Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Hawkeye, that is the basic design we use for our pens now. It works well and other than setting posts is pretty easy to construct. I need to get the pens for the new building finished. We only have one pen done and need to put in at least 3 of them. That is also the plan for when the chicken trailer is done for the outside runs. It runs into some expense for wire but they are super sturdy and nothing gets in or out. That picture actually has two pens lined up together. We planned to install another one there but the power pole is in the way so we would have to offset it by 8 feet or so. I built these pens for pheasant, but as you can see the guineas are in one and a pair of peafowl and 2 pairs of pheasant are in the other.
The ground is like a rock now so there's no way we could drill holes.
Maybe we could just use some of these giant cracks in the yard!!

By the way the little rescue duck is doing great and I moved it and 4 Cayuga ducklings I just hatched out to the pen outside today. I sure hope they do well out there.

 

[Trish44]

Danz, I love those pens, wow I would love to have some pens like that! I don't foresee that happening any time soon, not with my DH working on my breeder coop right now. Oh well, one can dream, maybe some day. I'm trying to come up with a pen for my peafowl to move to when they outgrow this little pen they're in right now. They're going to have to move come fall anyway because my DH said their pen is in the way of his wood shed. I have all of these livestock panels sitting out there I figure I might as well use & I have t-posts also, so I think I'm going to come up with a pen made from those things & cover the pen with the heavy duty netting on the top. I have to keep my cost down right now so I think I will do that & cover the livestock panels with some hardware cloth at the bottom & chicken wire above that. I have some various fencing sitting around here that I can use to help reinforce & make it safer. I just can't afford to go out & buy a bunch of materials right now, so I'm going to have to make do with what I have sitting around here for the most part other than the netting for the top. I think I can make it about 12 ft x 12 ft square, but it will depend on how tall the posts are as to how high the pen will be. I wish I could put 4x4 posts in for the corners, but I think the ground is too hard right now to even attempt that. I know we have the posts out there, but I think it would be an exercise in futility to try to dig holes for them right now.

I went out & took pics of the cattail stuff so everyone could get an idea what it looks like. Sunflowerparrot is going to have her boyfriend mow over it a few more times to get it even finer, so the next time I get some it should be even better.



Here is a close-up of it:


So we're going to see how it does in the coop for litter & I may eventually try it in my pens too. I had been using straw in them, but I have to buy that & if this will work just as well I may switch to it, it's free, even better. It remains to be seen as to how well it absorbs moisture, whether it dries out like the pine shavings or just soaks it up & stays wet, the jury is out on that.

Danz, here is a pic of my young Salmon Faverolle Roo, he's about 3 months old now, tell me what you think of him, he's right in the middle of the photo next to the feeder, you can kind of see his feathered feet. I plan to use him for breeding. He has two pullets that are growing out in that pen too, but I didn't take pics of them this time.



Here is another view of him from the side:



Here is a pic of the chicks just hanging out in the dog house I gave them. They immediately started going in there as soon as I put it in the pen. They just hang out in there & sleep, it's funny to see a whole dog house full of chickens.



And here is a pic of my big Black Copper Marans roo Rusty, he is getting really big now. I love all the colors on him!


He has big old feathered feet that you can't see very well in this pic. The chickens are all picking at the cat food I had given the kittens this morning & they left a little bit. I have to shut the baby kittens in the crate to feed them or all of the chickens, bigger cats, & dogs will eat their food before they have a chance.

 

[chicken danz]

Trish your Favorelle looks good in the picture from what I can see. Aren't those roosters beautiful? The one I got from Malanie is just gorgeous but he sure seems to be a slow grower.
I made my original pheasant pen by using metal posts and cattle panels. I put one cattle panel on each side and a half panel on each end which makes it 8" X16". The panel on one end was cut to make a gate. I lined the panels with with chicken wire and built a lean to shed out of scrap lumber that is 5' X 8 foot so it covers one end. I covered the pen with netting. I plan to install a pole in the middle of the pen soon and redo the netting so it goes up higher. It worked for a while but it gets really old bending over to feed and water. For peafowl they need a roost at least 3 feet off the ground and at least a 6 foot tall pen. The cattle panels are only 50"-52" tall. If they are the light weight ones you could make a hoop house out of them by building a wood frame and bending them in a half circle. That would make a nice pen if you bent them to about 8 feet apart. I thought of doing that for my turkeys but haven't had DH and the trailer with me anytime they had them on sale.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Hi all. Have been a bit under the weather and trying to survive all the manic activity that accompanies packing as much fun in the little time left before school starts.

