Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

Hawkeye, I've never been to Yoder, it's quite a drive for me & it's in the evening too, but yeah it is an auction. It can go either way I've heard with things going very cheap or very high. I also have heard you have to be careful because they have sick birds there too sometimes. I'm surprised they would auction off sick birds, but I have read of people buying them & finding out they're sick.

It's so cold & windy today here that I won't be doing anything outside except the absolute necessities. I did start putting up the last chicken wire on the wall in the coop yesterday, but ran out of daylight to finish it. I'll have to go back to it another day when it's not so cold.

Well my DH pretty much told me he wasn't doing anything else to help me with my new coop, he says it's not HIS hobby it's mine, so I'm pretty screwed now. I have to somehow get pens up by myself & I'm not sure how I'm going to do that. I think I can probably finish up what needs done inside myself, but the pens are a different story.

 

[HEChicken]

Hawkeye, that is so funny about hiding your key somewhere you can't remember where it is! That is something I would do for sure.

Checoukan, so sorry about your DH hitting a dear - I constantly worry that will happen to us as we spend so much time driving these rural roads, and I often see deer by the side of the road. Hopefully your insurance will cover it without giving you much hassle.

Here is a link to the eBay chicken processing kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/230866995458?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 It is the kind of plucker powered by a drill. I would love to have a stand-alone plucker but can't justify spending several hundred dollars on something I will only use occasionally. I've toyed with the idea of doing a batch of meat birds, but am really not sure I could stomach processing day. I've been doing it for years but instead of getting easier, its actually getting harder with each one I do. Like I said, I don't even enjoy eating them any more. I've got birds in the freezer that I never "remember" to pull out and defrost because they no longer appeal. I used to look at excess cockerels thinking "oooh....you're going to be yummy" but no more

. Anyway....I read the reviews on this plucker and everyone seemed to be happy with it, and the claim is that it plucks in 90 seconds which is far better than the time it takes by hand, so anything I can do to make an unpleasant job faster, is good with me.

Everyone reported getting rain yesterday - lucky you. We got a few minutes of light rain in the morning but not another drop after that. It wasn't even enough to register in the rain gauge.

I went ahead and ordered two of the small EcoGlows from Amazon yesterday. After finding out what the shipping price was from Brinsea, I realized that even with their coupons, it was cheaper to get it from Amazon with free shipping. Crazy, huh? They are temporarily out of stock but I don't need them until the end of March so as long as they are in by then, I'm happy. I did look on eBay, since Sunflowerparrot said she got hers there, but the only one on eBay now is higher priced than both Brinsea and Amazon so for now I'll stick with my back-order. I was originally going to get one big one, but in the end decided two might work better. For a large batch of chicks I can plug both in side-by-side, but for small batches, I only need to run one. And, with two I can have two brooders going at the same time too, so in the end two small ones seemed the more flexible option.

This morning my DS, in the middle of getting ready for school, suddenly went to the back door and I heard him go outside. Wondering about this departure from his usual routine, I went to the window to look and see what he was up to, only to see him head down to the chicken yard and start feeding and watering. When he came back in (freezing mind you because he didn't wear a jacket or gloves), he was so pleased with himself to have pleased his mama so much. Wow. I think I'll keep this kid for another day!

 

[HEChicken]

Trish, so sorry about the pens. Have you seen Danz' pens? I really like the look of them from the pictures she posted and they look like they would be both doable and flexible in terms of size - perhaps that is an option for you. I might be able to help with building - just let me know.

 

[cubbysan]

I think I have created a monster. My ten year old daughter.

I gave in last week and ordered some Silkie eggs on e-bay. I wanted to wait, but my daughter was driving me crazy. They are from 1234muki and her pictures look beautiful. Of course, during the shipping time, the temps dropped like crazy. Anyways I put them in our incubator and then she shoves a dozen more from our black sex link that has started laying, then yesterday our polish crested laid her first one, now that is in there too! Of course the timing is all off with that one, and these will be mixes.

Now the past few days, she is following me around the house showing me all these incubators that she wants to buy with her own money. By the end of last night she was pulling down instructions on how to build her own incubator, telling me she needs more coops, etc.......

 

[SpooncreekJenn]

Finally got our lil seperation coop done we made the runs out of PVC really light and easy to move and cheap
The whole thing was about 200.00 in material but a lot of labor thank gosh my Dad and Sister like to help.
We are pretty proud of the lil red barn.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Deer Hubbie hit one last nite, a big buck. I was just sick, here is a picture of the damage, then too top it off, could not find that deer. It was about 6:30 and raining.
The damage include the grill, bumper, light bucket fender, and hood. Does not look all that bad, until you view from the side, then it really shows up. It was a big bodied deer, the back part of the headlight was all the way across the highway along with other pieces of the grill. When you turn the wheels, the tire rubs on the bumper, that is who far it is pushed back.

