Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

Hawkeye, I'm just hatching mutts from my layer coop. Many of the eggs this time were also tiny eggs, I wonder if that played a part too. I got a new thermometer this time, which may mean that the temp was a little different than the other times. I determined that the other thermometer that came with it was reading way off. I had less temp fluctuations this time than ever, I only found it off one time and it wasn't bad at all and was able to fix it all within a short period of time. That was in the first week of incubation. I think maybe it had more to do with the changing humidity. I'm trying to gather eggs to do it again but it seems the girls aren't laying very much, I only got 3 eggs yesterday. I'm going to give them today and tomorrow and I'm just going to go with what I have. I've got to get it figured out, that way if I want to hatch anything other than mutts I would feel more confident.

Did you do the salt test to calibrate your hygrometer? The other thought I had is that if your hygrometer is reading way off, that could cause problems.

Hawkeye, congrats to your son on his win and how proud he looks! Glad you had a good time with Checoukan - beautiful birds.

 

[Lee Quaintance]

I think the main advantage to distillers grain is that the fermentation process begins the digesting. Another thing to avoid is the genetic modified grains. There is all kinds of nasty stuff in them. If you can find feed that has probiotics as opposed to antibiotics is
the next thing,

 

[chicken danz]

DH finished another breeder house, #3 and I'm using it for growing out some young birds. I have 3 pens with different age older chicks growing out. One is a pen of my Swedish Flowers -- they are doing great! They really seem to be much healthier than my Speckled Sussex were. The other two pens have chicks from my Aloha and Speckled Sussex roos. Right now I have one Speckled Sussex, Buff Rock and Isabel Orp. Soon as the chicks are larger, I'll keep the ones I want to breed and sell the others then I can set up the breeder pens again. I have one more week of incubating before I shut down for a month. I just have a few more duck eggs going from my Anconas and Cayugas. The brooder I set up in the unfinished part of the shop sure works great. Nice to have all that dust out of my craft room!

Karen I am envious. I need about 50 more breeder houses!
My SFH all seem pretty healthy and much more so than the sussex were. I've lost a couple but I suspect that was due to brooder conditions or something. It's hard to keep up with all of it. I have quite a group of them and love their colors.
You need to get your rear back to the doctor. This has obviously gone beyond the flu into a secondary infection.

I would love to get cochins and my husband is really interested in them too, but I read they aren't very heat tolerant... How do you guys deal with your cochins in the Kansas summers? Do they handle it ok, or do they require extra care?

My cochins which are LF haven't had heat problems at all, other than one that accidentally got locked in one of the houses with the pop door fell down on a 107 degree day. I had a lot more problems with other breeds. I tend to avoid black chickens because they don't do as well with the heat but I haven't lost a black cochin to heat at all.
People assume that because they are heavily feathered they don't handle heat. That just isn't the case. Making sure your birds can get into the shade is the key to avoiding heat stroke in there regardless of breed, I believe.

u get some extra cayugas let know my little girl is all alone she needs a male and a few more girls to be with

My cayugas have just stopped laying the last few days. They are usually the earliest to be fertile at the first of the year. If you don't get any before then I would gladly hatch you some. Karen are yours still laying? My customers like the Cayuga eggs best because they are oilier and smoother consistency when boiled. (My duck egg customers are Asian and they soak their eggs in various solutions, then boil them.

Oh, my Danz, that reminded me one time Ivy's DH told her to put 2 pats of butter under the skin on top of the breast meat, said would keep the breast meat moist. Poor Ivy, when she pulled the tin foil off the bird, where the pats of butter had been, under the breast skin, but on top of the meat where these 2 square area's of white skin. Where the butter had been the skin did not brown!!!

Ivy just about dropped the turkey!!

Could not figure out what happened, and then it dawned on her! It was so funny, we all had a good laugh, but that turkey looked like it had a bra on, and Boobies! I will have her send me apicture she took. Was a great dinner anyway, lots of laughter and good times with family!!!

That's so funny! I would love to see the pictures.

Speaking of bread starter, and all this talk about fermenting feed. I am trying to ferment it with bread starter instead of ACV because I can't get any. I started it yesterday and it smells slightly fermented, and the chickens love it. I read some studies that were on the page that chickies-duckies posted, although they were hard to read but they weren't feeding only fermented feed and there is a range where it gives the best result. It looked like it was best given as something in addition to their feed but not their exclusive feed. Did anyone else catch that?
I have been toying with the idea of using brewers yeast instead of ACV. I was thinking for my geese,ducks and other wild fowl this would be even better because it would increase the niacin which they have trouble getting in the winter anyway.

