Consolidated Kansas

[WichitaKidd]

David,
As others have indicated you will need to keep the kids separated from the adults/older kids. Your kennel run works great during the day, but if you want to keep them out at night you will need a way to give the kids a safe haven in the coop at night. I have an ark and when I need to integrate new birds I put a divider made of plastic chicken mesh up inside so that 1/4 of the coop is dedicated to the new birds. I maintain this for about 2-3 weeks. When I start see the older birds roosting on the new birds side and vice versa I take the divider down.

Let me know if you have any more questions about this as I learned the hard way a couple of years ago about this subject.

We seem to be thinking along the same lines. My coop is large enough I could divide part of it off for the new chicks to keep them separated from the older ones until they get used to each other. Hoping that they all get along well so I don't have any issues.

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David, Great job on the barn/coop! I love it!! It's so asthetically pleasing that I can't see anyone ever complaining about that!

Thanks. It's all part of my diabolical plan to stay on the neighbor's 'good side'. So far, it's working!

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David, you really did a great job. As someone else said, definitely hang onto the little pen. Mine don't have a pen - the whole backyard is their "pen". Even so, there have been times I've needed to segregate some and having a little pen like that is really useful. When my hen went broody last year, I was able to put her in her own little coop and pen so that she could still see and hear the others but they couldn't get in and lay eggs in her nest or bother her. Then, when the chicks hatched, they had an area they could learn to get around, and Mama Hen could show them the feeder and waterer, without concern about the rest of the flock trying to get in and hurt them or eat their feed. I've never had to set up a hospital pen but in the event it was needed, that would be a good solution. Last, each year I add a few chicks to my flock in the spring and when they are old enough to spend days outside, having a little pen like that is an easy way for them to have outdoor time, while staying safe. The big girls interact with them through the wire and by the time they are big enough to be allowed out of the pen, they are all used to each other. I've never had any issues with integration, or little chicks being picked on by the older hens.

Always great advice. I'll keep the pen until it starts getting in the way. Seriously thinking about converting the little pen into a chicken tractor. The whole thing weighs next to nothing; one person can easily move it, but wheels would make it easier. My backyard is about 95% fenced in, but not in good enough shape that I feel completely secure in letting them roam the entire area unsupervised. Between that & all the stray cats we have in the neighborhood I think building a large run will be the 'safer' way to go. At this point, I'm just waiting until we have a decent stretch of good weather before I start building a bigger run. That & the fact that I'm not in the best of shape right now. Not sure I could catch a chicken on the run!

 

[Trish44]

IVY, I'm glad you said that you think my chicks are lavender, they sure seem to be looking that way. I have more people wanting lavender than black, so that would make them all happy if they end up that color. Yeah I was wondering if that made a difference that they're splits, I really haven't read up on that at all. If they end up lavender I sure would like to see what they end up looking like when they're grown. The hens I got from you are kind of small, but my black rooster is a big guy & he sure has nice color & feathers. He has just bloomed since he got here, his muff grew back after being picked by his previous hens & he just shines. Maybe it is partially due to all of the sunflower seeds he gets for treats, but he is looking great. Anyway, I'm hoping the chicks will be larger when grown due to the rooster being bigger.

I have another Ameraucana chick & an EE in the hatcher that hatched today & that EE chick is just a cutie. She looks like maybe her daddy was the Speckled Sussex rooster, that should be a really pretty hen or rooster, I don't know why I called it a she I don't have a clue. Here is a pic of them, still in the hatcher drying off. This little Ameraucana is smaller than the rest, it came out of a smaller egg.



I have one more peeping in the shell down there, so it should be coming out soon, it's another Ameraucana. I have one other egg in there to hatch yet other than that one & then there are 5 more in the incubator that will come out to the hatcher Friday & Monday. That will be all then for a few weeks. My little Yorkie thinks when the chicks are peeping that they're in distress & she just whines & jumps up & down trying to get up on the cabinet to see if they're OK. We keep having to pick her up & show her that they're OK.

IVY, that's too bad you had to go through all of that just to get your pain medication. I would be throwing a fit if it were me.

tweety, I hope your duck behaves when you let her out of seclusion, hopefully she has learned her lesson.

 

[JosieChick]

Trish- Cute babies!!

Hawkeye- Love those silkies, she is such a good mom.

Danz- I know they haven't been handled much, they are so cute that I want to pick them up and cuddle them but right now I feel like it is torture for them, screaming and flapping their teeny wings.

I took all the eggs away from my broodies last night because the shipped ones have detached air cells and the two girls in the big hen house keep leaving one nest for the other and I am sick of finding cold eggs. So now I have all these darn eggs in the bator at every possible stage of development so I guess I am just gonna put them in the hatcher as they get close to pipping their air cells! I have something that looks like a silkie/cochin in the bator that hatched today. I felt bad because most of the eggs were not ones I set under them but they stole as were laid and I couldn't bear to not put them in the bator because they were developing. Now I have more mutts on the way!

 

[pikeman94]

She twists my arm every day! All she has to do is smile. Seriously, how can I deny those sky blue eyes and red hair.....sigh. I am doomed!

