Consolidated Kansas

[JosieChick]

I've got lots of them, Rooster. Come and get 'em. I'll sell cheap!!! Can you handle a couple hundred of them?
Josie have you ever thrown something away you weren't sure what was and then at some point much later realized that you threw something you needed away?
I just found one of those oops! last week. I was putting curtains up and noticed the valance piece to the faux wood blinds was off. I was going to put it back on and looked for the thing that fastens them. I found one side but not the other. DUH! I remembered picking that thing up off the floor thinking it was some kind of packing junk and throwing it away. I've done that more times than I care to admit.

I need to go take a picture of my tandem broody orps. They insist on sitting on the floor instead of in a nest box and they have pulled 50% of their feathers out to nest with. I gave up breaking them.

Sometimes yes!!!!! DH gets aggravated at me because he would keep everything!! He is such a cow farmer at heart. He wanted to keep an extension cord that had a terrible break in it "just in case we needed it for something!" I threw it out. I told him we have a baby girl and I am not keeping an extension cord laying around that could electrocute her someday! He has so much junk he has kept for "projects" and "just in case we need a part" but when it comes down to it he winds up going and buying a new one because he can't find the part he saved because we have so much stuff! It is just stuff and if you can't find it when you need it what good is it anyway?

I am sick of moving all this junk around. I told him I was going to start a burn pile this weekend and just start putting boxes on it!!!

 

[chicken danz]

Broody duck inside a grass bag that goes to a lawn mower

Dual broody ducks. You can't see it but they have built this nest to over a foot high. Heaven knows how many eggs are in there.The one duck that is standing was reaching out to get me.

Dual broody orp hens, They took all the straw out of the nest box, pulled all their feathers out, and still are breaking eggs. Why would you not want to nest in a nice cushy nest box built for two?

Broody mutt. As you can see she is a rooster favorite.

Broody brahma. You can see the pile of dirty eggs under her. She was saying, Stick that hand any closer and I'll rip it off. Too bad it wasn't a video; that head was following my every move.

 

[HEChicken]

Danz, those are great pics. I bet the rooster's fave went broody to get a break from them

Josie, yep, I hear you on that. We have a lot of little parts lying around here there and everywhere because they'll be useful someday but I know when we actually need to use them we'll be scratching our heads saying "I know we have one of those somewhere...." At the end of the day its cheaper and faster to just go and buy a new one. Time is money too.

Well, I finally got out the camera and took some pics. First is a little turkey poult who has been working on a new "do". She is 6 weeks old now, but this started at a few days old, when I noticed a little clump of baby fuzz sticking out from the back of the head. As she grew and feathered out, she replaced the fuzz with feathers, and it is really quite odd looking.

Here she is from behind, with her more normal looking sister (I think they're both girls but don't know for sure).

Another shot of the two of them where you can really see the little poof behind her head.

Ned with the normal looking offspring - doing just what Daddy does most of the day.

Duckie/Chicken family. The hen is out of Cyrus (EE) and my Sultan hen. Amazingly, she looks just like a black Sultan, right down to the 5 toes and crest. She hatched Oct 16th of last year so when she went broody at only 6-7 months old, I didn't take her seriously. However she did a great job sitting and now is doing an awesome job with the ducklings.

The two mamas and the 4 ducklings are rarely further apart than they are in this photo. She didn't do it while I was there, but when the ducklings get under Mama Hen for warmth, Mama Duck grooms Mama Hen.

 

[Trish44]

Wow Danz you have a lot of broody birds too! It wouldn't be so bad if it had been earlier in the year & I really wanted chicks, but now I'm just trying to get rid of what I have & here these silly hens are wanting to sit, ugh.

Hang in there Josie, it will get easier. Just enjoy the baby while she's little, they grow so fast that before long she will be walking & talking & you won't be able to hardly keep up with her. Time flies by so fast & before you know it they're not little babies any more.

Well I have another busy day, so I need to get busy again. I got one brooder cleaned out & need to clean another one this afternoon. Then I think I may start on building the support for the goat shelter roof. I finally got all the chicks moved to brooders in the garage so we have no more chicks in the house, yay! I think my DH was really happy to have them out of here. He's been good about it, but I think he had about had enough of cheeping chicks. Everyone have a good day & enjoy the weather, it's supposed to get a lot hotter by Monday.

HEChicken, you were posting as I was, those are some great pics, thanks for sharing them!

 

[chicken danz]

Great pictures. You may have the world first crested turkey!!
Josie you have the most precious little baby ever. People just never know what to say about babies. On my take, a baby that is growing fast and well is an asset. They are getting more food and antibodies from you and they will be much healthier later in life than some scrawny little kid.
Lizzy I have a story for you. I just had to come in the house to tell you about it. I was out in the yard working on my hoop coop, wearing a pair of shorts and some flip flops. (Oh yeah I should mention I have a shirt on too in case some of you wonder about my mental stability some times!

