Chicken enclosure of some type

I said watch dogs, as in they make noise whenever something isn't right or someone comes around. They don't have a fight response, only a flight one LOL

Slate blue are my favorite! WE have two left, and three pearl, and five lavendar. You can get the buffs, some people think the chocolates are the most beautiful. You can ask lots of questions in the forum, or in the chat room. Once a guinea lover, always one...

I swear my husband would divorce me. I went online and heard a tape of what they sound like when they are frightened and it wasn't pretty! I'm thinking a nice quiet chicken is more our speed no matter how pretty those blues are.

OK, just live vicariously through us... they don't even bother or wake the baby when they sound off outside the window... guess he got used to them in the womb?

Funny you should say that because we have large barking dogs inside our house and always have. You can tell the people who have large dogs because their babies sleep right through our dogs. Those who don't have large barking dogs have babies that jolt out of their carriers so we have to crate our dogs when they're sleeping. I bet there is something to unborns becoming accustomed to sounds in the womb. They say they can recognize the voice of their parents.

oh, yeah. also, i had some tell me that my pullets laid so well because i was prego. and my baby LOVES birds, esp going in the hen house to get eggs... once i let him hold a baby chick, he started to put it's head in his mouth! yummy looking bird, i guess, it was named Apricot LOL

Baby can also sleep through gunshots and hammering and sawing. Not kidding!

Cute story about the chick in the mouth. They sure do like to sample everything don't they. I swear, the only thing separating them from death at that "everything in the mouth" to include electrical cords phase would be their parents. I went to the bathroom once. The bathroom was right across from the kitchen and I never shut the door. Mine had been rolling around on the floor grabbing at a cat in the middle of the kitchen floor. In the blink of an eye, he shimmied up the drawers and was sitting on the kitchen counter playing the "swallow the butcher knife routine". Butcher block went up on top of the frig and we put child proof latches on all the drawers in the whole kitchen. Last time I ever went to the bathroom even leaving the door open with that one rolling around innocently on the floor playing with a cat. And I don't sit on the toilet and read magazines or anything either. This kid did that in maybe a minute or two and he was quiet about it because I couldn't have been 10' away with the door open.

Umm, sleeping through everything might not be normal. The very first baby we had slept through everything, and I do mean everything. It wasn't until he was at that age where they're supposed to be saying momma and doggie and no that I started wondering if he might be developmentally delayed and took him in for testing. Found out we had some pretty serious hearing issues from ear infections of all things. He had several sets of tubes throughout the years and is doing great now.

My kids sleep through EVERYTHING. I work midnights so on my off nights, I clean. Vacuum, hang pictures, you name it. I never pussyfooted around day or night, so they are hard sleepers now (they are 9 and 11). Wish I was!!

Michelle in Michigan

Oddly enough I am a sound sleeper unless something is wrong. I have two very old cats and one will scream out in distress if he is stuck facing in a corner or lost in the middle of a hallway in the dark. That wakes me up. Let two of my other cats get into a squabble in the hallway and I don't wake up. Dogs barking at branches hitting the windows doesn't wake me up yet shortly before our last dog passed away and she started having nightmares... that would wake me up and I'd go downstairs and wake her up and stroke her head a little bit then go back upstairs. A little one getting up in the middle of the night wandering around wakes me up. I think our bodies must tune out sounds that are recognized as not needing our attention.

Oh, don't worry, he doesn't sleep through everything, those are just things he heard a lot in the womb. He sure doesn't sleep through my voice or even me tiptoeing past the crib LOL.

His hearing was checked and he gets regular checkups. If anything, hsi hearing is TOO good. LOL

Great story, sound sjust like ORion, he is quiet and sneaky when he knows better!

tf

Yup, mine was auditioning for the sword swallowing act at the circus. Little turd head. You can't even pee in peace after you have kids.

are you kidding? that is the only place i get peace or can make a personal phone call, in the bathroom. that is what the play pen is for... baby ... and kids better not bug me in the bathroom or bathtub unless there is blood LOL

i call our little guy turkey quite often! and he lives up to it!!! funny, cause before he came into our lives, i had planned to raise turkeys, then we had a little delay in plans. still gonna get some bourbon reds, hopefully this year...

