the crooked little chicken house

“If y'all want to keep that pig, it will need a really GOOD strong pen. Pigs are escape artists with no compare.”

“I 'magine I'll be chasing the little devil at some point...
:)”

“Last night me and Austin caged the Americauna rooster - seems he is the culprit that has been killing the white hens. He jumps on them and pecks their heads until the comb is gone. Somehow he incapaciates them so they can't move, even once he's off them. Hopefully, his latest victim will survive as we think we got him away from her in time.

This pig is a little happier today, at least it is talking to me. Until I can get the pig sty up, we bought a kiddee pool for $5 and filled it with dirt and water. The pig seems to like it, and for a favorite food, cucumbers.

Hoping to score another pig at the upcoming fair to keep it company.”

“I love it!”

“I keep picturing the pig as Arnold Ziffel from the old Green Acres TV show, but I can't quite picture twiggy as Fred Ziffel.”

“stovie, what if I grew a beard?

monkeyboy, I'm sure you would enjoy the pig!”

“Wow, Twig, you're turning into a real farmer! Or are you trying to make your own petting zoo? ;D”

“Is the pig male or female? If a male, needs an "attitude" adjustment at an early age.”

“I think it's a female. Her name is Charlotte. She is wagging her tail and talking a blue streak - she does love her new mud bath!

tree - I don't know what I'm doing, but it's fun and interesting...most of the time anyway!”

“I give up...

The other day as we were caging the rooster we heard my neighbor with the attack dog yelling...we guessed he had some little birdies visit and he didn't like it. I've working 12+ hour days this week, so I'm not getting home until dark. Tuesday night there was a note in my door - animal control had been there and told me I had zero days to cage/fence in my critters - they were trespassing.

So I spent what was left of the evening closing up the dome and shooing everyone in. It dawned on me then what a small area that was for so many birds, but 11 were going to the slaughterhouse on Friday, and I'd figure something out the next night.

Wednesday night I get home, again after dark, and 9 chickens were dead, including my pretty little Americauna hen. I guessed that the turkeys did them in, and thought maybe the rooster was innocent. I let him out for five minutes and put him right back in, after he attacked one of the white hens.

So I spent that night dviding the dome in half, keeping the turkeys on one side.

I was telling my story today, and people mentioned how brutally hot it had been, and maybe it was the heat. I haven't noticed since I'm not outside durinig the day (though I sweated like crazy the two nights I worked on the dome, but thought it was because I'm such a sweathog) School even closed today (and some yesterday) because of the heat.

Also, the different breeds don't like being penned up together. #&%!$ing neighbor...I should have shot his dog when I had the chance.

I wonder who will be alive when I get home....”

“Neighbors suck.”

“they do...and I never wanted any!”

“Whatever chick chick is laying on should hatch any time now...

The female turkey escaped from the turkey side of the pen and is hanging out with the chickens. the boys can't seem to figure out how to get thru...”

“I've scared up some wild turkeys a few times this Spring and Summer. Last weekend I was riding into town and there were five in front of a house a short distance from my place. I guess another neighbor was right when he said he saw some in my yard a month ago while I was away to work.”

“I guess chick chick is simply laying on an unfertilized egg. I should take it away so she starts laying again, but laying on the egg keeps her home and me out of trouble.

Charlotte the pig is turning out to be a fussy eater. figures...
I'm out of cucumbers, so yesterday I went to the Nissen's thrift store and bought feed trays. Giving her grain alone is a waste. I throw in some peanut butter, grain, and mix a little powdered milk in. I think she still wants cucumbers, but I can't even fool her with zuchinni...”

“Corn, my uncle in MN feeds them lots of shelled corn.”

“yeah I thought of corn as well. When I finally got to sit down at night, I made peanut butter and grain sandwiches...LOL...she loved them so much she let me start scratching behind her ears. Now I'm just mixing it all up, I can't spend my life making sandwiches for a pig...can I?

