Making Copies
I enjoy the magazine but on finding this chicken to color, I made copies for family and friends and sat down and colored straight away. Great fun. I think I’ll make more copies to tuck in my coloring books for traveling. The children just love to color in the airports and planes. I’m 67 and learned how to color for “fun” from my grandchildren. Thank you.
Sally M. Westfall
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– By Lonnie Lindsey
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Thanks for the Emails
We appreciate the kudos, Lara. Our newsletter is free to all. Anyone can sign up by downloading one of our helpful free guides. countrysidenetwork.com/free-guides/
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Yes, It’s Really Us! We’ve Moved.
Exciting things are happening at Countryside Publications, home to Backyard Poultry magazine! We’ve moved our subscription services to our Carson City, Nevada office in an effort to serve you better. Plus, our customer service team is now in our Greeley, Colorado office, and is ready to help with whatever you need —1-800-551-5691. Do we still have an office in Medford, Wisconsin? You bet! That’s our main coop and still home to several wonderful team members.
It’s really us … we just have a new subscription office!
Weighing in on Wolfdogs
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Alleged Wolfdog
Hello,
I am writing in response to the article depicting an alleged wolfdog as an LGD. As a rescuer of wolfdogs for more than 15 years, I humbly ask that you print a retraction to this story. Most northern breed canines, wolfdogs, and mixed breed mutts do not make good LGDs, as they have very high prey drive, are independent thinkers, and tend to “roam.” Wolfdogs, real wolfdogs, would not perform as an LGD. Now, misrepresentation is rampant for wolfdogs, with as much as 50 percent of all wolfdogs sold for something they are not! While it is hard to phenotype a canine from one picture, I can assuredly tell you that the animal in the story is NOT a 70 percent wolfdog, and not be a wolfdog at all. I have handled well over 500 wolfdogs of all contents since 1994. Misrepresentation is so commonplace that there are websites dealing with it, and how NOT buy a misrepresented canine.
Thank you.
Nancy Brown, North Carolina
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Shade For My Girls
Here is a pic of my coop. As you can see we did an add on. I call it the big bird cage. This is where the girls (14) hens hang out during the day when not running around our property. We have lost too many hens even during the day to coyotes. I bought a big heavy curtain from Goodwill and put it on a curtain rod. I can open it for light, and since I live in south Texas, I close it during the heat of the day. You can also use PVC piping. I did this on the sides as well when our temps dropped below freezing. It made a huge difference against those north winds at night.
Hope this helps some peep owners.
Marsha Suwienski, Texas
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Experimenting With Thyme
In Volume 11, Number 5, October/November 2016 issue of Backyard Poultry there was a recipe for coop cleaner. The article “Thyme, for Cleanliness,” page 40, Healthy Feed by Lisa Steele, intrigued me. I had to give it a try since I had the ingredients on hand. Anything to help make the chore of coop cleaning more tolerable! I followed the recipe (mid, 2nd column), let it set for the recommended 2 weeks, or until the vinegar aroma wasn’t overwhelming. Shook it on occasion, etc.
Today was the day to try my experiment. I strained my elixir into a spray bottle and headed for The Hen Pen Palace. I had purchased a windshield scraper for 91 cents locally and used it to scrape the roosts first. One of those long handle jobs with a brush on the other end. Armed with my concoction and old rags, I commenced to spritzing the roosts thoroughly. Once saturated, I let it soak as instructed. I busied myself with shoveling and, well, you know… cleaning out soiled pine shavings. The soft, lemony/thyme aroma made it easier on my nose as well. Since I had never used a spritz on the roosts, when they were almost dry I scraped any remnants the first spritz may have loosened. Then I spritzed the roosts again and let them set a bit then took my old rags and wiped them down. This is THE BEST poultry potion E-V-E-R! Next coop cleaning day it won’t be so involved. After I got the fresh pine shavings down, it was all so crisp and invigorating, actually. Even the girls were flocking in to take in the bracing bouquet.
I must say, it is excellent! Thank you, Lisa, for the insight and wonderful, hen-friendly aromatic home cleanser! I use it inside my home as well. The fresh, lemony thyme aroma … wonderful! The Hen Pen Palace is much more pleasant to enter now, especially when I open it up in the morning! And thank you, Backyard Poultry, for having such knowledgeable and insightful writers in your magazine! That’s why it is such a success! I’ve got another quart jar of this miracle mixture steeping. Guess I’ll get up and give it a good shake, eh? Visit my coop at boointhewoods.com and see all my Happy Hens … and my fresh, clean coops!
