Consolidated Kansas

[sarajoy]

Hi again MaidenWolf - cool, you're not horribly far. I'm in NW Labette County right off of 400. Two counties over from the state line. Really glad to be connecting with others! Sara

 

[sarajoy]

MaidenWolf - I was surprised to hear about your chicks as we're heading into winter. I had been hoping maybe to do that, one of my hens had seemed to be trying to go broody. But I was too nervous with the weather. i guess they are okay just with 'Mama" to keep them warm? Cool! Sara

 

[mikeksfarmer]

I don't think the bottle launcher would work here, I would probably get a quick visit from the sheriff. I have been hearing crows around though and have read they keep the hawks away, so I need to figure out how to ensure the crows stay here. What do crows eat?

Crows might be good to encourage as they would chase hawks and owls away. They would eat whole corn on a platform at the end of my yard. I also put things I wouldnt eat like chicken livers and trapped mice on it. They were daily visitors. Corn is a little high but still might pay off.

 

[sarajoy]

Hi MamaHen - I'm a couple counties south of you, down in NW Labette County, right off of 400. And its cold and windy and wet today - sigh. My light brahma are hiding out in their coop. And I'm hiding out in the big "coop" - inside my home. Sara

 

[michelleml]

sarajoy

The chicks seem to be doing fine but i notice a few would lay on their sides and stretch out a leg and wing under the light is that normal?

 

[mikeksfarmer]

Where I live I can shoot fire arms and fireworks. You might need a permit in the city. I know you can get a permit to get rid of starlings or crows. Not sure of the process but I bet they would with some convincing allow fireworks to get chase away hawks, coyotes and owls. But then most city officials are city-slickers!

 

[mommahen10]

My two weekers are in here. I'm probably going to move them to the brooder room though.


I peeked inside, yup... they're fine. I do think they would be more comfortable if i move them.


I'm trying to upload more pics but BYC is having issues. It's taking a long time.

 

[mommahen10]

I think that sounds like they are comfortable Michelle.

We're not that far Sarajoy.

 

[HEChicken]

Hawkeye, I don't know what kind of breeding would be right for me. I feel like I'm doing fine using all of the birds I'm hatching, they've either been sold for layers or pets or been dinner for us. I just feel like if I'm going to do this maybe I should just be hatching whatever kind of chick I have, they're all mixed and they're still fun. If I'm going to go through the work and the space and the feed if I picked something maybe I could benefit more from them. I just don't know about breeds to know which way to go. I guess maybe something really basic and versatile. I really like the lavender orps, it's the color I think is just so stunning, they make my heart stop but I've never seen them in real life. I love the personality of my EE's, they don't fight me when I try to pick them up. I wonder how they'll be when they're older. I got some buff orpingtons and they're really sweet too, they come up to me and are quite social. Maybe I don't want to breed according to a standard other than usefulness. Eggs are important, and meat is important. Pretty is fun, character is entertaining. I do have lots more room to grow and I've never seen my dh be so productive in building things for me so that's good too.

You might check into the Aloha Project - there is a whole thread about it here on BYC. The project was started by someone who wanted attractive chickens who are good for either meat or eggs, without any of the froo-froo items like feathered feet, crests etc. The thing I like about the Aloha project is that each bird doesn't end up looking the same, as will happen if you are breeding something like Buff Orpingtons. And, because there is no SOP, there is room for creativity. Want to add a little red? Go ahead. Like more ginger or buff or ???? You can go ahead and add that color in. KarenS on here is part of the project so she can do a much better job of explaining but I'd recommend finding that thread and reading about it, as it sounds like it might meet your criteria.

The chicks seem to be doing fine but i notice a few would lay on their sides and stretch out a leg and wing under the light is that normal?

It sounds like they are "sunning" themselves under the heat lamp - normal and happy. (Though it is scary, isn't it, to find them looking like that? Many is the time I've found birds sunning or dust-bathing and been scared they had collapsed.)

 

[cherwill]

I need to get out and get a check mailed to put a deposit on a pyrenees pup for next summer. The breeder emailed me last night to let me know she is already starting a waiting list for her August 2013 litter so I need to hustle on that if I want a pup next summer! Molly will be ten next year so it is really time to start thinking about that. By the time the pup is working Molly will be 11 years old and who knows how much she is going to be up to then. She is still going strong and doing really well. DH kinda balked at the idea of another pup but when I reminded him how old Molly was getting he conceded that we better do it next year. It is hard because she sure doesn't act like a 9 year old giant breed dog! I can't imagine her not around but we won't think about that right now!!

Something (else) exciting for you to look forward to!

Chickendanz-- The chicks are all doing great, they are growing and active and just doing great. Wing feathers are begining to come in and I inspect every night to see what colors are coming thru.. I love the mystery but I am an impatient woman.. I am trying to settle down the week old chicks they are pretty hyper and skiddish but they are coming around. The worst is the polish X looking one, I am working on that one it freaks out when my hand comes near. Everyone is adjusted and doing great. Thank you so much. I am glad the hen is taking care of the babies well, what a good momma. These guys just amaze me cause they are all so tiny, I have never had any this tiny. I will take some pics as they develope and post their progress.

Yes, pictures please! I think they're completely adorable when they're in the awkward teenage stage.

Michelle, I thought starter/grower was chick feed. That's what mine eat. I got some pics for you. My chicks that age are not staying under their light completely, they have it if they want it. I got some pics of them too. I feed mine starter crumbles for a few months and then switch them over to layer feed. There's usually enough starter crumbles left that we can mix it half and half with the layer feed for a couple of weeks. As they get a little older and start getting feathers, they will move out from under the light sometimes, often when they want to sleep.

OMGosh Lori, that's crazy. I don't like coyotes at all, they're scary. I hear them every night and they're so close.
I love to hear them howl, but I wouldn't want them anywhere near my birds.

Chickies-duckies, my ds just told me he knew there were cougars and my dh said that years ago they killed his bird dogs. That's so scary. I didn't even know about the alligator but it seems my ds knew that too. I'm so out of the loop. We've known there were cougars for decades because we'd seen them. Not often, but we certainly know a cougar from a coyote or wolf. We'd seen one a couple of times when I was a kid and we lived in the country, and my DH, father and brother saw one when they were going out to my SIL's to do some target shooting. We laughed our behinds off when the state finally acknowledged that there were cougars in Kansas.

sarajoy

The chicks seem to be doing fine but i notice a few would lay on their sides and stretch out a leg and wing under the light is that normal?

It looks funny, doesn't it? It looks even funnier when they're full grown ... the first time I saw it, I thought the hen was dead!



We have three nesting boxes. One was empty, one was this one and one was full of poop. We need to redo the roosts. The rest of the hens are kicking Ruby off the roosts and she ends up spending the night in the middle nesting box. SIX EGGS in one day!

I haven't seen that in ages.