Consolidated Kansas

[Deerfield Acres]

My processing equipment arrived today. I certainly cannot fault that ebay seller! I purchased it on Monday, and the projected delivery was Friday, but it came a day early. Darn. And here I was thinking I had a great excuse to put off processing one more day. I showed it to DH and he agreed that it would be easier with a drill press (which we don't have) than a hand-held drill, even though it can be used with the hand-held. So I said "Oh good. So that means I can't process until we get a drill press, right?" He just kind of snickered.

My kids would like to process birds for others to earn a little spending money, so if you get to the place where you just can't stand it anymore, give me a shout. My oldest two are fast and have quite a lot of experience. They don't have any plans to do the actual killing. I agreed to do that part for them. I always do it at home. We use a cone here and just set up tables outside while they skin and gut. We've only plucked once but it was very difficult with a turkey and a couple ducks. What a chore! It will be interesting to see how your plucker works. I may need one of those. We'll be processing a rooster and just a few ducks this weekend ourselves.

 

[cubbysan]

Oh! I think I can help you with the automatic dishwashing soap. I found a recipe for auto dish soap that used the laundry soap with Fels Naptha instead of Castille soap, but then you added salt and citric acid to it. Then, you use vinegar in the dispenser to prevent spotting. Both work really well and saves money for more chickens!

Silly dogs, they'll put anything in their mouths. I have 3 little yappy dogs who get into everything. They don't seem interested in the dish soap, however, maybe they can smell the citric acid?

Congrats on your new soap!!!! It's so much fun to make. I bet yours was cold process? I've only made hot process because I'm too impatient to wait for the stuff to cure. Cold process makes a more refined looking bar, though, and just out of curiosity I'm going to have to try it one of these days. I bet yours is yummy!


Now that is something new! I've never heard of it. I would sure be interested in how it's done! I would use goat milk soap -- I've heard it's really nice.

The laundry detergent I make I use Fels Naptha, but I believe I can use Castille too. The recipe I think I used for the laundry detergent, I don't think called for salt and I don't remember the vinegar - so maybe that is the problem. I'll have do some googling to find out. It kills me everytime I buy laundry detergent, we go through it like crazy.

I made the cold process. He bought us these small plastic rubbermaid containers to have us pour the soap in, I think it was 2 1/2 pounds. I cut it two days later into 10 or 12 bars, but I should have cut them smaller, they are kind of thick.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Trying to resurface. I worked all day again yesterday and then up this morning and started again. I had the guy here for the home appraisal today.

I also confirmed beyond a doubt that DH is the worst of hoarders.

Well, shake it off and let it go-- you've done all you can do and just leave it in the capable hands of the appraiser now. Hopefully you'll be pretty happy with the outcome, and you'll be able to do the re-fi and lower your monthly! Oh ugh-- I would be really frustrated with all the stuff. You should haul some of it off when he's not there and you're sure he doesn't even remember it's there. I can't tell you how many times I've been thru a box and flat out didn't remember I had the stuff I had-- I mean, once I opened it, I recognized it, but honestly could have gone the rest of my life with never using it again, nor caring. Purging can be fun! Just don't get hung up on the "what if" of future projects you won't really do. Know yourself. That is the hardest part! I tell myself ALL the time-- do I really need this, and am I REALLY going to use it again? So some things are harder to purge and if they have value, then I try to sell them on CraigsList instead of donating them. But most stuff I just give away and donate. As Josie can attest to-- I gave her tons and tons of my baby stuff-- from cute maternity clothing to baby sling, carrier, pack-n-play, cloth diapers, on and on! I kept it all "in case" I got pregnant again. If for some crazy reason I got pg again, I'll worry about it then. Lets hope that is never a worry!! LOL I had been hanging on to some of my drafting tools and my DH dug them up over X-mas and he wanted me to get rid of the box since we are down to nearly nothing in storage and we're working hard to purge deeply. That was tough-- I still consider myself a drafter/designer and could only get rid of half of it. The other stuff, it's too nice, and if I decide to get rid of it, I'll have to sell it so I don't feel so terrible about it.

Danz, I know you understand-- but this weather is making me nuts-- I HATE winter!!! I've been getting seed catalogs in and I'm day dreaming of green plants and rain and gardens! Sigh.

