tomorrow will be to build the doors and put in the platform of perches. The birds are moving in tomorrow evening. One of the coops they currently use is shot. It was made from 3 pallets and scrap 5 years ago. It is also hard to get birds out of by hand. I like to be able to reach my birds on the roosts so that I can check someone if needed. Their new space is double the old. The second house is just too small now and the Dutch are starting to peck at each other on the roosts. Their side of the new house is triple the size of their current house and the perches further apart.

Things left to do that can wait:

I need to cut the roll roofing and put that on. I have tar paper down so it is waterproof, but I like something that will last. This shouldn't take more then an hour, tops. MOTIVATION NEEDED!!!

The whole thing will be painted eventually, but that can wait a few more days. I will paint a little at a time in the mornings so that I don't stink the birds up over night. I have a quart of "Barn Red" and some "Forest Green" for edging.

For the winter I will need to cut and mount doors to cover the side vents. They are exactly 1 foot tall and 4 feet long(width of house) so all I need to do is cut 2 pieces off the end of a piece of OSB, strengthen with some cross pieces, paint, and mount.

I will post pictures in couple days.

~~Matt~~

Last Few Weeks

2010-08-24T16:49:00.013-04:00

This is going to be a long one. I haven't posted in a couple weeks and there are a few things to cover.

Ear infections: Gotta love'em.
Got it in the left ear on the July 31st. Well it had been irritating me for a few days before that, but on that day I went to a BBQ at a friend's house. Nice cool day driving with the window down. The AC in the truck has no Freon, so the window is always down. Cool, moist air blowing across an ear with the beginnings of an infection EQUALS extreme PAIN in less then 12 hours. I tried to deal with suin some home remedy natural crap, well that didn't do a thing. After several days of no sleep, earaches get worse at night, and constant pain I gave up and went to the place that doesn't mess with insurance on the 6th.

When the Practitioner says, "Ewww, Bad, Bad, Bad" then leaves the room, you know it has to be BAD. Got put on Amoxicillin at 2,000 mg a day for 10 days. DID NOTHING but make me sick to my stomach for a couple hours each time I took it. The left ear did start to slowly clear up, but the right ear filled, swelled, and was set on fire. This time I relented sooner, but the office is closed on Wed and Thur. I waited till Friday(20th) and went back. One ear was bad the other was extremely worse and full of puss. Now I am on Cipro. At least this doesn't make me sick my stomach. Both ears have been clearing up fairly quickly on Cipro. The problem is that I still have the echo in my head from blocked ears. Drives me crazy, but at least I ain't contemplating digging my ear out with a sharpened spoon. That is how bad the pain and pressure was. I wanted it to end and was thinking a big hole would be better then this. I have had a dislocated Hip, torn ligaments in every joint below the waist, broke and twisted ankle, broke toes, dislocated shoulders, but NONE of it compares to a major ear infection.

Mom
The hardest part was still dealing with the chickens. It wasn't too bad till the 14th when Mom got taken down by a large kidney stone. It was so bad that Mom had Dad take her to the ER at the closet Hospital which she hates. Normally she would have went an extra 30 miles past to get to a good place, but Pain forces necessity. After tests they drugged her up and sent her home saying it would pass. She went to a eurologist on Monday(16th) who immediately schedule her for an extraction. No chance it would pass and it was badly infected. Mom is fine, she even went back to work Wednesday(18th) with strict orders about lifting.

New Flock
A family friend is leaving for a few weeks and has no one to take care of his birds. His wife is afraid of them and the Rattle Snakes that he keeps killing around the coop area. So Sunday Mom and I went down and picked them up. I moved the teens to the main lot and coop with my laying flock. It was time anyways. That gives the new birds their own large lot and private coop. I have no doupts that they are healthy, but I still like to quarantine for a few weeks. This has worked out perfectly. Monday they left 7 XLarge and Jumbo eggs in the next boxes. There is one Rooster, 11 hens, and 1 broody hen with a 8-10 week old little rooster. Sadly the other chicks were killed by snakes over the last several weeks. They are slowly calming down.

Fair
I racked up at the Drexel Fair this year. I entered 22 flowers, 3 pictures, a loaf of bread, a set of cookies, a watermelon, and other vegetables. I came home with a load of Ribbons and $44.50 in premiums(prize money). Normally mom and I compete against each other, but the entry date was the 15th. The kidney stone kept her home. The Bread and Cookies were actually her's, but since she couldn't go I entered them. I was planning to enter 3 other pictures, but I ran out of ink after the 3rd one printed. In fact that one had a blueish hue. It took a white ribbon and I think that was the problem. Burke County Fair is in the middle of October. Hopefully I will have alot more flowers. With the rain we have finally been getting my Dahlias are starting to bloom again. Also will get a new ink cartridge.

New House
Now that my ears aren't driving me insane I can finally get the new house built for the freerange bantams.
Bottom(4x8) and one Wall:

Other Wall and Back:

I got the walls up on the floor today. Tomorrow I will frame in the rest of the front, put in the partition, and put on the roof. I should get it done sometime Friday. Paint on Sunday and the birds can move in on Monday.

Lost a Hen
Mom accidently killed High-Speed today. High-Speed was a white Easter Egger. Mom tilted up a heavy rock while bug hunting. It slipped. Took High-Speed a split second to stick her head under. The rock crushed her skull and she was killed instantly. We don't waste anything, so the poor girl was processed and put in the fridge. I know alot of folks don't understand that, but when you grow up working for everything you get you don't waste. High-Speed was 2.5 years old and would have been processed in a couple more years, that is the destiny of the layers. All are treated as pets, but they do serve a purpose. She was a great layer of xLarge Blue/Green eggs. Being processed was her final contribution to the family. She will be missed.

Update on Babies
Dolly and her babies are doing well now. The babies are 7 weeks old. I had tossed some sunflower seeds away from me on the porch so that I could get a picture. It is hard to take pictures when they are under you. Dolly had 9 in the beginning, but a neighbor's cat kept getting them until she was down to 5. We finally trapped the cat and dealt with it. It killed $150+ in chicks and a Dutch hen. Even with the babies penned beside the house, inside the fence and a small lot, it still managed to kill a Faverolle Cockerel. Hated to deal with the cat, but I have to protect my birds. It was not the cat's faught, I blame the neighbor's who decided to toss the cat out of the house and stop feeding it. The sheriff's office would do nothing, animal control said they would come get it if I caught it for them otherwise don't call again, and the local Humane Society and other nonkill shelter are beyond full. I had built some live traps to catch the possums. The large one is 30" long, 18" tall, and 12" wide. That is what I caught the cat in on the front porch.

The 11 Brooder babies are growing well at 2.5 weeks old. They have been going out during the day this week. They still get put back in the brooder for the evenings, but they seem to enjoy playing outside. They use Dolly's pen for safety. Now that I can let Dolly and her babies out for the days again the pen is perfect for sitting the babies outside. I will get some new pics of them soon for my next post.

There is more going on, but that will be enough for now. I think this post is long enough.

~~Matt~~

Last Hatch of 2010

2010-08-10T22:01:00.002-04:00

Out of 14 good/fertile eggs I got 11 chicks. There would have been 12, but one pipped the wrong end right through a bloodvessel and died. This is rare, but is not completely uncommon. I have had 5-6 over the last 6 years. A couple hatched just fine, but the rest did not make it. One I helped out and then had to put down. A bad problem with its feet was why it wasn't able to turn itself for hatching. Chicks develop unside down in the egg. They turn over the last 3 days to begin their hatch.

There are 4 Welsumers, 5 Marans, 1 Ameraucana, and a Cochin. All are standard size breeds from either my stock or a private breeder/friend.

Here are 8 of them on Sunday. The first chick hatched Saturday evening at 8:30pm and the last popped out about 10pm Sunday evening. That means the incubator had a nice consistent tempurature throughout.The white/yellowish one is a Splash Marans.

Here are a few of them on Monday.If your chicks look like this in the brooder then the temp is perfect. This is what a content chick looks like most of the time during the first few days. They eat, pick around, drink, then go back to sleep again. Mix in a some playtime and constant pooping and you have the life of a chick being raised in the brooder.

~~Matt~~

Hatchlings

2010-08-07T22:05:00.004-04:00

These first 2 are Welsumers. The first hatched at 8:30pm and the second before 9pm.
The first was peeping till its sibling popped out. Now both are quietly talking to each other. I can't hear them with my earaches. I have only been on antibiotics since last night.

There are 10-11 more good eggs in the bator. Those are Marans, welsumers, Cochins, and a couple Ameraucanas.

I needed this today. These past couple weeks have been one thing after another with something extremely horrible yesterday. I need a good day.

~~Matt~~

*****UPDATE*****
Sun 7:30am: So far this morning there are 3 Welsumers, 2 Golden Cuckoo marans, and a Black copper marans. There are a couple more marans pipped as well as an Ameraucana and a Standard cochin. The cochins were the whole reason I did this small run.

