Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

I have to say I hate to complain about rain because it was so dry for so long I was really concerned but now I am getting tired of the mud. I had to put a bunch of straw out in the pens to soak up mud & I feel like it's such a waste of good straw. The lambs were walking in mush & I am afraid they will develop foot rot so I had to put straw in their pen right in front of their shelter so they wouldn't have to walk in the muck. It stinks too, bad around here.

 

[sharol]

Gotta share. My DH is looking after the menagerie while I am in Colorado visiting my daughter and her family. I have 12 chickens and 3 adolescents (11 weeks) in the main coop and my Broody and her 3 chicks (4 weeks) in the henhoop.

Night before last he called me and asked (sort of in a panic), "How many chicks are in the hoop coop?" I said 3, and he said that one was missing. Mama and 2 chicks had gone back in but the other one was nowhere to be found. I suggested that it might be in the main run (mom leaves them there to go forage). Sure enough, she (I hope she -- I really like that chick) was in the corner of the run scared to death. He opened the gate, and of course all the chickens flocked out.into the yard again (it was almost 9, so I knew they would go right back in). He ended up letting out the broody (who was going ballistic in the hoop over her lost chick) and she raced over to take it back in. Crisis averted.

Last night I got a text asking what to do again. The chicks had gone back to the hoop (he had herded them in), but mom was nowhere to be seen. He found her foraging in the flower garden, and when she realized the babies weren't with her, FREAK OUT again. Again, crisis averted.

The man is a saint.

 

[chicken danz]

LOL Sharol. My DH would never notice if one was missing or not. in some of the birds I might not miss them either though. Yeah you have a great hubby.
Yesterday I did finally find a hen stuck down in the mud. Unfortunately it was one that already had leg problems. She was wheezing badly too so I suspect she sucked some mud down her lungs. I've had that happen at least once in the past and it ends up killing them because it causes a lung infection. I gave her a shot of penicillin , which I rarely use and put her in quarantine. I should probably just put her down but I just can't do that.
I pulled some weeds in the garden yesterday but I could spend hours more out there. What I need is a couple days when it's dry and not wind so I can just roundup some of that stuff. I really need another grow out pen. My birds are so crowded. It's hard to decide what birds to keep for breeding until they get full grown so I have a multitude of young cockerels I really won't need. I hate to spend so much on them (English imports) and then just sell them at meat prices. I need a cockerel pen the size of Rhode Island I think.
It's another full schedule day. I am so ready for a down day.

 

[Trish44]

sharol that is so nice your DH cares so much about your chickens, he's a keeper for sure. I agree with danz, my DH wouldn't know if one was missing or not, he doesn't even know breeds even though I have told him, he just isn't interested enough to remember.

I have a busy day today too, so I had better get moving.

 

[sharol]

sharol that is so nice your DH cares so much about your chickens, he's a keeper for sure. I agree with danz, my DH wouldn't know if one was missing or not, he doesn't even know breeds even though I have told him, he just isn't interested enough to remember.

I have a busy day today too, so I had better get moving.

I wouldn't exactly say he cares about the chickens, but when I leave and he takes on the responsibility, he TAKES ON THE RESPONSIBILITY. He has such a high regard for life in general that he makes every effort to be sure they are all safe and where they are supposed to be when I am gone.

 

[samjo06]

I'm going to second the complaint about the rain and ask for any suggestions.
My chickens are in a dog run all day and then get some out time with supervision in the yard sometimes. The run itself is muck central right now and not very pleasant smelling either. It's not the poo that's the real problem, but the mucky soggy straw. It's just wet and never dries out. Does anyone have any suggestions to help keeping the chicken run less mucky and damp?

 

[chicken danz]

I wish I knew. I've tried all kinds of things. The only set up I ever saw work was a guy who built a building and pens raised up about 18 inches above ground level and had driveway gravel in the run. When it rained it washed out. It would cost a fortune if you had a very large pen.

 

[Trish44]

I agree with danz, I have to resort to straw as well & then you just have soggy straw. Since my place is all downhill from the house it really gets muddy where my pens are.It would be nice to have raised pens but I'm not sure how that would work exactly.

 

[CHIKENROOKIE]

Just a quick note to say the new chicks are looking good! Many thanks to Danz for these good looking birds!!

Will take some pics and add them later !

 

[chicken danz]

Thank you Chickenrookie and nice to meet you and your wife. I hope they all do well for you. You should have eggs from those big buffs before you know it.
I am finally moving the orpington breeders today. Then with some cleaning etc I can start moving some more birds around. Unfortunately it's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow so I'll probably have to clean then wait a few days for things to dry out.
I have another hatch day tomorrow so I have to move some of these inside babies somewhere today. Am I ever going to catch up?