Consolidated Kansas

[PrairieChickens]

I think it's because there was no gentle easing into the winter this year that has made it so hard on everything. It was weeks and weeks of nice, warm weather, temps as high as 75, and then all of a sudden, lows in the low teens. It's been quite a shock.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I am so sorry Danz, luckily all my goddess chicks and the all but 4 of the ones you gave me are out side and doing good. I have them in an extra large wooden dog house with a heat lamp and straw and roost, the dog house is inside a metal shed so that is 2x the draft protection and double the warmth. They all seem to be doing fine and the cold isnt seeming to bother them. I give warm water in the am to warm them up and so far so good. Now if these other 4 chicks would hurry up and feather their little heads out so they can join them.
Got to cover my windows in the coop today. They dont have glass just a screen so I am covering them with feed bags, hopefully when I open the shutters light will be able to ccome thru so it isnt totally dark.

 

[HEChicken]

I've always liked raising fall hatched chicks before but this isn't working for sure.

I'm so sorry. I agree with the others that its probably due to the sudden change in temp. I like raising fall chicks too but I prefer to do it earlier in the fall so they are fully feathered by the time the cold weather starts.

Another day with no eggs yesterday. Sigh. This is getting old. I do believe in letting them take their natural break but its still demoralizing to keep feeding this number of birds and get no eggs. Even knowing most of them are juveniles so wouldn't be laying no matter what. I have a couple of hens that molted that are looking back to normal again, but I don't know if they will wait until the days get longer to get started back into laying, or if they'll just jump right back in.

We have some milder weather coming again later this week.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Quote: I have used the 3 gallon buckets for the geese. They are the same size around as the 5 gallon, but shorter. The muscovies like to use them as bathtubs. The 3 gallon black feed pans are very good. No problems with them getting stuck, big enough for them to sit in if they want and small enough to easily dump and rinse.

The brooder problems, would something covering the sides help to stop drafts and keep the heat in so they wouldn't pile under the lights? A feed bag is about the right size to cover such spaces.

 

[sharol]

I agree that the suddenness of the cold weather has contributed to the misery. I made the decision to change out the thermostat plug in for one that kicks in quicker. The Thermocube that I used last year didn't come on until it got down to 20 and then turned off at 30. Since nearly all my girls are in one stage or another of molt, I decided to plug the heaters into one that kicks in at 35 and off at 45. It has been on continually since a couple of days ago, and the girls who are in the most severe stages of molt are hanging out on the roosts even during the day. I feel so sorry for Diva. She is the bottom of the pecking order, and I have to go out after dark and put her up on the roost because she gets pushed off if she tries it when it is light. Right now she is missing lots of feathers and spending days in the coop under the heater.

So far no losses, and I put out the heated waterer yesterday morning along with extra (higher protein) food in the run (hot water + flock raiser) in the morning for them.

I know the quick weather change has been hard on everything. My little dachshund hates going out in the cold and is relieving herself in the garage -- grumble grumble.

Sharol

 

[Trish44]

Well I figured out why my hens cut down on laying so drastically, they must have bumped the light bulb in the hanging light in the coop & it wasn't coming on. I should have checked it before, but I didn't. I had set the timer to stay on longer so I could see if it was working & it wasn't this morning so I started investigating. Gladly it was something easy to fix, so we'll see in the next few days if they pick up again. That marans hen is still acting lethargic, she was just sitting on the roost when I went in to collect eggs & I shooed her off & made her go outside. They're not terribly energetic hens anyway, but she is really show now. She is not sneezing, coughing, no discharge from her eyes or nose, just no outward signs of illness. What do you all think could be wrong with her? She is the only one like that. The rooster that came with those two hens died last year from heart disease, do you think this could be what is going on with her?

