Consolidated Kansas

[medawinks]

There are times I wish we lived in the country and times I am homesick for New Mexico, but Lizzy, your rattler story made me very glad to be where I am right now. I grew up with those silly things coming in our adobe home to stay warm. We had a really nice one in Old Mesilla. Definite difference in housing, which I do miss at times, but not those things! I grew up always knowing where the hoe was too..... Always had dogs to alert us to the intruders, and was always relieved to find a lizard instead! I am glad that you were able to stay clear and he was able to stay clear of you too!

I would be so scared to try hatching eggs. I panic trying to keep these birds happy and alive...... I admire those of you who are attempting it and succeeding so well! The little chicks are so cute. When we lost our first chick my kids and I were so upset. I know it gets easier, but they are so fragile and helpless and CUTE.

We had our own ruccus here tonight. We built a covered roost in our run, and are going to leave the little coop we had made in the window for nesting boxes. My chicks have always slept in the little coop, all piled on each other since I had moved them outside. Tonite trying to get them to go to bed on the roost was WILD!!! I must have put them all back on at least 20 times!!! I finally figured out that I had to put buddies next to buddies, or they would all knock each other off to get next to their buddy. They sqwished all together.....and had a lot more space. Silly birds!!! But their coos and trills of contentment after I finally got them on in the correct order ( dummy me) were so rewarding.

I still can't believe that my kids and I have taken to these birds so completely. My Sera and I stayed out for at least 15 minutes after they had settled, just listening to their coos. Better than TV any day!!

 

[cherwill]

Cherwill-I've used duck, goose, turkey and guinea eggs for scrambling and for baking. I think the turkey eggs are the BEST for baking. It seems like duck eggs would be really good for baking, too.

As far as just "eating" an egg, I never noticed much difference in the taste between the different eggs. What I did notice was a big difference in texture of the yolk. The yolks of the turkey eggs were much "thicker" and held together more than a chicken egg. Because of that I just didn't care for them for scrambling or frying.

Duck eggs may taste different to eat, I don't know. Their diet on the average is somewhat different than most chickens. Where I really notice the difference in taste is between caged eggs and free range eggs. The free range eggs taste much better to me, and the caged eggs just don't seem to have any flavor at all.

I've got some extra eggs right now. Maybe I should bake a cake!

You really should. You can never go wrong baking a cake!

Yesterday, I was taking down an old fence, rolling the wire up, and giving it to my DH who was using it to put up a new fence (we currently have a couple of fences running through the middle of our property and are missing a fence on the edge of our property). I was taking the barbed wire off the fence (post-by-post) and rolling it up into a roll about 3 feet tall. I got to an area where the weeds were a bit taller and leaned the roll against what was left of the fence. I then stepped around the roll and went to remove the staple that was holding the wire to the post. After doing so, I turned around to get the roll of wire, and there was a rattlesnake coiled up right beside the roll of wire.

The snake was only 3 feet from where I was standing at the time and was right in the path I took to go around the roll of wire. I am still not sure how I managed to not see him when I walked past him

and am still amazed that I neither stepped on him nor rolled the roll of barbed wire over him. It was cool enough that he wasn't rattling either. He sure scared me, though! When I realized that I had just stepped over/around a poisonous snake without noticing the snake, I started shaking pretty badly - my knees, my arms, my hands.... After that, my DH helped me move the roll of wire to the opposite side of the fence where the grass/weeds weren't as tall. He then helped me finish rolling the wire. I hate to think of what could have happened if it had been a bit warmer yesterday... I am hoping that we can find someone with a gyro mower that we can borrow to mow all those weeds down so the pasture is a little bit safer. Plus, it'd be good to give the grass a chance - we'll need every acre of grass we can get for my horses with as dry as it has been out here.

I took a shower with a snake once when I was much younger, but I don't think I could do it again. We kinda shared the stall at Kanopolis; we kept our distance as much as possible. It wasn't a rattler, though. I'm pretty sure if I'd seen a rattler like you did, I would be incapable of working outside for weeks!

Every little noise would have me jumping.

He pipped yesterday. It wasn't until about a couple of hours ago that he started screaming and struggling. And when I came home and saw the sticky chick and then him screaming... ugh. I got him mostly out. Well, he IS out. I chipped his shell away and then used a lot of water and slid him out of his shell mostly. He is still stuck to his yolk sack so I left him be to kick the lower shell off himself. I didn't run into any blood at all. He seems exhausted.

My heart is beating faster than normal after reading about that poor baby screaming and struggling. I sure hope he makes it. You are amazing. I'm not sure I could take it.

I came in from working out in the yard most of the afternoon.

Found TWO tiks crawling around in my UNDERWEAR!

Fortunately, they were just crawling around and not latched on.