Vicky Whitaker (Boo), Oklahoma
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Clipping Chickens Flight Feathers
I enjoy Backyard Poultry. Reading on pages 22-23 in the December 16/January 17 issue, “How to Clip Your Chickens Flight Feathers,” the 12-year-old son did a perfect job demonstrating clipping flight feathers … but I always left the two long feathers at the wing tip so the wing can rest on the birds’ body, otherwise, the bird must keep lifting its wing because it just slides down. The article was well written and I have done this many times.
Ruth Landis, Missouri
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Special Chicken
I just got a Gold Laced Brahma from a breeder because my little sister always wanted one. Her name is Speck, and she is beautiful. I have a funny story about her. She was the only one left of the full grown Gold Laced Brahmas because people said she was not pretty enough. I told the breeder that just because she wasn’t pretty enough doesn’t mean she doesn’t need love. I pet her every day and give her treats and I sit with her and read your magazine. I love your magazine, don’t ever think about stopping.
Alex Evans, Texas
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Poultry Traditions
I retired and have always wanted to have chickens like my granddaddy did at this old house many years ago. Here is a photo of me as a boy around my granddaddy’s chickens, then one of my chicken coop and chickens now. I enjoy the chickens, they bring back some memories.
Andy, Virginia
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Quail Breeds vs. Species
While entertaining and nicely illustrated, the article “5 Quail Breeds” is wrongly titled. Each of the so-called “breeds” are actually separate species. This would be like calling a dog, a wolf and a coyote different breeds. This is also clearly illustrated by the author listing the scientific name (Genus and species) of each of the featured birds! Breeds are human-selected variants of the same species. To continue with the canine example, Great Danes, Dachshunds, and Norwich Terriers are different breeds within the domesticated dog species. I enjoy Backyard Poultry but often cringe at its nearly complete lack of scientific accuracy in many of its articles. You have a responsibility to be more accurate!
Catherine Hale Robins, PhD
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Some of the Sweet Baby Chicks Shared by Readers
Meet Hoot. We thought she looked so much like an owl we named her Hoot.
Meet Skittles!
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Angel Food Cake Recipe a Hit
Thank you for the angel food cake recipe! It is by far the best I have ever tried. The April/May 2017 issue arrived just as I was wondering what to do with four goose egg whites I had leftover from making a custard sauce. One of the great things about this recipe is that it gives a volume measure of the egg whites needed. Egg requirements in recipes can be tricky for us who use our own eggs, which can vary in size. So I measured out my goose eggs and added duck egg whites until I had 1 3/4 cups (it took four duck eggs whites, by the way). The cake was perfect — high and fluffy with a fine and even texture. Thanks again!
Julie Simpson
Maryland
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Vaccinations for the Flock
I just received the April/May 2017 magazine in the mail and have been devouring it on the train this morning. This past weekend my daughter and I purchased 9 new chicks after enjoying them vicariously through friends around the country who have had flocks for years! I am thrilled with your focus on so many relevant articles. I had been discouraged with the magazine for a while now because of the lack of informative/seasonal information as there had been in the past and was considering canceling my subscription. I wish you well as editor and thank you for a wonderful edition. I hope you might do an in-depth article on vaccinations. Our chicks are not vaccinated against Marek’s, and this morning I have put in calls to two poultry vets in Connecticut where my daughter lives and the state vet. She has a flock of wild turkeys on her property, and the coop is being designed and planned as we speak. That would be another good article — coop living.
I’m glad you mentioned your Facebook presence in your “from the editor” intro!
Gina von Eiff
EDITOR’S REPLY:
I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying the new magazine! The April/May issue does contain a nice article on vaccinations (pg.60). I hope you found that helpful.
I will definitely keep your suggestions in mind as our team plans future issues. Vaccines can pose a lot of questions for backyard chicken keepers so it’s always good to explore this topic in-depth.
Your coop sounds like it’s going to be wonderful! We’d love to see pictures when it’s finished.
Thanks for your feedback!
The post Do You Have Something To Crow About — June/July 2017 appeared first on Countryside Network.