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Luna posted:These guys are 3 weeks old now. I'm going to have to move them to a bigger enclosure soon. So cute! Especially that little buff poofy-headed rooboy. 
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Mar 28, 2021 23:14
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chickam! chickam! chickam! Luna posted:These guys are 3 weeks old now. I'm going to have to move them to a bigger enclosure soon. e: the white-headed ones remind me of tiny bald eagles 
perepelki fucked around with this message at 01:15 on Mar 29, 2021 |
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Mar 29, 2021 00:47
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Mine will be 3 weeks on Wednesday. We constructed a bigger chick pen for them over the weekend. I'll post pics tomorrow. I'm paranoid one of them is a rooster, but they're a sexlink type of chicken.
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Mar 29, 2021 01:03
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We're pretty sure the big blonde one is a rooster. We're 50/50 on the Frizzle and pretty sure the other two are hens.
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Mar 29, 2021 01:23
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My chickies are 2 weeks old now. We’re supposed to have nice weather starting a Thursday so I’ll be moving them out to the empty coop. I sectioned off half of it so hopefully the hens will be curious and meet them through the wire. The gross black comb fell off today. He looks a little silly and the ladies weren’t quite as interested in him. Maybe we need to figure out some sort of rooster toupee... 
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Mar 29, 2021 03:59
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joburg i think that is the most expressive rooster i've ever seen. he just looks totally devastated in every photo. he knows
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Mar 29, 2021 04:01
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perepelki posted:joburg i think that is the most expressive rooster i've ever seen. he just looks totally devastated in every photo. he knows Clarence kicked him off a hen today. Poor dude. His mojo may never recover.
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Mar 29, 2021 04:37
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Joburg posted:Clarence kicked him off a hen today. Poor dude. His mojo may never recover.
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Mar 29, 2021 04:59
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the kookaburra is my poultry now. it just comes down and sits on my water tank in broad daylight, fearing nothing, watching the (caged) quail for hours
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Mar 29, 2021 07:25
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perepelki posted:the kookaburra is my poultry now. it just comes down and sits on my water tank in broad daylight, fearing nothing, watching the (caged) quail for hours If a prey bird looked at my flock, I would be chasing it away while firing flails and screaming Bible verses. To set a precedent. Called, "Don't Even Think About loving With My Birds."
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Mar 29, 2021 08:06
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Captain Log posted:If a prey bird looked at my flock, I would be chasing it away while firing flails and screaming Bible verses. To set a precedent. Called, "Don't Even Think About loving With My Birds."
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Mar 29, 2021 09:41
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New chick pen. The top isn't secured yet but I think I can just get some hooks to close the chicken where at the top there's enough up there that I could fold it in so they can't get out from the top. I might put some sides on it too to keep them from kicking things out. It would just be easier though to use puppy pads until they're big enough to go outside it's so much faster to clean even if it is a little bit more expensive. Obligatory chick shot. Comet is the one that is the focus of the image. I'm paranoid she's going to be a rooster. She doesn't have any of the colorings sapphire gems should have if they are rooster, but she has big feet and she's sort of is a little more upright than the other one? It's possible she's just going to be a big girl. 
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Mar 29, 2021 13:41
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Alterian posted:Comet is the one that is the focus of the image. I'm paranoid she's going to be a rooster. She doesn't have any of the colorings sapphire gems should have if they are rooster, but she has big feet and she's sort of is a little more upright than the other one? It's possible she's just going to be a big girl. I’ve found that the Plymouth Rocks are more assertive hens, so maybe it’s just that. If she is a boy you can bring him to Wyoming and trade him for a hen. This coming weekend I’m getting a new shed delivered. I will need to put in some windows and add on some skids so it can be a moveable coop. Right now we have 33 grown chickens and 24 chicks (straight run) so I shouldn’t have any grasshopper damage to my garden this summer  Chicken damage is another issue...
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Mar 29, 2021 14:13
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Well keep her/him, but we might have to give peace offerings to the neighbors. Someone down the road has a rooster and I can hear another one somewhere nearby in the mornings.
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Mar 29, 2021 14:17
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Joburg posted:My chickies are 2 weeks old now. We’re supposed to have nice weather starting a Thursday so I’ll be moving them out to the empty coop. I sectioned off half of it so hopefully the hens will be curious and meet them through the wire. Maybe carve something out of erasers and glue it to him? Red rubber glove like Feathers McGraw?