Be careful, folks! 'Tis the season! Be sure to do a thourough check when you get in from outdoors.

Who was it that uses the flea and tick shampoo for dogs on themselves?

I don't do that, but since I have gotten older, sometimes I have pretty dry skin. Baby oil does the trick. I slick on a layer of baby oil. If I would happen to not see a tick and it gets baby oil on it, it will quickly die because it blocks it's ability to breathe.

Remember how I said I've never seen a tick here in 10 years, then saw one a couple of weeks ago in bed? Hoped my nephew had brought it with him from out of town and somehow it made it into my room? I saw another one a couple of days ago, crawling on the kitchen wall. What the heck?! Now I'm all itchy again ....

 

[JosieChick]

Hawkeye- Glad you got the baby out of the shell, it is probably completely exhausted from struggling. Might give it a drop of vitamins when it is starting to get its bearings together and you move it to the brooder. Watch for leg/neck problems from being stuck in the shell, it is so much easier to do chick physical therapy in the first few days than waiting a week. I had a poor silkie that got shrink wrapped last year and it came out of the egg with the worse bent neck its poor beak was just a tiny bit off the ground. I gently manipulated its head in all directions 6-8 times a day for 3 days and gave vitamin drops and it bounced back really fast!

We spent the afternoon building the naughty stud pony an enclosure so he can't escape and I can start gentling him so he can have his big boy surgery at the vets next week. He is a handful and a half!!
and aha

 

[Hawkeye95]

Lizzy, that is a scary rattler story!!! YIKES! That's a lot closer than I would like to come. I have only run into a rattler once in my life and hope to never make a repeat of that again. It's kind of a funny story after I think about it. I lost my shirt-- literally!! I was a kid in highschool and for some dumb reason, was shimming under the barbed wire in the back pasture that met up with another farmer's pasture on the other side. I don't even know why I was doing it. But I was on my stomach crawling under and had gotten about half way under when I suddenly heard the rattle and the hiss! I stopped dead and it continued to rattle. I waited for all of like 3 seconds and then backed out under the way I'd come so fast that the barbed wire got ahold of my shirt-- and i didn't want to stick around to fight with it, so it just came off because I was moving FAST! LOL I ran back across our horse pasture all the way to the house in my bra! I didn't go back for my shirt until the next day, I think. I was so freaked.

HeChicken, I had no idea you were an Aussie! That is a pretty freaky story about your snake experience, too! Yeah, don't think I'll be wandering off in the Australian bush any time soon.

Josie, nice pen! Looks like you got him secure until the "big" day!

How old is he? It's going to depend on his character if he'll be a good boy after his snip. I'm glad he's a little pony, or I'd be wondering what the heck you got yourself into! LOL

Medawinks-- very cool that you have lived in an adobe! I'm sure that is a very different lifestyle! I'm not digging the whole "snakes come in to warm up" thing, though... ha!

Karen & Ivy-- thanks for the help last night!

I was pretty angry with my kids opening the lid I don't know how many times while I was gone. Grrr..

Thanks everyone for the well wishes on my chick. It is alive this morning, but it's still really weak. It kept flipping over last night and I gave up trying to keep it upright and went to bed. This morning, it's still wobbly, but seems better. It is hoarse! It was hoarse last night too! It used to have a cute chirp like the rest of them and now it can barely chirp. It sounds like it's a struggle to chirp. I hope it regains it's voice. They are all still in the incubator. My sticky chick is not fluffed.

He looks like he had a bar hair day with the stylist and got gelled spikes in his hair. Poor thing! When will he un-sticky???

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Karen & Ivy-- thanks for the help last night!

I was pretty angry with my kids opening the lid I don't know how many times while I was gone. Grrr..

Thanks everyone for the well wishes on my chick. It is alive this morning, but it's still really weak. It kept flipping over last night and I gave up trying to keep it upright and went to bed. This morning, it's still wobbly, but seems better. It is hoarse! It was hoarse last night too! It used to have a cute chirp like the rest of them and now it can barely chirp. It sounds like it's a struggle to chirp. I hope it regains it's voice. They are all still in the incubator. My sticky chick is not fluffed.

He looks like he had a bar hair day with the stylist and got gelled spikes in his hair. Poor thing! When will he un-sticky???

You're welcome, but it sounded like you had it all well in hand. Good job. Your description of the chick this a.m. sounds a bit like me!

I kept flipping over (couldn't sleep) and am still wobbly this a.m. I'm also hoarse and I was last night too! I used to have a cute chirp but now, barely a sound. It really is a struggle to chirp! My kids hope I don't regain my voice (ha) and I'm certainly not fluffed. I am for sure having a bad hair day, even though I used no gel. I am a poor thing!

