# Chickens



## Poindexter (Jan 31, 2018)

@kf6hap , five chicks?  A man can't stock two shelves you know.


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## jetsam (Jan 31, 2018)

Hey, baby.


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## Woody Stover (Jan 31, 2018)

jetsam said:


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I didn't know you had frickin' chickens!


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## Happy Stacker (Jan 31, 2018)

Hmm..I have silkie chickens on my farm..Maybe I need a BK???


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## BKVP (Jan 31, 2018)

How did we get onto chickens?


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## begreen (Jan 31, 2018)

This whole thread is heading to the can.


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## jetsam (Jan 31, 2018)

BKVP said:


> How did we get onto chickens?



I hate to stereotype, but woodstove people...
 chickens.....






I guess it COULD just be me, but somehow I don't think so! 


Also, Poindexter's fault.

And look on the bright side, it's more cheerful than arguing over whether copper or pex is more poisonous.


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## BKVP (Jan 31, 2018)

I like the Swoosh label!  (Now that will get them going BeGreen)


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## firefighterjake (Jan 31, 2018)

begreen said:


> This whole thread is heading to the can.



I was kinda hoping it was going to the fryolator . . . or frying pan myself.


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## begreen (Jan 31, 2018)

LOL, this sucker is going to the plucker.


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## jetsam (Feb 2, 2018)

kf6hap said:


> Sometimes I dump a bucket of ashes in a little plastic dog house for the chickens to dust about in. It kills the fleas and turns the California Whites an odd gray. Cheaper than diatomaceous earth. I don't know why it doesn't burn there eyes though. They enjoy a good roll in the ashes too.



You can pick the thread out of your chicken, but you can't pick all the chickens out of your thread.


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## jetsam (Feb 14, 2018)

Had an invasion today.  And me without my sammich bread....


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## semipro (Feb 14, 2018)

I've decided I don't want to live anywhere that wild turkeys don't live. 
I've had them scare the heck out of me as I walked through the woods and roused them from their roost in the trees.  I think I pretty much hit the deck when they took off.
I love hearing them in the distance.


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## jetsam (Feb 14, 2018)

semipro said:


> I've decided I don't want to live anywhere that wild turkeys don't live.
> I've had them scare the heck out of me as I walked through the woods and roused them from their roost.  I think I pretty much hit the deck when they took off.
> I love hearing them in the distance.



I like catching them going up into trees or coming down again (they roost in trees at night).  It's just unlikely-looking, especially on a cold day when they're all fluffed up.


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## semipro (Feb 14, 2018)

jetsam said:


> I hate to stereotype, but woodstove people...
> chickens.....


I wanted chickens.  It just happens I wanted a motorcycle at the same time.  The wife gave me a choice, chickens or a another motorcycle.  I chose the bike but its gone now. Maybe I should try for chickens again.


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## jetsam (Feb 14, 2018)

semipro said:


> I wanted chickens.  It just happens I wanted a motorcycle at the same time.  The wife gave me a choice, chickens or a another motorcycle.  I chose the bike but its gone now. Maybe I should try for chickens again.



The chickens are my wife's. This year we're getting bees. She assures me there won't be any daily maintenance on the bees, but time will tell...


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## semipro (Feb 14, 2018)

jetsam said:


> The chickens are my wife's. This year we're getting bees. She assures me there won't be any daily maintenance on the bees, but time will tell...


That's an admirable goal.  Bees are in trouble right now and we depend upon them for pollination of our crops.  We've thought about hosting bees too. I'm not even a big fan of honey but bees are cool.


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## jetsam (Feb 15, 2018)

semipro said:


> That's an admirable goal.  Bees are in trouble right now and we depend upon them for pollination of our crops.  We've thought about hosting bees too. I'm not even a big fan of honey but bees are cool.



I wanted bumblebees, but apparently they don't domesticate well.


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## begreen (Feb 26, 2018)

jetsam said:


> I wanted bumblebees, but apparently they don't domesticate well.


You could work with mason bees. They are super pollinators.


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## jetsam (Feb 26, 2018)

begreen said:


> You could work with mason bees. They are super pollinators.



Wife decided on honeybees and bought a prefab hive for me to copy. Measuring it out today; if she likes it I'll make more.





