Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

I am glad it didn't too! He is still pretty sore today but seems to be hanging in there. Whatever it was bit right behind his head because he has two canine holes on top and bottom of his neck where it bit around his neck. At first I assumed coyote but the canines are pretty close together, like 3/4" at most apart which makes me wonder if it wasn't fox or racoon because that seems like really small teeth for a coyote. We had something coming around that was eating ducks before we got the hotwire back up and running. I can't wait for Lucie to get better and get her butt out there! Poor Molly has her hands full. I knew something was wrong when she was laying out in the pasture watching because she never lays out there. New pup won't be here until next August but Lucie should be able to go back to work by February so that will be nice.

Well I am so over predators in our yard. I went to let the house dogs out this morning and there was the mangiest, skinniest coyote just wandering around our front yard!!!! Wish I had known it was there before I let the dogs out because it was busy sniffing and would have been an easy target, 25 feet away from the front door!! UGH!!! Of course the dogs took off after it before I even knew what was going on and Molly came tearing up front barking like a nut job, poor girl, she really does have her hands full.

I am feeling better but short on calories today I think. I feel like I need to make up for yesterday. We got some good news on the house. The roof is going to be totaled and covered by the sellers insurance so we get a whole new roof! HEchicken, we are going to be neighbors!! I can't wait to get in there and get the flooring done and paint the nursery! I found an awesome carters bassinet on craigslist and picked it up last week so that will be nice for the first little while anyway.

I was working on our registry last night and trying to blunder through reviews on bottles and bottle warmers. We won't be using them much except maybe when I go back to work part time and DH or the MIL is home with the baby for the day. I think I have picked out a brand and only registered for a few because if the baby doesn't like them we won't have a ton to return or exchange. I was amazed at how many times the staff at Babies R Us reminded us of the importance of registering for diapers and formula was. I must have told 4 people that we were going to breast feed and cloth diaper and they all told me I was brave!!! Hahahaha. I just thought that is what people did. Makes a lot more sense to me, I mean why pay for formula if you don't have to? One of the girls my DH works with said she just registered for diapers and that is all she got at her shower. She never had to buy a single diaper because she just stocked up on them for the firs 2 1/2 years of her sons life.

That description of the bite marks makes me think fox. After our attack I read up on the fox as a predator and they are most likely to kill by biting into the neck and back. That certainly seemed to be the modus operandi for ours as the only birds still clinging to life after the attack had broken necks and backs, and the only actual survivor had puncture wounds on each side of her spine also. Good job Molly!

I can't believe that coyote came up to the front in broad daylight like that. I haven't seen a coyote here at all since we've been here, but yesterday morning a huge buck with a huge rack trotted across the backyard and jumped a 4' fence with ease - that was a beautiful sight.

I was just about to ask about the house - what great news about the roof! We had the same situation here, where the new roof was covered during the transaction. We had agreed to pay the deductible since we were the ones to benefit from the new roof, and that was supposed to be $1000 but when all was said and done and the paperwork turned in, we ended up getting a check from their insurance company for $148 instead. I guess our roofer did the job for less than they had quoted so we got the balance. I'm not exactly sure how it worked - I decided not to question it in case they changed their minds!

I wouldn't go overboard on buying bottles and that equipment. With mine, I had the idea that I could express and let others feed the baby via a bottle so that I could leave baby if needed, to run errands etc. In reality, neither of mine would accept the bottle, even when it contained breast milk, and even when we tried to get them accustomed to it from the beginning. I actually wasn't that devastated as bottles are a pain in the you-know-what, with all the sterilizing, reheating etc. So much easier to nurse and not have to mess with all of that.

 

[HEChicken]

I just got back from vacation yesterday. It was our Summer/Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's vacation. We FINALLY were able to bring my horses back with us! They are FINALLY on OUR property!!! This is a huge relief as we've worked VERY hard all summer and then some to get everything ready for them. However, it is also somewhat stressful as horses are a big responsibility. I went out to check on them multiple times last night before I went to bed. One of those times, I managed to not latch the gate and woke up early this morning (2AM) and remembered that I hadn't latched the gate. My DH was still awake (he's transitioning to start working midnight shift) and he went out and checked. Sure enough the gate wasn't latched. The chain was barely draped over the gate. That one was TOO close of a call for my comfort, and I had barely had the horses on the property for 6 hours... GRRR!!! Thankfully, the horses didn't notice, and everything is going well. Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures of my horses!!!

Here they are in the newly finished "barn" (a.k.a. run-in shed). Gabby is on the left, Montana is on the right.


Here they are begging for treats: Montana is in front, Gabby in back.

I had never heard the name Montana until I got my horse and now I find that's the name of yours too! (Mine came with the name so I claim no credit.)

I don't keep our horses on our property as we liked where they already were and have a good group of people to ride with, however I do have horses on my property today as my neighbor's gate latch broke. She came over to see me last night while I was in the middle of processing Cyrus and we commiserated on our errant animals. I told her it is fine to let them come over on our property until they can get the gate fixed and I'm really enjoying seeing them every time I look out a window today.