I started out with strep, then added a head cold, then a bad chest cold
, then I started barfing right before I got the ear infection with fever along with a massive headache to accompany the body aches. That's just how I roll. I'm an all or nothing kinda girl! Grumble, grumble. I wonder how many days of sunshine I will lose before I'm not so wobbly? Perhaps I need a bit of Vit E. Speaking of kids and their nonsense. They didn't turn on the electric fence last night, while I languished in bed, so around 12:00 the coyotes were in my yard putting up a terrible fuss. I assumed the fence wasn't on because I've not heard any coyotes or foxes since the first day we turned it on. I grabbed my trusty flashflight and dashed out the door, checked the switch. Sure enough, not on. Kids. Love those guys but they can sure be irritating. A couple hours later the coyotes were back carrying on I dashed out again with my trusty flashlight and not another sound was heard. I did hear a sound before I got out there that sounded as though one of them had shaken hands with Mr. Hotfence. I'm hoping that's the last of them. Okay, I'm going to get my necessities done and head back to bed.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Wow Lizzy! I am not sure I could muster the courage to continue working in the weeds if I had rattlers ! I live in Kansas too -- south of Topeka and we don't have rattlers -- at least never seen any on our farm but just to the southwest of us about 10 miles they do have them and we didn't let our boys help farmers with their haying in that area because of the rattlers! Glad you are ok!!

I am originally from North of Salina, and there aren't any rattlesnakes out there either. My DH and I didn't find out 'till AFTER we bought our house that we were moving into the area that has the most rattlesnakes in the county. Now that we've been here through the beginning of rattlesnake season, I'd believe the people that told us that. I've seen more snakes this year than in any other year - and the year has just begun. Not to mention that all but one of the snakes I've seen so far have been rattlers. One thing is for sure - I've learned to tell the difference between rattlesnakes and bull snakes!

I'm so glad this story ended well. Having kept snakes as pets for years (none venomous) I can say that they are far more afraid of us than we are of them. Bites only occur as a defensive measure so I'm really glad you didn't step on him as he would have reacted and this could have ended badly. I had a close call of my own many years ago with a King Brown (for those who don't know, I am Australian and the King Brown is one of the top most venomous snakes in a country that has a LOT of animals that can kill in 3 minutes or less). I was walking down a dirt track, and rounded a bend to find myself eye to eye with a snake whose body spanned an 8' dirt logging track, and I couldn't even see his tail.. I froze and we eyed one another for about 2 full minutes. Two of the longest minutes of my life. He decided I was no threat and slithered off into the bush. Had he made a different determination I probably wouldn't be here to tell the tale as I was within striking distance, and his venom is so powerful I wouldn't have made it out of the bush alive.

That is REALLY SCARY! I don't think I could handle that! Rattlesnakes are bad enough without being 8' long.

There are times I wish we lived in the country and times I am homesick for New Mexico, but Lizzy, your rattler story made me very glad to be where I am right now. I grew up with those silly things coming in our adobe home to stay warm. We had a really nice one in Old Mesilla. Definite difference in housing, which I do miss at times, but not those things! I grew up always knowing where the hoe was too..... Always had dogs to alert us to the intruders, and was always relieved to find a lizard instead! I am glad that you were able to stay clear and he was able to stay clear of you too!

I don't think I could handle rattlesnakes IN THE HOUSE! As it is, I have snake-in-the-bed dreams every time my DH or I see a snake. Our dog hasn't been doing a very good job of keeping the intruders away. So far, we've only had one snake in the yard, and the dog had never seen a snake before that one. He also wasn't the one to alert us of the snake's presence that time... Since then, we've seen all sorts of wildlife in the yard (mostly wild birds) that he has allowed to stay in the yard for long periods of time (up to around 30 minutes).

I took a shower with a snake once when I was much younger, but I don't think I could do it again. We kinda shared the stall at Kanopolis; we kept our distance as much as possible. It wasn't a rattler, though. I'm pretty sure if I'd seen a rattler like you did, I would be incapable of working outside for weeks!

Every little noise would have me jumping.

Taking a shower with a snake? I think I'd hold off on the shower for a while... or, maybe, find a broom to "shoo" him out of the shower building with.

I seriously had to think about going back out there again. However, it was cooler that day (high of 70, but I don't think it ever made it there), and because of that the snakes were less likely to be out and about. Plus, I knew that the fence that runs through the middle of our pasture wasn't going to take itself down, and I knew that it was safer to do it on a cool day than on a warmer one. It also helped that my DH promised to be there with me and help roll the rest of that wire. The snake I saw was there first and was probably just trying to keep warm. I do jump at every little noise. It is amazing how many other things sound like a rattle... More than noises , though, I've found myself jumping at sticks. I see one that looks to be about the right size/dimensions for a snake and I about leap out of my skin - only to realize it's just a stick.

