Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[CntryBoy777]

When ya backin to drop the trailer, place a concrete paver behind the rear tire of the truck and when backing up to reattach to it, ya backup til the tire hits the paver....works like a charm...

 

[thistlebloom]

That's a great idea!

 

[Mike CHS]

Friend of ours called and asked us to take her Game hen and 4 chicks that she was sitting on. She said the hen kept running off two other hens that were sitting on nests. We were hoping she would adopt the chicks that we hatched in the incubator but so far it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

 

[CntryBoy777]

May take her a bit to adjust to the new surroundings and it at least gives the others something to trail behind....hope she warms up to them for ya....

 

[Mike CHS]

Teresa and I are running 2' chicken wire all along the perimeter fence to keep the chicks in the chicken pen with all of the predators we have had recently. The fence has never been an issue with chicks following their mom but incubator chicks don't have that tie.

I was helping the neighbor cut his grass this morning and I found where something had been feeding on a young deer leg.

 

[Bruce]

My guess is that the incubator chicks are too old. Plus since the hen has her other chicks, she knows which ones they are. Hopefully she'll let the incubator chicks hang with hers even if she doesn't mother them.

Mike, you big show off! Just kidding, lol.
I have No Technology, so it's the in and out, 2 inches left, oops, 3 inches right, oh dang 2 inches left again, about 4 or 5 times until it's close enough to fudge it in. It's good exercise though so I'm not complaining.

That is how I have to get the implements on the back of the tractor.

When ya backin to drop the trailer, place a concrete paver behind the rear tire of the truck and when backing up to reattach to it, ya backup til the tire hits the paver....works like a charm...

I have a big metal bar (MAYBE it is a short piece of railroad rail??) that I put behind the tractor wheel at the right distance to pick up the flail. Unfortunately one has to be exactly on not only "fore and aft" but also at exactly the right angle - ie perpendicular to the implement.

 

[Mike CHS]

The chicks are the same age but the hen is a game hen so they are a lot smaller. The hen let them all gather with her at first but that was when she was stressed. Once she calmed down she figured out which ones were hers.

 

[farmerjan]

Game hens are notorious for taking care of THEIR chicks.... but unless they were day old, and you snuck them under the very first night, the chances of her taking them are pretty slim. Ours will sometimes kill stray chicks unless there are like a couple other GAME momma's out and about with chicks, then they all sort of look out for the chicks but the chicks know who their own mommas are. If she doesn't try to kill them then she might tolerate them enough that they might learn to go under her with her own.... I have had some hens that would take any/all chicks she could find but they are few and far between. My son's game chickens have taught me over the years.... some even will not allow a chick that is a different color when we have set them on a nest of eggs that we wanted hatched. They all have to look alike.... or several of each "color pattern" so there were no "single odd ones"..... which the silver duckwing and black breasted red chicks all have that chipmunk pattern.... I did used to get them to hatch out my lt brown leghorn eggs as they are also that chipmunk pattern as chicks.

 

[Mike CHS]

We separated them this afternoon since it was obvious the chicks weren't going to make it in the same brooder with the hen.

We saw our problem skunk on the neighbors side of the fence this evening. I had a shotgun handy but it was out of range and by the time I went into the house to get a rifle, it was gone by the time I got back out there.

 

[Mike CHS]

It took us all day but we attached chicken wire to the woven wire fence to keep the chicks in and other critters out. Hopefully that will also keep the skunk from going through the fence as I would rather keep it out as put it down.