A welsummer pipped the wrong end last night and died quickly. It seems to have pipped right through a blood vessel in the shell membrane and bled to death. Except for that one the hatch is going very well.

Bird Turd

2010-07-25T00:41:00.004-04:00

What is "Bird Turd"?

Well, Wednesday there was a baby robin on the ground in the back yard. It was about naked and way to young to be out of the nest. We looked through all the trees around the area and the only Robin nests with chicks were different ages. This one had to have been carried by something and dropped here. I figure either a bluejay or black bird. We have problems with both breaking up nests.

We left the baby where is was in hopes that it's mother would come around and show us where the nest was. We waited at a distance and normally hidden all day, but no mother ever showed up.

By that evening the baby was getting weak, so there was no choice. Dad took it and fed it. At the time I didn't know what he was feeding it, but it ate several Blueberries. That evening Mom gave it mealworms from my bins. The blueberries had gone right through the baby and it shot out some large amounts of slimy blue poop. As a result Mom named it "Bird-Turd".

Thursday it perked back up and begging for food every 30-45 minutes. The baby started spitting out the mealworms, so Dad went digging and found a few fishworms. It took those very well. Inspite of digging everywhere we found very few worms and BirdTurd was hungry. No choice, off to the store to buy BAIT. Mom feeds it every 30-60 minutes and gives it water by dripping it into it's beak with a needless syringe.

I took some pictures Friday.

I wish I had gotten pictures the first day. The little thing grows so fast and is feathering quickly. It has doubled in size in just a few days of being well fed. It is more coordinated and can now perch on the side of its wicker easter basket. It shouldn't be long before it is out and free. It is connected to Mom. She is the one feeding it. I can't. I get too attached to animals, so I keep my distance from those that won't be permanent pets.

~~Matt~~

Another Day

2010-07-18T23:37:00.008-04:00

It was just too hot this morning to do anything. Well maybe it was the humidity. We actually got a little rain yesterday. Got no rain today, but at least we got the air off of some that went by. The problem was that it was just so comfortable that I still couldn't do anything but sit out in the yard and THAT is my excuse for getting squat done today. I did take a few pictures that ya'll might like.

***Dolly and the Babies***
Here is Dolly Mama and her 9 bantam babies that will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. In the second picture you can see tiny 'Spot', the little Cream Light Brown dutch baby, on the far right. For a size comparison you can sort of see it in the first picture. It is in the middle of the others, you can see it's head above the crest of the Blue Silkie. All seem to be happy and healthy. Dolly is taking great care of them all.
***Setting eggs***
I wasn't planning to set anymore this year, but just over a week ago my Jerry was taking by the heat. Jerry was my HUGE show quality Black Standard Cochin. It was 100 degrees and he would NOT stop running after women. That next day was about the same, but he was slower. Early that night his heart stopped. I found him under the roosts at sunrise. I only hatched one from his ladies this year and the 2 month old is a beautiful pullet. I only got 6 eggs over the last 10 days so I went to a friend for some Welsumer and Marans eggs. The Suro is supposed to hold 24 eggs. I have 27 in it. I had to remove most of the partitions and then roll some egg replacements. I will replace with 3 Ameraucana eggs tomorrow.
***Mater Eater***
I have photo evidence of a mater eater. Just look at the dirty face on Francesca.
***Under my Truck***
I had bought feed on Friday and parked in the back yard. I looked under there today and saw this.Don't worry she was just asleep. A few minutes later she came out. She was not happy I woke her up. I guess this would be a case of Full Body "Bed-Head".
I took a few other pictures today. Ya'll are welcome to view them on Photobucket. The woman in a picture is my Mother. She had just been giving some birds a fresh cob of corn that was faulty.

~~Matt~~

Thieves

2010-07-13T23:40:00.005-04:00

I did a spot check this morning and saw a good amount of ripening and ripe maters(tomatoes). About 4pm we had some showers go by and cool everything down a little. We still didn't get any rain, AGAIN, but at least we got some air off it.

I went around with a bucket to pick the maters. The problem is that there should have been at least enough to fill the 3.5 gallon bucket. I ended up with about have a bucket and some of those had holes. Someone had stolen the maters.

I went on the hunt for the culprit(s). I asked Raymond(dog). The 10 year old was stretched out on the cool concrete floor in the back of the feed part of the building. He saw nothing.

Next Barbara(cat). For those that did not see my reply in the previous post, she did show up late that evening. She had been hiding from the heat and was fine. Again another one with nothing to say. Either they really didn't see anything or were covering for someone. Next the chickens.

They claimed to of saw nothing, but I had my suspensions. I went from lot to lot questioning the birds and refilling waterers. I was about to give up when a couple of the freerange bantams came around the building. HA, BOTH one of them had sticky faces. Their heads were covered in juice. They immediately turned and went back around the building. I quickly followed.

They were trying to warn the others, but I was too quick. I found 9 culprits looking so innocent, except for their sticky heads. The Faverolle and Fav Mixes were the worst with their beards. I gave them a stern talking to and sent them back to their area with NO treats. I am not sure how many maters they wiped out, but it was enough that they didn't touch the evening feed. I also found and fixed the hole in the garden fence that I think they used. I wouldn't have seen it if Ally hadn't walked through it in front of me.

ok, so I am in an odd mood and my brain won't shut up. Welcome to my corner of the asylum.

I had to wash Dot's face when he went to roost. He is my mutt bantam Roo. He has a large comb that lays far down on his beak. His flock had some mater that I gave them(end rot). He gets the juices between his comb and beak and can't clean the area. 2 years ago the area got nasty and ended up infected. If he gets vegetables I wash the area every 3-4 days. When I was petting him today I noticed he had some gunk in there. All I do if lift the front of his comb and squirt some water in there straight from the front. As long as I don't hit his eyes or nares(nose holes) with the water he lets me do what I want.

~~Matt~~

Chick Pics

2010-07-08T14:02:00.004-04:00

This is most likely my last hatch of the year. I didn't get around to hatching all that I wanted to this year, but will be happy with what I did. There was just too much other junk going on.

Dolly(mother) is a hatchery bantam cochin. She is a little under sized because she got Cocci really bad when growing up. I got Dolly January 31, 2005 from Mcmurray hatchery. She and her Sister(sissy) were my first cochins. This the second time that Dolly has been a mother. She raised 9 chicks 3 years ago.

This time she once again has 9 bantam chicks; 3 Silkies(black, blue, splash), 1 mutt from my Dot and Peanut, 1 faverolle/Dutch mix, 2 Pure Dutch, 2 pure Faverolles.

This blurry picture is from Tuesday before Dolly had brought them out, but it is the only picture that has the Black Silkie in it.
This picture has all of the chicks, except the Black Silkie. It retreated under Dolly 2 seconds before I turned my camera on. The Faverolles are actually neon yellow at hatch, but it was bright yesterday and the camera washed them out. Same with the Splash silkie.
*****
Barbara is missing. Every morning she is always waiting for me at the backdoor and helps me feed/water the chickens and open the coops. She was not there this morning and we have not been able to find her all day. I have searched everywhere I can think of, but nothing. All I can do now is hope.*****

Time to do another water check. Not a good day for anyone to run out of water.

~~Matt~~

Hatching Early

2010-07-04T22:26:00.004-04:00

The eggs that are due Tuesday have already started. The first normally pips the even of day 20. This is day 19 and the first hatched about 6pm. I think it is because it was in the 90s each day and this house is not air conditioned. Some eggs were shipped during the hot weather.

5 others have pipped. 4 of those were taken out to Dolly to let her hatch them. Having some actually hatch under the hen helps to get her to adopt the ones that hatch in the bator. The one that hatched is either a faverolle or a 75% faverolle/25% Dutch mix. It will stay in the bator till the morning. By then Dolly should have others, so I can add without any worries. I have no idea what the other eggs are that were pipped since only a few were marked and I didn't check before they went out.

I will have pictures in a few days once all is done and Dolly is set.

Hopefully this is the last night of the fireworks, they are seriously on my nerves and I am sure the birds are not happy. I have a couple neighbors that spend a small fortune on trips to SC and Georgia. Rockets are illegal in NC, so they have to go a state over to get the good ones.

~~Matt~~

Lack of Broodies and sad ends - a giveaway

2010-06-23T14:50:00.010-04:00

Can it be? I mean seriously "a lack of Broodies"? 2 weeks ago I had 15-20 girls setting in empty nests. 8 days ago I started a run for the bantam girls. I always start them in the bator. Especially shipped eggs.Yes the temp does say 102.6. The digital read out is 3 degrees off the actual temp, took 2 terrible hatches to figure that out.

Today I only have ONE broody bantam in a nest and that is Dolly. She is a runty bantam hatchery cochin. She got Cocci and that slightly stunted her growth. She raised NINE babies 3 years ago, so I know she is a good mother. 2007 picture:
I was planning to give the bator eggs to 'BigSis', but she is one that broke. I have never had them break like this. They normally set empty nests till I make them get up. Maybe it is because of this ridiculous HEAT and HUMIDITY. The heat wave is predicted to break in a week, but let's face it the weather folks ain't been very accurate lately. A few of the 6 broodies in Dot's Lot started molting. That broke their broodiness and the others just quit. Even the unbreakable 'Puff' has been out of nest for 2 days.

