We Ate Him!!

I will be so glad when this day is over.  These past two weeks have just been too jam packed with stuff to do.  And it seems for everything I get done, three more things have been added.  I am facing a three day weekend (after I wash the dogs tonight...Mike wants them clean for the trip to Mom and Dad's).  Of course, Mike will probably cook something on the grill.  It's supposed to be the best weekend so far this year, weather wise.  I do need to clarify....I did NOT actually ride the motorcycle!  We had a Ford dually with a trailer.  I was driving the truck, towing the motor cycle.  But if they had allowed me to ride that over-priced, misspent raise of mine, I'd have been all over that!

Mike has been complaining about having too many roosters lately.  We had four young roosters that he killed a month or so ago, but we thought they were hens.  They needed to go.  But we also have a few roosters that we really haven't been using for breeding.  And that's really all they are worth!  Well, we partly kept them cause they were also good looking birds!  One was Little Chicken, the first chick we ever hatched!  Just look at him!

He is such a pretty bird.  BUT.......

I came home yesterday to find out he was put into our dinner!!!  Mike put him into a Mexican Chicken Lasagna!  Don't get me wrong!  He was quite delicious.  Mike almost never makes a meal I don't like.  But he had to feel bad for killing a chicken we raised.  I know I did.  But, isn't that what they are really for?  He wasn't a pet.  He and one other rooster got took, and one is in the freezer.  R.I.P. Little Chicken!

Are You Kidding Me?!

This is what I woke up to this morning!  That stupid weather man said rain yesterday, turning to snow last night, then back to rain by this morning!  Well, we got plenty of wind and rain yesterday, and there were a few tiny flurries when I went to bed.  WITN-TV here in Greenville said we would get a trace to one inch.  We got about three inches!  Everything is covered in white!  (This pic is from the last snow, but it pretty much looks the same).  I thought I'd wake up to a few slushy spots, as the rain would have melted most of it, but no way!  Roads to work weren't too bad as temps are hovering above freezing and rising.  Slush in most places.  But I am done with the snow!  We are expecting temps to be up to 66F by Sunday.  That's what I'm talking about.  PLEASE!  I'm begging now!

I didn't eat dinner last night.  It wasn't because of what Mike cooked.  I wasn't surprised when he told me.  He's been talking about it for a week now.  I had just gotten quite nauseous.  I felt like vomiting...but I didn't.  Mike killed and cleaned those four RI Red/Buff mixed roosters.  They were only doing some minor sparring (no blood) and never messed with Little Chicken, who is twice their size.  They were only six months old.  They were, however, tormenting the hens with their raging hormones.  And without any eggs, fertile or unfertile, they were just using up valuable food.  So they got cleaned and put on the grill last night for dinner.  I will have to try them for leftovers this evening.  I've never eaten any of my own chickens.  So I'll see how they taste.  I still have a white silkie rooster that needs a new home.  Maybe I'll put him in the Bragain Trader to see if I can find a good home for him.  I actually have two white silkie roosters to go, but I haven't decided on one yet.  He's with a mixed bantam hen.  I'm trying to get her to sit on eggs.  She's got 8 or 9 now, so we will see.

I still haven't figured out the giveaway yet.  Not feeling well last night, I was just laying on the couch all evening.  But I promise that it's coming this week.

Born and Raised Right Here

Click To Enlarge

All of these chickens were hatched by us except the bantams in the bottom right and bottom center.  The bottom right were hatched by China, our bantam hen, and the bottom center was hatched by the neighbor's hen.  Bottom left is Little Chicken, our soon-to-be mature rooster.  The top six are all hens from Perogi, our RI Red rooster (pea comb) and/or White Cornish Rock or Buff Orpington.