Well I'm off to Wichita today for a Dr. appt with my cardiologist, just a yearly checkup, then some errands. I hope everybody has a good day. Danz, I'm sorry about your chicks, it's supposed to warm up each day a little.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Well I figured out why my hens cut down on laying so drastically, they must have bumped the light bulb in the hanging light in the coop & it wasn't coming on. I should have checked it before, but I didn't. I had set the timer to stay on longer so I could see if it was working & it wasn't this morning so I started investigating. Gladly it was something easy to fix, so we'll see in the next few days if they pick up again. That marans hen is still acting lethargic, she was just sitting on the roost when I went in to collect eggs & I shooed her off & made her go outside. They're not terribly energetic hens anyway, but she is really show now. She is not sneezing, coughing, no discharge from her eyes or nose, just no outward signs of illness. What do you all think could be wrong with her? She is the only one like that. The rooster that came with those two hens died last year from heart disease, do you think this could be what is going on with her?

Well I'm off to Wichita today for a Dr. appt with my cardiologist, just a yearly checkup, then some errands. I hope everybody has a good day. Danz, I'm sorry about your chicks, it's supposed to warm up each day a little.

I dont know what breed she is, but I have a buff brahma who is quiet and lazy some days. She doesnt do this every day but there are some days I find her snoozing away in the coop on a roost just away from everyone and the wind. All chickens have their own personalities like dogs, no 2 are exactly alike. I know alot of people dont spend the time with them like I do, I am alittle obssesive lol. I know each personality and like and dislikes. I know some act different due to cold/heat. I have some that get energetic when the weather warms and some when it cools. Like my brahma, she loves the cold and gets out to forage more when its frosty on the ground. If I think a bird is acting different I check for all the normal things you check for to see if they are not feeling well and after that I just watch them at different times of the day and how they act when the weather is colder or warmer. If it isnt a personality thing maybe she has joint issues or the like.

I know this has been discussed so instead of everyone posting here if you would like you can just pm me. I am wanting to buy an incubator next month and want to know what kind to get. Still air, circ air, auto control, self turning? There are so many options. I will have about $200 to spend, less is better if possible. It is the xmas money fromall family. They are putting all their money together and giving it to me to buy an incubator and they are taking me to get it so I dont spend the money on anything for anyone else lol.

 

[PrairieChickens]

I think if I was raising fall-hatched chicks, I would probably bring them indoors... at least for sudden cold snaps. I'm not one to coddle my critters, but baby chicks are so fragile and are such a big investment at times.

Why DO hens decide to molt right when it gets bitterly cold? My barred rock Maude really lucked out--she molted really hard just in time for winter, but the temps stayed pretty mild until she was mostly feathered in again. No one is getting pushed off the roost in my coop, thank goodness--my dad went really overkill on the number of roosts in there so there is room for everyone! lol

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I think if I was raising fall-hatched chicks, I would probably bring them indoors... at least for sudden cold snaps. I'm not one to coddle my critters, but baby chicks are so fragile and are such a big investment at times.

Why DO hens decide to molt right when it gets bitterly cold? My barred rock Maude really lucked out--she molted really hard just in time for winter, but the temps stayed pretty mild until she was mostly feathered in again. No one is getting pushed off the roost in my coop, thank goodness--my dad went really overkill on the number of roosts in there so there is room for everyone! lol

The problem with bringing them in and out so much is it messing with their growth. They will feather and be plenty warm when introduced outdoors. I think with the sudden change of weather, I mean goodness 70 one day and 15 the next, the little ones had no time to prepare. It even affected my older birds. It was nothing we could have prevented. Fall chicks are hardy and grow to love the cold quickly and the strongest survive. Planning and preperation are the only things you can do for them and even then it doesnt always work.

 

[cherwill]

105 posts, but I'm determined to get through them all today at some point! My aunt spent most of the weekend in the hospital getting blood because she'd become severely anemic. The nurse couldn't believe she was still up and walking around. Her hemoglobin was 4.1 and they like to see a minimum of 11. Between that and car shopping, I've gotten way behind again.

MaidenWolf, the duck sounded really good! Loved hearing about the way you cooked it.

