Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

sharol, I'm sorry about your hen, those GLWs are so pretty.

Danz, you must be exhausted from all of this. We're all keeping you in our thoughts & prayers.

Hawkeye, it looks like you got a good start on the coop for your brother. That's a great pic with your kids!

I went & got the windows for my breeder coop today, so at least I have those. They actually are in pretty good shape. I didn't really know what to expect, but they're not bad at all. The guy said he will have more if I need them & just to let him know. Maybe I should take him up on that & just get them in case I need them for something. There are 4 that are the perfect size for the front of my coop, so I was really pleased about that. I plan to put a window in each section so there is light coming in each one. Then I think since I have enough windows I will put one of each of the bigger ones on the ends for more ventilation. I was thinking today that I want to just put a half wall between each section & then put chicken wire the rest of the way up & then there will be ventilation from the side windows that can get through. I'm planning to have the people doors on the back of the building for access for me & pop doors for each one of the sections on the front & I hope to use the dog run I have & divide it in two & then get another one about the same size for the other two pens. I saw a really good deal on Craigslist the other day, but as usual I didn't have the money to go get it.

Well it was day 3 on cleaning the coop after I got back from picking up the windows. I got a late start since I had to drive to Ark City & back, but I had it about 3/4 of the way cleaned out already. I took one more cart load to my compost area & swept out the coop. I put a whole bag of new pine shavings in & some DE & sevin, so I should have it covered for awhile. It looks so nice with all new shavings in there. For those of you that do the deep litter method, do you scrub off your roosts & all or do you just scrape them off the best you can? I was thinking of spraying some oxine in there tomorrow, I just ran out of steam tonight by the time I got all the shavings out & new ones put in & the chickens were waiting for me to feed them too.

I also took the dogloo out of the dog run where the Ameraucanas are so I could give the pups each a dog house. They fight over the one they have had in the dog run every night & lately one of them has been having to sleep outside because they're getting too big to both sleep in one. I got the thing out of the chicken pen, cleaned it out & dragged it all the way across the driveway & down where the dog pen is, got it in there & filled with straw & then the dogs still fought over the one dog house. Crazy dogs! I tried to show them that each had a house, but it may take awhile to get it in their heads. I then dragged the other dog house that I had brought up from in the woods into the chicken pen for the chickens for shelter & put straw in that. Of course the silly things were freaking out the whole time I was doing all of this. The rooster was flying over my head & having a fit. They finally all got settled down after I got things put back & they could get on their roost. I'm sure they will be telling the other chickens all about it tomorrow.

I'm just pooped out now, I don't think I could do one more thing if I tried.

 

[Hawkeye95]

HEChicken, yeah, two sets of hands can get a lot more done than one set. Your chick solution sounds like a neat idea!

Sharol, so sorry about your Wyandotte-- she was pretty. Poor thing.

Danz, the nursing home doesn't sound all that great. Keep an eye on how they are treating her and if they are giving the meds on time, etc. Be sure to keep on top of that and get fired up if they don't. My mom is an RN and has worked many, many years in a nursing home and she has always said it can be the worst care if the staff isn't doing their job. They give much better care to the people who's family is involved and is paying attention. Can you do something special for your mom and dad tomorrow? Maybe your dad can stay with her for a while tomorrow? When we visit my mom's brother down in Girard, we sneak in beer and wine all the time to him. LOL!! He gets a little confused and was living on his own at home and he fell twice. He is pretty "with it" and HATES living there, he cries when we live and will sniffle a bit when we show up and tell us how he's sad he has to be there. But he has these spells where he forgets what's going on. I feel terrible for him. But his son and daughter visit all the time and his daughter takes him out to lunch at a restaurant once or twice a week. And when we visit, we bring the "good stuff" that he appreciates. I know this is all so upsetting, just know I'm keeping you in my prayers.

Tweety, sounds like you are enjoying your grand daughter. Busy! Cute that you took your ducks out for a run around the yard. That is too bad the older ones are picking on the youngers. I like your new plan of action, sounds like that will work.

Well, my eggs from Checoukan don't look like there is anything in them. It's Day 13 now. I was very careful with them, but I noticed that all the loose air sacs are now stable and seem to be in place again. But I didn't see any veins or spots... nothing. Maybe they weren't fertile?? Or maybe the PO did a good job of scrambling them. I don't see any big round yokes in them. I'll have to try to take a picture of a couple of them to see what you all think. I'm a bit disappointed, but figure that's par for my luck lately. Sigh. And I was being so good about not messing with them!

 

[HEChicken]

Awww Hawkeye, that's too bad about the eggs. By day 13 you certainly should be able to see one side that is mostly dark and the air sac, in developing eggs. If you can, please take pics so we can see what you are seeing.

Tweety - so glad to hear DH and DGD are doing so well and have gone home. The ducks sound so cute. DD wants to get ducks and I've been holding firm but feel my resolve weakening.

