Quail_Antwerp: Words from the Barnyard...

Javamama

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
May 28, 2009
Messages
3,159
Reaction score
0
Points
154
Location
USA
Becca, i think I was gonna reply to you about something last night but i got distracted and forgot. I'll figure it once my :caf kicks in :D
 

lorihadams

Always doing laundry
Joined
Oct 31, 2008
Messages
5,415
Reaction score
2
Points
208
Location
virginia
Oh no.....QA and Becca on a shopping trip.....look out! Hope you guys have lots of room in the van!!! :lol:

I would love some BLRW but I am at 10 and that is my coop limit. No more birds unless I get rid of some or build a bigger coop. I'd love to sneak in some turkeys though.

Hope you guys have fun!
 

Quail_Antwerp

Cold is on the Right, Hot is on The Left
Joined
Sep 12, 2008
Messages
6,905
Reaction score
6
Points
262
Location
Ohio
What's the best way to thank someone for giving you a helping hand when you needed it? By paying it forward!!!

Nine years of no water - now we have water, and our Amish neighbors spring that supplies their house with water has dried up - do to lack of rain. Thankfully, it's raining all day today, and supposedly tomorrow, so hopefully that will fill their spring back up for them.... In the meantime, we've been hauling water back and forth to their house for them. It feels wonderful to be the one to do the helping instead of being the one that everyone wants to help!

I like it on this side of things! ;)

Now, onto the news from this past weekend - as ya'll know, we went to Ohio Nationals! Kid free this year!!

Let me back up - we were NOT going to go this year. Then Becca found out that Foley's from Kentucky were coming - and folks, IMO they have THE BEST Blue Laced Red Wyandottes in the US....

So immediately I told Becca, "We're going! Find out WHAT if any BLRW they have available and HOW MUCH?!"

Becca was wonderful about tackling that assignment, and assured me that Mr. and Mrs. Foley would be bringing some BLRW for me to pick through - but not just ANY BLRW, but BLRW from their TOP TEN that they had held back for themselves!

Let me explain: They raise out about 200 BLRW chicks each year from their own stock. As they grow, they weed them down to 10 pullets and 10 cockerels, and from those, they only keep the best 6-8 pullets and the best 2 cockerels for next years breeding.

So, the birds they brought for me to look at and choose from were from their top TEN! :ya

When we got there, I was - as I was last year with the Silver Laced Brahmas - a woman on a mission. I had no interest in anything BUT finding Foleys. I've been drooling over their birds for two years, and I had told Mrs. Foley, "I am NOT leaving Nationals without BLRW from you!"

As it turns out, Mrs. Foley found US!

I went with the intent to get a pair, because at the price they quoted I could only afford to get a pair. By the time we met up with them, and I asked about price again, they had basically reduced the price of a pair to the price for ONE! So, where I had gone to purchase a pair, that money was now enough to buy FOUR!!

So, I chose a nice blue cockerel who has a great mahogany color laced with blue, 2 blue laced pullets, and one black laced pullet (because she had awesome mahogany color and she laid her first egg on the way home!)

I am excited to report that I also have a picture of me with Mrs. Foley - but at the last second her husband leaned in and got in it, too! It's a nice photo, and as soon as I can share it with everyone (darn broken down computer!) I will!

The Foley's are WONDERFUL people!

There were other birds I had arranged to get at Nationals - a pair of Snowy call ducks from toni, another BYC'er, plus a pair of bantam Salmon Faverolles, from buffbeauty on BYC - and the surprise of my day is her birds came from the very same show breeder I talked to at Nationals last year, so I have birds from the line I wanted!!! We also found a nice pair of Quail d'Anvers, so I bought those, too, and the last purchase of the day was a blue fawn/grey pied pair for my blue fawn/pied call duck breeding pen.

Then it was off to visit Javamama - and that was just awesome!

First, I must say, there are a couple stories that just CANNOT be shared about our visit with Javamama - not without the pictures that is! But I will say this, she has the craziest hen I have ever seen (hint: I named her Lesi while I was there), and I want to know what in the world were her neighbors THINKING?!

Javamama, do you have that christmas tree up yet?? Something needs to block that view! :gig (and don't worry, I'll share the full hilarious tale once I can post the illustrations to go with it!)

She has the most adorable pair of mini manchas! and I'm looking forward to maybe getting a little buckling off her next year. I took a lot of photos of her goat set up, so I can give some ideas to E about what needs to be done for my goats....

Her Welsh Harlequins didn't seem thrilled to have human invasion into their yard - or interrupting their nap in the yard!

She served us a delicious pumpkin cake and some hot and strong coffee (with real cream!) and then we sat for two hours in her livingroom and just chatted - oh, I do mean after we got the grand tour of all her suburban shenanigans!

AND while we were there, someone knocked on her door and asked if they could borrow an incubator for some bearded dragon eggs!!! The three of us cracked up laughing after she'd shut the door, and I said, "That's never happened to me!" to which she replied, "It's never happened before here, either!" :gig

It was a real enjoyment to sit in another likeminded person's home and talk and joke - even if I did almost get sucked into the Harry Potter movie on the T.V. twice....

OH! and she has a lava lamp from the '60's! She was definitely an old lady, and the lava part - well, it just looked um....well, not like it should! I told her she should name that lamp "Aunt Flo" :hide

It was hard to leave - as one could sit at Javamama's and visit half of forever!!

