Consolidated Kansas - Page 1185

Avery, where did you find the panels? I'm not sure the texture will work for the mandies since they climb but I would like to check them out. I live in the middle of no where. LizzyGSR, slide your hand down the front of your duck from below its beak to it's belly. They feel less afraid that way and it saves your arms. I can't count the number of scratches I've had from ducky nails but this seems to help.

Someone recently mentioned insect control. I got a news letter and copied the URLs dealing with this without chemicals. So it could give you some ideas on how to do it without potentially upsetting the natural balance.

http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/gardening/26-plants-for-attracting-beneficial-insects/?sssdmh=dm17.595487&esrc=nwlc050812

http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/animals/pest-control/natural-pest-and-disease-control/?sssdmh=dm17.595487&esrc=nwlc050812

http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/animals/pest-control/pest-control-home-remedies/?sssdmh=dm17.595487&esrc=nwlc050812

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicken danz 

averytds, here is a link to the K &L page. http://exoticanimalsforsale.net/sale/3540_Yates_CenterK__L_Exotic_Sale.asp

They used to do the NPIP testing a few years back but they haven't done it to my knowledge for at least 3 years now.

It's probably been about that long since I've been.  Just not really worth the drive unless I know I'm going for something specific.  Odd though for them not to offer it anymore.  Seems counter-productive when your traveling around what 3-4 states doing poultry sales & swaps.  I can't imagine, hmmm Jason I think was his name, letting his license slide unless he's certified in one of the other states and just keeping it in the one.  How I long to do that.  I would much rather be certified in OK.  When I called about it though, I was told I couldn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizzyGSR 

Are you saying that it's okay to trim my ducks' nails?  Since their duck house isn't quite done yet, I've been having to carry them outside in the morning and carry them back inside in the evening.  They've been tearing my arm up with their claws.  I was just beginning to wonder if it would be okay to trim their nails.  Any tips on that?

Sorry, no idea on that.  We don't raise ducks.  Some of the kids' chickens go into cages for stretches of time for various reasons and need their beaks and nails tended to.

I bought them from our local home improvement store. http://www.doitbest.com/Fiberglass+panels-Crane+Comp+Sequentia-model-FTSTF.12-doitbest-sku-112577.dib  Good description of uses here.

Better pricing if you have a Lowes or Home depot though. http://www.homedepot.com/Lumber-Composites-Paneling/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh8Zbqp3/R-100389836/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

Danz-Be sure to let me know when you get your "testing day" scheduled.  I may want you to come up and test my flock.  I would like to get the whole flock certified NPIP.  I took the test to become a certified tester, and then contacted the state twice and never got a response back from the state.  I gave up on the idea when I heard how much the testing serum had gone up in price.

How did you like my DH's bird dog?  Isn't he a hoot!  He will point those chickens and goats all day long.  He stays in the house with us a lot and he goes down the basement and stares at the chicks in the plastic brooder.  He will watch his "chicken TV" for hours, or until we call him off.  He has never once made a move to grab one or hurt one, but he sure gets excited pointing them!

I'm sure you are being a "Mother hen" with those baby mandarins.  Those are the prettiest little ducks I think I have ever seen.  I have never raised ducks so I don't know anything about them.  Checoukan has been trying to talk me into getting a few mandarins, but I just don't need more animals right now.  There's still so much to do with what I already have.

Avery-I had no idea people needed to trim the nails on their ducks!  I do have to trim the nails and beaks on some of my caged chickens, but it's never a problem with my free range birds. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicken danz 

Avery, where did you find the panels? I'm not sure the texture will work for the mandies since they climb but I would like to check them out. I live in the middle of no where. LizzyGSR, slide your hand down the front of your duck from below its beak to it's belly. They feel less afraid that way and it saves your arms. I can't count the number of scratches I've had from ducky nails but this seems to help.

Someone recently mentioned insect control. I got a news letter and copied the URLs dealing with this without chemicals. So it could give you some ideas on how to do it without potentially upsetting the natural balance.

http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/gardening/26-plants-for-attracting-beneficial-insects/?sssdmh=dm17.595487&esrc=nwlc050812

http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/animals/pest-control/natural-pest-and-disease-control/?sssdmh=dm17.595487&esrc=nwlc050812

http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/animals/pest-control/pest-control-home-remedies/?sssdmh=dm17.595487&esrc=nwlc050812

I will try that!  Thank you for the suggestion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by averytds 

It's probably been about that long since I've been.  Just not really worth the drive unless I know I'm going for something specific.  Odd though for them not to offer it anymore.  Seems counter-productive when your traveling around what 3-4 states doing poultry sales & swaps.  I can't imagine, hmmm Jason I think was his name, letting his license slide unless he's certified in one of the other states and just keeping it in the one.  How I long to do that.  I would much rather be certified in OK.  When I called about it though, I was told I couldn't.

