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Post by mnjrutherford on Aug 13, 2010 6:31:27 GMT -5
Out of curiosity FP, are you vegetarian? Would you eat your birds? I ask, because I've been pondering the question of whether I am willing to kill the fox or not. I have several arguments playing out in my head:
1. If I'm willing to kill and eat the birds (an economic necessity for us) I should be willing to kill the fox to protect my "pantry". 2. What if the fox has kits that will starve and die if we kill the mommy? 3. What if my kids go hungry because of the fox? 4. What if the fox brings rabies to my animals and family? 5. The foxes were here before we were and they deserve to live just like we do.
All in all, I'm glad I'm not out there to deal with it. My husband (who wants to eat it of all things!) is in charge of that issue.
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Post by flowerpower on Aug 16, 2010 6:25:28 GMT -5
I don't eat alot of meat & I like chicken. I couldn't eat one of my own though. I was raised a city girl. lol No way could I process them. I'm not really good with blood and guts.
Disposing of the fox was definitely a last resort. But it was getting bolder. The rooster was less than 20 ft from the house when he got attacked. I can't have that. There is active rabies in my county. And the den was less than 100 ft from my neighbor's house. They have 2 little girls, maybe 6 & 8? We can't have a fox roaming around at 2 in the afternoon.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Aug 16, 2010 19:52:46 GMT -5
It's interesting how circumstances affect perspective. I'm city born and bred myself. Growing veg and all has been a relatively easy change. Meat on the other hand... Trust me, there is a HUGE reason that I don't do the kill and pluck. I can prep them once they are all nice and naked. I learned how to joint a bird when I was maybe 9 or 10 years old and I've been doing it ever since.
But, like you, we have active rabies here and 7 little ones that I know of. My 10 year old is the oldest. With a fox coming out in broad daylight, that just can't be tolerated. I don't think we know where the den is...
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Post by mnjrutherford on Aug 21, 2010 11:09:52 GMT -5
We've gone from buying hatchlings to making hatchlings all in 5 short months. This has been an extraordinary experience. This eggs, if we've done it correctly, should begin to hatch next Saturday and continue hatching for about a week. The 3 eggs on the right of the top row are the first ones in.
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Post by lavandulagirl on Aug 21, 2010 18:59:59 GMT -5
I like the coffee cup humidifier. ;D
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Post by seedywen on Aug 21, 2010 19:23:19 GMT -5
Good luck with your hatch!
I no longer own an incubator. However a local keen kindergarden teacher and myself have worked out an arrangement over the past two years. I supply heritage chicken and duck eggs. She sets and incubates the eggs with the kindergardeners participation. The teacher keeps above ducklings/chickens in the classroom(taking them home as necessary) for the first few weeks. Class comes to farm for a visit, bringing the babies back to their 'home'.
We raise the ducklings/chicks to maturity for breeding stock or eating. The deal also is, that when said kindergarden teacher has her own farm, I'll give back, whatever poultry, she wants to do her own, chicken/duck project.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Aug 23, 2010 7:07:00 GMT -5
I like the coffee cup humidifier. ;D Cute huh! That mug commemorates my "little" girl's participation in a soccer tournament way back, I can't tell you how many years ago. Early 90s. My how time tries to fly but all it can do is get up on a perch and lay an egg! My oldest son, in his efforts to break the birds of eating their eggs (there have been no more signs of this activity by the by) pets the birds while they are laying, then snatches the egg and brings it inside. I guess he's practicing for the future?
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Post by mnjrutherford on Oct 2, 2010 18:36:37 GMT -5
Robby says that the hens make a "purring" sound when he pets them. Is this a sign of contentment or warning?
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Post by lavandulagirl on Oct 2, 2010 21:08:33 GMT -5
My black australorp purrs when she's dust bathing, so I vote contentment. She does it when we aren't very close to her, or forcing her to get up and move, so she's happy in the moment.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Oct 13, 2010 8:32:05 GMT -5
Our mama guinea laid a second batch of eggs. We had 1 pip 2 days ago and the hatchling emerged late yesterday. However, he has the same issues that a chick from the previous hatch had, and that chick died.
The right side seems to be partially paralyzed. The claw does not fully extend and the wet stuff on the head has dried preventing the eye from opening. It appears that this is the only hatchling from the bunch.
Next question, can or should we attempt to intervene? My instinct is to exercise the claw and use a Q-Tip moistened with warm water to clean the crusty stuff off.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Oct 17, 2010 14:37:10 GMT -5
We MAY have an emergency? The white chickens that we THOUGHT were Leghorns have just started laying. There eggs are brown. According to "Henderson's Chicken Breed Chart", this would rule out Leghorns but maybe they are Chanticleer? Bit of a stretch though since it's a rare breed...
Well, one of the hens is waddling and we are thinking that perhaps she is egg bound? Or is the newness of laying just a bit difficult for some birds? What do we need to do?
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Post by atash on Oct 17, 2010 18:52:17 GMT -5
Pick her up and look and see and if necessary, feel, if an egg is stuck. If it is, you can guess what you have to do to save her.
It's a messy business, but we saved a hen this way. Had to keep her in the dark and ration her food so that she would not lay any more until she finally healed.
Egg color is usually the same as their "ear flap" color. My daughter could probably tell you the exact formula.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Oct 17, 2010 20:53:35 GMT -5
Thanks Atash! I'll do that in the morning. I hope we don't have to do extreme rescue!
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Post by flowerpower on Oct 18, 2010 4:46:26 GMT -5
My "white leghorn" turned out to be a white rock. They look very similar. Hey brown eggs sell for more money. When pullets first start laying, sometimes they lay a huge one after 2 days instead of a tiny one every day. But still examine her. You also might see double yolks in some eggs now.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Oct 18, 2010 7:45:14 GMT -5
Jo, What kind of comb does this bird have? A Chantecler has a Cushion comb, close to the head, free of points. Rocks, and Orpingtons have small single combs. Jerseys have large single comb. Wyandottes have a Rose comb; entire comb conforms to the shape of the skull which tapers to a well-defined point at the rear. There are other clean legged breeds which have white plumage but are so rare that I doubt you would have one of them. Although these days it seems that some of the larger hatcheries are reintroducing them. These are not from heritage stock but from their own breeding programs so they can sell these "rare" breeds. Pics of breeds to help you identify what you have can be found at www.feathersite.comWhite ear lobes (see Leghorn pic) produce white eggs. Red ear lobes lay brown. Pretty simple.
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