Consolidated Kansas

[MsBagawkbagawk]

OMG, it's actually borderline chilly!

 

[tweetysvoice]

Dernit - lost all my multi-posts somehow too..

Hi all! We got lots O' Rain here in Lawrence as well! We were all doing the rain dance in the ER just to keep it going! I think it lightly rained for a good 3 hours this morning. All my hens have a brownish tent to them, so I"m assuming that they didn't mind it all and just went about their business. I'm sure the ducks loved it! I'm sure loving this cooler weather - my car read 72 on the way home from work!

Josie - those sure are beautiful chickens!!

So, I went about the business of blowing out all the "first" eggs from all my hens and ducks. I bought stickers over the weekend and am going to decorate them and turn them into ornaments for the christmas tree. My cheeks were sore after all that work, but the chicks were happy with their scrambled egg treat last night!

I've also started cutting off the heads of our sunflowers and am drying them out. They'll be good treats for over the winter. My watermelon and cantelope have started to develop, so i'm hoping that it doesn't get too cool for them.

 

[chicken danz]

Fern thought she'd help me while I was painting - poor thing, I kept telling her no, stop, get, no, no, down, no... she kept grabbing the Walmart bag that had rollers in it. She was happy she got the bag and took off running with it.. I grabbed my camera and just laughed... after I got the bag from her, she grabbed the paint tray on the floor... she's a thief!!

That's a GP for you. They are total thieves. I have about 6 pairs of shoes in the yard along with anything and everything my youngest can get hold of. The dogs were loving this weather by the way. They looked like they went swimming.

I've also started cutting off the heads of our sunflowers and am drying them out. They'll be good treats for over the winter. My watermelon and cantelope have started to develop, so i'm hoping that it doesn't get too cool for them.

I've got watermelons and pumpkins growing right now. A couple of my hen raised wild chicks have learned how to hop the fence into the garden. So far they have just eaten leaves. I can't run them out because they hide under the vines which I would destroy if I chased them through it. The ducks have decided it is their job to keep the garden within the boundaries. They eat any of the leaves stems or tendrils that make it beyond the fence.
I went to town and ended up being gone all afternoon. I decided to buy some groceries which led to buying some stuff for my Dad for dinner. Which lead to running into a couple people that used to work under me. Then I had a quick meeting to attend. From there I went to visit my Dad.
Then I had to come home and feed an water again. Day gone and nothing I intended to complete got accomplished.

 

[chicken danz]

Oh and Trish I contacted Hopkins livestock and asked about sexing a white peachick. He said it can't be done until they are at least 9 months old unless I have a DNA test done. I guess I'll just have to wait and be patient. I am getting the DNA test information from him though because I can see it might be handy for some of the rare species.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

2 of my chicks (rooster and barred rock) haven't been seen since the rain this afternoon... I'm really concerned They've been done for about 7 hours now... I want them back!

 

[JosieChick]

2 of my chicks (rooster and barred rock) haven't been seen since the rain this afternoon... I'm really concerned They've been done for about 7 hours now... I want them back!

They might be roosting in a nearby tree or shrub. Sometimes when it rains chickens will go under bushes or trees to get out of the wet and then it gets dark so they just roost in the tree they are under. Do you have a light in your coop? If you switch it on it might help them figure out where "home" is.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

They might be roosting in a nearby tree or shrub. Sometimes when it rains chickens will go under bushes or trees to get out of the wet and then it gets dark so they just roost in the tree they are under. Do you have a light in your coop? If you switch it on it might help them figure out where "home" is.

No, I don't have a light in this coop - the new one we're building will though. I just went and checked - still no signs of them. I'm just heartbroken. These were the first ever chickens I've ever in my entire life owned, cared for or even held. I got them at Atwoods this spring and raised them in my bathtub for 6 weeks before moving to the country from Wichita. I've really enjoyed watching them grow - all but one was a hen.. I've loved watching the rooster turn into a little man - now he's gone If they aren't back by tomorrow, I can assume they're gone forever. I'm really sad.

 

[JosieChick]

No, I don't have a light in this coop - the new one we're building will though. I just went and checked - still no signs of them. I'm just heartbroken. These were the first ever chickens I've ever in my entire life owned, cared for or even held. I got them at Atwoods this spring and raised them in my bathtub for 6 weeks before moving to the country from Wichita. I've really enjoyed watching them grow - all but one was a hen.. I've loved watching the rooster turn into a little man - now he's gone If they aren't back by tomorrow, I can assume they're gone forever. I'm really sad.

Don't give up on them, they may just be hiding for the night in a bush. I had a cochin hen go missing one night and she was back first thing in the morning at the gate. And, I had a rooster that went missing in the evening after a dog attack and he came back at five o clock the next evening! So they might be right out there in the morning! You might try stringing a drop light to your coop if possible and clicking it on in the afternoon so as darkness falls the light will attract the birds into the coop. Sometimes the dark sneaks up on them and they go to sleep outside.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Don't give up on them, they may just be hiding for the night in a bush. I had a cochin hen go missing one night and she was back first thing in the morning at the gate. And, I had a rooster that went missing in the evening after a dog attack and he came back at five o clock the next evening! So they might be right out there in the morning! You might try stringing a drop light to your coop if possible and clicking it on in the afternoon so as darkness falls the light will attract the birds into the coop. Sometimes the dark sneaks up on them and they go to sleep outside.

But they've been gone since about 1pm this afternoon...

 

[JosieChick]

But they've been gone since about 1pm this afternoon...

Didn't you say it was raining? If it was raining, even lightly, they may have taken cover in a shrub or tree and then it got dark and they went to sleep. I know how stressful it is to lose a bird and I sincerely hope they turn back up tomorrow.