Consolidated Kansas

[JosieChick]

This is too funny!!! I am sure he will figure it out. Geez, boys. I had a young orp roo jump on a girl backwards the other day! He was hangin on to her tail and going to town on her head. I can't believe she put up with it, hope he figures out which end is up!

Well, I saw Ned mating Madge the other day so I guess I can look forward to turkey poults in the spring. That is, the reproductive organs on turkeys are in the feet, right? Because I was alerted to the activity by Madge making sounds I'd never heard before and when I went to investigate, Ned was standing on her back. Just standing there. She continued to make these whimpering sounds and he periodically adjusted his position until it got uncomfortable for her and she wriggled out from under him. He immediately gave a command "Take your position, woman!" and she squatted down again, and he climbed back up to stand on her back some more. Since there was 8-12" clearance the whole time from his body to hers, I can only surmise that the reproductive organs are in the feet and transmit through to her back. Correct? (In case anyone thinks I'm serious, that was very tongue-in-cheek. Nevertheless.....those with turkeys, have you seen them mate where things seem to connect up a little better? Is Ned just inexperienced and will figure it out eventually?)

You could always let her set and hatch a clutch and steal like two poults to hand raise so they are friendly if you wanted a few more as pets. A hand raised turkey is ridiculously friendly, almost like a dog! It would be terribly hard to butcher them if you raised them all in a brooder.

As for whether to let her brood or brood myself, I may do a little of each. The way I see it, there are pros and cons to both. If I incubate them myself, the cons are that I understand incubating turkeys is more challenging than chickens so it might be harder to successfully hatch them, plus newly-hatched poults are fragile until they're established, as Trish and Karen found out last year. However the pro is that they will be friendly and handleable, which my current two are really not. They are friendly and come running but stay just out of arms' reach and cannot be easily picked up to handle. Which brings me to the pros and cons of letting Madge do it. The pros there are that she will likely do a much better job of incubating and raising them than I could but of course the con is that they will be even more difficult to handle than their parents. Since the reason I will be raising them is either to sell or for meat (I don't need 2 dozen turkeys around here!!!), the ability to handle them will be a bonus. I suppose if I just raise them in the hoop house I will always be able to catch them when I need to. And, of course, the brooder raised, friendly poults will be that much harder to eat. So my conclusion is that I have qualms and reservations about either option, so will try to do a little of each.

Ouch!

I got home from church yesterday afternoon and decided that it was a beautiful day for a horse ride. I put my riding boots (ropers with a tall heel... they're a lot like wearing high heals) on and went out to feed my birds. My birds (9 ducks, 3 geese) have tried to play in their water so much, that their water bowl now sits on a mound of ice. I had filled up (2) 5 quart ice cream buckets of water that I was going to use to fill the birds' water bowls. I usually have to gently kick the water bowls because they are usually frozen to the ground. When I went to do that, I forgot that I was wearing my riding boots (read: absolutely NO traction). The next thing I know, I was on the ground and had hit my front teeth on the edge of the water bowl, bit my tongue, bruised my knee, got bird poo on the knee of my fresh-from-the-laundry jeans, and of course got myself all wet (thankfully just the outside layer of the many I was wearing in preparation for my horse ride).

I am typically very careful about not hitting myself in the face because I had jaw surgery years ago and it doesn't take much for me to be in pain for hours, even days, afterwards. My jaw is aching today, and my bruised knees are tender. On a good note, though, I thoroughly enjoyed my ride.

Oh, birthday cakes! I can't wait. My mom used to make our birthday cakes and she made the most awesome cakes. She would buy Wilson cake pans and every year we would get to pick what we wanted for a cake. One year she did a 3-D care bear cake. It was the coolest thing ever. Another year she made me a monarch butterfly cake. We loved our birthday cakes. Glad you are on the mend finally!

Danz, sounds like you have been busy as usual! Sounds like you had a pretty good Christmas with your kids. Hope you can find the missing gifts before she out grows them! My middle child's birthday is coming up at the end of the month and I'm talking to him about what he'd like to see on his cake. So far he's said dinosaurs, a racetrack with cars, and a BIG volcano.... hmmm. I'm hoping he will narrow that down soon! LOL I think even that might be too much for ONE cake. I have an AWESOME bakery I use, but I'm not sure they can handle all of that.