Me too. In fact, I was inspired and now there's a defrosting duck in my fridge, waiting to be roasted tomorrow!

Cherwill, I hope you will love the SUV you'll be looking at. Your Dh should have just given in to begin with. Men. Sheesh. That is why it took us over a month to find my next vehicle! I was being super picky and I didn't want anything less than what I already had (before I wrecked it). My DH kept showing me CRAP! I mean, WTH was he thinking?!? He would show me listings for vehicles that were dirty on the inside, or had high mileage, etc... I'm pretty happy with what I have now, even though he had to fly to Chicago on Tuesday and then drive it home. hehe!!! If you're the one driving it, you don't want to be upset every time you look at it.

I remember your vehicle hunt! I'd hoped ours would go faster, but that's not going to happen. The one in Wichita had a salvage title and DH talked to a guy here in town who sells vehicles on salvage titles. The one in Wichita had everything wrong with the body that DH had been warned to look out for. We've spent two days at car lots, which I hate more than I can tell you, and all I know now is that, whenever he finds what he says he's looking for and it's reasonably priced, it turns out that isn't really what he wants. I finally got mad and told him I'm having to compromise on what I really want because he didn't like the mileage it got and now I'm done car shopping. Get whatever he wants whenever he figures out what that really is. Maybe he needs to start looking at cars again and I'll suck it up and learn to live with it. But then I read what you said about not being upset every time I look at it, and I agree. That's important. I've had things I compromised on and then I can't quite get over it every time I see that thing.

I think part of our problem is that neither of us spends money easily and this is a lot of money. We've been saving for years to create an emergency fund, and still haven't managed to quite reach 6 months' income. How much of that do we want to spend? We started with a certain amount in mind, but anything for that amount has pretty high miles on it. Then we started looking at double that amount, and then considering almost triple that. At what point do we draw a line (besides the point where it's more than we have saved up); how much more are we willing to pay for a newer car or one with lower mileage? I think we both freaked out about the money and decided to take a break. Now my car won't start at all today.

Of course.

Although, I did put up one-- I found this really pretty turkey ornament at Target the other day. They didn't have white and black Royal Palm ones..

So I figured this one was close enough to honor Seymore our well loved turkey this year.



That's a gorgeous ornament.
Also, perfect timing for all the Christmas pictures we'll be taking, but my 4 yr old daughter decided to give herself a hair cut!

She cut off all the hair in front and down the sides. It looks AWFUL!!!!! My boys never did that, so I can't imagine what the heck she was thinking to go and ruin her hair like that.

Oh my! I don't remember ever cutting my hair, but I did a lot of unauthorized art work on walls, furniture, and once outlined the entire back porch. With Magic Marker.

Also, for some reason, my back and neck have felt worse than ever, and I didn't know why. I was actually starting to feel better, and I woke up and BAM... I saw the PT, but she said it's not from sleeping on it wrong, like I guessed. She said it's like i had a "mini whiplash" all over again. She asked me if I had fallen or done anything. After thinking for a while, I realized I DID fall a few days ago, but didn't put the two together, because I didn't start hurting that day. It was totally stupid, too. I tripped over a toy that is NOT supposed to be upstairs anyway, and then that caused me to shuffle forward and stub my foot terribly on the sofa leg and because of the forward momentum I had going from the initial trip, and then the stubbing, I again tripped over the sofa arm and fell flat on my stomach! I did catch myself with my hands. I was more worried that I had broke my toes than about my back and neck! I sat on the floor rocking back and forth sucking deep breaths with the hurt from the toes. When it finally went away (just a bit of bruising) I just forgot all about it and didn't think anything else of it. Now it looks like I messed up my back and neck again. Figures.

I think it takes a while to be back up to full strength, even after you feel like you are. Take it easy!

