Consolidated Kansas

[checoukan]

michelleml--I am so sorry you have to see your husband go thru this!! I know, I watched my husband, my daughters father, go thru a living hell. He crossed over he did not have a chance. I am praying for you, and your husband. NOBODY, I MEAN NOBODY !!! should have to go thru this.

danz, I never seen any long post, wish I new you were letting go some polish, might have worked something out with you, oh well.
Trish,, be careful if you get up on the roof!! Are you going to stop by Columbus?

The only thing I do for my birds, course most of them are in a barn, but for my layers, if it is going to get real cold, I put some straw down in the coop, and close the door so the wind does not blow in.
My bantams, I also put some straw down in the bottem of the pens. I never run any heat light for them. Never had any problems with frozen feet or anything. Course now, I am further south than some of you, I know Ivy had terrible time with the cold, she will be so happy with the winters here. I can and does get cold, but not anything like she has been going thru up at HIawatha!!!

 

[mommahen10]

Tweety, have you seen those cookie tin heated waterers? They look really simple and cheap. We're going to do that to get us by while we are putting together the waterers I want. It seems like it's all a work in progress. We have this other coop started and it's on hold until we get flooring, and the waterers we're building have to be built to fit and we are always waiting on something for that, my incubator is getting close too but again, I'm waiting on something to put inside of door although I think it would run without it. *sigh* it all takes time. Oh, I don't think linoleum would work on dirt. Right now I have 2X4 walls, window is installed, door installed, and a roof complete with shingles but nothing but dirt on the floor. I hope I can sell something so the project doesn't just sit there on hold, I don't like stand stills.

Danz, that's terrible about the eggs. That's a lot of money to get just a few chicks. Do you think the seller knew they weren't fertile? I'd agree they probably weren't fertile or they would have developed a little, maybe they held them too long before sending them? I don't know but that really stinks.

HEChicken, you have a lot of chickens though, right? How many heaters do you have to run? I don't think I will notice a difference in my electric bill running a few more lightbulbs. Then again, our electric bill gets over $500 in the summer running the AC so the wintertime bill is much less. I wonder how much it does cost to run a light bulb constantly? I remember when we put in our dusk to dawn light they told us it costs about $15 per month, that's a bigger light and it only runs at night. That was also along time ago so I bet it's much more. I can see where it would get costly running lots of them. I'm thinking I will only need 2 and I will just refill the little chicks waters. We usually keep extra waterers for the smaller animals and bring one in and take one out every morning and night when it's freezing out. I'm sure we will all cross that bridge when we get there.

We don't do that much to winterize other than, put more straw down and that's about it. I will keep lights for my younger ones but I haven't decided a cut off time. My 3 mo olds look like they could handle it, but my 2 mo olds I wouldn't think of letting them go without a light in freezing temps. I will judge by how they act though. If they really need that light they'll stay under it.

I'm glad ya'll are here, I'm in bed with a stomach ache. Thanks for the company.

 

[HEChicken]

I candled my brahma and breda fowl eggs this morning and only had 5 brahma and one breda egg that was fertile. That stinks for $50. And they still have to hatch yet. They were well packed and air cells were in place so they should have developed if fertile. I do wish I had some kind of tool I could check eggs with as they arrive to determine if they are fertile or not. Of course the guy who sold them wrote me multiple times, but today he isn't answering. I really hate it when people so things like that. One Breda egg isn't going to do any good. And I would have hoped for twice that many Brahmas.

So sorry. Its always hard with shipped eggs. There are a few breeds I'd like to try sometime but when it comes down to ordering the eggs I always freeze and never get around to hitting the submit button. My BCM eggs were quite expensive and yielded just one chick. And the Coturnix quail yielded only about 20 chicks for 76 eggs I received. So I keep putting off trying again.

HEChicken, you have a lot of chickens though, right? How many heaters do you have to run?

Sorry to hear about the tummy ache - hope you feel better soon. This year is actually quite a learning curve for me. The past few years I was in the city where I was allowed a maximum of 12 hens, so I only ran one heated waterer. But this year we moved to the country where I am unrestricted. People keep asking me how many I have now and I honestly don't know the answer to that.

