Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

PUL is polyurethane laminate, and the company applies it to a fabric (polyester fabrics work BEST!) with a huge press that heats the film and melds it to the fabric as it runs through a heavy press that uses weight to laminate with. I've seen people laminate cotton... heck, I've done it! But have regretted it over and over. Don't ever buy cotton laminate, it's not worth it. It delaminates fast and the cotton shrinks after washing, so then it becomes a big mess. Not only that, but for some reason, the cotton becomes really hard and does not stay soft and flexible. I use Lastin-- that is the brand of elastic I use. It is specifically made to stand up to multiple washings, chlorine, etc, etc. You just can't kill Lastin. It's a clear elastic, and I buy it online in quantities of about 50 yards at a time. It goes FAST. Every time I think I have bought enough, I come up empty handed again. You do have to learn how to work with it. NEVER stitch a straight line thru it-- it will rip apart. I use a wide zigzag and stretch it at the same time that I sew it. Takes a bit of practice, but once you get it, you'll never go back to polybraid again. I also buy the wider Lastin-- the narrow kind doesn't seem to hold up like the wider stuff does. If you ever do buy some and have trouble with it, I can help pin point what might be going wrong and get it working for you. It has a lot more stretch to it than polybraid, so the other thing is to be careful how far you are pulling it out while you stitch it-- you might be making it too tight. Done that too... LOL!


Danz-- I've been asking my DH to get those holes dug ALL summer long for my new pens! So annoying when they work at the speed of snail. I get it.

I totally understand the annoyance with working at the speed of a snail, I have one here too! Yes, they do make plastic litter trays for the rabbit cages, but the metal ones are easier to find. None of them are cheap either, so I have invested a lot of money in all of the cages I have out there & the equipment to go with them. I only got one free cage & one for $5 that I have as an extra, but the rest I have bought new. I figured up one day that I have spent at least $1000 if not more on just my cages in the garage & all the stuff that goes with them because I have metal feeders & special bowls that hook onto the cage so they can't tip them over. Then I have bought used cages for outside too & bowls I use out there. It's not a cheap hobby for sure, but then having chickens isn't either.

Hawkeye I have to laugh thinking about your cobbling. Yeah, been there and done that....like on a regular basis. I can't imagine getting by without netting though. When I think of the money I have invested in birds it makes me feel overly grateful for the netting. I've even used it as quick fencing cause with a handful of cable ties you can have a barrier up in a matter of minutes.

Kansas Prairie, I'm not sure about the oxine. I could do a test. I would think it might be safe because it is used to purify public water systems.
Aw.... I see you just did some research. The respirator is only "necessary" if you are fogging an indoor area. It is recommended you don't breath the fumes for 10 minutes after mixing in the activator.
Hawkeye I could auger my own holes but he doesn't think I can hit the right spot. And of course I just can't go out and do it because I can't lift the auger to get it installed on the tractor. I have these great implements but can't handle their weight to use them by myself. I think I need one of those quick attachment things, but I have no idea how they work or if they would help.

I forgot to mention that I cleaned out my garden a couple days ago and left the gate open so the birds could go in and scratch around at the stuff that was left. It's awesome. If they keep their interest up I won't have to till it! Okay, so maybe that is an exaggeration, but they are doing a remarkable job of digging in plant matter and loosening the dirt.

Yeah the chickens are really good at tilling, they "tilled" up my flower bed by the front door, it's a total disaster now.

Not Hawkeye but I use the unactivated stuff full strength for some things and mixed for other, depending on what I am doing with it. The average mix is 2/3rd cup per gallon of water. That makes it go a long ways. For the brooder in a spray bottle I have a mix of about half and half unactivated and water. I use it that strong so I can spray the wood floor so I can kill any mold or germs.
On the rare occasions when I do a total clean of the brooder house. I remove all the birds, shavings and every thing else. I mix the oxine with the activator as prescribed per gallon and then actually mop it down. I let it air dry before I put new bedding and the chicks back in.
I use activated oxine to wash eggs with for selling. I just pour some into the kitchen sink half full of water. I also use activated oxine in a bucket of water to wash down the incubators, feeders, waterers etc. A cup full in a bucket does a great job. I've used the same thing to clean floors and sinks and stuff.

I read you're not supposed to use the activator with chickens, so I just use the plain oxine to spray in the coop & places I need to sanitize. Does anyone know if you can use it on galvanized metal safely? I know you're not supposed to use vinegar with galvanized metal. I have a few metal waterers for the bigger groups of birds where I have a heated base for it. I'm using plastic heated dog bowls outside in the dog runs I have chickens in, so I use vinegar in their water. I also use vinegar in my rabbit's water.

 

[mommahen10]

I really want to try the Oxine just to see for myself, but in microbiology we learned that bleach too breaks down into nothing, leaving a powdery residue which is a salt. I don't remember all of the chemical stuff, I'd have to go back and look at my notes and I don't care to spend that much time on it. There has to be a reason why the Oxine is considered safer, maybe because it's mixed on the spot? Also, heating bleach makes it more toxic or mixing with other things like ammonia which would include urine. Bleach is made of hypochlorite, does anyone know what Oxine is made of? I've felt comfortable using bleach for years, even on baby things just because of what I learned in micro. Wouldn't it be terrible to find out I poisoned all of my children. UGH! I hope not. Even when I did day care, they told us to add a small amount of bleach to our rinse water for the dishes but that no further rinsing was required. I did rinse again because I don't like the powdery stuff.

