Consolidated Kansas

[sarajoy]

YES... I agree and appreciate the suggestion. I have convinced Mike to go for the 14 by 24 for now, and am very thankful. I will also have the portable coop from here as a separate space, with its own run. The 14 by 24 will have
3 pens in it, a 14 by 12 for the layers, a 10 by 10 for growers, and a separate 4 by ten for a breeding pen, but alternately a safe broody spot when not used as a separate spot for specific breeding pairs, and/or a spot for bothersome roosters.
The separate coop (my present moveable one) I'll use for incoming and/or sick and/or roosters as needed, so there is a lot of flexibility built in. The growers and breeding pens will have their own enclosed outside grazing areas, part of it covered. The layers and at least one rooster will be going out into a large extended garden/pen - one year on one side, next year that side will be garden and they'll be on the other side. I may eventually need more space, or separate spaces, but not unless I go commercial. For starters, at my new place, I have a built in clientelle for delivered eggs as soon as I can provide them. There used to be a neighbor who did that, and she has retired, so folks are having to go to town for eggs. I've heard lots of excitement from folks as they see the coop being laid out. Sara



>If you can talk your DH into it I would make the coop as big as you can now instead of having to add later. As most of us can tell you, chicken math happens & you will get more chickens & then wish you had built bigger. >

 

[Hawkeye95]

Oh my stars! Hawkeye, you made me laugh out loud and then the kids wanted to know what I was laughing about so I shared your Mr. Meat story with them. Then, the broken eggs! Oh my. I sure hope you and your DH have some answers soon. It's no fun having the uncertainty hanging over your head. Have a great time with "the girls" today!

We had a great time yesterday, thanks! And yes, I sure hope we hear something SOON!

Mr. Meat is appropriate, Hawkeye. I think if your DH would pick him up he would have a whole new respect for that bird over seeing pictures. Maybe you should just carry him up to him and have him hold him a second. Raising your own birds is nothing like just buying organic meat. They are still rushed to size instead of letting them grow at a natural pace. You have much better flavor if you just feed and grow them naturally.

I'm glad to hear Sera is feeling better! So far, Mr Meat is doing okay! He has a couple more weeks to go before he can dance with the ladies.

Danz sorry about your pups, I hate when people do that.
I got a huge egg today lol it was from my new hampshire. I will post a pic soon.
I made chicken saddles out of some fleece sleep pants that were too big. I like that I dont need to sew it. It took a couple trials but we figured it out and got all 11 that needed them all fitted and no one freaked out at all. Now they are all wearing a lovely snoopy christmas pattern lol.
I got 12 eggs today,, man they are coming in quick. I have 5 dozen cartons filled and one 18 pk filled and 6 in another dozen carton. Guess its time to go take eggs to family members.

Hope the saddles work out!

Wow-- crazy looking egg!

I made good progress on the hoop coop today, I think. I got the A-Frame for stability for the back of it done, and framed in the door. The rest should be a piece of cake.

Looks GREAT! Looks easy enough to build, too!

Hawkeye, while I was building one of the silkies was underfoot the entire time! She has become super oriented to me lately for some reason and comes running whenever she sees me. So with me working right there in the yard all afternoon, she wanted to be as close to me as she could get - which was underfoot. As endearing as that is, I had to keep moving her because I didn't want to drop a heavy board on her or step on her. So I spent the afternoon picking her up and moving her across the yard, only to turn around a few minutes later and trip over her again. At one point I had to go up and get something from the shop, and of course she was right there at my feet, so I picked her up and carried her all the way to the shop and back. She chattered away non-stop the whole time. Now who couldn't love that? Here she is (the one in front):

Awwwww, the girls are looking so good!! I bet I know which one is the follower. The kids lavished a LOT of attention on her! They are both sweeties! They look pretty happy!

Oh what a chilly day it was yesterday!! DH had to go to a sale, and buy a tractor, and now we have to go back up and pick it up.
My little hen is doing better, she is not wet back behind, and is drinking and eating .
Well I better get busy, I hope everybody has a good day and get out side and soak up some sun. Smile this is the day the lord has made!!!!

Congrats on the tractor! Glad your hen is doing a bit better. Is she a rosecomb? Poor thing, I hope she continues to get stronger. I had a great morning! I get to start out Sunday's leading off our Praise Team at church and it seems to make the rest of the day so much better.