I'm feeling better today! I feel like someone detached my head and it's floating somewhere above my body, but otherwise, I'm not feeling too miserable!

Congrats on the new horse! How exciting!

We have been looking for awhile for a horse for my daughter. Long story, but the mare she has been riding for the past three years (and whom she was told to treat as her own horse) is being retired at the end of this month to a ranch down in Texas. So, knowing DD was going to lose her riding companion, we started looking. We finally found her a gelding who we hope will be a good match, and the seller delivered him to our barn on Saturday morning. So we spent most of the weekend helping him get settled in and plan to be there everyday this week after school as well. So the high temperatures are most welcome

That sounds like a great deal.

I just got a call from my banker. She was doing some reviews and said she could refinance for less than half of the interest I pay now and I don't have to have all the appraisals and stuff done again so that saves me a ton in fees. She said it would put my loan on a 15 year loan rather than a 30 and my payments would actually be a little less each month. That sounds like a deal to me. She is emailing me the numbers. I guess I could ask for more so I could do the work I want to around here but I'd rather just pay as I go. I hate borrowing money. At 15 years I might actually pay this place off before I die.
Some decent news for a change. I had been thinking about this but figured I couldn't come up with all the money to refinance.

I am wiped after this weekend. We spent most of it at the house in Towanda working on stuff and running nine million errands. I have been on the phone all morning making appts and double checking things so we can coordinate work on the house. We are going to have the upstairs walls repaired and repainted. The plaster was damaged so the previous homeowner had someone come in and they just screwed up sheets of masonite (I think?!) to cover the walls, it looks terrible. So we had a guy out today that tore that mess down and now I am waiting to hear back about getting someone out to repair the plaster and skim the walls so it can be painted. Trying to get that all done this week as the hardwood flooring people are coming out next week and they want the place all to themselves.

We ordered a ton of lumber, most everything we needed for the chicken coops/runs and a loafing shed kit at Sutherlands this past Saturday. They were having a new years sale and it was 20% off if you spent over $2000 so we got a heck of a deal. DH was delighted the whole car ride home with our savings. He couldn't stop talking about how it put us under budget on the chicken and geese pens which was very nice!

Bad news on Lucie. She had follow up radiographs and the right leg hardware appears to be weakening. I am waiting to talk to the surgical resident at K State to make a decision on whether we are going to have them try to repair the fracture site again. Sigh. I feel so badly for her cooped up for another 8-12 weeks or more but on the bright side she seems to be happy to be home from the kennel, even though she is still in a tiny crate.

If anyone is interested in a really nice kitty let me know! I have this grey male cat that was dumped out here a few months ago and we trapped and neutered him right before Christmas. I kept him locked in the garage while we were gone so I could get him a bit tamer because I want my barn cats touchable in case they are injured/sick and for flea prevention etc. He has turned into the sweetest cat ever. Rubs and purrs and loves attention. I didn't think he would get this friendly and our other barn cat does not like him much so if anyone is looking for an sweet indoor or indoor/outdoor pet kitty he would love to have someone to love him! DH said no more indoor kitties for us, the inn is full!

 

[Hawkeye95]

He is a Quarter Horse and so far has been perfectly behaved. He leads well, and we ponied him yesterday while riding and he did great - looking around at everything with great interest but never spooked at anything. After that, DD rode him in arena for awhile, just at a walk and trot and he did everything she asked. He is very personable, and seems to really like people. So far everything has been a breeze - grooming, picking up his feet, tacking - he just takes it all in stride and is respectful and friendly. I think we're really going to like him. DD is really looking forward to trail-riding with him in a couple of months as the mare she was riding was too old to be able to handle a full day.

That's great that your silkies are starting to lay - I'm still waiting for that first silkie egg but don't think it will be far away. Isn't it exciting to be thinking about breeding season again???

Michelleml, I meant to say, I also just get seeds from local stores and don't have a particular brand that I buy - I get whatever looks/sounds good. It is important to know what growing region you are in and when you look at seed packets, look at the back and they will have a chart showing how that variety does in the different regions. Try to choose varieties that do well in your region, and then carefully read the directions for starting. Some seeds do better started early inside and then transplanted out, while others do better if planted directly in the soil. Also look at their requirements for light and water. Some like full sun, others partial, and some like more water than others. At the end of the day, there is a lot of trial and error that goes into vegetable gardening. Try anything and if it doesn't work, just don't do it again.

