Consolidated Kansas

[medawinks]

Those silkies are so pretty!! No clue what the traits are that you are looking for, but to this newbie, they are gorgeous!

The little turkeys are so cute too! Hard to believe they grow up into those bigger things I hope you make it past the 2 week mark and have plenty of them left. I was at Orschelen's yesterday and saw they had nothing but turkey poults there now. All kinds of them!!

Danz... I am sorry your plans fell through. I bet you will find something to keep you busy as an alternative though!

Ivy, as I look at photos of Ameracaunas and EE chicks, I have not found one like our littlest EE "pullet" from Orshelens. She has the slate legs and I thought she was going to be brown. Her wings feathered in brown, no red on her shoulders. Then her body and her legs feathered in GRAY....? Her head still looks like a chipmunk though. Little yellow comb. She is just 5 weeks old and is only outside during the day. I keep her inside at night. I don't have many photos of her, drat it, but I will get one tonight. Have you seen one like that? She is really funny looking right now.

Cherwil, I hear you on the 50 50 chance of a pullet, even from the pullet bin...... I can't find pointed feathers on my two white and red EE.and their combs aren't bright red, but definitely are pink. They are both about 11 weeks old. Definitely old enough for us all to have become pretty attached to them.

 

[prairie]

Danz, I love the 3 hens I got this morning -- Tell me again their breeds?? I should have written then down -- I know the white was a Brahma, and one was a something or other silver lace wyandotte?? and the third I couldn't even pronounce! My others are so plain that these beauties will be strutting around soon! P.S. a friend told me that taking your husband shopping with you is like taking the game warden hunting with you --- need I say more

Wish I could have bought more!!

My guineas and chickens did not take well to the newcomers -- even with them still in the dog carrier!! Squawking like crazy. Finally they all settled down and while I was making lunch I hear a squawking I have never heard before so I go running out to the chicken house and who is making the noise but 'Lil Bitty' the cornish -- she has never clucked or squawked loud in the 3 weeks I have had her!! I thought it was funny that she was over on the roost she usually uses at night but I started talking to the new ladies and the Cornish disappeared. I looked over in that corner behind the nest and there she was -- she had hollowed out a nest and was sitting on it. I bet she is going broody!! I am tickled about that!! Guess all it took was buying some other hens!!

Other bit of news is that I moved out 2 of the hens I got from you and left the wyandotte in the large dog carrier and threw in some more hay and put 2 golf balls in a depression in the hay-- hoping she will continue to be broody. Well within a half hour when I finished watering the garden I went back out and there she was plopped down on the hay - she had moved the golf balls to the back of the carrier and apparently made a nest. If she stays calm I will give her the guinea eggs in a couple of days.
Now if the guineas will just start laying more eggs!!

Thanks so much --- It was great coming and seeing all your birds and I love your pond!! Wish I had one!!!
Kare

 

[Ivywoods]

Those silkies are so pretty!! No clue what the traits are that you are looking for, but to this newbie, they are gorgeous!

The little turkeys are so cute too! Hard to believe they grow up into those bigger things I hope you make it past the 2 week mark and have plenty of them left. I was at Orschelen's yesterday and saw they had nothing but turkey poults there now. All kinds of them!!

Danz... I am sorry your plans fell through. I bet you will find something to keep you busy as an alternative though!

Ivy, as I look at photos of Ameracaunas and EE chicks, I have not found one like our littlest EE "pullet" from Orshelens. She has the slate legs and I thought she was going to be brown. Her wings feathered in brown, no red on her shoulders. Then her body and her legs feathered in GRAY....? Her head still looks like a chipmunk though. Little yellow comb. She is just 5 weeks old and is only outside during the day. I keep her inside at night. I don't have many photos of her, drat it, but I will get one tonight. Have you seen one like that? She is really funny looking right now.

Cherwil, I hear you on the 50 50 chance of a pullet, even from the pullet bin...... I can't find pointed feathers on my two white and red EE.and their combs aren't bright red, but definitely are pink. They are both about 11 weeks old. Definitely old enough for us all to have become pretty attached to them.

