# There was a MONSTER in my yard!!



## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

So I went outside to take a couple pictures of my spring blossoms before this weekends cold temperatures kill them off and I notice these HUGE tracks in the mud....I couldn't believe the size of the tracks, I was racking my brain on what kind of foul creature could have left prints like this...

this picture has my foot in the picture to show size of the prints ( I wear a size 8 shoe!!)








this picture shows the depth and therefore the weight of the creature








another clear picture of the prints










Then it dawned on me........













The chickens were out wandering the yard!!!!!! :lol:

Guess my hens are really getting big! Thus concludes this edition of paranoia theater!


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## Jane Honda (Feb 27, 2009)

I have moments like that every once in a while. :lol:


Ok, often!


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## RegalCharm (Jul 24, 2008)

as long as they didn't look like this one
I would not be to worried. LOL


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

lol... I'll keep that in mind RC!! :wink:


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## RusticWildFire (Jul 6, 2008)

haha Oh dear Amy. You had me going for a minute!! 

Those are some big chicken feet though!


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Holy crap... how big are your chickens??


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## Jubilee Rose (May 28, 2008)

:shock: Wow, your chickens must be humungous!!


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

did i ever tell you about the bear? I screamed and ran for my life... and then I realized... 

it wasn't a bear... it was blackhorses butt...


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

Farmpony~ I love you!!! that story is hilarious!!!!! :lol:


As far as the size of my chickens, they are all 10-12 pound heavy breed chickens.
Barred Rocks, Silver laced Wyandottes, Black Australorps and Buff Orpingtons.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Dems some BIG mama chickens, girl!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Dang, I would have guessed wild turkey for tracks that big. O,O


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

Dumas'_Grrrl said:


> this picture has my foot .................... ( I wear a size 8 shoe!!)


 
Someone has *BIG FEET* !!!!!!:shock:


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## Joshie (Aug 26, 2008)

Dumas'_Grrrl said:


> Farmpony~ I love you!!! that story is hilarious!!!!! :lol:
> 
> 
> As far as the size of my chickens, they are all 10-12 pound heavy breed chickens.
> Barred Rocks, Silver laced Wyandottes, Black Australorps and Buff Orpingtons.


I ordered pullets from Farm and Fleet. They should be in in May. I ordered the Wyandotettes, Orpingtons, and Easter Eggers. I hope their feet are not as large as mine.


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

You're gonna LOVE those breeds Joshie, they are all actually really nice chickens!!! ( not broody-mean)

I'll see if I have some pics of the chickens.


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## Joshie (Aug 26, 2008)

Dumas'_Grrrl said:


> You're gonna LOVE those breeds Joshie, they are all actually really nice chickens!!! ( not broody-mean)
> 
> I'll see if I have some pics of the chickens.


I picked those breeds because I'd heard good things about their personalities. The only problem is that they'll be in before we move to the farm. Oh, and the other problem will happen when I tell my hubby I already ordered some. :shock: 

Sometimes, Laura really is a bad girl. :lol::shock::lol:


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

You can kind of tell how big the chickens are in this last picture with the rooster sitting on the chair that my daughter keeps in the chicken pen. She sits out there with them when the weather is nice.


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

Laura, you can keep the babies (depending on how many you ordered in a plastic tub for about a month...We had 18 in this tub for 3-4 weeks.

We had to cover it as they wanted to perch on the top and they were crowded but we had to try to keep them inside as long as possible due to the weather.

( We got excited and started to incubate in late January (oops) :lol: )


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

But we end up with nice chickens because of my daughter who constantly handles them. She's the animal lover and spoils everything we have here almost rotten.


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## Joshie (Aug 26, 2008)

Your daughter and mine sound of like mind. She has her Joshie, her dog, Rebel, our cat, Henry, and wants so many more animals. She wants goats, some of LauraB's show chickens and ducks, some of Cat's ducks and kittens, and whatever additional animals she can con her parents into allowing. Thankfully Daddy says no 'cause her momma kinda likes the animals too!


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

OMGOSH, we are so in the same boat. We sold the horses but Korrie (my daughter) wants a goat (dad said no and bought us another cat) wants a potbellied pig, we're looking into buying some button quail, she wants gunieas and a breeding pair of peacocks too...oh rabbits and a bottle calf! :lol:

We have 28 chickens ( I was wrong on the # of chicks we had in that box, it was 10) with 12 more eggs in the incubator we built.

2 dogs, 2 cats a frog and several fish. Dad's holding steady with the no more animals rule, but he said large animals, so we found a lady that sells the quail not too far from us and talked to one of Dad's buddies tonight and found a 55gal aquarium to keep them in...:lol: I'm just as bad as she is.


