- Thread starter
- #1,451
rachels.haven
Herd Master
Wow, you just got a shotgun and the critters started going away? AMAZING.
I should go on a vacation to my parents house and learn how to do that. They dissapear things too, I'm told, and they'd let me practice on some of their raccoons and coyotes. (My dog might be happy to disappear a hawk and all, since it's a bird that "doesn't belong" going after her charges, the chicks and ducks) My husband is still not happy about the fact I will probably get a gun in the next year or so, and I'm worried if we do start disappearing things and it got out at all the local crazy city people who live here would get us in serious trouble for...something? anything they can? Every second they can until they find another target? I know some would say, "let them try" but this is Massachusetts, and people don't make sense here, laws don't really protect people, and the people with lots of money and lots of voice can get away with a whole lot, and that's sure not us. I feel I should keep our head down as much as possible during our tenure here, and try to make friends with people in the (NORMAL, still attached to reality) farming core of our town before I do anything that could become known and cause waves. Or maybe someday we'll move. One or the other.
Today I am kicking the chicks outside into the brooder coop, which used to be Mr. Teddy's bantam coop. The bantams have the big coop for now until I can process the roosters. The chicks need the closer space to make the most of their heat lamp anyway. I'm not sure if I've got the lamp adjusted right yet in the chicks coop at the moment so I guessed by feel and pulled the 9! packing peanut leghorn cockerels and put them in it and I'll see how they act.
In the last day or two we've lost one packing peanut leghorn male and one leghorn female, so I guess the leghorns are the weak ones so far.
And speaking of the leghorn roosters, I don't think they're going to make processing weight. They come after your hand in the brooder and bite at age fluffy and puffy and 2" tall. I don't think their brains to hormone ratio is right, and life's too short to have tiny showdowns with nine dingbat baby roosters over the waterer and feeder daily, so eventually I will need to make them go and just dispose of them. Eventually. But today they're going to tell me if that coop out there is all comfy and I'll worry about culling later (the coop is probably fine, I just want to be SURE). The last leghorns I had were straight run too and they didn't go after me until they were at least 16 weeks-which is almost processing size. But it doesn't matter I guess. Darn chicken hormones. At least nobody will get seriously bitten or spurred this way. Pity too, because they're cute for now-key words being "for now", I guess. But that's chickens. I have my doubts feisty chicks are going to turn into chill, relaxed, respectful, safe to be around roosters. (...In fact, I don't think I've ever seen that happen in all my years of chicken raising.)
I should go on a vacation to my parents house and learn how to do that. They dissapear things too, I'm told, and they'd let me practice on some of their raccoons and coyotes. (My dog might be happy to disappear a hawk and all, since it's a bird that "doesn't belong" going after her charges, the chicks and ducks) My husband is still not happy about the fact I will probably get a gun in the next year or so, and I'm worried if we do start disappearing things and it got out at all the local crazy city people who live here would get us in serious trouble for...something? anything they can? Every second they can until they find another target? I know some would say, "let them try" but this is Massachusetts, and people don't make sense here, laws don't really protect people, and the people with lots of money and lots of voice can get away with a whole lot, and that's sure not us. I feel I should keep our head down as much as possible during our tenure here, and try to make friends with people in the (NORMAL, still attached to reality) farming core of our town before I do anything that could become known and cause waves. Or maybe someday we'll move. One or the other.
Today I am kicking the chicks outside into the brooder coop, which used to be Mr. Teddy's bantam coop. The bantams have the big coop for now until I can process the roosters. The chicks need the closer space to make the most of their heat lamp anyway. I'm not sure if I've got the lamp adjusted right yet in the chicks coop at the moment so I guessed by feel and pulled the 9! packing peanut leghorn cockerels and put them in it and I'll see how they act.
In the last day or two we've lost one packing peanut leghorn male and one leghorn female, so I guess the leghorns are the weak ones so far.
And speaking of the leghorn roosters, I don't think they're going to make processing weight. They come after your hand in the brooder and bite at age fluffy and puffy and 2" tall. I don't think their brains to hormone ratio is right, and life's too short to have tiny showdowns with nine dingbat baby roosters over the waterer and feeder daily, so eventually I will need to make them go and just dispose of them. Eventually. But today they're going to tell me if that coop out there is all comfy and I'll worry about culling later (the coop is probably fine, I just want to be SURE). The last leghorns I had were straight run too and they didn't go after me until they were at least 16 weeks-which is almost processing size. But it doesn't matter I guess. Darn chicken hormones. At least nobody will get seriously bitten or spurred this way. Pity too, because they're cute for now-key words being "for now", I guess. But that's chickens. I have my doubts feisty chicks are going to turn into chill, relaxed, respectful, safe to be around roosters. (...In fact, I don't think I've ever seen that happen in all my years of chicken raising.)
