Met Winter 2021 - 2022 Banter

[tunafish]

Just now, DavisStraight said:

I met a woman yesterday that had a pet chicken she keeps in her house, she lets it out in the day into a pen but comes in every night. Didn't realize they make good pets.

certain breeds are better than others for sure.  But even then, they all have a different personality.  The one I have that's sick is the type that could do that, she's basically a puppy dog.

[LibertyBell]

8 hours ago, tunafish said:

Yeah, just tried giving her some yolk and meal worms. A few bites and immediate puke.

I've read so much about the horrors of factory farming, those companies need to be prosecuted and dealt with severely.

 

[tamarack]

9 hours ago, dendrite said:

They can definitely produce creosote and need occasional cleaning. Pellet quality matters. I always burned la cretes out of Alberta. Those suckers burned really hot and clean and kept the pipe dry. A lot of the cheaper local pellets are hardwoods which don’t burn as fast, but don’t burn as hot either. I just didn’t have as much success with those. 

A bit surprising that hardwood pellets didn't work well.  When Maine Forest Service put pellet stoves in a few of their regional stations ~15 years ago, they had good results with a Quebec product - pure sugar maple made with edgings/trimmings from a furniture factory.

[tunafish]

1 hour ago, LibertyBell said:

I've read so much about the horrors of factory farming, those companies need to be prosecuted and dealt with severely.

 

None of that here.  Gave the sick one free reign of the yard for an hour before letting the others out.  She ate a ton of grass, bugs and various grit around the yard.  She's acting pretty normal, and no puke after the eggs.  Crop still pretty swollen, though.  She's got mites, too, which we treated earlier in the week.  Other chicks have been pecking at her, another reason to keep them separated. 

 

Good melting today either way with a high of 53 and steady winds out of the WSW.

 

[LibertyBell]

Just now, tunafish said:

None of that here.  Gave the sick one free reign of the yard for an hour before letting the others out.  She ate a ton of grass, bugs and various grit around the yard.  She's acting pretty normal, and no puke after the eggs.  Crop still pretty swollen, though.  She's got mites, too, which we treated earlier in the week.  Other chicks have been pecking at her, another reason to keep them separated. 

 

Good melting today either way with a high of 53 and steady winds out of the WSW.

 

Yes they make for awesome pets and look pretty happy.... she must really like the warmer weather.

[DavisStraight]

You guys have opened my eyes to a whole new world of chickens, I used to think they were just for eggs and Sunday dinners.

[IowaStorm05]

Hi. Today I will call myself "Barbara Vancent". I have an savant obsession about car accidents, and vehicle safety designs. I am 37 years old and have 21 years of safe driving experience with no rateable accidents on my record.

Most of us know and observe how much safer modern cars are than cars from 20, 30, 40 years ago. This is true.

But we have to take the speed limit seriously, and avoid exceeding it. I will explain and defend my contention, followed by some links to back up my claims below my essay.

The way modern cars are safer for crashes is for many reasons, some involving automation and trigonometry and drive stability. But for the structure of the car and the airbags, these designs ARE ONLY DESIGNED TO SAVE LIVES WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH 25 to 40 MPH direct IMPACT SPEEDS.

In my studies I have observed that the lion's share of lives saved by modern vehicles are in crashes where the actual speed AT IMPACT is 25 to 40 mph. That is what I am going to explain. Deaths-Per-Million rates are so much lower than in the mid to late 20th century because these 30-40mph impacts used to kill people in most cases, especially before 3-point seatbelts and side airbags were accepted by society. BUT Modern vehicles are far less effective at saving lives in impacts that occur at speeds above 43mph (Look that number up; 43mph).

If you are driving down a two lane highway, you know the common one with the yellow line in the middle, If you are in a modern car, and another modern car crosses into your lane from opposing traffic and you have a moderate offset head-on crash where each vehicle is travelling 40mph, that is about the upper limit for which modern cars can reliably save your life. IF you take this exact situation and change that speed to 50 mph for each car, odds are very high one or both drivers will be killed. Of course real world crashes are way more complicated than just that, but my point is... Today's "SAFE" cars cannot save your life in high speed "major" impacts.

