Consolidated Kansas

[Deerfield Acres]

Gosh, I must be a really slow typer today. I got done and boom! there were a lot of new messages. It'll take me a minute to catch up.

 

[chicken danz]

I'm dragging my feet and not wanting to go out and work although I know I need to. I am waiting for this guy to call on the pup and let me know he is on his way. That is my temporary excuse...Plus there is still coffee in my cup!!!
Wouldn't you know that the snow would come from the direction you least expect it! I guess I'd better be serious about finding some warm clothes so I can get out there and get this done before it gets worse.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Karen, I think I have only 4 or 5 forms on me at the moment... I'll have to double check! If I have the other notebook, then I have more.. And I can always get more. The leader of the 4-H club will be officially me on March 1st! But I've been helping our current leader for a few months now. She's been wanting to make the transition easy. I have a new family packet for you as well as a few other info sheets you can look over with the kids. But yeah, I can bring it this weekend. I SURE hope it's not going to be too miserable this weekend, I don't do extreme cold! I'll need to get you on the mailing list, as you'll want to get our newsletter each month.

Yeah, I hear you on wanting the girls to start laying FOR REAL. My silkies have been on strike for so long now! I get an egg a week... maybe two! I'm ready for them to all kick in so I can get serious about hatching! I'm ready to get them divided up and get started! Woohoo!! That reminds me... I think I really want to get a turner for my Brinsea, I got all cheap and didn't order one with the unit. It's easy to hand turn the entire machine-- which is why I love that machine so much! But if I go back to work, or am gone for a weekend, then I'll be in trouble.

Is it okay if I just copy them? I'm wondering what it's going to be like on Saturday, too. I don't know why I was in such denial about this storm. I just scoffed everytime DH mentioned it. Good grief. I think someone may be doing some scoffing when he gets home from work.

Yuck! Going back to work is really tough when you have kids. I would love to have a part time job but between DH's unpredictable schedule and the kids getting sick, I just can't be dependable. If you do, you'll be glad you got that turner. I'm too dingy to turn mine by hand. Too many little interruptions. The things I remember when I finally get into bed at night!

I've been thinking the same lately about incubators, Hawkeye. I have two home-builts that work awesome but I have to hand-turn and they are not the right dimensions to add one of the after-market turners - I've looked. So I'm considering making the plunge and getting an fully automated incubator so that I can incubate without having to have that constant interaction with it for the whole 3 weeks.

Guess who is out in the snow today? The ducks, the turkeys and the silkies. That's it! The rest of the flock is hanging out in the coop but the silkies are out there wandering around looking like they haven't even noticed its snowing.

LOL! Those silly silkies! I had just a few ducks out wandering around.

Yeah, I'm watching them, but no activity as of yet. You'll be the first to know as soon as they hatch. The mothers of the Ameraucanas lay both a sky blue egg & a teal color, they're both pretty & I don't know which one lays which. If she only laid one egg, she was probably trying to get the paint gun going right & that's why it looked that way. It's kind of like the darker egg layers, sometimes their first one looks strange. My first Welsummer egg was like that. The tinted layers are kind of different in that way than the others. When the Welsummers lay, the "paint" is really wet & sticky right after they lay & it comes off. Yeah I hear you on the laying. Everybody is going nuts asking me for chicks & honestly all my breeders have totally stopped laying with this stupid weather. I sure hope this is our last blast for winter, I'm just sick to death of it.

Oh, I'm so relieved about the egg color! It was just ugly, Trish44, you wouldn't believe an egg could come out that color! It's amazing how much stuff I still don't know about chickens. I love learning though. One of my Welsummers laid a dark egg that had a purplish tint to it, and not in a good way so I get what you're saying. Funny I didn't connect those dots myself. I just did my usual "Oh My Gosh!" panic thing. It makes me laugh to think about my reaction now. The kids showed it to me and I said "Oh no! Who's going to want putrid colored eggs?" The kids laughed at the time and told me it wasn't that bad.

I'm so excited about the Wheatens. They are such pretty birds. Yay! Chicks! Can't wait

I can't believe the difference in weather between you guys and myself. We have nothing but just extreme cold. The snow and ice is supposed to move in this evening. It does look really cloudy out there though.
Hawkeye and Karen I just ordered new Serum. Hopefully it will be here Tuesday or at the latest Wednesday. They would have shipped it out today but were afraid the snow storm would get it held up somewhere. I agree. Since this stuff has to be kept refrigerated I don't want it getting lost. That'd be a chunk of money to waste.
I also ordered Merek's vaccine. I plan to vaccinate everything when I get my pens divided. Just don't want to take any more chances. I try to make sure anyone who ships me eggs or birds vaccinates but you need to be sure.
I had a dozen little chicks hatch last night. I almost forgot to move them to the hatcher. They were starting to pip already when I did. They hatched really well though. Every egg that was fertile hatched. Most of them are Orpingtons. I have a couple that I am not sure about. Might be Swedish Flower hens but the eggs I had marked as Swedish still weren't fertile. I wish to heck they'd get with the program.
My eggs picked up this week but I'll bet this darned storm makes them stop laying again.
There's a guy coming about noon or so to pick up a puppy. Now with the storm I am sure that means more days of feeding before I sell more. Sure is going slow. For pups that sold themselves in the past this litter sure has been a mess.
Hawkeye I was just studying some information on chicken diseases. One thing that I just read was that for colds and bronchitis was to just put oxine in their water. I had considered that before but was afraid I would make them sick. I have used it in the vaporizer with good results. Maidenwolf, so far I just have some sneezing going on and no one seems stressed but I don't want it to get out of hand.
I need to get another heater of some kind out in the water for the boy geese I have in the PVC pen right now. I am pretty confused what to do on short notice. They have a big pan so they could get wet and if I use a heated dog water bowl they will probably just tip it over. I don't have any more heated buckets I'm not using. I thought I was well set up until these last 3 birds came.
Oh Josie I got another goosey egg yesterday!! I still haven't broken one but haven't set any either.