Danz, can you give a rough percentage of savings by buying feed in bulk vs. bagged feed? I am wondering what's in the feed I'm giving them anyway. When I put water on it to ferment some it looks like sand, it certainly doesn't look like food even though they eat it.
Initially I was spending less than a third of the cost for feed mix over processed feed. But with grain prices going up I probably only save 50% or less now. Still I know what my birds are eating and I don't have to make but one trip every couple weeks to get grain. I would have to have a minimum of 24 bags of feed every two weeks to do the same with purchased feed. I figure I save several road trips this way too. The grain doesn't mold or go bad as quickly as bagged feed does. If you store a large quantity of bagged feed it can sweat and start molding in the bag.
Can anyone give me details on how to tell if a hen is no longer laying or too old to lay? How can I be sure she's done?
Other than separating her I wouldn't have a clue. I have several myself I wonder about. But this isn't a good time of year to tell because everyone slows down. Spring would be better.

I think I got my dh settled on processing one of the turkeys at Christmas. He thinks maybe I'll be ready then. I know realistically the animals we have here have to be useful in some way. How can I make them useful, other than to eat them? If I get one a girl and eat one then maybe I could sell baby turkeys? How's the market for that? I don't understand why I am feeling like we just can't do it, we've only had them for a few days. Maybe it's just that I'm not done learning about them, they are still so fun to watch and I'm actually looking foward to their 'good morning gobbles' from the barn roof in the morning. I was hanging out laundry earlier and talking with the boys and we were laughing loudly and they started to join in. They interact so much with people. So, I need to find a way to make them useful so I can keep them. Ideas????

You see that the effect those silly birds have on you?? They just endear your heart. Baby turkeys are in high demand. A lot depends on breed but even mixed ones sell pretty good. I have a waiting list for my babies next spring all ready. Of course you never know who will actually buy but I am confidant I can sell every turkey I hatch if I want to.
I have decided some more of these chicks are going to the brooder house today. Some are pretty young but they have started flying out of the bin so it's time to go outside. I hatched 5 white orps and put them in the bin with the youngest birds, not noticing one had a tiny bit of unabsorbed yolk. One of the 5 day old birds picked it's behind to bleeding in a matter of minutes. I sure hope it will be okay. I put it back in the hatcher in hopes it will finish absorbing. That doesn't happen with chicks with me, just turkeys. I wonder why this happened this time.

 

[PrairieChickens]

My cochins which are LF haven't had heat problems at all, other than one that accidentally got locked in one of the houses with the pop door fell down on a 107 degree day. I had a lot more problems with other breeds. I tend to avoid black chickens because they don't do as well with the heat but I haven't lost a black cochin to heat at all.
People assume that because they are heavily feathered they don't handle heat. That just isn't the case. Making sure your birds can get into the shade is the key to avoiding heat stroke in there regardless of breed, I believe.

Every page and book I'd read that talked about cochins said they didn't fair well above 90F, and we certainly blew that out of the water these last two summers! If they can tolerate as much as a black or red sexlink, then I think we're good.

I actually built a little house out of cinder blocks and ran a hose on it just enough to make the bricks damp but not soggy. The water evaporated and made the inside of the house cool. Once I taught my girls to go in there when they got too hot, I didn't have any more problems with my hens over-heating.




The extra water ran off onto a "breezeway", which the hens would also stand under or drink from.

 

[chicken danz]

I kept pans of water everywhere for all my birds and they cooled their heals in them. The cochins tended more to just seek out shade though.
On the subject of Holiday dinners, just the last couple of years my kid's and families have started bringing stuff to the meal. I really like cooking big holiday meals. I had a fairly established routine of eating between 3:30 and 4:00 Pm and just having a snack plate for earlier in the day. That meant I didn't have to get up in the middle of the night to put the turkey on and had time to prep things while every one visited. Also because everyone ate like they were starved they wouldn't have room for desert so we would have our pie and such later in the evening. I only had to worry about having one meal that way.
However now that the family is growing they all want to have TG dinner at noon. I hate it. It means I have to rush around in the morning which isn't at all my thing. I also eat very little lunch and prefer to eat dinner as my main meal so I never feel like eating a big meal that early in the day.
I guess I adjust to whatever the rest of the crew wants but I don't like it that well.
It also messes up my bird caring schedule too. That means while everyone else is relaxing I'll be out feeding and watering. Oh pooh!

 

[PrairieChickens]

Yeah, I had trays of water out for them, too, and a long breezeway I constructed similar to the one pictured that I would alternate with the hose so that no part of the yard was soggy for very long. Between the shade, the breezeway, and the cooling hut, they kept relatively comfortable, but they were obviously relieved when the heat finally broke.

