Consolidated Kansas

[michelleml]

I just wanted to share i found this site on how to do bumblefoot surgery im sure you all know how to do this

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search/label/bumblefoot causes and treatment

 

[chicken danz]

Rob I definitely see two roos on the right hand side of the picture as I face the computer. The ones in the left and back all look like pullets. They are a darker color and not as visible comb. I do have one maran hen with a huge comb that actually flops over. Not show quality for sure but she lays beautiful dark eggs and is one of the sweeter hens. So you could have some of her offspring which would explain larger combs.
Michelleml I used to shut the ducks up at night. I just let them do their own thing now. Most of them go back to their respective pens to sleep. Sometimes if it is higher humidity they will gather under the yard light to eat bugs. We have no bugs around the light unless it is over cast and humid this year. The last previous summers they would spend the night catching bugs. I just let the pekins out of their pen to free range so they go back to their pen to eat and sleep. My cayugas are in my PVC pen and I haven't let them out for a while and the Cayugas just go where ever they please. I normally let them all free range unless I am trying to keep the breeds separate for raising ducklings.
Heather if you have a separate cage why don't you just catch a few that you think are males and keep them caged while you run an add? Those hormones can make them act like bad little boys when they wouldn't normally.
I was out working but it suddenly got very hot. The cloudy skies disappeared and the sun came out. I should go back out and get busy again.
I just put another bunch of eggs in the incubator. I found a whole pile of red star eggs in an old sink cabinet by the barn. Every time I think I've found all their secret nest spots I find another. I am only hatching these to see how the red star brahma mix turns out.
I did candle my lavender and flower hen eggs. The flower hen eggs don't look promising but the lavenders looked pretty good. I pulled 2 of the lavenders out that were clear. I decided to leave the flower hen eggs a little longer before pulling any. Sure hope I get good hatches.

 

[medawinks]

MyABCs3, congrats on the blue ribbons! I saw your Iowa blue and the really nice poster done on it, if that was the only poster for an Iowa blue

Danz, I saw a cute little Serama there too. My kids loved the polish that was a very light beige color. There weren't as many birds there as I expected, but maybe I was expecting too many, since the last time I saw any poultry at a fair was for the state fair.....

Sunflowerparrot, I know only too well what you mean about seemingly useless meetings, finger pointing etc.... That is the part of the job I struggle with, but have learned over the years to be pretty flexible and just do what needs to be done whether or not I agree with it, paperwork wise etc... As long as I can meet the needs of my students and their families as best as I can. I have also learned that accepting limitations sometimes and just doing the best that I can personally do is all I can do.... Not that I don't push for more, but I can accept those difficult situations better, when I know I have done my best. Someday, I know I will give it up too. I definitely have done this for longer than most ( going on 27 years). I just can't yet. I am too excited to get to know the new little people on my caseload this year and to see the growth in my kiddos I have had previously. I am hopelessly addicted.....

HEchicken, l love the mirror story!!! . Might actually mean that she IS pretty smart . She certainly knew she wasn't OK with that unannounced dog in the house! I have had dogs do that too when they first encounter a mirror. Cracks me up every time None of them have had any issues with abilities to learn, and might just be a bit more observant to visual cues without relying on the combination of senses entirely?

Karen, you go girl!!! Chickens in the bathtub is an acceptable thing . You know temporarily when they are sick. At least that is what I convinced our foster care SW when she saw our Molly, a buff Orpington in our tub Not sure how well I would sleep with them in my bedroom, but darn it we have to do what we can with this extraordinary circumstance of a heat wave

I can't seem to find the outlet I need to reset my outside outlet..... This happened to me almost 10 yrs ago and I called an electrician out and that is all he did..... He found it after checking the whole house for it, but I sure am not. As soon as I get another one out here, I will find it - no doubt! Sure wish I had a better memory for where he found it.

We all decided that the next breed of chicken we get will be a bantam Cochin beige polish or ameracauna. We saw some pretty birds today to help sway us.

