Consolidated Kansas

[okjenyp]

A couple days ago I was checking on my 11 chicks in the coop and Chance was laying on his back. Idk if he fell off the roost or what. After I turned him over he seemed ok but wasn't moving fast. He seemed to be squatting and would tip over once in a while when he tried to walk. I checked his reflexes and nothing appears wrong with his leg. He was very hungry and ate a handful of food from my hand. Yesterday when I let everyone out in the morning he hobbled outside with the group but seemed unsteady and tipped to the side. Sometimes he shuffles his legs under him and sometimes he walks upright like normal. But he is easily startled or gets ran over by the others.( he is a Cornish cross and there are 4 others, the rest of the chicks are half their size) so I decided to isolate him last night and put him in a dog crate with food and water. This morning he came outside and seems to be walking normally. Ate and drank with the group. But the others just shove him over and he falls over. So I put him in the other chicken yard and sectioned off the coop so he could have his own space. He started to cry looking for his friends! I decided to try and see how it works with my 4 week old chicks. So I brought the 6 chicks which are much smaller than he and they seem to get along ok. They even tried to snuggle up to him. There was no more crying and the younger chicks seem happy to be outside and have a big brother. And Chance is walking better now that he isn't getting trampled. I was worried he could have mareks but his legs don't look anything like the pics. He just tips over when others push him. So, that all being said, did I do the right thing by seperating them and putting the younger chicks with him? I know Cornish cross don't have a long life span but I want it to be a happy life.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

I have been making a small coop out of a shell of an old automatic washing machine I parted out. Every time I start to finish it up something else crops up. Today I had to take my truck to Pittsburg to get a new windshield because I had been putting it off all winter. I t was to the point it had so many cracks it looked like a road map without the red and blue coloring. If you live in a rural, rural area they do not do mobile installations. My insurance company tried but none of their contacts did it in this area. I know they use to, because I have had it done in the past. I guess the price of gas and lost time in driving is why they quit. So I spent 4 hours this morning looking over downtown Pittsburg Kansas.

 

[Trish44]

A couple days ago I was checking on my 11 chicks in the coop and Chance was laying on his back. Idk if he fell off the roost or what. After I turned him over he seemed ok but wasn't moving fast. He seemed to be squatting and would tip over once in a while when he tried to walk. I checked his reflexes and nothing appears wrong with his leg. He was very hungry and ate a handful of food from my hand. Yesterday when I let everyone out in the morning he hobbled outside with the group but seemed unsteady and tipped to the side. Sometimes he shuffles his legs under him and sometimes he walks upright like normal. But he is easily startled or gets ran over by the others.( he is a Cornish cross and there are 4 others, the rest of the chicks are half their size) so I decided to isolate him last night and put him in a dog crate with food and water. This morning he came outside and seems to be walking normally. Ate and drank with the group. But the others just shove him over and he falls over. So I put him in the other chicken yard and sectioned off the coop so he could have his own space. He started to cry looking for his friends! I decided to try and see how it works with my 4 week old chicks. So I brought the 6 chicks which are much smaller than he and they seem to get along ok. They even tried to snuggle up to him. There was no more crying and the younger chicks seem happy to be outside and have a big brother. And Chance is walking better now that he isn't getting trampled. I was worried he could have mareks but his legs don't look anything like the pics. He just tips over when others push him. So, that all being said, did I do the right thing by seperating them and putting the younger chicks with him? I know Cornish cross don't have a long life span but I want it to be a happy life.

The problem with Cornish Cross chickens is that they're a meat bird & after they get to a certain size they're supposed to be processed. They're not meant to be used for laying or living for years like other breeds. They get heavy fast & then their legs can't support them very well so they start just sitting & eating or waddling along. I raised some for meat last year & by the end of the time right before we processed them they pretty much just sat & ate. You may find after awhile that's what happens with this one.

 

[okjenyp]

I was hoping they'd live a bit longer than 6 weeks. I didn't know anything about the breed when I got them. We planned on eating some and raising others for eggs. It is hard knowing that they will have such short lives. Oh well

 

[chicken danz]

I have been making a small coop out of a shell of an old automatic washing machine I parted out. Every time I start to finish it up something else crops up. Today I had to take my truck to Pittsburg to get a new windshield because I had been putting it off all winter. I t was to the point it had so many cracks it looked like a road map without the red and blue coloring. If you live in a rural, rural area they do not do mobile installations. My insurance company tried but none of their contacts did it in this area. I know they use to, because I have had it done in the past. I guess the price of gas and lost time in driving is why they quit. So I spent 4 hours this morning looking over downtown Pittsburg Kansas. I could have had it done elsewhere but I did not want to just set and wait for 4 hours before I could drive it home. And the other reason was the price. I had called everyone that did auto glass around here, including Joplin MO. and the price was a standard $227.00. Pittsburg Auto Glass's price was $165.00 and the windshield they installed was just like the old one, without the cracks.

