Consolidated Kansas

[sapphireblu76]

Thanks for the tip on the meds. I will see it TSC or Orscheln's has it.

OMG, I just saw about the galvanized waterer. That is seriously scary!!! The only thing I knew about galvanized, is not to use anything galvanized for my parrot. It is coated with Zinc, I believe, and that is toxic to them. They really DO need a warning sticker on them! Apparently, it is NOT widely known. How did your son know? Smart boy!

Verna, so sorry about your peachick

I didn't do squat yesterday. It was so windy and the air was just thick with dust. It looked like yellow/brown fog and went way up in the sky. On the way to get DH from work, we went over an over pass and it was quite a view. Hazy, dirty sky as far as the eye could see. When we got home, I went out to do the minimum...feed, medicate water, eggs, quick head count, in the door, done! It usually takes me about an hour when I'm just going along. Sometimes longer if I stay and just sit and watch the birds for awhile. I think it took me all of 15-20 minutes yesterday, lol.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I used to have goats but after a few years I decided it was a lot of work and I lost my favorite one. I never ate one though.



I mixed up some instant milk, vitamins and sugar for the pig earlier. I was hoping that would win him over. He had thrown up a little which I have never seen a pig do, so I doubt he is feeling very good. I just keep trying to win him over and maybe some day he'll get the idea. I did notice after that he had finally gotten out in the pen instead of just sleeping in the straw. I couldn't tell if he had tried the milk or not.

Danz, that is a FANTASTIC cage!!! Gosh, if you ever don't want that anymore-- let me know! LOL I'm so glad to hear that the pig is still hanging in there. Hopefully he likes the milk treat. Great advice on the goats, thank you! I've never had the opportunity to eat any, but I'd sure like to so I can see if it's any good.

Hawkeye- Oh I certainly dont call names because I am not that person at all. Plus I care about what my kids learn from me. I am renting and have been wanting to go anyway we have found a property down the road aways, more land and nearest neighbor is a couple acres away, better situation, better house and more land and 6 outbuildings,, ooo the possibilities lol

Sounds like this might be the perfect opportunity to get into a better location with a better set up! I'd do it for sure, then!

My DH didn't work on the new coop today

, he went to the gym but I didn't say anything & won't unless he doesn't work on it the next two days. We will have our granddaughter Sunday so no work will get done that day, but that's OK because we haven't gotten to have her over for about a month. It will be nice to spend the day with her again.

Oh Hawkeye, speaking of goats, I have been working on my DH to get a couple of Boer kids for brush control on the part of our land we don't mow. There is a lady up in Hutchinson that raises bunches of them & that is where I plan to go get some if he says yes, she is a friend of Sunflowerparrot's. We went up there recently & helped feed them while we were there. Those kids are so cute when they're little! I have never eaten goat either, but I know it is a delicacy in some ethnic groups & they sell baby ones at certain times of the year to them. They have been going lately for about $2 a pound live weight I think is what they told me. I know this lady is going to have more babies she said the in November or December. What a great 4H project that would be for your kids!

It was insane with the wind today, I don't blame your DH for skipping it and going to the gym. I didn't even want to be outside! I went to the pumpkin patch yesterday with my youngest's preschool class and it was a MESS. The grit and dust being blown into my eyes was horrible. Then I kept getting grit in my mouth and my teeth were crunching on it! YUCK! I actually left a bit on the early side with my daughter because I'd had enough and she was doing nothing but rubbing her eyes. I think it would be a fun 4-H project-- the goats. I also think my DH would want to run away! LOL I told him about what my dad and I had been talking about and he thinks we're crazy. But I don't know, he's not a farm kid like I was. I grew up with herds of cattle, horses, chickens, etc...

It was SUPER windy the last 2 days here too. It kept blowing open the door on the coop. I haven't had much time to get on here lately... sorry. The chicken tractor is working flawlessly so that's good the chicks are getting SOOO big! i can't believe how fast they grow and get their feathers... I'll try to find some time to post some updated pics of the chicks! I'll TRY... So don't take my word for it haha. I saw on another thread about the new BYC calendars coming out soon and was wandering if any of you have ever gotten one and could tell me where i could get one.

that's great that your tractor is working out so well! The calendars can be found on the homepage usually and BYC has a store you can click over to and order one.

Funny story, one time a family member sort of demanded that I make the pies for a gathering at the last minute. I didn't have time, I didn't want to, but I felt like I had to. I was up so late and then we had to get up early to go there because it's a couple of hours away. I was making pies and making pies and I said, "I can't believe I'm making all these frickin' pies." I was so tired and frustrated. We got there and everyone was eating pie and one of my kids said, "This frickin' pie is so good Mom." I about died and I hoped no one heard her. Then another relative asked her, "What kind of pie?" OMGOsh! Well, everyone laughed and I did too but I was so embarrassed too. Open mouth, insert foot.