Because easter eggers are a mixedbreed, you never really know what you are going to get with them as far as coloration. All ameraucanas have the slate or "dark" colored legs, so that is probably where that came from. As far as what variety of ameraucana and what she was crossed with it is very hard to tell.

 

[Ivywoods]

It's looking more and more like I will be going to the swap in Topeka Saturday.

Any requests?

 

[medawinks]

Ivy, yes..... a wheaten ameracauna pullet please

 

[Hawkeye95]

I worked from about 4 till 11:30 on my pen for the chicks. I got 3 sides built & covered with wire & I had to put them together in the run since it wouldn't fit through the door if I hooked it together first. I had to do some patching in on the wire, kind of sewed a few pieces in with wire to make my hardware cloth cover all I had built, but it doesn't matter. I decided tonight I'm going to hinge the other end & make it a door, but I haven't started on that end yet. I've been taking apart pallets & using pieces off of those along with some 2x4s I salvaged from the air conditioner place. For the ends I'm using a pallet with most of the boards taken off & covering it with wire. I'll take pics when I get it all done. I have to pick up some chicken wire for the top tomorrow when we go to Lowe's. Since this pen is inside of the run I figure it will be OK to use chicken wire for the top of the pen. It's just a temporary pen anyway for the chicks to stay in until they can be integrated into the flock. I figure I should be able to finish the pen tomorrow evening after my DH goes to work & then hopefully move the chicks out. They're almost a month old & most of them have quite a few feathers, do you all think I will need to put a heat lamp out there for at night for awhile? They haven't seemed to need it during the day at all. Whew then I've got to get to building something fast for my turkeys that are supposed to be here Weds. I did pretty well getting what I did done tonight, I just hope I can come up with something pretty fast for them. I'm not sure how big they will be, I think they're about 3 weeks old.

Sounds like you've been busy building! I hope all your turkeys get there in great shape! Are you getting RP's?

I spent yesterday on day 3 of the coop build but the day did not start out well.

Some of you will remember my adventures last week stopping at Lowes to get lumber and the dog jumping out of the car. Well, on this trip to Lowes, I did need to hang a couple of 10-footers out the passenger window but it was a far tamer car ride, and the dog seemed happier. However I had agreed to meet my helper at our barn with his trailer, so that we could pick up some roofing materials that were donated to me by our barn manager. My dogs love the barn so were happy to get out and run around while we loaded. It came time to leave and I called them both and put them in the car. I had transferred the 10-footers to the trailer too so I didn't have any long lumber hanging out of the car for the drive to the coop site - about 8 miles. We started off and about halfway there, something made me turn around to check the dogs in the back of the car. I could only see one - not usually a big deal, but this time something felt wrong so I pulled over onto the gravel shoulder to get a good look. Only one dog back there. I had driven 4-5 miles from the barn, never heard her go and had NO idea when she jumped out. Must have gone through the open back window which was only open to give them good ventilation (and only opens halfway for safety anyway). She has NEVER done that before. So I did a u-turn and retraced my path, looking for her all the way but saw no sign of her.

Oh, and on my turkey hatch. Yesterday around 7pm was the official end of day 28 and nada. Not a pip, not a cheep, nothing. I'm not that surprised based on my final candling but it is still disappointing.

Oh no.

That is terrible, so sorry about your turkeys.

I picked him up, bent his legs into a natural position and just held him in my hand while I set up the next brooder and checked the hatcher, fed and watered, etc.

I looked in the hatcher and there are quite a few turkeys hatched in there, and a good number of chicks. I shut the door and left them since I couldn't do much one handed, still holding the quail. I'll get them out after a while when DH gets home with the jeep. Some of the stuff I need is in the back of the jeep. I gave the little quail a drink of water. He was pretty resistant, but I think he got some. Reminded me of the old saying, "You can lead a quail to water, but you can't make him drink.' Or maybe that was a horse...

Anyway, I put him down in the brooder and within seconds I couldn't tell which one he was. Guess he just needed to warm up.

Glad your little quail ended up being okay! Crazy! And yeah... I think it's a horse.

I hope your turkeys do great!