I wish I could have had all these interruptions and places to go when it was cooler out.... not on the days when it finally is warm. Looks like we have colder weather and rain coming so heaven knows when I'll get my coop done. I'm anxious to finish it. The longer I take to build something the more stupid ideas I get about adding this and that. I just want to get it done!

Okjenyp, cornishX legs can break and their hearts can't keep up to their weight. I did have a few pullets I kept for over a year and they did lay for me. The problem was that they got to 13 pounds each and waddled. I lost all three of them to heart attacks and never got to eat them. Bad choice to make. You don't have to butcher these guys at 6 weeks. That is with an ideal feeding schedule. But the longer you grow them the more likely they won't survive. I personally preferred to grow mine to about 10-`12 weeks and get more meat out of them. I have learned that although not as big, the slow growing birds with less meat have much better flavor and are more tender. I doubt I'll ever grow cornishX again. I don't like butchering cause I don't like killing. I do now and then but only because I have to. If I want chicken breasts as opposed to a whole chicken I find a bag of skinless boneless chicken breasts are a great bargain!
Speaking of that I need to schedule a butchering day soon when its warm and not predicted to be so windy. I have some ducks I HAVE to get done and a couple roosters.
Can you believe we have possible snow in the forecast Sunday night and Monday morning...not to mention a freeze? Good grief! My apricot tree has bloomed and that means I will loose the fruit. The other fruit trees are budding out so the timing is awful.

 

[22qZoo]

It's been a busy couple of weeks for us too, I'd bet people are trying to get some stuff done and enjoy the warm weather after this yucky winter. Seems like the "to-do" list got really long when the weather was bad.
We found out Wed. that our son has "extensive sinus disease" (really bad sinus infection) via CT scan. Not good news but,sure is a relief to know what has been going on for the last few months.We have known something was wrong and had treated him for a few things (ear infection, sinus infection,sore throat) but never really seemed to get much better,now at least we know. It's so hard with a
non-verbal kid sometimes to figure out what's going on. Last weekend when he was really feeling bad he would take DH's hand and use his Ipad/talker and "say", "something is wrong","go to doctor"
"head hurts" and then lead DH over to the door and then out to the van. Nice to see him making progress with the talker. I just hope we can clear this up with out wrecking his gut in the process.

DANZ- that Black hen that I got from you last year has gone broody,she has 10 eggs under her but only 1 of them is hers. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what kind of farmyard mutts I'll end up with.
So,,,,that means that with the10 chicks that I"couldn't resist" at Orshlens I could be over run with chickens real soon. yikes math !

 

[Trish44]

It's been a busy couple of weeks for us too, I'd bet people are trying to get some stuff done and enjoy the warm weather after this yucky winter. Seems like the "to-do" list got really long when the weather was bad.
We found out Wed. that our son has "extensive sinus disease" (really bad sinus infection) via CT scan. Not good news but,sure is a relief to know what has been going on for the last few months.We have known something was wrong and had treated him for a few things (ear infection, sinus infection,sore throat) but never really seemed to get much better,now at least we know. It's so hard with a
non-verbal kid sometimes to figure out what's going on. Last weekend when he was really feeling bad he would take DH's hand and use his Ipad/talker and "say", "something is wrong","go to doctor"
"head hurts" and then lead DH over to the door and then out to the van. Nice to see him making progress with the talker. I just hope we can clear this up with out wrecking his gut in the process.

DANZ- that Black hen that I got from you last year has gone broody,she has 10 eggs under her but only 1 of them is hers. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what kind of farmyard mutts I'll end up with.
So,,,,that means that with the10 chicks that I"couldn't resist" at Orshlens I could be over run with chickens real soon. yikes math !

Chicken math, oh yeah it's easy to get over run with chickens! I hope you get things cleared up for your son, that can be so miserable.

Danz, our fruit trees are blooming too, so we may have another year with no fruit in the orchard. These darned late freezes are the pits.

With all of the trees in bloom right now my allergies are just rampant, I'm having a really hard time with it this year. My right ear is still really messed up from it & I can't hear very well out of it right now.

 

[okjenyp]

I'm just learning the chicken math. I didn't know they ate so much food! Stupid Cornish cross eat like they starving!! Will be glad when they're ready to eat. This is my first time raising chicks. Started out with 12.. Got 6 more.. Then 8. And I'm not liking having to integrate them every week. So next round I will get more the first time so I'm not going back every week getting more.

 

[cherwill]

285 posts behind. I'm not gonna even try! I hope everyone's well and getting lots of eggs and whatnot.

I had a computer virus, then ended up putting together a new system since my old one was iffy on running Windows 7 and support for Windows XP has ended. I've finally got it all put together, operating system and programs installed, and data restored,

I'm sure everyone's been very busy with the lovely weather we've been having. Our nine hens are laying an egg or two a day. The asparagus is coming up. The peas are coming up. Potatoes, beets, radishes, onions, shallots, and leeks have been planted. I actually feel like I've accomplished things.

I've missed you all!

 

[acsteele]

Just curious, anyone in the winfield/wellington/arkcity area going to have chicks hatching in two or three weeks?