My furnace is still out, we bought some basic items to make our own part, but now we have to wait for 6 hours for the JB Weld. That'll be midnight. I don't even know if it'll work but I think it will. I'm going to go out and check all the lights and probably put anothe rin. Hope ya'll have a great night.

I'm guessing there are no labels on the galvanzied metal because no one expects anyone to heat it up on a stove or over a fire. Wow... No way would I have made those pies! LOL Only ONCE was I asked to bring a pie to something and I went to Village Inn and picked up my favorite-- the French Silk chocolate pie. That's as good as it gets for me, I never have time. I probably don't make the best use of my time, either! But at least I have a clean house! LOL Seems like just that alone is a full time job.


Okay, so I think everyone agrees that yesterday was INSANE with the wind. Looks like it will be less today, but still pretty windy. I hope we can see the sun without the dust haze in front of it. I have a Girls Night Out tonight and I need to get some grocery shopping done today. Haven't been in forever and I'm missing some key items to continue making dinners I have planned.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Thanks for the tip on the meds. I will see it TSC or Orscheln's has it.

OMG, I just saw about the galvanized waterer. That is seriously scary!!! The only thing I knew about galvanized, is not to use anything galvanized for my parrot. It is coated with Zinc, I believe, and that is toxic to them. They really DO need a warning sticker on them! Apparently, it is NOT widely known. How did your son know? Smart boy!

Verna, so sorry about your peachick

I didn't do squat yesterday. It was so windy and the air was just thick with dust. It looked like yellow/brown fog and went way up in the sky. On the way to get DH from work, we went over an over pass and it was quite a view. Hazy, dirty sky as far as the eye could see. When we got home, I went out to do the minimum...feed, medicate water, eggs, quick head count, in the door, done! It usually takes me about an hour when I'm just going along. Sometimes longer if I stay and just sit and watch the birds for awhile. I think it took me all of 15-20 minutes yesterday, lol.

I'm with you! Yesterday was NOT the day to be out there breathing in all that horrible dust! This is gross-- but after my day outside yesterday and finishing up my chores yesterday, I was blowing my nose last night and it was dark and dirty-- like all the earth had just been hanging out in my nose. Ick. I wonder how much of that gets in your lungs??? That can't be good, right?

 

[chicken danz]

What's wrong with your furnace that JB weld can fix? I loved it when our furnace was out, the dh is a better snuggler when he is freezing! Cools off the hot flashes too!

That's so funny!

DANZ
WOW! I've never seen anything like that cage! When you said big, you were serious. Looks like it's well made and in great shape.

It's actually some kind of a lab cage but what it was made for I am not sure. The lady I bought it from worked at KU in the animal research department so I am sure she probably got it from them. That thing must weigh several hundred pounds. Even with the drawer and the wire insert above it taken out I couldn't lift one end by myself. The chipmonks must have enjoyed their nest boxes and gotten a good rest because they are running around like crazy this morning. I tried to get a picture but I am getting a reflection back off the metal so you can't see them well. I was afraid if I turned on the overhead light they would go hide again. I had gone out and grabbed a couple soybean plants from the field. One of them must have spent 20 minutes taking beans out of the pod only to end up dropping most of them! I really need to figure out something to put on the bottom of the cage to keep everything from going out the wire. Chipmonk aren't messy like a lot of animals so I really don't need to have things fall through to the tray below.

I didn't do squat yesterday. It was so windy and the air was just thick with dust. It looked like yellow/brown fog and went way up in the sky. On the way to get DH from work, we went over an over pass and it was quite a view. Hazy, dirty sky as far as the eye could see. When we got home, I went out to do the minimum...feed, medicate water, eggs, quick head count, in the door, done! It usually takes me about an hour when I'm just going along. Sometimes longer if I stay and just sit and watch the birds for awhile. I think it took me all of 15-20 minutes yesterday, lol.