I've heard stories of people seeing snakes in trees and such. I was VERY relieved to hear that rattlesnakes don't usually climb. And then I heard a story of a lady who found a large rattlesnake on a hay bale... Now, I'm paranoid about going to the straw bale where I get the straw I use for bedding for my ducks... I use a rake to get the straw off the bale in small clumps so I can make sure there's nothing slithery in the straw before I touch it with my hands.

Lizzy, that is a scary rattler story!!! YIKES! That's a lot closer than I would like to come. I have only run into a rattler once in my life and hope to never make a repeat of that again. It's kind of a funny story after I think about it. I lost my shirt-- literally!! I was a kid in highschool and for some dumb reason, was shimming under the barbed wire in the back pasture that met up with another farmer's pasture on the other side. I don't even know why I was doing it. But I was on my stomach crawling under and had gotten about half way under when I suddenly heard the rattle and the hiss! I stopped dead and it continued to rattle. I waited for all of like 3 seconds and then backed out under the way I'd come so fast that the barbed wire got ahold of my shirt-- and i didn't want to stick around to fight with it, so it just came off because I was moving FAST! LOL I ran back across our horse pasture all the way to the house in my bra! I didn't go back for my shirt until the next day, I think. I was so freaked.

I did have to laugh at your story, but I totally sympathize with you. Meeting a rattlesnake is a scary experience, much less meeting a mad one when you're on your belly!

 

[Hawkeye95]

You're welcome, but it sounded like you had it all well in hand. Good job. Your description of the chick this a.m. sounds a bit like me!

I kept flipping over (couldn't sleep) and am still wobbly this a.m. I'm also hoarse and I was last night too! I used to have a cute chirp but now, barely a sound. It really is a struggle to chirp! My kids hope I don't regain my voice (ha) and I'm certainly not fluffed. I am for sure having a bad hair day, even though I used no gel. I am a poor thing!

I started out with strep, then added a head cold, then a bad chest cold
, then I started barfing right before I got the ear infection with fever along with a massive headache to accompany the body aches. That's just how I roll. I'm an all or nothing kinda girl! Grumble, grumble. I wonder how many days of sunshine I will lose before I'm not so wobbly? Perhaps I need a bit of Vit E. Speaking of kids and their nonsense. They didn't turn on the electric fence last night, while I languished in bed, so around 12:00 the coyotes were in my yard putting up a terrible fuss. I assumed the fence wasn't on because I've not heard any coyotes or foxes since the first day we turned it on. I grabbed my trusty flashflight and dashed out the door, checked the switch. Sure enough, not on. Kids. Love those guys but they can sure be irritating. A couple hours later the coyotes were back carrying on I dashed out again with my trusty flashlight and not another sound was heard. I did hear a sound before I got out there that sounded as though one of them had shaken hands with Mr. Hotfence. I'm hoping that's the last of them. Okay, I'm going to get my necessities done and head back to bed.

Oh, poor Karen! I hate to hear that you've been so ill! And then of course, you still have to take care of your kids as well. And then getting up in the middle of the night to check a fence. Ugh. I can understand your frustration. I'm very frustrated with my own! I would not have had sticky or stuck chicks if the darned kids had not been lifting the incubator lid. We can commiserate together.

Hu, never thought of using Vit E on ourselves when we're feeling yucky. I take Vit C when I'm sick, and drink orange juice, but that's about it. Those coyotes sound like they were really intent on getting in. I sure hope they won't be back. But chances are, they will be just to test it out every now and then. They are bold, to be yipping like that. Mine do that too!! What on earth are they thinking? They aren't exactly "stealthy", are they?

I'm going to do lots of laundry and clean house today. It's a mess and it's getting out of hand. Sigh. I have my work cut out for me. I also need to use the tractor and scoop out my breeze way later on. I should probably do it now while it's cool, but knowing me, I'll wait until it's super hot.

 

[prairie]

Ivy, that is a wonderful idea with the baby oil -- I think it is the same concept with the Skin So Soft -- oily. thanks!!

 

[Ivywoods]

Karen-Get back in the incubator for the day.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Okay, I have pictures of "Sticky" and "Stuck". Sticky is easy to spot... because he's 'gelled'. Stuck, poor thing had his umbellical cord ripped out! I didn't do it!! I left him in the incubator with his yolk sac on him. I'm so sad. I hope he makes it!! He's scooting instead of standing. I put a drop of Tea Tree Oil on him and I'm going to put Triple Antibiotic on him next. What else??? Anything else i can do for that open spot???

And here is Stuck's open umbellical area.

Yeah, there is still shell stuck on him because it was super sticky last night.