Hawkeye, Just wanted to chime in about those shots. I trusted Doctors completely. My mom was the original hippy, subscribed to Organic Gardening and Mother Earth News as long as I can remember. I used to just roll my eyes at her. Until my 4th daughter had a round of immunizations. She woke me up screaming. I ran to her and found her seizing but conscious in her baby bed. I picked her up and held her close while I ran for the phone. When I got the ped on call on the line she was peeved that I had woken her in the middle of the night. She immediately discounted the possibility that the immunizations had anything to do with it and then mocked me for what she diagnosed over the phone as a febrile seizure. She told me it was far more upsetting for me than it was for her (in spite of the screaming) and that everything was fine. She told me to put her back in bed and get some sleep. Well, I couldn't bring myself to do that so I just sat in the rocking chair and held her for 10 minutes until the seizure stopped.

At her next round of shots I was very concerned and asked my pediatrician about it and how safe she thought it would be to give the immunizations to her again. She assured me the seizure was a common occurrence in little ones and only related to the fever. I was nervous but relieved. We gave her the next round of shots. Long story short, the seizure lasted 45 minutes and I will never trust my children to a Doctor's opinion again without researching and finding out for myself what the risks and complications can be. It's not their child. I have learned to take responsibility for the choices I make because I am all that stands between my child and a gross medical error.

 

[Trish44]

Danz, that is an idea about the hoophouse. I had thought of that earlier on, but then kind of shoved it to the back of my mind. Maybe I can use those 4x4 posts to hook the cattle panels to. The only thing with that is having to make the ends fit & making a door, but I guess I could manage it somehow. This is something I probably will have to do by myself, so we'll see if I can manage to do that. I think there are also some pieces of railroad ties that my DH had laying around that could be used for the bottom so I don't have to cut anything. I'm going to just go out & scout around & see what I can find. I have several of the livestock panels because we had bought them thinking a few years ago we were going to get calves & raise them & then that never happened. They have been sitting out in the horse shed & I might as well use them for something. thanks for reminding me about that.

The Favorelles seem like a pretty laid back breed, they never seem to get too riled up about anything. They don't especially like being handled, but just don't cause that much trouble either. The little pullets kind of like to talk when I go out there to the pen. Yes, I really think this rooster is going to be a nice looking guy when he's grown. My DH actually told me the other day that they were his favorite chickens that I have in the grow-out pen, which kind of surprised me. He rarely ever makes a comment about the chickens anyway & then to pick out a breed he actually likes was just different.

I haven't done too awfully well with keeping laying hens this summer. I lost my only laying Speckled Sussex first thing in the heat, then lost a Gold Lakenvelder recently to a predator & then the little brown Leghorn pullet to a predator. The predators seem to know that my dogs are supposed to stay within the fences here, so if the hens go outside our fence lines that is where they seem to get them. Both of the ones I lost recently had left our property & it was during the day when the GPs were sleeping. I'm kind of glad now that I have some young chicks growing out there to help fill in for the loss of those hens. I do have several that I got in April that will be laying in a couple months hopefully, but one of the ones I got ended I'm pretty sure being a roo. I have some of the lavender Orps too that I'm thinking are roos, so we'll see how many hens I actually end up with. I know that I probably have several roos in the Swedish Flower Hens, so I will have to choose at least one of those for breeding & then which hens I like the best. So far out of the older batch, the first 4 I got, only one is crested. I think in the 2nd batch I hatched there may be two crested, but it takes awhile for the crests to develop & those are still really young & not all feathered out yet. They haven't really gotten feathered enough yet to tell how they're going to color out either. In the first batch I have one really colorful rooster I like, but I want to wait until I see the 2nd batch first to make a decision on anything.

Danz, if you get all of those rare breeds of chickens where will you house them all to keep the breeds pure? I know you're planning on doing pens in your trailer when you get it finished, but if you get the chicks now I guess they can be growing out until you get the housing fixed up. There is one more breed I'm looking at maybe getting, but I haven't decided yet. I would have to get eggs & hatch them because they're too pricey otherwise. If you get all of those breeds then are you going to stop breeding the mixed chicks then so you will have more room for the pure breeds? I just think the pure breeds are a better bet if you're going to make any money & some of the rarer ones are even better for that. I'm kind of getting a waiting list going already for people who want chicks from me next spring.

 

[chicken danz]

I do hope you got a new doctor after that!!!!
I had a friend years ago who's child died after having immunizations. She has been fighting against forcing kids to have them for years.
My sister's oldest son was born in Germany. Her husband was a German doctor. They practiced Chinese or Herbal medicine, acupuncture, etc. He wouldn't allow him to get immunizations (other than what was requited to enter the U.S.) and he to date has never taken an antibiotic. This child is now 22 years old and healthy as a horse.
I really prefer to do things more natural than not. Food is my big downfall. I have gotten lazy in my old age and it's a lot easier to just grab something quick than eat healthy.
But I figure home grown beef, chicken, eggs and whatever I can produce in the garden has got to be better than any of the store bought stuff.
If only we had had rain I would have a nice stock pile of food in the freezer and the pantry. Maybe later. At least there has been some for the birds to eat and I still have a few things out there.