 

[checoukan]

hawkeye~~~ been doing some research. The silky that was to the right of your pullet the end coop. I think I have figured out what that bird was crossed with to get that type of comb.. ... Look up Pumpkin Hulsey Gamefowl, those cocks have the same type of layed over floppy comb!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye, I'm just hatching mutts from my layer coop. Many of the eggs this time were also tiny eggs, I wonder if that played a part too. I got a new thermometer this time, which may mean that the temp was a little different than the other times. I determined that the other thermometer that came with it was reading way off. I had less temp fluctuations this time than ever, I only found it off one time and it wasn't bad at all and was able to fix it all within a short period of time. That was in the first

week of incubation. I think maybe it had more to do with the changing humidity. I'm trying to gather eggs to do it again but it seems the girls aren't laying very much, I only got 3 eggs yesterday. I'm going to give them today and tomorrow and I'm just going to go with what I have. I've got to get it figured out, that way if I want to hatch anything other than mutts I would feel more confident.

Pullet eggs don't hatch as well and they often have skull deformities and cross beak or twisted beak that might show up later. It's worth it to hold off and not incubate those first eggs. I would salt test your hygro and make sure it's right on. And even if it's not-- doesn't mean you need to toss it out. Just means you need to write on it how far it's off so you can add or subtract (usually add because typically they are under) back into it. I was off by 10% on mine, but I just knew to add that back in and that way I know the REAL humidity.

Hawkeye! Your pictures are amazing, well I'm not surprised, but they're really good. It looks like you all had a blast and your son is so adorable. He looks just like you. He's so cute!

Thank you so much! We did have soooooo much fun! I mean, it's like Chicken Heaven down at those shows. You get to spend the day talking to other chicken people and we all sit around talking chicken! How much better than that does it get? LOL!

BTW-- there were a LOT of great turkey there, too! I saw gorgeous Blue Slates there--- I bet there were 8 of them! The rest were other varieties.

A lemon cut in half and strategically placed would do the trick.

You've been thinking about this??? Sooooo funny how you had such a fast answer! Seriously, giggling over here!!

And yet.... the next time it's my turn to do the turkey, I'm going to try it!!! I want a bikini clad turkey! hehehe

Did you do the salt test to calibrate your hygrometer? The other thought I had is that if your hygrometer is reading way off, that could cause problems.

Hawkeye, congrats to your son on his win and how proud he looks! Glad you had a good time with Checoukan - beautiful birds.

Thank you!! Yeah, he was elated! And yeah, Checoukan and I had such a great day! She has beautiful little Rosecombs! They are so calm, too. I didn't expect such a nice relaxed bird when you hold them.

You need to get your rear back to the doctor. This has obviously gone beyond the flu into a secondary infection.

I hatched 5 white orps and put them in the bin with the youngest birds, not noticing one had a tiny bit of unabsorbed yolk. One of the 5 day old birds picked it's behind to bleeding in a matter of minutes. I sure hope it will be okay. I put it back in the hatcher in hopes it will finish absorbing. That doesn't happen with chicks with me, just turkeys. I wonder why this happened this time.

X2 on Karen getting back to the Dr!! I hope that chick does okay, poor thing. I have so far never had one live that had an unabsorbed yolk. Sigh.

Yeah, I had trays of water out for them, too, and a long breezeway I constructed similar to the one pictured that I would alternate with the hose so that no part of the yard was soggy for very long. Between the shade, the breezeway, and the cooling hut, they kept relatively comfortable, but they were obviously relieved when the heat finally broke.

VERY cool! It didn't post your pictures again--- but that is such a neat idea!


Karen, I'm surprised you went ahead and butchered the ducks! I wish I had your steely resolve so I can so the same. I wonder if I could handle the black meat of silkies. I think I would have such a hard time with the turkey, but really, that would be fantastic to be raising your own meat and eating your own birds. It's what they are meant for. I hope you can see your Dr another time and see what the heck is going on. You should be feeling much better by now!

BTW, I saw Sam, SunflowerParrot's new puppy. Oh My Gosh... he is adorable!!!!!

In other news-- I'm soooo ready for the kids to be out of school, I really need to be able to sleep in and catch up on sleep soon. I just want until 7am, that's all I need! Sigh.

 

[Hawkeye95]

hawkeye~~~ been doing some research. The silky that was to the right of your pullet the end coop. I think I have figured out what that bird was crossed with to get that type of comb.. ... Look up Pumpkin Hulsey Gamefowl, those cocks have the same type of layed over floppy comb!

Well this is pretty much what that cock bird's comb looked like! But I wonder if they really had one of these birds running around in their pen. I was just so baffled over his comb! LOL It was like a single comb, but NOT attached to the head except at the very front. So odd! I noticed that bird was used for Showmanship, too. He must be a calm bird, but they still grade you on how nice your bird is, so I'd never have used him for that. I just wondered why they brought him at all...? I mean, he wasn't to Standard in any way at all. I think that family just brought those two white silkies, unless they brought other birds, but I didn't see them with any other birds that day. I guess you have to start somewhere! But I hope they don't breed him.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

Danz, When I saw this I thought of your beautiful peacock! Will be interesting to see how much this goes for on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEAUTIFUL-I...-/221154228055?ssPageName=ADME:B:FSEL:US:1123