The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

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Harriet
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Harriet » Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:27 pm

Still no luck here with craigs list but a poultry place about 40 minutes away is having one day only of selling pullets for home flocks. (This is kinda sad to think about, but they usually "trim" beaks, which is to keep tightly caged production birds from pecking each other. Obviously, those birds can never be housed with any other bird except others like them, and can't get much nourishment free-range like our hens do.)

On that one day, the pullets for sale will not have their beaks hurt and there is no minimum to buy. So I am definitely on the verge of deciding to buy a few from them. There is only one choice - a "hybrid" called Golden Comet, which means a cross between a White Plymouth Rock rooster and a New Hampshire Red hen. They can look a little odd! We'll see. If another closer or more traditional choice comes up I'll go another way.

Nancy, I'm looking forward to seeing you posting again to tell us about your flock.

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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Harriet » Wed Oct 24, 2012 9:41 pm

Fay killed and ate a 9- to 12-inch snake just before dusk, very thin, couldn't get an ID. "It all happened so fast!" If she lives, she's the Hoss around here, for sure. Cecily stayed close but just watched as if to say, "Giiirl! I wouldn't touch thaaaat!" But it could be Fay had already warned her off, since Fay's pretty much at the top of the pecking order. So... .... lots of protein in the eggs the next few days? (Actually not since she's in molt and not laying right now.) My ddad says this is no big deal, but then my ddad is not always reliable lately. The only specific info I found on the net in case it WAS our resident poisonous one, the copperhead, was that a flock of guineafowl was known to have eaten many of them with no ill effects.

Oh, wait I tried Backyard Poultry site and they are very reassuring in posts there, has happened to many. It seems anyone (whether human or chicken) must be bitten to be harmed - can't be harmed any other way. A person can even drink the venom and it won't hurt you unless you have an ulcer! :P (that is a yuck face) So let's hope all that frenzy was Fay only in attack mode, not the other way 'round.

I'm sad because that poultry place sold out of those hens - 1600 of them in one day, ordered ahead of time. So some big outfit just bought them all. Still looking on craigs list.

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Sat Oct 27, 2012 10:39 am

Earlier in the week I clipped back the grape vines on the deck to get a bit more of a view of the chicken pen and chickens while they are free ranging.

The other day I had fun in the yard after a pretty hard frost dgd & I picked the last of the squash and pumpkins.

Yesterday I let the chickens out around noonish it had started to rain and I knew I was not going to be able to mow. The above mentioned vines needed to be pulled up. It was interesting to watch what the chickens did in the rain; they were normal until it really started to come down. After I retreated to the house I watched from the window and saw them running across the yard to get under the grape vines & deck & eves of the house where they pretty much stayed until it let up.

They came to the chicken run a few at a time when we put scraps out for them. Dgson was here after school and said "the chickens are out grandma" he had not seen them free ranging. I was on the phone w/ dson p/c was finished! :mrgreen:

Sil enjoyed watching them! H. likes to feed them old movie pop corn after work. It's very relaxing to see. Rain for the next week in the forecast not sure when I'm going to get to the mowing.

Harriet That's so interesting about the hen getting that snake! Hang in there about getting more hens some folks get tired of having them after getting Easter chicks and will be selling 'em in the paper was what I was told sure enough I saw an add for free hens Amaracauna type; that lay green / blue eggs in the paper here. I was SO tempted to get some more but would have to put some in the freezer to make room. H. is not ready to do the deed but h. would have been willing to drive and get them they were in a town not far from here.

A-a-ck lost some of this post while editing!
In the "Chickens" magazine I got at Wal-mart they had an add from the Meyer hatchery on the back saying they had chicks all year so I called and ordered a catalogue from them. They are in Ohio #888-568-9755 folks have ordered 'em here so I know they will make it. But I think you have to order 25 chicks this time of year and we are not set up for chicks yet. In the spring you can get on a list at the feed store here and combine an order. Some folks put an add up in B.Y.C. website to combine the order. But we are not in a big enough area.

My chicken wish list is around here some where. These are to replace older ones; two ea. Buckeye a brown one, Americanas, white leghorn, Rhode isle red, barred rock maybe not sure on these, a banty that's ten still thinking on the others.

The one hen that was in molt is getting feathers back and looking better now she's perked up a lot now that she gets to free range!

Dgson wanted to name the chickens so I said they had to be named after food b/c we might eat them some day I suggested chicken noodle; or some thing like that so he's named the white one marshmallow and the brown one brownie.

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:51 pm

Well we still have a roo and one of the other young ones only has one eye so they will need to be culled. Some were fighting not sure which ones. I'm liking these cross game bird French Morans breed less and less all the time they are not very pretty birds either. I've seen some very pretty ones but not these they have some Banty in them I think and are a bit too feisty for my liking. I don't think I'll be getting any more of these. VB Sigh the Amaracana and Barred Rock are both much more mellow maybe just because they are older.

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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Tue Oct 30, 2012 4:37 pm

I mowed raked up a few leaves, & cleaned out the ash bucket plus I've cleaned out the chicken run it's been raked and I got the movable boards for the roosts and ladder hosed off.

The one that had eye probs. is fine today except for new scuffles with the young roo that's just learned to cackle sounding like a hen. :roll: It will live another day. The are like teens and sibling revelry could could bug a person if you let it!