Ok, now its cold and spitting snow, dang, it is just going to slow the building down, and I am ready to start moving!! BRRR guess I had better get to it, everybody is starving you know!!
maidenwolf, I am going to try to go to the Turkey creek swap meet and see if I can move some birds. I am taking silkies that I want to sell there, just thought I would let you know.

Oh no! I'm glad he's okay. I'm with Hawkeye, I hate working with insurance companies. That won't be any fun at all. I'm so sorry you didn't even get the deer.

Great! I need to stay buys getting pens ready so I can hatch. I have overloaded myself as usual.
Well we just discovered that Penny Lane and myself really are neighbors. Maybe only about 3 miles apart. That is really cool. She lives a mile north of me and just a little east.
Long long day yesterday and I need to get in gear. It will be an even longer one today. I have so much to do.
I'm hoping to convince DH to feed the birds for me. That would give me more time to get things done.

Now I'm really jealous! What fun -- two chicken lady neighbors! Now we have 2 pairs of chicken lady neighbors since Trish44 and Sunflowerparrot are the first. Good luck today getting things done. Great day to be inside.

Danz-- your chipmonk story was FUNNY! I'm really glad you caught the little guy, but wow, good thing the cats were asleep and it all worked out well. When Josie said "super sonic chippies" it cracked me up thinking about it zooming around and you seconds behind it. hehehe What are you going to do with your albino turkey? I'd love to see a picture of her (on a much nicer day when it's warmer out there). The wind today is INSANE!!! I'm so glad I got water cleaned and refilled when it was nice.


I like your new name!! It took me a bit to figure out who the "new" person was! LOL Sorry about breaking into your house! I love HEchicken's idea of the new lock that you can code into. That sounds perfect! In fact, it's got me thinking *I* want one on the house here! I've been locked out by the kids. They will turn a lock and shut the door to go play. If I'm already outside when they do that, I'm screwed. I've been locked out of my house MANY times. Fortunately, I have a key hidden on the property... But half the time I spend like 30 mins hunting it down because I always forget where I put it. It's not one of those obvious places-- like people do with putting a key under the mat or a rock.. Noooo... I had to get creative. So creative, that one time I gave up and just played outside until my DH came home. That key is somewhere out there-- I had to get another one and try another hiding spot that I might remember this time. Although, come to think of it -- right this minute, I have no idea where I put the new one.

I have some ideas for you!

Hawkeye, I've never been to Yoder, it's quite a drive for me & it's in the evening too, but yeah it is an auction. It can go either way I've heard with things going very cheap or very high. I also have heard you have to be careful because they have sick birds there too sometimes. I'm surprised they would auction off sick birds, but I have read of people buying them & finding out they're sick.

It's so cold & windy today here that I won't be doing anything outside except the absolute necessities. I did start putting up the last chicken wire on the wall in the coop yesterday, but ran out of daylight to finish it. I'll have to go back to it another day when it's not so cold.

Well my DH pretty much told me he wasn't doing anything else to help me with my new coop, he says it's not HIS hobby it's mine, so I'm pretty screwed now. I have to somehow get pens up by myself & I'm not sure how I'm going to do that. I think I can probably finish up what needs done inside myself, but the pens are a different story.

I'm sorry to hear DH won't be helping you with the pens. He does have a point, though. These guys really have put in a lot of time building stuff for us. Maybe he just needs a little 'attaboy", you know, tell him how much you've appreciated the help he has given you. Sometimes, all I need is an "attagirl" and I'm good to go. If he's beyond an "attaboy", you're screwed, for sure.

I could possibly help out too.

This morning my DS, in the middle of getting ready for school, suddenly went to the back door and I heard him go outside. Wondering about this departure from his usual routine, I went to the window to look and see what he was up to, only to see him head down to the chicken yard and start feeding and watering. When he came back in (freezing mind you because he didn't wear a jacket or gloves), he was so pleased with himself to have pleased his mama so much. Wow. I think I'll keep this kid for another day!

Tell your precious son that he made one chicken lady's day! What a great kid! He's the kind of person that makes the world a better place. That's one of those moments when you just want to burst with pride at who they are becoming!

cubbysan, a girl after my own heart!

SpooncreekJenn, that is the cutest little red coop! Love it!