It started when I added a bunch of spring chicks, knowing we were moving and by the time they were out of the brooder, we'd be at the new place so I didn't have to risk going over my limit. Then our move got delayed and I ended up in Wichita with about 35 birds. It was quite the exchange I carried out everyday trying to stay under the radar, moving birds from here to there, indoors at night etc. Then the roosters I had picked up in the straight run bin, and the 2 silkie roos who the breeder had thought were girls, all started crowing. You know how that goes. They start out quiet and crow only a few times in the morning. But then it gets louder and more frequent. So I ended up moving them out to the new place, before we had even moved out here. The coop was still under construction and had no roof but the four walls were up so I moved them into it and hoped no predator was able to scale 8' high metal siding to get to them.

We finally moved and three weeks after moving here, a fox attacked and killed about 1/3 of my flock. Since then there has been a constant changing of the numbers. I've added a few adult birds, hatched some chicks, sold some guineas, added turkeys.....I believe I am at somewhere near 50 birds total right now if you count the tiny chicks that hatched recently. So, I guess compared to the 12 hens I was allowed in the city, it is a lot but compared to say, Danz

, it is a small flock. DH thinks its huge though and keeps telling me "we have enough now".

So - to answer your actual question, I'm hoping to get by with running only two heated water bowls, and refilling them a couple times each day, versus trying to plug in more than that. If it were just the chickens and turkeys, I wouldn't be worried but the ducks do tend to splash it out, even trying to get into the water bowls, so we'll see how it goes and I may have to make some adjustments for them.

 

[JosieChick]

In a past life I moved so often I couldn't ever decorate so I settled down into my suburban neighborhood, I went all out and bought all kinds of Halloween and Christmas decorations. The first year I was really gung-ho about getting them all put up. Taking them down wasn't near so much fun. The following year any day I had free to decorate was freezing cold and it was just no fun to be out there with frostbitten fingers trying to put up the spiral Christmas trees and motion-activated reindeer. So the next year I kept finding reasons not to get out there and do it and eventually those boxes ended up gathering dust in my basement. When we moved, they were all donated to the local thrift store. I really admire the people who do such a great job of decorating because I love to go around and LOOK. But it turns out I'm not that good at the DOING part of it. If my mailbox gets a red bow on it this year, I'll be doing well

I am the same way with decorating. I want to be Martha Stewart but fall very far short!! I always buy all kinds of cute decorations and then hardly get them out in time before its time to put them back! I am amazed by people who do huge decoration displays. It is sooo much work!

I have custom feed milled for my birds. I just buy grains like cracked corn, milo, wheat, oats, or whatever is available. Then I have a poultry protein supplement added to make it 16%. You can do the same thing by buying Hog 40% and having it added to give you the right percentage. Most coops won't mix under 1000 pounds at a time. I store mine in plastic garbage barrels cause I don't have a grain bin. I don't have it bagged because that cost another $2.50 per 50 pounds. You could feed this to all your animals and or add the hog 40 yourself as you need it. A little goes a long ways. If I feed bagged feed it takes me 2 full 40 to 50 pound bags a day. Not good!!! It's a lot of money to lay out all at once but if you are paying by the month it would be less. I get 1200 pounds at a time. You wouldn't need to get that much.

I didn't realize they would bag it! If I tell them I need it to feed chickens will they know what to make up for me? Also, what do you do for calcium. Not all my hens will bother with oyster shell and I lost an egg bound hen one time when I switched to an all flock pellet that was lower in calcium and offered free choice oyster shell.

I hope everyone is a have a great day. my DH is not feeling so good for the past two days. Chemo is kicking his but this time around his throat and mouth hurt so he isn't drinking or eating very much. He's been sleeping a lot sense Tuesday and now its cold outside so he cold more.


Chicken are eating more now that we made it more like the crumbles some so that's good. How do you winterize your pens or do you?

So sorry your DH is not feeling well.

So sorry. Its always hard with shipped eggs. There are a few breeds I'd like to try sometime but when it comes down to ordering the eggs I always freeze and never get around to hitting the submit button. My BCM eggs were quite expensive and yielded just one chick. And the Coturnix quail yielded only about 20 chicks for 76 eggs I received. So I keep putting off trying again.