Danz, I don't know how you go about selling aquarium equipment, but it sounds like you might be able to finance your new car by selling it, and that way you wouldn't have to get into another car payment.

My processing equipment arrived today. I certainly cannot fault that ebay seller! I purchased it on Monday, and the projected delivery was Friday, but it came a day early. Darn. And here I was thinking I had a great excuse to put off processing one more day. I showed it to DH and he agreed that it would be easier with a drill press (which we don't have) than a hand-held drill, even though it can be used with the hand-held. So I said "Oh good. So that means I can't process until we get a drill press, right?" He just kind of snickered.

Meanwhile, I had defrosted one of the chickens from my freezer, so I decided to use the knife that came with the kit to cut it up, just to see how sharp it really is. Hoo-boy. I'm a little bit scared of the knife now - I have never sliced up meat as easily as that. That will be good for the chickens I'm processing though - they should barely feel anything.

I'll keep an eye out for the coyote but this morning he didn't act like he even knew the birds are here. He was north when I saw him and continued going north - into the wind - so I don't think he would have smelled them and he never turned around and looked in their direction either. I do feel pretty confident they are safe at night - its hard to imagine any predator getting into the coop. And, our dogs spend the night in the chicken yard (their igloo is in the yard and I lock them in at night the same time I do my last check on the birds, and they don't get let out until morning). One of my dogs loves to chase coyotes. We often flush them at our barn while riding the horses and she will take off after them (a few days ago she scared me by flushing out a big one - at least 50% larger than she is - and taking off after it. I was sure it was going to turn on her at some point and she'd be history, but when she rejoined us, she was unharmed and looking like she had the time of her life). So, I'm hoping that if it comes around during the day my dog will chase it off (she was still in the chicken yard when I saw it this morning), and if it comes at night it will a) be scared off by the dogs and b) not be able to get into the coop anyway. So

it won't turn out to be a problem.

WOW-- that knife sounds AWESOME! But yeah, I'd be a bit scared of it too!! I hope it makes it all easier for you to stomach! I bet you'll be okay, your chicken system is pretty good. Coyotes don't usually attack unless it's night. (usually)

The sprouts are really great in sandwiches too, in place of lettuce. Yums!

Did I ever get back with you about the antlers on the deer? I say we keep the mommy deer a mommy.

The Daydream Believer soap is a bar soap that I made up myself. I'm working on a shampoo that would be just fine for body soap also but after my shampoo cooled it was too thick! So I need to tweek that recipe a little! I also mixed the fragrance myself. There is a lye calculator through a link at www.millersoap.com that goes to Majestic Mountain. I just plugged in the oils I wanted to use, the type of lie and it calculates how much water and lye you need. It's so cool! I got most of my fragrance supplies and some of the butters and oils through Brambleberry. Majestic has lots of great oils also and has great prices. I just put my first batch of soap in a plastic tub -- I made like 6 lbs. of it. Then I cut it into bars freehand. I found a sale on a guest size plastic soap mold and I have two of those so I used that with my second batch. DH is going to make me a wooden soap box, if the poor man can ever finish working on my chicken projects. I was too cheap to buy one. I do a hot process soap so I cook it in an old crock pot and when it's done it's also ready to use. She must be doing a hot process in the oven. That is way cool -- a box would be great for that.

I'm sorry you're having trouble sleeping. I went through a lot of that myself and it makes a difficult situation worse.

My birds love that mix I got from Sprout House. Even the ducks grabbed some and usually they will bully the chickens out of the way, but the chickens weren't having it and soon had run them off. So they are eating them with lots of enthusiasm. Mine is a clover, alfalfa, radish and broccoli mix -- I don't know if that makes any difference?

Those coyotes. I hope that's the last you see of him.

It's a mixture from the Sprout House -- their site is really interesting. I believe they have mixtures for pets and poultry, unless I'm confusing their site with the 50 others I was on. This one is a "salad" mixture but the birds love it. I figured I'd better get something I would like just in case the birds didn't. It's clover, alfalfa, radish and broccoli.

Whoa! Hatching chicks on a cold miserable day will lighten anybody's mood! Can't wait to see the pics. There's just nothing cuter. I don't know about adjusting the temp -- never tried it. Hope it turns out just fine.

