Consolidated Kansas

[JosieChick]

Ugh, storm. I am running around like a nut job trying to get everything tied back down and feeders filled. I know it is not ideal but if you had a few pallets laying around you could make a shanty dog house with a tarp and a sheet of wood for a roof. You could throw a couple bales of straw in front to make a fourth "wall" and at least you would have something just in case? Is Cloud house broken? Do you have somewhere you could fill a kiddie pool with straw for her?

I've been going since 6:00 AM and didn't have my normal relax, coffee, and read. I feel like my day should be over all ready. I went to a retirement breakfast and that used a couple hours. I got home and started watering. Then shoveled off 1200 pounds of feed into barrels, then fed all the birds. I think every one should be ready for a storm if they have the sense to go into their pens and houses. No work on the dog house. There just isn't time today. I need to shift gears and head to Topeka to do some quick shopping before the storm gets here, but judging from the weather outside I think it will arrive a lot earlier than they thought. I do have some things I have to have by Christmas day. I also want to look for those cars for Mammahen.
My granddaughter just turned 12 so she is semi close to the age of your daughter. I know what you mean. When she was here this summer I bought her some fun movies geared for young children. And they were pretty cheap. I also bought her a couple dresses (she likes wearing dresses) and some earrings with cute animals on them. I watched her and anything animal related was her thing. Kind of grown up things like jewelry but in kid forms like animal figures. She was looking for a necklace too but couldn't find any cutesy enough to suit her.
I looked at Walmart and they have a few men's jackets that are probably cheaper than Orchlens. I think they were dickies.
If I happen to make it to Topeka and find one I will text you, Mammahen and tell you.
I realized this morning that I hadn't paid my car insurance and it was due in two days. I hate having things like that and taxes come due in December because it strains the budget further and it is just too easy to forget about.
I'd better get moving.

Ditto to this! Ugh, EVERYTHING was due this month. We had car insurance, registered my new car and my first student loan payment. Merry Christmas to us!

Me too! My car insurance comes due Dec 1st, and property taxes are due on Dec 20th. I wish they would set the payment date for property taxes to be a different time of year - having them due 5 days before Christmas is really hard on a lot of people. At least my other house sold so I didn't have to pay taxes on it as well....

Alright, I need to get back out and finish. I am actually warm from mixing feed which is nice for a change but I still need to run to town and clean the house before DH gets home. So I was going to redirect the MIL with painting the nursery at the new house but DH sent me pics of the walls and the need work before we do that. Apparently they are plaster originally and were cracking so someone nailed really thin wood panels over the wall to "secure" it?!?! Ugh. It looks terrible, there are places where it is bulging and you can see the plaster underneath. Why wouldn't they have hung cheap wall paneling instead of just sheets of thin wood? We asked the dear in laws to tear out the carpet this past weekend so when we met with the hardwood floor people we would know what we were getting into. Of course there is damage around the vents, plywood repair spots etc which I anticipated and we have a company that will do the repairs. Well dear MIL thinks she can fix the floors, sand them, stain them and refinish them. I already have people lined up to do these projects and they of course want to do all this while we aren't there. SO we had a huge argument and I finally told her I couldn't talk to her about these things anymore because she was upsetting me so badly. I can't imagine being 21 weeks pregnant and getting this worked up is worthwhile so I just ended the conversation. Good grief Charlie Brown!!!!

 

[lizzyGSR]

Be careful out there, everyone! It's been snowing here since around 9 or 10 this morning, and the wind has just recently picked up pretty strong. We're in a blizzard warning here in NW KS. We hit our high for the day a couple hours ago, and our temps have been dropping since. Add the wind (and wind chill) to that, and it is downright cold out there! I am NOT looking forward to doing my evening chores!

 

[michelleml]

I guess my post got eaten cause I don't see it. I asked if it was normal for my roo to do his chicken dance at us? We seen him do this little dance around the hens but yesterday he did this while I was waterering and feeding he came over close to me

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I guess my post got eaten cause I don't see it. I asked if it was normal for my roo to do his chicken dance at us? We seen him do this little dance around the hens but yesterday he did this while I was waterering and feeding he came over close to me

Yes, sometimes a roo will "choose" a person. I have a bantam EE who has choosen me. He dances for me, finds and brings me food and makes me nests. He follows me around and protects me from other roos. He is trying to get you to submitt to him so sometimes it can be out of aggresstion but if he is not attacking he could either be warning you that this is his territory or wants to mate with you

 

[Hawkeye95]

Well, I'm back! No, I didn't go anywhere, but everyone has been sick and it's been nuts here. One after the other all 3 kids ended up being sick and throwing up all night long (all on different nights of course) so that I have missed out on lots and lots of sleep. Lots of laundry and now my youngest and oldest have bronchitis and took them to the Dr yesterday and they are now on antibiotics. So I think we're set and I sure hope everyone stays healthy for Christmas.