Ours are considerably older now but I still can't get over how tweens, teenagers, and young adults think absolutely nothing of walking in on me while I am going pee to ask questions or give me a heads up on what they are doing or where they are going. They also hold whole conversations with me while I am in the bathtub. You can run beyond the play pen phase... but you can not hide.

I am also beyond the "don't bug me unless there is blood" phase. We've moved to the "don't bother my unless your extremity is hanging by a tendon" phase. You'll get there some day in the not too distant future. It happens round about the time your youngest hits around 12.

Regarding phones, not much I can say but pick one up around here and that's a signal to every husband, child, and pet to need you RIGHT NOW!

NO KIDDING! I am about to get a new phone, one of those with multiple handsets, and hide one in my closet!

They will find you in the closet. Although they all appear to be deaf and dumb the minute you ask them any question of consequence, there is absolutely nothing wrong with their hearing and even if you turn on the tv in the family room, turn on the radio in the kitchen, shut the door to the bedroom, then settle in on the floor in the closet after shutting the door... they will track you down like a dog and find you in that closet.

Know where you can hide?

Build your kid a very expensive treehouse and outfit it with every imaginable toy and gadget. Now wait about one week. By this time he will have bored with it and will have reverted to playing in the box that the tv came in where he will be holed up with your tupperware, pots, pans, and mixing spoons.

Now, add an ac unit and a heater to that treehouse. It is now ready for you to enjoy in peace and solitude. Trust me, he will never find you in it because he will be busy in his box singing to himself whacking happily away at your tupperware, your pots, and your pans.

sounds like a great plan, gonna have to grow a tree first!

We didn't want to damage any of our trees so we put ours up on stilts ;)

well, i've been hiding at the pc, looking online for a new phone, and was hoping ot have an extra one just for the closet.... but the best one i am finding only comes with two handsets, and i am chepa, don't want to buy extra....

so i guess hiding time is over, kids should be home from karate soon. DH has supper ready to go in oven, so maybe i should do dishes...

Equil, I am so sorry Joyce has not re appeared.
Have you given any thought to finding a new chicken(s)?
All of you are right on about your kids. It is funny reading
about what they do to us as parents.

Yes, I feel pretty bad about her disappearing too.

Thoughts about finding a new chicken??? Don't know that I ever wanted one to begin with. She just sort of appeared one day with another chicken and we felt sorry for them. Nobody wants to see a domesticated animal running loose around here. They need owners. Originally when she showed up I called around to see who would take them. A neighbor down the road who has a few chickens originally said he would take them off my hands if I could catch them but I believe he called his vet and had a change of heart. He basically said that the chickens running around by me had no vaccines and had not been dewormed at all and that he had grown attached to the remaining chickens he had and didn't want to risk tossing the two we had running around in with his pets. I can appreciate that.

The last week or so, our night time temps have dropped down into the negative double digits. Not uncommon for this time of year. I think we had a few nights where we were at -15°F and one morning the thermometer sure did look to me as if it was at -19°F. I haven't a clue how she could have survived these temps with no place to roost other than in the trees out back and no other chickens to roost with. Add to this the large raptors we have that could easily attain lift with a chicken... I've seen them attain lift with squirrels, a large crow, rabbits, and I even saw a large Rough Legged Hawk attain lift with a stray cat once but others have seen golden eagles and cooper's hawks attaining lift with cats too and they weigh more than a chicken. Lastly, add to the above all the coyotes, fox, and we even had a badger out back a few years ago that would have been able to easily dine on a chicken. Not the greatest place for a chicken to be running around and to be quite honest, I'm quite surprised she made it out there as long as she did.

That being said, I don't know that I want a chicken here or anything else that breathes any longer. I didn't want the last horse we were "gifted" but it was a couple hundred pounds underweight thanks to some flaming idiot who bought a horsie for little Suzie with no thoughts what so ever of their little girl outgrowing the horse and going off to college then getting married and when you've got the space... how do you say no? It's lame and can't even be ridden so we have yet another pasture pet to feed and vet. We travel a lot and there's a tremendous expense associated with hiring people to take care of all our critters when we leave. The other deal is that even when I'm home, there's a time element associated with the maintenance of all of our pets. It's the time factor associated with all these living breathing critters that takes a toll after a while. I have no problems following through and providing a great home for everything that we currently have but I'm not exactly out there looking to take on any more responsibility.

