Consolidated Kansas

[tweetysvoice]

Trish,
Aww.. you'll have to post pics of the kitties too! and Score on the hardware cloth! That's a great deal! I was shocked at how expensive that stuff what when we bought ours.

I had a huge scare tonight and am hoping I don't find something even worse in the morning. I went to put up the birds (was about 1/2 an hour late due to watching a movie) and usually at that time the birds have put themselves to bed, but I found one of my Delawares laying in the middle of the run. She was sound asleep, but I thought I had a dead on one me. She fought a bit when I picked her up, but she let me carry her to bed and sat on the roost when I put her in there. She's my chatty/prissy bird that pecks and charges my shoes if I wear anything other than my muck boots. Usually she's the one that is the most skittish, so I was kinda scared when she let me pick her up. I guess she must have been sound asleep when i grabbed her. She was clucking the whole way to the coop. I'm really hoping that she didn't get sick on me or something. I'm going to check on them again here in a bit, before I go to bed.

 

[chicken danz]

I had soaked the place down, put frozen bottle in everything and set up the misters before I left yesterday for the airport. As far as I can tell every bird was fine last night. I left the water bottles in the water until this morning because the water was still cool from them.
I gathered them up while ago and hope they freeze by noon. I got the first watering done and I'll go out later and do
it again.
Karen so sorry about Henrietta. I know you've mentioned her several times and she was one of your favorites.
Josie, if you check in, the ducks are now without a Mom. Let me know what we can work out.
I think I finally just wore out. I'm not feeling good today either and other than what I have to do for the birds, I plan to take it easy today. I just want to enjoy some peace and quiet.
I have to go to Topeka to the doctor tomorrow so it's going to be another busy day.
I've got to get the chick bins cleaned in here today cause they stink and drain the duck pond and refill it again.
I really am ready for a break in the weather so I can get back to normal routine. Waa! Waa! I feel like an old grouch!
I did pick u some swedish flower hen eggs yesterday. Wish me luck with those.

 

[medawinks]

Sure didn't want to read that anyone lost birds..... So sorry Danz and Karen!!!
That parking stub- I wish I could say couldn't happen to me.... But it has! :-(. Kids!! . I understand the laundry and dishes too .

It scares me to death to go back to school and not be here durning the heat of the day to change out ice bottles and check on everyone.... I may keep 2 musters going and just keep them soaked and hope the ice bottles last if I double up on them.... Getting into that routine in the morning on top of getting myself and 3 kids out if the house before 7 am.... I am beyond worried. I am planning and organizing like crazy to try to make packing lunches etc go as easy as possible on top of chicken chores....

It was so nice this morning that I put Molly out with the girls for a while. Brought her back in just a few minutes ago, though, just to be safe.

Trish, I love calico kitties!!!! Please post a pic .

Keep cool everyone!!

 

[chicken danz]

I always have a place on my console I put those parking stubbs cause I am freaky about them. I was trying to find the right place to park that was closest to the airline and just didn't think about her not putting it in my special spot. I am one of those people who tends to be a bit obsessive about what order and how I do things so I never loose track of them and that's what I get for breaking my own rules. Not placign the blame but it is very hard to keep order when you have someone blabbing non stop in your ear!

I did see the little monster claws come out a bit yesterday that little girls get at about 12 years old. I hadn't seen that in my grand daughter at all and thought how lucky I was that those hormones were still at bay. But yesterday I assume she was tense and she got a little snippy a few times. I thank goodness it waited until the final day. I really have to bite my tongue when the teenage girl syndrome comes out!!!
I had to laugh while sitting with another grandmother waiting for the plane to leave. We had to sit there for at least 30 minutes until the plane was in the air. We were talking about how we were just ready for peace and quiet, to relax, and not hear a million questions non stop for a little while. I love the visits but I love the normal quiet so much too.

 

[Trish44]

tweety, I'll try to get some pics later when I go back out of the kitties. So far they're hanging out down by the turkey & chick pens where I left their crate. I opened it up when I went out & just let them come out on their own then left the door to the crate open so if they feel safe in there they can go back in. The little calico is a little different, but her momma had some different markings too. This one has grey tiger stripes on her face & the rest of her is calico, it gives her some character & right now she has blue eyes that I'm sure are going to turn greenish later on, she will be medium haired I think, she's a cutie. They had told me the mother was long-haired, but honestly I couldn't tell because she looked so rough. The girl told me she quit taking care of herself when she was pregnant with the kittens, but they must have taken a toll on her too because she was skinny. But then this heat is really taking a toll on the animals because even my GP pups look all scraggly right now & they didn't before it got so hot. Yeah, I was thrilled to get that hardware cloth, believe me, it's so expensive & I couldn't even believe this gal was selling it so cheap. It had been part of a pen for a dog I think & she just wanted to get rid of it & I was glad to grab it up. Also, I'm glad your hen was OK, I have had them do things like that to me too. In fact yesterday I was out & one of my young speckled sussex came out the run door & kind of just sat there all weird looking & when I started towards her she got up & ran over to the bushes I just had sprayed with water. I don't know if she was just really hot & was resting a minute or what, but it scared me because it looked like she had collapsed & after that one chick I watch them close.

