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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Feb 9, 2023 7:27:52 GMT -5
The latest addition to my farm.
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Post by Eradicator1 on Feb 9, 2023 7:31:15 GMT -5
That’s pretty cool bro.
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Post by T-Town Striker on Feb 9, 2023 7:53:52 GMT -5
Wow , I hope all do well 😎
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Post by gus169 on Feb 9, 2023 8:09:02 GMT -5
We got a couple of young'uns at home too right now. Not that young though  |
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Post by Poopface on Feb 9, 2023 8:46:24 GMT -5
We're holding off on getting more birds (both for meat and laying) for another month or so. Only have one brooder so we need to figure out those logistics as we've never pursued getting laying chicks this early before.
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Feb 10, 2023 21:41:40 GMT -5
Wow , I hope all do well 😎 So do I T-Town... the mortality rate is high though the younger they are. |
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Feb 10, 2023 21:43:09 GMT -5
We got a couple of young'uns at home too right now. Not that young though Hope all is well Gus my bother...best of luck with the flock! |
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Feb 12, 2023 22:03:31 GMT -5
Been storms here past 2 days, I got 7 hens next to my bed keeping me awake. I want to sleep sometime.
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Post by gus169 on Feb 12, 2023 22:36:54 GMT -5
One of our hens hasn't come back to the coop for 3 nights running. Brooding on some eggs in the vacant lot next door I'm guessing. I let them roam, so I just have to deal with it, but it nags at you anyway yeah? Anyway, I took some nibbles down the back today and she turned up - like an Exocet missile, an Intercontinental Ballistic Chicken. I guess she was hungry. I'm still giggling, on and off.
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Feb 13, 2023 7:01:10 GMT -5
One of our hens hasn't come back to the coop for 3 nights running. Brooding on some eggs in the vacant lot next door I'm guessing. I let them roam, so I just have to deal with it, but it nags at you anyway yeah? Anyway, I took some nibbles down the back today and she turned up - like an Exocet missile, an Intercontinental Ballistic Chicken. I guess she was hungry. I'm still giggling, on and off. Guinnie fowl do this a lot, you have to go easter egg hunting & remove that nest so she lays where you want. I use fake plastic eggs & put them in laying boxes. I'm not even sure I can take Guinnie Fowl because they make much more noise than Chickens & aren't quite as smart But it's said they are the poor mans turkey, I may get a few. Mind you Guinnie fowl are Chickens but in Dinosaur form... so chickens understand more, but they can interbreed on rare occasions because of how close they are in genetics. |
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Post by Somebody’s Mom on Feb 13, 2023 15:00:29 GMT -5
Lost all six of our top ladies this fall and winter two foxes… I mean, seriously, I thought I had everything cinched up the first time they came in. Obviously not. Will probably wait another month for this weather even out a bit before starting again. So for now, we are left with Goosey Goose the Attack Duck…. This from a photo shoot for the ASPCA calendar 2020..  |
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Post by gus169 on Feb 15, 2023 9:10:32 GMT -5
One of our hens hasn't come back to the coop for 3 nights running. Brooding on some eggs in the vacant lot next door I'm guessing. I let them roam, so I just have to deal with it, but it nags at you anyway yeah? Anyway, I took some nibbles down the back today and she turned up - like an Exocet missile, an Intercontinental Ballistic Chicken. I guess she was hungry. I'm still giggling, on and off. Guinnie fowl do this a lot, you have to go easter egg hunting & remove that nest so she lays where you want. I use fake plastic eggs & put them in laying boxes. I'm not even sure I can take Guinnie Fowl because they make much more noise than Chickens & aren't quite as smart But it's said they are the poor mans turkey, I may get a few. Mind you Guinnie fowl are Chickens but in Dinosaur form... so chickens understand more, but they can interbreed on rare occasions because of how close they are in genetics. We thought about getting some of those, but we're kinda in the outer suburbs here. If they're noisier than chickens, yeah, maybe not. We can't keep a rooster (legally - our neighbours don't mind). We're allowed 6 hens, and we've got 5 + 2 half chickens (it adds up). Somebody’s Mom Sorry to hear about your chooks. We would absolutely, positively have a duck if we were allowed. Sadly, we'd need a much bigger yard (with a pond). We do have a river behind the house though, and our neighbours had a pair of wild ducks nesting under their pool last year. 'wherever you go, and whatever you do, somewhere a duck is watching you' |
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Feb 16, 2023 3:48:41 GMT -5
gus169, some breeds of chicken are just noisier than others when spooked, some also spook easier. Guinee fowl kinda bark/gobble at the sight or sound of any stranger where most hens/roosters only have a certain cluck they will make as a warning to others. Places ban roosters not due to the fact they are usually more vocal as the protectors of the flock, but because of the breeding crows they emit are loud, can be heard very far away, and can come at all hours not just sun up.
