Sheryl,
Nice job on your simple, yet informative website about your chickens and mushrooms. I like how you lead the viewer around your henhouse and describe the activity. I get my girls this week and pictures and descriptions help me to see what I have to do and can expect. This is like being there and talking to a neighbor who has a lot of experience. And now I want Shaver Red sex links!
Herbert

Thank you Herbert. I am looking for some feed back on my new site and on the idea for a business.

I like the Shaver Red sex links. The only problem I have had with them is the large comb and wattles getting frostbite in these temps. The heat lamp and vaseline helps. I don't think you will have that problem in your zone.

I went to your website while at work today and I like it. I found it to be colorful and attractive. I looked but I did not see the information on you selling your web services though.

I was reading something about trimming the combs off of chickens, being safe and preventing frostbite problems. Have you heard of that before? I would consider it if I lived in a colder place and it appears to be safer for the birds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dubbing

Thanks Jay. I read that article on dubbing but I don't want to do that. That's got to hurt the poor bird. My hens seem find and the red heat lamp and vaseline seems to work for me. .

It's not on the site as I haven't got that far yet. I still need to formulate a plan and work on templates and sort out the details. I need to research princing, etc. too.

I occurred to me that this might look like a sales pitch, but it's not. It's just a brand new idea I've only just had. I won't be ready for any customers for a bit yet. When I am I will put it all on the new site and advertise. I could use some ideas for advertising too.

Good luck with the new girls, Herbert!

In the South when you see roosters with their combs cut off you know you are looking at a Fighting Cocks. Sure sign those roosters are used in the pit for sport. I never thought you might do it to keep them from freezing? Maybe they are saying that to hide they are Fighting Cocks?

Sheryl,
Thanks for the encouragement! I'm also thinking about guineas, too. But I should wait until I have some experience with chickens before getting even more poultry obsessed. But, the garden is going to be the biggest yet with a third of an acre being planted. And having guineas in there to help me weed and de-bug would be very helpful. I'll surround the plots with electronet temporary fencing and let them weed and feed. Last year, I lost my entire (over a hundred!) charentais melon crop, and the squash, watermelon, and pumpkin crop suffered from viruses spread by squash bugs. I've since learned that guineas would work the plot finding bugs and not scratch it up. Seems I can't get "human" help that easily! Friends offer, but when it comes time...

Herbert

I have read that about gardening with Guineas too. Sounds perfect but they fly high and very well and it seems it's hard to keep them where you want them. You have to train them when little to come home at night.

I have two very large veggie gardens too. One is 1/3 acre and one is bit smaller. I have more of a problem with weeds and wild grass than bugs. I plan on planting a lot of various squash this year. I'm sorry to hear about your melons and squash! I hope the guineas will help with that, if you get them. That must be really frustrating!

I have read that ducks are good for bug control in a garden where the seedlings are already large, but have no "hands on" experience with ducks.

Interesting, Mitch. I wonder if that's why they do it. It seems like it would be painful for the poor roosters. Frostbite is painful too, however. I think it would be, anyway. If you can just cut off the comb and not send the poor rooster into shock, maybe they don't feel it.

I could not find the first article where I read about it. They were saying that it was standard to cut off the comb of one of the breeds I have Silver Pheonix, Ameracauna, or Favorelle. They said that this is done to show the birds and they also stated that it did not hurt if it was done at the right age. They gave the info in the article but being that I was not going to do it to any of my birds I did not read it in depth. I was just passing the info on. If you are interested in knowing more I guess I can search my history and find the original links. There were a few. Nothing mentioned about fighting.

I am going to get Guineas if I can ever find any peeps or pullets. I am going to keep them in the battery cage for a few months before I let them out. Once I start letting them out I would prefer if they roost in the trees at night. I hope I train them to know without a doubt where they live. I have heard if you keep them in their living place for at least 2-3 months they will not stray too far off the property. Not ever having any, I am not sure if that works or not but once I test it out, I will let you know. Also LASTLY "they say" that they will get rid of bugs and not dig up your garden like chickens will do.

This is a paragraph taken from an article in the New York Times about cockfighting. If I remember right "shaving" is what they call it here also. It sounds like you can get arrested just for having shaved roosters in New York? I am sure there are other reasons for shaving a rooster but fighting is the only one I know about. If anyone wants to read the full story I will send the link on request.

80 Are Arrested After Raid at Cockfight
By JENNIFER MEDINA
Published: Monday, April 28, 2003
A rooster's comb and its throat are routinely shaved for fighting to make the animal less vulnerable to pecking, according to Joseph Pentangelo, a special agent for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who took part in the arrest. Shaved combs and throats are considered evidence for animal-fighting arrests, he said.

I for sure don't want to get arrested for that! I guess I'll leave it alone.

I tried to find that article again and OF COURSE I could not find it. Anyway trust me it had nothing to do with cock fighting. But hey I came home to a strange thing today. One of my chickens had no feathers on her neck.
NOOOOO I HAVE NOT BEEN FIGHTING HER
{{gwi:36974}}

EITHER SHE IS SQUEEZING HER HEAD IN THE BATTERY CAGE OR DOING SOMETHING SHE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.

Sure...we belive you. :-)