Actually there is still Lacy a bantam cochin. She is broody on a perch. THAT'S RIGHT. She is setting 3 feet off the ground on a 1.5 inch thick stick clucking at me. If I set up a nest for her, maybe, I can get her to move. She too is a proven mother. I ain't raising these babies, so someone better step up, or down, to take care of them. I would really hate to have to deal with a brooder in this heat.

***Loses***
I hate losing birds.

We finally had to put old Smudge down. She was Pet standard Splash Cochin and my first standard cochin. Smudge came here as a day old from McMurray on Feb 12, 2006. She was very friendly and enjoyed life. This is her 2 years ago doing what she did best.She always had a slightly descended crop. Just a little massage to get it moving on and she was fine. However, over last year it has been getting worse and worse. This was not a blockage, but the muscles and tendens were over stretched and just couldn't tighten enough to push food out of the crop and into her system. She had been losing weight, but recently it got really bad. Just enough food was going on through to keep her alive. She started getting a bit weak a couple weeks ago. Sunday before last we made the decision to send her on her way. There was no reason to make her suffer.

A few days later we had to put Dora down. She was a mixed girl that was only 6 months old. She had gotten in a fight through the wire and messed up the side of her face. It was getting better, but left permanent damage to her eye lids. She could not open her eye. The lids just did not work. During her recovery somehow she went BLIND in the other eye. No idea why. The eye just stopped working. This left her complelely blind. We choose to put her down. It takes alot to care for a blind bird and even then they don't always get the amount of food they need. She seemed terrified of every sound and touch and I couldn't just leave her that way. Dora is the mixed solid black girl.
We lost 2 of Mamma's chicks. I went with my nephew to a fishing tournament Saturday. I got home around 3 to find that one of the black ones was gone. An hour later I went out to find another in the gold fish pond dead. They have been running around that water for the past 3 weeks. I don't know how it fell in or even what happened to the one that vanished. It was just gone. Cat, Hawk, or Snake is what I figure.

***Giveaway at "Life on a Southern Farm"***

These kind folks are giving away a set of metal hen nests. They look well built and well worth more then they cost. Link to Giveaway.

~~Matt~~

Broodies, chicks, a dog, and flowers

2010-06-07T13:54:00.008-04:00

I realize I have been reading everyone's Blogs, but not posting on my own. SO...How about an update on Momma. 11 was the final count on the hatch and she is doing well with them all. She raised 12 last year, so I know she can handle them.Since I bothered them, Momma took them back to the broody house for a snack.With most Broodies I normally keep wire around their house as a pen for the first 2 weeks. This is mostly for the babies protection. A couple of my broodies are timid and not as fightingly protective as others. Momma is very protective and doesn't need the added help. I have been flogged twice when catching babies, Mom got hit a couple times doing the same thing, Barbara(cat) got run back to the tractor shed, and Raymond(dog) got it too at least once. None were a threat, but Momma didn't want them around.

Planned Setting
In the next few days I will be setting either Dumpling(Mottled d'Uccle) or Frixy(whitish Faverolle Mix behind the feeder).Both are broody in the same empty nest in the feed shed. I am putting a nest in a cat carrier beside their nest and a few "temp eggs" to see which wants to move over. I can close the carrier at night to keep the setter safe. Neither of these has ever raised babies. Once settled I will be giving the setter 6-8 bantam eggs from my mutts. Dot needs a couple more girls. After some loses the last couple years, he is down to 10.

Broodies
I have about 20 broodies around in empty nests that I keep sitting out several times a day.There are 4 in there. I pulled Puff(white), Midnight(bottom Black), and Dutchin(other black) out for the fourth time today and found Nougat(tricolored - match to Dot) under them. She is fine.

Guard Dog - introducing a long time resident.Ok, Raymond is 12 and not the best guard any more. This time of day he hides from the heat. This dog-house was an old console TV. He has been using it since he was rescued at 4-5 months old. He is not fixed, but is the only dog on this fenced acre. We make sure he does NOT get out. He is a medium sized dog and averages at 35-40 pounds. He is blind in one eye and has gotten snippy at strangers. This is Raymond in 2006.
Daylillies - No pictures right now
I have a bunch of tall yellow daylillies I need to dig and off load somewhere. They are currently blooming. I bought a mixed bag a few years ago and all ended up being yellow. I will keep a couple clumps for my flower beds, but have 7-8 that need to go. Each clump has 2-4 fans in each. If you are in the area and want to come for some, I can provide a shovel. :) $1 per fan, but that is negotiable.

I guess that is enough for now.

~~Matt~~

Finally a Good hatch

2010-05-27T16:20:00.005-04:00

I figured out the King Suro. The digital readout on the temp is off by 3 degrees. After checking it against a trusted thermometer, I ran it at 102.5. The first hatched the night of day 20 and the last this morning which is day 22. That makes their Birthday is the same as DOT'S.

Now that I finally have the Suro figured out, I am putting it up for the season. LOL !!! Whatever else I hatch can be done by hens, I am dealing with 20+ broodies on empty nests.

Fertility and Hatch Rates
Started with 24 eggs.

10 not fertile - didn't start.
***Either that is just a 60% fertility rate or I kept the eggs to long in this HOT house. Probably some of both. I may have to give some $$$ back to folks that bought hatching eggs if they don't get at least a few chicks.

Of the remaining 14, 10 hatched. - 72% hatch rate

Another is pipped but made no progess since early this morning. The last 3 are doing nothing. 2 of those were too thick to candle with my MiniMag. They may be infertile, which would raise my hatchrate.

If they start to develop but die it is a failed hatch and goes against the hatch rate. If the egg never starts then in falls to the infertile or old eggs and does NOT count in the hatch rate.

There were also 3 eggs under Momma that got collected a couple times. They got cold for several hours both times. 1 hatched and that just happened to be the ONLY standard cochin egg I set. It is from a Show Quality Splash hen(Nicolette) and a Show Quality Black Roo(Jerry), so the chick is Blue. It is the one with the really white chest and neck. You can even see it's feathered feet in the 4th pic.

SO ... Momma Hen has 11 babies. She is in the 2'x5' brooder box/house that she has used every year for the last 4 years. Thanks to the USPS for the nest box...HA.
Added food and water. Mamma was hungry. She gently got up and moved over. The chicks stayed where they were just long enough for me to get a picture. This is how they were spread out under the hen.
Then they followed.
The Broody box opens on the far end to let her and the babies out. The side panels come off for added ventilation as needed.

I thought I was careful to just set eggs from the blue and black Ameraucanas,
but seems I have an OOPS from a white easter egger. Must be some partridge in
their genetics or something that chipmunks the chicks.

I had a bad weekend and lousy week, but today has added some brightness to the bleakness. My birds are the best therapy there is. There have been times I wouldn't have gotten up in the mornings, but they have to be let out and fed. Then I just sit out there and let them drain the stress away. Can't fall asleep or they climb all over me and leave not so little gifts. :)

~~Matt~~

Planning a Birthday, HenPals giveaway, etc...

2010-05-19T16:21:00.005-04:00

I know everyone is going think I am crazy or at least crazier, but this is Dot. He is the first bantam I ever had. He is a mixed breed and weighs in at about 3-3.5 pounds. He is on the large size for a bantam. He will be 6 years old on May 26th.
I got his egg from my Uncle, who claims he "had no birds that look anything like that." Only 2 hatched from those 11 eggs and 1 drowned on the first day. I had hatched some standard Barred Rocks 2 days before that, so I picked out the 2 smallest of the standards and placed them with Dot. When a little older Dot was able to stay with all of the Rocks. That is how he got his name, since he was just a little Dot among all those chicks.

He is the man and knows it. He looks a little odd in that picture. He didn't know what I was doing. He was on the shelter looking down at me. He is friendly and I can pet him if he is at the same height, doesn't like people standing over him. He has the loudest crow I have ever heard and has no problem getting next to your ear and splitting an ear drum. He has been close to death a few times in his life. At 18 months old he got a fungal respiratory infection that almost took him. He has lost his tail feathers twice to dogs when he was in the wrong neighbor's yard. A Big Australorp rooster almost killed him. I ate that Rooster, no one messes with the DOT. A Cooper's Hawk flipped him, but somehow did no damage. He got in a fight with ChitterButt through the fence and lost ALOT of blood. You can see the old scars in his wattles.

Dot will be here as long as he lives. I always do something for him on his birthday. Last year he got a can of corn and a big handful of mealworms. He is at the point in age that he doesn't always share with his women.

Entered another GIVEAWAY:
I have put my name in for the HenPals Chicken Nesting Box Giveaway. Very generous of these folks to do this.

