Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

We ordered 25 cottonwoods and 50 plum plants when we moved out here (in the country) in 2005 from the forestry department at KSU http://www.kansasforests.org/ . The cottonwoods have done great, but the plums have been slow. They are both native species, so we thought they would do better with the regular weather conditions. I was hoping to have a real plum thicket by this time, but they have been really slow between the rust type of fungus the 2nd year and a couple of very dry years.

The link to the order form is http://www.kansasforests.org/documents/conservationtrees/Price List.pdf

I fed the trees the last two years with tree food (granulated stuff from Bluestem), and they repaid me with amazing growth.

They were cheap but really tiny when they came. I would definitely do it again.

Hawkeye - Google for more. http://www.forestry.ok.gov/order-seedlings

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Has anyone built a poulty pen UP in height? If so, what did you use?

The pen in front of the barn is so wet and icky and with *hopefullly* wet spring weather coming, I need to do something with it. The main problem is a sidwalk that runs along side of it so that forms an unmovable height barrier. The geese and ducks remove the dirt in the pen whenever it gets wet and then the water from rain or snow fills it making it a huge mess. The only thing I can think of is to fill the pen with something they can't remove - like larger gravel or rocks. Any thoughts? I am thinking if it is higher than the sidewalk then I can hose it off and the dirty water will fun off over the sidewalk onto the yard space. Maybe not ideal, but better than the pools of wet muck that it is now.

We have gotten enough water from those nasty snow storms and the rains that some of the ponds I pass going into town are filling up. Some were clear dry/

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

We ordered 25 cottonwoods and 50 plum plants when we moved out here (in the country) in 2005 from the forestry department at KSU http://www.kansasforests.org/ . The cottonwoods have done great, but the plums have been slow. They are both native species, so we thought they would do better with the regular weather conditions. I was hoping to have a real plum thicket by this time, but they have been really slow between the rust type of fungus the 2nd year and a couple of very dry years.

The link to the order form is http://www.kansasforests.org/documents/conservationtrees/Price List.pdf

I fed the trees the last two years with tree food (granulated stuff from Bluestem), and they repaid me with amazing growth.

They were cheap but really tiny when they came. I would definitely do it again.

I have been looking at the list trying to figure out what would work here and if I could actually get them planted. They have two typs of plums listed, the American and the Sand hill. Which type did you get? It seems they have different growth habits and even the fruit is different. I love the cottonwoods.

 

[123casper]

What has been most folks experiances on here selling eggs at Farmers Market. We are going to sell at the Labette one this year. Any advice?

 

[lizzyGSR]

What has been most folks experiances on here selling eggs at Farmers Market. We are going to sell at the Labette one this year. Any advice?

I just recently looked into selling eggs myself. Here is a link to the "Kansas Egg Law". I found that to be pretty helpful. If you have more questions, there's a phone number on that pdf that you can call and talk to someone who can answer your questions.

 

[HEChicken]

Has anyone built a poulty pen UP in height? If so, what did you use?

The pen in front of the barn is so wet and icky and with *hopefullly* wet spring weather coming, I need to do something with it. The main problem is a sidwalk that runs along side of it so that forms an unmovable height barrier. The geese and ducks remove the dirt in the pen whenever it gets wet and then the water from rain or snow fills it making it a huge mess. The only thing I can think of is to fill the pen with something they can't remove - like larger gravel or rocks. Any thoughts? I am thinking if it is higher than the sidewalk then I can hose it off and the dirty water will fun off over the sidewalk onto the yard space. Maybe not ideal, but better than the pools of wet muck that it is now.

We have gotten enough water from those nasty snow storms and the rains that some of the ponds I pass going into town are filling up. Some were clear dry/

Chickies, do you have a photo? LOL, when I initially read the question I was thinking you wanted to build the fences higher to make it easier to walk into. After reading the whole problem, I do understand it now. Just yesterday I had to dig a couple of trenches in my horse's run at our barn, because there were pools of standing water there too. I'm hoping the water followed the "river" I started and continued to drain after I left. He was on turn-out yesterday so by the time he went back to his pen at night, hopefully it was a little drier. Anyway.....

Rocks or gravel will help with drainage. You can also request what they call "screenings", and this is like fine gravel but its almost like there is a little cement mixed in, because after you lay down the screenings, if you spray it down with water everyday for a few days, it will set to a fairly hard consistency. It can still be scraped away but is a little more resistant to that. We redo the screenings in our horses' runs about every other year so its not like laying down concrete that is permanent, but it helps. If you do this, I would start in the middle of the run and create a high point and from there, slope it down to where it is running out the low end.

 

[sharol]

OK, this is pretty weird.

Over the weekend I found a fart egg on the roost. It was really tiny. It was about the circumference of a nickle.

Yesterday I broke it to use the white of the egg in some scrambled eggs for the girls. this is what I found.

What makes it weird is that the internal egg is green. I thought that green eggs were a result of brown over blue, but this inner egg is pure green, inside and out. In addition, this girl lays light green eggs, so a really dark green is odd. The color in the photo is pretty much correct.