WTG Harriet on the new hens! We have 4 barred rocks and they are pretty mellow good hens that were tame and named. They all enjoyed the lawn after I mowed today I let them out early to clean the coop and rinse the roosts off.

Dgd had fun feeding grapes to a couple of the younger ones today while h. watched after work. I love how they go to the roost at dusk and I just have to shut the door.
Last edited by Nancy on Tue Oct 30, 2012 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Harriet » Tue Oct 30, 2012 6:57 pm

Have finally found, and promised to fetch home tomorrow, 2 new hens each 2 years old. So we will have a warmer little flock through the winter.

These are
a Rhode Island Red already named Penny
a Barred Plymouth Rock already named Dottie

This chance came about because I called about 4 hens and a rooster together that are more rare - Blue Laced Red Wyandottes. Almost didn't call because it seemed like a long shot but they were only 20 minutes away and I'm really running out of options. But as we talked, the lady said why not take these individuals of two different breeds, which is ideal for us. She says the Barred Rock has been an exhibit hen she took to a historic site's events for petting, very tame.

She is trying to save these chickens from neighboring dogs who have started trying to kill them. yikes. One rooster is already dead and one hen disappeared. So she says if these very pet ones are the ones to be spirited away to safety first, that suits her fine. When I said we had a German Shepherd guard dog here who herds the hens, she really wanted me to take these girls.

Yes, it was tempting to take the slightly younger, more rare flock. But even though HRH thinks a rooster won't bother us with crowing, I know there's a good chance it will either do that or be intimidating to our own hens. And when I think of what our hens would want, I don't see them wanting to be overwhelmed by 5 birds who already have a pecking order and already have an Alpha Chicken for sure in the form of a rooster. We're better off adding just a couple, who won't intimidate. All I really care about is young enough hens to have good egg-laying ahead of them and the extra body warmth for a comfortable winter henhouse.

Btw, Nancy, my dsonil's mother and sister have Ameracanas and say they are very happy with them.

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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Harriet » Wed Oct 31, 2012 7:48 pm



The 2 new hens are home. :D They are tall, stately and will definitely dominate my smaller hens, but that's okay. As Nancy knows, I could hardly expect to bring a big Plymouth Rock ("Dottie") onto the hen yard and not change the status quo. Mine are Orpington and New Hampshire, so Dottie probably carries a full additional pound on her body beyond what each of them weigh. The Rhode Island Red ("Penny") has the height to make her the statuesque redhead of the group now :lol: , and I can't see the others thinking they've got much chance dominating her even if she doesn't weigh that much. Soon after meeting, Fay and Dottie got into a chest-bumping, wing-flapping contest and Dottie won. So that's that. Dottie's Queen now.

So I have the kind of flock I like - it really looks quaint and old-fashioned with 4 different breeds represented. And this is a weight off my mind in case we have a hard winter - they can snuggle up on the roost and stay warmer.

HRH says if I find another hen I want, he would still be interested in adding it, so that's good to know.

Excellent pen to move chickens is a ferret pen. That's what we had used to rear the kittens for adoption. Well, it sure does a good job for transporting hens. The lady we bought from says she just uses dog crates, though. Btw, she has rabbits, too. I don't know how she's going to keep them safe from the neighbor dog(s).

I really enjoyed seeing her Blue Laced Red Wyandottes. That is a definite breed to remember for someday. There are 2 looks to the hens, depending upon whether they have light or dark grey-blue among the feathers. Here is a set of 2010 photos from Canada. to give you the idea. So they are very striking looking beside each other. I saw that Murray Mc Murray Hatchery offers them as chicks, so someday... ... Like Nancy says, maybe the idea of making an order with another person to take half. 24 chicks is a LOT to take, though I have done it before.
If you don't believe in miracles, you're not being realistic.

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Wed Oct 31, 2012 10:34 pm

Lovely birds!
Mine young ones look sort of like the all black younger ones down the thread a ways. [Mine do not have feathers on the feed.]
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/38338 ... welcome/20

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Thu Nov 01, 2012 4:00 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krHajFsw ... ture=share
This is a u-tube of P. Allen smith on winterizing poultry some
barred rocks and Wyandottes; good ideas and I'd love some of those b&w ones! A great mellow breed according to him! =D

One thing I learned I'm doing right is feeding in more than one place. Might need to hang a second feeder we've been talking about that and have one here already.

The visqueen they use on the north side we've been thinking of a removable exterior plywood sheet cut in half.

I like the idea of eggs in the spring on a timer so I need to get a timer found one for $6 at W-mart. Putting that on the wish list.

Today got the white indoor out door Christmas lights on a white light.

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Re: The Productive Back Yard July - Dec. 2012

Postby Nancy » Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:27 pm

Harriet thanks for the chicken news in card file thread I lost one hen today of old age I'm sure, not too sad as she had a good life and I saw it coming. So it's less crowded in the pen at night we are still learning what works for the space we have here. I cleaned the nest boxes out and the pen floor again. Put that on the areas I'm thinking of having for garden next year seems to be working fine.

I'm saving seeds for next year too. Sun flowers tomatoes etc.

I'm reading about vit. D for hens now that's a concept b/c of the shorter days.

[I felt much better when P. Allen Smith said his hens don't lay in the winter either seems to happen to everyone.]


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