Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

mikeksfarmer, that is pretty bizarre, I have never heard of a chicken doing that, you hear of dogs or cats finding their former home sometimes. Oh & welcome to the KS thread!

Well we had quite a scare last night, I didn't have a very good night because of it. I spent a very enjoyable evening with KarenS in her beautiful pool soaking & staying cool & it was late by the time I finally left, I didn't even realize how late it was until I got in the car & started home. Karen, I hope I didn't keep everyone up too late, I'm a night owl. Anyway, I got home at like 11:15 & usually both of the GPs greet me at the driveway by the garage, but this time only Lily was there, hmmm. I drove on in & went into the house to get dog food since the dogs didn't get fed at the usual time & the cats were yelling at me too. I came back out with the dog food & still only Lily, I called & called for Jasmine & she just wasn't there. It wasn't like her at all not to be there & I had the worst feeling. So shortly after my DH got home from work & I told him that Jas was missing & he got a flashlight & walked all around the house, we did go look at the old well after Candace's experience, nothing there, then we walked up to the road & I stayed behind because I didn't want Lily to go out there & he walked down both directions making sure she hadn't gotten in the road & gotten hit, nothing. We looked everywhere that we could get to easily at midnight, but she just was nowhere to be found. We went to bed & I didn't sleep well at all over it thinking maybe someone had taken her, just not knowing. This morning we got up & I go out to let out the chickens before I even have breakfast or coffee, but we're not early risers with DH's work schedule. He got ready to go to do his normal Sat. run & went outside & was yelling for me, so I went out to see what he was yelling for & there was Jasmine with Lily. Oh, what a relief! Those of you that have GPs know how valuable these dogs are & we just didn't know what we were going to do, she is our lead LGD too. So we gave her a lot of attention & checked her over & she seems fine, so where she had been I have no idea. Lily was very glad to see her sister too, they usually are together or not that far away from each other most of the time, that's why it was very strange for Jasmine to be gone alone. I guess we'll never know where she went or why, but I'm sure glad she's back!

I got 4 little lavender Orp/Porcelain Isabel chicks last night that Karen had brought me from Renee, they're so cute! I can't wait to see how they color out vs the regular lavender Orps I have. Not that I needed any more chicks, I'm going to be in trouble before long with room, chicken math. I still have Cream Legbars to get yet too. I'll figure out something. I need to quit seeing more breeds I want. I've got a pen for my wheaten Ameraucanas I need to figure out how to assemble it & then I can get those out of the grower pen. It's just been too hot to want to go out & work on anything.

Oh & this morning I did find my little peachick that I had hatched had died, it just held on way longer than I would have though possible. It makes me feel bad for it, but I tried everything I knew to try to get it to eat & drink. The other two seem like they're doing OK, keep your fingers crossed that they will make it. I know they have been eating because I refilled the feeder today & saw how much they had eaten out of it, so that makes me feel better. I just love the little sound they make. I'll try to get pics when I can, they're very shy.

Well I have someone coming to pick up a little rooster I have that I don't need. Someone on the poultry swap was wanting a rooster & didn't care what breed, so I offered this little black sex link rooster that I didn't know what to do with free, so hopefully they will show up at 1:00 & take him. I got him caught this morning when I went out to let the birds out.

Everyone try to stay cool, it's actually supposed to be below 100 for the next few days, maybe we'll catch a break & some rain would be great too. Danz, have fun with your granddaughter, I'm sure she will keep you busy.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Hi all! I've had another really busy week but actually took some "me" time! I spent the most of July 4th driving, first to take Danz some birds (so sorry to hear about the Orp, this heat is a nightmare), then to meet Eileen for Swedish Flower hatching eggs, then off to Lawrence to meet Renee for the Lav Orps/Isabels for myself and Trish44. I left around 10:30 and arrived back home right before 8:00. It was so much fun to get to spend some time with Danz, although the time went way too fast. I was fascinated by the variety of birds! She has birds I'd never even heard of before! I got turned around trying to meet Eileen but she was very patient with me and we finally connected. I'm so excited about those eggs! It was just great to meet Eileen and Renee for the first time. I think we chicken people are just awesome!