The color in this one is a little light compared to the egg itself.


Notice that the inner egg is green on the inside, too. The outer egg had a blue cast on the inside when the lining was peeled away (but the photo didn't work).


Just wanted to share my laugh of the day.

 

[chicken danz]

Here is the only part of that law that applies to the home backyard egg producer highlighted in red. The rest doesn't really matter.
Statute 2-2508: Licensure of place of business, fee, exemptions; record retention. (a) Any person selling, offering or exposing for sale or distributing or grading eggs in this state shall first obtain a license for such person's place of business from the secretary. A written application for such license or a renewal of such license shall be made on a form supplied by the secretary and shall include payment of an annual license fee to be set by rules and regulations adopted by the secretary, except that such license fee shall not exceed $25. Each license shall expire on December 31 of the year in which issued. Licenses shall not be transferable and shall be posted conspicuously at the place of business for which the license was issued so that the license may be seen by the public and by inspectors of the department of agriculture at any time during business hours. Before any license is renewed, the previous year's licensing fees and, when applicable, inspection fees shall be paid. Any person selling eggs without the required license shall be subject to having the eggs removed from sale until a license is obtained.
(b) Retailers and food purveyors shall be exempt from the licensing fee requirement of subsection (a), but shall be subject to all other requirements of the Kansas egg law.
(c) Licensees and any person required to be licensed under the provisions of this act shall keep and retain for three years such records required to verify the quantity of eggs bought, sold, offered for sale or distributed in this state. Such records shall be available for inspection by the secretary at all reasonable times.
(d) (1) A producer of eggs when selling ungraded eggs of the producer's own flock production is exempted from the provisions of this act if: (A) The producer owns 50 or fewer hens; or
(B) (i) The producer owns more than 50 hens but fewer than 250 hens;
(ii) eggs are washed and clean;
(iii) eggs are prepackaged and labeled as ungraded with the name and address of the producer;
(iv) cartons are not reused unless all brand markings and other identification is obliterated and the carton is free of foreign material;
(v) sales are to consumers only; and
(vi) eggs are maintained at a temperature of 45° Fahrenheit or below.
(2) If such producer desires to sell graded eggs, the producer shall be permitted to do so if in compliance with this act.
I don't relabel my egg cartons and very few people do. If I were going to sell at a flea market I would, but my customers are regulars and know where they come from. In other words if I were going to sell at a farmer's market I'd be sure to make labels indicating where they came from just to comply.
I haven't sold at Farmers markets because I simply don't have time to sit there for hours.

Chickies duckies I understand small screenings are good for building up a pen. I know a major bird producer that uses regular gravel like you would in a driveway and his pens are exemplary clean. I have planned to do the same with some of mine that tend to collect water but haven't had it in the budget yet. I also haven't figured out how to get the gravel in there without shoveling. That tend to hold me back by itself. I have loaded sand in a couple pens which is great but it doesn't stay.
RoosterLew the pictures aren't super clear but my guess would be a gold laced Wyandotte, unless it has leg feathering. You can't feather sex by the wings except on certain breeds and it needs to be done within a couple hours of hatching. When the bird gets real feathers it can be sexed by the shape of the feathers on it's back.
Deerfield I am sorry your day went nuts. I'm so sorry. Isn't it funny how things can be totally sane than whirl out of control.
Be patient with the fermented feed. Once they get over "fearing" it they will go nuts for it. All my birds totally love fermented feed. I don't know how many you are feeding but just put a small amount down to start with until they taste it and start eating it good, then increase the amounts. They won't starve to death in the process. My birds jump on my arms when I feed. They love it.

Trish I hope your little bunnies do well. Let us know how it goes.
I once again have a busy day ahead. I need to get eggs to town and go get the tags for my car. I almost let it slip. Then this afternoon have someone coming for 4-H birds. Not to mention my normal stuff. I'll have to go see my dad while I am in town as well.
Sharol that is just weird. Makes you wonder what on earth she ate!!

 

[HEChicken]

OK, this is pretty weird.

Over the weekend I found a fart egg on the roost. It was really tiny. It was about the circumference of a nickle.

Yesterday I broke it to use the white of the egg in some scrambled eggs for the girls. this is what I found.

What makes it weird is that the internal egg is green. I thought that green eggs were a result of brown over blue, but this inner egg is pure green, inside and out. In addition, this girl lays light green eggs, so a really dark green is odd. The color in the photo is pretty much correct.


The color in this one is a little light compared to the egg itself.


Notice that the inner egg is green on the inside, too. The outer egg had a blue cast on the inside when the lining was peeled away (but the photo didn't work).


Just wanted to share my laugh of the day.

Wow - that is wild. Just wild!!!