About kids, we have one who has a t-shirt that says, "Parents for sale. Buy one get one free". That t-shirt garners a considerable amount of attention and quite a few people laugh out loud when they read it. Anyway, there are days when I wish somebody would really buy us. Somebody who would take really good care of us. I don't know that either one of us would mind being kept as a pet right about now.

Sounds like the younguns should care for the animals
while you abscond for a while.


Just know that your efforts will be recorded in the
Great Book of Nature. And, so will the neglect of
those who get something, then dump it when it's
a bother.

I am so sorry to hear about your illbehaved, and ungrateful child! When I moved out to my first farm I started a program for kids whose parents had a hard time. They were send them home with me for a weekend, and I would make them work and work and work. I was like a drill sergeant, and they did NOT like me. Sometimes it took a couple of weekends but eventually I got most of the kids to realize how much they really did need and care about their parents. It is so hard...and if you were closer I would say to send em down here! My brothers were always so horrible to my parents that it made me feel sorry for them. I was the youngest, and I rememeber washing dishes or cleaning what I could find just as an attempt to make my mother smile.

I still havent decided if I even want kids yet. I like my horses, chickens, and Bob the duck. :)

We don't have a daughter- just boys and our kids are pretty responsible and have gotten a chance to see first hand the time and expense that goes into owning pets. I have one who went to the vet with me for our dogs and stood there with his mouth agape when I was presented the bill for the heart worm tests, the heart worm meds, and all the vaccines x 3. My bill per dog (granted I've got jumbo breeds so heartworm meds are expensive for dogs around 200lbs a piece) was around $300. That's a competitive rate. To reinforce how labor intensive animals can be, I make them walk our dogs from time to time. Dogs do need to go out and pee in rain, sleet, and snow and it sure is a real bummer to have to get off the couch to go walk them. That kid decided he didn't want his own dog after he got out of college. I have another one who wanted lizards. Made that one use his own money to buy crickets and made him go to the PetShop with me to buy crickets for his lizards. They weren't my lizards and it was bad enough I had to drive him to go pick up crickets for his lizards. Also made that one clean the lizard cage by himself. There's actually a little bit more to the story but that one decided he wanted to "donate" the lizards back to the pet shop so that other little boys could adopt them and take them home.

That ill behaved and ungrateful little Suzie was not our kid but forget little Suzie for a moment... what about the totally irresponsible parents who bought the horsie for little Suzie when she could have just as easily taken riding lessons using a stable horse? Why do these kids have to be "gifted" life forms when they can't even take care of themselves? Horses have pretty decent life spans and kids do lose interest so then what? That horse ended up at the hooved animal society. They called us. Not enough good homes to go around for ridable horses out there these days let alone horses that are old and lame so they are desperate for foster homes and adopters. We changed our phone number and never gave them the new number. I was having difficulty saying no to all the tales of woe. When we're down to one horse, I'll get a goat to keep it company. Good companion goats for geriatric horses appear from time to time. They're a heck of a lot easier to find a home for than a horse and they only have an average life expectency of around 15 years.

mcamden, I suspect you will make a fine parent if you so choose to go that route but there's absolutely nothing wrong with choosing to pass on having kids. Actually, I applaud you if you determie parenting isn't for you. I have two older brothers who both conscientiously chose to not have any children. Their spouses didn't want any children either. They've always been great with our kids and with all the kids of my other brothers but one didn't want the responsibility and didn't want to be tied down to kids and the other one said he just couldn't afford kids on his income and that he and his wife wanted to buy a house instead. I also have personal friends who don't have any children and don't want any. They like their fur babies and are perfectly content with dogs and cats that don't need a college education fund.

I completely agree about what you said about parents with 'gifted kids'. I grew up relatively poor, and many of my friend were given anything and everything they asked for. I wanted a horse as a child, but I was never going to have mommy and daddy get me one. My mother told me when I was 13 that I coudl have one as soon as I got a job and could afford one! When I turned 15 I had been working for 2 years, and I bought my first horse. I still have her today, as well as her 2 year old son, and my ex-stallion who I bought right after purchasing my first farm at the age of 20. I think by not giving your children everything, and making them earn what they do get will make them better adults, and better citizens of this county. I am sending you a high-5 for making your kids pay for and work for the extra's in life.