 

[mommahen10]

You all crack me up with the Mildren and Milton thing, that's so funny.

So if I put the buff orps in with Toby then could I put a few more lavender girls in there too or would that be reckless? If I just go with buff orps and Toby then it'll take a couple of years to get back to lavender I'm guessing. I don't really know. I will be sure to tell my dh if he does it to get the info, I still don't feel so good about the idea.

Josie, food poisoning is miserable but on top of being pg, bleh! My pg dd just had a round with food poisoning from a restaurant too. She was miserable and it took her a couple of days to be able to eat again. It bothers me when people act like breastfeeding is so different. I mean if they were acting that way to someone on the fence about it then it could push them into not even trying it.

Hi Lizzy! Your horses are beautiful! I'll bet you are glad to finally have them. I'm sure you're going to enjoy them despite the work.

I have a friend hatching eggs for me and she said that 2 of the eggs have become rough on the surface. Does anyone have thoughts on that? Danz, do you fill your chick feeders and waterers and take them outside to them? I need to come up with a more efficient system. It's way too cold out to get your hands wet filling them, yet I don't like carrying glass outside. What if someone slips with them, ya know? I'm going to get plastic containers to go on them metal bases for sure this pay day. I'm trying to figure out how to carry it all outside too so we don't have to go in and out so much too. There has to be a better way. My EEs went without their light last night, they seem just fine. I think I'm going to put tarps up on some of the fences to block wind for the older chickens too. The roosters are hanging out in their pen and the little BOs in the pen directly next to them come out more I'm pretty sure because I have a wind break on the EEs that also breaks the wind for them in places. I'm still trying to figure out how to rearrange everyone too. I have this hatch along with the BOs, the BOs are definitely going in with Toby and I should just put the others somewhere too so I can give the EEs the bigger pen and move the 4-5weekers to the EE pen, they've never touched the ground poor things. As Josie put it, we have some boys going to freezer camp today. The boys set up a place in the barn to work on it so they're not freezing. If they look big enough all cleaned up I may just clean house over there. How old do you all normally butcher them? Also, we've just been doing 2 at a time and leaving them in the fridge for a few days before cooking. In this case, I want to put 2 in the freezer. Do I still leave them sit in the fridge for a few days or should they go directly to the freezer? Refrigerator space is an issue, I told them I only have room for 4. If they can go directly to the freezer I'm thinking we should do about 12 of them. It seems they grow so much up to about 4 months but I'm not so sure there is enough difference between 4 and 6 months to justify feeding them 2 more months.

 

[mommahen10]

Somehow, I missed an entire page of posts. I don't know how I did that.

Kansas Prairie, I was just going to ask about turkey set ups. I'm worried that ours will protest not being able to get up high on top of the barn if I move them. They're being good, but I'm worried about moving my EEs to the pen directly beside them, not that they've ever bothered the younger chickens but these are smaller still. I'm also worried about moving them while it's cold that they won't know where to go to get warmed up. They look great though, tons of beautiful thick feathers. So the turkeys, I guessing that I'll have to put a top on their pen to keep them in since they fly. Is that mean? I feel bad locking them up like that, but I also think it's for their own good or they'll be roosting up on the barn roof when it's super cold.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

Oh goodness, I would definitely eat your RIR rooster and I'm not just saying that because I had to make this very decision yesterday. What made my decision harder was that in every respect apart from his attitude to me, mine was the perfect rooster. He was good to the hens, seeking permission before mating and not one of them has ever had any sign of wear as a result of his attentions. Yet, when I tried to hatch some of his eggs I got 100% development and on one occasion a 100% hatch, so apparently he was getting enough action. He continually sought out treats for them and called them over to get them and really impressed my mum when she visited because he refused to eat any treats himself, saving them instead for his hens. And, when I put out feed, he would call them over then stand back and wait until they had eaten their fill before going in to eat himself. Plus, he was constantly watching the sky for aerial predators and didn't miss a thing that happened in the chicken yard. I used to sometimes try to sneak in so I could spend time with the flock without looking over my shoulder but I never could get in without him being aware of me, which at least made me feel confident he would also be aware of other dangers. If he would only have left me alone - actually if he would have even limited his attacks to once a week instead of daily - I probably would have continued to put up with him just because he was so good as a rooster. But in your case I'm not hearing any redeeming qualities, which would at least make the decision easier.

HEChicken Thanks for the encouragement, I'm going to need it to cull him. I can cull, just not easy for me. No reason to feed him so he can torment my girls.

I want to thank ALL of you for overlooking my spelling and grammar errors. When I look back over some of my posts and see my errors it's embarrassing. Multi tasking is not as easy as it was when I was younger.

Hawkeye, have fun with the birthday supper, sounds like fun! I love cooking for birthdays.