Baby Pictures:
Here is a couple pics of the current babies with their Mothers. The first is Pigie with the her 6 that were born on April 1st, 3 d'Uccles, 1 mix(whitish), and 2 Dutch. The only boy in the bunch is the medium sized d'Uccle. The little d'Uccle(Baby D) is just bossy.
Up next is Miss Blue with her 4 that were hatched April 27th. All are d'Uccles and I have not sexed them yet.Settling down for a nap in the grass.

AND one of the my pink pond Lilies finally bloomed.

Welcome to my RANDOM world,
~~Matt~~

Hatchery Birds vs Mareks and entering a giveaway

2010-05-13T21:52:00.004-04:00

I think I have finally stopped losing teens. I ordered from Cackle Hatchery and will NEVER do that again.

At about 4 weeks old I sold 35 of them. Up to that time they were isolated and had never been in contact with other birds. I was selling a large portion of these chicks and wanted them 'clean'. I ended up selling 35 of them at the Salisbury, NC poultry show. I kept 19 for my future layers. A week or so after this the remaining ones moved to the outside brooder. They were let out on the ground during the day and introduced to everyone else. Around 8 weeks old the Australorps started going down with Mareks one at a time. I lost 7 of 13 of the Aussies and 1 runty Orpington. After the 4th was euthanized we stopped trying to doctor them. Once one showed symptoms it was processed.

Mareks is a viral form of cancer that chickens carry(cannot cross species). Something like 90% of the backyard flocks in the US have Mareks in the flocks in one form or another, but are immune. There are a couple strains of highly deadly Mareks, but the rest are just a part of the world. There are 3 types of mareks; the kind that causes tumors, the one that attacks the nervous system, and ocular(grey eye). A normal, healthy bird develops an immunity quickly. Chicks from unHealthy flocks that are heavily immunized for generation after generation are going to have problems with their immune systems. I have never lost this many and feel terrible for the folks that bought Aussies from me. If I had known they would have difficulty building a normal immune system I would have never sold a single one of them.

I normally lose 1-2 started chicks each year out of 30-40, but those are normally the ones that already have some wrong.

OK, back to the healthy ones. The rest seem to be doing well and growing normally. This was them a week ago.
They are fairly intelligent. They have learned how everything works. They are going in on their own and roosting at night up on the platform of roosts. The roosting took a couple weeks, but they went in on their own on the 3rd night.
I no longer let them out the front. They have to stay in the covered lot since a hawk came in and killed the Black/White rescue pullet. The lot and room under the house gives them about 30 square feet per bird.

For fun I am entering the giveaway at Laughing Duck Farm. I love reading her blog. I hope I can come up with something like this when I have 200 posts.

~~Matt~~

Growing babies and more flowers.

2010-05-07T23:21:00.014-04:00

I love chickens and most other creatures. I think that is obvious in my posts and comments to others'. I also really enjoy plants. I have developed a fairly green thumb over the last few years. The following is just a bit of what I see/do during the day.

Here is Miss Blue and the 9 day old babies. The 4 d'Uccles are doing well. One has a curled foot that we tried, but failed to correct. As long as it has a good life it will be yet another PET. Everyone was under the house out of the sun, but came out when I sat the food and water out of the house. You can see Blue's head through the feed jar.She brought them out for about 10 minutes, but the babies don't like that bright, Hot, mid-day sun for very long.
Here are some of the Six 5 week olds. The only boy in this group is one of the d'Uccles. That means I only have 1 to find a home for. I may rehome the 2 d'uccle girls with him, but the 2 Dutch and 1 dutch/game mix are staying.Creamette is a lovely little Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch. She is going through 1 of many chick molts.
Here are a few of the Roses that are in bloom.A bloom on one of the Clematis vines.My last 2 Amaryllis flowers this season. This is the second season I have had these particular ones. I set them out a little late this year, they had already started the bloom, and they ended up a bit short.The Iris are my favorite Flowers that are currently Blooming. I have alot of the smaller Irises around, but the large varieties are sure showy. The 'peach' Iris that was so nice got destroyed a couple days ago. I don't know what variety this is supposed to be, but I call it my "Carolina Iris" due to the carolina blue coloring. This is the only one of this variety that is here. I hope to be able to divide it later.I have a bunch of rooster combs sprouting and a variety of other seeds in starter pots. As soon as I dig up Dad's mustard I will be spreading Zinnias. My Dahlias are coming up. Not sure what happened, but about half just didn't come up. Those need to be weeded this weekend.

We should be able to get the first Squash of the season in a few days. If it doesn't rain soon the first may be about the last.
Once again here is the guard Cat, well Kitten. She is 11 months old. The tailess, half starved, terrified kitten that was covered in ticks and sores has come along way from that 2 month old that got tossed out here last August. She is an outside cat and is fixed.I fell for the "belly rub trap".She was holding on and biting me. She got attacked by something a couple days ago. She lost alot of fur, but otherwise is fine. I think she may have tried to hunt something that she shouldn't have.

The rest of today's pictures are in my photo album on photobucket. Feel free to go look.

Hope ya'll enjoyed the pictures,
~~Matt~~

New Babies and updates on the others

2010-04-29T22:00:00.005-04:00

Miss Blue has 4 MF d'Uccles from this run of eggs. Blue is a Bantam Cochin hen. She is another of my proven mothers. The rest were under her. You can sort of see her nest behind her. She had come off to feed the little ones and herself. This one just happened to stick its head out for me to pick up. Only 4 managed to hatch from 3 dozen eggs and those were a full 2 days late. The temp in the RCom is WAY off. The digital read out was at 99.7 the whole time. Blue didn't get eggs till this past Saturday when I moved her to the broody house. She had gone broody a week or so before that. When I first put her in the Broody House she walked to the nest and went to work. After a bit of shuffling she settled down, looked at me, and started growling. She is so smart, she knows exactly what being given a private house means. Mom set her out of the house this evening to take a poop. Once Blue had relieved herself, she wanted right back in with the babies.

They are using a the new Broody house.The house is 2'x3'x2'tall( without legs). I need to paint it later and I haven't finished the roof. I will lap the tar-paper around the bottom and fix it to the roof. That works as a drip guard. That I can do one day while Blue has the babies out.

I will attach a ramp tomorrow so that she can bring them out for the first time for a little while.

Here is a picture of the broody house in progress from last Thursday.You can see that the plywood is recycled and there is a good size vent across the back.

Here is Pigie and her Babies. The little ones are 4 weeks old and doing well.The Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch Chick(Creamette) is a little Pullet. The whitish one is Paprika, she is a little mixed lady that was a mistake setting. She is Mom's and will be a permanent pet. The other Dutch is a Cream Light Brown and is also a Pullet. I think the d'Uccles are 2 boys and a girl, but not completely sure.

This is Tuffy, Gabbi, and Dora. Gabbi and Tuffy are a pair of Bantam Mottled Cochins and Miss Dora is a Cochin Mix. They are 4.5 months old. The cochins are shaping up really nice. Gabbi is very friendly, Tuffy wants to fight, and Dora is wild as a bat. I finally got Dora to take mealworms from my hand, but that is a good as it gets with her. I want to let them free range with the other freerange bantams, but Tuffy wants to fight the Dutch boys.

Thanks for reading,
~~Matt~~
Morganton, NC

Picture/Video Day with the chicks

2010-04-18T13:09:00.009-04:00

I finally got around to taking a few pics of Pigie and her little ones today. Even got a Video uploaded.

Pigie is a Bantam Cochin. She just turned 4 years old. This is her 5th time with babies. She had 2 broods in 2007, 1 in 2008, and 1 late last year. Except for 1 little Roo in her very first brood, she has never lost a single baby that was in her care.This time she is raising a Cream Light Brown Dutch, a Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch, a Dutch/Red Pyle OE Game Mix, and 3 Mille Fleur d'Uccles. The d'Uccles are from a local Feed Store that got them from Mt Healthy Hatchery. 30 Second Vid of Pigie and her little ones. I have no idea what was under that old piece of lattice.

The little white/reddish one is the mix. Her parents are the BCLB Dutch Rooster and the Red Pyle OE Game hen on the bottom left of this picture.
Guard Cat Hard at Work.It is dark in that building and Barbara was not happy about me using the Flash to get a picture of her on the lawnmower. That is one of her 3 favorite places to sleep.

Just for fun this is Frixy a Mixed Bantam Faverolle and Francesca a pure Bantam Faverolle.

I gotta go start building a new house for Dot's and Chitter's flocks.

Added at 11:30 pm: I went back about 2 hours later and got 2 eggs out of the little cardboard box that is beside the crate that Frixy was in. You can just see the corner of it in the Video on the far left. Evidently Francesca got in a hurry and used the small box to lay her egg and then Frixy moved over and laid her egg there too. Those are the only 2 that laid in the feed shed today. The little box is there exactly for this purpose. Before the "waiting box" was added I have had them drop their egg on the table and then roll it off on to concrete. There are 6 girls that regularly lay in there.

~~Matt~~

Flowers, Fruit, and Vegetables.

