Consolidated Kansas

[JosieChick]

Danz, I'm surprised your dogs will sleep together, my two GPs don't even like to lay side by side. They argue all the time for one reason or the other & don't like to share anything. If one thinks the other is going to get something she isn't they fight over that, even if that doesn't end up being the case. I have a pile of cattails out close to my new coop & they think I put it there for them specifically. If you look at where the places are they have hollowed out, they are on opposite sides. This morning I went out & was doing chores & went over to the faucet by the front of the house to get water & one was laying by one end of the house & the other at the total opposite end. I had dog houses for them & they wouldn't use them, so I put cattails under the pickup topper I got just to see if they would get in there, so far they haven't. They're such silly girls.I just read that Cloud is having puppies, I hope everything goes all right, keep us posted.

My birds are all getting sick now, so I have had to start Tylan. I'm treating all but one pen, they haven't shown any signs yet, so I'll wait & see. I hope the peafowl & turkeys don't get this stuff. It's the sneezing & wheezing thing. I'm sure it's related to the wide temperature swings we have been having & another one is coming this week again. Heck, it's hard on us humans too. I hope to get things done in the next couple days that need to be done before it hits again, but I won't have money until Weds. to get more pine shavings for the rabbit cages. I may try chopping up some cattails & see how that works, I have not tried that in their trays, but it has to be fairly fine to stay in there.

Did you all happen to see the ad that I posted on the Kansas Poultry Swap taken from the Wichita Craigslist? It was a woman who was selling two full grown hens that have been living in 10 gallon aquariums. There was a lot of outrage over it after I posted it. Hopefully the hens were going to a new, better home today. I wish people wouldn't get chickens or any other animals for that matter if they can't care for them properly.

Bummer, hope your birds feel better. I sure hope someone went and got the two fish tank chickens, how awful, they couldn't even stand up in there. That was just the saddest thing.

I made vet RX last year. The essential oils are pricey. I spent about $60 all together but I bought enough to make gallons literally. I've been using it with great success. My oils came in small bottles so I just mixed them proportionately in the order they were given and put them in a very large dark colored container that had had peroxide in it. Then filled it up with the corn oil. It certainly smells right. The one thing I didn't add was alcohol. I was going to use ever clear or something but never got any. It seems to work the same without it. I saved my vet RX bottle and funnel it into that for use. That way I still have my recipe when I want to mix up more.
Maidenwolf was going to make her own and use vodka for the alcohol part.
Trish I am sorry you are having sick birds.
That's awful. Things seem good here but there is a big weather change coming. They are talking snow in 2 days.
Cloud sleeps with Fluff when it is chilly. Marshmallow is very picky about having her own bed. The other two like to snuggle. If the weather is good though they all just lay out in the yard and sleep.
I spent most of the day in town helping my Dad. And as I suspected my dog house is not done at all. I knew I should have just waited and built the darn thing when DH was working. At least the part I built yesterday is done and now we have a door way. Just no roof!!
Josie that is what I found when I started pricing lean to type buildings. I got estimates from $4500 to $11,000 which is ridiculous for no front and no floor. That is why we built the one we did. I have less than $1000 in it. Of course it is only half the size I wanted. Places like Sutherlands have kits to build them which are cheaper. I think if you could get the poles set you should be able to put one together pretty fast. But then the pens cost some to build as well. I would be happy to just hire someone to come in and set all the poles for the building and the pens. The rest of it goes a lot faster.
Sorry things didn't work out. I still want to build a poultry building some day but I don't see it happening.

I was going to buy essential oils and make my own diaper wipe solution (found recipes online per Hawkeye) then I found a premixed concentrate that is only $15 and should last about 6 months and you add it to witch hazel or water to make the solution. I thought I would go with that for now so I wouldn't end up spending $100 on essential oils, they are pricey.

How long is your metal building that you have now? My inlaws can set posts for us and for some reason really want to. Doesn't sound like any fun to me but they are all gung ho. I think we are going to build pens for the geese and use the barn for my bantams and grow out for young goslings. We are planning on building a couple low open air coops for the big birds on skids so they can be sold or hauled away someday when we sell the place. I hate to put up a whole bunch of outbuildings and have a realtor tell us we should tear them down to make the house appealing to a buyer. We aren't going to live here forever so I really wanted to build some structures that were nice and added value to the property. We are thinking of still having someone out to build the horse run in so it is fairly well built. Was your $4500-$11,000 estimate for labor and materials? (If you don't mind my asking) Our estimate for the two run ins was over twice your high end estimate, I was shocked. Guess I have a thing or two to learn.

