the crooked little chicken house

“Well shewt man, iffin you ain't gonna do anything with'em, box'em up and ship'em to me!”

“I was just outside, looking around the yard, and I hear the distinctive call of a rooster, maybe a football fields away. Hey, there's no roosters that close to me. Someone got loose.”

“I remember Hog Killin Day when I was a kid, from whenever till i was about 8 or 9 out at my uncle's farm. They had a trough with a fire under it to make hot water, they'd roll the freshly shot hog into the vat and roll him out again then hang him and field dress him before cutting him down for butchering. Took several people and a whole day to do what I remember to be no more than 3 or 4 hogs - if that many.”

“"The origin of the world is its mother;
Understand the mother, and you understand the child;
Embrace the child, and you embrace the mother,
Who will not perish when you die.

Reserve your judgments and words
And you maintain your influence;
Speak your mind and take positions
And nothing will save you.

As observing detail is clarity,
So maintaining flexibility is strength;
Use the light but shed no light,
So that you do yourself no harm,But embrace clarity." -- Lao Tzu”

“Dammit-taheyull DaoBoy, find another thread ta pester, will ya?”

“NA, I've read/ heard about hog days before. Some of my favorite stories were form my botany prof, back in the college days. She was form Kentucky, and one of her chores was checking the fuzz layers on the hams in the smokehouse; when the fuzz got so thick, it was ready. It was her job to scrape the fuzz off the hams, though. She didn't like that part. She said they had a "modern" house, but the storage shed where they kept all of the preserves and foods put by was bigger than the house itself.”

““I remember Hog Killin Day when I was a kid, from whenever till i was about 8 or 9 out at my uncle's farm. They had a trough with a fire under it to make hot water, they'd roll the freshly shot hog into the vat and roll him out again then hang him and field dress him before cutting him down for butchering. Took several people and a whole day to do what I remember to be no more than 3 or 4 hogs - if that many.”
RoamAround
3:55:55 PM
1/04/11

Usually some time in November after the first good cool snap. It was more of an "event" than a chore. Our neighbor when I was in HS in West TN made the best sausage in the world. He used fresh sage and plenty of it.”

“Charlotte has a new date for hoggie heaven...but it's not the one you have to die to get to, LOL.
She's going off to live on a farm and be a breeder. I knew she was a pretty thang, but she also has a good disposition.

I made a deal for piglets in the spring as well, in case we decide to try again.”

“Lol, Twig... she's lucky little pig!”

“I still smell bacon!”

“yeah, hopefully bacon from the next batch of piggies...

Now I can move the birds to their real home and start getting eggs again - I hate store bought eggs!”

“Please keep the chickens away from hogs that are being wormed. The pig feces still contain the stuff that killed the worms and will be death to any fowl that eat it, and free range fowl do eat feces.”

“good to know”

“what a day! Charlotte escaped about an hour before her date arrived...so I kept her company, visiting the neighbors and running around with her...feeding her macaroni and trying to herd her back to the yard. When they arrived, she followed me right to the truck, and that's when the "fun" began...she finally went into her sanctuary, the chicken coop, and two of us got in and "hog tied" her...she screamed bloody murder the whole way to the trailer - we had to pull on one end, push on the other...but she was quite content once in the trailer, munching on hay and the remaining macaroni...acting like nothing at all had happened.
The kids said good-bye, and we are invited to the farm to visit Charlotte and all the critters and maybe we'll bring home a couple of her babes in the spring.
She's in heat...I should have known since the kitten is, and the parakeets are crazeeeee as well!

the farmer guy had offered me a pittance for the turkeys prior to seeing them - he called back after taking the pig and will likely buy them for the price I named. I'm throwing in the two roosters, LOL...he'll keep the female turkey for foster mommying duck eggs - weird how it all works out.
He also offered to help me get the back field ready for pigs, etc...”

“He also offered to help me get the back field ready for pigs, etc...”
twigeater
4:17:47 PM
1/08/11

Sounds dirty.... ;-)”

“Way to twig, sounds like you got an animal or two, hehe.