2010-04-09T14:56:00.005-04:00

Why do I get really bad allergies this time of year???The smell is wonderful, the allergic reactions are not. That is my bedroom window above the back-porch roof. It is always open and has a fan in it for fresh air. Mom let the wysteria take over the cherry tree many years ago. This is a shot from the South side, which is where the vine grows the best of course. The ditch at the bottom of the yard feeds a creek that has spread Wysteria for miles from our yard.

This is another Wysteria that Dad has been "playing with" for a few years. It is only about 8 feet tall. The trunk is 4-5 inches thick. You have to prune the shoots off at least once a month to keep it in tree form.
My tulips are blooming and then burning out fast. The heat and sun have sent them into overdrive.

Alot of the other colors are gone. Here are some of the dwarf Tulips. The Blooms are less then 1.5 inches across the top.

If you look in the back of the last picture you are can see parrot tulip about to open. It is quite large, but looks small in the picture.
Azalea:
The fruit trees/bushes are full.
**Apple Blossums
**Dwarf Cherry - these are a black cherry.**Peach**Blueberries - The second picture is an early producer. There are 100+ blueberry plants here.

Gardens with Taters, Maters, Cabbage(head and leaf), and mom's lettece bed. Lots of other stuff is planted, but that is what is visible for now. Gardens on both sides of the fence are ours. Nothing in the larger gardens is up yet.
The small goldfish pond is green and turning yellow(pollen). A few of my lily pads are coming up. The female fish in the first picture is about 10 inches long. Same fish on the far left of the 2nd picture.

Dot is mad since I am not letting him out. The lots get opened at 7 pm. That gives them an hour to roam before dark. More then that and they start hitting the gardens.
Pigie had only been out of the house/box about 10 minutes when the babies got cool. All 6 are snuggly under there somewhere.

Thanks for joining me on my walk around the yard,

~~Matt~~

My Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T15:58:00.005-04:00

Saturday
Had a great time at the Morganton Poultry Show. I love having a show only 10 minutes from the house. I came back here once to check on birds. Met lots of old chicken friends and a couple new ones. I didn't show, but really enjoyed seeing everyone else's birds. It was a small show this time, but I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I did deliver a few birds and items that I had presold. I talked more then enough and that is my favorite part. I never did get my camera out of my truck, so NO pictures. Sorry.

After the show I stayed at the fairgrounds helping take everything down. After most was done I wasn't really tired, but my knee and hip were finished. I did stay about 10 minutes too long. When they were blowing the shavings and dust out of the building the cloud of dust got me. I woke up yesterday morning with packed sinuses, an itching throat, and a blinding migraine. Even with that I managed to get a few things done with Mom's help.

Sunday
I didn't realize it was Easter till about 9pm last night when I was reading through blog posts.

Since I sold Einstein(kind of regreting that) and the cull ladies, I had an empty house. Soooo, the Pre-Teens got moved out of the brooder and into that house. Mom cleaned it out for me. It is where they were going to be later anyways, but since we skipped Spring and jumped straight to Summer it is fine for them now.

Outside in the lot was 1 of the Australorp boys and 8 of the girls that are Australorps and Orpingtons. They will be 8 weeks old in 2 days. Once they figure out how to go in and out I will remove the crates and they get the 4'x8' area under the house to play, hide, or whatever.

The other 8 girls are in the house(can't see them) rolling in the fresh shavings with the other Aussie boy.
I built this 4'X8' house last year(dad added the eaves to the roof), but I only added the nest boxes with outside access a few weeks ago for the Ameraucanas who are now back in the henhouse. I still haven't painted it.

Monday
*****Presenting*****
Pigie and her Easter chicks, well some of them.

There are 2 Dutch, 1 Faverolle that could be a mix, and 3 MF d'Uccles. I bought the d'Uccles from Belle Farm. They had just got a chick shipment in on April 2, probably hatched March 31. The other 3 hatched April 1st-2nd. Not a very good hatch. I pretty sure it was low humidity. I am raising it for the next batch which go in tonight. These are shipped eggs and are MF d'Uccles and bantam polish supposedly from show stock. I hope I get the settings right on the Suro.

Pigie has already brought them out a couple times, but needs help to get them back in. They will figure out the the ramp after a few days. That was all the picures I could get. After the 3rd flash, she puffed up and called the babies under her.

~~Matt~~

New chicks and a Poultry Show

2010-04-01T23:06:00.002-04:00

A Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch hatched this morning. We took it out to Pigie(Pi-jee) after it was about dry. She is a white bantam cochin that is a wonderful mother. She has been broody for 2 weeks or so. We had moved her to a broody house Monday evening. Tuesday was settle in day and Wednesday evening she got eggs from the bator. No others had hatched yet when the little one was placed under her at 3pm.

This is Pigie last year when she raised 7 babies.She turned 4 years old a couple months ago. This will be her 5th time raising babies. 2 broods in 2007, 1 brood in 2008, and 1 in 2009.

This is the broody house she is using this time. Except I have the left door fixed shut and covered with a solid piece and the partition has been removed. This gives Pigie the entire 3' wide box.If you look on the left side you will see Pigie in the process of incubating a hatch for April of 2008.

Once the last baby to hatch is 2 days old I put 15-20 feet of wire up in a circle around the house and drop the door to let them out. A few days later, the wire is removed and they get to freerange with their momma. They are shut up each night for safety.

*****POULTRY SHOW*****
The Morganton Poultry Show is this Saturday(April 3) at the Burke County fairgrounds. Going to be a smaller show with 414 birds registered. Should be a great time with lots of folks walking around and talking chicken(and everything else).

Matt

Night-time View

2010-03-24T23:42:00.003-04:00

This is what I see from my bedroom window
That is the outdoor brooder. The 19 standard sized chicks are on the darker side sleeping. They are 6 weeks old today. I only got the brooder about 80% complete, but it is enough to use it. I still need to finish the leg supports to make it stable for moving. I also want to put different doors over the vents that will look nicer.

A Backdoor for easier catching and clean up will be added once it is out of service.

Finally the whole thing needs to be painted.

My favorite of those chicks is "Buffy". She is a Buff Orpington girl. She comes up to me everytime I open a door and waits to be petted. She is talkative little lady. She sat on my shoulder yesterday for a walk around the area. Don't know what will happen to my shoulder when she grows up to be 6-8 pounds.

I will be candling the bantam eggs in the Suro 20 tomorrow. Only 1 week to go.

~~Matt~~

Flower power

2010-03-21T12:57:00.004-04:00

Been 10 days since my last post, so I decided to share a few pictures of flowers I took yesterday, like everyone else.

These clumps of Daffodils are 3 years old. Each clump was originally a single bulb. I will be seperating them late this year.

These are in a different bed.
This is my last clump of crocuses. They will be seperated this year too. I wish I had gotten a picture of them last week, especially the clumps of white ones.
None of my Hyacinths, in any of the beds, did well this year. I think I will move them all to a new bed.
Can't leave you without at least a couple Chicken pictures.

Einstein is a Black Ameraucana that I am going to sell. I was going to breed him, but plans have changed.
Black Ameraucana Ladies - Also selling, because of faults. I am trying to start a show line and don't need to start with birds that have show faults.
Powder is also forsale, but would not stop preening for her picture.

Nice Weather

2010-03-10T14:47:00.002-05:00

These last few days have been great. Well as far as the weather goes. I have been working my rear off outside and am flat out exhausted.

This Picture was taken Monday. I was heading out to take pictures of Dad's chairs and other stuff and found Mom sitting out reading. The Red Pyle OEGB(bird on foot) is her bird, the rest are a few of mine.

Names(click picture for full size):

If you look on this side of Sassy, I think Droopy was in the crowd too. Head-On and Collision(white Easter Eggers) were back behind the bench beside the wood shed. You can see them through the underside of the bench. Collision was still hurt and not moving much. She sprain something coming off the roosts on Sunday. She is almost better today. She didn't quit laying.

Yes, I am a 31 year old loser living in my parents house. No jobs around here and my chickens don't want to go anywhere. I moved back after graduating from Appstate and can't seem to get out.

~~Matt~~

Poultry Show

2010-03-10T14:15:00.014-05:00

The weather for Saturday's Poultry Show was almost perfect. Started out cool, but soon the jacket came off. I sold 34 of the 35 chicks I took. The one that I didn't sell was taking by mistake. Somehow I missed the green dyed neck. He came back to be with his sisters and other brother. He or his brother will be used to breed future layers.

I only got a few pictures of the Show Hall from the front. There were 1100+ birds in the show. My Franky and Francesca were in the last 2 cages at the end of the row on the right of the main isle. You can't see them. They did well enough, but had no competition. Faverolles are rather rare.
After I took those 3 pictures I decided to go out back to the livestock barn first for the large ducks, geese, and turkeys.

When walking back I had customers, so I put my camera in the truck and completely forgot to get it back out again. Sorry.

I saw this just as a few miles from the fairgrounds..
Not the best sign to see before a 2 hour drive, but I made it back safely with the little rooster. I guess everyone was enjoying the sunny day.

I am proud that I didn't buy anything even though I was extremely tempted.