Yesterday was great fun too! Heather was here to pick up some birds and we had a very nice visit. Later Teresa came over and we had a swim and chatted away in the pool. That is quite a treat for me since when I'm in the pool usually, I have lots of kids splashing and dunking -- you know how that goes!

I'm so lucky to have found BYC! I love you guys!

KarenS - I think both of the Sussex have started laying! The eggs are tiny! I will have to take a pic.

Coop v2.0 update - I got 5 rows of shingles on this evening. I think I only need to run about 5 or 6 more rows and then the roof will finally be done. Oh and of course I will toss some shingles on the nesting box as well. I will post pics when I am done.

Time for bed now.

Pikeman94: GREAT NEWS! The pullet eggs are way tiny! But aren't they pretty? They look kindof pink to me next to the EE eggs. Yay for progress on that roof!

So sorry to hear you are still feeling bad. Perhaps your egg customer is away on vacation and will respond when she gets back?

Here is the blinky that Hawkeye created:



Did you tell your DH about the peachicks yet? How did he react?

I love Hawkeye's blinky! Nice job there. Heather, I had the same thought that perhaps Trish44's customer is on vacay. Sure hope so!

oh my! I have no idea what happened to my blinkie!! But I finally figured it out-- I had realized I had uploaded the blinkie twice to photobucket last night. So I went back and deleted one and kept the other. Duh... the one I deleted must have been the one that was linked here. Sigh. I swear, I don't know where my brain is sometimes!

I was trying to fool around with putting chickens in it... and I like pink.

I like the pink, too!

Danz, I'm so glad your little pea is eating, that's better than mine is doing. The older ones are eating now, the level in the food jar has gone down some since yesterday & I have seen them over by the food, so they must be feeling more comfortable here. That little one just has to be taking a break some time from pacing & eating something, I just don't think it could live this long if it hadn't. It still doesn't look good though, I sure wish if would get started better. Maybe after while I'll go out & catch it & give it some vitamins.

I noticed when I went out to feed the turkeys this morning that some of them were trying out the tree branch I put in their pen as a roost. They're kind of clumsy birds, at least right now. I watched one fly down & stumble. I gave them all grapes this morning & they're so funny to watch when you put something new in for them. I had cut them in half & threw them on the ground. They all walked over & were talking about it & looking at them, then one grabbed one & ran off with another in pursuit. It's entertaining just watching the silly things they do.

My little broody hen is now off the nest on the porch. She had hatched a chick the other day & I think it broke it's leg when it fell out of the nest is what happened & I finally had to put the poor thing down, it was doing the splits & it wasn't ever going to be able to walk right. I tried to fix it, but it didn't work. Then she hatched another chick out day before yesterday & the cats were sitting right there & ate it before I could get out there. I took the remaining 3 eggs & brought them into the hatcher & two hatched out yesterday, the 3rd didn't make it. I was really surprised any hatched at all as hot as it's been out there. I was kind of concerned anyway about the spot she had chosen because it wasn't a safe place to be hatching chicks. I guess I should have taken the eggs sooner, but she was so insistent on sitting & she was a trooper even in the horrible heat. She was fiercely protective of them too.

KarenS, I hope you find your phone!

I regularly lose my phone. What a dingbat! But, it turned up thankfully. Kind of like yesterday when Heather was here I didn't realize I had my phone in my pocket but I had slid it in there with the EGG I had gathered earlier and been carrying around! Isn't THAT silly!

July 7, 2012

Friends this is amazing! I have a homing chicken. Really! I have a Welsumer roo and hatched two sisters from an Americana. When they grew up I thought one was eating her eggs and that she was laying them on the ground just inside the door of the pen. Catching her with a recent broken egg I went into the pen and clipped her tail back and one of her wings. This I thought would make her easy to pick out. Thinking that I needed to stop this egg eating I offered her to my brother who lives more than 20 miles away in Shawnee Kansas. When he came to get her we discovered she was not an egg eater but laying her eggs up on a plat form just above the pen door. Some of the eggs were being kicked off and they would break and get eaten. So gave her to him anyway. I was sad to hear three days later she was gone. He living in the city I figured a dog or my brother says he sees some foxes in the neighborhood. Last week I started getting two olive eggs a day and one was speckled. I only have 15 hens but figured this hen was really going at it. I have been working so much I hadn’t really done a head count. Last night I noticed I had two hens that looked like Welsumers but had ear muffs like the American. Today I confirmed it, its her! I have not done exact mileage but I am sure its at least 20 miles, the Kansas River, three highways and who knows what else. Has anyone ever seen this before? I am dumbfounded!
Mike

