The Middle Tennessee Thread

[pickledchicken]

One of my Double Laced Barnevelder babies....

Welcome it's good to see another Barnevelder enthusiast

 

[Peach2u]

Hatch day! My BO is setting on 12 mint green eggs covered by an F2 olive egger roo. I took a peek and 8 are out and fluffy so far. In the morning I'll clean out the nest and see what what is what. I'll take pix. I do love EE's. All the chicks are different so far. Chipmonks in 3 shades of brown in 3 chicks, blue, yellowish, black, red. Now for the long 8 months to see what color eggs they will lay. I am hoping for 3 hens out of them. I dropped down to 17 hens and 1 roo this spring. So I have room for 10-15 more hens. If I get over 30 then I will have to add more perches in the coop. Then the feed bill goes up from $45 a month to $80 a month. Guess I need to start selling eggs.

 

[DMRippy]

Donna with all the chickens you have I'm surprised you don't see them more often. Glad you don't , just surprised !

Maybe there is enough wildlife to keep them happy. Idk.....last year i had 3 in or near my chickens. One eat 3 eggs 1and eat a pullet and one was just hanging out near my breeding pens. We do find skins and baby snakes in the shop some times....we just relocate them. We dont worry about them UNLESS they are poisonous. That worries me. We have dogs might keep them away some. I dont like snakes but they have a place here. Did i tell you the neighbor was playing with a rattler in the back forty a few months ago? Dont ask me why. He was eating a squirrel. He is a exterminator by trade but still....it was a rattler.

 

[DMRippy]

Hatch day! My BO is setting on 12 mint green eggs covered by an F2 olive egger roo. I took a peek and 8 are out and fluffy so far. In the morning I'll clean out the nest and see what what is what. I'll take pix. I do love EE's. All the chicks are different so far. Chipmonks in 3 shades of brown in 3 chicks, blue, yellowish, black, red. Now for the long 8 months to see what color eggs they will lay. I am hoping for 3 hens out of them. I dropped down to 17 hens and 1 roo this spring. So I have room for 10-15 more hens. If I get over 30 then I will have to add more perches in the coop. Then the feed bill goes up from $45 a month to $80 a month. Guess I need to start selling eggs. 

Ah...what i would not give for a $45first a month feed bill.......mine is about $600 a month or 6 weeks.

 

[amenfarm]

@amenfarm I see you are in my neck of the woods! Yea wish I had scotch guarded my car and van. Amazing how much 2 little kids can mess up a car. I have the next Picasso! My 5 year old loves to draw and draw on everything.. Anyone know how to get pencil marks off cloth seats and trim

She also drew chickens on the side of the van with sharpe! Guess I can always draw a frame around it and call it modern art "A la Auto" LOL

You know those art easers, that crumble as you use them? try that. If it won't remove the pencils marks, i'll check my stain book at home.

 

[Peach2u]

You know those art easers, that crumble as you use them? try that. If it won't remove the pencils marks, i'll check my stain book at home.

I tried the mr clean magic eraser. It works on most crayons on hard surfaces. Forget about red crayon or the pencil on fabric! I just have to repaint the room and for get about the car interior. But thanks for the input

 

[Peach2u]

Ah...what i would not give for a $45first a month feed bill.......mine is about $600 a month or 6 weeks.

I have seen your flock. You are a marvel. I don't think I could keep up that many chickens. I know my pocket book wouldn't. My feed bill is more in the winter. Less bugs to eat. Mine are free ranged and locked up tight at night. My chickens are too fat for the hawk. But I have to keep the young ones on lock down during the day. They hang out in the grow out pen in the day. About an hour before the sun sets I let them out in the yard to chase bugs. Then they follow the main group into the coop for a safe dry night. I went out about an hour ago to check what all the noise was. My chickens where going nuts. I got out on the porch and look over at the grow out pen. Which is a 10'x 20' dog kennel with bird netting over the top and a modified rabbit hutch in their for the broody's to go. Anyway I look up and a hawk is perched on a limb above the pen. Looks like he was looking for a free meal. Two weeks ago when I first put the teens in their I didn't have a top. The first day he flew in and half ate one. The pen has heavy limbs over it. So he couldn't fly out with his catch. That night I got bird netting and stretched it over the wires. It seems to have stopped him from getting in.

As you see it isn't a strait dive in the pen.


The rabbit pens have nest boxes on the back. It has 2 boxes off the back, A divider that can be removed for when the clutch starts running around.
I keep the broody in with the chicks till they are about 5 days old then I move them to the chicken tractor in the yard. We move it around so they can get free bugs and grass.
Then once mom is done with them at about 4 weeks I move them into the grow out pen. They hang there for 8 more weeks. By then they are too big for the hawk. This is all trial and error. But so far only 1 out of the pen is gone and 3 of the 5 day olds are gone. I have declared war on the stray cats! 2 kittens and 4 adult toms so far since Sunday I have caught in my trap! I'm sure Animal control hates me by now. I kept the mean kittens at least till they are bigger and healthy. They are about 6 weeks old and bite,hiss ans spit! AC won't come out on the weekend. So I'll set my traps up again on Sunday night. I need to catch some females! I will be keeping my corgi out at night. She hates the cats and chase them up trees. But she leaves her cat alone. The other dog just sits and barks from the porch she is too old to be bothered by cats. I have trapped at least 12 this month. But I didn't do it everynight till they started going after my chickens.

 

[Cinny]

Well i managed to get about 130 eggs in the hatcher today. Well i left one basket of guinea in the bator because ther was no more room. I kept hearing one chirping and just thought it was one of the pipped ones....no one of my blrw had hatched ans was on the bottom of the bator. Took the egg with him too lol.

I have some silver sebrights in lockdown for my neighbor. I hope they hatch....i just quickly candled some because most had pipped. 3 had hatched in the top baskets when i left. Ther are 8 other baskets under those. I really need more brooder boxes BAD. May have to see if walmart has a big box i can use till i can get more.

Got my chicks today from paul smith....40 total....like i needed more babies.

My son ran over a rattle snake in the driveway today...... i dont like poisonous snakes that close. I know we have them but hoped they would just stay in the back 40.

What kind of "babies" did you get?

 

[alerievay]

Well, I'm on day 21/22 with a broody on eggs. No chicks yet.

Donna, I might be in touch for more eggs (3rd time's the charm?).

At least I have an incubator!

 

[DMRippy]

The last batch was lav blacks and wheaten/blue wheaten ameraucanas. Before that i got silver penciled and partridge rocks and slw and blrw crosses and slw too. Lots and lots and lotz of babies.