Sounds like a really great boy! Lucky to have found him! Although, I do think it's getting easier and easier to find decent horses as people discover they can't afford them anymore and are off loading them for next to nothing now. I am always getting emails for FREE horses that my friends or friends of friends have/know of. Sheesh! I don't need another mouth. I've got 3, but at least if I did, it would be cheap! ha! I passed up a fantastic offer for a beautifully trained and papered arabian (for free) that could replace my own. She was even growing out white like mine (started that dark charcoal color). I actually talked to my DH about her, but knew it was a bad idea even when I asked. More grain.

I'm all about those local seeds and I do the same thing!! I will try to grow about anything and then if it didn't work out, I just don't try it again. Most things do work out if you have the time to water. But I do have to pay attention to the sun requirements, because we are full sun, no option for partial, etc. So it is a bit limiting in some ways. I LOVE gardening!

Hawkeye could you take a picture and even maybe some measurements of Seymore's nest some time in the near future. I want to provide my girls with the best nesting area I can in a pen. I just read pages and pages of breeding turkeys but they didn't mention nesting. It was from a university in the 40's but breeding information is always good and there were a lot of tips about best breeders. It will help me choose which males to keep. I want to keep two of my midget whites but I am reading how I need to rotate them with the girls so the hen isn't distracted. Crap. That means coming up with another pen of sorts for the male I am not using at the time. But at least I can keep a couple different blood lines going with two males. I was surprised it was recommending about 20 hens to one male. That's a lot of girls for one boy to take care of. I don't have that many girls so that isn't going to happen here.
I am pretty excited about getting the monster orpingtons. The cockerel I will be getting is still young and lanky but he will be okay when he grows up. I plan to cross him with my regular buff orps to get a little better size on them as layers but I really want to head in the direction of the exhibition birds. I am expecting my white orpingtons to exhibition size as well. They sure grow slow but once they get there they are monsters.

I am really working on this fermented feed concept,and getting excited about it. The brooder chicks I have in the house in a bin are really loving it.
The only problem I've seen with it so far is they get it smashed down in the bottom of the container and then it makes it hard for them to eat. If I can come up with a way to turn or stir large quantities I think I am going to start feeding all the birds the FF.
I am thinking of buying some bourbon red hens. I would need to find a boy for them and make another pen. I think they are beautiful birds though. I would even consider selling my easterns if I could get reds.
We still have Christmas with my other sons' families this coming weekend. I am so ready for the holidays to be officially over.

I can certainly take a picture of her nest! I haven't messed with it, so I hope it's mostly still there. I'll go out and check on it in a while.

Congrats on finding another horse for your daughter! I hope everything works out! My neighbors are currently trying to sell a kid-worthy horse. They're planning on taking it to the sale barn today, if they didn't get it sold by last night. Last I heard, they hadn't had much luck selling the horse, which is really sad 'cuz it sounds like this horse is a nice horse... I only hope that it goes to a good home...

I've had my riding boots for a long time also (11+ years). However, they are RIDING boots and are definitely not made for walking. Even after all of these years, they still give me blisters if I walk in them too much. However, I really like the heel because it keeps me from getting my foot caught in the stirrup.

I think I'm okay, except for the soreness and that should go away in a couple of days. My fall really could have been a lot worse. The way I fell (face first into the water bowl), I could have broken a tooth, gotten a face full of dirty bird water, etc. I didn't include the funny part about my fall in the original story so I guess I'll tell it here....

I went to lunch with a friend yesterday after church. She told me how she had visited her sister's house over Christmas break and had been carrying a bowl of water for her dog down the driveway. She slipped on some ice in the driveway, fell, and soaked herself in the water. I was teasing her at lunch yesterday and telling her that fighting with "old many gravity" was a losing proposition. Apparently, I need to take my own advice

because I fell with not just one but TWO water buckets in my hand! I fell forwards and not backwards like my friend did so I didn't manage to soak myself as thoroughly as she did, but I still found the irony to be rather humorous (even if it still hurts)...
Your chicks are adorable! That is a really nice picture of your turkey! Thanks for sharing the pictures!

