Good Morning! <=2017

ross · Post by **ross** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 9:45 am

Morn , lots a snow & wind here close to Lake Huron . Up to 30" drifts on way to barn & in drive 8-12" on the flat . No time / need to colour today . Snow blower to the rescue haheee. Luck

Post by **Home Grown Poultry** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 9:49 am

ohhhhh hahahaha I put my blower back on just in the nic of time.... I figured if I goter back on it would stop snowing... pretty much did too HAHAHA. not to many drifts that I need to worry about but it is fun destroying them with the blower. almost time to go play in the snow!

Post by **WLLady** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 10:34 am

morning all! yep, some impressive snow drifts...mostly near the house of course. will plow later. hubby shoveled the walkway this morning, but it's blowing in all day, so....
lots of big drifts on the back roads when we headed over to do the farm sitting chores at friends. their cats were not amused, the snow between their barn and house was touching their tummies LOL. another place to shovel tonight.
i like it though, makes everything brighter and lighter. and it doesn't look so dirty.
got 2/5 cornish hatched this time....better....and i opened the rest. 1 was full of liquid (?) even though i didn't up the humidity at hatch at all, fully formed at d18, didn't internally pip. the second failed was perfect inside and upside down, nowhere near the air sac, so no internal pip. the last was internally pipped, looked normal, but the yolk was nowhere near being absorbed and very dead. so. looks like a developmental thing as opposed to bad incubating techniques...although not upping the water at lockdown seems to have helped the drowning issue from before.
candled the turkey eggs yesterday, and well, everything has something in it. and i have another full flat to set....probably tonight....since the turner is full....hm.

hope everyone has a great day. don't shovel too hard!

Rhonda · Post by **Rhonda** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 7:29 pm

I know you guys are just dying for a weasel update!! Like most here after 4 or 5 days with no action we figured the weasel had moved on. Then on Friday the traps were empty of bait and not triggered again. of course hubby got all excited that the hunt was back on! Off to TSC we went because of course we needed new traps. Found some rat traps with a flat paddle for the bait instead of the little hole we have now. Sunday morning...they are triggered and no victim. Hubby even set up the live trap thinking it is so sensitive it has to at least get triggered even if the holes might be too big for a weasel. it too empty but not triggered. Honestly it is almost funny now. No signs of anything since the weekend. The real pisser? I have a mouse (OK probably more ) in my kitchen!!! If we are going to have a pet weasel it could at least keep the mice under control!

Now I have a bit of a dilemma. I have a lead on 7 hens, will be a year old in April and laying well. A mixed flock of 7 different breeds. The owner is in his 80's and finding looking after then in the winter getting to be too much. he ordered 15 different birds from Freys last year and sold half of them in the fall. If he doesn't sell them soon he will put them in the freezer. he wants $12 a piece. I would really like to get them. It is a great price, Saves me from starting day olds again this spring, having different breeds is kinda fun! I am just worried about my hen house being tight. I want to completely frame in the hen's door to the outside and cover it right over. But if I'm wrong...the newbies will be weasel fodder.

Rhonda · Post by **Rhonda** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 7:47 pm

Yeah I'm a Fuzzy Dinosaur!

ross · Post by **ross** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 8:25 pm

Are you gonna let um out to roam during day Rhonda ? If so doesnt really matter what yu do . In the 23 yrs we've been here we've been hit only twice by weasel they're not around all the time .If the whole hen house etc is weasel proof 24/7 should be no problem from weasels . Don't know if this helps .Its all a crap shoot . Luck

Colleen Kinzie · Post by **Colleen Kinzie** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 8:36 pm

WLLady wrote:QR_BBPOST got 2/5 cornish hatched this time....better....and i opened the rest. 1 was full of liquid (?) even though i didn't up the humidity at hatch at all, fully formed at d18, didn't internally pip. the second failed was perfect inside and upside down, nowhere near the air sac, so no internal pip. the last was internally pipped, looked normal, but the yolk was nowhere near being absorbed and very dead. so. looks like a developmental thing as opposed to bad incubating techniques.

That's the same thing that happened with eggs I got from Shirley at the end of October. We were both puzzled as to how there could be different stages of development?

Rhonda · Post by **Rhonda** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 8:45 pm

The birds will be in for the winter then in their run once the snow is gone. Tucked in after dark.

ross · Post by **ross** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 8:46 pm

Is run weasel proof ?

Farrier1987 · Post by **Farrier1987** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 7:11 am

Get the hens. Great opportunity. Out in the run in the day. Locked up tight at night. You will lose some some time and you will work on not losing them. The entire process is what makes having the birds such an enjoyable thing for me anyway.

On the traps, did you try tying some cotton string to the trap pedal? Several times around the pedal or woven through the holes on the pedal. Smear it with lard/egg yolk/blood/liver. They have to pull on it, can't just take the bait away. I have had that work quite well.

Bon chance.

PS, while I'm posting, how do I attach a picture to my post? I cant find that little paper clip to attach, and I tried copying and pasting into the screen. Doesn't work. Anyone got some destructions for a idjit like me to follow?