Good Morning! in 2018

[JimW]

Good evening a bit cooler today but no snow yet, I am liking the grass, the snow can stay away. Set some birds up in their breeding groups over the last week, not a lot of egg laying active in the 2017 pullets but hopefully soon. School March Break coming soon!!!! Yeah!!! Need to plan a poultry road trip or two.

Got my small seed order in the mail today from Baker Creek Seeds, I always buy too many different seeds and only getting around to planting a few things, hoping to break that trend this year. Still need to build some more raised beds as we don't really have any good soil to grow anything in.

JimW

[Killerbunny]

Hey I get mine from Baker Creek too, always excellent results!

[JP*]

Perhaps a pump pellet gun....that way you can meter out your fps through experience.

exactly what i was thinking about....i'll have to do a bit of research, i don't know much about pellet guns....i do know that everything i use for traditional hunting is over kill! LOL

Like many things, there is a vast amount of knowledge on pellet guns and airguns on the internet. If you like YouTube Videos, I have watched many from the channel Ted's HoldOver....or for reading, their is a bunch of information on the Pyramydair website.

If I lived closer, I would be happy to come over, my shot needs the practice. This is a good opportunity for a party. Low powered pellet guns in the barn and shot gun shooters outside for the flyers.

[WLLady]

My seed order from veseys arrived already. i just cant help it. I cant wait! A bit rude getting up and on the road to the vets this morning with the dog....hes doing great! The roads - well...i think they might have tried to plow last night and given up. Nothing under 6 inches deep. The sun is nice and warm so its starting the clear up now on the main roads. Beautiful sun but the wind is a winter wind!!!
My cats have spring fever...bouncing around the house. I will throw her out the door once the ice has slid off the roof...dont want her squished....the heavy snow last night ripped down the mesh over the trukey pens....so guess i will be putting that back up once the ice thaws off it.
I refuse to shovel. Period. (Which means i will do it in an hour or so after i finish refuelling my caffeine.

Thank you so much everyone for your comments on the forum. We really appreciate them. They will help us moving forward!!

[Killerbunny]

The Glass corn was very pretty (both cobs). We had a bad corn year so it wasn't because of the seed. It takes a long time to mature and don't be fooled, it doesn't develop the glassy colour look until late.

[KimChick]

Guess this household better get get a move on! ...with our seed ordering

[poultry_admin]

We are having a short and sweet vote off for the picture of the month. The vote off runs until Sunday evening.
Go vote!!
Picture of the month March 2018 - Vote Off

[hayladee]

well I found the culprit....never would have guessed this one. A large chocolate brown MINK!!!! Caught him killing in the small chicken hut I'd put my best in to keep them safe away from the holey old chicken house. Dug a hole under the corner of the run and was happily tackling one after the other, when I spotlighted him he tried to come out the hole but Iwas there so he went and grabbed another chicken right in front of me....went in for the gun but he was gone when I got back out....4 more dead, 3 dying and the roo and two others bedraggled but upright. I have one more small chicken house with run that is quite tight, stapled one inch welded wire around the bottom and left it 8 inches out on the ground all the way around, that should deter digging. Any ideas on catching mink?? I googled and they only like to kill, not really looking for food, but they do like birds.....BEASTS!

[Farrier1987]

Mink are bloodthirsty, and likely you will have to trap him. Conibear of live trap. You can try smelly fish for bait, but much more important where the trap is placed. If you can find what he is using for a trail on a regular basis, the conibear trap there. I like the conibear for this as it is a killing trap, not a catching trap. So it is dispatched if caught, and that is not a joyful job to do. I am not a fan of relocating, as I have posted before.

Last one I caught, I left the door to the coop open a crack, width of the trap and the trap in that space at floor level, kind of like a small door, on its side, not flat like a regular foothold trap. If he wanted to get in, he had to go through, and I got him. I think I had the head of a chicken on the trap trigger. You set that one after dark, and retrieve it before light or you might catch a chicken, which sort of defeats the purpose.

The other one that works is a piece of about four inch PVC pipe a couple feet long. Mink are used to going in and out of tunnels, so this doesn't really spook them. You make 2 funnel shapes out of fairly strong wire mesh and insert one in each end and fix it firmly. The small end of the funnel needs to be just big enough for them to squeeze in. Once they are in, hopefully they cant get out the other end because they are going against the flow into the small end of a funnel. Don't clip the inward pointing wires flush, so they poke at him if he is trying to get out. An opened can of stinky sardines within this is good, encourages him to go in and if there needs to be some adjustment to the trap and he has got out, you can tell he was there. This one with the right size mesh can be good for rats too.

If you catch with the PVC you have to dispatch. Rain barrel or exhaust pipe. Careful with hot exhaust and PVC pipe.

[WLLady]

A nice chocolate brown hat might be in your future.....keep carrying that gun!!! I second the trap idea....sigh. hate advocating killing but those things wont stop till all the chickens are dead twice over.

Day dawned a beautiful sunny day. Pull logs kind of day. So stocked up on breakfast. Will skip lunch and head out in a few.

Candled my sportsman load last night. Turkeys are fertile!! As is everything else except my ameraucanas and barred rocks. Sigh. My barred rock boy is likely shooting blanks because i have seen him mounting the girls....and my ameraucaas just started laying and the males actually got off the roosts just a week ago now....so. a tad disappointed in my barred rock boy but he is 5...so i am being unreasonable!!
Have to decide then....try to pick up a nice barred rock boy or just keep the girls for new wrlbar and rhodebar lines and forego the barred rock line....
I dont want to crock pot this rooster he is such a gentleman so he will go outside with the birds that move out for freeranging in the spring and become protector dad.
Okay....off to outside. Hope everyone has had a chance to vote on photo of the month vote off!!! Ends at 7 tonight!!!