We used to get dust storms in Oklahoma. Hearing that on the news yesterday reminded me of that. Everything would literally get covered with 1/2 inch or so of really fine dust and then it would amost always sprinkle a little making hard stuck pieces of mud on everything. You would have to make sure everything was closed up tight and even so you would get a fine layer of dust everywhere in the house. The worst was if I was at work because you couldn't use your windshield washer or wipers or it would really make a mess.
They say if we have one more dry year it will be like the dust bowl around here again. I sure hope that doesn't happen.
I'm excited. I believe Ivy will be here this morning to get my polish. Not so excited about getting rid of the polish as seeing her again. I really miss hearing from her here. I hope she'll get settle into the new place soon and get back on here with us.
My brooder house is full again. I had to move the younger guineas down to a different bin cause they were flying out of the place I had them. Then the darn things wouldn't fly back out and were starving. How dumb can you be? I need to be figuring out where I am going to keep the Swedish Flower hens long term. I have a group large enough they should be outside but don't have a segregated coop to house them in.
I am so torn between building projects I need to get done on the house and ones I need to get done for the chickens. I really really need to hire some done but don't want to pay for labor. Or is that can't afford to pay for labor??
Then were on earth do you find someone to do that stuff?

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Man I hope the wind settles down soon. I have work to catch up on out there. Makes it colder out too, it just cuts right to the bone. I am not ready for winter.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

Some of families in town frequently hang skinned goats in their trees, as they prep for gatherings. I'm curious how they cook the goat meat.

 

[HEChicken]

we need some goat fajitas or goat kabobs to see how they taste! A goat BBQ! LOL If they actually tasted good, then I might be swayed. I checked out her site, I'm thinking that must be it, because it says she is in Derby KS. Looks like she got her start with her kids in 4-H doing the Market Goats and went from there! So neat! I wonder how much per lb you can expect to sell them for? I know our club families have their goats rendered, so maybe I'll ask them too!

Her website hasn't been updated in quite awhile it doesn't look like, so I might give her a call or send an email and make sure she is still in business. If she is, it might be fun to go down and meet her and talk about the pros and cons.

I got the chipmonks moved to their cage and I keep changing plans. I don't know if it is the weather or they are feeling freaked out but they've been sleeping most of the day. They ran around checking it out at first but since then they are staying hidden. I went to the cattle shelter and dug out a couple old drawers from cabinets we took out of the house. They were just the right size to make a couple of nest boxes for the chippies. I had DH make them for me and he didn't quite understand how I wanted them but it's nothing I can't fix. I need a top I can remove if I need to. I think I can repair them so they will work. I could go out and do some cutting myself but I've had enough of that wind. so until they are changed I'm not going to put them in yet.
I've been waiting to catch them out running but no luck. I'll take pictures of them when I can. Here is a picture of their cage. Keep in mind this thing is 30 inches deep, 57inches wide and 6 foot tall. It is sitting next to my china hutch which is taller than me.

Danz, I just LOVE that cage! What I wouldn't have given to have that when I kept my pet rats - I could have had so much fun configuring it for them.

Hawkeye- Oh I certainly dont call names because I am not that person at all. Plus I care about what my kids learn from me. I am renting and have been wanting to go anyway we have found a property down the road aways, more land and nearest neighbor is a couple acres away, better situation, better house and more land and 6 outbuildings,, ooo the possibilities lol

Oooh, that new land sounds great - let us know what you decide.

Maidenwolf I had to snicker at your post. (Not indicating that you have ever said anything wrong around your kids.! ) But.....the things our kids learn from us!! You know I never realized I said half of the things I did until I heard my babies repeat them.

That all goes under the file of funny kid stories. Many of them I couldn't write here because of the language!!! I didn't even realize I used some phrases they repeated!!! It seems everything I ever said around my kids has come back to haunt me in some way. Either good, bad, or hillarious!

So true.

...I like the plastic feeders better for washing but I quit buying them because we kept breaking them somehow.

Funny story, one time a family member sort of demanded that I make the pies for a gathering at the last minute. I didn't have time, I didn't want to, but I felt like I had to. I was up so late and then we had to get up early to go there because it's a couple of hours away. I was making pies and making pies and I said, "I can't believe I'm making all these frickin' pies." I was so tired and frustrated. We got there and everyone was eating pie and one of my kids said, "This frickin' pie is so good Mom." I about died and I hoped no one heard her. Then another relative asked her, "What kind of pie?" OMGOsh! Well, everyone laughed and I did too but I was so embarrassed too. Open mouth, insert foot.

My furnace is still out, we bought some basic items to make our own part, but now we have to wait for 6 hours for the JB Weld. That'll be midnight. I don't even know if it'll work but I think it will. I'm going to go out and check all the lights and probably put anothe rin. Hope ya'll have a great night.

I use mostly the plastic feeders and waterers but had a freak accident with one in the chick pen the other day. I had it setting up on an overturned bowl to try to keep it from filling up with debris as fast. I had been sitting in there in my lawnchair and when I got done, leaned the chair against the side fence. The wind came up, blew the chair down onto the water and smashed the base. Grrr. Next time I went down there, the poor chicks had no water and were quite thirsty. Luckily it is the style where they sell the top and bottom separately so I only have to replace the base but I need to do it fast because there are 15 one-month-old chicks and 2 silkies in that pen and they go through a LOT of water. Right now I'm down there refilling water for them several times a day using my smaller waterer.