Mike, That is an amazing incident! I bet she just won herself a nice retirement home!

mikeksfarmer, that is pretty bizarre, I have never heard of a chicken doing that, you hear of dogs or cats finding their former home sometimes. Oh & welcome to the KS thread!

Well we had quite a scare last night, I didn't have a very good night because of it. I spent a very enjoyable evening with KarenS in her beautiful pool soaking & staying cool & it was late by the time I finally left, I didn't even realize how late it was until I got in the car & started home. Karen, I hope I didn't keep everyone up too late, I'm a night owl. Anyway, I got home at like 11:15 & usually both of the GPs greet me at the driveway by the garage, but this time only Lily was there, hmmm. I drove on in & went into the house to get dog food since the dogs didn't get fed at the usual time & the cats were yelling at me too. I came back out with the dog food & still only Lily, I called & called for Jasmine & she just wasn't there. It wasn't like her at all not to be there & I had the worst feeling. So shortly after my DH got home from work & I told him that Jas was missing & he got a flashlight & walked all around the house, we did go look at the old well after Candace's experience, nothing there, then we walked up to the road & I stayed behind because I didn't want Lily to go out there & he walked down both directions making sure she hadn't gotten in the road & gotten hit, nothing. We looked everywhere that we could get to easily at midnight, but she just was nowhere to be found. We went to bed & I didn't sleep well at all over it thinking maybe someone had taken her, just not knowing. This morning we got up & I go out to let out the chickens before I even have breakfast or coffee, but we're not early risers with DH's work schedule. He got ready to go to do his normal Sat. run & went outside & was yelling for me, so I went out to see what he was yelling for & there was Jasmine with Lily. Oh, what a relief! Those of you that have GPs know how valuable these dogs are & we just didn't know what we were going to do, she is our lead LGD too. So we gave her a lot of attention & checked her over & she seems fine, so where she had been I have no idea. Lily was very glad to see her sister too, they usually are together or not that far away from each other most of the time, that's why it was very strange for Jasmine to be gone alone. I guess we'll never know where she went or why, but I'm sure glad she's back!

Wow, that was nerve-wracking after a nice relaxing evening. Did you tell her not to ever scare you like that again?

Okay, I better get back out there and check on all my birdies!

 

[Trish44]

KarenS, you're lucky you didn't smash the egg with the phone in there with it. I have done that if I forget to take something to gather eggs with & I'll stick them in a pocket & then forget they're there. I have bent over to get something & squash goes the egg, not a pleasant feeling to have egg running down your leg & boy is it a mess in the pocket, ack.

Hawkeye, I like the pink chickens, but for some reason the yellow blinky is just easier to read & look at. Good job, It's nice you know how to do things like that.

I think my rooster person is here, gotta go.

 

[Angelbells]

I'm from Topeka I have Ameraucana's, Welsummers and Jumbo brown Cot Quail...... soon to get Lemon Cuckoo Orpingtons Love to get more of the Jumbo Cots

 

[sapphireblu76]

Be careful not to plant any GMO grass, or research it before you do. There was an article a while back of a grass called Tifton 85 which is a bermuda and it is a GMO. Unfortunately, it has been widely planted down in Texas because it's drought tollerant. It's been used for years, but the temperatures got high enough down there finally, that the grass started producing cyanide and killed off a herd of cattle. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57459357/grass-linked-to-texas-cattle-deaths/ There have been many more complaints about deaths since then. Just do your homework on what grass you will be planting and research it first. I'm glad I don't have that many birds! I'm going thru a bag of feed every 2 weeks or so. I'm down to just the 9 layers and 17 silkies. The silkies eat next to nothing! I'm sure by next year, their numbers will grow, but they are small.