 

[chicken danz]

Yeah Trish my intent all along was to breed pure breds. It's just I took on way too much and then really like the birds to be able to free range. If I ever get the breeding pens done like I want I figure I can let one breed out a day to free range so they all get a chance now and then. I may let my layers free range because those dark yellow eggs is what my customers want. If we don't get any moisture it won't matter though!
I actually bought several breeds when I started to decide which one I liked best, then I kept finding more and more breeds, etc etc. I do make some decent money selling these mixed roosters but eating birds don't pay for their keep really unless I can sell them young.
Even separating the more popular breeds won't make me the kind of money the rare birds will. I plan to keep the fancy high priced birds on a smaller scale so maybe I can house two kinds of bird to one building and pen set up, If I can divide the pen then.
Of course I could always give up my pheasants, peacocks, Sabastopols, turkeys, all my ducks, doves etc and have more room but what fun would that be???

 

[prairie]

Hi all,
It's been a while since I have been on here -- about 900 messages I have missed. Hope all are doing well in spite of the heat and drought. We had a bull go missing and then a neighbors CRP pasture catch on fire (which caught our pasture on fire too!) a couple of days before we headed to Guatemala for 2 weeks. I was beginning to believe we were not going to make it to the airport without another disaster. But we finally got out of here and the grands took care of my flock while we were gone and all was well when we finally got back home. Nice to have a little better temps now!

I wanted to let you all know I am selling my Ancona ducks -- have 2 pairs. Also selling a black Cornish banty, 3-4 easter eggers, and a Light Brahma rooster. All my guineas are doing well and that is what I really wanted to start with so reducing my others. I will have them at the Premier Farm swap the end of the month unless I sell them before hand.

 

[HEChicken]

Here are some pictures I took. My internet was down last night so I couldn't get on. I use 5/4" CCA decking boards for the bottom and the top. With 5 foot 2 X4 welded wire it makes a total height of 6 foot. I cover that with chicken wire. I use metal flashing screwed into the wood at the bottom as a dig deterent. I have used about a foot of chicken wire as well on some pens.

Danz, I love your pens. If you don't object, I'm going to save these pics to my computer to reference at a later date when I need to build something like this.

My oldest son lost his ability of speech after a round of vaccinations when he was 2yrs old. It was completely unexplained and when I said that he could no longer speak hours AFTER the vaccines were given-- I was given a very stern lecture on how that was impossible by the Dr's. We saw many Dr's and I kept telling them it happened right after the shots-- and why is he now mute?? When I persued it, I was met with incredible back lash. We finally wound up at HeartSprings doing EEG's to check his brain activity and speech therapy for over a year. We found out his frontal lobe activity had been damaged...hmmmmm... THAT was when I found out I wasn't crazy and the therapist was reluctant to tell me then that she saw a lot of this happening hours or days after vaccinations, among many other horrible things. I could go on and on, but we were tentatively diagnosed with Autism, and it was then I refused to give any more vaccines until he was several years older. I fought with my Dr not to give any more, and I won that argument. I had to sign forms and fight the school to take him, but it CAN be done. My other kids follow the same delay, and so far, no problems.

BTW--- my son was nearly mute for 2 years-- after a while, he was able to make a sound like "uh, uh". He finally started speaking when he was 5 years old!!! He now has no further issues.

Oh wow, that sounds SO similar to the experience I had with my eldest. She also was evaluated for autism and was in an early intervention preschool because she didn't speak and was delayed on other development. When she said her first word it was so exciting and from there she jumped to sentences in only a few weeks and then never looked back. If you met her now, you'd never guess.

Well I got a truck load of that shredded cattail stuff from Sunflowerparrot last night so I'll take some pics in a bit so you all can see what we're talking about. I need to do another layer in my coop so I'm going to make this one the dried cattail stocks & we'll see how it goes. I don't have a lot in there of the pine shavings as of yet since I had just cleaned the whole thing out this spring, so it seems like a good time to try this experiment. There is an almost unlimited supply of the stuff & she has it so why not put it to use. I'm just amazed at this area they have down there that has so much ground water that even in the drought the willow trees & cottonwoods look as green as in a wet spring, wow. If it weren't for the drought I wouldn't have been able to drive down where I was last night without sinking.

