Chicks Day Seven
March 7, 2016
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| Tail and wing feathers coming in! |
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| Close-up of tail feathers |
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| Good shot of new wing feathers |
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Friday, March 11, 2016
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Chicks Day Five March 2016
Chicks Day Five
March 2016
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| See her little feathers coming in on her wings? The black chicks are Black Stars and the yellow chicks are Buff Orpington's. |
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| I tried to get pictures of the Black Star's cute little yellow bottoms! Not all of them, but just some of them. |
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| The chicks are co-mingling and have shown zero issues after being combined. |
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| All LEGS and FEET! |
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| You can see some wing feathers coming in on the Buff Orpington's in this picture. Dd read that the birds whose wing feathers appear first have a likelihood of being male. Our Buff's have a 50/50 chance of being male. The Black Star's are *suppose* to be all female (or 90% likely). |
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| What beautiful little faces they have! |
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| Yellow bottoms! |
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| The chicks are eating some of the 'chicken starter' food. I read that you shouldn't use wood shavings when they are really young, as they might eat it. I also read you shouldn't use newspaper, as it can get slippery and somehow mess with their leg development. So, I've been using old towels, dish towels, and shop towels and changing them out twice a day. |
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| For small water and 'feed starter' dishes, I have taken old plastic lids and put a lot of rubber bands to create a block so they can't get their heads in the water. They will drink/eat between the rubber band bands. They will also stand on top of the lids and poop in the water! So, I have to rinse out and refill the lids a few times a day. But these little lids are really perfect for this stage. |
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| As you can see, there are chunks of fruit and veg for them to eat and peck at. They have especially liked different lettuce pieces. One chick will grab a piece of lettuce and try to run away from the group, and the group will all run after her! It is really funny to watch, and they all make a big fuss; making lots of noise during this game they play. |
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| All twenty chicks |
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SL Core G, Week 22"A" Middle Ages BP Wk 8 Feb. 29-Mar. 4, 2016 Vikings, Great Schism, Erik and Leif.Canterbury Tales..
SL Core G,
Week 22"A"
Middle Ages
BP Wk 8
Feb. 29-Mar. 4, 2016
*Vikings, Great Schism, Erik and Leif, and Canterbury Tales.
*Vikings, Great Schism, Erik and Leif, and Canterbury Tales.
Summary of our week---snow, snow, chicks, ice skating, square dancing, vikings, John the Baptist, and more snow! Monday was 'Hatch-Day,' which was rather sad--we only had 8 of the 10 chicks survive 24 hours, and 12 eggs didn't even 'pip,' or try to break-out. Tuesday it started snowing like crazy! But, the extra cold temps didn't encourage our talking walks in the woods to enjoy the beauty of it; plus super winds. Dh couldn't drive up our hill to our house from Tuesday until Friday night! That bad! Dd and I had to cancel her Alto Sax solo lessons on Tuesday, and band/choir on Wednesday. We shoveled and worked hard on Wednesday, for hours, and we finally made it out to town to buy some Black Star pullets (female chicks).
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| After all last weeks snow had melted away it started snowing all over again! This is Wednesday's snow pictures. It has snowed some each day since, but I'm not in the mood to take any more snow pictures! |
We were able to get out on Thursday for our LINK homeschool Co-op. LINK had a special Ice Skating field trip that was a lot of fun. Dd had never ice skated before, and she did quite well! At least she didn't fall! I enjoyed it too! We skated for an hour and a half; and I ended with a blister!
Friday we did our lessons until it was time to go to the Square Dancing event at the Home School Building at 7 PM. We had the same man that was the announcer last time back again. This time the dance was held in a the really large gym, and the dancers had plenty of room--compared to the small barn that they had last time in the fall.
GERD update:
Still doing good, except for the times that I cheat, or work too hard shoveling snow for hours. This week's Cake Decorating class was with a brownie cupcake with peanut butter icing; and I thought it would be okay to have one...bad idea! I had heartburn fairly fast. I really can't have anything with grains. I also had two migraine days; which weren't horrible, but that is still improved since my diet changed. I never thought grains/gluten had anything to do with my migraines, and apparently I was wrong.