I'm so relieved for you that the appraisal is over. That sort of thing just makes me a nervous wreck. Maybe you'll be able to focus better on the car now. I'm sorry but I'm too selfish to let you have my craft room! LOL! I love it out there. It's kind of like when we owned a second home in a small town and just used it for a getaway. When the kids got bored it seemed just the weekend change of pace really cleared the air and made everyone buddies again. We kind of use that craft room for the same thing. If they start picking at each other, I suggest we go work on something together and the atmosphere changes instantly. DH made that a priority when we moved in. I think I'm a little spoiled.

Oh! I think I can help you with the automatic dishwashing soap. I found a recipe for auto dish soap that used the laundry soap with Fels Naptha instead of Castille soap, but then you added salt and citric acid to it. Then, you use vinegar in the dispenser to prevent spotting. Both work really well and saves money for more chickens!

Silly dogs, they'll put anything in their mouths. I have 3 little yappy dogs who get into everything. They don't seem interested in the dish soap, however, maybe they can smell the citric acid?

Congrats on your new soap!!!! It's so much fun to make. I bet yours was cold process? I've only made hot process because I'm too impatient to wait for the stuff to cure. Cold process makes a more refined looking bar, though, and just out of curiosity I'm going to have to try it one of these days. I bet yours is yummy!


Now that is something new! I've never heard of it. I would sure be interested in how it's done! I would use goat milk soap -- I've heard it's really nice.

Okay, we'll keep the deer a mama deer! LOL I can email you the "large" version! Great idea about sprouts in sandwiches! Mmmm... what about tunafish and sprout sandwich? For some reason, that sounds really good to me. Your daydream soap sounds wonderful! Another project I really don't have time for, but would love to do! I'll have to ask my friend what she is doing with her soap! She posts these wonderful pictures of her soaps going into the oven!
Going to see if I can copy/paste pics of her soaps that she does on a regular basis!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

The laundry detergent I make I use Fels Naptha, but I believe I can use Castille too. The recipe I think I used for the laundry detergent, I don't think called for salt and I don't remember the vinegar - so maybe that is the problem. I'll have do some googling to find out. It kills me everytime I buy laundry detergent, we go through it like crazy.

I made the cold process. He bought us these small plastic rubbermaid containers to have us pour the soap in, I think it was 2 1/2 pounds. I cut it two days later into 10 or 12 bars, but I should have cut them smaller, they are kind of thick.

I'll just PM you the recipe I use later. No problem and save yourself the search.

Well, shake it off and let it go-- you've done all you can do and just leave it in the capable hands of the appraiser now. Hopefully you'll be pretty happy with the outcome, and you'll be able to do the re-fi and lower your monthly! Oh ugh-- I would be really frustrated with all the stuff. You should haul some of it off when he's not there and you're sure he doesn't even remember it's there. I can't tell you how many times I've been thru a box and flat out didn't remember I had the stuff I had-- I mean, once I opened it, I recognized it, but honestly could have gone the rest of my life with never using it again, nor caring. Purging can be fun! Just don't get hung up on the "what if" of future projects you won't really do. Know yourself. That is the hardest part! I tell myself ALL the time-- do I really need this, and am I REALLY going to use it again? So some things are harder to purge and if they have value, then I try to sell them on CraigsList instead of donating them. But most stuff I just give away and donate. As Josie can attest to-- I gave her tons and tons of my baby stuff-- from cute maternity clothing to baby sling, carrier, pack-n-play, cloth diapers, on and on! I kept it all "in case" I got pregnant again. If for some crazy reason I got pg again, I'll worry about it then. Lets hope that is never a worry!! LOL I had been hanging on to some of my drafting tools and my DH dug them up over X-mas and he wanted me to get rid of the box since we are down to nearly nothing in storage and we're working hard to purge deeply. That was tough-- I still consider myself a drafter/designer and could only get rid of half of it. The other stuff, it's too nice, and if I decide to get rid of it, I'll have to sell it so I don't feel so terrible about it.

Danz, I know you understand-- but this weather is making me nuts-- I HATE winter!!! I've been getting seed catalogs in and I'm day dreaming of green plants and rain and gardens! Sigh.