I'll accept your high-5 because let me tell you, there are times out there that mine haven't quite figured out that we're not competing with the Joneses. Wanna know another trick for helping make sure they have less idle time? Don't let them get a Drivers License until they can afford to pay for their own insurance. If they want their own car, make them pay for that too and they might as well start figuring in the cost of maintenance and gas too because cars don't run on the fumes of love. Lots of parents let their kids have licenses when they turn 16. Some even buy their kids cars while most pay for their insurance. Anyone here have parents who paid for their insurance? Didn't think so. Forcing them to get a job, regardless of whether they end up flipping burgers at McDonalds or washing dishes at some restaurant, means they have less time to hang out with buddies getting in trouble. Has the added benefit of providing them with a little work ethic because they won't exactly be working for Mommy or Daddy who will let them slide if they show up late for work or screw off while getting paid. Several of our friends who can well afford to buy cars and pay for their kids' car insurance won't do it any longer so we're not alone out there. We took one of ours in to get a price quote when he started telling us his birthday was coming up. I sat there with him while our insurance agent quoted him what he would be paying every 6 months to be added on to our policy. Remember those priceless commercials?

These were prices per 6 months:
Youthful occasional male driver w/ good student discount- $525
Youthful occasional male driver w/o good student discount- $715
Youthful occasional male driver w/ GS discount and 1 moving violation- $656
Youthful occasional male driver w/o GS discount and 1 moving violation- $893
Youthful occasional male driver w/ GS discount and 1 accident- $787
Youthful occasional male driver w/o GS discount and 1 accident- $1072

Look on your child's face when the insurance agent asks if he would like to know what the prices would be if they were a principal driver on their own car or if they had more than one accident in 3 years- PRICELESS

Granted we're a little bit higher being that we're in a Chicago suburb and also because we have boys not girls but even so, the prices are what they are. Sure does help motivate kids to find that job that's just right for them, keep up their grades during HS, and definitely motivates them to be more attentive drivers when they are out there on the road. Less time in front of brain drain TVs and on their computers too when they have to work. A really great benefit of making them pay is that you don't need to nag them about homework and grades nearly as much as parents who pay for their kids' insurance. Grades drop, insurance goes up! It's as simple as that.

Yes, we could afford to pay for their insurance as well as decent used cars that would be mechanically sound but we're not going to do it. We will drive them to and from part time jobs until they've saved up enough money to buy insurance so they can go get a license. See, we're not all that bad... they could be hoofing it or biking it to Mickey D's!

That is fabulous! I was raised with those same stragegies. My parents werent about to pay for our insurance, cars, gas, or fun overall. We all learned the value of the dollar, and what it meant to have a job. My other half asked me if I was going to file unemployment...I laughed and said no. That is for people who dont have jobs and cant pay bills. I have always had that backup fund for things like this. I will get a new job, and that is just what it is. I am amazed at home many people I went to school with who are living with their parents! OMG! They moved out long enough to have mom and dad pay for college...have a crappy appartment...get someone pregnant, and then end up owing so much child support that they cant afford rent. If more parents dont start teaching that responcibility we are going to end up with a pretty sad future.

Not much I can say but we try out best and some of our friends try their best too. My husband and I come from very different backgrounds and it's extremely difficult meshing the two styles but we muddle through. Parenting sucks at times. They can wear you down, that's for sure. We love our kids more than anything in the world and overall they are good hearted kids but there are still times I think of all the extra money I would have to buy plants if I rented them out to be poster children for birth control.

Well I am excited about that show that is airing next month. I am not sure what it is called, but if will be a reality show for teen couple who think they are ready to be parents. People are giving up their newborns, and infants to allow these teens to take care of them for a week I think. The previews look fabulous!

I am not sure of the full terms of the show, but I laughed listening to the 16 year old saying they were 'so ready to be parents' and that 'it wasnt that hard'. Hopefully enough teens will watch it and learn something.

A 16 year old ready to be a parent? I'm sure there are a few out there who might be able to do a bang up job raising a child but they would be the exception to the rule. I'd be inclined to want all 16 year olds to finish at least HS as well as to spend a few last years just being a kid. They're only young once. Plenty of time to be saddled with adult responsibilities over the next 60+ years.