Don't need any more birds now though.... It is hard to keep these guys cool . I froze sections of watermelon and that seems to help, with ice bottles and the mister. I wish I could figure a way to keep it from getting muddy though. Am going to try corn husks and ditromaceous earth.

 

[medawinks]

Oh, BTW, Danz or other duck folk, do call ducks stay small?? My kids saw some cute ones, that if they really stay that size.... I may end up giving in on...

 

[JosieChick]

Oh, BTW, Danz or other duck folk, do call ducks stay small?? My kids saw some cute ones, that if they really stay that size.... I may end up giving in on...

Meda- Calls do stay very small if they are of good quality, well under two pounds at maturity. But, they are LOUD!!! They were originally used as live decoys in Europe by duck hunters because they are so noisy! I have a few youngsters growing up and they are already significantly louder than the magpies they are in with. I can hear them when I round the corner of the house a hundred feet or more away. But, they are super friendly, curious, gregarious little ducks. I just love them!

 

[HEChicken]

Wow, I just watched that whole video on bumblefoot surgery and hope I never have to deal with that. I'm fine with the surgery itself but doing all that cutting on a bird that has not had any local anesthesia first really grosses me out. I really hate to make them hurt even worse, even if it is in the course of helping them.

Danz, if only I had a spare cage to put them in. I did purchase a dog pen last week but I haven't been able to put it together yet. I've been hoping for a cooler day so I can get out and work on that. My dad likes to do projects, so I'm thinking at this point I will wait until he gets here and he can help me with it. Also, I got this off CL and I called before I went there to make sure it had all the brackets. The guy assured me it did so I went and loaded up and it wasn't until the next day that I realized - he never gave me the brackets. He may have had them and forgot or not had them at all. I've thought about calling him but it was quite a drive to get it and I just saw them at Orschelns and they're 59c apiece so its probably not worth the gas to go back and get them.

And, I had a shock at Orschelns when I noticed the same chicken feed that I was raving at the price the other day, has gone up $1.50 a bag!!! When I commented at the cash register that it was $1.50 just two days ago she said yes, they redid all their pricing yesterday. Plus, I found out its not nearly as cheap as I thought it was because the bags at Orchelns are only 40lb whereas the bags at Atwoods are 50lb. They are both Nutrena All Flock so I'm really surprised they bag two different sizes to sell to two different stores but apparently they do. So:

Atwoods, it comes down to 33c/lb when it rings up at $16.59 for 50lb
Orschelns, it was 35c/lb on Sunday and 39c/lb today.

So I guess I'll be going back to Atwoods in future after all. Except of course theirs will probably go up now too.

 

[Hawkeye95]

LOL Hawkeye! My sentiments exactly! I keep praying for a real fall this year. Not a jump into winter. A fall with rain too! And I truly hate fall and winter.
I was reading the farmers almanac site yesterday. They said cooler than normal temps for July. But they are also predicting another winter with little snowfall. I was thinking maybe they'll be off as far this winter as they were this summer. I certainly don't desire a bunch of snow and ice but it would be moisture. I think with this continued heat the birds immune systems are going to be wrecked. If we have an influx of colds like last year we could loose all of our birds. I think my strategy is going to be to add lots of probiotics this fall, if any of the birds manage to survive that long!

the farmers almanac was wrong, so maybe we will have a wet winter, that would be nice for a change. I'm not looking forward to what that might do to our birds, though.

But, (and I hope this doesn't upset anyone to hear), I value Cyrus more than I value those guineas. I never minded, or even really noticed the noise but DH has commented a few times on how loud they can be and said he wouldn't care if I got more chickens but could happily live without the guineas. So, given their obsession with eliminating Cyrus, I've decided it is time we found out what guinea tastes like. I've already processed one but couldn't catch the others. I'm debating whether to go to Walmart and try to get a fishing net so I can catch the rest, or just wait until after dark when they are on the roost. The problem with that is that it leaves me processing in the dark which doesn't appeal a great deal. Karen, I need some of your chicken wranglers! I asked DS if he fancied himself a guinea wrangler but he said he didn't think he'd be very good at catching them.

funny!!! let me know how they taste! I never thought about eating them. Good idea!