I can't wait to see your pics and hear your results after you've tried them for a little while.

Well, I started to read and reply hours ago but couldn't get this posted so I'm sure in the meantime there have been other posts added. Off to read them now.....

 

[HEChicken]

Maybe we could just use some of these giant cracks in the yard!!

By the way the little rescue duck is doing great and I moved it and 4 Cayuga ducklings I just hatched out to the pen outside today. I sure hope they do well out there.

I'm glad to hear the little duck is doing okay after his/her ordeal. You know, before that happened I used to joke that the cracks in the yard are so big I hope we don't lose one of the dogs in them. I never imagined you might REALLY lose an animal down one. So glad you and your DH were dedicated enough to work on getting it out for so long.

Danz, here is a pic of my young Salmon Faverolle Roo, he's about 3 months old now, tell me what you think of him, he's right in the middle of the photo next to the feeder, you can kind of see his feathered feet. I plan to use him for breeding. He has two pullets that are growing out in that pen too, but I didn't take pics of them this time.

Trish, those roosters are gorgeous!

Hi all. Have been a bit under the weather and trying to survive all the manic activity that accompanies packing as much fun in the little time left before school starts.

Hawkeye, Just wanted to chime in about those shots. I trusted Doctors completely. My mom was the original hippy, subscribed to Organic Gardening and Mother Earth News as long as I can remember. I used to just roll my eyes at her. Until my 4th daughter had a round of immunizations. She woke me up screaming. I ran to her and found her seizing but conscious in her baby bed. I picked her up and held her close while I ran for the phone. When I got the ped on call on the line she was peeved that I had woken her in the middle of the night. She immediately discounted the possibility that the immunizations had anything to do with it and then mocked me for what she diagnosed over the phone as a febrile seizure. She told me it was far more upsetting for me than it was for her (in spite of the screaming) and that everything was fine. She told me to put her back in bed and get some sleep. Well, I couldn't bring myself to do that so I just sat in the rocking chair and held her for 10 minutes until the seizure stopped.

At her next round of shots I was very concerned and asked my pediatrician about it and how safe she thought it would be to give the immunizations to her again. She assured me the seizure was a common occurrence in little ones and only related to the fever. I was nervous but relieved. We gave her the next round of shots. Long story short, the seizure lasted 45 minutes and I will never trust my children to a Doctor's opinion again without researching and finding out for myself what the risks and complications can be. It's not their child. I have learned to take responsibility for the choices I make because I am all that stands between my child and a gross medical error.

Sorry to hear you have been sick but glad you've been able to spend time with the kids over the summer. Its hard to believe in just a few days we'll be back in the normal school routine again.

I hope you switched doctors after that. I so agree that as moms we just have to go with our gut feeling sometimes and realize that doctors aren't always going to be right - sometimes they act in their own best interests rather than that of their patients. Another of my pet peeves is dentists who want to rip out wisdom teeth. I think way too often that is an easy thing to suggest so that they can go on their next cruise a little sooner. My feeling is, Mother Nature gave me all of my body parts and unless one of them starts to act up, I'm holding onto them. Just because "they" don't know why we need an appendix or tonsils or wisdom teeth doesn't mean we don't need them. Ever since I was a teen, dentists have been wanting to yank out my wisdom teeth but I still have them and they've never given me a lick of trouble. Sure, I have a little extra flossing to do - so what? The only dentist who said it wasn't necessary to pull them was an Air Force Dentist who was paid a salary rather than paid by the number of procedures performed. I was surprised she didn't look in my mouth and schedule surgery, so I asked her about it and she said "Well, it won't be any trouble to take them out if you want me to, but I can't see any reason to do it". That right there told me that all of those other dentists who insisted there would be dire consequences to not removing them immediately, were acting in their best interest and not mine.

Hi all,
It's been a while since I have been on here -- about 900 messages I have missed. Hope all are doing well in spite of the heat and drought. We had a bull go missing and then a neighbors CRP pasture catch on fire (which caught our pasture on fire too!) a couple of days before we headed to Guatemala for 2 weeks. I was beginning to believe we were not going to make it to the airport without another disaster. But we finally got out of here and the grands took care of my flock while we were gone and all was well when we finally got back home. Nice to have a little better temps now!

I wanted to let you all know I am selling my Ancona ducks -- have 2 pairs. Also selling a black Cornish banty, 3-4 easter eggers, and a Light Brahma rooster. All my guineas are doing well and that is what I really wanted to start with so reducing my others. I will have them at the Premier Farm swap the end of the month unless I sell them before hand.

Good to see you back! Sorry about the fire and the bull - glad trouble didn't come in threes in that instance.