Thanks, I hadn't even thought of grass being GMO. I was thinking more along the lines of millet or something. I just don't know what would be best. I even thought about getting some fancy scratch and tossing it out to let it grow. I know in the few places food has gotten spilled and grown, the birds go absolutely nuts for the grass that grows from it!

July 7, 2012

Friends this is amazing! I have a homing chicken. Really! I have a Welsumer roo and hatched two sisters from an Americana. When they grew up I thought one was eating her eggs and that she was laying them on the ground just inside the door of the pen. Catching her with a recent broken egg I went into the pen and clipped her tail back and one of her wings. This I thought would make her easy to pick out. Thinking that I needed to stop this egg eating I offered her to my brother who lives more than 20 miles away in Shawnee Kansas. When he came to get her we discovered she was not an egg eater but laying her eggs up on a plat form just above the pen door. Some of the eggs were being kicked off and they would break and get eaten. So gave her to him anyway. I was sad to hear three days later she was gone. He living in the city I figured a dog or my brother says he sees some foxes in the neighborhood. Last week I started getting two olive eggs a day and one was speckled. I only have 15 hens but figured this hen was really going at it. I have been working so much I hadn’t really done a head count. Last night I noticed I had two hens that looked like Welsumers but had ear muffs like the American. Today I confirmed it, its her! I have not done exact mileage but I am sure its at least 20 miles, the Kansas River, three highways and who knows what else. Has anyone ever seen this before? I am dumbfounded!
Mike

I sent her June 10 as my brother was bringing back a hen and chicks from Vacation Bible school I lent them. She has to have been back at least a week as I have been getting 2 olive eggs each day for that long. So as she was there 3 days that makes the 13th (when she left) She has been here a week That means she arived here 6/30. Ok I guess I have a correction Map Quest says 17.8 miles and thats by the road. But even looking at the road map that is still about 15 miles three highways and one Kansas river.
Other conditions: I let my broody hens hatch a few each year. One was mothered by a white rock one by a silky hen. And to think that her wing and tail were compromised because I cut the feathers back enought to tell who she was is still a way amazing story. I really gave my brother a hard time, this is so unreal I cant beleive he would not be playing a joke. He is just not that way. I believe that he did not sneak the hen back I believe that she made it back. She like so many others have earned her place for life and deserves a special name.
Any Ideas??

Wow, that is amazing! I've never heard anything like that.

I thought it was supposed to be cooler out today, lol. I went out and was greeted with the nastiest blast of hot air. I think it seems hotter today because there is no wind out here.

 

[HEChicken]

I'm from Topeka I have Ameraucana's, Welsummers and Jumbo brown Cot Quail...... soon to get Lemon Cuckoo Orpingtons Love to get more of the Jumbo Cots

 

[JosieChick]

Nice, Hawkeye- You are brilliant. I wouldn't even know where to start on something like that!

Sapphire- Tomorrow, tomorrow it will be cooler and it will RAIN tonight!! Because I said so.

Danz- Have fun with your granddaughter!! Don't work and play too hard!\

Everybody watch your critters close! It is awful out today. I just finished watering and I think poor Molly was overheating. She was staggering around the yard like a drunk sailor such much to her dismay she got hosed off for 10 minutes and is feeling much better! At least the pup has the sense to lay in the wading pool!

 

[HEChicken]

Trish, so sorry about the stress but glad she showed up. I guess you'll never know where she was. Our cat will disappear about once a year for anywhere from 2-4 days. We've never known where he goes or what he does but one evening he'll be at the door and that's that for another year.

So sorry also about the peachick. I was rooting for the little guy and the more days that went by and he was still with us, the more I thought he might make it.

Danz, sorry about the Orp. This has been a brutal summer so far. I've heard that there is supposed to be a cool change coming through tomorrow, and the high for the day Monday is only 80. Time to pull out sweaters and coats.

Then next week its supposed to be in the 90's all week. Just the news of a change coming through is making it easier for me to get through the day today.