A lot of people will say "Oh my buddy Joe crashed at 80mph and survived". Well I say, probably not exactly. He might have been travelling at 80mph before he lost control, but almost certainly he was very lucky. He either almost certainly slowed down considerably either by breaking, skidding or clipping lots of objects INDIRECTLY leading to his out-of-control car coming to a stop... IF Joe's vehicle actually had struck a car directly or semi-directly at 80mph, or fully wrapped around a tree at 80mph, he would have died instantly.

My arguement is that if you drive WITHIN the speed limit, especially when you are dealing with speeds over 35mph, this tips odds greatly in your favor.

If you drive 65mph on the freeway instead of 80mph... And something goes wrong such as a tire blowing out or you get clipped by another car.... The odds are far greater in the former scenario that your vehicle will slow to survivable speeds before a major impact, and any kind of impact will have much more survivable forces upon your fleshy fragile body. If you lose control while travelling at 80 or 85 mph and leave the road, only the very lucky will survive.

If the speed limit is 55mph on a two lane highway and you choose to drive 55mph instead of your friend who would drive 64mph, this is enough of a difference that gives you a much much greater physiological chance to slow down and react if something goes wrong, versus your friend's scenario.

To further prove my point about the limitations of modern car safety: Have you ever seen the results of a WRONG WAY freeway head-on? It is when one car travelling 55-75mph has a head-on with another vehicle closing in at him also at 55-75mph. Do a search on youtube or google and you will get to see how this type of crash crushes even the most modern cars like an accordion.... and most of the time the occupants are killed instantly. EVEN IN THE NEWEST VOLVO the result would be the same. Modern cars cannot save your life in high-speed direct impacts, that is my point... and what defines "High speed" Is a lot lower than what most people think.

And about weather... I often observe traffic driving close to the speed limit even during a rainstorm. This is erroneous because a wet road offers considerably less traction than a dry one. Nighttime visibility reduction is a thing too. I tend to aim to only drive 60% to 80% of the speed limit if there is simple rain. I respect speed of traffic factors too, but if there is only one lane in my travel direction, I will lead those behind me in rainy weather, and force those behind me to drive no more than 85-90% of the speed limit. Speed limits are meant to be followed only in the most ideal conditions.

Things "Go wrong" more often than we hope. My former roommate was driving home from Iowa City in 2019 on a 55mph highway. His tire came loose and the whole wheel fell off of his car. The wheel continued on down the road while he spun out. He was fortunate that he did not flip, and did not strike any objects. But he is a safe driver and was going close to the speed limit. Nobody was injured in the incident.

https://www.thecarcrashdetective.com/how-to-survive-a-head-on-collision-slow-down-to-below-43mph/

https://www.patrickmalonelaw.com/2019/11/01/how-much-damage-40mph-crash/

[CoastalWx]

Wow Jackson on speed skating. What a story. 

[Ginx snewx]

8 minutes ago, CoastalWx said:

Wow Jackson on speed skating. What a story. 

?

[CoastalWx]

Just now, Ginx snewx said:

?

Erin Jackson. She first skated on ice (like literally first time ever) in 2016. Got real good and favored to win gold. She stumbled in trials and didn't make the team. One of her teammates (who was never favored to win) sacrificed her spot to let Erin in because she was favored to win despite her mistakes at the trials. Now she won. 

[Ginx snewx]

1 minute ago, CoastalWx said:

Erin Jackson. She first skated on ice (like literally first time ever) in 2016. Got real good and favored to win gold. She stumbled in trials and didn't make the team. One of her teammates (who was never favored to win) sacrificed her spot to let Erin in because she was favored to win despite her mistakes at the trials. Now she won. 

Wow awesome stuff 

[dendrite]

On 2/12/2022 at 5:39 PM, tunafish said:

None of that here.  Gave the sick one free reign of the yard for an hour before letting the others out.  She ate a ton of grass, bugs and various grit around the yard.  She's acting pretty normal, and no puke after the eggs.  Crop still pretty swollen, though.  She's got mites, too, which we treated earlier in the week.  Other chicks have been pecking at her, another reason to keep them separated. 