 

[ocap]

Here is a link to the eBay chicken processing kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/230866995458?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 It is the kind of plucker powered by a drill. I would love to have a stand-alone plucker but can't justify spending several hundred dollars on something I will only use occasionally. I've toyed with the idea of doing a batch of meat birds, but am really not sure I could stomach processing day. I've been doing it for years but instead of getting easier, its actually getting harder with each one I do. Like I said, I don't even enjoy eating them any more. I've got birds in the freezer that I never "remember" to pull out and defrost because they no longer appeal. I used to look at excess cockerels thinking "oooh....you're going to be yummy" but no more

. Anyway....I read the reviews on this plucker and everyone seemed to be happy with it, and the claim is that it plucks in 90 seconds which is far better than the time it takes by hand, so anything I can do to make an unpleasant job faster, is good with me.

here is a link to the processor I used last fall, his price is reasonable if you are thinking of buying or renting equipment
http://www.kcfoodcircle.org/growermembers/baumans-cedar-valley-farms/
i used him because my poodle cross has been guarding my chickens and I did not want her to smell the blood from 95 chickens, the squawk and smell would confuse her

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye, I've never been to Yoder, it's quite a drive for me & it's in the evening too, but yeah it is an auction. It can go either way I've heard with things going very cheap or very high. I also have heard you have to be careful because they have sick birds there too sometimes. I'm surprised they would auction off sick birds, but I have read of people buying them & finding out they're sick.

It's so cold & windy today here that I won't be doing anything outside except the absolute necessities. I did start putting up the last chicken wire on the wall in the coop yesterday, but ran out of daylight to finish it. I'll have to go back to it another day when it's not so cold.

Well my DH pretty much told me he wasn't doing anything else to help me with my new coop, he says it's not HIS hobby it's mine, so I'm pretty screwed now. I have to somehow get pens up by myself & I'm not sure how I'm going to do that. I think I can probably finish up what needs done inside myself, but the pens are a different story.

Well I wasn't thinking of buying... thinking of selling! LOL I will be in a surplus of silkies by Fall and am thinking ahead on how to get rid of them. Of course, I'm also thinking that I can sell them at the shows I go to, too. Most of them will be breeder or SQ birds-- so I hate to sell them for cheap when I had to paid so much for them! They would be a great start for someone else to get on their feet in a hurry. Jump right into great stock. Okay, so I have an idea for you! You'll need a post hole digger, but set all of your posts in a big square where you want your pens. So, maybe 4 posts?? off the coop. Then just tack your fencing to it and above it. You'll probably have to put 2X4's (treated lumber) over the top or in between. Maybe even a post in the middle of the pen to support the boards if they don't go all the way across or you want to stick with smaller length boards... I can draw it up if you need a better idea than my rambling! I think it would be pretty easy.

Hawkeye, that is so funny about hiding your key somewhere you can't remember where it is! That is something I would do for sure.

Checoukan, so sorry about your DH hitting a dear - I constantly worry that will happen to us as we spend so much time driving these rural roads, and I often see deer by the side of the road. Hopefully your insurance will cover it without giving you much hassle.

Here is a link to the eBay chicken processing kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/230866995458?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 It is the kind of plucker powered by a drill.

Very cool! Thanks for the link!! Congrats on the EcoGlow-- hopefully it will come in sooner than you think. What an amazing kid you have there! LOVE it. I must be hormonal, it brought tears to my eyes thinking of how great he felt thinking he did something so special for you!

I think I have created a monster. My ten year old daughter.

I gave in last week and ordered some Silkie eggs on e-bay. I wanted to wait, but my daughter was driving me crazy. They are from 1234muki and her pictures look beautiful. Of course, during the shipping time, the temps dropped like crazy. Anyways I put them in our incubator and then she shoves a dozen more from our black sex link that has started laying, then yesterday our polish crested laid her first one, now that is in there too! Of course the timing is all off with that one, and these will be mixes.

Now the past few days, she is following me around the house showing me all these incubators that she wants to buy with her own money. By the end of last night she was pulling down instructions on how to build her own incubator, telling me she needs more coops, etc.......

LOL! But it sounds like you are willing enough to enable her, too....

Finally got our lil seperation coop done we made the runs out of PVC really light and easy to move and cheap
The whole thing was about 200.00 in material but a lot of labor thank gosh my Dad and Sister like to help.
We are pretty proud of the lil red barn.

Great coop!! It's adorable! Nice run! Love the PVC idea!

here is a link to the processor I used last fall, his price is reasonable if you are thinking of buying or renting equipment
http://www.kcfoodcircle.org/growermembers/baumans-cedar-valley-farms/
i used him because my poodle cross has been guarding my chickens and I did not want her to smell the blood from 95 chickens, the squawk and smell would confuse her

THANK you!! I have searched for companies that do birds, and they are not to be found around here. I don't know why!