Danz-- well, congrats(?) on Cloud having puppies, and I sure hope she will be just fine and that the puppies will do great as well. Lots of luck!!

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.

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.

So glad the silkie girls are working out and the one has learned the door routine! It probably won't take much longer for the other one to learn, either. But they can be pretty stubborn about being set in their routines. At least they are friendly and easy to pick up and move around. Good cuddle time. Although, I understand the frustration of having a bird not go with the flow. I'm with you on the getting more estimates for the barn!

We bought our horse barn as a kit from Sutherlands in 2000. We paid right about $6,700 for it, I think. They wanted $12,000 for Sutherlands to come out and build it themselves. Our barn is not huge-- but it's a good size for horses, it's 30X50 ft. We're going to build another barn this Spring (if my DH finds a job here....) and we've got about 10 quotes-- NO JOKE!! You would not believe all the idiots who want to charge an arm and a leg for a stupid barn! We had a quote for $80K!!!! And the lowest came in around $60K-- that is $20K difference... so wonder what they are doing with that extra $20K??? We came up with the dimensions, same everything, plus a cement floor--- so obviously we're not going to go with the most expensive person. Now, if we weren't putting cement down, deduct about $20K from the $60-- cement is expensive! But anyway, this is going to be a big barn--- thinking about 50 X 80 ft. We shall see... it all really depends on the new job????? Point is, I would never get one quote and think everyone else will charge the same.

Ugh, storm. I am running around like a nut job trying to get everything tied back down and feeders filled. I know it is not ideal but if you had a few pallets laying around you could make a shanty dog house with a tarp and a sheet of wood for a roof. You could throw a couple bales of straw in front to make a fourth "wall" and at least you would have something just in case? Is Cloud house broken? Do you have somewhere you could fill a kiddie pool with straw for her?
Ditto to this! Ugh, EVERYTHING was due this month. We had car insurance, registered my new car and my first student loan payment. Merry Christmas to us!
Alright, I need to get back out and finish. I am actually warm from mixing feed which is nice for a change but I still need to run to town and clean the house before DH gets home. So I was going to redirect the MIL with painting the nursery at the new house but DH sent me pics of the walls and the need work before we do that. Apparently they are plaster originally and were cracking so someone nailed really thin wood panels over the wall to "secure" it?!?! Ugh. It looks terrible, there are places where it is bulging and you can see the plaster underneath. Why wouldn't they have hung cheap wall paneling instead of just sheets of thin wood? We asked the dear in laws to tear out the carpet this past weekend so when we met with the hardwood floor people we would know what we were getting into. Of course there is damage around the vents, plywood repair spots etc which I anticipated and we have a company that will do the repairs. Well dear MIL thinks she can fix the floors, sand them, stain them and refinish them. I already have people lined up to do these projects and they of course want to do all this while we aren't there. SO we had a huge argument and I finally told her I couldn't talk to her about these things anymore because she was upsetting me so badly. I can't imagine being 21 weeks pregnant and getting this worked up is worthwhile so I just ended the conversation. Good grief Charlie Brown!!!!

BTW-- have you called AllSheds? They put up a shed for us in a day and it was a decent price. The kits at Sutherlands are really reasonable, too. Plus they will put them up if you want. So sorry about the MIL problems. I'd be pretty crazy about it all.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Okay-- I need ideas! I have another chicken emergency. My roosters have been fighting here recently which is driving me nuts, because they have been together for MONTHS with no issues!! Idiots! For one, two of them got into a big fight and bloodied each other up really good. I got them cleaned up, put on antibiotics and separated. They were a mess. And now the both of them are missing HALF their beautiful full crests and part of their beards and muffs! They look awful!! But it's been a few days and they are healing well. One of them had a swollen eye that was closed off, but with the antibiotics and cleaning, he's fine. I bet he just got a really good peck to the eye. The eye is in tact and looks clear.

