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So we have a date picked out for the hatch this year--April 5th. Since last year it got so hot so early, we thought we'd move it up a bit from our regular Easter hatch date. I'll set the eggs in the incubator on March 15th. This year I have a line on bantam blue laced red Wyandotte, bantam Cochins (2 seperate suppliers) and lavender/blue Faverolle eggs! We'll add in some of our own as well, which means the fluffy butt trimming will occur around the last week in February. Weedcat can hold onto his dignity up until then. We're also considering a new cam, a Logitech C930e, which should give us a much nicer picture. 
Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Jan 26, 2014 |
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Jan 25, 2014 21:46
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 02:23 |
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Okay, the internet issue appears to have been resolved. Cam back up. I think we'll do the cam tomorrow as well. I feel bad about it going down so often. Monday I'm going in for a new modem.
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Jan 26, 2014 00:47
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Oh my god, is it nearly time for Chickam again? 
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Jan 26, 2014 02:16
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Since our modem is acting up and being all crappy, we're exchanging it for a new one on Monday. We're running the cam again tomorrow with fun goodies since today was so bad.
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Jan 26, 2014 02:40
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The cam will start in about an hour, we have someone coming out to possibly rehome the rooboys with right now.
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Jan 26, 2014 20:03
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Velvet Sparrow posted:The cam will start in about an hour, we have someone coming out to possibly rehome the rooboys with right now. awwwww, I hope it will be a great home for them with lots of pullets and hens!
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Jan 26, 2014 20:38
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Meeko, Fred, Honey and Doodad have gone to a nice new home with lots of hens, they will freerange on a secure half acre. Doodad will have his own run with some banty hens.  I showed the guy Weedcat and told him in another year or so Doodad would be that size. It was really hard to rehome the boys, it always is.  We have a watermelon and cabbages on strings to give them in a bit. The pro version of 'bobbing for apples'. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Jan 26, 2014 |
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Jan 26, 2014 20:49
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Cabbage on a string and watermelon placed! They're having to leap for the cabbage a bit.
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Jan 26, 2014 22:12
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Cabbage and watermelon being served now at Chickam!
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Jan 26, 2014 22:14
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We got the flock a watermelon, carved with the requisite happy face. And added to it a new fun food item to entertain the chickens, a cabbage-on-a-string! Same idea as the previously offered apple-on-a-string, only amped up.  Now they've had cabbage before...but not hanging swinging from a string. But both items were welcomed and they dived right in...  ...except for Rose on the far left, who for whatever reason decided instead to noodle around playing with molted feathers. Everyone on Chickam decided that the melon looked a little bit TOO creepily happy to be eaten. The girls stuck their heads right in, many ended up with a pink streak down the back of the heads & necks.  The more energetically they pecked, the more the cabbage swung around wildly, which of course only made it more fun as they tried to track it's motion and time their pecks. Pretty soon it was swinging back and forth, AND wildly spinning around. They had a great time chasing it to and fro.   I don't know what the heck is going on here. It looks like a Dadaist photo shoot. Weedcat sneaking in on the right to photobomb, while Cam in the back looks for all the world like he's wearing a cabbage on his head. Bear is peering intently into the watermelon abyss.  In the end, after many hours the cabbage was reduced to it's core. The watermelon was about half-eaten and will no doubt be enjoyed again tomorrow, although by morning it'll be frozen, which should make for some fine chicken confusion when we let them out of the coop first thing in the morning. EDIT: I didn't get out there Monday, but by yesterday there was NO TRACE of the watermelon left. 
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Jan 30, 2014 02:35
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Now they've had cabbage before...but not hanging swinging from a string. But both items were welcomed and they dived right in...
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Jan 30, 2014 04:08
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^^^ You're welcome! Since it's so cold here and we've still got about 6 inches of snow on the ground, I doubt we'll be able to set the computer/cam combo out by the chicken coop. We'll try for wild bird cam instead, if we can sneak just the cam out the front door and leave the computer inside where it won't turn to a block of ice. Have to see how it goes, don't want to make the cam condense and get all wet inside. If we do the wild bird thing we'll make up some peanut butter/birdseed-stuffed pinecones for them. Hanging from a string, of course.
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Feb 1, 2014 01:51
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I curse you VS, THANK YOU for sending us the SNOW STORM! Hope your chickens are doing better with the white stuff! How did Burger react to the blow dryer?
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Feb 1, 2014 19:14
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Well expect that storm to dump a LOT of snow on you, unless it gave it all to us. Ours is still with us, along with cold temps--it's just now getting up to just below freezing, so we're gonna try and set just the cam out front door to show the wild birds, no chickens today.