 

Good melting today either way with a high of 53 and steady winds out of the WSW.

 

I had an egg today with mites on it...first of the year. How are you treating them?

I loathe having to do it, but the only thing that seems to really stop them for good (for awhile at least) is permethrin. I hate powdering them myself so I have storage bins full of dirt that I use for them to dust bathe in. I add a coating of permethrin to it and mix it in and when they dust bathe they basically treat themselves.

[RUNNAWAYICEBERG]

On 2/13/2022 at 9:49 AM, CoastalWx said:

Erin Jackson. She first skated on ice (like literally first time ever) in 2016. Got real good and favored to win gold. She stumbled in trials and didn't make the team. One of her teammates (who was never favored to win) sacrificed her spot to let Erin in because she was favored to win despite her mistakes at the trials. Now she won. 

Yea, a great story all around.

[tunafish]

15 hours ago, dendrite said:

I had an egg today with mites on it...first of the year. How are you treating them?

I loathe having to do it, but the only thing that seems to really stop them for good (for awhile at least) is permethrin. I hate powdering them myself so I have storage bins full of dirt that I use for them to dust bathe in. I add a coating of permethrin to it and mix it in and when they dust bathe they basically treat themselves.

Ugh, sucks.  We used permethrin and self powdered.  Cleaned out the coop and run, treated there as well.  We have been tossing the eggs since treatment because we can't get a clear consensus on whether or not they're safe to eat.  Hate it.  Not sure the treatment worked on her as it's been about 5 days and she's still got them.  Anytime she's around the other chicks in the yard they're constantly trying to peck them off her.

The vet had a cancellation this AM so she went in, and got the text that she's returning home so at least there's hope.  I said if they don't think there's a path forward then to put her down there.  Not sure I could bring myself to do it myself just yet.

[dendrite]

53 minutes ago, tunafish said:

Ugh, sucks.  We used permethrin and self powdered.  Cleaned out the coop and run, treated there as well.  We have been tossing the eggs since treatment because we can't get a clear consensus on whether or not they're safe to eat.  Hate it.  Not sure the treatment worked on her as it's been about 5 days and she's still got them.  Anytime she's around the other chicks in the yard they're constantly trying to peck them off her.

The vet had a cancellation this AM so she went in, and got the text that she's returning home so at least there's hope.  I said if they don't think there's a path forward then to put her down there.  Not sure I could bring myself to do it myself just yet.

Permethrin doesn't really kill them directly. IIRC it makes them infertile so that they're not reproducing. Eventually the infestation wanes and they die off without a new generation.

The first few days after treating I usually don't eat the eggs either, but I have fed them back to the birds.

[tunafish]

8 minutes ago, dendrite said:

Permethrin doesn't really kill them directly. IIRC it makes them infertile so that they're not reproducing. Eventually the infestation wanes and they die off without a new generation.

The first few days after treating I usually don't eat the eggs either, but I have fed them back to the birds.

Interesting, because we just got her home from the vet and they said "I don't see any more mites" so it sounds like it did enough to prevent the next generation.  The other chicks were still pecking at her today, though, so I wonder if there's some other weird bird dynamic going on.  She's #2 in the pecking order but even 3 and 4 are taking shots at her neck (which she occasionally returns).  Need to figure out better dust-bathing options for winter.  Neighbor has a woodstove, might need to regularly collect ash from them.

The vet said they'd get back to us on the eggs.  I'm sure it'd be fine but just want to be sure.  They gave us a syringe for electrolytes and said to keep her separated for a few more days until her crop is better and her neck has some time to grow new feathers (of which the vet noted there were some coming in).  Keep her on probiotics and it should work itself out.

Really glad, would suck to lose a hen in year 1, not to mention having to euthanize/bury one.

[dendrite]

I had a young one die last Feb but had a hole already dug for a different hen (who is alive and fine today lol) so I was able to bury her. If I did it over I think I would have a little firepit ritual…not sure. It’s going to look like pet sematary out in my back woods in a few years with all of the chickens I’ve had. 