)
Anyway I was pulling wire through and cut my finger so I decided to go to the house to wash my hands. There in the middle of the yard was a huge black snake heading right for the pheasant pen. I had a sharpshooter shovel right there so I chased him with it and kept missing because he was moving fast, and the head of that shovel is so small. I finally caught him right as his tail was going through a chain link dog kennel panel. I was pushing with all my might but I only had his tail. First he tried to get away but then he realized he had his whole body to swing around so he started striking at me through the fence. Needless to say my bare legs and feet were starting to tremble pretty good by then. I saw a hoe nearby so I dropped the shovel and ran for the hoe. The snake took off heading under the chicken house (previous puppy raising house) I couldn't let it stay there cause there is a pen of very young chicks just on the other side. I grabbed it by his tail just as he was almost all the way under and pulled with everything I had. Let me tell you a snake is a lot stronger than you'd think. I tried to stop when I got close to the head but as I was taking my first stab with the hoe his head came out too. I chased him around the pen striking the hoe as fast as I could and finally caught his body and his head. I held down with one hand and put all my weight on the hoe then twisted as much as I could. I finally got his head out alone and did some more twisting and finally got him killed. All the while I am thinking I am going to get bitten. Who chases down snakes with bare feet and legs and nothing to kill him with???!

So now before I go back out I am thinking I might want to change shoes.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Great pictures. You may have the world first crested turkey!!
Josie you have the most precious little baby ever. People just never know what to say about babies. On my take, a baby that is growing fast and well is an asset. They are getting more food and antibodies from you and they will be much healthier later in life than some scrawny little kid.
Lizzy I have a story for you. I just had to come in the house to tell you about it. I was out in the yard working on my hoop coop, wearing a pair of shorts and some flip flops. (Oh yeah I should mention I have a shirt on too in case some of you wonder about my metal stability some times!

)
Anyway I was pulling wire through and cut my finger so I decided to go to the house to wash my hands. There in the middle of the yard was a huge black snake heading right for the pheasant pen. I had a sharpshooter shovel right there so I chased him with it and kept missing because he was moving fast, and the head of that shovel is so small. I finally caught him right as his tail was going through a chain link dog kennel panel. I was pushing with all my might but I only had his tail. First he tried to get away but then he realized he had his whole body to swing around so he started striking at me through the fence. Needless to say my bare legs and feet were starting to tremble pretty good by then. I saw a hoe nearby so I dropped the shovel and ran for the hoe. The snake took off heading under the chicken house (previous puppy raising house) I couldn't let it stay there cause there is a pen of very young chicks just on the other side. I grabbed it by his tail just as he was almost all the way under and pulled with everything I had. Let me tell you a snake is a lot stronger than you'd think. I tried to stop when I got close to the head but as I was taking my first stab with the hoe his head came out too. I chased him around the pen striking the hoe as fast as I could and finally caught his body and his head. I held down with one hand and put all my weight on the hoe then twisted as much as I could. I finally got his head out alone and did some more twisting and finally got him killed. All the while I am thinking I am going to get bitten. Who chases down snakes with bare feet and legs and nothing to kill him with???!

So now before I go back out I am thinking I might want to change shoes.

ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh Danz! I can just imagine you trying to chase a snake down. Your story almost makes me think of one of those Wile E. Coyote cartoons I used to watch when I was little.

On a more serious note, though... Flip flops in the yard?!? You MUST be crazy! I sure hope you don't have any rattlesnakes in that area! At least in this area, the only black snakes that I am aware of that get big are racer snakes. If that is what your black snake was, then I am truly impressed that you caught it. The racer snakes are F.A.S.T!

 

[Trish44]

Oh Danz, I could just see you chasing that big snake around trying to kill it, oh gosh. You should really wear some better shoes out there!

 

[RoosterLew]

Lizzy we have black snakes here that get big. Have seen them 6 & 8 ft plus.
Danz....lol....you should do a reality show!

 

[22qZoo]

EEW! Danz , way to protect your flock tho ! I don't think I could have done that. Snakes at the zoo are fascinating, snakes in the yard not so much! ( I scream like a girl )
Thanks for the hint on the Banty .
Hechicken and Danz it was nice to see al the pics. That little turkey with the poofy hairdo is wild looking. If she looks like a polish when she's grown up that would be cool to get an update pic.
Josiechick , my dd was the fussiest , colicky little thing she was breast fed and also got really chunky on it (think Michelen tire man) Someone told me once that fussy babies tend to be go getters and think outside the box types the kind that don't just settle for any ole thing when they get older. So far that has held true for us , she is so confident and we are very proud of her. And , like clock work the day she turned three months old the fussiness stopped and then it was smooth sailing. Hang in there.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

http://topeka.craigslist.org/grd/3855727528.html

If anyone is looking for a big dog pup - I saw two dogs that were this mix several years ago. They were very pretty and the people had them in a big yard with geese and other poultry. I wish I could handle a big dog now, I would be very tempted to get one of these.

I do not know the people that posted this ad and have not seen these pups.