Kombucha is going well. I think I'm on my third batch now. I can't drink a lot of it as it is too acidic for my bladder, but I can dilute it and add it in on my smoothies. My smoothies are going great. I can usually get a good tasting one now, after so much practice. Yesterday I found putting in a whole page of seaweed in sure does make a yucky flavor! I'm still eating a TON of celery, but have backed off on the banana's--those two things were listed as being terrific for lowering your pH, but too many banana's is too much sugar for me.
Sprouting: I'm watching lots of YouTube video's on how to sprout my own seeds, to add to our salads and smoothies. I'm not sure which one's I will end up doing. I'd like to get some Wheat-grass this week, and Michele said she would give me some broccoli seeds to sprout, and try. Dh bought me some screen from Lowe's and I have LOTS of mason jars...so I will try doing that soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiDu_UQw2iw (a quick video that I found encouraging-"How to Grow Sprouts At Home" by Christine Salus, is the link above or you can type it in if you are curious to see one video.)
Kombucha is going well. I think I'm on my third batch now. I can't drink a lot of it as it is too acidic for my bladder, but I can dilute it and add it in on my smoothies. My smoothies are going great. I can usually get a good tasting one now, after so much practice. Yesterday I found putting in a whole page of seaweed in sure does make a yucky flavor! I'm still eating a TON of celery, but have backed off on the banana's--those two things were listed as being terrific for lowering your pH, but too many banana's is too much sugar for me.
Sprouting: I'm watching lots of YouTube video's on how to sprout my own seeds, to add to our salads and smoothies. I'm not sure which one's I will end up doing. I'd like to get some Wheat-grass this week, and Michele said she would give me some broccoli seeds to sprout, and try. Dh bought me some screen from Lowe's and I have LOTS of mason jars...so I will try doing that soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiDu_UQw2iw (a quick video that I found encouraging-"How to Grow Sprouts At Home" by Christine Salus, is the link above or you can type it in if you are curious to see one video.)
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| The old homeowners had left this extremely old snow blower, that we have used, but it only blows left, and is more work than a shovel! But, we tried it. We really need a snow blower, and on that works well too....oh my.. |
Chickens:
The eight Buff Orpington's and twelve Black Star chicks are all doing really well. I put new towels in and climb in and spend time with them each day; and it is so relaxing! They are such a joy!
Dh's truck:
Dh has been working crazy hours; getting home late every night, but he did manage to work on it some this week--but it is still not working. He has a nut that is stuck and will.not.budge! Prayers appreciated.
Math:
This was our first week with just Teaching Textbooks instead of Math U See. She did very well this week...we will take as long as it takes to master algebra.
Birds:
I *think* I saw a small flock of Robins fly by as I was driving this week! I've been looking for them for weeks now. They are such a welcome sign of spring! Dd and I heard and saw two Whooping Cranes while we were getting out of our car. They were not very far up, and looked like they were looking for something. I've seen Wrens 2-3 times, Pine Siskens, and our other normal birds. The rarest sight this week was a Northern Flicker!
Our lessons:
Bible: VP Gospels
Card 105: completed
Ministry of John the Baptist, AD 27
Matt 3: (Bible and Believer's Bible Commentary)
Matt 17:5 ("This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased...")
Mark 1: (Bible and Believer's Bible Commentary)
Luke 3: (Bible and Believer's Bible Commentary)
John 1: (Bible and Believer's Bible Commentary)
*We read what each of the Gospels had to say about John the Baptist; which was a really nice arrangement of readings. We were really able to compare the four Gospels versions and discuss. Our commentary had pages and pages of information on these chapters, and this card took a lot of time.
DC Cook Journey Through the Bible
Journey Through the Bible:
pg. 213
Dd did the VP Workbook pages for card 104 and 105: completed
Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations
Part of our "bible time" is reading:
Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris:
Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris:
pg's 37-62
Foreign Language:
Dd hasn't been liking Rosetta Stone, so I told her about the ap Kendra mentioned: "DuoLingo" and Dd thought it was great. So far she has tried the French and German languages on it.
Math: TT Algebra
Lesson 2, didn't pass, redid Lesson 2 and passed, then Lesson 3, Lesson 4, and Lesson 5.
Government Class (with LINK co-op):
Dd had to watch the two hour Republican Debate on YouTube that was filmed in Fort Worth, Texas on Feb. 26th, 2016. We split it into two days of watching since it was so long.
The Everything American Government Book
read two chapters, working her way through this book!
Assignment: write a paragraph about one of the presidential candidates-done.