Trish - I'm doing the deep litter method too. So far, no odor. I do scrape my roosts off every few days and let it fall to the floor, then cover with a layer of leaves. So far, so good but I haven't had to haul it all out of there yet.

 

[BamaProud]

Here is Bella in Training with a BCM. How is She doing Danz?

 

[tntblake]

Tonya (tnt) - how is it going with having the house on the market?

It is going. We have had some interest but no offers or anything. I can say that I hate having a spotless house. I feel like all I do is harp at the kids to pick up their stuff but hopefully, it will sell soon and I won't have to nag anymore. Thanks for asking.
How is your daughters knee doing? Is she getting more range of motion back?

TNT thanks for telling me about the stuff on the swap. I didn't get the message on facebook but wrote him. I have no idea why his message wasn't showing up. Ever since they put this new timeline feature in my facebook seems to be malfunctioning. I hate the new timeline thing. It is hard to follow for me, so I haven't changed mine.
It was another long day. I'm just getting home again. We got Mom moved to the rest home today. I can't say it impresses me at all. It's still the crummy little rooms it was years ago, and she has to share one of those rooms with a room mate. They spent a lot of money on a face lift that should been spent in the patient rooms. I just can't see my Mom being happy there at all. She had a very long day and was super tired. I had to feed her dinner because she couldn't make her brain work on how to get the food to her mouth. This is all a recent thing since she has been sick and it is heartbreaking.
Tomorrow is my Mom and Dad's 65th anniversary and it breaks their hearts that they can't be together.
I sure hope DH fed the chickens because I never had a chance to get out there.
Loralee your littles are just adorable!

No problem. I am sorry about your mom. Be sure that the family really stays on top of whats going on. Sometimes if they don't have the family breathing down their neck things don't get taken care of as well.

Here is Bella in Training with a BCM. How is She doing Danz?

Aww! That is so cute! She looks like she is doing very well to me!

 

[Trish44]

HeChicken, it had been 7 months since I started this coop & the deep litter method. There was lots of dried chicken poop when I shoveled it all out. There were only a couple spots clear at the back by the wall that were under the nest boxes & all that were kind of wet. That's where I couldn't get to it very well to stir up the shavings like I did most everywhere else. It worked very well I think, but it was just time to do the total clean out & start over. There was about 12 inches deep litter under the roosts & back under the nest boxes. I think the chickens scratched all the litter to the sides because it never was that deep in the middle where I walked to go get the eggs. I have to go into my coop to collect eggs since mine was a storage shed we converted & we didn't have time to mess with building on an inside/outside nest box. It was about 115 when we were working on this shed for the chickens, so none of it was pleasant as it was. I always scrape the roosts off when I go in to stir up the shavings, but I was just curious if anyone really scrubs their roosts. I don't think it would be really worth it since they will just poop all over them again. The only place that really gets bad is at the ends where there are braces & the poop builds up there.

Bama, that is a cute pic! It looks like he's doing well with the chickens.

Hawkeye, sorry to hear about your eggs. I've been collecting EE & Ameraucana eggs, I'm trying to get a dozen to put in the incubator. I need to get it going some time tomorrow so I can get it regulated. I'm excited to try mine out too & see how it does. It's been years since I hatched anything & then I had a really old Brower incubator. It was a still air, dry old fashioned kind, but I remember actually hatching some things in it. Maybe we get too fancy these days with all of the technology, I don't know. I need one more egg to make a dozen, but you watch since I moved these girls house today they probably won't lay for me tomorrow. I may have to use another EE egg to fill in for the dozen. I haven't gotten as many Ameraucana eggs as I would have liked, but I'll go with what I have & see what happens.

 

[cherwill]

Myabcs3, this IS a busy bunch! It's hard to get caught up when you miss a day or two.

Tweety, congratulations on your granddaughter!

Justhatchin', your pea chick is beautiful already. I've never seen one as a chick.

Ivy and Sharol, sorry about your birds. I've had two just up and die for no apparent reason. It's frustrating and sad.

Danz, you're not being a downer at all. We understand you're going through a horrible thing with your parents. And all those eggs! If you're not afraid to eat them yourself, you could make a lot of curd and angel food cakes. You can also freeze eggs, but they have to be separated and mixed with a little salt or sugar. I've never used frozen egg parts before, so I don't know how well it really works. My dogs get all the iffy and bloody eggs in our house.

Hawkeye, that Seymore is a real camera hog!

Trish, we've been using the deep litter method for about two years and have never had to scrub it. The poop sticks to the shavings, I guess, and just comes out with them. The coop has never smelled bad. We do scrape off the roosts and and flick the blobs out of the nesting boxes when one of the birds decides to use one as a toilet. As far as the dog houses go, in my experience, each dog only wants what the other one has. They'll probably keep trading back and forth as one dog squeezes in and forces the other out, or one dog leaves the house and the other runs right in to take it over.