:)”

“Is it food, or a pet? Lol.”

“food. I think. :)”

“Cute food.

Reminds me of a website:

www.epicute.com

Very cute food, although not along the lines of a pig.”

“I'm off this week, hoping to get all the critters settled in where they belong...doesn't look like that's gonna happen since I'm also packeing for camping this weekend.

Austin and I put up an electric fence, as my nephew said that was the sure fire way to keep CHarlotte in. Well, once we finally got the little darling out of the coop and into the fenced in area, she ran along the fence line squealing, ran under it, then back into the coop. I did get her to come out for a bit where she rooted around, but then it was right back in. I'm sure she believes the coop is hers. So we started building a crooked little pig sty. I dont worry about her escaping and running off - she may surprise me, but she loves her coop!

She did escape once through the chicken sized door of the coop into the dome - no critters were impressed, but Austin and I thought it was a riot. :)”

“My neighbor and I went in on a lamb one year. We used another neighbors fenced pasture to let him out in and moved the big dog house over the fence to lock him up at night so dogs or wild critters would leave him alone. My neighbor had a hose for water and I brought feed over every afternoon after work. I would bring my female dobie along and she would be playing with the lamb while I was occupied. If you want to call going for its throat play.:) He was good eating.”

“sorry...the little bastards are stressing me out. time for harvest!!!”

“what kind of harvest?”

“Mmmm, fresh fried chicken and gravy!”

“I'm sorry the little bastards are stressing you out.”

“Chicken Sweaters: Kindly Brits Knit for Needy Birds

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/chicken-sweaters-british-knitters-craft-jumpers-for-rescued-birds/19728853”

“Judy could have used one of those...”

“Could have? That sounds final.”

“yeah, she ran away from home several months ago... :)

Charlotte has a date! LOL..she won't be very excited about it though...”

“Charlotte stood up her date!”

“My dog fostering neighbor took out another skunk this last week. Was getting into her chicken pen and eating eggs, so it had to go. Instead of picking up all the eggs at night when she puts the birds to bed, she leaves some "seed" so the chickens will lay eggs in those boxes. Just like her wildbird feeder and the peanut butter, she keeps luring in wild animals that cause problems for all of us later. The bears she innocently has been feeding peanut butter out of her bird feeder to, got dispatched this summer, no more bear problem now. I don't understand, kill wild animals you have fed that become problems, save domestic animals that no one wants anymore.”

“?
chickens don't need "seed" to lay...

and great...dispatch the bears who only see an easy meal...”

“Duane you'd be ticked at how much that goes on. This year the wild animal of "us" iz hittin' 7 Billion, sumthin gotta give.

Speaking of wild animals the mostest gorgeous red-tailed hawk whacked one'a my RIR's cupla days back. I told the rest of them if they don't watch out, he/she will take a few more of you! I ran it off before it was able to tote off it's lunch, so it's in the fridge now.

Hello twig, lawng time, hope your coop is doing well.

Anyone here have honeybees?”

“Oh yeah, anyone ever put a rat to sleep for a home-surgery?”

“I've thought about keeping a beehive or 2 around here, but I don't think my family or neighbors would appreciate it too much.”

“One of my son's friends has a beehive setup. She promised to bring me some honey, i was thinking of asking if they'd supply enough honey to make a batch of mead, then I'd give them a large portion of the mead. It'd be an interesting project.”

“I've been planning on getting a hive or some for the last year or so. I have 2 of the regular Langstrom hives now, empty, and had planned to get at least one nuc of bees for one of them this summer, but had my trigger finger nearly bitten off, so that ended my bee thing for that moment. But this spring I'll definitely start with 2. However I been looking at them older-style Top Bar hives, so I may make some of them too, with some old scrap lumber we have. I'll let ya knows how it goes.

When we first moved here, I looked at buying and planting a bunch of sourwood, but after I learned what they were, and particularly what the flower was, I discovered we had TONS of older and younger trees of sourwood already! So I'm eager to get going.