Lacking the Visual Aids

Well, Mike managed to leave the camera in my mom's car....which is now an hour and a half away.  So I cannot take any new pics or down load the ones already on the camera.  But I didn't want that to keep me from posting.  So I am posting today without any pictures to show you guys.  I have a number of hens that should be laying right now, even with the cold weather.  A friend of mine that works for the same company as I do also has chickens.  He is getting eggs from his, but I have not gotten a single egg since before Thanksgiving.  That's about a month and a half without eggs.  I have been feeding them well a mix of layer pellets and scratch grains.  I know there's not a lot of day light now, but I should be getting something!  Well, someone better start laying soon, or I will have farmer come over and dress a few for the dinner plate! 

So with all that in mind, he (my friend) was asking how many hens I have that should be laying.  I didn't have an accurate count, so I grabbed a note pad and tried to count them.  If I'm not missing anyone I have counted 9 roosters and 35 hens.  But some of the hens are not of laying age quite yet.  I have 22 hens that should be of laying age, including 5 or 6 Black Sex Links (known good layers).  With 22 hens of laying age, shouldn't I be getting a couple of eggs a day? 

Here's about what I have:
Silkies: 1 white rooster; 1 white hen; 1 blue rooster; 1 blue hen (white hen lays, blue hen is one-eyed and may not lay)
Orpingtons: 1 buff rooster, 1 black rooster, 5 buff hens; 1 black hen (all laying age)
Sex Links: 6 black hens (laying age)
White Cornish Rocks: 5 white hens (laying age)
Rhode Island Red: 1 rooster (pea comb)
RI Red/ White Rocks: 5 hens; 1 rooster (Little Chicken)
RI Red/Buff: 5 hens (not laying age)
Dominique (I think): 1 rooster
Cuckoo Maran: 1 rooster (Bojangles)
Mixed Bantams: 1 rooster; 5 hens (2 laying age)

Man Chickens

Here's Perogi.  He's a mean one, Mr. Grinch.  We keep him in a coop away from the others.  He's a great breeder, though.  He's Rhode Island Red, but he must be mixed because he has a peac comb.  He's got a couple of black sex links with him right now.

This is our Black Orphington rooster.  He's a beautiful bird with bright, shiny feathers.  His name is Blackie Chan.  He's with a black and a buff orphington hen.

I can't leave out Bucky!  He's a mean one, too.  Mike's arms are all scratched up where this little bantam spurred the snot out of him.  He loves the sound of his own voice, too.  He crows all day long, and ocassionally during to odd hours of the night.  He's got a girlfriend...China.  But I have a white hen that should be ready to start laying soon.  She'll be his girlfriend, too.

You saw Little Chicken yesterday, along with the blue silkie rooster.  I also have a white silkie rooster and white silkie hen.  There's also two other roosters that I'm still trying to identify.  They are either Dominique, Barred Plymouth Rock, or Cuckoo Maran.  All three of these look similar, and pictures in books and on the internet differ.  It's hard to tell when you're not a chicken expert!

MORE CHICKEN CRAP

It seems that there are just never enough hours in a day.  I always have so much more to do than I have time to do it all in.  I did go to the flea market this weekend.  I sold 14 of my chickens.  I sold 6 white leghorns, 4 black sex links, and 4 bantam chicks.  I'm okay on hens right now.  I still need to get rid of some roosters.  I have 5 black orphinton roosters, 1 barred plymouth rock, 1 dominique, 3 bantam, 1 rhode island red, 1 aracona (or whatever it is), 2 silkie roosters, Little Chicken, and 13 young chickens that I haven't sexed yet.  But that's still 14 roosters.  Anybody want a few?  LOL 

I didn't buy anything at the market.  I did look around a little, but I didn't see anything I really wanted at the few booths I visited.  Mike found a guy selling fresh seafood, so we bought some oysters.  Of course, when we got home I was opening the oysters with an oyster knife, like you're supposed to do.  But they were being difficult, and the knife slipped.  It jabbed right into the lower part of my left thumb.  It hurt pretty badly, especially since that's the thumb I broke in four places about three years ago.  It was a small cut, so no need for stitches, but it must've been deep.  My whole thumb went numb, and I could feel pain in my finger tips and wrist.  It's much better now, though.  It really only hurts now when I bump it.