Update: our chicken whose feet froze in the water dish is beginning to stand and walk a little bit. She still resides (stinkily) in our garden tub. She'll be there another week for sure, to let this big storm blow past. She needs to rest up well, for next week she'll again meet up with randy Donald Trump.”

“frozen feet! LOL
Oms has 3 chickens and get eggs!
Twig you eat them chickens? Yo bear!”

“yes, I eat the chickens and turkeys that I raise. Love the eggs!”

“Yooo Bear! How gowzit ole dawg? Tomorrow our frozen feet gal goes back out to the coop, she's nearly totally back to normal. Not sure if she can grip a roost beam, but she walks normally now.

We're getting 2 eggs a day, and hadn't even put out additional lighting yet .... might not if they keep giving me 2 a day.”

“UPDATE: yesterday we got 5 eggs! And our handyhen can indeed grip a roost beam, altho she does have a bit of a limp still.

No more stinky master bathroom, hehe.”

“My good neighbor killed another skunk, makes three now. This one was only getting her eggs, I always gathered eggs when I put the birds to bed or cleaned there water before dark and it had a chance to freeze.

Something ate a bird, maybe a quail, feathers in a couple spots like it ate for a bit, then moved to another place, down by the creek on my place. The recent rains and resulting snow melt changed the creek channel a little again, getting deeper in places.”

“this weekend we moved the big tom in with the other turkeys, and all the chickens into the coop. The rooster had a fit and quite like the pig, screamed the whole way...neighbors are gonna think I'm torturing my critters...”

“Twigs, least you ain't a dude, them nabes might thank something else........”

“All is well in my little backyard farm...chickens are laying eggs, turkeys are hanging out.

There are 2 or 3 hens that lay double yolk eggs, the eggs are huge. chickens are cool...”

“Twig hope the farm is doin' good. Yesterday I got flogged by Brad Pitt. First time! He's taken to the kids a time or two, but never before me. Man he nailed me right in the knee pit! While my back was turned, obviously, and stuck me a little thru my jeans, left a bruise too.

I took to that sucker like ghetto thugs on a skinhead you betcha.”

“Anybody have any bees? Think we might have a go at a hive this spring, perhaps two. Be a fun project for the kids.”

“happy chickens, lots of eggs...though the broody hen from the first batch follows me to the door after I raid the nest. Maybe in the spring I'll let her try again. A couple of the hens lay double yolk eggs.”

“what kind are they, TE?”

“hens - 5 rhode island reds, 5 black sex links - from sprong 2010, 1 plymouth rock - from spring 2009, and roosters from spring 2010 - one Americauna, and one bantam.”

“Wow, you're all over the map!”

“so...went to tractor supply for feed - turns out its chick days. bought 4 ducks and 6 brahmas. power went out while i was away, so I have one duck left. (plus all the chicks)”

“fenced in a small area for the turkeys and chickens. One hen was gone the next morning, probably bird of prey.

Thursday I picked up 6 red pullets, 6 speckled sussex, and 6 bantams.

When the state is shutdown come July 1st, I'll at least have eggs to eat. :)”

“Hello everyone, hope yawl are doing well. Does anyone here have any chocolate egg-laying copper marans, or have a nabe that will sell a dozen fertile eggs? I've the awesomest banty hen that is just DIING to sit on some eggs!

We culled a couple of roosters 3 days ago, Emelyn the eldest shot one for practice, she's a great shot! I dispatched the other'n, a banty, cute little wishbone. The 2 were buddies in life, and buddies in the pan, baked with taters, carrots, celery, onions, garlic toes with a can broccoli soup and chardonnay. Yummy 2 fellers.

Something new in our yard. 2 beehives. One was a feral hive that hadn't been tended whatsoever in at least 3 years, possibly 4, the guy said. Full of mites! I treated them and they are looking as strong as ever. The other is a Russian nuc I got last weekend. I doubt Beavis or Butt-Head ever said this, but : Bees are cool !”

“Sounds awesome, Ape!

Hey Twig, what do you feed your poultry?”

“chicks get medicated feed for 4-8 weeks, though I read that will mess up the ducks wings. She's bonded with her brahmas though, so no sparating them for feeding purposes right now. layer pellets in winter, whatever they can scratch up in summer. I supplement with feed trays from the bread store, they love it. the turkeys like food scraps, the chickens not so much. no one likes onion scraps, lol...