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Mar 29, 2021 15:54
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A prosthetic comb.
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Mar 29, 2021 16:24
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perepelki posted:i live on the kookaburra's land Trust me, this is how to start negotiations with anyone. 1. Light Flare 2. Kick Open Door 3. Many Swears That method has never failed me when it comes time to buy a new car.
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Mar 29, 2021 19:07
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Joburg posted:@LuckyCat, any news from the necropsy? Just heard from them. Marek’s. Not the answer we wanted but we finally have an answer at least. Our frizzle rooster Oscar is starting to show symptoms as well.  Our plan is going to be this: this weekend we’ll arrange for some new hens. May need some guidance on this as we’ll be integrating our remaining silkie rooster Salem in with them. They’ll need to be adult hens (at least 7 months) to give them the best chance of having immunity to Marek’s. Salem is small and I don’t want him to be at a great disadvantage. We’ll section off our back-up coop away from Oscar and Salem’s coop and quarantine the newbies there for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks is up, we’ll have Oscar euthanized and integrate Salem at that time. Meanwhile, we’ll be cleaning the coop daily to cut down on dander exposure. Is this a bad plan? What do y’all think? Here are my goals: 1. I don’t want Salem to be lonely 2. I don’t want Salem to get his rear end handed to him by new hens since he’ll be outnumbered. 3. Oscar needs to be put down but I don’t want to do that until Salem has replacement companionship.
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Mar 29, 2021 23:37
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Are you going to be getting hens who were vaccinated as chicks? I wouldn't risk bringing unvaccinated chickens into an environment with active Marek's regardless of the age since older chickens can still catch it. Sorry you've lost so much of your flock 
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Mar 30, 2021 00:19
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oh gently caress, marek's  that's the one thing i've heard about from this thread that i've never had to deal with, or know anybody irl who has. i am so sorry you're having to go through this bullshit!
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Mar 30, 2021 01:07
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LuckyCat posted:Just heard from them. Marek’s. Not the answer we wanted but we finally have an answer at least. That’s awful I’m so sorry! As Enfys said, you could definitely add some hens that were vaccinated as chicks. A lot of the hatcheries sell started pullets that were vaccinated. They are younger than you were thinking but that might help with integration. Also in my experience hens see roosters as separate from the pecking order and I haven’t had any trouble integrating a lone rooster in with hens. It helps to set treats out where he can find them first and show them to the ladies, then he can prove he’s a great provider.I can’t remember if I posted about it but I did vaccinate my older chickens for mareks myself with a vaccine from Jeffers. I don’t think it would hurt to vaccinate Salem, even though he’s already been exposed. I’m no chicken doctor though. Again, I’m really sorry that you are dealing with this
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Mar 30, 2021 02:14
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Our girls finally got their first (ever) sun, grass, and fresh air today since the missing box for the run finally came in. Very happy with the quality of the frame, though I suspect we'll have to replace the wire sooner than later -- it was thin enough to cut with kitchen scissors. Also you can tell by the black hinge on the gate that it was missing a piece and I had to run to Home Depot in the middle of it and get whatever they had to replace it. 
Imagined fucked around with this message at 02:50 on Mar 30, 2021 |
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Mar 30, 2021 02:48
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Luna posted:These guys are 3 weeks old now. I'm going to have to move them to a bigger enclosure soon. They look like fluffy balls of cinnamon crumb coffee cake!
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Mar 30, 2021 03:59
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 majestic tigerlily
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Mar 30, 2021 05:02
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perepelki posted:
If you look close enough at bird feathers, it's basically the same as doing acid.
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Mar 30, 2021 08:07
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Chick zoomies (ignore the poop) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot2nXZJbR_w This is the webcam view I entertain my students with. Edit: Eclipse is the troublemaker. 