[tunafish]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

I had a young one die last Feb but had a hole already dug for a different hen (who is alive and fine today lol) so I was able to bury her. If I did it over I think I would have a little firepit ritual…not sure. It’s going to look like pet sematary out in my back woods in a few years with all of the chickens I’ve had. 

ha.  I like the idea of a fire, but my kids would be happier with a burial for sure.  Fire is just convenient, no freezer space required.

[dendrite]

The Brownville ME deer food pantry has been busy. 
 

 

[tamarack]

2 hours ago, dendrite said:

Permethrin doesn't really kill them directly. IIRC it makes them infertile so that they're not reproducing. Eventually the infestation wanes and they die off without a new generation.

The first few days after treating I usually don't eat the eggs either, but I have fed them back to the birds.

Might that encourage the critters to eat their own eggs before you can gather them?  The SNJ branch of our family won't put their hen's eggshells in their food, though shells from the few store-bought eggs get oven-sterilized and thence to the henhouse.  For locally-laid eggs, the shells go in compost.  Over-conservative?

[IowaStorm05]

We all know not to feed our puppo chocolate. But there are other things. Linked here is a nice list of substances that are toxic to dogs. 

https://www.aspcapetinsurance.com/resources/what-foods-can-dogs-not-eat/

[dendrite]

3 hours ago, tamarack said:

Might that encourage the critters to eat their own eggs before you can gather them?  The SNJ branch of our family won't put their hen's eggshells in their food, though shells from the few store-bought eggs get oven-sterilized and thence to the henhouse.  For locally-laid eggs, the shells go in compost.  Over-conservative?

Oh I don’t give them the shell. I scramble them in a pan and just feed them like that. I won’t even do a peeled hard boil egg since it maintains the egg shape. 
 

Some people crush up the shells and feed that in place of oyster shell for calcium, but I don’t take the chance on that. Mine have been good about leaving the good eggs in the box alone. If one breaks or someone randomly lays one in the run they will clean it up. But they’ve been smart enough to separate the two. I give 18 birds about 10lbs of mealworms over the course of a month so they probably feel content with their protein. 

[tunafish]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

Oh I don’t give them the shell. I scramble them in a pan and just feed them like that. I won’t even do a peeled hard boil egg since it maintains the egg shape. 
 

Some people crush up the shells and feed that in place of oyster shell for calcium, but I don’t take the chance on that. Mine have been good about leaving the good eggs in the box alone. If one breaks or someone randomly lays one in the run they will clean it up. But they’ve been smart enough to separate the two. I give 18 birds about 10lbs of mealworms over the course of a month so they probably feel content with their protein. 

We've been doing that and so far so good, thankfully.  We've got a much smaller flock, and we don't give them much of a chance to be tempted to try a bite of a freshly laid egg as someone in the family is checking every hour or two.

[UnitedWx]

On 2/8/2022 at 2:47 PM, weatherwiz said:

Got the northeast snowstorms volumes 1 and 2 in the mail the other day (yes I'm embarrassed I went this long without having them). Excited to changes gears and put a ton more studying into winter weather! Last weekend's storm really inspired this change. 

I bought those last year myself. Same thing..I don't know what took me so long to order. Great resources

[dryslot]

I'm surprised nobody posted this question but i will, So what came first, The Chicken or the Egg?

[Ginx snewx]

10 minutes ago, dryslot said:

I'm surprised nobody posted this question but i will, So what came first, The Chicken or the Egg?

The mite?

[dryslot]

2 minutes ago, Ginx snewx said:

The mite?

Mite be.

[IowaStorm05]

Kinda sad. We don't have a storm to get excited about and chat for on here. 

Do you guys hang out like this for Summer Convection events?

[dendrite]

12 minutes ago, dryslot said:

I'm surprised nobody posted this question but i will, So what came first, The Chicken or the Egg?

The t-rex

 

[dendrite]

Just now, IowaStorm05 said:

Kinda sad. We don't have a storm to get excited about and chat for on here. 

Do you guys hang out like this for Summer Convection events?

Nah. We talk about more interesting things like drizzle and dewpoints.