Oh dear. I forgot about Marek's. Crapola. None of mine are vaccinated for Marek's. Where did you order your vaccine from?

I wish I could take a couple of those pups off your hands. They are so darned cute. DH isn't in the least bit interested.

That's excellent to know about putting Oxine in their water. How much per gallon, do you know? That stuff works great in the vaporizer.

Wow guys no snow here at the ks mo state line. I am sure it isnt far away though,, ugh I can feel it in my knees..
Danz- I am so sorry your eggs are not hatching from those swedish yet. They are just taking their time.
I have some eggs due to hatch this weekend. Just barnyard mixes but they are selling.
I have a dozen buff orp boys that were sent as packing peanuts from Ideal and I was going to pump them up and butcher them. Can anyone give me tips on how to do so? I have only ever done cornish which grow out quick.

I'm envious that your birds are laying well enough to pop their eggs in the bator! Mine are so hit or miss.

I learned how to butcher mine from YouTube videos. It really helps to see how it's done. My birds were fed Game Bird Starter until butcher at about 12 weeks. They did very well on it. They won't be as meaty as the cornish cross but they will be as big as they can be.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Danz, I just keep thinking the wind will switch around but it hasn't so far. That is just so weird.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Anyone interested in raising Heritage Large Fowl, might be interested in this thread. Or even to learn what goes into raising to the Standard Of Perfection.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732985/csu-chicken-state-university-large-fowl-sop

 

[Trish44]

Karen, yep it's snowing from the east & that's kind of weird isn't it? It's good for me for the most part because my pens most all face west for the openings. Well sort of west, our house sits at an angle here & it's always kind of confusing to me about directions when we don't sit square. I had one tarp blow off the top of my Ameraucana pen, actually it shredded it when we went to Missouri & I haven't gotten it replaced. I just threw two old blankets up there to keep them somewhat protected until I can get out there to take the old one off & put the new one I got on. They do have a dog house in there too. I have the blankets secured with rocks of course. I use the darned things for everything here, it's what we have. I was told this is just the first round of storms & the 2nd one tonight is going to be the ice & wind, yuk, that's really going to suck. I hope my DH can get home & get up the driveway when he gets off work, he better not dally for sure. We have a spot down at the end of the driveway where we can park the cars if we can't get up here & then you have to walk all the way up that darned winding hilly driveway. I'm not envying him if he has to do that today.

My cats were running for cover a bit ago, they can get under the eve & behind the honeysuckle, that's where they usually go when it's bad out. My GPs were just sitting out there in the snow awhile ago, the big polar bears, they love it. I made a shelter for everyone under the one topper out in the woods with pallets at the end & some cattails in there, but I have yet to see any of the animals use it. I had dog houses for my dogs, but they never used them, so I gave them to the chickens. There also is a small dog house I put cattails in in case the cats wanted to get in there. I love that hoop coop so much in weather like this because nothing stays on top or very little & I don't have to worry about it caving in at the top. I wish I could just build them for everybody around here, that would be wonderful. I think they're so much more practical than other types of pens after having this one for awhile now. I don't have the front covered at all & it's really not that bad in there. The rest of it is covered by tarp & plastic right now. The plastic actually does help to heat it some I think, so in the winter that is a good thing. I'm actually planning to build a mini hoop coop type of shelter for my little goat. I saw one on a goat site that they made for all of their goats for a shelter. Theirs was bigger of course, but they were using it for their whole herd.

Oh & Karen I heard some peeping coming from the hatcher when I went down, no pipping yet, but they're not due to hatch until tomorrow. I do still have about 6 more eggs in the incubator yet too that are a few days behind these, so if these don't all hatch I still have a few backups. Keep your fingers crossed! I can't wait to see these little buggers myself.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Anyone interested in raising Heritage Large Fowl, might be interested in this thread. Or even to learn what goes into raising to the Standard Of Perfection.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732985/csu-chicken-state-university-large-fowl-sop

I've been checking that out and the Heritage Fowl site -- amazing how much I don't know!