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## Joshie (Aug 26, 2008)

Dumas'_Grrrl said:


> OMGOSH, we are so in the same boat. ...... I'm just as bad as she is.


Katie got Joshua last year and he's been boarded with our trainer. I found a free boy I hope to get soon. That way we'll have a pair when we move to the farm.

F & F had a 5 chicken minimum for each type. So, I got 5 pullets of each type. I would like to look at the fancy chickens at the poultry show in May. I used to work with someone who has Nubians...maybe she'll sell some to me.

I haven't exactly told hubby I ordered 15 chickens yet. I was hoping to put them in a large Rubbermaid-type container.

This was the day Katie and Joshua met.











Katie and Rebel. He's a poor, abused boy!


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

Laura, she's beautiful!!!



The container we used was a Sterlite (sp?) container we found at Wally world for $12. It was not the biggest container they had, They had larger for $20, just make sure it has enough floor space and you'll be good to go. They're easier to clean than most "brooders" and do a good job of keeping the chicks in.

We used some plastic garden mesh (the stuff used to keep birds out of your garden) to keep the chicks in after they were about 5 days old, we hatched them during an ice storm and had no power for the first 3 days of their lives so kept he actual lid on for warmth -but it was opened several times a day for ventalation) We got a whole roll of the mesh from Wally world for about $4.

I'd recommend you hang on to your brooding equipment and supplies. We started with 25 chicks, lost a few, incubated some more, on and on it goes, it's great.


Oh, the expensive red light bulbs are not needed imo, We use a heat lamp with a regular 100 watt bulb and have had no problems with pecking or anything like that and the bulb has always been plenty warm (because we're using a container for brooding instead of a shed etc.

We always feed sugar water for the first 5 days, about 1 tbsp/ pint and then go to tap water. We feed Medicated Chick feed and then go to Egg Crumbles and then Egg Layer Pellets for feed. Grit is just sand from the creek bed as babies (washed & sprinkled on their feed) then we got to commercial grit fed free choice.

If you have any questions, just give me a shout. It's been so much fun having the chicks!!


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## Kentucky (Aug 2, 2008)

those are the trackes of a wild turkey, a fairly common game bird in my area


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

Kentucky said:


> those are the trackes of a wild turkey, a fairly common game bird in my area


Just remember that Dumas has *BIG FEET* !!!:shock:


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

Kentucky said:


> those are the trackes of a wild turkey, a fairly common game bird in my area



Nope, those are my chickens.  I'll get some feet pictures today.


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## 3neighs (Jul 15, 2008)

Oh, Amy, that's too funny! For the next edition of paranoia theater, I'll be sure to have some popcorn. 

I have to ask something about your daughter. Does she have an...er..."oddly" shaped thumb? In one of the pictures her thumb looks like mine and they're, well, odd looking. I'm sure there's a term for it, but I don't know what. I have only known two other people to have thumbs like mine and one is my brother. It's probably just the angle and I'm embarrassing myself, but I had to ask.


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

Jen, She has long slender fingers and thumbs. Very lady like hands. ( I have hands like my dad, short and stubby, :roll I'm sure it was just the camera angle, was it the last photo her petting/hugging the dog? She was rubbing him and it blurred the focus.

ok, 

On to todays photo shoot.









^ Rooster #1 with Gallon milk jug for size reference.







^ Black Australorp Hen (she's soft as silk when you touch her feathers)







^ "Pumpkin" one of our Easter Egg hens







^ Silver Laced Wyandotte Hen, our smallest hen







^ Black Australorp Hen with Milk Jug







^ Rooster #1 with Gallon jug again, he didn't want to hold still very well.


Just so you don't think my daughter is mini size, she's 14yo, 5'4" tall, 120#'s and wears a size 9 shoe or boot in this case.


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## 3neighs (Jul 15, 2008)

No, it was the one where she was holding the chick, she has black and white polish on. I noticed her other thumb was "normal", but my brother has a normal one and an odd one so I was hopeful in finding someone else.


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

Dumas'_Grrrl said:


> Just so you don't think my daughter is mini size, she's 14yo, 5'4" tall, 120#'s and wears a size 9 shoe or boot in this case.


AH *BIG FEET* run in the family !!!!:shock:


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

Our chicks born January 27th. So they are eggsactly 2 months old here. 

























These are the chicks we got from crossing our 2 roosters with our different hens.


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## FGRanch (Feb 9, 2008)

LOL too funny! Are those the same ones that you had pictures of as chicks last year?


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

Yes, the colored baby easter chicks!!! That big (Gold colored) Rooster was one of these fuzzy guys.


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