So - to answer your actual question, I'm hoping to get by with running only two heated water bowls, and refilling them a couple times each day, versus trying to plug in more than that. If it were just the chickens and turkeys, I wouldn't be worried but the ducks do tend to splash it out, even trying to get into the water bowls, so we'll see how it goes and I may have to make some adjustments for them.

Shipped eggs are the bane of my existence. You just never know what they have been through. It is always amazing to me that any thing can hatch after a cross country trip in a box, especially something that started out as just a few tiny cells! I have always been happy with a 50% hatch rate at best on shipped eggs. Even with eggs that are fertile it is rare to have most of the eggs develop and hatch. It is a huge gamble and honestly if I shipped eggs I wouldn't offer any guarantees because of all the variables involved with shipping a live embryo.


Who asked about winterizing? I can't remember now but the two most important things to be concerned about are fresh, unfrozen water and enrichment! If it is snowy or raining out my birds don't leave their coops and that leads to squabbling. Straw to scratch in, flock blocks and bird seed treats to peck and work on keep everyone busy and out of trouble.

Well I have an interview tomorrow morning for a grooming position at a pet resort in Overland Park. I am kind of nervous, I haven't had an interview for over 5 years! And our washing machine is on the fritz so if anyone has an recommendations for front loader, stackable washers let me know!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

I hope everyone is a have a great day. my DH is not feeling so good for the past two days. Chemo is kicking his but this time around his throat and mouth hurt so he isn't drinking or eating very much. He's been sleeping a lot sense Tuesday and now its cold outside so he cold more.


Chicken are eating more now that we made it more like the crumbles some so that's good. How do you winterize your pens or do you?

Oh I'm so sorry Michelle. I hope he improves soon, it's such a hard thing to not be able to provide them with some relief.

I'm so sorry Michelle, I don't ever say anything because I've had my own experiences and they hurt. I just want you to know that I'm reading and I'm so sorry your family is going through this. I wish I knew something that would help.

Yay for baby chicks arriving. I love my chicks, I think I will go out and play with them today.

We spent a good bit building another coop, we've exhausted all of our supplies that we've collected over the years, but we can't go any further on it until we buy the floor. We planned on doing sack concrete but after what we've already spent it's cost prohibitive at this point and now the coop is on hold until next pay day and my dh only gets paid once per month so that's pretty sad that it's only the 4th, but that's nothing new. Anyone have any other good ideas for flooring? We have the siding, but we don't want to put it up until the floor is done because it's not a huge coop. Thankfully, we don't really NEED this coop right now, but it would have helped and been convenient to have it. I want to rotate them around so we can redo another shed we're using for a coop.

I listed some pullets, I guess I'm not expecting them to sell this time of year but I will be prepared to stick to a fair price this time.

I have eggs in the incubator, nothing stinks yet so that's good. I have to look like a fool talking to my eggs as I turn them.

mommahen10, we used pallet boards that my DH had planed off so they were smooth surfaced. He glued those together and they were supported by two boards underneath. That's because the kids get in them all the time and the floors needed to support their weight. After that, we used a remnant piece of linoleum to overlay it with, then pine shavings on top of that. It makes it easy to clean because we scoop out the excess shavings, then lift the linoleum out with whatever is left and dump it. If you're close enough to pick up, I'll check with DH and see if we have leftovers. We have all kinds of lumber laying around here. Free is always better!

I am the same way with decorating. I want to be Martha Stewart but fall very far short!! I always buy all kinds of cute decorations and then hardly get them out in time before its time to put them back! I am amazed by people who do huge decoration displays. It is sooo much work!
I didn't realize they would bag it! If I tell them I need it to feed chickens will they know what to make up for me? Also, what do you do for calcium. Not all my hens will bother with oyster shell and I lost an egg bound hen one time when I switched to an all flock pellet that was lower in calcium and offered free choice oyster shell.
So sorry your DH is not feeling well.