Mead huh? I ain't yet tasted any mead that wadn't NAISTY!

Oh, twig and duane, yawl use any lighting yet in your coops?”

“My coops both have lights and fans in the summer. A 250 watt red bulb for heat in winter. I just run an outside electrical cord to them.

I've got a number to call tonight - probably a butcher shop - to sell the pig and turkeys. I got so far behind with everything over the last several months...
I'm just not prepared to winter them all, nor do I have the energy to slaughter or even to take any of them to be slaughtered.”

“I think Stovie raises/raised bees...”

“Raised.”

““Charlotte stood up her date!”
twigeater
9:12:37 PM
1/03/11

Did she chicken out?”

“haha... :)”

“hahaha

yeah, i've never tried mead before, but apparantly there is a HUGE variety in style and flavor, largely depending on what the bees have to work with and the brewing/fermenting situations.”

“You know what I mean by "seed"? Sometimes leaving a fake egg or write off egg to encourage hens to lay in that nest/spot? Making sure. Since I work out of town the last six years, I no longer have critters. If able down the road, a small goat for weeds and grass control would be cool. When I had chickens, they were left in their small coop, huddled up to stay warm, egg production suffered very little, key is to have feed and water for them. Takes some doing to keep the water ice free. I usually dumped hot water in their pot before leaving for work in the morning.

I have thought of getting bees years ago, could not come up with the investment and had a big concern about bears getting into them in the Summer. Back when "The Mother Earth News" was real, before they went bonkers.

Butchering hogs is different than other animals, I guess you scald them to remove the hair? Never seen the whole process.”

“Bees are very difficult to keep alive due to current diseases. The only way I had to keep my hives alive was use of chemicals, and that defeated the whole idea of 'pure' honey.”

“What's the scoop on Mother Earth News duane? When's the years worth buying? This recent one, impulse buy in Sam's, was where I first heard about top bar hives.

Every morning I top off their waters with some hot water in a Cranapple jug. At night I hafta pour out their waters ... or ....

Here's another question: 2 nights ago I forgot to empty their waters, and one'a my gals apparently fell asleep with her feet in the water. It froze over, but in the morning she busted out (looks like it took quite an effort), and now cannot walk. She's emergency sheltered in our garden tub and can only hobble (at best). Yawl ever had one of these recover, good enough anyhow? I cain't leave her out with the others 'cause our jr rooster Donald Trump thanks she's been delivered onto God's green Earth solely for his carnal pleasures all day long. Poor thang.”

“yep duane, I knew what you meant by "seed."

Was going to do Charlotte myself, but now we have 2 feet of snow. I don't have a vat big enough to "dip" her, but scalding water poured over the skin would work as well. That's what I did with the turkeys that didn't fit in the pot. I researched it some, and it is doable.
The whole sending her off to slaughter seems so costly - $40 for them to come get her, but I have to have a crew to load her - kind of defeats the purpose it seems...then $40 for the kill, and I can't do that myself before they come get her, she has to be alive...69 cents a pound for butchering, and 89 cents per pound for smoking...

I do the hot water thing for the critters. They still get frostbitten combs even with the heat lamps. the combs are important in regulating body temperature. When the rooster was murdering the whites, he pecked the entire comb from their heads.

The Americauna rooster we have is NOT fussy at all and is a big bully. I didn't even know the other bantam was a rooster until the two were separated and the bantam dared to crow.

I thought I was doing a good thing for two of the turkeys that got left in with the pig - I moved them in with the other turkeys and chickens. Within five minutes one of the two had the Americauna rooster in it's beak. I took him by the neck and put his bad ass self back in with the pig, where he takes every opportunity to peck me. grrrr!”

“naked ape, if I remember this weekend, I can look at my box of MEN, I subscribed for 6-8 years until they went wacky. They are back now I see, but all I ever did was read them, did not do any projects which would have been neat.”