I still don't have a camera.  I'd really like to get one, but I've got too many other demands right now.  Soon, I hope. 

A Bit on the Gang

Well, I'm not where I can start posting pics yet, but I suppose I can at least give you some wordage about the gang. Mike and I live on a small plot. It's a little over a half acre, I believe. We have a nice neighbor on one side, Henry. He's divorced with kids that stay with him part time. He's a good guy. He's always offering to lend us things like a hoe for the garden, scratch when we run out before I can get to TSC or things like that. On the other side used to be Ron and Susanne, but they, too, are divorcing. They put their house on the market and moved away. Now the home is empty and up for sale. Don't know much about the folks across the street. Mr. Wade lives across the field behind the house. He owns the field. This Spring he plowed a few rows for Henry and us to plant. I have squash, canteloupes, watermelons, okra, tomatoes, beans, radishes, eggplants, corn and cucumbers growing. Sometimes I let the hens out and have to watch them. They try to get in the garden to scratch.

We have two dogs, Max and Minnie. Max is a Toy Poodle. He's smart and loyal. He's a good dog and very "motherly". Minnie is a Rat Terrier mix. She's over weight. She loves to eat and eats almost anything. I try to keep her on a diet, but she sneaks in bites of cat food and everything. We have two cats, Elvis and Priscilla. Elvis is about 6 years old and all black. He spends a lot of time outside. He's fixed and has no front claws because he was supposed to be an indoor cat. But he wouldn't let that happen. Prissy is a gray tabby. She had kittens in April, but there was no way we could keep them in our little place. I tried to find homes for them, but no one would take them. They went to the pound. I hope they were adopted out, but I'm not going to ask. Prissy stays inside a lot and is still young. She's not even a year old. She was way too young to have babies, anyway. We have a Quaker parrot. Her name is Becky. We got her as payment for a debt. She used to be so mean to me. She tried to bite me every time I walked by. She's changed lately, though. I can't pick her up, but she lets me change her food and water and pet her head. We also have a couple of fish tanks. One has a bunch of Fire Belly Mickey Mouse Platys in it. The other has two African Cichlids, two Opaline Gouramis, and an African Brown Knife.

Then there's the chickens. We have four roosters. Perogi is the first rooster we got. He's a Rhode Island Red. He is so mean. He will spur you in a New York minute. He even tries to spur or bite me through the fence when I feed him. He's by himself at the moment. Bojangles is our Dominique rooster. He's very young. He's in a round with a buff hen, but he's not messing with her. Bucky is our Bantam rooster. He's pretty fiesty, too. Mr. Wade brought us a bantam hen for him. Hopefully she will start sitting soon. She had nine eggs this morning. Henry's bantam started sitting at 13 eggs. Then we have Col. Sanders. I don't know what he is. I don't even know if it's a he or a she. I thought she layed an egg once, but someone suggested it was left from the white hen that had been in the round. Mr. Wade swears it's a rooster, but he don't crow. We have four Buff hens that don't have names (yet). We have 10 black Sex Link hens (also nameless) that are still a bit young for laying. And we have 13 White Leghorns that were rescued from Perdue that lay very large brown eggs. One leghorn has a gimp foot. She doesn't lay. Her name is Dana, after a high school friend also with a gimp foot (lol). We have two bantam chicks that we got from Henry, and should be getting one or two more from him. I think one is a rooster, but I would prefer if the others were hens. I have a small Red/Leghorn mix chick that we hatched in the incubator. His name is Little Chicken. He follows us everywhere and comes when we call. Yesterday her rode around on my shoulder. His sister died in an escape attempt their first night outside. And we have five bitties that just hatched this weekend.

That is our gang. Yeah, I've put a lot up here. But it's a necessary introduction. Hopefully I can start posting pics soon. Hope you like what you have read, and will stick around for a while!!