Surviving Minnesota!

[NathanZee]

I have waited until well past 8am to post. I cannot wait any longer for you all to get out of bed...


Busy day yesterday, I build pens/runs.

I moved Ethel and her keets.





I found a guinea nest with a turkey egg topper. I am glad of this, I wanted a few more keets to hatch..





I am going to pick them tonight so I get another 8-9 eggs on the pile.



Oh and I forgot Blackie is having a rough molt, an early molt I know, but he has been living with 7 women so I assume it was either molt or suicide for him,,,,,

Dandelioness really made fun of hi when she saw him the other day. He was so hurt...





Oh and I forgot I grafted 2 BA chicks onto a turkey hen to break her broodiness.

I love the turkey moms! Why are they on keets and not poults? Are guineas not good parents?

That almost looks like more than just a rough molt, do his hens peck him?

 

[jerryse]

Rainy day here . About 1 inch overnight . Huge mayfly hatch overnight . Piles of them everywhere in town . Whole town smells like river water . Actually caddis fly I think . The brown ones . Later on we get smaller amounts of the greenish yellow ones .

 

[duluthralphie]

Rainy day here . About 1 inch overnight . Huge mayfly hatch overnight . Piles of them everywhere in town . Whole town smells like river water . Actually caddis fly I think . The brown ones . Later on we get smaller amounts of the greenish yellow ones .

If the mayfly hatch is on its Minnesota Bullhead time! I love fishing the walleye during the hatch. You can sit in the shallows and throw any floating lure and nail them...




Nathan, Guineas are not great mothers in our climate. We have dew and dew is deadly to the Keets. They are so small and fragile if they get wet they die. I did not have any Turkey eggs to put under her at the time I wanted her off her nest. Besides Guineas raised by chickens or turkeys are not as criminally insane as those raised by guineas.

I will allow them to set on eggs, Once I steal the pile out there now, but there is no guarantee they will actually sit on them. Guineas lay all their eggs in one nest and then wait for another hen to sit on them. They are just weird birds. They are so weird one would expect to see them with webbed feet.

 

[destiny_56085]

Any of you ever heard of Roland Doerr or Rick Klehr

Know both of them very well. Have standard cochins from both of their bloodlines.... Roland pretty much retired and turned over his birds to Ewerts last year. Rick raises some awesome birds and you generally see him at the MN State Show in Hutchinson and some of the nationals.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I don't often do this....Pick Ralphie over Judy. But Judy has definitely crossed the line with this cookie dough debacle.

Yesterday. Dixie and littles ate scratch with the big girls. It is fun to see them all together in their varying sizes. Getting along. Also received an older photo of Rogers son...just his back,eating--not a great photo. He's going to be an interesting bird. And red. Lots of red on him. Which is what I want on the lawn --a complete huge red freak show scaring off birds of prey.

The fish flies are coming off Leech and surrounding lakes like crazy. Woman usually has a good hatch too. The beaches smell like a cattle yard. Exactly like. So gross.

Ralphie...Blackie needs more clothes...but I suppose it isn't so bad with the summer heat. Might need to SPF 15 him or something so he doesn't fry his chicken skin.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

I am glad to see someone understands the seriousness of stealing a secret stash of cookie dough!

If the mayfly hatch is on its Minnesota Bullhead time! I love fishing the walleye during the hatch. You can sit in the shallows and throw any floating lure and nail them...

I'm more concerned as to why there was even leftover cookie dough?

I've found that pan fishing is pretty much pointless during mayfly hatches. They're all stuffed and full. I'm going Walleye fishing this weekend - we'll see how that goes.

Also, Blackie is having much more than a "rough" molt! Oh man, poor guy! I have a LF Splash Cochin that is molting and I thought she was bad. I didn't know she could get so ugly. Then, I saw your pictures of Blackie.....

 

[duluthralphie]

There was not cookie dough left over. I buy the cookie dough as ready to bake cookies, I never bake. I then sneak it into the freezer with a note saying "My personal Stash, keep your hands off"..


What more can I do?

BC. I have never heard them called fish flies. You are talking the bigish almost dragon fly like thingies the rest of us call may flies?


I was outside so I checked on the turkey hen I gave the BA's to. For a young hen she has a temper. I got within 4 ft and she was puffed up and hissing. I am guessing they are safe.

 

[duluthralphie]

I know you guys get tired of my pictures and birds...BUT this is so cute even the duck people will like it,,


Last night we grafted the 2 BA's on the turkey hen that has been setting for 5-6 weeks. We were not sure how it would work, she did peck at them once. We locked them in together and hoped for the best..

Look at these!! What a Mama she is.








The photos were photoshopped to lighten the shadows or the baby was invisible.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

BC. I have never heard them called fish flies. You are talking the bigish almost dragon fly like thingies the rest of us call may flies?

Yes...well see...I call the smaller ones May Flies...which maybe the Cattis flies. or whatever. And then the big prehistoric things that cover the streets of Walker Fish flies.

 

[Violetsfeathers]

A mom turkey and two babies flew up in front of me when I was riding my horse yesterday. One flew off with mamma into some trees the other flew the opposite direction into some tall grass. I caught it, took some pictures, and put it back.