Karen, I had such a great time visiting with you yesterday. Karen was kind enough to offer me some replacement birds for the ones I lost, and I now have Cyrus, a very large EE roo. He is only 5 months old so will probably still grow some, but he is HUGE already. He and the 2 sussex hens, EE hen (Suzette) and Aloha hen, are acclimating to their new environment and so far doing very well. I'm just so thrilled to have them.

Well, my Cuckoo Marans that I was sure was a goner after her fox attack, is hanging in there. For a couple of days she just looked shell-shocked. You know when they turn inwards and barely respond to their environment? She stood in one place all day and didn't pay any attention to anything going on around her. I lifted her on the roost at night, off the roost in the morning, and set her by feed and water but she wouldn't eat or drink voluntarily. I felt sure she wouldn't make it. Yesterday afternoon I decided to try to tempt her with an egg and to my surprise, she showed interest and then slowly started eating. Today she is still moving slowly and carefully but is looking more interested in life and doing a better job of moving to the coolest spot. At one point she went to stand in the waterer and best of all, when I took out some food scraps to them a few minutes ago, she looked interested and pecked at a grape. So I think maybe she'll make it. I'm so glad I treated all the wounds I could find with Neosporin. Hopefully it prevented infection and allowed her to just fight the shock and overcome. Fingers crossed.

I am also moving in the direction of a LGD. It is slow going because the DH is not excited about adding a new dependent. Fortunately, the current owner of the dog I hope to adopt has been very understanding and is being patient and allowing me to take some time. I hope to have her (the dog, not the owner) for a few days trial next week and see how she fits in with us. DH thinks its overkill to get a huge dog that has to be fed, wormed, vaccinated and cared for the rest of its life, just to guard a small flock of chickens. I can see his point but....I don't ever want to go out to that kind of devastation again. I enjoy my ducks and guineas in their own way but the chickens have such distinct personalities and I get to know them all. If I lose a duck or guinea it is feels like disappointment that it is a bird that won't be around to eat ticks, or raise a clutch of ducklings but when I lose a chicken, I am losing a bird I knew, individually from any other. It is not unlike losing a dog or cat, as each of them have their own place in our hearts. I still miss the Red Star I lost two years ago to my next-door neighbor's dogs - as many chickens as I've had, I've never had another just like her. So while I see DH's point, I also know I can't go through this heartache too many times before I quit because I can't take the losses any more.

I know if I said all of that to my wonderful, loving and mostly understanding family members, they wouldn't understand. I suspect most of you would.

 

[HEChicken]

Everybody watch your critters close! It is awful out today. I just finished watering and I think poor Molly was overheating. She was staggering around the yard like a drunk sailor such much to her dismay she got hosed off for 10 minutes and is feeling much better! At least the pup has the sense to lay in the wading pool!

How awful!!! I'm glad you caught her in time. As I was walking back from collecting the mail today and it was SO hot in the sun, I had the thought "somewhere out there, a dog is tethered where it can't get to shade and may not be able to reach its water bowl". It just made me feel so sad.

I've been out several times already to refresh water bowls and move misters to the shadiest places. From here on out I shouldn't have to move misters any more as they are in an area of shade that will increase as the afternoon goes on. The 11-2pm time slot is the worst.

 

[JosieChick]

How awful!!! I'm glad you caught her in time. As I was walking back from collecting the mail today and it was SO hot in the sun, I had the thought "somewhere out there, a dog is tethered where it can't get to shade and may not be able to reach its water bowl". It just made me feel so sad.

I've been out several times already to refresh water bowls and move misters to the shadiest places. From here on out I shouldn't have to move misters any more as they are in an area of shade that will increase as the afternoon goes on. The 11-2pm time slot is the worst.

I was shocked she was in such a state! I don't know why she won't get in the darn pool and cool off. It is so hot and she keeps getting up and wandering around. The neighbors beagle was here earlier so that has thrown her napping schedule off for the day I think! I put ice in their water bistro and refilled the kiddie pool with cold water. She is napping under the walnut tree now and seems much more comfortable and normal. Thank heavens, scared me half to death.

I am so glad your maran hen is hanging in there! How nice of Karen to provide you with some new biddies. I was wishing I had something you might want but I don't have any colored egg layers that are not tiny chicks and it is miserable trying to keep them right now!