Good Morning! in 2018

[WLLady]

@SusanH those are pin feathers. they are actively growing new feathers. they are wrapped in a sheath with an active blood supply until the feather unrolls. perfectly normal for a chicken moulting. and nothing to do with them...just let them grow and theyll be full feathers soon.

[Brebis]

I’ve come to the conclusion that there is a pyro gene and it’s sex linked...no prizes for guessing which sex lol!

[KimChick]

Happy Canada Day!

[windwalkingwolf]

I’ve come to the conclusion that there is a pyro gene and it’s sex linked...no prizes for guessing which sex lol!

I don't know, Brebis...did you light a firework at the wrong end?

[Ontario Chick]

Good morning!
Little Canada night adventure yesterday, DH responsible for closing birds in for the night, not that I don't trust him, but last night felt an urge to double check at 11pm, peaked in on the chicks and noticed the pop door in the Ameraucana pen was left open in to the quonset.With 4'x4' openings, great invitation for pretty much anybody, at that point figured I better make a round the barn round, in the dark, without a flash light not too swift, and in the corner, beside the Ameraucana Quonset something big and white huddled in the corner, turned out to be two Wyandottes apparently locked out.
Picked them both up in one arm, needed the other to open the barn door and inserted them back in to their pen, amazing how inert "dormant" chickens are, raccoon could have carried them off with nary a sound.
At that point I thought I better get a flash light and check if there are any more stragglers or anybody looking for late night snack.
All was quiet on the outside of the barn, so went in for one last check, Mactawish was off the roost circling the two hens and I swear he was "cooing", no doubt in my mind he was making sympathetic noises to make them feel better ....
after I told the story to DH, he said, "I was wondering why Mactawish didn't want to go in the barn, I really had to push him in ...."
Now I know what Mactawish was saying to the hens, and I will spare you what I said to DH

[windwalkingwolf]

Whew, glad all was well and no one got eaten! Well, except for the strip you tore off your husband

[Ontario Chick]

Whew, glad all was well and no one got eaten! Well, except for the strip you tore off your husband

still on the ground, didn't eat it, it was bit dirty

[Happy]

Aww what a good boy Mactawish is. I bet hubby does an extra head count next time lol. Glad it wAs a harmless mistake.

[WLLady]

Morning all! well, big chicken flock reduction time coming for me. how to pick the ones to keep.....sigh. it will be nice having less work, but.....if i go with just a couple of lines well, it's going to be so boring and less colourful! but i really have to downsize because family things are picking up and i'll have to travel more. and honestly, when i got home this time i don't know who did WHAT up in the loft but they managed to spill water everywhere and then of course that gets into the wood floor and now the floor is an absolute mess, not to mention no sweeping so there's dust everywhere (well, not anymore, i cleaned up yesterday). and the birds are super skittish, and laying all over the place, and i know it's just because different people were there. and of course spilled water on the floor attracts the flies like crazy....so now i have a fly issue too! ARGH!

i had a load in the incubator, but must have had a power outage or something, because only 7 chickens and 4 turkeys were actually looking sort of on date-albeit about 5 days slow....and not moving anymore..... so i pulled the plug and will compost all of it. sigh. that will teach me for being away.

so hopefully by the end of the month i'll be many chickens shorter.....i think i'll keep my silver welbar lines, and the ameraucanas and the light brown leghorns. that will give me blue, white and brown eggs. and that's it....

and thinking about reducing the turkeys too. they're really personable and everything, and not a lot of work, but i need to downsize those too. sigh. lots of sighing. hate to do it, but it's all way too much if i'm going to need to travel more. and i need to spend the time with my dad now, because he won't be here forever, and then i can always get "back into" more birds later.....i sure won't be getting rid of everyone, that would be impossible LOL so, here goes the challenge of reverse chicken math....wish me luck.....lol

[goatgal35]

Good Morning!!! What an awesome weekend. Spent Saturday building a tree fort for the Grandsons. Several years ago we bought a pre-fab one for the kids, but it stayed with the old house when they moved. The new one is much better. Sturdier, better quality, customized to thier liking, and less then half the price. Took both boys fishing and they both caught pickerel. Watching a three yr old reel in his first pickerel was priceless. Then our hydro went out and my garden was dying from lack of water, but before I could get the generator running, the hydro came back on and it rained. So chores we're finished early and I got to sit and enjoy a rainbow and watch the barn swallows feed thier babies. One of the best Canada Days ever
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