The one baby goat is doing well, eating & everything, but the little boy won't eat so far, I don't know if he's going to make it or not. The little girl just slurps down the milk, the the boy just chews on the nipple. I will hate it if he dies on me. Checoukan you have goats don't you? Do you have any tips for us to get this little guy eating? I think the guy lied to my friend about how old they all really were & he didn't make it right after she told him the other two died. They're so stinking cute! I have to run some straw out to Sunflower's place after while for them to bed down in. We borrowed a calf hut from her friend for now until I can get them something built at my place. They're in her barn.

that is a beautiful egg. Is this from a duck or chicken? sorry if its a silly question


DH and I worked at putting some fencing up. My first time trying to pound post . We bought some mini donkeys back in December and i thought the female was expecting and when the trainer came to pick up my paint for training she confirmed it she said it looks like we got maybe 30-40 days left. So we worked on section off an area for her to foal in and still be safe. I'm tired

I have foaled a few horses and I'm guessing that donkeys are pretty much the same. But we've lost some, too. We got smart after we lost the first one. Get your mare vet checked and get an ultrasound and be sure you know exactly what is going on. Mark it on your calender and then start checking her every morning and night for labor-- there are numerous signs. All kinds of things can happen, and they happen FAST. Make sure you are supplementing your mare with calf manna every night and check with your vet on which vitamins to be giving her right now. She'll need to continue with the calf manna and vitamins as long as she is nursing, otherwise they drag down fast. Anyway, I don't mean to come off sounding like doom and gloom here, but foaling is serious business. The other thing is that after she foals, it's sometimes a good idea to do a flush on her. (it's up to the vet if he thinks she needs it when he checks her over after she foals) We didn't know that and we nearly lost a mare because she got such a horrendous uterine infection, she foundered. Don't want to totally freak you out, just have her under vet care so you don't lose your investment.

Oh, I saw the funniest sight tonight. My little Serama rooster, who until now has not shown much interest in the ladies, finally decided it was time. So he picked a hen, she squatted, and he jumped aboard. He grabbed her by the neck feathers and wiggled about doing his thing. So if he managed to fertilize the eggs, can we call the offspring of a Serama and a duck a "Seramack"? (Say it fast.)

OH. MY. GOSH!!!

A duck.

 

[HEChicken]

ChickenDanz - how much do you ask for your pyrs? I'm not ready for one yet - not till after our move, but I will be wanting to get a female as a mate to Danny (6 months now) before long. I imagine you mention specifics somewhere, but I haven't been keeping up - making trips over to the new place and working there nearly every day - took the day off today, so I'm trying to get a bit caught up. Also, about the structure you wanted built, wondered if you have any Amish near you? The Amish are building for me and doing repairs on the house on the new place. They do really good work, have a much better work ethic than most "English" (their term) crews, and are honest. If they say something needs being done, it does - though they will usually give you options about more and less effective/permanent and more and less expensive ways to get the job done. If they can't consider what you think you want to be a workable solution, they won't take the job. Our crew charge 13 bucks an hour, or will offer a bid if you want that. But they locally have gotten the reputation that they do such good work so cost effectively, that it is cheaper to hire them by the hour than by a bid - as they have to leave room in a bid for "what-if"s. They don't "milk" the by the hour option, so its better to go that route. If you're wanting a building built that could be transported, and can arrange the transportation of it, my local Amish friends could and would build you something. You could send me a private message with your phone number, and I'd have Noah give you a call next time he is over to use the phone. Just let me know.... Might help to also send specifics about what you are looking to have built, so he could look it over before calling, and be able to give you an idea of how many hours and how much materials might be involved. I doubt they would want to come all the way up to your place - they are working on my place because we are friends and current neighbors. But usually they wouldn't go as far as my place for a job. Sara

Wow, that is great information. $13 an hour for a whole crew sounds really cheap. Is it $13 per worker or really for the whole crew? I wish I had Amish in my area.

YES... I agree and appreciate the suggestion. I have convinced Mike to go for the 14 by 24 for now, and am very thankful. I will also have the portable coop from here as a separate space, with its own run. The 14 by 24 will have 3 pens in it, a 14 by 12 for the layers, a 10 by 10 for growers, and a separate 4 by ten for a breeding pen, but alternately a safe broody spot when not used as a separate spot for specific breeding pairs, and/or a spot for bothersome roosters. The separate coop (my present moveable one) I'll use for incoming and/or sick and/or roosters as needed, so there is a lot of flexibility built in. The growers and breeding pens will have their own enclosed outside grazing areas, part of it covered. The layers and at least one rooster will be going out into a large extended garden/pen - one year on one side, next year that side will be garden and they'll be on the other side. I may eventually need more space, or separate spaces, but not unless I go commercial. For starters, at my new place, I have a built in clientelle for delivered eggs as soon as I can provide them. There used to be a neighbor who did that, and she has retired, so folks are having to go to town for eggs. I've heard lots of excitement from folks as they see the coop being laid out. Sara >If you can talk your DH into it I would make the coop as big as you can now instead of having to add later. As most of us can tell you, chicken math happens & you will get more chickens & then wish you had built bigger. >

Congratulations - I am glad you are able to build the bigger barn from the get go - I'm sure you will be very happy with it.