WOW-- that knife sounds AWESOME! But yeah, I'd be a bit scared of it too!! I hope it makes it all easier for you to stomach! I bet you'll be okay, your chicken system is pretty good. Coyotes don't usually attack unless it's night. (usually)


Okay, we'll keep the deer a mama deer! LOL I can email you the "large" version! Great idea about sprouts in sandwiches! Mmmm... what about tunafish and sprout sandwich? For some reason, that sounds really good to me. Your daydream soap sounds wonderful! Another project I really don't have time for, but would love to do! I'll have to ask my friend what she is doing with her soap! She posts these wonderful pictures of her soaps going into the oven!
Going to see if I can copy/paste pics of her soaps that she does on a regular basis!

Wow! That's an awesome way to make a lot of soap and she sure makes pretty bars. It looks like lavender buds on the cut bars -- ummm, I bet that smells nice.

 

[JosieChick]

Yeah! She's alive!!

I'm alive. I am trying to get caught up. One day of no posts and I had pages and pages to read. I hope every thing I multied shows up because I will never be able to remember it all.
That is very cute. I have a moveable PVC pen I made and it has been my all around best project that has given me the most use.

Trying to resurface. I worked all day again yesterday and then up this morning and started again. I had the guy here for the home appraisal today. I didn't get a 10th done of what I wanted to before hand. I had planned to go car shopping today after he was done but I am way to worn out. I was hoping to get a good deal being the end of the month. It's been a full month since I totalled my car and I still haven't looked for a replacement.
I have learned a lot the last few days. I have got to get some stuff out of here. The longer I worked the more I threw away. One thing I have tons and tons of is salt water aquarium equipment. I always hoped to get it going again but it is also time consuming and expensive. I have literally thousands of dollars of equipment and aquariums I'm not using. It's time to sort it all out and purge a lot of excess. Maybe I'll get this stuff sorted through and sell what I can then start one with just fish in it. I had all kinds of corals and stuff and they take a lot of care.
I also confirmed beyond a doubt that DH is the worst of hoarders. I got a bit irritated when I would ask him to do a simple thing for me and he couldn't handle it. I asked him to clean up a couple of "his" areas he uses and he just put it all in bins. That just makes a mess for me to sort out later. I threw away the contents of one of his previous "clean up" bins yesterday. It had been in he basement for three years. What was good was out of date or ruined so it all went in the trash. Made me start dreaming of all the stuff I would get rid of if he were gone. And some of the stuff I trashed from else where ended up back in the house. Grrr!
I seriously have way to many projects and hobbies. So much that I have tons of old hobby stuff I forgot about cause I haven't pursued them. Another area to decide what is important to me to keep. Karen I so desperately need your craft room. And then there are all the antique projects. I have so many that I need to complete and then sell. I used to spend gobs of time working on them,but they too have been pushed on a back burner.
Anyway it's over complete with him witnessing chicken in the bins and my olandsk in a cage in here. I just can't change everything to refinance the house. I've felt more stress about this than anything in a long time.
it's been spitting some snow off and on here all day. Nothing much but pretty constant.

Danz, I don't know how you go about selling aquarium equipment, but it sounds like you might be able to finance your new car by selling it, and that way you wouldn't have to get into another car payment.

My processing equipment arrived today. I certainly cannot fault that ebay seller! I purchased it on Monday, and the projected delivery was Friday, but it came a day early. Darn. And here I was thinking I had a great excuse to put off processing one more day. I showed it to DH and he agreed that it would be easier with a drill press (which we don't have) than a hand-held drill, even though it can be used with the hand-held. So I said "Oh good. So that means I can't process until we get a drill press, right?" He just kind of snickered. Hahaha! It is too cold to process birds anyway!

Meanwhile, I had defrosted one of the chickens from my freezer, so I decided to use the knife that came with the kit to cut it up, just to see how sharp it really is. Hoo-boy. I'm a little bit scared of the knife now - I have never sliced up meat as easily as that. That will be good for the chickens I'm processing though - they should barely feel anything. Ohhh, good knife!

I'll keep an eye out for the coyote but this morning he didn't act like he even knew the birds are here. He was north when I saw him and continued going north - into the wind - so I don't think he would have smelled them and he never turned around and looked in their direction either. I do feel pretty confident they are safe at night - its hard to imagine any predator getting into the coop. And, our dogs spend the night in the chicken yard (their igloo is in the yard and I lock them in at night the same time I do my last check on the birds, and they don't get let out until morning). One of my dogs loves to chase coyotes. We often flush them at our barn while riding the horses and she will take off after them (a few days ago she scared me by flushing out a big one - at least 50% larger than she is - and taking off after it. I was sure it was going to turn on her at some point and she'd be history, but when she rejoined us, she was unharmed and looking like she had the time of her life). So, I'm hoping that if it comes around during the day my dog will chase it off (she was still in the chicken yard when I saw it this morning), and if it comes at night it will a) be scared off by the dogs and b) not be able to get into the coop anyway. So

it won't turn out to be a problem. If you have dogs that give chase that is perfect. They wouldn't take on a dog unless they were in a pack. A lone one will just run.