~~Matt~~

Egg count and Poultry Show

2010-03-04T20:49:00.005-05:00

The ladies have started laying fairly well again. They are averaging 3 dozen per day. This was a couple days ago. There are 37 eggs in the basket.

My ladies are still freeranging, but that will change starting next week. I am lotting for breeding season. They have very large lots, but still take a few days to get used to it.

Francesca and Franky are currently sleeping in a cage in the dining room. They got their baths this evening for Saturday's show. They both look fairly nice. I just hope they calm down. Francesca is not happy about being in a cage. I should have cage trained them starting earlier this week, but figured they would take to it easily. I have all day tomorrow to get them cage ready.

The show is in Salisbury, NC at the Rowan County Fairgrounds(1500 Julian Rd). This is the largest NC Poultry show of the year. The weather looks to be great. The sellers area should be full with all kinds of birds and lots of shoppers. I will be there selling 35 3.5 week old Buff Orpingtons and Black Australorps. All were sexed female by Cackle hatchery.

I will also be selling freerange eggs for $2 per dozen. Some years I sell out and some years I can't sell a single dozen.

~~Matt~~

Pictures ...

2010-02-23T21:07:00.003-05:00

These 3 big girls found a dry place to take a dust bath.

Left to right: 'Gracie' a black Australorp mix, 'Hissy' a buff cochin, 'Brows' a black cochin.
Francine is a Bantam Salmon Faverolle. She is spoiled and was following me through the upper yard. She would be show quality except for her left eye. She had an infection under the inner eye-lid when she was young. By the time I managed to get it better the inner eye-lid was damaged. As a result it waters all the time. This makes a mess of her beard on that side, so we keep it trimmed off. She is a freerange girl and is filthy.
Dumpling is a Bantam Mottled d'Uccle. She was hatched from an egg that I got from Joanna W in Boone, NC back in April of 2007. She has gotten too white after her last molt and is now retired from going to shows. She never liked being in a cage for that day anyway.
Noel is a Standard Black Cochin. She is also enjoying retirement from exhibition. She will be 4 years old this summer. It was hard to get a decent shot. She kept walking towards me.
Bones is a very friendly Standard Ameraucana Hen. Technically she is an Easter Egger since she is an off color. She followed me until I finally took her picture. As she grew up she stayed so skinny. She no longer lives up to her name, since she is now fat as mud. She lays a beautiful Blue egg almost everyday.
Bella is a Bantam Blue Cochin. She is from show lines, but not a show quality bird. She is perfect as far as size, physical structure, and color. The problem is her feathers. She is just not a fluffy, loose feathered bird like she should be. No matter, she is another pet.
Ally is a Faverolle/Dutch mix. She is only 6 months old, but has been laying since she was 4 months old. The first pic shows her favorite nest box in the loft of the open sided work shed. The second is after she was finished. Little wing pulled out some of the feathers on the back of her head.
Francesca and Franky are a 6 month old pair of bantam Faverolles. They are going to show on March 6th in Salisbury, NC. Franky is forsale, but Francesca is NOT. Francine is their mother.
This is the outside brooder I have been working on. After I took these pics I cut and put on the back. I will put 2 doors in the back tomorrow. I hope to finish the front and put it on by Friday morning.
There are a 5-6 of these chairs around here. Dad has started making them. Unemployment/forced retirement is not working for him so he has to WORK. They are extremely comfortable.

That is enough for now....

~~Matt~~

Update on chicks and sad news

2010-02-19T22:38:00.005-05:00

The shipped chicks are 1 week and 2 days old, though 2 days of that was spent in a shipping box. From Cackle Hatchery I received 27 Buff Orpington Pullets(girls), 26 Black Australorp Pullets(girls), and 2 Black Australorp Cockerels(boys). 1 of the Black Australorps was lost on Saturday. The other 54 seem to be doing well. They were settling down for a nap. Most were on this side of the brooder. The other side is about empty.

Sunday they will be going on Shavings in a new and MUCH larger brooder outside. They have good footing and no longer need the shelf-liner. I use it each and every time for chicks. This time I had to buy some new rolls, a few of the older ones were starting to fall apart.

I am sad to report that we lost Friz. I just didn't notice the abcess in time. Towards the end it was almost better on the outside, but what we didn't know was that the infection was already in her system. I tried antibiotics and she seemed to be about better, but as soon as she came off the meds she went down fast. You can't keep them on antibiotics forever and the antibiotics just slowed it down. Once they stopped the infection quickly traveled to her brain. One day she was 85% better and the next she was going fast and then started having seizures. By the end of the day she was almost gone. We have no idea how many seizures she had, but she was going fast. There was no saving her. To keep her from suffering anymore we put her down. She was a special little lady and will always be missed.

~~Matt~~

Chicks ..... LOTS of chicks

2010-02-12T12:51:00.003-05:00

My Pullet order from Cackle Hatchery came today. 25 Buff Orpingtons and 25 Black Australorps. There are also 2 black Australorp Cockerels. I don't know if they are in the pictures, but they have green(food dye) necks. Click on the picture for the full size version.

All made it through shipping with no losses. There are a couple that may not make it, but the rest seem to be going strong now. As I was getting them out of the shipping box I could tell their yolks were gone. For those that don't know, just before a chick hatches it takes the yolk into it's abdomen. The chick then slowly absorbs it and lives off of it for up to 72 hours. That is how chicks can be safely shipped just after hatch.

Their brooder/box is at 95 degrees and most of them are quietly eating, drinking or sleeping. I had to lay a quilt over the top of the box to get the temps up to where I wanted them. Don't tell mom, that is the quilt she finished a couple months ago.

I know the current box is a bit small. Don't worry, they will only be in there for 3 days. Monday they will go out to the outside brooder, as long as I get it done. I just needed to the keep them in until they were over the stress of shipping.

Starting at 3 weeks old I will start selling most of them. I am keeping 15 for future layers and the 2 boys to produce more future layers.

~~Matt~~

Updates and postponed show

2010-02-08T20:46:00.002-05:00

The Morganton Poultry Show has been Postponed until April 3rd. We were not able to get the cages, tables, etc from the storage trailer to the show building. Just too much mud. We were lucky to get the Hipp's truck back out. Their trailer is sitting in the mud for awhile.

Francesca is back to 100% and going strong. She has gained most of her lost weight back and will be going to show in Salisbury on March 6th.

Friz is recovering quickly. The scab lump that was covering the abcess came off yesterday. You can see where she had 2 puncture holes. We are all surprised that it was able to heal. That large of an abcess on such a small bird and in that particular area should have been the end of her. She is fighter and has healed nicely. She still sleeps in the house at night, but goes out most of the day when it is not raining.

With good there is always bad.

I have bad news about the 5 brooder babies. I lost Petie on Wednesday and Splenda yesterday. Petie was a blue silkie and splenda the white silkie. I have no idea what I did wrong. They were right at 8 weeks old. They just started sleeping all the time, got weak, and then passed. The 2 cochins and cochin mix seem to be fine. There were NO other symptoms. The only thing I can guess is a nutritional deficiency of some sort. I have raised a handful of silkies before in the same way and never had a problem with Starter grower and fresh water.

~~Matt~~

Update on Francesca

2010-02-02T12:32:00.005-05:00

The pictures were taken previously. I am just using them as reference.

She is almost better. I would say about 90%. She is exploring the yard out in the drizzle. She is one that could careless if it is wet and nasty. The Snow has melted quite a bit and uncovered the ground in areas. Francesca is out with Franky(her brother) picking around. She should be back to 100% in a few more days.

I will not be showing her at the Morganton show on Feb 13th. She lost quite a bit of weight from her trauma. She may have it all back by then, but I don't want to put her through the stress of being bathed and caged. For a bird that has never seen the inside of a cage, cage training can be a stressful few days.

Friz is also recovering nicely too. Her large abcess is about half the size it was and healing at a steady quick pase. She has been staying in the living room to keep it dry and clean. I have a medium size pet crate that she uses to sleep in. I put too many shavings in yesterday and she pushed most of them out but what SHE wanted. I was left to clean the mess. Shavings do not come out of carpet easily.

She was already spoiled, now she is a spoiled rotten house chicken. Well, at least for a few more days.

~~Matt~~

Tired of Winter

2010-02-01T22:12:00.003-05:00

Please make the snow go AWAY. We haven't gotten as much as others, but it is more then a normal winter here in the foothills of NC and we are expecting more this coming Friday. Also the cold can go away too, that junk makes for so much work. Having to go out every 2 hours to defrost waterers is irritating enough, but having to walk through snow is exhausting.

The current white junk has delayed work that I MUST get done. I am expecting 50+ chicks come the end of next week. I have to get the outside brooder done. It is currently covered and being used as a shelter for the freeranging bantams' food. This also gives then a good size area that is DRY.

About half the birds will not come out of their houses. Good thing I built most of the houses to open wide on one end. That way I can just put their food and water inside and they still get the fresh air and sunshine. The largest group that will not exit is Dot and his flock of mutts. Dot stepped too far out his house today and touched the snow. He lifted his foot and started growling, yes chickens can growl. He HATES snow. He went back into the house and started crowing at me.

