Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

So what are you putting on the fronts of the pens, Josie? Or are they open all the way like my peafowl pen. I am still wondering how to do a building. I want to go as cheaply as possible but still be able to set things up the way I want.
My mailman will pick up eggs from me if I send in a pick up request. Yesterday I didn't put in a request but left him a note. I just try to spoil both of my mail carriers with free fresh eggs now and then. I usually make a Christmas package too but didn't get it done this year. I've found the only way to avoid the destruction is to never put anything about eggs or fragile or anything like that on the box. I have had obvious footprints right in the middle of the word EGGS before. I don't put anything on boxes going out either. It's safer that way.
I was going to move one of the boy geese out yesterday but after I penned the boys all the others got out and I ended up chasing them around the yard until they went back in. NOT fun at all in the snow. DH was inside napping of course. I may try again today. Depends on my strength level.
My birds worry me a little. I have all the water bowls outside to help keep the coops dry. But the birds aren't wanting to come out at all. How in the world are they going to survive if they don't drink?
Surely they will come out won't they? I've never had them act so stubborn before. Some of them used to act like they enjoyed the snow. They're eating plenty for sure. Just not wanting to go outside to drink. I'm not about to shovel out pens!!

 

[JosieChick]

Hahahahaha! I bet the geese had a grand time!

The coops are going to be a nicer version of this without the open sides. http://www.plamondon.com/robert/fresh_air_house_in_snow.jpg

The front will have a short kick board to break the wind when it is bad but will otherwise remain open. The pens are much like your welded wire pens. Each pen has its own gate so when they are set up for breeding they will be able to take turns free ranging. During the summer the bantams will all be moved to smaller versions of these coops for breeding and then during the winter everyone will consolidate into the bigger coops to save on heated water bowls. The serama are the only ones who will have a traditional coop with pop doors. The frizzled birds just don't have good protection against the elements. The fronts of those coops have large windows though that are hardware cloth during the summer and have a plexi glass insert for winter.

It is all one long shed row so to speak. Even the geese have a pen that is attached at the end. I will put dividers up during breeding season to separate pairs and trios and then take them out to allow the birds to run together when we aren't collecting eggs. I think for the geese we are just going to put dog houses in for nesting and a covered area with metal roofing for their food bowls. They don't use shelter even if I put it in, they insist on sleeping outside so I just put straw down. I will probably put some straw bales on the south end of their pen to break the wind from that direction during the winter. Or I guess we could even make a sheet of metal to hang on the end of the coop too that could be removed during the summer.

So what are you putting on the fronts of the pens, Josie? Or are they open all the way like my peafowl pen. I am still wondering how to do a building. I want to go as cheaply as possible but still be able to set things up the way I want.
My mailman will pick up eggs from me if I send in a pick up request. Yesterday I didn't put in a request but left him a note. I just try to spoil both of my mail carriers with free fresh eggs now and then. I usually make a Christmas package too but didn't get it done this year. I've found the only way to avoid the destruction is to never put anything about eggs or fragile or anything like that on the box. I have had obvious footprints right in the middle of the word EGGS before. I don't put anything on boxes going out either. It's safer that way.
I was going to move one of the boy geese out yesterday but after I penned the boys all the others got out and I ended up chasing them around the yard until they went back in. NOT fun at all in the snow. DH was inside napping of course. I may try again today. Depends on my strength level.
My birds worry me a little. I have all the water bowls outside to help keep the coops dry. But the birds aren't wanting to come out at all. How in the world are they going to survive if they don't drink?
Surely they will come out won't they? I've never had them act so stubborn before. Some of them used to act like they enjoyed the snow. They're eating plenty for sure. Just not wanting to go outside to drink. I'm not about to shovel out pens!!

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Hawkeye-- Luckily my coop is close to my house, so it wasnt much to shovel.
Frizzled--- I put out some leafs of straw and let them scratch thru it and throw some scratch on top of it. I put heads of cabbage and other leftovers. sometimes just changing something in the coop or adding something is enough for awhile.

Well eggs are i lockdown today, I am hoping that I can control the humidity better this round and have a higher hatch rate.
I am wanting to find some silkie eggs to put in next. If anyone has any pese let me know. Also my daughter is wanting to get into 4-H I really need info.