I laughed so hard at your story of the Frickin' Pies, that DH and DS wanted to know what I was laughing about. They got quite a kick out of it too!

We haven't had our furnace on yet this year. Actually, ever, I guess, since we are in a new house since last winter. Hopefully it will work okay when we turn it on for the first time. I try not to have the furnace on until about Thanksgiving and so far the house hasn't been uncomfortably cold yet.

It was SUPER windy the last 2 days here too. It kept blowing open the door on the coop. I haven't had much time to get on here lately... sorry. The chicken tractor is working flawlessly so that's good the chicks are getting SOOO big! i can't believe how fast they grow and get their feathers... I'll try to find some time to post some updated pics of the chicks! I'll TRY... So don't take my word for it haha. I saw on another thread about the new BYC calendars coming out soon and was wandering if any of you have ever gotten one and could tell me where i could get one.

I've never gotten the calendar but I believe they are available from the BYC store.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Guys the decision isnt hard I have wanted the place for along time I just need to find someone who will finance us with terrible credit.
It sits on 25 acres.. It has a tractor barn bigger than the house and a huge garage/workshop that is jsut huge, a goat barn that looked like it help mini horses, another tool/garage, a hay barn, a 10 stall horse area, I was just confused because it is on concret but each stall has a gate on both ends to shut and a person area if you will with gates there and a walkway at the back of it, thereis also a huge chicken coop. It used to be a barn and half was section off for chickens and a nice run on it, the other side of the chicken area looks like it help another poultry animal there just were no roosts on that side or nests, all the area are sectiond off already and not much repair needs done. Yea I havent even seen the inside of the house yet lol I am just in love with the out buildings..

 

[HEChicken]

I didn't do squat yesterday. It was so windy and the air was just thick with dust. It looked like yellow/brown fog and went way up in the sky. On the way to get DH from work, we went over an over pass and it was quite a view. Hazy, dirty sky as far as the eye could see. When we got home, I went out to do the minimum...feed, medicate water, eggs, quick head count, in the door, done! It usually takes me about an hour when I'm just going along. Sometimes longer if I stay and just sit and watch the birds for awhile. I think it took me all of 15-20 minutes yesterday, lol.

Haha - you sound like me - the amount of time I can spend with the chickens is pretty amazing - there is always something to tinker with. A feeder that can be topped off, a waterer that needs scrubbed. A chick that jumps up on me and just needs some attention.

We used to get dust storms in Oklahoma. Hearing that on the news yesterday reminded me of that. Everything would literally get covered with 1/2 inch or so of really fine dust and then it would amost always sprinkle a little making hard stuck pieces of mud on everything. You would have to make sure everything was closed up tight and even so you would get a fine layer of dust everywhere in the house. The worst was if I was at work because you couldn't use your windshield washer or wipers or it would really make a mess.
They say if we have one more dry year it will be like the dust bowl around here again. I sure hope that doesn't happen.

DH and I went out last evening to an event and the sky was just amazing with all that dust - like driving through a dense fog. We could almost look directly at the sun, though we didn't want to take the risk. It got us to talking about the dust bowl and hedgerows and all that again. Seriously scary to think about it happening all over again.

Some of families in town frequently hang skinned goats in their trees, as they prep for gatherings. I'm curious how they cook the goat meat.

I imagine it can be cooked the same way as beef but I dunno for sure. I know a lot of the countries where it is eaten routinely, do it on a spit.

I was way pleased with my turkeys last night. They started sleeping in the coop a couple of weeks ago, but have only wanted to enter through the people door, so I had to be down there in the evening to "tuck them in". Strange because I watch them go in and out the chicken door throughout the day to access the feeder but at night, if the people door wasn't open, they would roost on the chunnel. A few nights ago I was out past dark and came home to find them on the chunnel, and it was a little scary that I was able to walk up to Ned, and he was so sound asleep, he never heard me coming. I put my hands on him to pick him up and his eyes flew open but he was too sleepy to even fight me - just snuggled in as I picked him up and carried him to the roost. I couldn't help thinking how vulnerable that would make him to a predatory attack, if he sleeps that soundly. Anyway, last night I went down to the coop when we got home, fully expecting to have to put both turkeys in the coop again and.....they were already inside on the roosts! I was so pleased with them that they finally figured that part out.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

HEChicken-- Congrats on the turkeys learning were to go. It is such a wonderful feeling.

Well guys here is my first egg on the left and second on the right

And my mystery chicken, any guesses on breed?