Trish44, It's so cold it bites right through my clothes, hope you are keeping warm also.

PrairieChicken, sorry your Milton is a bad boy. Maybe I should put Sheldon in a pen a fatten him up a bit.

Danz, I visualize you as an energizer bunny, going and going!

Mommahen Do you do a lot of canning? I need try some canning, my Grandmother kept eveyone overstocked and she is no longer able to can.

 

[ppimf]

got an incubator ? is a still air or a circulated air best and what brand should i go with

 

[mommahen10]

Kansas Prairie, I always notice errors on my stuff too when I go back later and I think how stupid I must sound. Geez. I really do know how to spell. Then there is some things I always spell wrong, like Orscheln's, I always write Orcheln's . When I type because, I know how to spell it I promise, but every single time I get to typing so fast and my fingers always spell it becuase. What the heck? I don't know how I do that. I do a ton of canning, whatever I can put in a jar gets put in a jar. I've done it for so many years. It is work, but in a way it's easier too. For instance all of my tomatoes in the jars are already cooked down, so when I use them I don't have to cook them down becuase (see, I did it again) I already did that. I like the idea of doing the stock like HEChicken was saying, I haven't done that.

Josie, I'm totally going to start cooking 2 turkeys at Thanksgiving. We will likely always have lots of family here and it makes me happy to send it home and share.

I need to get off my bottom and go clean those chickens they brought in. They already did the hard part, I just have to do those few remaining feathers. I don't know how I will do this on my own when the boys grow up and move out, I suppose I'll have to learn and likely will.

 

[chicken danz]

I am going to try to post without multi-posting so forgive me for those I forget. Mammahen I don't know how you keep up with all that cooking and all those kids. I have a lot on my platter but I let so many things go. I spend most of my time taking care of birds. I really used to enjoy canning and had every intent of doing it this past summer but since it never rained I had nothing to can. At least the birds got some benefit from my gardening though. I think I saved money and put them in better health that way.
Josie since that scroungy coyote was out there I would almost guess that is your predator. I was thinking fox as well until you said it was out there this morning. That's so great you are getting a new roof. That is one major expense you won't have to deal with for a few years.
I'm envious. I really don't like my house but I love my little farm. I had looked for months and could find nothing that I wanted before I found this place. I had great plans for remodeling and have done tons but have so much more to do. It will never be the house I want but I've learned to settle for less.
The chickens took my remodeling budget and my time.
ppmif, I would never use a still air incubator. There is just too many temperature variations to deal with. You obviously get what you pay for. But regardless having a fan and a turner are two big helpers. A lot depends on what you intend to hatch and how much. If you are just doing some hobby hatching you don't need an elaborate set up.
My daughter has asked me to build her an incubator and tell her how much it would cost. I am sure I could build her a very nice one but I don't have time to price parts right now. I can copy the GQFs to a tee or go smaller.
I'm a champ at misspelling. I do know how to spell other than those few words I have always misspelled and can't remember to do it right even when I know the right way. Most of mine is typos and I never proofread so I am sure lots of stuff I write makes me look like a total idiot.
Lizzy I am so glad you finally got your horses. That's awesome. My DIL gave me a LONG speech on Thanksgiving Day about why I shouldn't get horses. She saw a bridle and lead I had bought at an auction and got suspicious.
Kansas Prairie, I had to laugh at your reference to the energizer bunny. Yes in the past I think I was very much like that. Now only my mind goes like that....the rest of me just thinks about following.

I got the birds fed and watered and managed to move the housing I rebuilt yesterday over by the pen I plan to put the turkeys in. I can't get it through the door though by myself so it is just going to sit there until DH is home to help me.
Then I came in and got busy in the kitchen. I am trying to get a roast cooked in time for dinner tonight. I also put a tongue on for the dogs. I am out of dog food, so I am cooking them tongue, veggies, and rice for dinner. I'm sure it will make them happy but it sounds sickening to me. I was behind getting things on cause the meat was frozen so I'm going to have to speed it up a little.

 

[mommahen10]

Can someone please help me right away?! The boys butchered 3 roosters and I've seriously been picking the little feathers out for so long my fingers are all cramped up. There has to be an easier way that standing there with a pair of tweezers. Even when I get the feathers out sometimes it looks like they're still there and there is black stuff in there.

 

[JosieChick]

Can someone please help me right away?! The boys butchered 3 roosters and I've seriously been picking the little feathers out for so long my fingers are all cramped up. There has to be an easier way that standing there with a pair of tweezers. Even when I get the feathers out sometimes it looks like they're still there and there is black stuff in there.

Those are probably pin feathers and they are near impossible to get out. You could just skin the birds. That is the trouble with butchering at a younger age is sometimes they aren't done feathering in and the pin feathers are below the skin. On an upnote, they will probably be more tender! I have yet to find a solution to that problem so if I come across a bird loaded with pins I just skin it.