The Swedish Flower Hen chick is improving, but still shaky & can't walk well at all. It is eating well & drinking, so I'm hoping it just is weak & needs to recuperate & then it will get the legs back. It kind of just waddles over to the water & food. There is a little shakiness still in it's head, but it is alert & peeping in there & it's starting to poop, so I know that's working now too. I sure hope it recovers completely because it is a pretty bird.

I took the tiny little Cream Legbar chick out & put it in with the other little Swedish Flower Hen chicks in the crate & so far it's holding it's own eating & drinking fine. It was pretty small when it hatched, so it looks like a midget next to those week old chicks. You forget how fast they grow once they hatch until you see the new one next to the others. I sent a PM to the guy I got the eggs from & let him know I got one chick & he was glad to hear I at least got one out of that bad experience. This gives me 4 pullets & 2 cockerels, so when they get bigger & I see which ones I think are the best for breeding I will probably sell a trio if I still have them all. It will be awhile & the same for my Swedish Flower Hen chicks, they have to grow out for awhile so I can see which ones I like the best. That's going to be the hardest I'm sure because they're all so pretty. Of the biggest ones so far I only have one crested & I think it's a pullet. I'm hoping I end up with some more cresteds in the younger batch. But even if I don't they're so pretty, I can see why they named them what they did. I read that they are pretty rare in Sweden now, that by them being imported here we can help save the breed because they are numbered over there. I can't see why anybody wouldn't want these beautiful chickens.

medawinks, I can totally see why you would be worried about going back to school with this heat the way it is. Can you get some of those plastic ice things that you put in lunch boxes to put in waterers? I think they hold the cold probably better than frozen bottles. I bought 5 of them at the store yesterday to try out here & see how they work for me. I had seen where someone puts plastic zip lock bags over them & then you can keep them clean to put back in the freezer. I'm going to try that after while.

I went out & watered all the birds when I got up & came in just soaked already, it's going to be a furnace out there today, ugh. I just went ahead & sprayed down the Ameraucanas while I was out there & made the wet place under the bush for the chickens. I soak the bush so that it drips down on them for awhile & wet the ground underneath so they have some cool ground to sit on. You can see them from the back side of the bush all crowded under there because the bush grows almost to the ground in the front, so it's really shady there. It's a spirea bush & that just got huge on the side of the driveway by the garage door & it's their favorite bush to sit under really year round, but especially in weather like this or a windy day.

Oh & congrats Danz on your Swedish Flower Hen chicks! I think you will love them as much as I do. They're just very unique & friendly little birds.

Everybody stay cool & be careful out there!

 

[medawinks]

Tweety, hope your chatty prissy girl is OK today!

Trish, are you planning on breeding your cream leg bar chick? They sound very interesting. Please do post pics for 70 bucks I seriously doubt that we will ever have that unique a breed here, but for some reason, I am really enjoying learning about all the different types of chickens

I think my little bantam Cochin may have tried crowing this morning. I heard something odd out there that was definitely not Bloom's egg song but when I went out.... Nothing. It acted just like it always had. The little d'uccle roo we had would crow at me when I came in the coop, but this one doesn't seem to be very protective if that is what I heard

My big standard poodle decided that he likes raw eggs..... I put blooms egg on the counter and the next thing I knew, my kids were screaming at each other blaming each other for eating a boiled egg in the living room. When I checked... It was the crushed shell of Bloom's egg. He never even looks at the counter other times. This is new. I must curb it!! Someday I hope to have more fresh eggs to set on the counter

Ideas??? How do I trap him whe he isn't doing it while I am there?

 

[medawinks]

Trish, just caught your post. I hadn't thought of putting the bottles in the water! Duh..... Going out to try that now! Thanks!!! I have been putting frozen bottles in their crawl spaces they like to congregate in, along with a big bag of ice in the old cabinet that is the lower part of their coop with the rope of the coop opened up wide to create more shade and the mister and fan aimed in that direction. I have the whole run covered in straw, which I am changing out every couple of days, but when it is wet and in the shade, it seems to help keep them cooler.

It's odd, I used to be obsessive about keeping my lawn green in the heat. Now, I am not caring if it goes brown, it will come back and is easily reseeded. Keeping my birds wet and cool is my priority now! I still try to keep my flower beds alive though

Danz, enjoy that peace and quiet for a bit. I hope your Sweedish flowers do well! I would love to see one in person someday. Trish's little chick's coloring is so pretty! We have a full coop here though.... Only bird I would add now would be a silky or something small

 

[tweetysvoice]

Whew - no disaster this morning. Pearl was doing just fine. In face, after I collected the one egg from the nesting box she immediately went in there to rearrange the straw I'd put back in after someone kicked it all. LOL

Stay cool everyone!

 

[Trish44]

medawinks, yes I plan to breed my Cream Legbars next year, & also the Swedish Flower Hens so I will hopefully have chicks for sale next spring. Of course by then they probably will bring less money because more people are getting them, but nobody in my area has them yet that I know of except for KarenS who just got eggs. So maybe I can make some of my investment back next year I'm hoping anyway. I have spent a small fortune this year on hatching eggs & chicks, I need to recoup some it at least.

 

[michelleml]

my husband made it here safely from Texas it was a long hot trip but he is here thank God. Kids have been showing him around talking his ear off

. Sorry to hear about the roo this heat is brutal


Another hot day stay cool everyone
Had to share this link about chickens swimming
http://ourcountrychronicles.blogspot.ca/2011/08/silly-swimming-chickens-i-mean-ducks-i.html