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Post by Poopface on Feb 20, 2023 18:16:00 GMT -5
One of our hens hasn't come back to the coop for 3 nights running. Brooding on some eggs in the vacant lot next door I'm guessing. I let them roam, so I just have to deal with it, but it nags at you anyway yeah? Anyway, I took some nibbles down the back today and she turned up - like an Exocet missile, an Intercontinental Ballistic Chicken. I guess she was hungry. I'm still giggling, on and off. We used to let ours free range, but neighbors had their flocks wiped out so we started fencing ours in. Didn't stop a fox from taking 3 in one go last spring followed by 2 others a month or two later when they all stupidly flew over the old moveable fence. Since then, I've actually built an actual fence. Going to put a hot wire or two on top this spring. Guinnie fowl do this a lot, you have to go easter egg hunting & remove that nest so she lays where you want. I use fake plastic eggs & put them in laying boxes. I'm not even sure I can take Guinnie Fowl because they make much more noise than Chickens & aren't quite as smart But it's said they are the poor mans turkey, I may get a few. Mind you Guinnie fowl are Chickens but in Dinosaur form... so chickens understand more, but they can interbreed on rare occasions because of how close they are in genetics. I was interested in Guinea fowl before we moved in here, but I've heard such horror stories of their noise. We're in a development with large lots. Even so, we've given away or killed off our roosters due to the noise. If we had more land than our 3.25 acres I'd love roosters, but as it is we can't. Considering a turkey or two, though.
We need to bolster our laying flock more this spring.
Separately, but bird-related we ordered 22 Freedom Rangers for meat last weekend. Picking up the chicks next March.
Somebody’s Mom -- I'm sorry to hear about your duckies. What got them? |
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Post by gus169 on Feb 20, 2023 22:47:37 GMT -5
One of our hens hasn't come back to the coop for 3 nights running. Brooding on some eggs in the vacant lot next door I'm guessing. I let them roam, so I just have to deal with it, but it nags at you anyway yeah? Anyway, I took some nibbles down the back today and she turned up - like an Exocet missile, an Intercontinental Ballistic Chicken. I guess she was hungry. I'm still giggling, on and off. We used to let ours free range, but neighbors had their flocks wiped out so we started fencing ours in. Didn't stop a fox from taking 3 in one go last spring followed by 2 others a month or two later when they all stupidly flew over the old moveable fence. Since then, I've actually built an actual fence. Going to put a hot wire or two on top this spring.
We don't have foxes here, but I've lost a few chickens to local dogs. Hasn't happened in a long time now, but the memory still hurts. We have a lot of pets (dog, cat, 3 rats, 2 snakes and 7 chooks atm), but the chickens are my 'support group'. They soothe me, no matter how I'm feeling. Something special about having the trust of a bird. Also, I found where the missing bird was nesting. She was sitting on 21 eggs (not all hers of course). What a legend! |
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Post by Somebody’s Mom on Feb 23, 2023 21:11:47 GMT -5
I should clarify that the photo of the doc is from a “local” ASPCA calendar they do as a fundraiser every year… sadly he did not make the cut, something about cute little goats, those bstards…
Not sure if it was a fox that got the chicas, but I’m not ruling out a feral tomboy either… another guy down the street had almost his entire coop of racing pigeons wiped out within that same week or so.