My kids would like to process birds for others to earn a little spending money, so if you get to the place where you just can't stand it anymore, give me a shout. My oldest two are fast and have quite a lot of experience. They don't have any plans to do the actual killing. I agreed to do that part for them. I always do it at home. We use a cone here and just set up tables outside while they skin and gut. We've only plucked once but it was very difficult with a turkey and a couple ducks. What a chore! It will be interesting to see how your plucker works. I may need one of those. We'll be processing a rooster and just a few ducks this weekend ourselves.
Do you guys pluck your ducks? If you do kudos to you! We butchered two ducks and it took us over an hour to get them clean. It was terrible.

Well, shake it off and let it go-- you've done all you can do and just leave it in the capable hands of the appraiser now. Hopefully you'll be pretty happy with the outcome, and you'll be able to do the re-fi and lower your monthly! Oh ugh-- I would be really frustrated with all the stuff. You should haul some of it off when he's not there and you're sure he doesn't even remember it's there. I can't tell you how many times I've been thru a box and flat out didn't remember I had the stuff I had-- I mean, once I opened it, I recognized it, but honestly could have gone the rest of my life with never using it again, nor caring. Purging can be fun! Just don't get hung up on the "what if" of future projects you won't really do. Know yourself. That is the hardest part! I tell myself ALL the time-- do I really need this, and am I REALLY going to use it again? So some things are harder to purge and if they have value, then I try to sell them on CraigsList instead of donating them. But most stuff I just give away and donate. As Josie can attest to-- I gave her tons and tons of my baby stuff-- from cute maternity clothing to baby sling, carrier, pack-n-play, cloth diapers, on and on! I kept it all "in case" I got pregnant again. If for some crazy reason I got pg again, I'll worry about it then. Lets hope that is never a worry!! LOL I had been hanging on to some of my drafting tools and my DH dug them up over X-mas and he wanted me to get rid of the box since we are down to nearly nothing in storage and we're working hard to purge deeply. That was tough-- I still consider myself a drafter/designer and could only get rid of half of it. The other stuff, it's too nice, and if I decide to get rid of it, I'll have to sell it so I don't feel so terrible about it.
It is hard to get rid of stuff for sure because you think that you may need it at some point but we had to do that when we went through the garage. I still made a few trips DH didn't know about to goodwill or the trash can! I was so excited to have all the nice baby stuff!!

Danz, I know you understand-- but this weather is making me nuts-- I HATE winter!!! I've been getting seed catalogs in and I'm day dreaming of green plants and rain and gardens! Sigh. Me too! I am nuts as well. Miserably cold out. It is almost worse that it gets warm for a day and then is freezing out again. Torture.


WOW-- that knife sounds AWESOME! But yeah, I'd be a bit scared of it too!! I hope it makes it all easier for you to stomach! I bet you'll be okay, your chicken system is pretty good. Coyotes don't usually attack unless it's night. (usually) Unless they are alone, unless they are mangy and running around during the day and unless they are at our house.

Both coyote attacks we have had here happened in broad daylight, one at 10 in the morning and one at 2 in the afternoon. Nasty critters. It has been my experience that the lone ones are not as fearful of humans either. I had one that was standing about 20 feet away from me one night watching before I realized he was there.

It's cold outside! Just finished filling feeders and waterers. DH should be in good shape for this weekend of holding down the fort. I need to run to town but am dragging my heels cause the birds haven't put themselves back up yet from free ranging. I really think I need to sell some more birds. There is still an awful lot of chickens out there and they are going through feed like its nobodies business. I hate selling birds but I do have a fair number of pullets that are getting to POL so they may be worth something here in a few weeks when it warms up. I think I am going to sell all the call ducks except a pair of butterscotch (Hawkeye-let me know if you have 4-H kids that want them) I do need to butcher some more roos, some of my chicks from Danz that were acting kinda girly are really turning into boys now! Sneaky little buggers. And I have some old hens that I know aren't laying anymore but I just can't bear to butcher them. They were my first girls.