Sigh... well, Part II. The remaining roos must have got into another fight while I was gone, one of them managed to fly OVER the divider to the girl pen and I'm leaving him alone since he's not bothering the girls right now. And the worst thing is that I think one of my boys BROKE his legs! He can't move his leg! He is walking around and is able to drag it up under him and then he sits down on it. So he can get to the food, etc, but he must have flown into the wall or something or got it twisted in the fencing. I don't want to put him down, but I don't know what to do. I tried feeling the leg, but I don't feel any obvious breaks, or anything. He doesn't seem to flinch when I mess with it. I checked his wings and he still pulls them back tight to his body, so I'm not thinking disease, I'm thinking injury. Especially considering the brutal beatings that recently happened AND the fact that I found him with the leg and the other boy had flown over the divider the same day-- so guessing a scuffle happened. What can I do for his leg?? I can get pictures if that will help. He can drag the leg, and then he lifts his body up and is able to move the leg back under his body so he can sit down. Where would the injury be??

 

[HEChicken]

So I was going to redirect the MIL with painting the nursery at the new house but DH sent me pics of the walls and the need work before we do that. Apparently they are plaster originally and were cracking so someone nailed really thin wood panels over the wall to "secure" it?!?! Ugh. It looks terrible, there are places where it is bulging and you can see the plaster underneath. Why wouldn't they have hung cheap wall paneling instead of just sheets of thin wood? We asked the dear in laws to tear out the carpet this past weekend so when we met with the hardwood floor people we would know what we were getting into. Of course there is damage around the vents, plywood repair spots etc which I anticipated and we have a company that will do the repairs. Well dear MIL thinks she can fix the floors, sand them, stain them and refinish them. I already have people lined up to do these projects and they of course want to do all this while we aren't there. SO we had a huge argument and I finally told her I couldn't talk to her about these things anymore because she was upsetting me so badly. I can't imagine being 21 weeks pregnant and getting this worked up is worthwhile so I just ended the conversation. Good grief Charlie Brown!!!!

I'm so sorry you're having these issues with your MIL - you are right that you don't need the hassle - pregnant or otherwise. I wish I could offer some advice but I have really never been in this situation. It sounds like she needs to back off and realize that this is your life and your house and you need to make the decisions. But how do you communicate that to her? I really have no idea....FWIW, I've redone floors and it is hard work, and a lot of mess. If I were to need it done again now I would really prefer to hire it done. You get a couple of guys with the right equipment in to do it and they'll have it finished in no time, but one person doing it with rented equipment is going to be working on them for quite awhile.

Be careful out there, everyone! It's been snowing here since around 9 or 10 this morning, and the wind has just recently picked up pretty strong. We're in a blizzard warning here in NW KS. We hit our high for the day a couple hours ago, and our temps have been dropping since. Add the wind (and wind chill) to that, and it is downright cold out there! I am NOT looking forward to doing my evening chores!

Oh my - we're not seeing anything like that yet although the wind is certainly howling. It is still 49 though and no sign of precipitation. Sigh. I really hope we get something.

Yes, sometimes a roo will "choose" a person. I have a bantam EE who has choosen me. He dances for me, finds and brings me food and makes me nests. He follows me around and protects me from other roos. He is trying to get you to submitt to him so sometimes it can be out of aggresstion but if he is not attacking he could either be warning you that this is his territory or wants to mate with you

Awww....your bantam EE sounds really sweet.

Well, I'm back! No, I didn't go anywhere, but everyone has been sick and it's been nuts here. One after the other all 3 kids ended up being sick and throwing up all night long (all on different nights of course) so that I have missed out on lots and lots of sleep. Lots of laundry and now my youngest and oldest have bronchitis and took them to the Dr yesterday and they are now on antibiotics. So I think we're set and I sure hope everyone stays healthy for Christmas.

So glad the silkie girls are working out and the one has learned the door routine! It probably won't take much longer for the other one to learn, either. But they can be pretty stubborn about being set in their routines. At least they are friendly and easy to pick up and move around. Good cuddle time. Although, I understand the frustration of having a bird not go with the flow. I'm with you on the getting more estimates for the barn!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Okay-- I need ideas! I have another chicken emergency. My roosters have been fighting here recently which is driving me nuts, because they have been together for MONTHS with no issues!! Idiots! For one, two of them got into a big fight and bloodied each other up really good. I got them cleaned up, put on antibiotics and separated. They were a mess. And now the both of them are missing HALF their beautiful full crests and part of their beards and muffs! They look awful!! But it's been a few days and they are healing well. One of them had a swollen eye that was closed off, but with the antibiotics and cleaning, he's fine. I bet he just got a really good peck to the eye. The eye is in tact and looks clear.