I think I'm going to put out some bumblebee nesting pots and some bat boxes though, hopefully they'll get used.  The bumblebees are just because I like bumblebees; the bats have a lot of work to do around here!


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## begreen (Feb 26, 2018)

Good luck I hope it works out well for you. Keep us posted. I had bees for several years, but quit about 12 yrs ago. Lost too many hives.


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## AlbergSteve (Mar 22, 2018)

A bit of spring house cleaning...


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## jetsam (Mar 22, 2018)

AlbergSteve said:


> A bit of spring house cleaning...



Hmmph.


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## AlbergSteve (Mar 22, 2018)

I feel for  ya. My family is in NS/NB and they're pretty much shut down.


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## jetsam (Mar 22, 2018)

AlbergSteve said:


> I feel for  ya. My family is in NS/NB and they're pretty much shut down.



Our chickens are pretty much shut down. They will not step a toe in snow if they have a choice.


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## johneh (Mar 22, 2018)

jetsam said:


> Our chickens are pretty much shut down. They will not step a toe in snow if they have a choice.


Does this mean you have Chicken Chickens ??


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## begreen (Mar 22, 2018)

They're all turkeys


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## Seasoned Oak (Mar 22, 2018)

Every time I think about chickens my local meat market puts drumstix on sale for 28c a pound. I guess its due to the wing demand. Only 2 wings per bird. Wings $2.50 Lb


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## jetsam (Mar 22, 2018)

johneh said:


> Does this mean you have Chicken Chickens ??



The white and red ones are chicken chickens. The rest are bolder. One of the yellow ones is so bold that she will occasionally put a foot in the snow. Also she will invade your chair while you're sitting on it to see if you have corn, or if you yourself are edible today (she checks for both).



begreen said:


> They're all turkeys



I am pretty good at spotting the difference due to local circumstances!







Seasoned Oak said:


> Every time I think about chickens my local meat market puts drumstix on sale for 28c a pound. I guess its due to the wing demand. Only 2 wings per bird. Wings $2.50 Lb



I love that the bigger, more delicious part of the leg costs less. More for me!

Also, 28¢? Think about chickens at my grocery store, please!


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## begreen (Mar 23, 2018)

A friend has guinea hens together with his chickens. He says he is starting to prefer the guinea hens.


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## AlbergSteve (Mar 23, 2018)

.


begreen said:


> A friend has guinea hens together with his chickens. He says he is starting to prefer the guinea hens.


I'm not sure his neighbours would...

This was a local court case  a few years ago...

http://forums.bcac.bc.ca/content.ph...al-farm-practices-where-s-the-justice-in-that


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## begreen (Mar 23, 2018)

AlbergSteve said:


> .
> 
> I'm not sure his neighbours would...
> 
> ...


They've had them for several years now. It helps that they live on 10 acres and surrounding neighbors are not close. I've heard that guinea hens can be noisy, but when I last visited and stayed overnight (camping outside) I never noticed their hens to be particularly noisy. It might be that they are not fully free ranging and flying into the trees and woods or that living with chickens has reduced their chatter. I believe they are in the pheasant family.


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## Prof (Mar 23, 2018)

Check out these funny looking chickens running around my wood houses!


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## AlbergSteve (Mar 29, 2018)

Hard to get anything done in the garden with these guys around...


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## begreen (Mar 29, 2018)

Harder yet if you're a cat.


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## jetsam (Mar 29, 2018)

I had one die suddenly the other day- the wife (the local chicken expert) thinks she was egg-bound. She was fine the day before.

I let the remaining 5 out yesterday...




...but they were cruelly trapped in a 2x12 area outside the run... UNTIL....




...they escaped, only to be even more cruelly trapped on a 2x2 grassy patch.

It's hard to be a chicken.


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## AlbergSteve (Mar 31, 2018)

begreen said:


> Harder yet if you're a cat.



Damn, that's funny!


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## jetsam (Mar 31, 2018)

Lunch is a game for a cat, but it's Serious Business for a chicken!


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## begreen (Mar 31, 2018)

Chickens are modern dinosaurs. 
https://www.theverge.com/2014/12/11...ely-related-to-dinosaurs-new-bird-family-tree


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## jetsam (May 7, 2018)

Springtime! Chickens approve.




The wife got 3 more... so far they are spending their time hiding from the other 5.


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