Trish- Here are some pics of one of the gates we have for our goose pen. We also had ones similar to this on the breeding pens I just took down that we just attached to the T posts with zip ties that were left a tad loose so we could swing the gate open and closed. It works pretty well either way. You can click to make the pics bigger if needed.

Here is the goose pen gate, we used 2x4s and braced them together. Then attached the cattle panel piece cut to size with nail in staples. Drilled holes and put the two eye screws in and attached to the fence with a ummm, what are those snaps called.....carabiners? (spelling?)


Here is a close up of the eye hook and snap. There are two of them.



Here is how we braced the corners.



And here is another smaller gate made the same way.




Overall they have worked well. They just rest on the ground so you have to pick them up a bit to open them but I never have any problems with them. I have more trouble with my hinged gates in the big pens because they blow open on windy days when I am in and out and forget to snap them behind me and the snaps keep freezing in this weather too which is a royal pain. Hope this helps a bit!

 

[michelleml]

Yeah! She's alive!!

It's cold outside! Just finished filling feeders and waterers. DH should be in good shape for this weekend of holding down the fort. I need to run to town but am dragging my heels cause the birds haven't put themselves back up yet from free ranging. I really think I need to sell some more birds. There is still an awful lot of chickens out there and they are going through feed like its nobodies business. I hate selling birds but I do have a fair number of pullets that are getting to POL so they may be worth something here in a few weeks when it warms up. I think I am going to sell all the call ducks except a pair of butterscotch (Hawkeye-let me know if you have 4-H kids that want them) I do need to butcher some more roos, some of my chicks from Danz that were acting kinda girly are really turning into boys now! Sneaky little buggers. And I have some old hens that I know aren't laying anymore but I just can't bear to butcher them. They were my first girls.


Trish- Here are some pics of one of the gates we have for our goose pen. We also had ones similar to this on the breeding pens I just took down that we just attached to the T posts with zip ties that were left a tad loose so we could swing the gate open and closed. It works pretty well either way. You can click to make the pics bigger if needed.

Here is the goose pen gate, we used 2x4s and braced them together. Then attached the cattle panel piece cut to size with nail in staples. Drilled holes and put the two eye screws in and attached to the fence with a ummm, what are those snaps called.....carabiners? (spelling?)


Here is a close up of the eye hook and snap. There are two of them.



Here is how we braced the corners.



And here is another smaller gate made the same way.




Overall they have worked well. They just rest on the ground so you have to pick them up a bit to open them but I never have any problems with them. I have more trouble with my hinged gates in the big pens because they blow open on windy days when I am in and out and forget to snap them behind me and the snaps keep freezing in this weather too which is a royal pain. Hope this helps a bit!

those look great i need help trying to figure out how to make a run around the new coop i want to use. I need to find a video or something to help me

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Josie, those were the only 3 ducks we will ever pluck, ever. It was a terrible chore!

The pics were very helpful for me. That looks like something we could do, too.

 

[chicken danz]

Good job on the gates. I use a design for my gates that is quick and easy. I lay the boards flat and you can either use angle cut corners or just straight corners. I put one board across the middle for stability where they latch will be and to help hold it together. Then I simply take a scrap piece of plywood and cut it into a triangle and screw it to the corners. I can whip out a gate pretty darned fast.
If I can find some transportation by then I will try to come help you on your work day. I have a small air compressor I could bring so multiple tools could be ran and a pnuematic stapler. What size staples do you plan to use?
If I can't make it down this time I will to the next one...as long as it isn't the 16th of March. That is the Gardner auction and I have to be there!
I got every one fed and watered and it was miserable. It took me longer than usual. That cold put me on the slow. Yes Hawkeye and Josie I could scream in this weather. If the birds didn't make me so happy once I got out there I'd never be able to make myself feed and water in this weather. But my sweet albino turkey was extra talkative today and my pet hen that use to live in the house with the pet peacock wanted to be held and cuddle. It makes it all worth while.
The little chick who's toes died ( I think froze) has now lost the bad toes. I just feel so sorry for her but she seems to get around pretty good. I was going to get rid of anything around here that wasn't pure bred but she has won my sympathy. If she went some where and just became someone's special hen that would be okay. But she has to have protection cause she isn't as fast as a normal bird. I don't worry with my dogs here but without them she would for sure be bait. I was going to bring her in and take her picture today but I was trying to rush and get that feeding done. By the time I was done she had gone back to the greenhouse to warm up.
Josie, what do you have for roos? I have some lavenders I need to cull but I would rather try selling them as breeders. My Chinese customer emailed me today and wants two roosters for Chinese new year. All I have is the pretty one that Mammahen is taking and my feeding buddy otherwise. Chinese New Year begins 2-10. I would need them before then. Let me know what you want for them. I normally only charge him a couple dollars each for smaller ones or maybe $3 for larger ones. I've just let him have my extra mixed boys or a few I decided weren't breed worthy. Send me a PM and let me know what you want and if you'd be willing to meet me on one of yoru trips to the new place.