Oh wow, funny! I mean... I'm glad it's funny NOW! My boots are pretty old, they are perfect, though. I should try to set up a shot with them for posterity when they finally give it up.

When I had mine, I didn't notice that they ate any more than my other breeds, but as teens...I was growing out them and huge Wyandottes and they were eating sooooo much chick starter it wasn't even funny.

Oh wow, that is good to know! Still, they are sooo big! Did you have the exhibition quality ones that are like the size of a small horse? They have nothing on the hatchery quality Orps that my neighbors have! ha! I thought my neighbors were big.... HA!! I can't even hardly believe they are supposed to be the same bird! Seems like they would eat a fortune in feed. I already think my layers eat a ton as it is. I just have hatchery quality Wyandottes and Barred Rocks (and polish that don't eat that much).

I just got a call from my banker. She was doing some reviews and said she could refinance for less than half of the interest I pay now and I don't have to have all the appraisals and stuff done again so that saves me a ton in fees. She said it would put my loan on a 15 year loan rather than a 30 and my payments would actually be a little less each month. That sounds like a deal to me. She is emailing me the numbers. I guess I could ask for more so I could do the work I want to around here but I'd rather just pay as I go. I hate borrowing money. At 15 years I might actually pay this place off before I die.
Some decent news for a change. I had been thinking about this but figured I couldn't come up with all the money to refinance.

I think that's a great idea! We did a refi not too long ago and got our interest down to an insanely low number back when they did a drastic drop. We still haven't quite seen anything near as low. But we haven't checked in the last few weeks! Not that we're going to do it again. We've refi'd our house about 4-5 or times now! It is usually such a big savings, it is a great deal. I think we were at 7.5% back when we built our house! Isn't that insanely HIGH!?!? That's why we go ahead and do it when it drops enough. Anyway, we have the 15 yr loan on ours too. Plus we're paying less on our monthly mortgage than we started out paying. Win-win. You can wrap up closing into your refi, so don't ever let that worry you. We've done it so many times now, we're getting to be pro's! LOL That's great that you have an awesome banker that let you know your options! Usually you just have to watch out for yourself and if you're not paying attention, you can miss a good deal. SO nice of your bank to help you like that!

 

[maidenwolfx80]

EE #1



EE #2


The other 2 babies were dead. Fully developed but gone.

This was a test hatch anyway so I am happy and thankful for these 2 precious and spunky babies

 

[lizzyGSR]

EE #1

Oh my! Those pictures are absolutely adorable!!!

lizzy, I'm glad you're OK, that sounds like a bad fall & something I would do. It seems like I take a fall every few months & at my age I don't bounce so well any more.

Lol. Thankfully, I'm still relatively young (under 30). However, I find it interesting that you use the word "bounce". My dad has parkinson's disease, and he doesn't always walk as well as he used to (his top half moves faster than his feet). When he falls and then gets back up, it looks suspiciously like he "bounces" in slow motion so we tease him about it and call it "bouncing". There was one story that he told me about walking through the mud. He got one boot stuck in the mud and, in an effort to not fall/bounce in the mud, he put his hand down to keep himself upright. However, he was stiff enough that it took him some time/effort to get upright again without falling into the mud. When he told the story, all I could think was that it sounded suspiciously like he was playing the game "Twister" in the mud by himself. So, now we tease him about playing twister AND "bouncing".

 

[tazcat70]

Quote: Oh wow, that is good to know! Still, they are sooo big! Did you have the exhibition quality ones that are like the size of a small horse? They have nothing on the hatchery quality Orps that my neighbors have! ha! I thought my neighbors were big.... HA!! I can't even hardly believe they are supposed to be the same bird! Seems like they would eat a fortune in feed. I already think my layers eat a ton as it is. I just have hatchery quality Wyandottes and Barred Rocks (and polish that don't eat that much).