This is an old Picture, but Dot hasn't changed much. He got some frost bite last year and lost about an eigth of an inch off of each of his spikes and the short spike(3rd from the back) was lost completely. He is my original Bantam. He is the very first bantam I ever had. He is a mixed breed. He will be 6 years old on May 26, 2010. This picture doesn't really do him justice. He has alot more buff and red, especially now after last fall's molt. The sun made the dark burgandy and black across his saddle just look black. He used to weigh around 2.5 pounds, but has gotten fat in his old age. He is about 3 pounds now.

Dot has 3 ladies that match him in color. Someone in that house is picking everyone's neck feathers out right under their wattles, happens every year. Click the pictures for full size views.

First is Caramel, then Nougat, and last is Peanut. Caramel is Nougat's sister, but a year older at 4 years old. Peanut is Caramel's Daughter, and is the same age as Nougat(3 years old). In fact they were hatched the same day and raised together. I better stop there or I will go into extreme detail on the entire family history of all of them and my beautiful Snickers that I lost in 2008. She was the first hen that matched Dot, except the lack of feathers on her legs. He is her father and the Daddy to all those pictured. It is called line breeding. If you didn't notice their names came from daughter/grandaughter relation to Snickers.

This is Snickers on January 27, 2007. She was a professional shoulder walker.

Went a bit off subject there. Thanks for taking the trip with me. I still can't talk about my precious Snicks without tearing up. Just too much heart to raise chickens.

~~Matt~~

Crower

2010-01-27T21:18:00.003-05:00

This is Little Man. He is 6.5 weeks old. He has been learning to crow since he was 4 weeks old. Not very good at it yet. Poor little thing about hurt himself.

Francesca(see last post) is not feeling well. I think Jerry, my huge standard cochin, tried to mount her. I can't find anything wrong, but she is droopy and doesn't want to move around much. I am hoping she is just sore. I kept her isolated today. No worse, but not really any better. I was wanting to show her, now I just want her to be ok.

Friz, Mom's bantam frizzle, has been in the house a couple days. She has a huge abcess on her left side around the back of her thigh/hip. She is a small bantam cochin mix frizzle and the abcess is larger then a golf ball. She is acting fine now, but we still want to keep the area clean. She was out for couple hours today, but that was all. We don't know how long she has had this. You can't see it unless you pick her up. She is fluffy girl. Friz is an independent little lady. We didn't raise her and she doesn't like to be handled alot, but is a hand eater. She is EXTREMELY loud and lets you know when she wants something.

~~Matt~~

To Show or Not...

2010-01-22T13:07:00.002-05:00

.. That is the question I am currently pondering in my head.

This is Francesca. She is a Bantam Salmon Faverolle.
It took forever to get those Pictures. She is spoiled rotten and kept running up to me. You just can't get a good picture looking straight down at a bird that is under you.

She is really nice looking and I really want to show her at the upcoming Poultry shows. The problem is that she will only be 6 months old for the Morganton, NC show on Feb 13. I know you want a Pullet(female chicken under 1 year old) as close to that 1 year mark as possible for show. That way she will be full grown and fully feathered in her adult plumage. Well Francesca is already there. Her beard should fill in over the next couple months, but other then that she looks ready. As spoiled as she is, she is easily handled and would take no time to cage train. I am just concerned that she may be too young.

By the way, her parents are here too. The rooster, Favy, was hatched from an egg I got from Joanna in Boone, NC in 2007. His fat butt is running around here, but is hanging out more with the standard size girls. He likes em big. He hates cages and refuses to spend the 3 days before a show in one. My birds are only caged after they get a bath for show. I just don't have the heart to keep them in cages.

~~Matt~~

Today's Pictures

2010-01-19T21:07:00.008-05:00

Here are the 5 inside babies.
For reference this past post was petie at 1 day old.
This Post was Petie and the other 4 at 1 week old.

This is them today at 5.5 weeks old.

Up first is Petie. A Blue silkie that I think may be a pullet, so the name may become Petra.

This is Dumpy. She is a Mottled Cochin Pullet.

This is a white Silkie that I think is a Boy.

This is Blackie and the white silkie. Blackie is a mixed cochin pullet.

Here is Blackie, Dumpy, and Little Man(a mottled Cochin Boy).

They were settling down for a nap. The white silkie was still eating.

***Moving Outside***

This is what I get face with out the backdoor. Other came running too. By the time I got off the porch there were about 50 birds looking at me.

This is Little Man. He is a Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch Cockerel. He is just under 8 months old. He is a full grown young man weighing in at 16 ounces. With a little age he will get more muscle mass and end up around 17-18 ounces.

I got distracted by a head looking at me from a feed bucket that was on the table under the shed. That is Spice, a Red Pyle old english game bantam. No she was not just stealing food. She has decided to use my feed bucket as her nest. This is the second time she has left a little off white egg in it.

This is her sister Sugar. Same breed and color, just a tad larger.

That is it for today. The tour ended when I noticed a couple empty waterers. After I filled them I forgot to go back to the pictures, so
To Be Continued...

~~Matt~~

Down side to a day of nice weather is ...

2010-01-14T20:39:00.004-05:00

... that I am flat out exhausted.

Get this fixed, start rebuilding that, move a house that weighs too blasted much.

Got the "teen" coop moved into position. I use the coop for newbies and "teenage" birds until they are grown. I got a wheeled "thingy" under the back and only had to lift the front. "Thingy" is the only way I can describe it, but it has 12" wheels on the back. Even just lifting the front, it was alot more then picking up 2 bags of feed. Not to mention moving it without dropping it. I really wish I had put it in position before I finished the blasted thing.

The 4'x8' coop has 16" legs. I put one side to the lot and fixed wire from the edges to the lot and around the outside bottom of the house. This will allow the occupents another dry place to get to.

Got the 4"x4" legs cut for the outside brooder I am rebuilding. The brooder is going to be set on a 3' high platform, so I needed Four 3' legs. Treated 4x4s are not the easiest thing to cut when all you have is a handsaw. The 2x4s to complete the platform will be easy to cut. I guess that is on tomorrow's list. In fact I should get the platform done tomorrow. I have the dismantled brooder from 2008 in a pile. Most I can re-use, but I am changing the design a bit so some goes back to the "for the future" area.

I also have to cut a chicken size door in the teen coop and make a door. I am thinking a vertical sliding door will work well. I just need to make a frame for it to go in. I have plenty of scraps around. If I can find a cord long enough I am using a jigsaw.

Got to go with mom to catch her new chickens. A friend is giving her his 1.5 year old hens and I am putting them in the Teen coop and lot.

I think that is all I will do on my list for tomorrow.

~~Matt~~

Growing chicks

2010-01-07T13:57:00.003-05:00

I have 5 chicks in the brooder. 1 Blue Silkie, 1 white silkie, 2 mottled cochins, and a cochin mix. All are bantams. The brooder/box is in my bedroom. For both vids I was sitting at my computer desk. The brooder is positioned so that I can lay on the bed and watch them at night. Alot more entertaining then the TV.

The first video was from Dec 29th. This was their first day in the larger brooder/box and their first time on shavings. Ignore the sounds from the TV. They were 2.5 weeks old. When I put them in, the window was clean. They made a mess fast. Even their water was full of shavings.

This next one is from Yesterday(Jan 6th). Just one week older and look at how much they have grown and feathered. I have raised hundreds of chicks, but I still love watching them grow.

I put in my order to cackle hatchery for 25 buff orpington Pullets and 25 Black Australorps pullets. The ship date is Feb 10th. I should get them on the 12th. That is 8 days after my 31st birthday.

Thanks for watching,
~~Matt~~

Chick Order ... no sleep ...

2010-01-03T19:51:00.004-05:00

I am sitting here thinking through my order for Cackle Hatchery. I am going for their "Heavy Pullets" - 50 count on the "Bargain Specials" page. For those that don't know a pullet is a female chick. I can pick the breeds, but has to be 25 of each. I am getting 25 Buff Orpingtons and 25 Black Australorps. I am also adding in 3 Black Australorp Cockerels(Boys). I want to start breeding them again and hatchery quality is fine for what I am heading for.

In the end I will probably keep 10 Australorps and 5 Orpington Girls for next years layers. My current layers are 4-5 years old and just DON'T produce well with weather changes.

I need to call them tomorrow and confirm their first ship date. I am thinking about adding in 5 Spitzhaubens just for the fun of it. With the 'normal' breeds it is always interesting to add in something 'unique'. The actual breed may change. I can't really think clearly.

I hope to get some sleep tonight, so that I can think tomorrow. I have slept a grand total of 4 hours in the last 3 days. Last night it was just so cold that I worried about the birds all night. I slept about an hour this morning after I let them out, but that was it. Tonight is going to be colder, but I need to sleep.

Thanks for Reading,
~~Matt~~

Plans for the near future...