Hawkeye I just did a search and Valley Vet has denagard so I could get it in one day. Of course the shipping costs some but it still would arrive fast. I will definitely keep that in mind if I have any more colds develop. I found my tylan at Orshlen's. I bought the injectible because I don't like the idea of treating all the birds if I only have one or two ill.I understand you can give it orally as well but you have to have powder to mix it in water. It was only about $11 for the bottle which I really liked.

I will have to look at Orschlens, but I guess I don't really even need it now that I have the Denagard. Very cool that you can drive up to valley vet!

Happy Day to all! Had to share some great news! My youngest just took two cockerels to the Douglas County Fair after days of primping, bathing, combing! Good news - both the blue orp cockerel and the iowa blue cockerel took blue ribbons. Very excited for my youngest as this is his first fair!

Just needed to brag a bit on him!

Congratulations!!! Did you take pictures of them in their cages with their ribbons? If you haven't, you should so you can put them in your 4-H records book! So fun!

Unfortany this was the 2nd time someone had messed with the pin and the dogs were out so that is why the ticket I have done a bunch to keep the husky from running off she is to smart for her own good the thing is I have a 6 foot privacy fence so no way to use the bike chain. I just can't figure out how or why the pin was out. We have not been using the gate for the last week since it has been so hot. I just saw the pin in the gate yesterday afternoon at 3pm so it must have happened last night. This is just so upsetting because there goes me getting my chicks that I wanted Ameracuanas maran and green egg layers. Wanted to add color to egg basket plus I have some older layers who will be going to freezer come fall. So just all around not a great day plus found mold in the basement so now have to Sorry for the rant just not been a good year so far.

Ah ha! A wooden privacy fence! Okay, well, I have a fantastic idea for you. My parents put on a board that fits into slots on either side from the inside of their gate so no one can open it on the outside. Does that make sense??? It's like you lower the board down (a cross bar??) and rest it into a slot on either side.

We all decided that the next breed of chicken we get will be a bantam Cochin beige polish or ameracauna. We saw some pretty birds today to help sway us.
Don't need any more birds now though.... It is hard to keep these guys cool . I froze sections of watermelon and that seems to help, with ice bottles and the mister. I wish I could figure a way to keep it from getting muddy though. Am going to try corn husks and ditromaceous earth.

Polish are a lot of fun, but they get picked on by the big girls in my pen. The polish can't see well enough to run or defend themselves. So keep that in mind. I had to put pinless peepers on my big girls to keep them from hurting my Polish. I have a feeling Polish shouldn't be in with the non crested birds. Sigh.

This is my bird--- I have others wearing these peepers. They are brutal on my Polish if they don't. But the upside is that it's easy to fix! Everyone except the Polish wear these.

 

[Trish44]

HEChicken, I didn't realize Atwoods had 50 pound bags, I knew that Orschelyn's had 40 pound ones, that's why I like to go to TSC because theirs are 50 pounds. I only try to go to Orschelyn's if I can't get to TSC. If this other feed works out for me though I may hopefully save some money on feed at least for most of the birds. Next year when I'm hatching lots I will have to have the chick starter that is medicated though, I like to feed that to the newly hatched chicks.