Karen--- okay, it's freezing cold outside and I had no where to go this morning. I should be doing laundry, but I thought it would be more fun to throw something together for you. NOT that it's anything fantastic right now, but I thought it was a cute idea. My program has been acting up, so my skills are kind of limited. But it was behaving well enough to get this done. Anyway, if you are starting a website or whatever, you can have this if you like it. If you want it though, let me know, because this is a "small" image and you'd want the large one that will upload and look sharper.
PS-- you can click on the image to Enlarge it.

 

[JosieChick]

HeChicken, My most aggressive roo is a little self blue d'uccle. The other roosters run from him in fear. It's so funny to watch him. I should put him in with the other d'uccles but I am afraid he would terrorize my other little boys. It's pretty peaceful in there right now.
Isn't it funny how the tiny scrappy roos are the most aggressive. My bossiest roos are my serama and one serama mix, followed in line by my mille fleur cochin boys. They chase the big boys around!

I do take lots of rest breaks. If I get really worn out I take a nap and I have been sleeping like a rock at night. I am sure that will come to an end soon because I am starting to feel short of breath sometimes so I know she is starting to push on things as she takes over in there!

It has been pouring here today, the first real rain we've had in I can't remember when. I just heard thunder again, so probably at some point I'll have to get off here & shut down the computer again. I don't take chances with lightening, I lost two computers before from surges & don't think your surge protector will keep it from happening either because it won't, I found out the hard way. We do need the rain so very badly. I sure hope what I heard yesterday doesn't come true that we're going to turn into a dessert here, that would be the pits.

Josie, I hope you're taking time to take rest breaks, you don't want to cause yourself problems, it's not worth that. That's exciting that you're going back to Maine for a baby shower!

They didn't seem to mind being dried off too badly, I think they were really cold. I am glad I went out when I did, I think a few more hours and a couple of them would have perished. Isn't it funny how those tiny little roos run the show?! My serama roo was terrorizing a GIANT english orp roo the other day. Had him screaming and on the run!

Danz, Trish44, you can call me Karen. I'm sure it will be awkward to call me Deerfield.

Josie, I can't believe those silly birds causing you all that extra work for nothing. It's just not easy blow drying a chicken! Even if it is small. It's not raining here but it's cold and windy and I had to shoo little Lucy back into the coop. Bertram has the German NH cockerels on the run and they are big! His little crow just cracks me up and he does it with such dignity.

Oh no! What a bummer, glad he is ok. Sorry you couldn't find the deer.

Deer Hubbie hit one last nite, a big buck. I was just sick, here is a picture of the damage, then too top it off, could not find that deer. It was about 6:30 and raining.
The damage include the grill, bumper, light bucket fender, and hood. Does not look all that bad, until you view from the side, then it really shows up. It was a big bodied deer, the back part of the headlight was all the way across the highway along with other pieces of the grill. When you turn the wheels, the tire rubs on the bumper, that is who far it is pushed back.

Ok, now its cold and spitting snow, dang, it is just going to slow the building down, and I am ready to start moving!! BRRR guess I had better get to it, everybody is starving you know!!
maidenwolf, I am going to try to go to the Turkey creek swap meet and see if I can move some birds. I am taking silkies that I want to sell there, just thought I would let you know.

Well, I think getting rid of last year's roos and hens is sad. I will be keeping ONE of them for sure. He's done very well for us at the shows and he's just soooo pretty. So unless i have just stunning boys this year that are far better than him (it would take a LOT to do that) then I'll be keeping him. I will have some nice girls to get rid of this year too after I've used them. They will be excellent breeders.. not SQ, but should produce excellent birds. So we shall see!!! oh WOW-- does your BCM have a rooster to go with her? I would be tempted to hatch if that were the case!
No roo to go with her, I lost him this spring. I have a feeling she is being mated by a serama/cochin roo so I don't really want those chicks! Plus I am not hatching or allowing anyone to sit until we are moved because I don't want the stress of moving chicks that need heat in the cold. Will you be keeping Josie?

Oh no. Yes, agreed, they can be pretty dumb. I'm so glad that my big birds, I don't have to worry about them getting wet or being outside. But when you have tiny little bantam breeds-- or birds that don't have feathers that SHED water... Ugh. Can cause a lot of problems when they get wet and cold. I sure hope they will be okay and don't come down with colds!
My big birds were all out as well but they just get wet on top and stay dry underneath. I had a few frizzled serama pullets and they don't shed water at all and they were just soaked to the bone. They felt ice cold when I picked them up. They all look good today in the garage so I am hoping! I never would have left them out there if I had known it was going to rain like that or get cold. Our weather people up here don't know if they are coming or going!