2009-12-28T20:57:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is supposed to be a clear bright day in the mid 40s without this Blasted wind. I will be taking lots of Pictures. I have informed the birds, so everyone should be ready. YES, I am crazy and thank you for reading this and joining on me my mind trip. At least I try to make it entertaining.

I am waiting for Jan 3 to come around so I can make my Pullet order to Cackle. I need new layers for later next year. My gals are getting up in years and once they hit that 3-5 year old mark they just don't lay well during winter. A good influx of Black Australorps and Buff Orpingtons should keep my customers and me in eggs next winter. Right now 33 standard hens are only producing 2-3 eggs a day. Freeloaders. What I haven't told them is that some are heading to the freezer soon.

I do process my laying/production birds, but they live the same happy life that my pet chickens do. The same fate is destined for extra Roosters as well. I don't beleive in wasting anything. The old gals will make their final contributions to the family and complete their cycle of life in this world. Alot of the pets, mainly bantams, I just can't bring myself to process. If they die or get killed I give them a proper burial somewhere in or near their house and lot.

I have some money set aside for a couple projects. The first is a split house for my Mixed bantams and pet Bantam Cochins. 1 house leaks and both keep getting dug into when the Rats come back. I get rid of them for a few weeks and then they show back up again. The new house will be divided by a solid wall, Dot and Chitter don't mesh, but the top will be open for shared heat. 26-28 bantams should keep an 8'x8' house nice and warm at night. The entire house will be on 8" legs. This will keep rats away and provide another place for shelter.

The second project is a few Small coops and runs for folks that want to keep 2-3 standard hens. Can also house 4-5 bantams. I have a couple different plans in my head, but getting them finalized on paper is my problem.

Today was Mom's birthday. I was sure to get her something for christmas and today. Most years gifts get combined from most folks. She hates having the days so close together.

I think that is all for now.

~~Matt~~

Snow Day

2009-12-19T19:48:00.002-05:00

We got about a foot of snow yesterday and last night.

Barbara is an Outdoor cat, but she is only 8 months old and this is her first snow.

She took a couple hours to get used to, but then loved playing in it. There was enough of a crust that she could walk on top, until...

Oops...fell through.

That is 'Crow', an Ameraucana Pullet, on the grape vine frame.

Concrete picnic table.

The freerange bantams in front of their house in the cleared area.

The layers have NO interest in coming out....so, I put their food and water inside.

Picture of the house from in front of the Mixed Bantam Lot.

From the Back Porch.

From the wood shed down to the henhouse. The mutt bantam house connects on the right of it and the bantam Pet cochin house is on the far right.

My Truck ain't going anywhere.

Work for next week. This PVC pen is too useful not to rebuild.

I am way too fat for this. I went out 6 times in this stuff and each time was exhausted to the point of collapse by the time I made it back in.

~~Matt~~

Chicks

2009-12-18T08:30:00.004-05:00

The Blue one is Petie. He is a silkie. His sex is not known, but since he was the only one to hatch I am assuming it is a He. The rest are chicks that a friend hatched that is such a great person that she sold me 4 so that Petie wouldn't be alone. The yellow/white one is a mystery color Silkie. The Black and whites are either Mottled Cochins or mixes there of. All are bantams.

They were just put into this new box/brooder that is slitely larger. It took them about 15 seconds to get comfortable and attack the food.

Next week they will move to a much larger box and they will be on shavings at that time.

The black and white that hangs back is most definately a small Rooster. Just look at his little comb that is already starting.

I was not in the box with them. I put a large window in one side. "Chick-Vision" is alot more entertaining then TV. Tabitha, my cat, laid in front of the box all night watching.

Contrary Hen

2009-12-17T13:31:00.004-05:00

Yesterday Caramel needed her beak trimmed again. This happens about every 2 months, but we missed last month. In this pic from Nov 9th you can sort of see that it is long in the front. She has a curved beak and the top grows down. The right eye is deflated and blind.

She did not want to be picked up. Mom went into the coop to get her and Caramel kept walking around the platform of perches singing. The coop is a truck camper with the bottom boxed in. 5' wide with a platform of roosts that covers the entire area. That is not Caramel in the house picture. That is Snickers, Caramel's Mother, that I lost in August of 2008.She had no interest in being picked up. You have to duck down to get to the back, but Caramel would walk to the front before you could stand back up. Took about 10 minutes to finally catch her, she stayed just out of range. The little lady seemed to find it amusing. Most of the time you can pick her up without issue.

That's ok, she got a dozen+ mealworms after the beak was trimmed. She is normally about 2-2.5 pounds in weight, but the little fat butt is pushing 3 pounds right now. Holiday Weight? LOL

Caramel was attacked by a hawk back in January. Once she was on the road to healing, she adapted to eating with only 1 eye very quickly. She eats sideways so that she doesn't miss, but the tip of her beak doesn't file down in the normal fashion. She also gets tired quickly and retires to a hen house to take her naps, so she also doesn't dig and forage as much to work it down. She has some neurological issue that gets her tired quickly. The hawk tried to pierce her skull for the kill, but luckily didn't get through. After the attack, her good eye was fully dialated for 2 weeks. Then finally began reacting in a normal way. I assume that is when the swelling went down in her brain. Other then getting tired quickly and overwhelmed easily, she has no other lasting nerological problems.

In case anyone is wondering she is a mixed breed bantam. Dot, the rooster, is a color match and they breed TRUE. If I had more to start with I could start a new breed. Dot and Snicks were the start, but Snickers was also Dot's daughter by Oreo. I currently have Caramel, Nougat(Caramel's Sister), and Peanut(Caramel's Daughter). Did you pick up on the Snickers theme. :)

~~Matt~~

Hatch Results

2009-12-15T00:14:00.001-05:00

USPS really shook these eggs up, but I hope for a few to hatch. Sadly a single Blue Silkie is all that hatched. $55 in shipped eggs for 1 chick. I have got to quit giving in and getting shipped eggs.
Little Petie, yes he is already named, was a loud little baby at first. Luckily an online friend had some newly hatched babies as well. I drove down to SC, 150 miles round trip, to get Petie some family. I brought back 3 Mottled Cochins and a mystery colored Silkie. I will get pictures of them when they move a larger brooder/box on Wednesday.

Petie is happy with his new family and they are all eating and drinking well. They are so quiet that I keep checking on them to make sure that they are ok.

Educating a Rooster

2009-12-09T20:44:00.000-05:00

This is Screech. He is a Cream Light Brown Dutch Rooster that is not getting his job done. Ok, so I normally don't hatch during the winter, but that is no excuse. With none of Cream's eggs fertile I decided to give him a good talking too. I picked him up, which is easy with him being a friendly little man, set him inside a KFC Bucket, and told him that this was his future if he didn't start hitting the mark. I wish I had taken my camera out with me. He just stood in the bucket, stretched his neck to look over the edge, and crowed at me. Intrepretation: "Yeah Right, like you would ever EAT ME!"

Yes I talk to my chickens, but the problem is that they talk back. While he was in the bucket he must have found something because he started calling the girls to him. Once he hopped out Raymond(dog) took off with bucket.

The eggs due this week are now in hatch position with the humidity up. Nothing to do now but watch and wait.

Candled eggs

2009-12-05T13:44:00.001-05:00

I candled the eggs yesterday and am down to 9 eggs and 4 of those don't look so good. There are 6 of the silkie eggs in there and 3 of the other shipped eggs. 3 of the silkie eggs and 1 of the other are the ones that don't look quite right for day 15.

Not a single one of Cream's eggs were fertile. Screech, dutch rooster, is going to get a talking to. He also doesn't get the treats of mealworms for today. I guess it will be spring before I get to hatch any little dutch babies.

Matt

First post and intro

2009-12-02T14:32:00.000-05:00

I am located in the Foothills of North Carolina and raise Chickens. That is the basics of how the name of my little hobby(obsession) came to be. After a few years of going over names I finally settled on Foothills Poultry.

I raise a few select breeds and a couple groups of mixes. All together I have total of 89 chickens on this 1 acre of land. I have 4 from an August hatch that I will be relocating eventually, so that will put me at 85. I have a website setup at http://foothillspoultry.weebly.com/.

I won't be at 85 birds for long since I have 20+ eggs in a bator right now. Most were shipped eggs, so I don't have much hope for them, but hopefully a few will hatch. I would be happy with half a dozen. These will raised in an inside brooder till they are old enough to go out. For this reason I don't normally do winter hatches, but just couldn't resist. The batch is due on the Dec 11th. I am candling tonight to see if anything is progressing.

6 of the eggs are from my Cream. She is a Blue Cream Light Brown Dutch. She normally has very nice coloring, but took a dust bath in some damp carolina clay and that turned her red. Her fat butt weighs in at about 18 ounces.

The shipped eggs are 12 from Nice quality Blue, Black, and Splash Silkies, 6 from Mille Fleur d'Uccle, and 3 from Barred Old English Game Bantams. I don't really like shipped eggs, but I wanted to run something else with Cream's eggs incase only 1 hatches. Besides the incubator holds 42 eggs and I couldn't just run it with 6. ;)

Matt