Alterian fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Mar 30, 2021 |
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Mar 30, 2021 19:38
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oh my god those baby frizzles
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Mar 31, 2021 00:47
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bless all these chicks
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Mar 31, 2021 01:01
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 Witness the power of this fully-armed and operational chicken run. Still have some work to do. Last night I hung a solar powered webcam up in there, and I've ordered a solar powered LED strip to put inside the coup too. Going to rig up some kind of cheap auto-feeder too eventually (probably doesn't need to be electronic) in case we're ever gone for a couple of days. I'm also planning on putting some tomato cage wire around the perimeter (except in front of the door) to discourage our nosy dachshunds and also to grow some sugar snap peas for the ladies to peck at through the wire. If the dogs show any desire to dig under then I'll have to bury some bricks or something. Also plan on building a stand to elevate the coup and give them that much more space in there. Also will go back and trim up all those zip ties (and add more). I'm sure at some point I'll have to upgrade the wire all over. The stuff it came with was technically metal, but still thin enough to cut with kitchen scissors. Not confident about the longevity of that tarp in Oklahoma wind, either. The run itself is staked down with trampoline stakes. It was great to see the girls go from literally too scared to come out of the coup to happily hunting bugs in the weeds within an hour or so. Part of me feels bad that they're confined to the run, but the other part knows how much better this is than the life most domestic chickens get.
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Mar 31, 2021 15:09
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a hawk could shred that in a breath
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Mar 31, 2021 15:41
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:a hawk could shred that in a breath I suspected as much. I'll get to work upgrading it sooner rather than later then.
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Mar 31, 2021 15:44
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Imagined posted:I suspected as much. I'll get to work upgrading it sooner rather than later then. chicken wire is nice for projects like landscaping, but it's woefully named. You want hardware cloth. Use fence loops instead of zipties. It takes a bit longer, but it holds up to almost anything. Being totally honest, I don't have a roof over my entire chicken coop. but I have a very angry llama that protects it, a lot of guardian dogs near it, and a roo with 2-3" spurs that has absolutely ruined small raptor days in the past (though they got away). I figure if they get through that, well, okay then.
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Mar 31, 2021 15:55
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Hi guys, heard you guys got chickens in this thread.
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Mar 31, 2021 15:57
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:chicken wire is nice for projects like landscaping, but it's woefully named. You want hardware cloth. Use fence loops instead of zipties. It takes a bit longer, but it holds up to almost anything. Thanks, yeah, hardware cloth is what I was planning on using for version 2.0. Good point on fence loops, too.
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Mar 31, 2021 16:00
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Our plan to fix up our chicken area is to build a Ft. Clux that is as predator proof as we can get and then a semi-less secure fenced in area mostly to contain them and keep hawks out. If we need to go out of town, Ft. Clux will be where they stay. I'm using this to help design Ft. Clux. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/permanent-hoop-coop-guide.47818/
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Mar 31, 2021 17:05
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 pluff
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Apr 1, 2021 04:58
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perepelki posted:
Regal.
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Apr 1, 2021 08:58
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spookygonk posted:Regal.
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Apr 1, 2021 12:17
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perepelki posted:how are your new hens going? i think about them frequently Will post an update shortly. We still have all five which is as it should be.
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Apr 1, 2021 13:11
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DAMNED BANTY EGGS!!!  We have our first pip! #8, a tiny bantam egg, has a pip. Horribly early, as usual--the eggs don't even go into lockdown (humidity raised, turns halted--signals chicks it's hatch time) until 11PM tonight. Hopefully it won't start to unzip today, if it does we'll have to recruit a broody hen to finish that egg's hatch. We'll watch the lttle sucker. I'll start the GBS thread once the actual hatch starts, and I'll post a link to it in here. We've also have Mareks in our flock, and now vax for it every year--never a problem in southern California, but here in northern Nevada it's *everywhere*. It's the occular version, makes the birds go blind if it doesn't kill them outright. Gonna second nixing chicken wire for a poultry pen--it's made to keep chickens out of your garden, and is worse than useless as a chicken enclosure, since it gives you a false sense of security. Not only hawks can get through it, but nighttime predators who can take their time and dig under the wire, or just rip it open. Here's how we built our run back in 2012--hardware cloth all the way, buried at least a foot underground and lined with stones on both sides to stop any digging. We get hellacious winds here, so we had to do concrete footings for the buried supports, too: https://jackshenhouse.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-spend-two-weeks.html EDIT-- And yes, I know what day it is--this is no joke, the little bastard has pipped. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 16:36 on Apr 1, 2021 |
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Apr 1, 2021 16:14
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