 

[COOP Group]

I'm new to BYC. I don't have hens yet but I'm trying to get my special use permit approved in Overland Park. I'll follow your thread!

 

[Kansas Prairie]

Thanks Danz & Trish!

I'm wanting to clean my Styrofoam incubator and the room in the basement where I keep it. It's cement floor, the walls and ceiling are finished. I keep thinking about that egg exploding and how it may have got terrible bacteria all over that room, it sure smelled up the whole house. I've got a fogger and wondered if I could clean the incubator, then turn the fogger on in that room and let it get kill all of the bad stuff. Since I've never used this stuff I just want to do it right. My daughter's room is next door to the incubation room, I didn't want the fogger to drift in her room and damage her carpet, bed spread...etc.

Mommahen,
"Although it is not required, it is recommended" I read that and I think well... if it was bad they would require a respirator. My logic gets me into trouble some times.

I can't make the bold text go back to regular text, maybe because I copy and pasted the quote.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

Welcome COOP GROUP!

 

[sharol]

Good to have you on board. We have lots of knowledgeable members here.

Sharol

I'm new to BYC. I don't have hens yet but I'm trying to get my special use permit approved in Overland Park. I'll follow your thread!

 

[mommahen10]

Welcome COOP Group. I hope you get your permit so you can get your hens quickly.

Does anyone have any practical suggestions for burns? I cooked some sweet potatoes in the microwave for my chicks and I barely burned my thumb and tilted it and poured it down my fingers. I got 3 fingers and my thumb in a line. Water doesn't usually hurt this bad, I couldn't even put it in the water when bathing the kids.

 

[chicken danz]

I totally understand the annoyance with working at the speed of a snail, I have one here too! Yes, they do make plastic litter trays for the rabbit cages, but the metal ones are easier to find. None of them are cheap either, so I have invested a lot of money in all of the cages I have out there & the equipment to go with them. I only got one free cage & one for $5 that I have as an extra, but the rest I have bought new. I figured up one day that I have spent at least $1000 if not more on just my cages in the garage & all the stuff that goes with them because I have metal feeders & special bowls that hook onto the cage so they can't tip them over. Then I have bought used cages for outside too & bowls I use out there. It's not a cheap hobby for sure, but then having chickens isn't either.
I don't even want to think of how many thousands of dollars I've spent and a good deal of my stuff was recycled.
Yeah the chickens are really good at tilling, they "tilled" up my flower bed by the front door, it's a total disaster now.

I read you're not supposed to use the activator with chickens, so I just use the plain oxine to spray in the coop & places I need to sanitize.
It says right on the label how to use activated oxine in poultry houses etc. It says it is safe if you let it dry before you re-introduce the birds.
Does anyone know if you can use it on galvanized metal safely? I know you're not supposed to use vinegar with galvanized metal. I have a few metal waterers for the bigger groups of birds where I have a heated base for it. I'm using plastic heated dog bowls outside in the dog runs I have chickens in, so I use vinegar in their water. I also use vinegar in my rabbit's water.

I've used oxine on the metal feed trays. I always wash it off though. I think it could possibly cause some corrosion if it is left on there.

I'm new to BYC. I don't have hens yet but I'm trying to get my special use permit approved in Overland Park. I'll follow your thread!

Welcome to the forum, Pull up a chair and enjoy yourself.
Quote:

Welcome COOP Group. I hope you get your permit so you can get your hens quickly.

Does anyone have any practical suggestions for burns? I cooked some sweet potatoes in the microwave for my chicks and I barely burned my thumb and tilted it and poured it down my fingers. I got 3 fingers and my thumb in a line. Water doesn't usually hurt this bad, I couldn't even put it in the water when bathing the kids.

Try egg white. Supposedly applying egg white puts collagen back into the skin that is destroyed by burning. When it dries it makes a protective shield. I've read where egg white has saved a few lives of burn victims by keeping infection out and that the collagen in it keeps the burns from becoming big scars.
I always have a jar of Silvadene around for burns. Or if you like herbs and such, if you have some colloidal silver that would help.
Emptied the hatcher while ago.
Here are the results so far. I have 18 blue or black copper marans, 8 blue barred rocks, and 5 creme legbar chicks. One of the legbars just hatched so it isn't in the pic yet. I am seeing 2 males and 2 females so far. I'm not sure about the last one. I just put them in the bin with my lemon cuckoo chicks for now.

I've also got several ducks hatching. They take a lot longer to dry out. More pictures later.

 

[COOP Group]

Are there any other Overland Park area chicken people on here?

 

[lizzyGSR]

Does anyone have any practical suggestions for burns? I cooked some sweet potatoes in the microwave for my chicks and I barely burned my thumb and tilted it and poured it down my fingers. I got 3 fingers and my thumb in a line. Water doesn't usually hurt this bad, I couldn't even put it in the water when bathing the kids.

Do you have an aloe vera plant? I burnt myself pretty bad a couple years ago. I was talking on my cell phone while trying to take something out of the oven. The oven we had then was small and was about 3 1/2 - 4 feet off the ground, so I had to reach OVER the door to get to the stuff inside. I managed to touch my forearm on the inside of the oven. I couldn't immediately remove it either, because I'd either drop my phone onto the oven door or drop our supper onto the floor. I pulled a leaf off of my aloe vera plant, cut it open a ways and held it on the burn for a while. When it started to hurt again, I'd squeeze the leaf again to get more juice on the burn. It helped tremendously!