Good morning! Hope everyone had a good holiday season, and I am glad its over! The last day of school turned out to be a snow day, the beginning of that windy storm, and good thing. Idiots made us drive the morning the freezing rain started. The latter half of the drive was slow, miserable really. The board of education has a bunch of nuts working there. I complained of course, but they told me I have to complain to the bus company, and they in turn complain to the board. So pass the buck, and wipe it under the rug. Ugh.
I gave my son chickens, not quite laying last fall. Early september.... he built a good pen for them, a chicken dream really, but I did tell him that it would keep raccoons and owls out.... it wouldn't keep smaller predators out. They lived until 2 weeks ago, when he went to check on them (lives off site)... but has a house IN the run, with an automatic door opener set to open at 8am... and he figures thats where the mink/ferret whatever got in. After I told him what it probably was. Those chickens had the life over there, ran free of the run all day long (when they were back there), and the kids and they, loved them. What a shock to come find them inside their coop, with no heads!
Here is the coop... this was at the first building stages.... he did fix that hole in the top, but now I told him he has to totally line that massive structure with hardware cloth... and that is going to be super expensive... and hes not getting anymore hens, until its perfect.
I'm also mad as hell.... because he tends to think they would have been fine...and also figured whatever got them, waited until the door came up, and got them while they were still inside. I told him, something must have gotten in the coop, because at 8am.. its fairly light out, and they all wouldn't have all sat inside, some would have flown the coop. Oh well. I told him he will have to put the hardware cloth on the inside, and curl around the bottom, so nothing could get in from underneath. What you see on the sides is on the bottom as well. NO coon or coyote would ever dig their way in.
Cleaned a pen this morning, and two days before. I WANT to take the older girls (18) to somewhere, Elora probably as I hear they do spent hens... (they are coming 4).... I'm only getting 3-4 eggs a day from them.... but as yet, I haven't done it. I DO have a few EO's in there, AND an EO rooster... Paula isn't in birds anymore... and shes the only one I know who bred them, so do I keep the 5, the rooster, and try and hope I get some chicks? Last two times I hatched EO's, I got 2 out of 27 pullets, and 3 out of 15 pullets. And with them not laying much, just maybe thinking to hell with it. I know feed is so expensive now. All these eggs (have 15 of the black and blues left after I gave my son 5), and get plenty of eggs, and really NO customers. I find myself giving them away, favours for services rendered... like my Osteo lady, and the buy nothing group I'm on... if I happen to win something for free, I leave a doz eggs in return. And of course, been eating lots too,.....started a freaking diet.... and of course, sitting in the house, this miserable rain, all I want to do is bake, lol.
Well, that is about all..... oh, saw on FB... the poultry group, someone is looking for
vorweck chickens? So cool looking, wouldn't mind having some of them! Has anyone heard/have/had them?
Well, have a good day everyone!