I grew up military/rural/farm before I moved back to be a Kansas City boy… (i’m one of the lucky ones that has both sets of skills) So, I still know plenty of people that raise poultry for profit. The loudest ones of all are peacocks and peehens. They strut the neighborhood and won’t even get out of the way for a truck. And they roost in trees. Hard to corral. I don’t have any now, but my lot is a abutted to a huge 1/2 mile long ravine. I think before I pass, I’m gonna raise 30 or 40 of them and just let them beat. Screaming like stabbed babies in the trees up until midnight and then looking so beautiful about blocking traffic during the day. It will be my gift to the world…
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Feb 24, 2023 3:15:09 GMT -5
I should clarify that the photo of the doc is from a “local” ASPCA calendar they do as a fundraiser every year… sadly he did not make the cut, something about cute little goats, those bstards… Not sure if it was a fox that got the chicas, but I’m not ruling out a feral tomboy either… another guy down the street had almost his entire coop of racing pigeons wiped out within that same week or so. I grew up military/rural/farm before I moved back to be a Kansas City boy… (i’m one of the lucky ones that has both sets of skills) So, I still know plenty of people that raise poultry for profit. The loudest ones of all are peacocks and peehens. They strut the neighborhood and won’t even get out of the way for a truck. And they roost in trees. Hard to corral. I don’t have any now, but my lot is a abutted to a huge 1/2 mile long ravine. I think before I pass, I’m gonna raise 30 or 40 of them and just let them beat. Screaming like stabbed babies in the trees up until midnight and then looking so beautiful about blocking traffic during the day. It will be my gift to the world… Momma, I raised my chickens in trees last year before I built my coop. They can fly up until a certain weight, then flight is limited. If you do Guinnie Fowl...be aware they will bark/gobble at any stranger coming near the property (they nearly sound like dogs). I'm on 14.8 acres where I'm the smallest farm, noise is not an issue. I just hate easter egg hunting for nest, which chickens do as well but just more rarely than Guinnie Fowl, they are related. |
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Feb 24, 2023 3:25:29 GMT -5
One of our hens hasn't come back to the coop for 3 nights running. Brooding on some eggs in the vacant lot next door I'm guessing. I let them roam, so I just have to deal with it, but it nags at you anyway yeah? Anyway, I took some nibbles down the back today and she turned up - like an Exocet missile, an Intercontinental Ballistic Chicken. I guess she was hungry. I'm still giggling, on and off. We used to let ours free range, but neighbors had their flocks wiped out so we started fencing ours in. Didn't stop a fox from taking 3 in one go last spring followed by 2 others a month or two later when they all stupidly flew over the old moveable fence. Since then, I've actually built an actual fence. Going to put a hot wire or two on top this spring. Guinnie fowl do this a lot, you have to go easter egg hunting & remove that nest so she lays where you want. I use fake plastic eggs & put them in laying boxes. I'm not even sure I can take Guinnie Fowl because they make much more noise than Chickens & aren't quite as smart But it's said they are the poor mans turkey, I may get a few. Mind you Guinnie fowl are Chickens but in Dinosaur form... so chickens understand more, but they can interbreed on rare occasions because of how close they are in genetics. I was interested in Guinea fowl before we moved in here, but I've heard such horror stories of their noise. We're in a development with large lots. Even so, we've given away or killed off our roosters due to the noise. If we had more land than our 3.25 acres I'd love roosters, but as it is we can't. Considering a turkey or two, though.
We need to bolster our laying flock more this spring.
Separately, but bird-related we ordered 22 Freedom Rangers for meat last weekend. Picking up the chicks next March.
Somebody’s Mom -- I'm sorry to hear about your duckies. What got them? My advise, unless free ranged or personal breeding, you don't need Roosters Poop. 4acres sounds pretty close to city & most cities have ordinance against them. If just for eggs, you only need hens. Harvest the old for meat...I know, you love them as I do mine, it's still life man. Then order a new flock, flocks don't mix easy be aware of that, they have to be accustomed to each other before housing them together or there will be a flock war. Best of luck with the flocks! |
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Feb 24, 2023 3:36:28 GMT -5
We used to let ours free range, but neighbors had their flocks wiped out so we started fencing ours in. Didn't stop a fox from taking 3 in one go last spring followed by 2 others a month or two later when they all stupidly flew over the old moveable fence. Since then, I've actually built an actual fence. Going to put a hot wire or two on top this spring.
