Pearce Pastures: Where did I go?

[Pearce Pastures]

Thanks Roll!

Well, TGIF!

Elliott loves his school. I am not so sure I am loving his teacher at this point but I am going to find out more about what happened today before I get too much of an opinion set about her. She just had a baby and has no other kids so her experience with children is solely based on what she sees in the classroom...sorry but what people without children often think they know about parenting and children is often not reality.

She has decided to start using this loathsome green-yellow-red tag system in which certain behaviors warrant a tag which corresponds with a consequence. Today, Elliott's second day at school, he got out of seat without permission so was issued a green tag as a warning. Then, later in the day, he had to use the restroom ans got up to go which is how it would work at home or at his daycare, but not at school. He didn't know and all the should have happened was a verbal correction. Instead he was giving a yellow tag and according to him (I will be double checking this) he did not get to go outside to play because of it.

So problem number one: It is not a good consequence to want a child to stay seated and pay attention then remove their opportunity to run and get out all of their pent up energy which helps them to go back to sitting and focusing. It is only going to lead to a negative cycle of him squirming and frustrated and getting into more trouble. Problem number two: do not punish a child for a behavior that he did not know was unacceptable. Correct, yes. But not punish.

All of this was relayed to me via his limited 5-year-old vocabulary, no note to explain, so I will be talking to her on Monday to see if I have this right because we work in the same school system and I know the administration would not back this kind of thing up.


DH is at his welding class until 10:30 tonight so I am going to go play in the barn by myself after I tuck the kiddos in for the night. Need to go see about revising our chicken breeding experiment. One breeding pair is actively breeding but for some reason, the hen has quit laying altogether. The other hen (in with another rooster) is still laying but I don't think they are fertilized and she doesn't seem to interested yet in sitting on them. In short, I have no idea what I am doing.

 

[Southern by choice]

Chickens generally won't sit until they have a full nest, then they sit (broody). At the point when they stay on the nest it's 21 days.
Not all chickens are setters. Some chickens are great setters but not great brooders. What kind of chickens?
All our chickens are ranged, this fall I will segregate all roosters for a period of time, let the girls get "cleaned out", so to speak, then yard the breeds for a few days for purebreds. Our chickens especially the Modern game Bantams are the most prolific breeders I've ever seen, excellent sitters, and brooders. Anyone want some free chicks? lol
Are you going to be a particpant in the NPIP program? After a big mess up within the ag dept ( they lost our testing paperwork) we finally just got our NPIP certified farm #,and we're part of the AI testing program.
Chickens are EASY!!!!!!!!! I still prefer "the natural" way. I really hate incubators.
I don't know anything about caged breeding,sorry.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Thanks for the tips! We are experimenting with a Barred Rock hen x Speckled Sussex rooster , a Black Australorp hen x BC Marans rooster, and as soon as they are mature enough, we are going to try breeding Ben's bantam Buff Brahmas. The cages are because of the dog...I do NOT trust her to let them be or they would have free reign of the back acre. She will probably be the last dog I own. Love and she is smart and well trained but still is more trouble that she is useful, I think.

I so wish I could get some chicks!! Elliott was given a bantam game rooster when we got chicken last week and he is absolutely in love with him. Nugget (Elli named him ) has go to be the most easy going rooster I have ever been around. He gets carried around all over and stays by Ell's side even when he sets him down. I am not really sure what kind of game he is though..maybe I'll snag a pic and you could tell me?

I am not NPIP but if we start getting into this, I am sure I would be up for it. We just got a premise ID number for our little farm from state, but no testing on them yet (other than that they are all from NPIP flocks and hatcheries).

 

[Southern by choice]

Interesting crosses! We are working on our own farm special now (2nd generation). BIG birds with normal feed intake with good layer capability, fast growing. It all started with one of our fav roos ! 13lbs "Ananias" 1yr old. The hard part for me is I LOVE LOVE LOVE my roos! But too many and they tear up the girls. None of ours really fight, on the rare occasion we have a trouble maker they are "goners". Flogging, mean roos- same thing!
Love to see some pics! (of your goats too!)
We have Nigerians also, our first girl is going to have her 1st kids any day now (due on 28th) SOOOO excited.
Btw- I hate the incubators because I am a nervous wreck and end up staying up all night while they are hatching, freaking out! Where the moms do everything perfectly (humidity, turning, etc.). Everyone here seems to agree it's better if I get my sleep! lol

 

[Pearce Pastures]

And for today's post: A how-to on being STUPID A step-by-by step walk-through for those smarties that want to experience how the other side lives.

The activity=building a hanging poultry waterer that doesn't work for obvious reasons

Step one: Make sure you have at least an hour to waste (and it will be a complete waste of at least one hour of your life so be sure you have it to spare).
Step two: Gather up a perfectly good and practically new plastic waterer, some zip ties, wire, a few carabiners, your sons pocketknife, and some tin snips. Do not attempt to wait for your husband to get home to use his tools that he took with him to install windows because a) that would make sense and b) he would ask what you were doing and tell you why what you were planning on doing would not work.
Step three: Use the pocket knife to slit two holes into the top of the plastic waterer so you can feed a zip tie through it to clip to a carabiner that you will attach to the wire lid on the chicken pen.
Step three: Fish another zip tie through the wire lid to attach the carabiner to as well.
Step four: Dry fit the water and make sure it is hanging levelly---wouldn't want the water to drip out, right?
Step five: Decide to use wire instead of the zip ties so remove them with tin snips, cut pieces of wire, fish them through the exact same spots and twist together tightly.
Step six: Pat yourself on the back and tell yourself how smart you are. Daydream briefly about showing off your creation to your husband when he comes home, while you start filling your waterer with the hose.
Step seven: Realize how much water really is pouring out of the two holes you cut and then try to race against the spilling H2O to get the lid on and flipped over so the spilling stops
Step eight: Flip over the waterer really fast since you have already lost half of the water through the two holes. Slap your forehead as you see the water completely drain out once it is right-side up, remember why the waterer works in the first place and recognize that with those holes in the top, the waterer no longer will work at all.
Step nine: Throw everything out and hope that your children didn't get their fair-share of your DNA.
Step ten: Go inside and order a hanging waterer for less money than all of the materials you just had to throw out were worth.

 

[bonbean01]

sorry it didn't work out...but love your instructions! Are you sure you aren't related to me???? Sounds like something I'd do

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

HAHAHA That made my day!! SSoooo funny. As soon as you said you cut the slits I was like, "Oh no. She just ruined her waterer." I'm still laughing.

What made it better was the

Throw everything out and hope that your children didn't get their fair-share of your DNA

 

[autumnprairie]

better luck next time?

 

[Roll farms]

That totally sounds like something I'd do.....And hate to admit to my husband when I did it.

 

[Bridgemoof]

A for Effort! rofl