Shipped eggs are the bane of my existence. You just never know what they have been through. It is always amazing to me that any thing can hatch after a cross country trip in a box, especially something that started out as just a few tiny cells! I have always been happy with a 50% hatch rate at best on shipped eggs. Even with eggs that are fertile it is rare to have most of the eggs develop and hatch. It is a huge gamble and honestly if I shipped eggs I wouldn't offer any guarantees because of all the variables involved with shipping a live embryo.


Who asked about winterizing? I can't remember now but the two most important things to be concerned about are fresh, unfrozen water and enrichment! If it is snowy or raining out my birds don't leave their coops and that leads to squabbling. Straw to scratch in, flock blocks and bird seed treats to peck and work on keep everyone busy and out of trouble.

Well I have an interview tomorrow morning for a grooming position at a pet resort in Overland Park. I am kind of nervous, I haven't had an interview for over 5 years! And our washing machine is on the fritz so if anyone has an recommendations for front loader, stackable washers let me know!

I used to be Martha Stewart but gave it up after the 6th child.

I just couldn't keep up any more. The upside is that the kids like to do stuff like that, along with baking, etc., so I just turn them loose. I've been chastised for turning them loose but that's how they learn by messing stuff up and then getting better at whatever. I don't really care anymore that they are totally messy. I just ask them to clean up after themselves and they do without fussing at this point. Well, except for the youngest one, but I've kind of let her slide more than the others. It's the "baby of the family" syndrome.

My winterizing will include wrapping the breeder pens in strategic areas to block the wind. I'll also do that to my screen doors on the big coop. I'm going to cover the bottom sections and only leave the top open. That's just because my doors are inconveniently located on the north side. I'm also going to finally get that larger vent cut out on the south wall since they will need more fresh air when they stay inside for longer periods of time with the screens on the front partially covered. I've read that high humidity from the birds tends to be the thing that causes lots of cases of frostbite, so I'd like to avoid that, if possible. I need to get heaters for the waterers so I don't have too many frozen water incidents and straw to put down for snuggling in. I like the ideas for enrichment, Josie, I'm sure that becomes really important when they're stuck inside.

 

[chicken danz]

Well success! I gathered all my supplies and went out and got the new peafowl building all wired. I really want to put in underground cable to it but didn't want to leave it unfinished so I wired a male plug into the junction box I installed. If and when I finally run a wire out there I will just have to remove the plug and hook it to the trenched in cable. I put two outlets in each of the stalls. Hooked it up to an extension cord. then plugged in a circular saw in the most distant outlet. Voila! I have power. The peachicks were very unhappy with me because they wanted in the building to get out of the cold wind. It was so cute...they were peeping like normal chicks do when they get chilly. They crawled under the mamma peahen. I wish I had had a camera with me. I turned around and one of them popped up in the middle of her wing. So cute!
I've had pretty good luck with shipped eggs as long as they come from a decent seller and are properly packed. I've also had some I just had to trash but that was from unscrupulous sellers who didn't know how to pack for viability-or in a destroyed box. I consider 50% on shipped age acceptable. Anything less than that to me is not. Most of the eggs I've been buying are from individual breeders with a good reputation and not from just some body who is selling stuff on ebay. I often write people who are selling on ebay and question them about practices and ask them to pack a certain way. If they aren't positive or don't respond I won't consider buying their eggs. I also tend to check reputations.
I still need to get back out and start hanging wire fencing before it gets too late if I can find the washers and screws I need. I asked DH to get them out again last night but that didn't happen.
One nice discovery I made about cookie tin heaters is even if you leave them on constantly they convect heat from the tin itself. My birds spent a lot of time snuggled up to the cookie tin last winter. I figure if you are keeping your water thawed and putting out a little supplemental heat you can't go wrong.
Karen I think I need to borrow some kids of have Medawinks bring hers down a few weeks before Christmas to hang decorations for me!!!! Then have them all come back about New Years to take them all down!!!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

One nice discovery I made about cookie tin heaters is even if you leave them on constantly they convect heat from the tin itself. My birds spent a lot of time snuggled up to the cookie tin last winter. I figure if you are keeping your water thawed and putting out a little supplemental heat you can't go wrong.
Karen I think I need to borrow some kids of have Medawinks bring hers down a few weeks before Christmas to hang decorations for me!!!! Then have them all come back about New Years to take them all down!!!