 

[JosieChick]

Hahahaha! I figured! After our first two being plucked I will never pluck a duck again.

Josie, those were the only 3 ducks we will ever pluck, ever. It was a terrible chore!

The pics were very helpful for me. That looks like something we could do, too.

Good job on the gates. I use a design for my gates that is quick and easy. I lay the boards flat and you can either use angle cut corners or just straight corners. I put one board across the middle for stability where they latch will be and to help hold it together. Then I simply take a scrap piece of plywood and cut it into a triangle and screw it to the corners. I can whip out a gate pretty darned fast.
If I can find some transportation by then I will try to come help you on your work day. I have a small air compressor I could bring so multiple tools could be ran and a pnuematic stapler. What size staples do you plan to use? Ummm, I don't know? I will ask DH. I think any kind of staple that doesn't shoot through the welded wire would be great! We may rent a pneumatic stapler too so we don't destroy the fence.
If I can't make it down this time I will to the next one...as long as it isn't the 16th of March. That is the Gardner auction and I have to be there!
I got every one fed and watered and it was miserable. It took me longer than usual. That cold put me on the slow. Yes Hawkeye and Josie I could scream in this weather. If the birds didn't make me so happy once I got out there I'd never be able to make myself feed and water in this weather. But my sweet albino turkey was extra talkative today and my pet hen that use to live in the house with the pet peacock wanted to be held and cuddle. It makes it all worth while.
The little chick who's toes died ( I think froze) has now lost the bad toes. I just feel so sorry for her but she seems to get around pretty good. I was going to get rid of anything around here that wasn't pure bred but she has won my sympathy. If she went some where and just became someone's special hen that would be okay. But she has to have protection cause she isn't as fast as a normal bird. I don't worry with my dogs here but without them she would for sure be bait. I was going to bring her in and take her picture today but I was trying to rush and get that feeding done. By the time I was done she had gone back to the greenhouse to warm up.
Josie, what do you have for roos? I have some lavenders I need to cull but I would rather try selling them as breeders. My Chinese customer emailed me today and wants two roosters for Chinese new year. All I have is the pretty one that Mammahen is taking and my feeding buddy otherwise. Chinese New Year begins 2-10. I would need them before then. Let me know what you want for them. I normally only charge him a couple dollars each for smaller ones or maybe $3 for larger ones. I've just let him have my extra mixed boys or a few I decided weren't breed worthy. Send me a PM and let me know what you want and if you'd be willing to meet me on one of yoru trips to the new place. I have at least one mixed boy and I will look again tomorrow to see what else. I have a pretty lemon cuckoo orp that is missing toenails but I am hoping to sell him as yard candy for someone, he is too sweet to be dinner. I am sure I can rustle up at least one more boy that needs to go to freezer camp.

 

[Hawkeye95]

It's cold outside! Just finished filling feeders and waterers. DH should be in good shape for this weekend of holding down the fort. I need to run to town but am dragging my heels cause the birds haven't put themselves back up yet from free ranging. I really think I need to sell some more birds. There is still an awful lot of chickens out there and they are going through feed like its nobodies business. I hate selling birds but I do have a fair number of pullets that are getting to POL so they may be worth something here in a few weeks when it warms up. I think I am going to sell all the call ducks except a pair of butterscotch (Hawkeye-let me know if you have 4-H kids that want them) I do need to butcher some more roos, some of my chicks from Danz that were acting kinda girly are really turning into boys now! Sneaky little buggers. And I have some old hens that I know aren't laying anymore but I just can't bear to butcher them. They were my first girls.