Karen, yep it's snowing from the east & that's kind of weird isn't it? It's good for me for the most part because my pens most all face west for the openings. Well sort of west, our house sits at an angle here & it's always kind of confusing to me about directions when we don't sit square. I had one tarp blow off the top of my Ameraucana pen, actually it shredded it when we went to Missouri & I haven't gotten it replaced. I just threw two old blankets up there to keep them somewhat protected until I can get out there to take the old one off & put the new one I got on. They do have a dog house in there too. I have the blankets secured with rocks of course. I use the darned things for everything here, it's what we have. I was told this is just the first round of storms & the 2nd one tonight is going to be the ice & wind, yuk, that's really going to suck. I hope my DH can get home & get up the driveway when he gets off work, he better not dally for sure. We have a spot down at the end of the driveway where we can park the cars if we can't get up here & then you have to walk all the way up that darned winding hilly driveway. I'm not envying him if he has to do that today.

My cats were running for cover a bit ago, they can get under the eve & behind the honeysuckle, that's where they usually go when it's bad out. My GPs were just sitting out there in the snow awhile ago, the big polar bears, they love it. I made a shelter for everyone under the one topper out in the woods with pallets at the end & some cattails in there, but I have yet to see any of the animals use it. I had dog houses for my dogs, but they never used them, so I gave them to the chickens. There also is a small dog house I put cattails in in case the cats wanted to get in there. I love that hoop coop so much in weather like this because nothing stays on top or very little & I don't have to worry about it caving in at the top. I wish I could just build them for everybody around here, that would be wonderful. I think they're so much more practical than other types of pens after having this one for awhile now. I don't have the front covered at all & it's really not that bad in there. The rest of it is covered by tarp & plastic right now. The plastic actually does help to heat it some I think, so in the winter that is a good thing. I'm actually planning to build a mini hoop coop type of shelter for my little goat. I saw one on a goat site that they made for all of their goats for a shelter. Theirs was bigger of course, but they were using it for their whole herd.

Oh & Karen I heard some peeping coming from the hatcher when I went down, no pipping yet, but they're not due to hatch until tomorrow. I do still have about 6 more eggs in the incubator yet too that are a few days behind these, so if these don't all hatch I still have a few backups. Keep your fingers crossed! I can't wait to see these little buggers myself.

I take full responsibility for facing my pens east and causing the weird easterly blow! LOL! Had I faced them south, from the south it would have blown. The silly storm isn't moving from the east to the west, so go figure.

EEeks! Peeping! I know I'm going to make a nuisance of myself asking for pics, so I may as well get started. I'll hold myself back as much as possible. How bout I ask for pics once you have 7 chicks hatched?

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Karen my eggs are going into lockdown on sat. I still have some up for grabs if you are interested

Do you raise Buff orps for butcher? How long did it take for yours, any non cornish meat bird, to reach butcher size? I am doing ff on them.

 

[chicken danz]

Maidenwolf, when you grow a chicken out fast like a meaty you sacrifice flavor and tenderness. But to get the best for the least amount of time you need to provide plenty of fat and protein. If you are still feeding FF that will help a ton. Also if you have any broth or fat from cooking you can always poor some of that on top. The protein is what builds the muscle though for sure. The fat just adds tenderness and flavor.
Karen I'll bet ole Chopper was just making sure you weren't bringing out some special food morsel he had to have or maybe another duck hen for him to hook up with. He always was such a social little guy. He'd start yelling as soon as I started moving in the morning.
Well it has started snowing and I haven't gone out yet. This guy was supposed to call me back and I am getting tired of waiting on him. He'll probably change his mind now that the snow has begun. I'm not going to carry two phones with me while I try to feed and water. He has both numbers so who knows which one he will call.
I planned to make some cinnamon rolls today but don't know if I'll have time. It always seems the bad weather always means unexpected work and more time outside.
There was no indication of how much oxine to add to the water for colds and stuff. I figure it is worth a glug or so out of the bottle. I think I am going to try it just the same. It makes sense. If they can treat public water systems with it it should work safely.
Well I am done waiting. I think I've got to get out and brave the cold.

 

[HEChicken]

Anyone interested in raising Heritage Large Fowl, might be interested in this thread. Or even to learn what goes into raising to the Standard Of Perfection.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732985/csu-chicken-state-university-large-fowl-sop

Yep - I've read that from start to finish - it is a great learning thread.

I love that hoop coop so much in weather like this because nothing stays on top or very little & I don't have to worry about it caving in at the top.

I'm so glad to hear that! It is a good design and I think I'll probably get rid of my dog pens once I get the hoop coops completed.

Karen my eggs are going into lockdown on sat. I still have some up for grabs if you are interested

Do you raise Buff orps for butcher? How long did it take for yours, any non cornish meat bird, to reach butcher size? I am doing ff on them.

I butchered my Buff Orp boys when they started crowing which was between 16-17 weeks. I left one until he was 25 weeks and he was huge by then and still just as tender.

Karen that is so funny, I just didn't notice the direction of the snow until you said, but I did have to close the east side window on my coop this morning because a little snow was blowing in and I didn't want the straw getting wet. I don't close it no matter how cold it gets at night as I think they need the ventilation having it open provides so it is kind of funny to have to close it today.

Well, I did it! I ordered an Rcom incubator. I've been looking for awhile and finally found one at a decent price with free shipping.