On Monday, I met yet another BYC'er and picked up three Coronation Split Chicks from Tom Dean's line to add to my small flock that I'm trying to build up.

Other farm happenings:

On November 6 we had a frolic, and our Amish neighbors helped us get the entire shell and the roof up of the add on, minus the exterior wall cover.

Yesterday we picked up the T1-11 to go on the exterior walls, and our Amish neighbor came over to help us get it all on before the rains hit. This is the same Amish neighbor we're hauling water for.

Today, I've not done much of anything except regular chores.

This coming Saturday is our housewarming, and I've got to finish planning what to serve food wise for that.

OH, and yesterday, I got 12 2x4's at Lowe's at HALF OFF! Means I bought 12 for the price of 6!! :ya

Earlier this year I said 2010 was going to be our year - and it was. We've truly been so abundantly blessed this year - even with the bad that has happened - all the good has truly outweighed it!!
 

Farmfresh

City Biddy
Joined
Aug 6, 2008
Messages
8,841
Reaction score
80
Points
310
Location
Missouri USA
So glad to hear from you. Glad you had a great time and brought home some really nice birds.

God is indeed blessing you!
 

Javamama

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
May 28, 2009
Messages
3,159
Reaction score
0
Points
154
Location
USA
:lol: And people think I'm nuts for keeping goats in my backyard. You guys just wait until Aly posts the photo she took :lol:
If you had stayed until the other neighbors turned on their holiday decor, you would have gotten another eyeful. Every day Hubby jokes about what Tigger is doing to Pooh. And from the angle that we see it, hubby is right. :sick Unfortunately the fence isn't quite tall enough to shied us from everything
 

lorihadams

Always doing laundry
Joined
Oct 31, 2008
Messages
5,415
Reaction score
2
Points
208
Location
virginia
I am so jealous!

I can't wait to see all the pictures from your adventures!!! I loved the pics of your BLRW from way back and I would love to have some someday...I can't wait to see the ones you got from Foleys! I would take their rejects any day! They have such beautiful birds.

I'm glad the house is coming along....everyone liking the new space???
 

keljonma

Epicurean Goddess
Joined
Sep 10, 2008
Messages
5,288
Reaction score
13
Points
257
Location
Garden Zone 8A Texas
Looks like you had perfect weather for the housewarming! Sorry we couldn't make it - TR worked this week-end. You will have to post some pics, girl! :lol:
 

Quail_Antwerp

Cold is on the Right, Hot is on The Left
Joined
Sep 12, 2008
Messages
6,905
Reaction score
6
Points
262
Location
Ohio
Well, I can't post my pics yet - was going to try but can't figure out how to get my friend's computer to read my SD card...

anyhoo - kids got an early Christmas present today - a Pony!! His name is Rocky, he's a paint, and they've already took a turn riding him this afternoon. They were thrilled! And they didn't care that it was an early gift :lol: Mick, my halflinger, is out there now, too! I haven't had the chance to ride him yet - they both just arrived last night.

We also have a buggy on the way.....

the housewarming went well! it was nice. we were given some nice gifts, too, but the best gift was being able to share our new home with family and friends.

in other news, my cousin is going to try to fix my computer tomorrow - for the whopping payment of $20!!! I was like, that's all? and he said yep. So hopefully by this weekend, my own internet access from home! then I can post tons of pics!! and believe me, there's A LOT of pics to share!!

tomorrow I will be officially done with ALL rabbits - my group of lops are going to a lady in Bolivar, cage and all. She's giving me a good price, and I'm happy to not have to worry about rabbits or having their butt ugly cage in my yard anymore.

Also I'm planning out a 12 x 16 coop - which will hopefully be the first of 8 or 9 coops. The idea is to have the interior lay out with storage in the middle and a 12x6 pen at each end. The would leave me a 12x4 area in between for storage, etc. The idea is to have a coop for each breed, but separate pens for colors. So say I get this first one done, I have two colors of Large Fowl wyandottes - Blue Laced Red and Columbian. So one end of the coop will house the BLRW and the other end the columbians. Then I have a trio of bantam columbians, so I'd like to put a small pen in the middle of the two for them, with feed storage under the bantam pen. At least, that's the plan for the first coop.

I might be able to make 2 pens at each end, therefore needing less coops ....if I make the pens 6x6 instead of 12x6 - guess I'll see how it goes when I get the first one done. Being built out of - get this - wood from the inside walls of the old trailer and I'm recycling the trusses from the old trailer roof. There are 32 trusses - and Ernie said I can half half of them for chicken coops. He's going to use the other half for his projects.

The weather has been OK this week - not too cold, not real rainy, and we've been busting butt trying to get everything done. Addition to the house is almost done. Looking at getting a new woodburner next week - instead of moving the heavy one from the 1940's in. Plan to keep the old one for Ernie's work shop, though.

Friday I'm picking up 4 more Coronation split Sussex chicks. The lady said she thinks it's 2 cockerels and 2 pullets, but we'll see. I'll take them all and raise them out until I know for sure, and sell off the extra roos.

I think that's about it for now. Kids are all doing great in school, we're looking at trials starting in January/February (being held off while we wait to see if he's competent to stand trial. Idiot. ) Still driving for the Amish and staying positively sooo busy that it seems our days pass when we blink.
 
Top