We had a great time yesterday, thanks! And yes, I sure hope we hear something SOON!

Looks GREAT! Looks easy enough to build, too!
Awwwww, the girls are looking so good!! I bet I know which one is the follower. The kids lavished a LOT of attention on her! They are both sweeties! They look pretty happy!

Do you have a specific date when you will know something or is it just wait and see everyday?

I have been pleasantly surprised by how easy the hoop coop has been to build. Kudos to Trish for building hers first and sharing her photos with me to help me finish it out! There are often projects that look easy but then you get started with them and find it doesn't work the way you thought it would, but this one has really gone just as I thought it would and I think the second one will go even faster because I've already figured out how I want to do it.

Please thank your kids for me! She is a wonderful little hen and I'm really happy to have both of them in my flock. Yesterday I looked up to see my youngest cockerel challenging one of the silkies. He was all puffed up and she stood as tall as she could and looked him down. I was pretty impressed because as docile as they are, I thought she would run screaming but she seemed determined to stand her ground. Fortunately she didn't have to; Madge (the turkey) came running over and told him to scram and get out of there. I don't know if she was specifically protecting the silkie or if she just thought his behavior was way out of line. Either way, all I could say was "Thank you, Madge".

 

[sarajoy]

Nope, I didn't say that clearly. It is 13/hr for each worker. Typical crew is 4 men. But typical per man wages for an "English" crew is 20-25/hr., at least around here. So it can be half the price, for top quality work done often in half the time. There are drawbacks of working with an Amish crew - you need to provide transportation. Their own farms are always top priority, so if you are hiring them to work on a project but it is time to plow the fields, that will come first. But from my perspective, the drawbacks are minimal, and well outweighed by the benefits. Sara

>Wow, that is great information. $13 an hour for a whole crew sounds really cheap. Is it $13 per worker or really for the whole crew? I wish I had Amish in my area.>

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

I have been looking for glass gallon jars for some storage and found these. I thought someone else might be interested in the information, or even know of a better source.

http://www.uline.com/BL_8168/Wide-Mouth-Glass-Jars


sarajoy ~ I am facinated by your avitar. Would you mind explaining it some?

 

[chicken danz]

Thanks for the link chickies duckies. I wish I could order some individually cause I don't really want a lot of one size. I have a couple different sizes I'd like. I may order some anyway once I take some measurements.
If I could find some that fit the plastic water bases I would definitely order them. I hate those plastic jars. If they go outside they don't last long.
I didn't get any work at all done on my coop yesterday and I worked solidly all all day after about 11:00. I got all the birds caught and penned that are going today. I thought I had 7 Pheonix hens. I ended up with 11 of them plus the roo. This guy is getting a much better deal than what I quoted.
I also caught and gathered up a pretty big group of cochins. That only leaves me with a black quad and a gold laced trio, plus one lone white hen in the way of cochins. All a part of danzsizing! So I should be down around 25 chickens after today,and only backup by the 8 orpingtons I am getting.
Today is butcher day for the turkeys. They have been perfectly healthy. But yesterday one of them was acting dizzy. The boys have been fighting so hard they are tearing each other up. He had his face in pretty bad shape but one eye was swollen so I just wasn't sure if it was from injuries or something else. He went further and further down hill as the afternoon progressed. Along toward evening another one wasn't acting great. I really worry as fast as this one was fading if he will even make it until butcher time. My first impulse was to start medicating but I can't because of the butchering. I just hope it is just from the fighting. It's only been about 3 weeks since they were wormed, but I will worm them again and maybe give them some kind of antibiotic in their water after the butchering is done. I would just die if something happened to my pretty little turkeys. I got two eggs again yesterday but one of them was out in the pen broken again. I am wondering if the Toms are doing that. I think I heard they would stomp nests somewhere. I just feel sick. I love these midget whites. I worry so much about my silly birds.
I got my three new Sabastopols and had a nice visit with Ivy. Took her on a tour of the place to show her my new additions since she'd been here. Her DH absolutely was going to take a pup but Ivy stood strong...darn it. He said Britt, the last pup they got from me was amazing. I love hearing that.
My new geese are much lighter weight than the ones I already have. They look big so it really surprised me. They must have been hatched later last year than mine were. The female is really exceptionally curly. I am really pleased. The boys are nice as well but the girl I thought was outstanding. The boys are pretty unhappy being confined to a pen when they know there is a whole flock 150 feet from them. I guess they will adapt for the time being.
Sarajoy there are Amish nearby-about 30 miles but I wouldn't know how to contact them. Some Amish farm the other part of the 240 acres of this farm that someone else bought. If I happen to see them out working I might be able to ask one of them. Not much farming going on right now though. I backed out of buying the building as much as I hated to. I do have a couple names to call to find out just how much it would cost me to have a building put up though so maybe I'll be ready for next time.
The problem is our local Sutherlands advertises in the shopper. There is a shopper for the Ottawa area and one for the Emporia area. Our zip code is the only one excluded from it. I have neighbors a half mile south that get them but I don't because they have a different zip code. So I never know what is going on with them. HeChicken If you here of another sale let me know. I might be more prepared to take advantage of it and have DH convince it is the right thing to do. He just doesn't get spending all the money on the birds...even if it isn't his to spend. Some day!!!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Good morning! Happy Monday to everyone! The kids don't have school today, so we're going to hang out here and play.

