lftdnpwrstrokn
In the Brooder
I have been researching the site for awhile and decided to join up.
We have many different breeds of chickens (laying and meat) and just had our first hatch a few weeks ago. We also have 6 ducks (currently looking for 5 or 6 laying ducks).
.
We bought 20 pullets back in the spring to supplement our other 6 laying hens, but several of those pullets turned out to be roosters (darn you TSC). And the girlfriend "adopted" 34 birds about 2 months ago and 33 turned out to be meat birds. We really hadn't discussed meat birds or are at all ready to butcher, but this is where we are at the moment. We've lost a few to drowning before getting the garden pond covered, but are currently w/ 66 chickens.
I look forward to asking many questions and learning as much as possible from you fine folks.
Check out our YouTube page for videos of the mass confusion that I have to live w/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpJLJN-zPoJC1N_F42d3_uw
A little bit more about us:
We are a true mini farm, utilizing less than two acres of land for vegetables, fruits, poultry, livestock and bees.
Introduction
OUR CURRENT ANIMALS:
Guard dogs - Black Lab, Chocolate Lab, English bulldog/Rottweiler mix and a pointer mix.
Cat- Robert the outside mouser that spends more time inside on the couch than outside catching mice.
Bovine- 2 Belfair (Dexter sire/Mini Jersey dame)
Norman, the mini wonder bull. Got him at a few days old and bottle fed him until weaned 5 months later. Leashed trained and not much good for anything.
Olive, the wild heifer. Got her at 9 months old from a farm and she is a wild one. Starting to come around and will sniff a finger every once in a while.
Ducks -Buff (buff colored, dual purpose meat and egg laying bird), Khaki Campbell (prolific egg laying bird), Indian Runners (tall and skinny, egg laying birds)
Chickens: numerous breeds (both meat and laying birds)
Purchased garden insects - lady beetles, praying mantids, nematodes
Pond fish - koi, goldfish, rosy red minnows [adding mosquito fish soon]
Aquarium fish - breeding pair of koi angelfish, Turquoise rainbow fish school, black skirt tetra school, flame tetra school, yellow pleco, dwarf African frogs
Visitors - deer snacking on fruit trees; coyote, fox, raccoon, weasels, and opossums seeking opportunity to snag a duck; squirrels and chipmunks stealing food from bird feeders; many wild birds and raptors; rabbits that take only one bite of a juicy tomato or strawberry and leave it as a disappointing surprise for the morning harvest; spiders, scorpions, billions and billions of ants, the pesky aphid and other insects seeking to destroy our plants and make us crazy; moles and voles and field rats and mice looking to raid our feeders; snakes who don't eat rodents fast enough; very large beetles from the edge of the forest (the ducks LOVE these and chase each other in a hilarious game of tag when they find one); frogs, lizards and snapping turtles; a couple of feral cats stalking prey or passing through at night; grubs, moths, bees, hornets, wasps and butterflies; ticks and mosquitoes plotting to kill us all, and finally, the dreaded and stealthy doyotox - a dog, coyote, fox hybrid that comes out at night to make the dogs bark like mad and is likely responsible for killing one of our ducklings.
Bees: 2 hives
We have many different breeds of chickens (laying and meat) and just had our first hatch a few weeks ago. We also have 6 ducks (currently looking for 5 or 6 laying ducks).
.
We bought 20 pullets back in the spring to supplement our other 6 laying hens, but several of those pullets turned out to be roosters (darn you TSC). And the girlfriend "adopted" 34 birds about 2 months ago and 33 turned out to be meat birds. We really hadn't discussed meat birds or are at all ready to butcher, but this is where we are at the moment. We've lost a few to drowning before getting the garden pond covered, but are currently w/ 66 chickens.
I look forward to asking many questions and learning as much as possible from you fine folks.
Check out our YouTube page for videos of the mass confusion that I have to live w/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpJLJN-zPoJC1N_F42d3_uwA little bit more about us:
We are a true mini farm, utilizing less than two acres of land for vegetables, fruits, poultry, livestock and bees.
Introduction
OUR CURRENT ANIMALS:
Guard dogs - Black Lab, Chocolate Lab, English bulldog/Rottweiler mix and a pointer mix.
Cat- Robert the outside mouser that spends more time inside on the couch than outside catching mice.
Bovine- 2 Belfair (Dexter sire/Mini Jersey dame)
Norman, the mini wonder bull. Got him at a few days old and bottle fed him until weaned 5 months later. Leashed trained and not much good for anything.
Olive, the wild heifer. Got her at 9 months old from a farm and she is a wild one. Starting to come around and will sniff a finger every once in a while.
Ducks -Buff (buff colored, dual purpose meat and egg laying bird), Khaki Campbell (prolific egg laying bird), Indian Runners (tall and skinny, egg laying birds)
Chickens: numerous breeds (both meat and laying birds)
Purchased garden insects - lady beetles, praying mantids, nematodes
Pond fish - koi, goldfish, rosy red minnows [adding mosquito fish soon]
Aquarium fish - breeding pair of koi angelfish, Turquoise rainbow fish school, black skirt tetra school, flame tetra school, yellow pleco, dwarf African frogs
Visitors - deer snacking on fruit trees; coyote, fox, raccoon, weasels, and opossums seeking opportunity to snag a duck; squirrels and chipmunks stealing food from bird feeders; many wild birds and raptors; rabbits that take only one bite of a juicy tomato or strawberry and leave it as a disappointing surprise for the morning harvest; spiders, scorpions, billions and billions of ants, the pesky aphid and other insects seeking to destroy our plants and make us crazy; moles and voles and field rats and mice looking to raid our feeders; snakes who don't eat rodents fast enough; very large beetles from the edge of the forest (the ducks LOVE these and chase each other in a hilarious game of tag when they find one); frogs, lizards and snapping turtles; a couple of feral cats stalking prey or passing through at night; grubs, moths, bees, hornets, wasps and butterflies; ticks and mosquitoes plotting to kill us all, and finally, the dreaded and stealthy doyotox - a dog, coyote, fox hybrid that comes out at night to make the dogs bark like mad and is likely responsible for killing one of our ducklings.
Bees: 2 hives
Last edited:
welcome to BYC !!