 

[Trish44]

Well I just bit the bullet & ordered an Ecoglow 50 so I'll have it for my broiler chicks in April. I have two Ecoglow 20s, but they're not big enough for a big bunch of chicks for sure. Brinsea has the 50 on sale right now on their web site $20 off & you can get another 10% off if you sign up for their newsletter on their FB page. I just used my other email address & signed up so I could get the discount. I was going to get another 20 at first until I saw that the 50 was on sale. It would take two of the smaller ones for a group of 25 chicks. I sure like them better than worrying about a heat lamp, especially in the house where I have to have chicks right now. I'm so glad I got the two I got for the smaller brooders, they will be great. I have one in the crate with the chicks right now. I have heard some people complain that they don't think the chicks are warm enough, but the ones in there right now are running in & out of there, running around the crate, so they don't look uncomfortable at all. I have it at an angle so if they get too warm under the one end they can move to the higher side. I raised those other two bigger ones with the other one & just weaned them off of it recently, they don't have any heat on them now, they're fully feathered & in the house so they're fine.

Danz, you're probably smart to not put anything about eggs on the packages. The postal service just has no clue how to handle them nor do they care. My local post office was shocked when I told them how much they cost me by treating both of my shipments the way they did. They just figure oh no big deal it's a couple of dollars. I got an apology, but that didn't get my $70 back that I lost. It was a total fiasco, even the poor guy who shipped me the 2nd batch free out of his own pocket couldn't believe what all happened. For those that don't remember it was last summer in the hottest part of the heat. The first shipment got left out in the broiling sun & I didn't know where they had put them. I have a bench right by my front door, but instead of putting them there the darned woman put them out on a bench in full sun. Instead of calling me & telling me she was afraid of my dogs & where they were she just sat them out there & I didn't find them until about 3 hours later when I called to find out where they were. They could have kept them at the post office & called me, but they didn't do that either. Then the poor guy who shipped them felt sorry for me after none hatched of course & sent me another shipment free at his cost & they got routed to Dodge City & of course by the time they got back to me none of those made it either. I was so angry I blasted a letter of complaint to the postal service & they made my local postmaster apologize & he said he would educate his staff on the handling of eggs. I didn't get any more after that, so I don't know if he did or didn't.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Danz, that is why my Dh put the Sutherlands barn kit up himself-- because at the time, we didn't have the cash to have anyone build it for us! So he spent the entire summer/Fall building it. He had some friends come out on the weekends to help. When they'd come out, we'd throw big BBQ's and grill outside to feed everyone. It was fun for a while, but then it just got tiring not having it done right away. Most of the time I was out helping him hold things up, etc. We didn't end up being shortened on the kit-- so that was a nice surprise, they really did give us everything we needed to build it. We just had to buy the nails, screws, but most of that came in the kit, too. We did hire an electrician to come out and tie into the main pole in front of our house and dig a trench out to the barn. So the barn has it's own set of breaker boxes that we've put lighting and outlet boxes off of. Then we later had a plumber come out and dig a trench to put water out into the barn and out in the pasture. We didn't do it all in one year, but it's nice to have it all done now!

Josie, looks like another 10 inches of snow coming our way?? I'm not sure about your area, though. I don't know whether or not to believe it... so I went ahead and stocked up for it just in case the weatherman was right. I was really skeptical about this snow, but I think I'm more a believer now! ha!

Took some shots of the "kids" out in the snow today:
This white mare is 40 years old.

 

[Trish44]

Hawkeye it must be nice to have that tractor with the blade, I would love to have that here.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye it must be nice to have that tractor with the blade, I would love to have that here.

Usually it has a hay pick on the end of it so I can move round bales, but yeah, that has really come in handy a few times-- and not for snow, but when we got gravel dumped on our drive and we used it to even it out and spread it.


I know we had this conversation last year.... but in light of all the snow, etc... I'm looking for waterproof winter gloves. Doesn't have to be super thick, in fact, I'd like something that does not look like ski gloves, but something I can work in. I thought someone said they had bought neoprene gloves, or did I imagine that??

 

[Deerfield Acres]

I want some of those gloves too. I asked about it before and just didn't get around to buying them. I sure wish I had!

 

[Frizzled Pink]

OOOOhhhh Danz and Josie ---if i get 1 rooster and 4 hens out of my chicks I would be TICKLED PINK! --although for my luck to change that much you know what would have to freeze over....Oh wait 12 + of snow and more on the way UH -OH i upset the whole universe

LOL,


Trish, congrats on the eco50, give us a report on how you like it when you have used it

Maidenwolf, i felt sorry for my chicks that have to live in a gray box that i built them a jungle gym of empty kleenex boxes and toilet paper rolls They seem to like it, or at least they are entertaining me

my first frizzle baby

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Frizzled Pink, those babies are adorable! Thanks for the pics -- I love pics!