Mine were a mix of exhibition and English (which are bigger.) At the same time I had the Wyandottes (from Katy-so big birds as well,) EEs, and Welsummers. None were hatchery except the EEs. The EEs did seem to eat a little less, and certainly laid better, but not a huge amount of difference. Figure 1/2 a cup and 3/4 a cup. [ /B]

 

[HEChicken]

Sunflowerparrrot needs all of your prayers coming her way today, she is having a very difficult time & is just beside herself. Some of you who are friends on FB already know, but her little GP pup Sam went in for a simple neuter procedure last Weds. & now has sepsis & is in critical condition. The Vet has told her he only has a 50/50 chance of making it. He was giving him a blood transfusion today to see if it would help & he is on his third antibiotic. He tore out his sutures & they had to be put back in & in the process of all of that he got this horrible infection. It's just the saddest thing ever because he is just the best little dog & the cutest thing. My heart is breaking for them both.

I've been really sad to hear about Sam - I've never heard of a neuter turning so bad, and hope he is in the 50% that make it.

We ordered a ton of lumber, most everything we needed for the chicken coops/runs and a loafing shed kit at Sutherlands this past Saturday. They were having a new years sale and it was 20% off if you spent over $2000 so we got a heck of a deal. DH was delighted the whole car ride home with our savings. He couldn't stop talking about how it put us under budget on the chicken and geese pens which was very nice!

Bad news on Lucie. She had follow up radiographs and the right leg hardware appears to be weakening. I am waiting to talk to the surgical resident at K State to make a decision on whether we are going to have them try to repair the fracture site again. Sigh. I feel so badly for her cooped up for another 8-12 weeks or more but on the bright side she seems to be happy to be home from the kennel, even though she is still in a tiny crate.

Congrats on the building materials. I saw that ad and it sounded like an awesome deal if you have a big project going on. Glad it worked out for you!!! So sorry to hear about Lucie though.

I just got a call from my banker. She was doing some reviews and said she could refinance for less than half of the interest I pay now and I don't have to have all the appraisals and stuff done again so that saves me a ton in fees. She said it would put my loan on a 15 year loan rather than a 30 and my payments would actually be a little less each month. That sounds like a deal to me. She is emailing me the numbers. I guess I could ask for more so I could do the work I want to around here but I'd rather just pay as I go. I hate borrowing money. At 15 years I might actually pay this place off before I die.
Some decent news for a change. I had been thinking about this but figured I couldn't come up with all the money to refinance.

Is your banker a friend of yours? If not, I would caution about remembering the old saying "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". While there are some decent folks out there, for the most part it often seems that people look out for their own self-interest, so a banker who is calling around to customers trying to get them to refinance may be doing it more in his/her own self-interest than what is in YOUR best interest. As long as you do the research and read the fine print before signing so you know what you're getting into, you should be fine, but just be careful.

Sounds like a really great boy! Lucky to have found him! Although, I do think it's getting easier and easier to find decent horses as people discover they can't afford them anymore and are off loading them for next to nothing now. I am always getting emails for FREE horses that my friends or friends of friends have/know of. Sheesh! I don't need another mouth. I've got 3, but at least if I did, it would be cheap! ha! I passed up a fantastic offer for a beautifully trained and papered arabian (for free) that could replace my own. She was even growing out white like mine (started that dark charcoal color). I actually talked to my DH about her, but knew it was a bad idea even when I asked. More grain.

The funny thing is, before I knew we needed another horse, it seemed like they were everywhere. I couldn't open Craigslist or Facebook without seeing a great horse going free. But once we started looking, the market dropped out and we actually had a hard time finding just the right one! Mind you, we were being fairly picky as I have my DD's safety and happiness in mind as priority one. I didn't want to get her a horse that isn't a good fit or who bucks or spooks, kicks or bites, and have it turn into a horrible experience for her. And, due to the dynamics at our barn, I was really set on getting a gelding, and so many of the horses out there looking for homes are mares. So in the end it took quite a few weeks and driving round to look at a bunch of different horses before we found this guy (the reason my car is stuck in whoop whoop Kansas is because we were out there trying out a horse when it broke down).

Now that we've found him and had him delivered to the barn, I am back to opening Facebook and seeing a bunch of prospects that sound like they would also be a good fit. Isn't that always the way? Just yesterday a friend told me about a horse going free that met all of our criteria! Anyway, I think she is going to be happy with this guy and who knows - maybe when she goes off to college I will end up taking him over as my horse will be getting older by then.