 

[lizzyGSR]

I made vet RX last year. The essential oils are pricey. I spent about $60 all together but I bought enough to make gallons literally. I've been using it with great success. My oils came in small bottles so I just mixed them proportionately in the order they were given and put them in a very large dark colored container that had had peroxide in it. Then filled it up with the corn oil. It certainly smells right. The one thing I didn't add was alcohol. I was going to use ever clear or something but never got any. It seems to work the same without it. I saved my vet RX bottle and funnel it into that for use. That way I still have my recipe when I want to mix up more.
Maidenwolf was going to make her own and use vodka for the alcohol part.
Trish I am sorry you are having sick birds.
That's awful. Things seem good here but there is a big weather change coming. They are talking snow in 2 days.
Cloud sleeps with Fluff when it is chilly. Marshmallow is very picky about having her own bed. The other two like to snuggle. If the weather is good though they all just lay out in the yard and sleep.
I spent most of the day in town helping my Dad. And as I suspected my dog house is not done at all. I knew I should have just waited and built the darn thing when DH was working. At least the part I built yesterday is done and now we have a door way. Just no roof!!
Josie that is what I found when I started pricing lean to type buildings. I got estimates from $4500 to $11,000 which is ridiculous for no front and no floor. That is why we built the one we did. I have less than $1000 in it. Of course it is only half the size I wanted. Places like Sutherlands have kits to build them which are cheaper. I think if you could get the poles set you should be able to put one together pretty fast. But then the pens cost some to build as well. I would be happy to just hire someone to come in and set all the poles for the building and the pens. The rest of it goes a lot faster.
Sorry things didn't work out. I still want to build a poultry building some day but I don't see it happening.

Any chance you'd share a recipe for the VetRX?

On the barn thing, my DH and I got a polebarn kit from Menards. The kit came with all of the materials to build a 13'X45' three-sided pole barn. We spent roughly $3000 in supplies and dug the holes ourselves (for this building, the holes had to be 4-4 1/2 feet deep by 2 feet wide). Then, we hired our pastor, who is also a contract, to come out and help us erect the building. We then spent roughly $100 to put plywood on the inside to keep the horses from kicking through the metal. After all was said and done, we got a shed for the horses and the cars and spent less than $5000 on it. If you have the know-how and ability to do it yourself, I'd recommend going that way.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Who was it that was going to make their own version of VetRX? I was thinking of getting some essential oils & doing that too, I think you could get a larger amount that way for the money. My question is how much carrier oil do you need to use with the essential oils & how much alcohol & what kind? I looked up the ingredients for the VetRX & they use corn oil in theirs.

I am making my version of vet rx. Depending upon how much you make will tell you IF you even need to use the alcohol. If you are making alot and want it to last and be preserved you will need to make it with alcohol. What ever amount you want to make will depend on the amount of carrier. If you are making 8 ozs of rx then put 6 1/2 oz carrier, add you drops of essential oils, in this recipe the ampunt of essential oils are different, then add enough high quality high proof alocohol to make 8 oz. You can use any carrier you like. They all have their own benifits

 

[Trish44]

Danz, I wasn't looking to make quite as much as you're talking about, but thought I could probably make more than a 2 oz amount. Those tiny bottles go fast if you have sick birds. My concern with the oil in it is that it could go rancid if you don't have something in it like alcohol to keep it from doing that. It did seem to help my rooster the other night when I smeared it all over his wattles & beak. He was still honking today, but was running all over the yard & eating & drinking. Today I heard a hen in another pen doing it. I'm just probably going to have to treat them all now darn it. I have 3 pens of chickens besides my main coop. That doesn't include the peafowl/guinea coop & turkeys. It just makes me literally ill to hear them all start getting sick now because they have been doing so well. I'm wondering if I should try to do a partial cleanout of the main coop if that would help any. It is just so much work hauling all of that out of there & I thought maybe it would be all right if I keep turning it & putting fresh stuff in until spring. It may have nothing to do with the coop at all, it may just be something going through or weather changes or whatever. You just start wondering about what could have started it when you start seeing sick birds.

Josie, yes that was a sad thing about the hens in the aquarium & I heard they went to a new home today. There were actually a couple of people who said they would go get them if they didn't find a home today, so one way or the other they were getting out of there.

Oh & Danz, what I was wondering is how you knew how much corn oil to use volume-wise with the essential oils. You wouldn't want to dilute it too much, but I just don't know ratio of corn oil to essential oils. Or maidenwolf if you have the exact measurements of things worked out & wouldn't mind sharing it that would be great. You can find all the essential oils on eBay. I have not compared prices anywhere else as of yet.

 

[JosieChick]

Any chance you'd share a recipe for the VetRX?

On the barn thing, my DH and I got a polebarn kit from Menards. The kit came with all of the materials to build a 13'X45' three-sided pole barn. We spent roughly $3000 in supplies and dug the holes ourselves (for this building, the holes had to be 4-4 1/2 feet deep by 2 feet wide). Then, we hired our pastor, who is a a o a contract, to come out and help us erect the building. We then spent roughly $100 to put plywood on the inside to keep the horses from kicking through the metal. After all was said and done, we got a shed for the horses and the cars and spent less than $5000 on it. If you have the know-how and ability to do it yourself, I'd recommend going that way.