As of now it looks like fishing is on Saturday so I probably won't be heading out your way this weekend Danz. However, did I read your below post correctly, you are heading to Topeka? If so, maybe I could meet you some place along your route to Topeka. Let me know on that.

Well, I am off to bed. The am comes soon.

Pikeman, REALLY?? You would deny your daughter a chance to twist your arm?

I think I'm going to have to run to Topeka tomorrow cause I'm about out of dog food.

 

[pikeman94]

I just had another thought. I have a classified out for hop rhizomes. If anyone is interested PM me.\

Now, I am really going to bed.

 

[sapphireblu76]

When a blood ring forms in the egg, does it form around the air sac? I candled again tonight and really took some time to inspect them. I got rid of the clear egg, and most of the others I was able to see movement and veining. But, one had a dark ring around the air sac, and I didn't see any defined black spot or movement. However, there was a little veining. I think it's bad, no matter what, but wasn't sure if it was really a blood ring or not.

Chooks, was it you that said candle from the side? THANK YOU! It was MUCH easier to see. I had tried it last night, but I just really didn't know what I was looking at. Since I wasn't too afraid to have them out of the incubator this time, I made sure I took the time to really look. It's definitely true; the more you do it, the better you get, and the more you know what to look for and what you're looking at.

The silly hen that I thought had been the broody, is sitting on another clutch of eggs. At least I know I had the right bird. This time she's got them in the dog house. I think she was just too upset after we tore down the old coop and moved the nest to sit on the ones that I have in the incubator.

 

[Hawkeye95]

What a long day. I'm exhausted. We just got back. I'm so frustrated with the Dr's office here I could just scream. All I needed was some more of my pain medicine for my knee. Come on, folks. I just had a total knee replacement and it hurts. I won't go into all the details, but they wouldn't assure me that they could get the prescription written today so that I could take it to the pharmacy, so I ended up driving to Topeka to get it. Fortunately I was able to go ahead and get my post op visit that was scheduled for Friday done today so I won't have to make an extra trip on Friday.

We picked up a John Deere hay mower that we bought, and we had to get a couple things at the farm store, so we stopped at Orscheln's in Topeka. They had LOTS of chicks and ducks. They were out of turkey poults, but were pretty sure they would be getting more. Yes, I made it out of there without buying any, but only because I've got so many already here at home.

Sounds like a Dr fiasco to me! Sorry about all of that. That is pretty commendable that you resisted the fluff in the bins! Congrats on the hay mower!

I think I'm going to have to run to Topeka tomorrow cause I'm about out of dog food.
I told DH how exhausted I was when I got home and said I need more of me. He said, "No you don't! You'd just take on that many more projects and we'd have that many more that would never get done."He's probably right. It was 6:30 before I even got all my feeding and watering done.
I had two chicks hatch under two different broodies today. One was in the Serama house and the other was in the garage where my layers are. I let a Pheonix hen sit on a batch of half Serama eggs just because I was going to toss them otherwise. I had to take both chicks because they were both where they wouldn't survive. There was at least one more egg pipped out there too.
One of these days maybe I can just let those Mama hens sit all they want.

Really sounds like me-- all of my projects. That is so neat that your own hens are brooding right now, too! Yeah, too bad they can't keep them, but I understand-- that chick could walk off a bit and then freeze if it doesn't get back.

Tonight will be the last night for Quackers in the seclusion pen. We'll let her out tomorrow after work and see how it goes. I was so excited to see that the three ducks were actually using their duck house for the first time tonight when I went to lock everyone down! Yay! The chicks tend to hide in there during the day, so I was scared that the ducks would never take to it. They were all cuddled up in there and sleeping! The chicks are actually starting to put themselves to bed as well! two of them were already on the roost and the other two were out in the pen doing the "I'm lost" chirp till we just picked them up and put them on the ramp. They went right up! I think they are finally getting used to the routine. I've heard that routine is the best with these birds, so I'm trying really hard to stick with it. I think they are all starting to recognize the treat bucket as well. LOL. That didn't take long at all! I really hope that it doesn't rain as much and as hard as they say it's going to thru next tuesday. I'm rather liking going out to the pen and reading for a bit after work. It's nice and relaxing.

Good luck on the ducks being together tonight after work! I sure hope that did the trick!!!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Trish- Cute babies!!

Hawkeye- Love those silkies, she is such a good mom.

Danz- I know they haven't been handled much, they are so cute that I want to pick them up and cuddle them but right now I feel like it is torture for them, screaming and flapping their teeny wings.

I took all the eggs away from my broodies last night because the shipped ones have detached air cells and the two girls in the big hen house keep leaving one nest for the other and I am sick of finding cold eggs. So now I have all these darn eggs in the bator at every possible stage of development so I guess I am just gonna put them in the hatcher as they get close to pipping their air cells! I have something that looks like a silkie/cochin in the bator that hatched today. I felt bad because most of the eggs were not ones I set under them but they stole as were laid and I couldn't bear to not put them in the bator because they were developing. Now I have more mutts on the way!

Good luck with your upcoming hatches! The internal pips are easy to spot! I was SO excited when I saw that on my own egg.