Sigh... well, Part II. The remaining roos must have got into another fight while I was gone, one of them managed to fly OVER the divider to the girl pen and I'm leaving him alone since he's not bothering the girls right now. And the worst thing is that I think one of my boys BROKE his legs! He can't move his leg! He is walking around and is able to drag it up under him and then he sits down on it. So he can get to the food, etc, but he must have flown into the wall or something or got it twisted in the fencing. I don't want to put him down, but I don't know what to do. I tried feeling the leg, but I don't feel any obvious breaks, or anything. He doesn't seem to flinch when I mess with it. I checked his wings and he still pulls them back tight to his body, so I'm not thinking disease, I'm thinking injury. Especially considering the brutal beatings that recently happened AND the fact that I found him with the leg and the other boy had flown over the divider the same day-- so guessing a scuffle happened. What can I do for his leg?? I can get pictures if that will help. He can drag the leg, and then he lifts his body up and is able to move the leg back under his body so he can sit down. Where would the injury be??

Oh dear. Hopefully Josie will be on to offer more assistance. My first thought though is that his leg is not injured and this is a spinal injury. If he is not reacting to you examining the leg, it sounds like maybe he is not having any pain in the leg. So sorry to hear about all your issues with sick kids too.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I'm so sorry you're having these issues with your MIL - you are right that you don't need the hassle - pregnant or otherwise. I wish I could offer some advice but I have really never been in this situation. It sounds like she needs to back off and realize that this is your life and your house and you need to make the decisions. But how do you communicate that to her? I really have no idea....FWIW, I've redone floors and it is hard work, and a lot of mess. If I were to need it done again now I would really prefer to hire it done. You get a couple of guys with the right equipment in to do it and they'll have it finished in no time, but one person doing it with rented equipment is going to be working on them for quite awhile.

Oh my - we're not seeing anything like that yet although the wind is certainly howling. It is still 49 though and no sign of precipitation. Sigh. I really hope we get something.

Awww....your bantam EE sounds really sweet.

Oh dear. Hopefully Josie will be on to offer more assistance. My first thought though is that his leg is not injured and this is a spinal injury. If he is not reacting to you examining the leg, it sounds like maybe he is not having any pain in the leg. So sorry to hear about all your issues with sick kids too.

Oh boy, I didn't think of that!!! And no, there was no reaction to pain that I could tell in the leg. I sure hope it's not a spinal injury. Ugh. Well, I'll let him go a few more days and see if he does any better. I hate to put him down, but he's a pet quality, not a breeder, so it's not going to be a horrific thing for me to do. But still, if I don't have to put him down, I'd rather not.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

HEchicken he is my little buddy

This is Alpha

 

[JosieChick]

Yuck! Stay warm and dry out there!

Be careful out there, everyone! It's been snowing here since around 9 or 10 this morning, and the wind has just recently picked up pretty strong. We're in a blizzard warning here in NW KS. We hit our high for the day a couple hours ago, and our temps have been dropping since. Add the wind (and wind chill) to that, and it is downright cold out there! I am NOT looking forward to doing my evening chores!

Glad your crew is on the mend.

Well, I'm back! No, I didn't go anywhere, but everyone has been sick and it's been nuts here. One after the other all 3 kids ended up being sick and throwing up all night long (all on different nights of course) so that I have missed out on lots and lots of sleep. Lots of laundry and now my youngest and oldest have bronchitis and took them to the Dr yesterday and they are now on antibiotics. So I think we're set and I sure hope everyone stays healthy for Christmas.

Yeah, I have another guy I am going to call out and we are rehashing chicken coop plans. I am amazed at the variance in pricing and can't figure out what the difference is in their buildings....
We bought our horse barn as a kit from Sutherlands in 2000. We paid right about $6,700 for it, I think. They wanted $12,000 for Sutherlands to come out and build it themselves. Our barn is not huge-- but it's a good size for horses, it's 30X50 ft. We're going to build another barn this Spring (if my DH finds a job here....) and we've got about 10 quotes-- NO JOKE!! You would not believe all the idiots who want to charge an arm and a leg for a stupid barn! We had a quote for $80K!!!! And the lowest came in around $60K-- that is $20K difference... so wonder what they are doing with that extra $20K??? We came up with the dimensions, same everything, plus a cement floor--- so obviously we're not going to go with the most expensive person. Now, if we weren't putting cement down, deduct about $20K from the $60-- cement is expensive! But anyway, this is going to be a big barn--- thinking about 50 X 80 ft. We shall see... it all really depends on the new job????? Point is, I would never get one quote and think everyone else will charge the same.