I have been pleasantly surprised by how easy the hoop coop has been to build. Kudos to Trish for building hers first and sharing her photos with me to help me finish it out! There are often projects that look easy but then you get started with them and find it doesn't work the way you thought it would, but this one has really gone just as I thought it would and I think the second one will go even faster because I've already figured out how I want to do it.

Please thank your kids for me! She is a wonderful little hen and I'm really happy to have both of them in my flock. Yesterday I looked up to see my youngest cockerel challenging one of the silkies. He was all puffed up and she stood as tall as she could and looked him down. I was pretty impressed because as docile as they are, I thought she would run screaming but she seemed determined to stand her ground. Fortunately she didn't have to; Madge (the turkey) came running over and told him to scram and get out of there. I don't know if she was specifically protecting the silkie or if she just thought his behavior was way out of line. Either way, all I could say was "Thank you, Madge".

I'm glad you're taking pictures of your hoop coop. When ever it is I'm able to start mine, I'll be wanting to go back and see what you did step by step. Danz had some great pictures on how she attached her wire, too-- so I'll have to use both sets of pictures! So funny that the silkie stood up to the rooster. Some of them will, and some of them will just take a beating. They are so laid back and timid, it's hard to know if one will fight back or not. That girl I got from Josie-- she takes no crud. I like her because she keeps that one rooster in with them in line. She jumps up and goes feet first fighting! The rest of the girls all cower in the corner and let her protect them. ha! They would be the one running and screaming! hehehe

I didn't get any work at all done on my coop yesterday and I worked solidly all all day after about 11:00. I got all the birds caught and penned that are going today. I thought I had 7 Pheonix hens. I ended up with 11 of them plus the roo. This guy is getting a much better deal than what I quoted.
I also caught and gathered up a pretty big group of cochins. That only leaves me with a black quad and a gold laced trio, plus one lone white hen in the way of cochins. All a part of danzsizing! So I should be down around 25 chickens after today,and only backup by the 8 orpingtons I am getting.
Today is butcher day for the turkeys. They have been perfectly healthy. But yesterday one of them was acting dizzy. The boys have been fighting so hard they are tearing each other up. He had his face in pretty bad shape but one eye was swollen so I just wasn't sure if it was from injuries or something else. He went further and further down hill as the afternoon progressed. Along toward evening another one wasn't acting great. I really worry as fast as this one was fading if he will even make it until butcher time. My first impulse was to start medicating but I can't because of the butchering. I just hope it is just from the fighting. It's only been about 3 weeks since they were wormed, but I will worm them again and maybe give them some kind of antibiotic in their water after the butchering is done. I would just die if something happened to my pretty little turkeys. I got two eggs again yesterday but one of them was out in the pen broken again. I am wondering if the Toms are doing that. I think I heard they would stomp nests somewhere. I just feel sick. I love these midget whites. I worry so much about my silly birds.
I got my three new Sabastopols and had a nice visit with Ivy. Took her on a tour of the place to show her my new additions since she'd been here. Her DH absolutely was going to take a pup but Ivy stood strong...darn it. He said Britt, the last pup they got from me was amazing. I love hearing that.