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Feb 1, 2014 20:28
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Peanut butter/bird seed mixture placed, birdhorde has arrived.
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Feb 1, 2014 22:10
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This is a screen capture of the set up from Saturday's CHICKAM session. I was too engrossed once all the different birds started appearing to remember to take a picture, sorry! ^_^"
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Feb 2, 2014 15:13
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Lousy weather today--high winds & rain/snow, so no Chickam today or likely tomorrow, sorry. If it clears up we'll set the cam out, but right now it's too wet. 
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Feb 8, 2014 19:25
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Lousy weather today--high winds & rain/snow, so no Chickam today or likely tomorrow, sorry. If it clears up we'll set the cam out, but right now it's too wet. I bet there's a bunch of cold, grumpy chickens who just KNOW that YOU are responsible for the horrible weather! Is there much side-eyeing and complaining when the humans enter the coop?
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Feb 8, 2014 21:41
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Lousy weather today--high winds & rain/snow, so no Chickam today or likely tomorrow, sorry. If it clears up we'll set the cam out, but right now it's too wet. Stay safe! We had high winds last night, still today. It's warm enough that we are having rain. Hopefully it won't turn real cold and turn into snow!
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Feb 8, 2014 22:29
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Sorry folks, no Chickam today due to high winds. The chickens are all staying in the coop anyway because being blown around like a tumbleweed apparently sucks. If the wind calms down tomorrow, we'll do it then.National Weather Service posted:High Wind Warning ...and yes, it's all our fault. Many chicken glares and calls to make it "BAWK BAWK BAWK" which apparently means "STOP STOP STOP" in chicken. That or "you people are really assholes". 12_String fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Feb 15, 2014 |
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Feb 15, 2014 19:34
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Stay safe 12String, VS and The Kid! We are having unusually warm weather here in Bountiful, UT. Hope the chickens don't blow away either!
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Feb 15, 2014 19:45
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Maybe tomorrow the weather will be tamer. In the meantime I hope everyone in your area remains safe until it all blows over. ^^ (Oooh the bad pun!) I have a question though. What's up with Chick's back? Is it that the roos are too heavy, or she has heat burns from the rubbing or something? Poor honey-bun all the same. Some nice rest inside doing gaming supervision for 12String sounds like the ideal treatment plan. She is huuuuge though, based on the photos you posted on your blog. The size of a medium dog! And so much fluff. *u* Makes you want to hug her little bones to pieces!... In a non-horrible way.
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Feb 15, 2014 20:27
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12_String posted:being blown around like a tumbleweed apparently sucks. Gotta admit I'd totally wanna see that.
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Feb 15, 2014 23:06
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CrazyLittle posted:Gotta admit I'd totally wanna see that. With Cochins of any size, this happens constantly. They are all staying in the coop and glaring at the house. I think the paint is peeling off that side of it. What happened with Chick is that last year the rooboys hurt her back somehow--not an open wound or anything, she had a lot of trouble walking and sat around most of the time, so we isolated her until she healed and the boys were rehomed. She got better but was always a bit stiff after that and we could tell that it was just how she was going to be from then on. Cam has aggravated the old injury, even though she manages to chase his rear end around just fine when he dares approach her. We don't want it to get any worse, so right now she's in the house watching 12_String play xBox with a very serious expression on her face (unavoidable when you are a Brahma because you carry that expression 24/7) and NOT being blown about. When the weather calms a bit Cam will be cooped in the small run with Bug and possibly River and Zip for a while so we can get eggs to hatch from them, and Chick can have some peace with the flock. After THAT, we hope that the back yard will be more ready for them to roam--right now there is no hawk cover cause nothing is leafed out and I can't plant new plants yet. The wind today is intense, BTW
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Feb 15, 2014 23:31
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Velvet Sparrow posted:The wind today is intense, BTW Whenever VS talks about how bad the wind is, I always get this image in my mind.  Lillian Gish (being driven mad by the non-stop howling wind) in Victor Sjöström's film "The Wind" from 1928. (Great film, btw).
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Feb 15, 2014 23:57
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Inveigle posted:Whenever VS talks about how bad the wind is, I always get this image in my mind. It's an astoundingly great film and anyone who hasn't seen it is missing out.
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Feb 16, 2014 02:55
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Inveigle posted:Whenever VS talks about how bad the wind is, I always get this image in my mind. I'd tweeted one time about the damned wind and how it was driving me mad, just like Lillian Gish...and got a tweet back from 'Lillian Gish' offering me the use of the revolver from the film. And yeah, goddamned good movie.Anyway, wind is mostly gone, as is the rain that followed it. Cam is up! Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Feb 23, 2014 |
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Feb 16, 2014 21:01
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We actually enjoyed watching the cam from that odd position it got knocked into. The details of the chooks' feathers were amazing to see up close. For some reason, that cam always seems to look best when it's working in the 1 foot-to-four foot range. Below: Bloop (on the right) and one of his ladies.