Some of you may remember a while back that I was looking for another goose. I was REALLY picky on what I wanted, mainly I didn't want a large bird, and I wanted one that would be friendly. I finally resigned myself to the fact that I would have to raise a gosling or two. Then, yesterday, I get an e-mail from one neighbor saying that she saw that another neighbor had two geese advertised on facebook to give away. Well, when I went to look at the post, it looked like the birds had already been claimed, pending pickup. Well, apparently the first neighbor talked to the second neighbor last night, and I got a call from the neighbor with the geese this morning offering me the geese. I did end up having to compromise on the breed of goose I got, but they are friendly and will tolerate me handling them once I catch them, which isn't an easy feat though they don't run from me until I start trying to catch them. Laurie, the lady who owned the geese, thinks that one is a gander and one is a goose. Her husband thinks that they are both geese. They didn't know what breed they were, but I think they're Embdens. What do you think? Goose? Gander? One of each? Do you agree with me on the breed? They are both pure white with blue eyes and orange beak/legs. The bird to the right in the photo is just dirty.


Congratulations!

Sorry I've been away, I've been ill and haven't been able to keep up with this thread so good... Threads with pictures aren't so bad, but heavy reading is just more than I can handle right now.

I hope you're feeling better now.

I wanted to share my latest creation with you guys, since I know my fellow chicken enthusiasts will appreciate it more than anyone else I talk to. I spent all day putting together a calendar of my chickens:
http://www.zazzle.com/obsessive_chicken_disorder_calendar-158760892423561905

That's adorable. My MIL gets all the kids a calendar every year and she always gears ours toward me. Sometimes it's wolves, sometimes dogs and last year's was chickens.

I have never heard of a composting system like your dad talks about. In Australia every household is issued with both a trash bin and a recycling bin. The trash is picked up weekly and the recycle bin bi-weekly. The recycle bin is divided in two - one half for paper and the other for everything else. Trash/recycling are not a private enterprise like they seem to be here in KS, but are covered in the property taxes, so every household has the same bins. It seems like most people participate since they already have the bin, so I think it does increase the amount of stuff that is recycled. I've continued to recycle here but I have to say it is more of a hassle since I have to separate out the different things - paper, tin cans, aluminum, plastic and so on, and then load them up and take them to the drop off point. Still, I've never heard of a composting system added into the mix.

I've never heard of that kind of composting either. We have a recycle center just outside of town, but it doesn't include composting. We used to have a bin in town where people could drop their recyclables off instead of having to haul them out to the recycle center. It was picked up once a week and it turned out that wasn't often enough. Instead of picking it up more often, they decided to do away with the in-town bin. I do the thing with two bowls on the counter -- one for compost and one for chickens. We have a small compost pile in the back yard and make sure to bury the new stuff in the middle of that section. There's a section of current compost and a section with the compost from the previous year. If we had the room, I'd even have a 3 year section.

I went out & found one of my peahens dead in the pen today, I'm really upset. I had noticed one of them sneezing yesterday & started some Tylan in there. I don't know if it was just too late or she had something else wrong with her. I haven't gotten her out of there yet because she's all the way to the back of the hoop coop. So that just leaves me a pair now, I sure hope the others don't get sick.

I'm sorry about your pea. I hope the others will be OK.

Hi guys! Thank you so much for all the well wishes! It seemed to take forever but I finally had my first normal day a couple days ago and I just hit the ground running. It feels so good to feel normal again. I haven't caught up with everyone on here yet, but will soon. The kids and I managed to "spring clean" the house and get the birds ready for the cold weather just in time, and in one day. We worked like a bunch of dervishes! I've also managed to get my Christmas shopping almost completely done. I'm going to try my hand at making my own laundry detergent today and hand soap this week. I've always wanted to make my own soap and just never got around to it.

Oh my stars, you are unstoppable! I would have to ease into a full hectic schedule like that!

Either way, it has been well below freezing all day yesterday, last night, and this morning so it probably didn't take long for it to freeze. Do you think the egg is still good to use in cooking/baking? As you can see, the egg is huge! That is MY hand pictured...


Occasionally I don't get out the coop often enough and I find a frozen egg. I'm afraid to use them for anything except dog food.