Do Chickens Need Heat?

 

Ordering Hatching Eggs

 

New Year, New Babies

 

Hi guys..I've been off Facebook, and social media period, for a while, hope you all are doing ok and had a good holiday season?!
Here's some grow-outs from my Paint Silkie group..loving how well they are turning out. Great feathering, and some pretty spots popping up! I've had to put up with them inside(mudroom off the kitchen), but my silkies are laying well even though it's cold, so I'm going to hatch early and be done with the majority of the hatch well before the hot weather and buffalo gnats start up. I have 18 nuggets cooking in the incubator as well, and 22 more ready to go in. I'll be up to my eyeballs in Silkies 😄

I have one baby that is either a normal frizzled silkie that's extra curly, or, she's what they call a "Woolie" in Silkie circles. My Silkies have a lot of Sherri Minker's blood lines in them, and she's has these Woolies pop up from Time to time. A mutation of the Frizzle gene?

Time will tell..her name is Bo Peep. LoL

The old timers always say that chicks hatched in Feb/march do the best for them, and they're definitely always through hatching for the year by June. From past experiences, I definitely agree.

Visit my Facebook page 

HERE 

To view the short video and pictures.

Take care and happy hatching! 🐣

Cheryl 

Elderberry Syrup

 Hi guys, here we are, back to cold and flu season. Then there's also that sickness going around which shall not be named 🙄

I've made elderberry syrup to help guard against all of those things, and you can also use it to treat these sicknesses more aggressively. 

If you're interested in making your own, here's a great video by Amy Fewell that's an immense help:

Stay well! 

Cheryl

Making Soap and More.

I'm really loving the Calendula soap that I made recently. I'm working on a cream as well, experimenting on myself of course lol. Seriously though, I have some of the most sensitive skin on the planet apparently. Even many natural scents, herbs, and oils do not work with my skin, and I also wanted to come up with something gentle enough even for children and pets. I tested it on the pugs, and their coats came out so so nice! 

Once I'm sure that I'm totally happy with it, I will offer the soap and cream on Etsy mostly likely. 

She's butter...where the heck have you been all my life?! 

I may offer a few other things such as a chapstick balm/stick I'm working on for a quick, mess-free and portable way to apply some peppermint based balm for headaches and nausea, as well as a healing salve.

I will not offer anything to others that I haven't used successfully on myself, my pets, and my family! 

I will be planting my own calendula and a few other new things next year for my soaps and creams. I've grown my lemon balm and peppermint as well as a few others for several years now. 

We need to return to the old ways and skills that have been all but lost, especially in times like we're living in these days. 

Cheryl 

Finally Fall

 

I'm so glad that we're finally seeing cooler days and nights. I think Fall has become my favorite season.

It's still nice enough to be outside, but not miserably hot.

This is also the time of year that many of us start letting go of growouts that we didn't choose to keep for our breeding goals, or if it's simply time to go down in numbers before the cold hits. Most of mine have found new homes. I hatch year round though due to having breeds that don't lay a lot, so I have to set every egg I can. 

Now is the time to think about what needs to be done with coops before winter..cleaning, repair ect, as well as checking and spray for mites as a precaution. Many adult birds are molting right now and look truly awful lol. Dont worry...even more beautiful feathers will fill the naked spots before long. 

Tis the season for hoodies, fires, pumpkin pie, and hot chocolate...

Enjoy it!

🍂🍁🍂🍁

Cheryl 

Have Any Hens?

 I've shared thoughts in the past about hens...that's all anyone seems to want, right? 

It's understandable, after all, the hens lay the eggs, hatch the chicks, and it's believed by many breeders that they pass on more important DNA than roosters. "The hens are your line." 

Doesn't it figure that it seems like there's always more male chicks than females, and at the very least, as many. 

Breeders have to raise a fairly significant number of both to pick their very best to keep for their own goals. Those males cost just as much, or more, to raise as females. And, all males that aren't kept or sold have to be put down or put in the freezer. This makes those hens worth much more sheerly based on all of those factors. Not to mention, all of the time and care involved, and the cost of feed and other supplies is always on the rise.

Some people won't sell a hen unless you take a rooster with her, in the hopes of finding homes for as many as possible. I don't force a rooster on someone, but the hen costs the same, with or without the boy. 

Hope this helps with understanding why hens are hard to get, and why they will cost you a little more. 

Cheryl  

I just felt the need to mention all of the above as a reminder as to why the cost of hens seems so exuberant. The money that anyone makes from selling chicks, eggs or adults, rarely ever even covers the feed bill. 

We all owe gratitude to the breeders or the past and present! 

Cheryl