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Feb 17, 2014 03:55
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Sorry about that...I'll just assume it was Weedcat, since he has a history with the camera. Left to right, it's Butters, Bloop and CM.
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Feb 17, 2014 04:09
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In your blog you mentioned hair cuts for the lucky chickens! Is it a time consuming ordeal, watching for 'blood feathers' or whatever they are? I would like to say Good Luck to you VS and the Chicken Wrangler Team! Can't wait to see pictures of chickens that look like they have been sliced in half! I'm sure you will have goodies to smooth over hurt feelings though!
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Feb 19, 2014 02:31
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It's time consuming due to the number of angry birds to be wrangled, and I have to be super careful not to cut anyone's chicken tenders while trimming them. Usually no blood feathers since all that butt fluff grew in many months ago. Other than that it's mostly messy, since the cut fluffy feathers float around on the wind. Hopefully the wild birds will appreciate them for nest linings. New webcam acquired!It's a Logitech c920, we tested it tonight in the living room with Chick (mostly motionless) and Skillet (who was naughty and jumped up on the table) and tweaked the settings a bit. Much better picture with no scratched-up lens, yay! We may still run the old cam on weekends and reserve the new one for the hatch though, depending on the weather. EDIT: VVVV The old one was beyond done, the crappy picture it provided gave me a headache. We'll keep it as a backup cam, though. Thanks for helping us adjust the new one, getting feedback from you guys is really important.
Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Feb 19, 2014 |
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Feb 19, 2014 02:44
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Thanks for letting me peek into your living room! The new camera has amazing clarity and detail~. <3 Looking forward to watching the hatch on the new cam. (Thanks for buying it!)
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Feb 19, 2014 17:59
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No Chickam today due to a family emergency with my mom--she fell but is OK--and we just now got home. We'll try for tomorrow since the weather is actually cooperating. Also I wasn't here today to do butt trimming, so maybe that will be part of Chickam tomorrow. Also, we lost Chick last night. She just quit eating and drinking and went. Whatever internal problem she's had for the last two years just finally got her, she wasn't sick or anything, nothing I could treat, poor baby.VVV My mom doesn't listen, either, plus she's fiesty and just goes off and does what she wants rather than what is wise for someone her age. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 10:45 on Feb 23, 2014 |
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Feb 22, 2014 23:29
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awwww so sorry to hear about Chick, darn it! She won the jackpot getting to live with you and you gave her the best years ever! Glad you mom is alright. It is scary when our elderly folks fall. I don't know how many times this winter I had to lecture my dad, DO NOT GO OUT IN THE SNOW! Parents don't listen! edit: My parent does not listen! piscesbobbie fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Feb 23, 2014 |
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Feb 23, 2014 01:06
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Cam is up--the weather is fine so it's the NEW cam, the picture should be much better. Please let us know if anyone is having any problems or the picture is wonky somehow. Dignity removal will commence in a bit. The old ladies not in lay and the banties will escape this, but Weedcat, Cam and the ladies in lay are getting a butt buzz cut--the eggs I'm using to cook with are only at about 50% fertility. Soon there will be much  
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Feb 23, 2014 20:35
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Hahahaha that cloud of feathers is hilarious
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Feb 23, 2014 22:06
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Cam is up--the weather is fine so it's the NEW cam, the picture should be much better. Please let us know if anyone is having any problems or the picture is wonky somehow. Bloop is very  since his dignity is intact.
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Feb 23, 2014 23:17
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The wreckage... 
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Feb 24, 2014 01:51
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VS, thank you so much for the broadcast today! That was a LOT of fluffage flying about! Hope you got the egg off Elizabeak. I've heard it is hard to clean off once it has dried! Is she what they call an 'egg eater?' I have a dumb question: How often do you need to treat for mites? Was it a good thing that hair cuts were given so you caught the mites early?
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Feb 24, 2014 04:17
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Cam is up. No howling wind, rain or snow so far today.piscesbobbie posted:VS, thank you so much for the broadcast today! That was a LOT of fluffage flying about! Hope you got the egg off Elizabeak. I've heard it is hard to clean off once it has dried! Is she what they call an 'egg eater?' I think with the condition Elizabeak is in, I'd call her an "egg roller". We usually spray for mites when we worm, so about every 6 months. However if we find someone has mites, we'll treat the one effected and check the others. They basically get a check whenever we pick them up.
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Mar 1, 2014 20:19
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