Well my DH pretty much told me he wasn't doing anything else to help me with my new coop, he says it's not HIS hobby it's mine, so I'm pretty screwed now. I have to somehow get pens up by myself & I'm not sure how I'm going to do that. I think I can probably finish up what needs done inside myself, but the pens are a different story.

Do you process alone? We usually do them together and sometimes even have friends help if it is a big batch. We try to make it something enjoyable by having dinner afterward or something. It helps to have people to hang out with and laugh about stuff. Like when DH and I processed those two ducks, if I had been alone I probably would have been in tears trying to pluck them but because we did it together we were able to laugh about our ignorance about how hard it is to pluck a duck!
Here is a link to the eBay chicken processing kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/230866995458?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 It is the kind of plucker powered by a drill. I would love to have a stand-alone plucker but can't justify spending several hundred dollars on something I will only use occasionally. I've toyed with the idea of doing a batch of meat birds, but am really not sure I could stomach processing day. I've been doing it for years but instead of getting easier, its actually getting harder with each one I do. Like I said, I don't even enjoy eating them any more. I've got birds in the freezer that I never "remember" to pull out and defrost because they no longer appeal. I used to look at excess cockerels thinking "oooh....you're going to be yummy" but no more

. Anyway....I read the reviews on this plucker and everyone seemed to be happy with it, and the claim is that it plucks in 90 seconds which is far better than the time it takes by hand, so anything I can do to make an unpleasant job faster, is good with me.

Everyone reported getting rain yesterday - lucky you. We got a few minutes of light rain in the morning but not another drop after that. It wasn't even enough to register in the rain gauge. Wow! It poured here all day.

This morning my DS, in the middle of getting ready for school, suddenly went to the back door and I heard him go outside. Wondering about this departure from his usual routine, I went to the window to look and see what he was up to, only to see him head down to the chicken yard and start feeding and watering. When he came back in (freezing mind you because he didn't wear a jacket or gloves), he was so pleased with himself to have pleased his mama so much. Wow. I think I'll keep this kid for another day! What a great kiddo! Can you send him to my house next?

Hahahahaha!!! A ten year old being caught up in chicken math!!!

I think I have created a monster. My ten year old daughter.

I gave in last week and ordered some Silkie eggs on e-bay. I wanted to wait, but my daughter was driving me crazy. They are from 1234muki and her pictures look beautiful. Of course, during the shipping time, the temps dropped like crazy. Anyways I put them in our incubator and then she shoves a dozen more from our black sex link that has started laying, then yesterday our polish crested laid her first one, now that is in there too! Of course the timing is all off with that one, and these will be mixes.

Now the past few days, she is following me around the house showing me all these incubators that she wants to buy with her own money. By the end of last night she was pulling down instructions on how to build her own incubator, telling me she needs more coops, etc.......

Well I need to get bundled and go out and change water. It is miserably cold out and windy. I need to start working on painting today to get this house ready but I just can't get motivated to paint. It is hard because the cats are all over everything and they sure can't read wet paint signs!

Announcing our first work day at the farm!

Saturday, Feb. 9
9AM-4PM
Lunch will be served!
If weather is inclement we will reschedule
Please PM if you want to help/what time you are available/if you have any tools you can bring along
We will be trying to set up "work teams" to increase efficiency
You do not have to come for the whole day, just let us know when you are available!
Thank you!!!
P.S. If anyone has a nice staple gun they would be willing to bring/loan please let me know. The one we have right now is cheap and not adjustable so it shoots the staples right through the welded wire fence.

 

[checoukan]

Just got home, and DH, told me the estimate on the truck was over 2000$ Dang it. That is the truck we pull our big camper with,its a 2002 model diesel with only 61000 miles. Dang, dang, dang!!!! We may go look the field over again this evening after I finish my last bus route. Might be able to see him in the daylight with no rain.
WELCOME to Spooncreek, I like that.

Hawkeye that deer needs horns. Besides Kansas is fast becoming the state notied for its big buck deer. Buckmasters called my dh this morning wanting to list his buck he shot last year, well 2011 in their record book. I think that is neat. Boone and Crockett are going to list him in their record book too.
Are you going to Pryor, Ok?

BRRRR it is just so cold out there, not nice at all.

Think I will go get that paint silky and take a picture of her or him.