Ohiofarmgirl'sAdventuresinTheGoodLand-where ya been? whatcha been doin

[Denim Deb]

Last year we attended a funeral for a man that had been sick for many years. His wife was his caretaker. This man was not easy to live with, very demanding. She was offered help from the VA but he always refused to let anyone in the home.

At the funeral home, we were sitting behind the wife. She turned around and with arms open wide and a big smile on her face, in a very happy voice she said...


"I HAVE A NEW SEWING ROOM! I HAVE A NEW LIFE!"

We didn't know quite what to say!! But, it had a profound afffect on my husband. For weeks afterwards, and to this day, he really considers what kind of husband he is being. And if I will be happy or sad to not have him around anymore.

Now we have a kind of private joke, if someone is being a "jerk"... we just say "I have a New Sewing Room!"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...2008 new icons/Death and Graves/Headstone.gif

 

[Henrietta23]

dont even make me tell you about the funeral we went to for the guy who.. wait for it... died in his clown suit. thank heaven they didnt actually bury that guy in it.

and honest to pete, if they would have played "send in the clowns" i would have had to be carried out of there. there are some things i'm just not mature enough for.


ha! Free i wish i would have read this earlier! i just put some chicken fat on the stove to render. hee hee hee

but i did put some basil leaves on a cookie tray on my dashboard... i'm hoping for dried basil

Wait, wasn't that a Mary Tyler Moore episode????

 

[savingdogs]

new sewing room.....

send in the clowns...

 

[freemotion]

Oh, that new sewing room story is amazing! More husbands should have been in that room!!!

My tallow is almost completely rendered. Some public thermometers around this area read 109 F today.

Tomorrow: Frying an egg on the sidewalk.

 

[Henrietta23]

Oh, that new sewing room story is amazing! More husbands should have been in that room!!!

My tallow is almost completely rendered. Some public thermometers around this area read 109 F today.

Tomorrow: Frying an egg on the sidewalk.

Yup, the hens have been baking them in the barn! I'm looking forward to the high 80s predicted for Sunday!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

the cats are going mad.

i have a chick in my um.... "mobile incubator"...oh and he just pooped in my shirt. sheesh! well at least he's all systems go. the peeping is sending Nicholas (the cat) into fits.

so

we had a series of sad failures this morning in the hen house.

Miss Duck and Eliza (the salmon fav hen) are now fired. they will be lucky if the both dont go to the grill. and a 3rd hen - that crazy broody is also on the list. she isnt getting a pass. between the 3 of them they have killed at least 4 chicks. i pulled this little guy out before he was their next victim.... and now.......we have the incubator fired up again - full of eggs that may or may not hatch, a chick in my bra, and there will probably be another round of chicks in the basement. sheesh what a morning!

and now i have to go to the feed store. luckily for me - the amish ladies have already set up and they are selling cinnamon rolls. (and no this little guy isnt going with us to the feedstore - i can take mocking but having to explain this would even be too much for me).

not so hot today - here's hoping for rain!

happy saturday!

 

[savingdogs]

I don't understand the compulsion of chickens that kill chicks. It seems so counter to survival. Its a wonder chickens aren't extinct, I've had such a hard time getting them to reproduce without a lot of intervention. I've had chickens THREE years and have had a rooster and encouraged broodiness almost the whole time and have only TWO live hens out there to show for my breeding program. sheesh! Those ones survived because their "moms" were fierce about defending them, and I had to keep them apart for a long time.
Where is the happy barnyard from my childhood books? Each animal in pairs like they just stepped off Noah's ark, but with a row of their babies behind them?

 

[freemotion]

I suspect it is about preserving genetics (one's own) if there seems to be not enough room for all. Just an observation, not based on knowledge or enough experience.....but....when hens here are looking for a nest they tend to hide and give themselves some space. The roosters tend to divide the hens into smallish sub-flocks and take their hens away from the main flock for the day. They only go into the coop at night because I train them to. Sometimes I have to gather up a sub-flock at night for days or even weeks and carry them into the coop for the night, from their chosen roost somewhere else. So I wonder if the chick killing is because there are too many mothers in the same small (to them) area.

From what I've read, people who broody raise chicks give each broody hen her own space, protected from the rest, until the chicks are a certain size. When I've done this, it was very successful. I had them in an adjoining pen so the flock could see them, then when the big day came, I lifted the bottom of the dividing fence and held it up with bricks so they could integrate at their own pace. Then came the nightly "scooping 'n' cooping" routine until they all learned to go into the safety of the one coop at night.

Scooping 'n' cooping nightly right now, brooder raised chicks. One rooster, the lowest of the six and harem-less, adopted this group as his harem by hanging out around the tractor when they were in it. He's in for a surprise when half of them start crowing.

 

[FarmerChick]

wait Ohio, isn't a weird day a normal day for you?

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Where is the happy barnyard from my childhood books?

ha! its a jungle out there for sure.

we have several (locking) brooders - one for each lady... but Miss Duck and Eliza were just too close. the combo of duck + chicken just didnt work. i dont know why the set so close. i think that miss duck was there first (her brood is 35ish days) and then eliza just couldnt keep her self away. so blech.
:-(

and really i think some of it is the weather. everyone is just plain nuts right now. i'm dunking that crazy broody again - but unfortunately its too hot outside to "cool her jets."

right now i have Jane + her singleton and Charlie and her chicks separated. Charlie is outside in the same yard as The Dozen and so far so good. Jane's baby is still too small to be outside roaming around so she had the day coop to herself.

the feedstore trip was successful. there is a family that sells sweet corn down the road, so we got some. and i got rolls, a zucch and a cuke from the amish girls (they were adorable).

Java reminded me how refreshing cucumber water is - so i have mint+sliced cukes in a pitcher of water in the fridge. i drank it all day yesterday and it was wonderful.

so far so good with our little buddy downstairs. the incubator is kinda humid so i'm having to regulate it pretty closely. i'll check it again in a bit.

thats the update. the dogs and i are heading out to do a little work. today is MUCH better than yesterday. still gonna be hot but i'm hoping its gonna rain soon.