I have another Ameraucana chick & an EE in the hatcher that hatched today & that EE chick is just a cutie. She looks like maybe her daddy was the Speckled Sussex rooster, that should be a really pretty hen or rooster, I don't know why I called it a she I don't have a clue. Here is a pic of them, still in the hatcher drying off. This little Ameraucana is smaller than the rest, it came out of a smaller egg.



I have one more peeping in the shell down there, so it should be coming out soon, it's another Ameraucana. I have one other egg in there to hatch yet other than that one & then there are 5 more in the incubator that will come out to the hatcher Friday & Monday. That will be all then for a few weeks. My little Yorkie thinks when the chicks are peeping that they're in distress & she just whines & jumps up & down trying to get up on the cabinet to see if they're OK. We keep having to pick her up & show her that they're OK.

IVY, that's too bad you had to go through all of that just to get your pain medication. I would be throwing a fit if it were me.

tweety, I hope your duck behaves when you let her out of seclusion, hopefully she has learned her lesson.

CUTE!!! You are really doing an excellent job of hatching!! I hope your Yorkie calms down.. I bet after a while of this, she might lose interest..maybe.

When a blood ring forms in the egg, does it form around the air sac? I candled again tonight and really took some time to inspect them. I got rid of the clear egg, and most of the others I was able to see movement and veining. But, one had a dark ring around the air sac, and I didn't see any defined black spot or movement. However, there was a little veining. I think it's bad, no matter what, but wasn't sure if it was really a blood ring or not.

Chooks, was it you that said candle from the side? THANK YOU! It was MUCH easier to see. I had tried it last night, but I just really didn't know what I was looking at. Since I wasn't too afraid to have them out of the incubator this time, I made sure I took the time to really look. It's definitely true; the more you do it, the better you get, and the more you know what to look for and what you're looking at.

The silly hen that I thought had been the broody, is sitting on another clutch of eggs. At least I know I had the right bird. This time she's got them in the dog house. I think she was just too upset after we tore down the old coop and moved the nest to sit on the ones that I have in the incubator.

The blood rings I had form were on the side of the egg, not at the top. But I don't see why it could not form at the top, too--I just have not personally seen it. I had early deaths, not late ones. The early deaths show up as abnormally shaped rings on the side of the egg. I've unfortunately seen a lot of those on my eggs. Sigh. If you are unsure it's a blood, ring, I'd keep it in there. Is the shell completely dark or only half way full?? You can tell in a few days if it's growing by looking at the others and seeing if it is starting to fill the shell to the top. Once the entire egg is dark, I would NOT throw it out. I candle on the side, too-- but I also rotate them around to get a good view. I sit on the floor with a big fluffy towel under me just in case.

 

[Mandilynn]

I have gotten so far behind I doubt I will ever really catch up!! My chicks are getting so big now, they're actually looking and acting like chickens. I think I am able to tell the boys from the girls now, at least on the partridges. 4 suspected boys and 8 suspected girls. On the random ones we picked at Orcheln's, I'm only sure on a couple. Two of which are the same breed, and were my husbands picks and are his favorites. Lucy and Buster, and as it turns out, Lucy is the boy. He's not the most personable in the bunch but my husband absolutely will not consider keeping any of the others as our rooster. I'd rather choose who stays by personality and qualities needed to take care of the girls, but at the end of the day I suppose we will have a rooster named Lucy. *sigh* Anyhow, I thought I would share a pic of my favorite, Mumble. I have no idea what he is, much less if he is a boy or girl. (it's just a habit to refer to him as him) He is a completely lovable dingbat. Anyone care to take a stab at what breed my Mumble may be? I have better full body pics, but this one cracks me up and I'm having technical difficulty loading the others. His feet are feathered to the point of ridiculous, as are his...erm...knees? He acts a little special but is extremely sweet and loves everybody.

 

[chicken danz]

PIkeman I'll be sending you a PM shortly.
Josie I find that if you slide a hand under a duck from the front side and make sure their feet are sitting secure on your lap or your other hand they do much better. It's a security thing. Just keep at it. They'll get used to you. I hope! I've been wishing Chopper wasn't quite so dependant on me. I am so sick of his messes! I've gone to shutting doors just to keep them contained rather than every where. It was much easier when he always went back to his crate when I wasn't around.
I just got a call and they are taking my Mom to the emergency room because her oxygen level is down so far. My sister is going to meet them there and let me know what they are going to do, so I am on standby right now. It happened yesterday when I was there , but they got it back up with an additional breathing treatment. They are giving her morphine now to keep the pain down and to keep her from feeling panicked when she can't get enough air. I feel like I need morphine to deal with all this!
Sapphire yes the blood ring usually forms around the air sack.I'd be tossing that egg. Hawkeye, if your blood rings were on the side I would think that the air sack had ruptured or that the eggs weren't getting turned for some reason. I find that a bit curious. What has anyone else experienced?
I just emptied the incubator from yesterday's hatch. I still have a few more pipped eggs that haven't hatched yet. I had 60 chicks hatch! And I have a whole new large load of eggs that go in the hatcher today.