 

[chicken danz]

Well I got 20 ducks, and 41 chickens in cages and I'm still waiting to hear from my buyer. She said it would be after noon but I expected earlier than this. She has always been dependable so I'm not freaking but I hate to leave the birds without water for long. Plus they are very crowded.
I am afraid I am getting sick. Maybe getting the Karen stuff. I have a terrible headache, my lymph nodes in my neck are swollen and my throat is getting sore. Of course all that could be a combination of allergies and possibly sleeping wrong last night. I guess I'll know by morning. Any time I get my neck turned the wrong direction it kills me. It is fused not to turn so it reacts violently. I broke down and took some pain meds but it hasn't helped a lot yet.
I also got all my peppers planted and am trying to water them. Two of my tomato plants are broken off and there's two more sections in the garden dug up. At least the fence is in now except the last section. I just pulled the wire over to the gate in hopes that would keep the dumb dogs from thinking I had tilled that up for them to play in.
Medawinks I think Sera would really enjoy the swap at Premier. Some of the sellers are kind of picky but surely some of them would let her hold a bunny or something. I was telling the girls about your son dismantling every thing. That's so funny.
To all of you who haven't had the privilege to meet her, let me tell you Sera is even more adorable than her picture. She is s real sweetie.
Kare, I'm glad you are happy with your girls. The one was a cross between a silver laced polish and a silver laced Wyandotte. The other was a Salmon Favorelle cross. The small one was a light brahma. Your chickens will get used to them in time. They are strangers you know. They will have to establish a pecking order amongst them.
My sister called and wants to come out and visit. I am not prepared for visitors and DH is trying to sleep so he can work tonight. Maybe she'll get here in time to load birds. She is NOT a chicken person. In fact she isn't an animal person at all.
So assuming I'm not sick and I have no more surprises I might be coming to Topeka Saturday morning to the meet. I need to sell some more chicks. I have a guy coming from quite a ways into Missouri to buy up all the Seramas except a few and I'm not sure what time to expect him.

 

[prairie]

Danz, so sorry you were not feeling well! I didn't realize it when we were there. Hope you are feeling better and if I get any herbs will bring them on Sat in case you are there. Thanks again!!

 

[chicken danz]

I told DH earlier I didn't feel very good but as the day went on I got to feeling worse. I hope it is just stuff and will go away in a day. I try not to show it when I feel crummy anyway. Who knows, maybe I'm just tired.

 

[medawinks]

Danz, She is psyched to go to the swap on Sat!! So are my other two! I hope you are feeling better!

Yes... my son taking things apart is definitely humorous now When he put metal in my cigarette lighters in the car and blew out my electrical system.... simply because he got a kick out of the sparks, when he took apart the can opener and accidentally opened a can of beets... then got sidetracked enjoying painting the shower stall with it ( because he hid in there to open the can)....when he blew up the garbage disposal with wet paper towels and chicken noodles and then snow angled the chicken noodle soup along my hall walls... And the list goes on! He sees things I will never see without him pointing them out to me and experiences life on a very different plane than I do. I needed him to help me see those things and to keep me on my toes more Just yesterday he noticed a white feather on the tip of one of our BCM's. He promptly reached down to pull it out while telling me that it shouldn't be there and had the most disappointed look when I told him quickly to leave it there! He had not stopped to think that it would hurt the poor chicken to have it plucked, whether or not it looked like it belonged there or not! Now.... when he takes a part a latch on someone's animal cage Sat purely because it is there and he is driven to figure out how it works..... might not be so funny at the moment I will be on high alert however to keep everyone under control

Seriously, though, he is a total sweet heart. just in a very different way than his sisters. He is very attached to his silver crested Polish and his tiny white Silkie chick I found in an Orshelen's bin. She has not been growing well and still doesn't have any feathers beyond chick fuzz on her head. I went and bought more parrot food, which I had not been doing the past 2 weeks, and hopefully that will help. He watches her very carefully and can be very gentle, when he is motivated to think about his actions He has calculated how much it will cost to feed her parrot food versus chick feed however..... He has even offered to pay the difference. That had not crossed my mind at all.