BTW-- have you called AllSheds? They put up a shed for us in a day and it was a decent price. The kits at Sutherlands are really reasonable, too. Plus they will put them up if you want. So sorry about the MIL problems. I'd be pretty crazy about it all.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Okay-- I need ideas! I have another chicken emergency. My roosters have been fighting here recently which is driving me nuts, because they have been together for MONTHS with no issues!! Idiots! For one, two of them got into a big fight and bloodied each other up really good. I got them cleaned up, put on antibiotics and separated. They were a mess. And now the both of them are missing HALF their beautiful full crests and part of their beards and muffs! They look awful!! But it's been a few days and they are healing well. One of them had a swollen eye that was closed off, but with the antibiotics and cleaning, he's fine. I bet he just got a really good peck to the eye. The eye is in tact and looks clear.

Sigh... well, Part II. The remaining roos must have got into another fight while I was gone, one of them managed to fly OVER the divider to the girl pen and I'm leaving him alone since he's not bothering the girls right now. And the worst thing is that I think one of my boys BROKE his legs! He can't move his leg! He is walking around and is able to drag it up under him and then he sits down on it. So he can get to the food, etc, but he must have flown into the wall or something or got it twisted in the fencing. I don't want to put him down, but I don't know what to do. I tried feeling the leg, but I don't feel any obvious breaks, or anything. He doesn't seem to flinch when I mess with it. I checked his wings and he still pulls them back tight to his body, so I'm not thinking disease, I'm thinking injury. Especially considering the brutal beatings that recently happened AND the fact that I found him with the leg and the other boy had flown over the divider the same day-- so guessing a scuffle happened. What can I do for his leg?? I can get pictures if that will help. He can drag the leg, and then he lifts his body up and is able to move the leg back under his body so he can sit down. Where would the injury be??
Bummer! When you place his leg under him does he bear weight on it? If you place his leg under him and tip his toes back does he bring his toes back to where they should be or does his foot just sit there folded over. That will help you assess neural integrity. Sounds like maybe he got hung up on something and gave himself a good, hard yank and maybe has some severe inflammation and maybe some minor nerve damage. I would put him in a small cat crate and give him something as a pain reliever. I know Danz uses childrens tylenol but I don't know the dosing.

I'm so sorry you're having these issues with your MIL - you are right that you don't need the hassle - pregnant or otherwise. I wish I could offer some advice but I have really never been in this situation. It sounds like she needs to back off and realize that this is your life and your house and you need to make the decisions. But how do you communicate that to her? I really have no idea....FWIW, I've redone floors and it is hard work, and a lot of mess. If I were to need it done again now I would really prefer to hire it done. You get a couple of guys with the right equipment in to do it and they'll have it finished in no time, but one person doing it with rented equipment is going to be working on them for quite awhile.

Thanks for sympathy. Helps me to know I am not a total nut job.

DH and I re finished the hardwood floor in our bedroom in Wichita and it was only one room. It took us 3 days to finish and it was a stinky, dusty mess! This would be the WHOLE house!! Six full size rooms of hardwood flooring and some of the floors are in serious need of some TLC that they haven't seen in a LONG time. It is going to be murderous work and should be left to some strong guys or gals who have all the equipment and gusto because it is going to be a chore and a half. Plus I would like to choose the finish and color for the floors and they just want to use stain they already have and she wants to stain it dark which I hate!!!! She has dark floors and I hate dark floors. It is just personal preference but I am the one who has to live there! There is no reasoning with her, I have tried everything. I also have a minor degree in psychology and have read a lot on effective communicating and even tried re affirming her concerns by verbalizing what I was hearing her say and even THAT didn't work! If that doesn't get anywhere I don't know that anything will....

 

[JosieChick]

Awww! I used to have a little splash cochin roo that was my buddy. When we were working on the coop he would pick up small tools and screws and "call" me to them. I lost him in our dog attack.

HEchicken he is my little buddy

This is Alpha