Thanks for the input! That is a great price. We have a lot of folks that are willing to help us build I just want to make sure it is put up decently and looks nice. My other frustration is that being pregnant keeps me from doing as much as I would like to be able to do! I don't really know much about building a barn but I am sure we can get some help from those who do and get it done fairly nicely.

 

[chicken danz]

Yep that was for labor and materials. My building is 24 feet long but was supposed to be 48 feet long. And it is 8'wide and 8' tall. I don't know if you'd want to go much taller for horses. That adds a little cost. I only wanted 8 feet but most of the estimates were for 10' to 12'. The 8 foot estimates were the same as wider buildings. I guess the framing would have been about the same. The poles are set at 8 foot centers. We made our own poles by sandwiching treated 2 X4"s together with a nail gun rather than buying round posts or 4" X 4's. They were set 3 foot down in concrete. I got the idea by looking at QSI's buildings. They seem to be the most popular builders around this area. Anyway that is what they use to make all their metal pole type buildings and garages. It actually makes a stronger pole and reduces twisting like regular poles could do. Then all the other boards were treated lumber as well.
If you squared off and marked exact places for the poles and your in laws put them in you would have half of the battle done. We used decking boards and just temporarily screwed them in place to line up the posts before we poured the concrete. That way everything stayed square.
If I were you I'd get a few other estimates. There is a lot of finish work you can do yourselves (or your in-laws) once you have the basic structure. We still need to finish trim on ours but it is working fine as is. I am getting ready to run water lines and faucets to each of the pens. I bought the pieces to do it and plan to slant it so it will drain. I am installing it with a hose hookup so I can just hook up the garden hose and have running water to each of the pens. It will save me a lot of hose dragging and carrying buckets.

 

[chicken danz]

Trish I used 2 ounces camphor oil. 1 ounce balsam fir oil, 1 oz oregano,and 1 oz of rosemary oil. These are are pure food grade oils with no additives. I put those in about 24 ounces of corn oil. It is still as strong and works as well as it did. At some point I will probably add some vodka to it for the alcohol. But I used that all last winter and since then and it has been every bit as good as the original mix. I've well made up my cost and still have enough bottles of oils to make an equally as large batch.

 

[Trish44]

Thanks Danz, I was thinking you probably wanted more camphor in there than the other ingredients. That sounds doable, I think I will order the ingredients & then I will have them on hand. That little 2 oz bottle I had is almost gone. I looked at some other web sites & I think it is cheaper to get them on eBay. I will have to look around for bottles to store it in.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Got the incubator set, stable and 4 eggs in for a test. I am sure I will be back for TONS of questions, first off is it day 3 I candle? And then after that hoe often do I do it?

 

[HEChicken]

Josie I'm sorry to hear about your building frustrations. Wow - even without knowing the exact amount, I am shocked at the estimate you got. Have you tried getting estimates from multiple contractors? I like Lizzie's idea of buying the kit. I bought a 10x10 shed kit from Menards at our old house and was able to put it up largely by myself. There were just a couple of times where the next step required two people but it wasn't strenuous and my then 12yo (or so) DS was able to hold the other end until I got the stability screws in. I imagine a larger building like a shelter might require two people for more of the steps but if your in-laws are eager to help and your DH is available, I bet with you supervising you'll be able to do a really good job.

Danz....do I say congrats or condolences on Cloud's pregnancy? I know you were really wanting to wait and with these large breed dogs they are better off being older so I kind of feel like condolences are in order. I will be hoping it all goes smoothly for her....

Trish, several of my birds are sneezing too. Since I haven't introduced any new birds since I got the silkies from Hawkeye back on Oct 1st, so they either picked it up from wild birds or it is the weather. Its has been 2-3 weeks since I heard the first sneeze and still only a handful of birds are doing it, so I really suspect it is the weather. I was dosing mine with VetRx and it seemed to temporarily ease the congestion but honestly, I gave up even doing that because they are eating, drinking and acting pretty perky and don't seem distressed by the occasional sniffle so I'm hoping it will just work itself through. Most of the birds affected are cockerels we were ultimately planning to grow out and process anyway, so I figured if they get worse we would just do it earlier than planned.

Speaking of silkies, Hawkeye, I am so proud of one of these girls! She has learned to navigate the chicken pop door!!! I actually am really impressed because I installed it high to allow for DLM, and then because it is so high, I have a series of pavers creating a set of steps up to the door for the ducks. The chickens can all jump from the ground to the door (its about 15" off the ground) but the ducks needed the steps and the silkie that does NOT have the cross-beak, has learned how to use the same steps the ducks use. Actually, they both exit the coop in the morning, but so far only the one has learned how to go back in at night. The other still hunkers down inside the chunnel and I have to manually put her in each night. Hopefully one day she will also learn how to get back in.