We don't have foxes here, but I've lost a few chickens to local dogs. Hasn't happened in a long time now, but the memory still hurts. We have a lot of pets (dog, cat, 3 rats, 2 snakes and 7 chooks atm), but the chickens are my 'support group'. They soothe me, no matter how I'm feeling. Something special about having the trust of a bird. Also, I found where the missing bird was nesting. She was sitting on 21 eggs (not all hers of course). What a legend! If you have dogs gus169, the dogs will raise the chicks & protect them 100%! So the loses can come from wild OR feral animals...when they smell the dog piss, they tend to back off. I had this issue with Coyote when I first got here & feral cats until I shot at a few Coyote & my dogs chasing them & treeing a few feral cats. My dogs pee all around my chicken coop in ownership, I don't stop it. If a dog even looks crooked eyed at a chicken, they will be punished. So my dogs watch chickens like their own babies. |
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Feb 24, 2023 3:53:03 GMT -5
It's sad in a way & I hate to say this...he didn't want his name mentioned. Every time my dog Nina raises a brood of chickens she lactates which takes from her own health without her having puppies, a forumite paid for her medicine & you know who you are MJB. Thank you so much, I can't say the name because you don't want me to say.
Words can NOT explain my gratitude!
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Post by Poopface on Feb 24, 2023 11:45:11 GMT -5
My advise, unless free ranged or personal breeding, you don't need Roosters Poop. 4acres sounds pretty close to city & most cities have ordinance against them. If just for eggs, you only need hens. Harvest the old for meat...I know, you love them as I do mine, it's still life man. Then order a new flock, flocks don't mix easy be aware of that, they have to be accustomed to each other before housing them together or there will be a flock war. Best of luck with the flocks! I'm on year 5 of chickens for eggs, year 2 of raising for meat. We've dealt with introducing new flocks, introducing babies, birds getting broody, a variety of injuries and deaths, expanding and/or giving major mods to the coop, and even psychological effects due to flock imbalance after some of the flock was culled by foxes last spring.
As far as killing off birds, we don't mind. We snuffed two of the three roosters we got from buying straight run after some of our hens got foxed last Spring. I've dealt with older, named chickens when necessary. And, of course, various amounts of the butchering of the meat birds last year depending on need/necessity. The killing isn't enjoyable, but is a necessary part of the entire thing.
We contemplated a rooster for a variety of reasons. * Security -- early warning system vs foxes and the occasional hawk that comes around * Economics #1 -- tired of buying new chicks every year at ~$3 each. * Economics #2 -- there's a bit of demand in our area for chicks that don't come from Tractor Supply. Also a market for people to purchase a "ready to lay" chicken rather than having to deal with brooders, etc.
While we do live in a development, it's in one of the few relatively agrarian parts of Maryland not on the Eastern shore. No ordinances for that.
Given more land, I'd do a rooster again. Due to how our property is set up, it's not conducive due to distance from the house and distance from neighbors.
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Mar 2, 2023 8:37:11 GMT -5
I plan on buying my own land soon Poopface , right now the 14-15 acres I'm on is owned by my sister's family corporation. I just own my building & animals. In the future I don't want to share the profits of my work. I'm gonna hit 50 soon, I need my work to count for ME. EDIT: I'm looking at properties about 5 acres, 3 acres minimum. |
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Post by Poopface on Mar 2, 2023 11:01:28 GMT -5
I plan on buying my own land soon Poopface , right now the 14-15 acres I'm on is owned by my sister's family corporation. I just own my building & animals. In the future I don't want to share the profits of my work. I'm gonna hit 50 soon, I need my work to count for ME. EDIT: I'm looking at properties about 5 acres, 3 acres minimum. The 5 acre vs 3 acre approach was exactly what we did, too. I would have preferred more, but in Maryland everything with larger acreage that was "affordable" and w/o a house that needed a complete overhaul (we also considered building) was far too far away from my work. I'd love to move (especially to Ohio where my MIL is), but that's not in the cards yet.