Bama, cute picture. I could never do that with my dogs.

 

[HEChicken]

How is your daughters knee doing? Is she getting more range of motion back?

Oh, the power of youth to heal. It was a month yesterday since the surgery and she is now walking almost without a limp. She is still wearing her full leg brace but it is opened up to allow full range of motion. She prefers to wear it for the support - I think she's still afraid her knee will go out from under her. She's still going to physio 3x week and does her exercises on the days she doesn't, but she's very conscientious like that and just does them - I haven't even had to nag her. How did your appt go with your son? Hopefully he won't need surgery but if he does.....I imagine he'll heal if anything faster, since he is younger.

...but I was just curious if anyone really scrubs their roosts. I don't think it would be really worth it since they will just poop all over them again. The only place that really gets bad is at the ends where there are braces & the poop builds up there.

Oh gotcha. No, I don't scrub the roosts. I figure they're just going to jump up on them with feet that have been walking through poop anyway. In my small coop, the roost was a 2x4 with the wide side for the roost, and it got almost no poop on it. Then I decided to go with a wider roost (actually, I had the scrap lumber lying around and it was the right length when I built a larger coop and needed a longer roost) that is a 2x8. Big mistake, in a way. They seem to like the roost just fine but it is wide enough that they can both roost on it AND poop on it, so now I have to scrape the roosts clean every few days. Fortunately this winter was mild enough it never really froze on but I can imagine that being a problem. So when we move to the new place, I think I will go back to smaller roosts.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Trish, wow, you had a busy day! I use 2 X4's for my roosts (flat side up for more surface area for them) and they never poop on it. Don't think I've seen any poop on it, except for what they have on their feet and I see smears of poop, but there's never a build up. They just poop off the back. I'm using the DLM too, and when I first put in the shavings, there was a smell for the first few days and I was really worried about it. But then, after the shavings got old, no more smell! I haven't changed the shavings since last year around November. So I guess it's been 5 months. I see no need to change them yet, there still isn't any smell and it doesn't even look that bad in there. (yet) You're going to love your Brinsea, there just isn't anything to do on it. Keep the water tray filled-- but even at that, it goes dry about every 3 or 4 days is all. It holds the temp steady and even after you lift the lid, it takes a couple minutes to be right back at temp-- maybe less depending on how long you have the lid off. I'm just rocking mine, I still didn't buy the cradle. But I rock it to the next setting maybe 4 times a day or so. Sometimes more when the kids see it and they want to rock it to the next setting. It's also VERY quiet. It has a low quiet hum to it, but you hardly notice it and I can't even hear it anymore, I have to stop and listen. I wanted fool proof, and I got it! I can't imagine it being any easier-- unless I bought the cradle and didn't have to rock it either. But I kind of like rocking it myself. Gives me something to do with it. I can imagine if I had more than one machine, I'd want the cradle so I wouldn't forget. Those wood windows sound great! I am always looking for them too. The 3 I got here recently are going to need a lot of work, unfortunately and I'm bummed about that.

HEChicken, I'll get some pictures of my eggs today after Preschool. I'm not tossing them or anything, going to leave them in there for a while longer. I just don't see anything. ANyway, we'll see what you all think about the eggs. That is GREAT that your DD is doing so well with her knee! That is just darned impressive! I swear, surgery has come a long way. Way back when-- when people would have knee or joint surgery, they would usually end up worse than when they started. Not any longer! So glad she is feeling and doing better.

Bama-- I'm not sure about that pup, doesn't look like she's going to work out at all. Maybe you should bring her on over my way.

That's an adorable picture!

Cherwill, Seymore is indeed a camera hog! It's so funny to realize how many pictures she's in and I'm not even trying. She just follows me everywhere and hangs around me constantly. I like the DLM too. I have the vinyl on the floor and so far, I'm not seeing anything stick at all. It's looking pretty clean in there for the shavings being 5 months old with a build up of poo. It stinks less now than it did when I first started. Did you notice that too???

 

[HEChicken]

HEChicken, I'll get some pictures of my eggs today after Preschool. I'm not tossing them or anything, going to leave them in there for a while longer. I just don't see anything. ANyway, we'll see what you all think about the eggs. That is GREAT that your DD is doing so well with her knee! That is just darned impressive! I swear, surgery has come a long way. Way back when-- when people would have knee or joint surgery, they would usually end up worse than when they started. Not any longer! So glad she is feeling and doing better.

Yah, I would definitely leave them in there. The first time I incubated, I waited until day 10 to candle and then got really disappointed as egg after egg showed nothing except a slightly dark mass that I assumed was the yolk. Then suddenly one of those dark masses darted across the egg and I realized that what I had assumed was the yolk was in fact the fetus. I'm going to

something like this is going on for you too.