Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Debbie292d]

No you NEED show quality silkies. I am fully enabling this. I pray if you go this route your postal service is better then mine was. Written all over the box call to pick up, do not deliver. Does my mail carrier even bother to read the package....no lets throw them on the truck and hit every pothole along the way. I ordered 6 show silkie eggs, I got 8 and well, poor things were essentially scrambled. I had 1 hatch and sadly it did not make it past the first week. They also did the same with George's eggs, out for delivery.

I have had eggs shipped here probably 5 out of the 8 years and this year I went wild on breeding stock so had 5 I think it was shipments. Out of a total of 6-dozen eggs, I got about 30%. Years prior, 70%. My own, nearly 100%. This past year was horrific and I've heard it from a lot of folks. I swear they play football with our boxes.

Instead of more eggs for a particular color I need, I'm buying four 3-month-old chicks, overnight air-shipped here, costing me a small fortune, but in retrospect, probably cheaper than all those eggs that went to waste that I paid dearly for.

 

[featherhead007]

I have had eggs shipped here probably 5 out of the 8 years and this year I went wild on breeding stock so had 5 I think it was shipments. Out of a total of 6-dozen eggs, I got about 30%. Years prior, 70%. My own, nearly 100%. This past year was horrific and I've heard it from a lot of folks. I swear they play football with our boxes.

Instead of more eggs for a particular color I need, I'm buying four 3-month-old chicks, overnight air-shipped here, costing me a small fortune, but in retrospect, probably cheaper than all those eggs that went to waste that I paid dearly for.

Four 3 month old chicks? They’ll be the only ones strutting around the barnyard saying “we joined the Mile High Club!”

 

[SimpleJenn]

I tried putting those round horse manure balls into egg crates to sell but it never did fly…fly

Manure only flies when it is thrown into a fan

 

[bgmathteach]

I do, I get patches and...plaques? My ankle is the worst, it will bleed. But LOTS of lotion multiple times a day helps. I'm an amphibian, I crave moisture
So, here is my current order with egg man across the state. He has all the orpington colors we like (no silver laced though). He has a bunch of colors of most breeds.
View attachment 4038332
This will be divided between now and April, depends on who is laying and what I get with the first set of eggs. He has crested cream AND opal legbars and his Tolbunt should lay by April.
His deathlayers actually don't lay very often, he says they lay less a year but their whole lives.

On all of the '2's and '2-3' since they are eggs, and no guarnatee of hatching, I would personally get a min of 3 eggs of any one breed if you really want the breed. Just saying - especially with the hatching eggs being shipped.

Just my 2 cents...and if $ is an issue, maybe eliminate 1 breed to increase the numbers of the others. There is always next year....for other breeds to add to your flock. Besides, if you are thinking of eventually hatching to sell, you really need multiple hens and roos for genetic diversity.

Nope, I'm NOT an enabler

 

[Ponypoor]

Wow. What size needle did you use?

I prefer a 1/2” small gauge, I think it’s a 20 gauge, but not sure. Some say use an 18 gauge but that a bit too thick I feel.

Once you do the initial poke they just stand there, it can be a bit disconcerting the first time you do it as the fluid immediately starts to drip out, and getting the syringe attached to the needle can be difficult, I tried wearing nitril gloves but I was not dexterous enough with them on so I use bare hands - a bit gruesome initially.

Needless to say if you have open wounds on your hands use gloves! Thankfully my cracked fingers are healed over. But I went through a pile of disinfectant wipes cleaning my hands! And the step ladder I used to do the draining (it had to good height I needed), the needle continues to drain when I remove the syringe once it’s full and I have to empty it.

I would give her a bit of a rest between the draining, so I would drain off 25cc, disconnect the syringe to empty, wait a few seconds and repeat.

After about 200ml I stopped, draining too much can cause discomfort as all the organs settle back into place, and her circulation system settles down. Hence the Tylenol to make her comfortable.

I checked her after I did the horses and she was laying down with her head tucked under a wing - which is what I wanted to see.

 

[Debbie292d]

Darn, show silkie breeder has no eggs this week. Doubt I'll have the money next week
Oh well, I am getting to buy some nerve+pain salve that will hopefully help hubby's pain.

Still waiting on a price from the breeder across state. He says he's never sold less than 6 of a breed so he needs to do math haha. But he likes my mixed flock order, said that's the way to do it.

Which breeder do you use for silkies if I may ask? The live ones being flown here the first chance the weather gives a break here is from indigoegg.us

I have hatched some gorgeous buffs and whites from her, but I only got 8 out of two dozen.

 

[Ponypoor]

Babies tormenting their mama— and Mr Roo doesn’t want his picture taken

I was wondering about baby going for a ride!

 

[notabitail]

Saw this on Reddit:
https://medium.com/@m.finks/from-eg...c55d072aa?sk=43a03082d8c4a358458769fe8ff1d97c

Tax:

 

[SimpleJenn]

On all of the '2's and '2-3' since they are eggs, and no guarnatee of hatching, I would personally get a min of 3 eggs of any one breed if you really want the breed. Just saying - especially with the hatching eggs being shipped.

Just my 2 cents...and if $ is an issue, maybe eliminate 1 breed to increase the numbers of the others. There is always next year....for other breeds to add to your flock. Besides, if you are thinking of eventually hatching to sell, you really need multiple hens and roos for genetic diversity.

Nope, I'm NOT an enabler

So half the order is now, half in April. The 2-3 is per order.
But I'll let him know what you said! He's been pretty lucky he says, only one time did eggs he ordered not hatch well.

 

[featherhead007]

So half the order is now, half in April. The 2-3 is per order.
But I'll let him know what you said! He's been pretty lucky he says, only one time did eggs he ordered not hatch well.

Cautiously informed