Where do you get cookie tin heaters?

I think the kids would have a blast doing that, but you'd also have to be prepared for anything and everything to happen. Try as they might, disasters just happen so I couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be any breakage or kids strung upside down with decorative lights, dangling from your trees!

 

[chicken danz]

You make them. Cookie tin, light socket, hole in the side, cord with plug in. Ta da! They are done. I made one last year out of a short stubby popcorn tin I had and it is awesome. Just the right height for the waterer and it was tall enough I could set the light bulb upright. Most of them have to have the light bulb coming out from the side and laying parallel to the top.
I bought another cookie tin after Christmas on clearance and a light socket but never got the second one made. I should be digging that out and get started on it. Most people use like a candelabra type bulb with a regular socket. I have a 60 wt regular bulb in my big one.

 

[mommahen10]

HEchicken, I was enjoying reading your post and got to the part about the fox and gasped!!! That's terrible.
Josie, I've been seriously considering buying hatching eggs. I want lavender Orpingtons sooooo bad. I was even thinking about driving to pick them up because I'm scared of what will happen during shipment. I love your ideas for keeping them busy when they're cooped up. I'm going to work on that. Good luck with your interview tomorrow. I'm sure you'll do great.

Karen, thanks for your offer but we are quite a distance. We do get that way sometimes though if you still have some leftovers we would love them. We could use some smaller pieces of lumber to make the doors for the brooders. BUT... guess what??????? My dh got a mileage check and he's going to pick up the sack concrete now!!!!! YAY!!!! He won't get to work on it tonight but we will have it for tomorrow. I'm so excited things will continue moving along. I didn't realize you had so many children. That's awesome. How old are they? Ours are from 24-4, we have 10.

Danz, I hope I'm not being a pain in the you know what but I didn't understand this part. "I consider 50% on shipped age acceptable." What's shipped age? I can't believe all the things you get done, you rock! A few weeks ago I bought a metal feed pan, thinking it was the exact same size and shape as those expensive waterer heaters and we could surely come up with something. It wasn't 2 days later I read about the cookie tin ones and they seem so much more practical because they would seal nicely too. This should be a reasonably simple project. I like that.

I'm cracking up at the thought of letting the kids loose with the decorating. Mine do the decorating too and it's usually pretty tacky looking and I couldn't care less, they have fun and they're learning and it's all good.

 

[cherwill]

I hope everyone is a have a great day. my DH is not feeling so good for the past two days. Chemo is kicking his but this time around his throat and mouth hurt so he isn't drinking or eating very much. He's been sleeping a lot sense Tuesday and now its cold outside so he cold more.


Chicken are eating more now that we made it more like the crumbles some so that's good. How do you winterize your pens or do you?

I'm sorry DH is having a rough time with the chemo. I hope it gets better soon.

Our coop is an old playhouse/shed, so it's solid wood. There are three windows, covered with chicken wire and sliding plexiglass. We usually leave the windows open an inch or two unless it's really cold at night. DH put a hook at the end away from the roosts (so the chickens can't get to it and hurt themselves) where we hang a fan in summer and a heat lamp in winter. It's not a big coop and there are 10 chickens now, so their body heat will help a lot. Last year we only had 6 and they all survived just fine. We put the water in the coop and check it several times a day. I keep thinking I'm going to make one of those cookie tin heaters, but I haven't done it yet. It would be much nicer than running out every couple of hours to see if the water's frozen and dealing with it if it is. Our chickens will come outside unless there's snow on the ground. They won't walk on snow. If we shovel the snow off some areas, they will stick to those areas.

I am the same way with decorating. I want to be Martha Stewart but fall very far short!! I always buy all kinds of cute decorations and then hardly get them out in time before its time to put them back! I am amazed by people who do huge decoration displays. It is sooo much work!

I used to be Martha Stewart. In fact, my SIL calls me "Martha" for the decorating, the table settings, the cooking and the crafts I used to do. I used to be much more of a perfectionist than I am now. Well, I still am, but it's more theoretical than applied these days.