Separately, the next batch of layers are on the clock as of yesterday afternoon.
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Mar 3, 2023 5:30:06 GMT -5
I might be back in Baltimore or York,PA soon. I'm still hunting for the property. There is a reason I play War Robots/WoR & farm, I'm not the nicest when in cities.
EDIT: Also hat a new flock hatch yesterday as well!
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Post by Poopface on Mar 3, 2023 6:29:15 GMT -5
Don’t contemplate farming in MD. Taxes are nuts and MD is a nanny state in the vein of California. Not as bad, yet, but they tried taxing us on rainfall a few years ago.
I’m keen to get out.
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Post by meetjoeblack on Mar 3, 2023 11:20:38 GMT -5
I might be back in Baltimore or York,PA soon. I'm still hunting for the property. There is a reason I play War Robots/WoR & farm, I'm not the nicest when in cities. EDIT: Also hat a new flock hatch yesterday as well! OOo, I didn’t know that You have this off topic site. Thats a good idea. Now I can check Your farm things even easier. |
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Mar 4, 2023 6:26:53 GMT -5
Don’t contemplate farming in MD. Taxes are nuts and MD is a nanny state in the vein of California. Not as bad, yet, but they tried taxing us on rainfall a few years ago. I’m keen to get out. Many MD workers have started moving to southern PA for lower taxes. Basically everything on the line at 83 & Old york road are MD people living in PA. 83 more so because it's major, Old york road a bit less because it's a back road to east Baltimore/Muravia area. There are a few other back roads but they head into Towson & upper MD from the Hanover, PA area, not many there doe to Rt. 30 being old & slow from Hanover to York to get to the Rt. 81 or Rt. 83 junctions. |
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Post by Poopface on Mar 4, 2023 6:46:04 GMT -5
Don’t contemplate farming in MD. Taxes are nuts and MD is a nanny state in the vein of California. Not as bad, yet, but they tried taxing us on rainfall a few years ago. I’m keen to get out. Many MD workers have started moving to southern PA for lower taxes. Basically everything on the line at 83 & Old york road are MD people living in PA. 83 more so because it's major, Old york road a bit less because it's a back road to east Baltimore/Muravia area. There are a few other back roads but they head into Towson & upper MD from the Hanover, PA area, not many there doe to Rt. 30 being old & slow from Hanover to York to get to the Rt. 81 or Rt. 83 junctions. Yep. I work with someone who did just that. It’s not for me, though. I draw the line at an hour commute. I work in Greenbelt so that’s in the neighborhood of 1:15 to 1:30. Plus, during COVID PA was doing some pretty nuts things w/ the populace, even more than MD. For a similar financial and commuting outcome and more freedom, I’d consider WVA first. Today, though, you have to factor the environmental fallout from the train derailment+contamination. A lot of farmers having their livelihoods affected. |
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Post by >^\}VULTURE{/^< on Mar 4, 2023 6:59:24 GMT -5
Ye, basically during that time there was no movement unless you had "Emergency needs or food/water". I still was working 7 days a week but I had to keep a pass on me not to get arrested. The pass for working during the main Covid blitz could only be had if you had a minimum of 2 shots. Then again, York/Lancaster/Harrisburg/Hanover were the harder hit areas of PA. I personally had many family die from it or be segregated for long periods due to it.
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Post by Poopface on Mar 4, 2023 8:38:11 GMT -5
Ye, basically during that time there was no movement unless you had "Emergency needs or food/water". I still was working 7 days a week but I had to keep a pass on me not to get arrested. The pass for working during the main Covid blitz could only be had if you had a minimum of 2 shots. Then again, York/Lancaster/Harrisburg/Hanover were the harder hit areas of PA. I personally had many family die from it or be segregated for long periods due to it. Yeah, we didn’t have any of that in MD. As nuts as things can be here, we weren’t that over the top. |
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