Well I just went out awhile ago to move the mister & saw my big huge Black Copper Marans rooster mating my poor bare-backed Barred Rock hen & her back is now torn. I can't catch her until she goes into roost, but I will have to get her then & put her in a cage so I can put something on her poor torn back & keep her there until she heals. I hate to have to do that right now when it's so darned hot, but I don't want them to tear up her back any more than it is. She is one of my best layers. I really have got to figure out what to do about the extra rooster right now. There are 3 of them loose & that is one too many for the number of hens I have right now. The Speckled Sussex roo will go into the breeding pens whenever it gets done, but in the meantime I either need to re-home my RIR rooster or something. He has been such a good protector of his hens, but after the incident with my granddaughter getting attacked on Sunday maybe it's time for him to go. I really hate to, but my poor hens need a break. These roosters gang up on them 3 at a time & it's too much. Josie, if you want to teach your pup not to bother the chickens this is the rooster for you. He sure taught mine not to bother the chickens & to this day they will walk way around just to avoid him. I just got this beautiful Black Copper Marans rooster a few months ago & he is growing into the most gorgeous boy so I don't want to get rid of him. If any go it will be Big Red, the RIR roo.

I took the blue ice things out to all the pens this afternoon & when I put one in the plastic tub in the chick pen I stood there for just a few minutes & saw several of the chicks laying around it & even one of the Cream Legbar chicks laying on top of it. I put gallon ziplock bags over them to keep them clean. I tried putting one in the turkey pen & they were afraid of it, they are so funny about anything strange or different to them in their pen. So I guess I'll just have to keep them & their pen sprayed down.

I am dreading the discussion coming about going to Missouri. I just can't leave when the weather is like this. I just don't see how I can go out of town for two days when it's over 100 every single day with no end in sight. I know my DH is going to be really upset with me about this, but he doesn't understand about how hard I have worked to get the birds I have for my breeding program next year, how much they have cost me, & how hard I've been trying to keep them alive. I can't just walk away & leave knowing that my birds & rabbits could all die while I'm gone. I can't afford right now to pay someone to come take care of them, so I just can't go. It's not going to be a pleasant conversation & I know he will be cussing me & my birds yet again. It won't just be one conversation either, it will be him going off on me over & over until he either goes by himself or he stays here & makes me miserable that I kept him from going. I'm not even going to bring it up until the week of the anniversary party, which is the 12th of August. I wish he could just accept that this is something I want to do & enjoy doing & get off my back about it, but if it's not something he is interested in then that's how it goes. I envy those of you who have understanding, accepting, & patient spouses because that would be wonderful.

 

[HEChicken]

Trish, I meant to say how sorry I am about Big Red flogging your granddaughter. I don't blame you for thinking about rehoming him under those circumstances. Well, as you can tell, it didn't take me long to decide to rehome the guineas when they started messing up. Actually, I probably need to borrow him for a day to put those guineas in their place and then maybe I wouldn't NEED to rehome them.

Atwoods carries mostly 40lb bags and their store brands are 40lb but in the Nutrena they carry 50lb bags. The thing is, I think they actually use the exact same bag for both the 50lb they sell at Atwoods and the 40lb at Orshelns. When I got the bag on Sunday I was really struck by how floppy the bag was compared to usual but because it looked the same and I "knew" Nutrena bagged theirs in 50lb bags, I didn't even look at that. Now I realize they are putting 40lb less in the bags they sell to Orschelns and that's why they were so floppy when I picked them up.

 

[chicken danz]

Medawinks I have one buff polish I got when I ordered mixed top hats. I had a couple more but they didn't make it. I will probably rehome this one rather than get more to go with it. Surprisingly I do like it too. I had seen pictures and wasn't impressed but in person they really are pretty. I am thinking looking at it's crest right now it is probably a pullet but I can't be sure yet. In general what I got was pretty disappointing but they weren't expensive so it's not like I spent a fortune.
I wouldn't recommend call ducks for your situation. They are called CALL ducks for a reason. Also they need more of a pond setting to breed and can be flighty because they aren't a domesticated duck that stays on the ground. I know a few people who raise them and had to separate them from everything else because they got mean and aggressive toward the other birds during mating season.
Trish I used Blue Kote the last time I had a hen ripped open and she healed really well. You have to be really careful this time of year with that cause the flies will lay eggs in the wound and then it gets really nasty.
I have some roos with huge spurs but I just can't stand the thought of twisting them off of them. It looks like it would hurt!!!