Birthday/Anniversary and Chicken Talk

Good Thursday to everyone. :)

Tuesday evening I decided I knew exactly where I wanted to go out to eat.

It seems like the only time we ever go to Red Lobster is when we are going with relatives, so we indulged, per my request. I didnt hold anything back, I ordered the Ultimate Feast! It has Lobster Tail, Shrimp Scampi, big fried shrimp, and snow crab legs, with two sides. I got salad and baked potato. I even had me a frozen marguirita...it sure was good. I went over the edge when I ordered the strawberry cheesecake for dessert.

After we all finished stuffing ourselves to the gills we decided to go over to Lowes and walk around a bit to try to knock off some of that fullness feeling. (We really must be getting old...lol...go out to eat, and then go to Lowes..whoo hoo...we party hard dont we??? LOL) I dont care, I like Lowes, I like being 40. I dont have to act 20, I can be 40 and enjoy it. Not that I ever acted 20. Not for a very long time anyway.

I got another can of barn paint for Derbys house. The one gallon was sucked up almost straight from the can by the wood siding. I got some more paint brushes too. I never buy the expensive brushes because I always seem to muck up the brushes so bad I cant use them for more than a couple of times, even if I rinse them. We also got some of those decorative post tops, but not just for decorative purposes. I have five stubborn chickens and four stubborn guineas that want to perch on the pool deck railing at night and poop up the deck (does that make it a poop deck?? LOL) Swab the poop deck mate! He he...anyway. I am tired of scraping and spraying off poop and these birds just wont conform to my wishes of going into one of the chicken houses. I have carried them for months, every night, and put them in the same house, over and over. The very next evening, they end up right back on that railing. So...we are going to install some anti chicken roosting parafanalia on the railings. They will have to move somewhere else if they arent going to cooperate. I dont want to step in poo or look at poo while I am going to and from my pool this summer.

 

So lets talk about what I have been doing lately. I got chicks of all different ages and sizes by now. I transferred the White Crested Polish and the Americaunas out to the growing pen a while back now. They are all doing very well. I do believe I need a much bigger waterer though. The water in that is gone in a days time now.

Yesterday I set up a pen within that grow out pen for the growing batch I hatched of my own. There are Sultans, Serama, Silkies, and my Polkies (this is what Shelby has named the half silver laced polish, half silkie) and the half Golden Phoenix, half silkie. I discovered as the chocolate looking mystery chickens got older that some carried the white laced look on their wings and breast, and some carried the golden phoenix look. ALL of them have twiggies on their heads though. They look like road runners or something! So now they are out there getting acquainted with the older bunch through the bars of their pen.

I cleaned out the big brooder box and put fresh shavings down in it, even though I wouldnt need it right this minute. I have two plastic bin brooders going right now. One has week old and older babies in it and the other has two and three day old babies in it.  Lets see...I have two giant cochin babies, one silver laced polish, three serama, and teh black sultan in one, and in the other I have one mystery baby, one giant cochin, and my first golden phoenix baby of the season. Next out of the eggs I am expecting Sultans and a couple more cochins.

So now that I have everyone rearranged I have more room for the coming additions. I cant seem to stop putting eggs in the incubator. What is wrong with me? I have chick fever! LOL

No, really, I think I am going to call it quits here pretty soon. I have more than enough babies now. I bought those fifteen, and hatching out I dont know how many of my own...I will have to do a head count, I dont even know how many. I have had a really good hatching season this year. I had a couple of incidents of Sultans dying in the shell, but it was natures way I found out later. I had two that had crossed beaks. They couldnt peck their way out of the shell and even if they had been able to get out, they wouldnt have survived long not being able to eat and drink properly. I had about three that died in the shell from not absorbing the yolk sac properly as they came to full term. That is just something that happens, I have always had it happen to a few every year.

 

Carrie should be getting her eggs I sent to her very soon. I was able to send her one Golden Phoenix egg, two Serama, and six giant cochin eggs. The serama unfortunately decided to quit laying so I am going to send her a good batch to hatch later on when they go back to laying regularly.

I have been working on getting all my birds done up with the Frontline Spray. I hope to catch up and finish everyone and everything by this weekend.

I dont know if I mentioned it, but Ian has the garden tilled up now and so I am going to get myself some tomato plants for my Mothers Day present this weekend. I cant do without some of those homegrown delicious tomatoes. Last year I made some killer salsa and I want to make it again this year. I even made some pretty darn good spaghetti sauce too. Canning is pretty cool I must say. I hope we have as good a crop of pickling cucumbers as last year...we had SO SO many I could hardly keep up making all sorts of pickles. It was fun though and I am looking forward to doing it again this year.

Well I have rambled on long enough. Its time to get up and get going around here. I got plenty to do and it isnt doing itself, so I will see you folks later on. Hope your having a sunny and warm day. :)

Yes yes, I know, I should have pictures! I will get some and get them on here to match up with all my talk of moving the chicks here and there. I promise. :)

Here we go...here are the Polish and Americauna