Cake Decorating Class:
In my opinion, the tastiest cupcakes yet! awesome!
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| Who would have thought--they put Brownie dough in a cupcake! It was SO good! I'd never thought of that! |
Volunteering in the Nursery:
another week of volunteering in the Nursery, she did well!
History:
BiblioPlan: Medieval, Renaissance & Reformation Companion (2 Book Set)
the BiblioPlan Companion Year Two text for Medieval History:
Chapter 8: The Vikings: Completed
NR
DVD's:
1. Castle
by David Macaulay: completed
2. Engineering the Impossible by Nat'l Geographic
we watched the episode on the building of the Colosseum in Rome.
Reader's:
Archers, Alchemists and 98 Other Medieval Job
Archers, Alchemists, and 98 Other Medieval Jobs You Might Have Loved or Loathed: In Process
pg's 48-64
Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales,
Selected, translated, and adapted by Barbara Cohen
: Completed
Science:
Exploring Creation w/ General Science SET
Exploring Creation with General Science
Module 5: The History of Life: Completed
Completed the Study Guide and passed the test!
So glad we are steadily progressing!
Science-part two: caring for the chicks each day!
Music:
Alto Sax, Piano, and Choir each week
Fun book:
Cruel Crown (Red Queen Novella)
Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard
Activities:
Library, Square Dance, Ice Skating, shoveling snow, caring for new chicks,
Cooking/Baking:
Marinated and make chicken
Smoothies each day
Hummus Wraps
Cake Decorating Class
Art:
LOTS of drawing this week!
Fun Movies:
The Man From Snowy River and LOTR series
repeats
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Thursday, March 3, 2016
Day Three and Four Spring Chicks 2016
Day Three and Four
Spring Chicks 2016
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| Hello Friends! |
Monday's hatching was quite disappointing, and super sad. We had twenty-two Buff Orpington eggs in our incubator. Ten hatched (two died), and twelve didn't 'peck' or whatever it is called when the chick doesn't break the shell to try and get out. We kept the incubator going for two more days, but nothing. I figure I did something wrong, most likely had the humidity up too high and the chicks got too big and didn't have room to break out. I really don't know, but am so disappointed in myself for not doing better! So, on Wednesday we shoveled and got off of our hill (after literally shoveling and blowing snow for three and half hours) and went to the local Tractor Supply Store and bought twelve "Black Star" pullets (female chicks). The Black Star chickens are also called "Black Sex Link," but Black Star sounds a bit nicer!
Our chicks and the new Black Star chicks got along really well. It helped that Dd sat with them for the first hour, and then I sat with them the second hour! There were four Black Star chicks that had a lot of crusted poop that needed immediate attention. Dd said that since I was "better" at getting the poop off, I should do it! Ha! I didn't argue, what thirteen year old wants to wipe poop with warm water and Q-Tips?!!
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| In this picture you can see the small cardboard box the Black Star chicks came in. I couldn't believe they shoved twelve chicks in one tiny box! |
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| We had put up two "door socks" that I had made a few years ago to keep drafts from coming in under doors into our house. I first put them in the brooder box to keep the eight chicks close to the heat lamp, and to not wander off. Then I pushed the socks (filled with black beans) over to the edges and out of the way; but the Black Star chicks immediately saw those socks as perfect roosts! They all love to climb up there and lay, but our Buff Orpington's still love to sleep on the floor. |
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| Here one of our Buff's is walking on me, while the others are curious about that box! |
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| These Black Stars are very pretty, with soft fluffy, "silkie" type feathers. I'll try to do a new post with the details regarding the Black Stars, for those who are curious about this breed. |
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| I've been checking each chicks bottom once a day for impacted poop, and this little girl cozy'd up and closed her eyes! So sweet and trusting. |
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| Our little brooder is looking a bit fuller now that we have twenty chicks. I'm SO glad none of the Black Star chicks were sickly--all have lived their first 24 hours with us. |
Thursday I took back the borrowed incubator to my friend, Michele, who let us borrow it. She asked us to give her the unhatched (now frozen) eggs so she could do an autopsy to find out what went wrong. She also has a friend that works for the government, regulating/inspecting chicken farms and she wanted to autopsy our eggs too. I was tempted to do that as well, but Dd and I were just too attached to these eggs and weren't ready for that with our hearts still sore.
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