Busy again! Sounds like you manage to get rid of some and get a few more in return. It's probably tough to keep your numbers down when you're interested in so many breeds. I'm going to have to do a serious cull this year after I've hatched. I'm really taking to heart what that really great breeder says that you only need a few-- and to cull until it hurts. I want the best birds I can possibly raise, and I think with the crew I have, it's going to do it for me--hoping THIS year I'll really get away from some of the faults that plagued me last year. But once I get my grow-outs going, I won't have much use for all the breeder birds that got me here. I will keep a few anyway-- going to keep records on who threw the best offspring and keep those. That way, I can breed back. I'm going to need lots of pens to divide them up into trios or pairs and keep it all straight!

I hear you on not medicating the turkeys. I wonder what happened??? If they went down that fast, I'd almost guess an infection/virus or something along those lines. I would think injuries would be easy to spot and it would be easy to see why they weren't feeling well. I guess butchering them quickly is the best option!

That is so neat you got to spend some time with Ivy! I've sure missed her around here! It sounds like her DH is the dog lover! Didn't they come home with some little dog last year that was stinkin' adorable?

Do you think the turkey are just walking over the eggs?? They aren't really the smartest of birds. Once Seymore laid an egg, she just got up and forgot all about it. They may not be breaking them on purpose, but if they lay them in the open, they could just be stepping on them..?? Seymore liked dark places to lay. She would lay under my deck next to a planter that she had dug out a hole. I finally got her to start laying in the garage in the dog kennel because I made it really dark. You know-- I went out there where Seymore's nest was last year and discovered that it had been dug up. It wasn't there anymore. Either the kids or the coyotes. But it was brushy-- sticks, long grasses, and then dug down into the ground a bit.

 

[chicken danz]

One of the hens is laying in a corner in a pile of straw. The two broken eggs have been out in the pen. I really need to get some nest boxes of some kind built for them but not sure what to do. Guess I need to do some more reading in my spare time.
Hechicken and I are employing different methods of building,and different still than Trish so that gives you more options when you build your hoop house. I need to take pictures of my back wall frame but thought I would get the front done and take them all at once.But... as you see it's been a few days since I've got to work on it again. There just aren't enough hours in the day. Especially when the whether is bouncing all over the place and I have to get in early and have dinner ready when DH gets home so he can get to bed early.
Well I've got to get out there and get organized.

 

[checoukan]

Hi every one!! Had a nice day yesterday, got to go to Ft. Scott and visit with my daughters Aunt and Uncle from Butler, Mo. While DH, and DS went and picked up the tractor and hauled it home, we went to the flea markets downtown and spent some time.

The builders are out side trying to work, but the wind is insane out there, and they are going to try to work on the inside out of the wind.

When Ivy came down this weekend, they brought down some bird netting like they use on pheasant runs. It has some damage to it, and I am zip tying it all back together, guess it happened in shipping and the guy that had it, said he could not use it, so he gave it to them. So I am going to finish zipping the holes, and then put it up over the large fowl runs today, so they can go outside. They are talking ICE wednesday and thursday,

So I am going to go dig thru my DH's scrape pvc pipe junk pile. I know he has some expired pipe in the junk. I am going to put the pipe thru the panel holes at the top of the runs, so the netting will have something under it to support it. That way if we do get ice, when the net sags from the weight of the ice, it will not tear the net down and ruin it. It may still sag between the pipes, but will not sag all the way down to the ground.
Danz, glad u liked the geese. They were grand champion waterfowl at the fair last summer. I think I am going to get some young from Chance this summer and have them out at he pond. I will have to get rid of my ruens or the chocolate muscovies. Hmmm That is going to be a tough one, but may have to be the muscovies. They fly, when they do take off its like having B=52 bombers flying around the farmstead. ~~~~~~ LOOK OUT BELOW~~~~!!!

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

One of the hens is laying in a corner in a pile of straw. The two broken eggs have been out in the pen. I really need to get some nest boxes of some kind built for them but not sure what to do. Guess I need to do some more reading in my spare time.

Something that works well for a nest for the muscovies, but might work for the turkeys also, is to cut a barrel into fourths. Once crosswise and once lengthwise. You end up with 4 half rounds with a back wall. A board fastened across the front to keep the sides in place and that is it. If placed over dirt, they can dig down which is what the scovies like to do and or fill it with bedding. Size of your barrel will determine the size of the nest.