 

[chicken danz]

Just got done cleaning out the entire brooder. What a job. I had to come check back in before continuing my work. I have the stands for the water outside and soaked them in oxine so I still have to fill the waterers and put them back in. It sure seems it takes me forever to get anything done.
Funny you all were talking about falling. I have some pinched nerves that go into my right foot, so if I get too much pressure on my right side I fall down. My family says I fall more than all the old people in the county. I do tend to fall pretty hard pretty often but I have learned to kind of roll when I fall to keep from getting hurt so bad. I don't think I will ever get to the point I don't cuss because every time I do it just comes out. It is so embarrassing to end up rolling around on the ground all the time. Maybe that is why I like being alone out here. Fewer witnesses to my acrobatics.
Tonya I have English lavender and lemon cuckoo orps. They are still young, just starting to lay but still growing every day. These exhibition buffs I am getting belong to a friend of mine who lives over in Missouri. I've seen some of the stock he has bought to go with the ones he already raises. They are huge.
My whites are from HinkCJ directly so they should be awesome. She has bred for size and SOP.
I'm thinking maybe Hawkeye, checoukan, or Ivy might want to show some of these birds for me!!

I am also working on some Dan Powell brahmas which should be monsters if I ever get them grown up.
Trish I was doing all this reading on the turkeys and I think your girls and poults will be fine as long as you only have one Tom turkey in with them. I think the stomping of egg and stuff happens when you have multiple Toms vying for the same hens to mate. I have to keep at least two Tom's in my midgets, so I may just move one of them to a different pen during mating season then switch them back and forth every week or so. That way I can keep from having everything in bred. I really need another building like I have the whites in now but I can't afford to do any more.

 

[chicken danz]

Hechicken, Yes my banker is a friend of sorts. Her mother in law was one of my dearest friends who died a couple years ago of breast cancer. She gave me my bankers private number when I was house shopping and she has been awesome. I know her and her family well. She sent me all the numbers and details and I am going in to discuss it with her tomorrow. The one part I hate is she wrote back and said I have to have an appraisal $465 which is my only expense to refi. She had taken the value off the internet and they won't let her use it. Crap. That means I am going to have some stranger in here. I wish I had all my remodeling done. I am sure that would add value. I wonder if my stack of hardwood that is supposed to be installed will help??

Or the tile I just bought to do DH's shower? Or the backsplash material that isn't installed yet? Or the sheet rock in the front room and bathroom that still needs to be put up? I freak out thinking of all my unfinished projects.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

EE #1



EE #2


The other 2 babies were dead. Fully developed but gone.

This was a test hatch anyway so I am happy and thankful for these 2 precious and spunky babies

The bug eyes on the EE is adorable I have new babies hatching this weekend and I look so forward them arriving. I tend to do things backwards - I have no place for them So, they'll stay in a box in my warm house under the EcoGlow for a few weeks while I sweet talk my BF to help me put something together for them in the "barn" (It isn't really a barn, but a large storage building where the tractor, 4-wheelers and other stuff is stored.). It has electricity and is pretty secure - will be the perfect place for a little brooder.

Your chicks are adorable - congrats on your hatch.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Sunflowerparrrot needs all of your prayers coming her way today, she is having a very difficult time & is just beside herself. Some of you who are friends on FB already know, but her little GP pup Sam went in for a simple neuter procedure last Weds. & now has sepsis & is in critical condition. The Vet has told her he only has a 50/50 chance of making it. He was giving him a blood transfusion today to see if it would help & he is on his third antibiotic. He tore out his sutures & they had to be put back in & in the process of all of that he got this horrible infection. It's just the saddest thing ever because he is just the best little dog & the cutest thing. My heart is breaking for them both.

Trish is right - prayers and good thoughts are needed. Sam continues to not do well. He had a blood transfusion this morning and the vet said we'll look at the situation again tomorrow and see where he is on recovery possibilities. The latest is there is a concern about his blood not clotting correctly and the clotting agent being very low in his blood work - he is also severely anemic - his gums are almost as white as paper. He is lifeless and very very ill right now. When I did my morning walk with Fern, my mind kept drifting to the perfect place I would have to bury Sam. I'm so distraught and my heart aches for the little guy. Please pray for the vet too - as he continues to find what will work for Sam.