Trish- Here are some pics of one of the gates we have for our goose pen. We also had ones similar to this on the breeding pens I just took down that we just attached to the T posts with zip ties that were left a tad loose so we could swing the gate open and closed. It works pretty well either way. You can click to make the pics bigger if needed.

Here is the goose pen gate, we used 2x4s and braced them together. Then attached the cattle panel piece cut to size with nail in staples. Drilled holes and put the two eye screws in and attached to the fence with a ummm, what are those snaps called.....carabiners? (spelling?)


Here is a close up of the eye hook and snap. There are two of them.



Here is how we braced the corners.



And here is another smaller gate made the same way.




Overall they have worked well. They just rest on the ground so you have to pick them up a bit to open them but I never have any problems with them. I have more trouble with my hinged gates in the big pens because they blow open on windy days when I am in and out and forget to snap them behind me and the snaps keep freezing in this weather too which is a royal pain. Hope this helps a bit!

GREAT pictures of that gate! What a great idea! I'll let you know if anyone shows interest in the ducks!

Good job on the gates. I use a design for my gates that is quick and easy. I lay the boards flat and you can either use angle cut corners or just straight corners. I put one board across the middle for stability where they latch will be and to help hold it together. Then I simply take a scrap piece of plywood and cut it into a triangle and screw it to the corners. I can whip out a gate pretty darned fast.
If I can find some transportation by then I will try to come help you on your work day. I have a small air compressor I could bring so multiple tools could be ran and a pnuematic stapler. What size staples do you plan to use?
If I can't make it down this time I will to the next one...as long as it isn't the 16th of March. That is the Gardner auction and I have to be there!
I got every one fed and watered and it was miserable. It took me longer than usual. That cold put me on the slow. Yes Hawkeye and Josie I could scream in this weather. If the birds didn't make me so happy once I got out there I'd never be able to make myself feed and water in this weather. But my sweet albino turkey was extra talkative today and my pet hen that use to live in the house with the pet peacock wanted to be held and cuddle. It makes it all worth while.
The little chick who's toes died ( I think froze) has now lost the bad toes. I just feel so sorry for her but she seems to get around pretty good. I was going to get rid of anything around here that wasn't pure bred but she has won my sympathy. If she went some where and just became someone's special hen that would be okay. But she has to have protection cause she isn't as fast as a normal bird. I don't worry with my dogs here but without them she would for sure be bait. I was going to bring her in and take her picture today but I was trying to rush and get that feeding done. By the time I was done she had gone back to the greenhouse to warm up.
Josie, what do you have for roos? I have some lavenders I need to cull but I would rather try selling them as breeders. My Chinese customer emailed me today and wants two roosters for Chinese new year. All I have is the pretty one that Mammahen is taking and my feeding buddy otherwise. Chinese New Year begins 2-10. I would need them before then. Let me know what you want for them. I normally only charge him a couple dollars each for smaller ones or maybe $3 for larger ones. I've just let him have my extra mixed boys or a few I decided weren't breed worthy. Send me a PM and let me know what you want and if you'd be willing to meet me on one of yoru trips to the new place.

Poor chickie! But glad the toes have already fallen off and it's getting around well now. What kind of bird is it?? I wonder if it could learn to roost? I have a couple of silkie roosters that are pet quality, but I just don't know if I could stomach knowing they are getting eaten. They are both sweet little guys. I lost the one I was going to let go for butcher this winter. Now that he's gone... I don't need these two, but I have the room at the moment to keep them.... Sigh.

I need to get busy this morning. I washed both little dogs this morning, it was time and I missed my groomer appt (back when I was sick) and i havent' called to arrange for another one. So at least they smell better this morning. Then my coat had fallen on the floor... (I'm thinking they scratched it down as it was hanging over the back of a chair) and I walked back in and both damp dogs were snuggled up in my coat! Ugh. So my coat is taking a spin in the washing machine right now. I have a couple of things to do today, and I'm using the excuse my coat is in the washer to sit here. When in reality, I probably have 3 or 4 (or 5 or 6) more coats in the closet I could use. And BTW-- I need to purge those darned coats, but I have a real weakness for cute coats!! I can't seem to donate them!!

I don't feel that way about any other clothing or shoes-- everything else I can get rid of easily. But coats and jackets.... nope!