I've looked a making my own feed, but it's no cheaper - maybe better for them. Never really priced out organic feed. Grain is expensive, that's for sure.”

“ape, what do you shoot your chickens with?”

“single shot, bolt action .22

Only thing I require is mid-body aim. One'a my cowgirls begs for a head shot, but I've finally convinced her of the high probability that we'd have a poor rooster running around screaming bloody murder, squirtin' red all over the place, with a bottom or top beak blown off, or the back of his head missing. If one single story of that were to get back to the queen, it would most certainly end rooster hunting at the ape house.

Yawl craigslist your areas and see if anyone has any fertile copper maran eggs ya could mail me. I'll pay for'em nachurly, but ebay's prices and shipping on just a few of them are nuts.”

“Birch is fixing the old rabbit hutch into a coop for 4. We shall see how this goes....”

“hens are great fun and easy to care for...

roosters, well...
My Americauna rooster should be named Randy.
Most of the hens butts are bare, which causes me to wonder why some of the others are not...”

“Twig the furry butted gals are the ugly ones, lol! Our Americauna rooster is Brad Pitt, he's so fine lookin'. My favorite tho is an Americauna/turkin mix rooster, his name is Donald Trump, due to his toupee, a turkin trait.

Sass keep your eyes open on craigslist. Cupla weeks ago a very nice 6'x8' homemade kids playhouse, dang nice one, went up for fitty bux. I couldn't turn it down, cost of the wood alone is at least 4 times that, brought it home. It'll make a killer chicken house with some mods to it. If I wind up deciding not to use it, a friend here will make a coop outa it, for sure.

Twig why are your gals butts bare? Normally the fellers tear up the ladies' back feathers.”

“Oh, my first sting was today, one'a my Russian gals, right on the jawbone. I was just standing there talking to them, watching them work. Wind was blowing mighty heavy today, guess that had them a little agitated.

Man with my Italian gals, nothing gets them riled up. The big drones are starting to take flight, and I can sit directly next to their entrance, reach easy-like right onto their landing, right at the entrance, and pick up the drones heading in or out. All the gals zipping past my fingers, and bumping into them, just keep on keepin' on.

No way could I do that with my Russians.”

“I'm afraid there will be no roosters. We will be keeping chickens on the sly.

Ape, we are big Craigslist fans. Have bought and sold much there.”

“yeah, roosters crow night and day...

it is the hens backs that are bare, toward the butt end.. :)

I dunno - I can see why the 2 year old rock has all her feathers, after all, she is OLD, lol.”

“Spent several hours this morning inoculating white oak logs, about 250 of them, 4-6 feet long, with shiitake mushroom sawdust with a friend. I've never done it, but she gave me some to do myself. Pretty interesting, but I won't have any shrooms til NEXT spring. Bummer that.”

“ooooh....I have a friend who picks bags of wild oyster mushrooms in the fall...yummy!”

“Today one'a my Russian honeys popped me right on the edge of my bottom lip, right in the middle. Happened about 2:30, by the time I got to the bus drop-off, I looked like a white Bubba from Forest Gump. I wadn't doing nothing either! Dang them, I won't be getting any more Russians I don't believe. Dang, mowing season ain't even begun yet .... bet I'll have to suit up to mow or weed-eat their area.”

“mail order brides are like that”

“we're overflowing with chicks...

Got 6 Pekin ducks yesterday, they are so cute! also got 5 silver wyandotte pullets. Brings my total to 36 new birds. I'd still like to get Americaunas.”

“Someone's headed either towards obsession or a full freezer.”

“LOL...
I like the variety of birds, but you have to buy in lots of 6, so it's easy to end up with too many. I'm trading some for shavings for the coop.

the tom turkey and the Americauna rooster have been sniping at each other for a while. Yesterday I had to pull the tom off the rooster, as he had him down and was pecking his comb. I put the tom in the turkey pen to keep them apart. Next thing I know, the rooster is in the turkey pen.
Boys!”