Sorry, no idea on that.  We don't raise ducks.  Some of the kids' chickens go into cages for stretches of time for various reasons and need their beaks and nails tended to.

That's ok.  Thank you!

Avery I've seen those panels in some public restrooms. I probably won't use them for this project but I have another chicken tractor project they would be perfect for.

Ivy I can come test your birds whenever it is convenient. I don't think with the number of birds I have to test in Lawrence I'd have time to drive all the way up there and do all of yours. We can set a date and get 'er done. I would need your help and maybe Mike's if he is available. The testing would go a lot faster if someone was there to catch them and a second person to help hold them while I test. I just bought serum but it expires in July. I have about 1000 doses so I can do a lot of testing. It's darned expensive if you don't use it. Had we planned a little better for yesterday we could have made a day of it and got that done while I was there. Chooks plans to help me when I go to Lawrence.

I'm kind of waiting for it to warm up before I go out to work. It isn't happening very quickly. My arthritis is acting up so bad that I know if my legs and arms get chilled I will be writhing. I used a prescription pain pad on my neck last night and it sure helped.

I'm going to Rantoul on the 18th to test Josie's birds.

I hate driving but this is why I became certified. I definitely like promoting good responsible chicken health. Even though I could use some real improvement myself. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivywoods 

 Tweety-What other chickens are you comparing them to?  Silkies are bantams and thus will grow slower and be smaller than other chickens.  Other than that, some chickens do grow slower than others, (just like kids) and some lines grow faster or slower than others.  It can vary a lot.  As long as they are continuing to eat, grow some and feather out I would not worry about it and you know you are feeding them a good quality feed and they are getting all the nutrients they need.

 

Even within the bantam lines some grow faster than others.  My bantam partridge wyandottes seem to grow quite a bit faster than some of my old english.  They will end up being a slightly larger bantam, so that is probably normal.  I have not raised silkies in particular, so I can't speak specifically about them.

In all honesty, I'm comparing them to the only other chicks I've ever raised - BR,BO, and Delaware - so all large birds. I realized that they would generally be a lot smaller than the other birds (and OMG they were!) but the others seemed to almost double in size every week, these have only doubled in size in 3 weeks - that's why I was a little concerned.  They are eating Nutra Chick Feed as well as the baby parrot feed Chooks had me do as a treat. Maybe I should start giving them some eggs and other treats as well now. It just seems like they are still the one day olds - again, compared to the other birds! LOL.. I'm just being a worry wart!  BTW, I've noticed that these three get pasty butt a bit more than the others did, but I'm sure it's more just the fuzzy feathers on the rear that's catching the poo moreso than blockage. Still cleaning it daily anyways :)   Thanks for the advise.  This is why I love ya'll!! You won't laugh at me for being worried about my babies :)

UGH!!! The fedex guy just pulled in with what had to be my mareks vaccine and Molly barked "once" at him and he pulled right back out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Geez, never seen a dog before, I was almost to the darn door and he didn't even pause to see if someone was home, just drove right back out and went barreling down the road. Shoot! I needed that vaccine and now its probably gonna be no good by tomorrow when the ice pack melts. Sigh. 

Tweety-I have noticed my silkie chicks are very slow growing. They almost look miniature compared to my large fowl chicks and then all of a sudden they have a growth spurt and enter the gangly teenage stage. You can try putting a bit of vaseline on their behinds, sometimes that helps the poo not stick. 

Danz, I forgot, congrats on your baby mandarins, how exciting! I think those are the prettiest ducks I've ever seen. I would love to have some of those, but like someone else said, I don't need more projects right now.

I have been so messed up lately on dates, I really need to get a better system of keeping track of when eggs are supposed to go in the hatcher. Danz, how in the world do you keep track of that? You have so many you hatch I don't know how you do it. Does anybody have a good system for that?

I hope to get a start on my chick pen this afternoon. I just have had no energy the last couple days, I just feel wiped out. I was happy yesterday to accomplish getting that brooder fixed & moving my little turkeys in there.

Have a good day everyone!

I've seen several people post on here (sorry, I don't remember who they were) about silly things they've done to hurt themselves.  I can honestly say that I am always hurting myself in some of the strangest ways.  My DH teases me about my "natural grace" - or lack thereof.  :)  Anyway, I decided to go to the kitchen for a late-morning snack.  I made some wheat rolls the other day and decided to have one with honey on it.  When I went to cut it in half, it slipped, and I cut my finger WITH A BUTTER KNIFE!  The cut was deep enough to draw blood.  GRRRR.