Here is the only part of that law that applies to the home backyard egg producer highlighted in red. The rest doesn't really matter.
Statute 2-2508: Licensure of place of business, fee, exemptions; record retention. (a) Any person selling, offering or exposing for sale or distributing or grading eggs in this state shall first obtain a license for such person's place of business from the secretary. A written application for such license or a renewal of such license shall be made on a form supplied by the secretary and shall include payment of an annual license fee to be set by rules and regulations adopted by the secretary, except that such license fee shall not exceed $25. Each license shall expire on December 31 of the year in which issued. Licenses shall not be transferable and shall be posted conspicuously at the place of business for which the license was issued so that the license may be seen by the public and by inspectors of the department of agriculture at any time during business hours. Before any license is renewed, the previous year's licensing fees and, when applicable, inspection fees shall be paid. Any person selling eggs without the required license shall be subject to having the eggs removed from sale until a license is obtained.
(b) Retailers and food purveyors shall be exempt from the licensing fee requirement of subsection (a), but shall be subject to all other requirements of the Kansas egg law.
(c) Licensees and any person required to be licensed under the provisions of this act shall keep and retain for three years such records required to verify the quantity of eggs bought, sold, offered for sale or distributed in this state. Such records shall be available for inspection by the secretary at all reasonable times.
(d) (1) A producer of eggs when selling ungraded eggs of the producer's own flock production is exempted from the provisions of this act if: (A) The producer owns 50 or fewer hens; or
(B) (i) The producer owns more than 50 hens but fewer than 250 hens;
(ii) eggs are washed and clean;
(iii) eggs are prepackaged and labeled as ungraded with the name and address of the producer;
(iv) cartons are not reused unless all brand markings and other identification is obliterated and the carton is free of foreign material;
(v) sales are to consumers only; and
(vi) eggs are maintained at a temperature of 45° Fahrenheit or below.
(2) If such producer desires to sell graded eggs, the producer shall be permitted to do so if in compliance with this act.
I don't relabel my egg cartons and very few people do. If I were going to sell at a flea market I would, but my customers are regulars and know where they come from. In other words if I were going to sell at a farmer's market I'd be sure to make labels indicating where they came from just to comply.
I haven't sold at Farmers markets because I simply don't have time to sit there for hours.

Chickies duckies I understand small screenings are good for building up a pen. I know a major bird producer that uses regular gravel like you would in a driveway and his pens are exemplary clean. I have planned to do the same with some of mine that tend to collect water but haven't had it in the budget yet. I also haven't figured out how to get the gravel in there without shoveling. That tend to hold me back by itself. I have loaded sand in a couple pens which is great but it doesn't stay.
RoosterLew the pictures aren't super clear but my guess would be a gold laced Wyandotte, unless it has leg feathering. You can't feather sex by the wings except on certain breeds and it needs to be done within a couple hours of hatching. When the bird gets real feathers it can be sexed by the shape of the feathers on it's back.
Deerfield I am sorry your day went nuts. I'm so sorry. Isn't it funny how things can be totally sane than whirl out of control.
Be patient with the fermented feed. Once they get over "fearing" it they will go nuts for it. All my birds totally love fermented feed. I don't know how many you are feeding but just put a small amount down to start with until they taste it and start eating it good, then increase the amounts. They won't starve to death in the process. My birds jump on my arms when I feed. They love it.

Trish I hope your little bunnies do well. Let us know how it goes.
I once again have a busy day ahead. I need to get eggs to town and go get the tags for my car. I almost let it slip. Then this afternoon have someone coming for 4-H birds. Not to mention my normal stuff. I'll have to go see my dad while I am in town as well.
Sharol that is just weird. Makes you wonder what on earth she ate!!

Yep - I agree Danz - I read through it with the same sigh of relief that I am exempt.

Okay, some updates this morning:

Gapeworm hen. I wish I could say I'm seeing some improvement. I want to say there is just the slightest improvement in her breathing but I don't know how much that is wishful thinking and how much is reality. She has now had the medicated water for about 36 hours. From my research, it sounds like the worms can avoid ingesting for 2-3 days before succumbing so - it may be another day or two before I start to see results, and I'm not panicking yet. I sure wish it worked as fast on them as it does most types of worms though.

Bumblefoot hen. Hawkeye, I'm so sorry I forgot to update you on her. I changed out the dressing on day 3 after the surgery. I was really hoping to see the swelling significantly reduced but unfortunately I couldn't really see a difference from when we did the surgery. However it is healing well. I added more triple antibiotic although I suspect it was already healed over enough that not much got up into the foot. That poor hen. When I picked her up to carry her back to the house she was very agitated at the idea of going through another experience like she had on Friday. I removed the dressing and soaked her in some more hot water to get the foot clean and when I wrapped her in the towel and laid her on the counter I'm sure she thought she was in for more pain, and it was a huge relief to her to just get a clean dressing and be returned to the flock.

Turkey eggs. I candled just one at the end of day 3 and I could tell that it is developing! It was the first egg laid so I guess Ned is getting the job done after all - yay!

HAWK! That was the cry the rooster gave the other day. The whole flock was out in the yard, moseying around foraging when the alert went out. I don't know how they did it but in a split second there wasn't a bird to be seen. I could never have imagined they could take cover that fast! I looked up and sure enough there was a bird with a huge wing span, lazily floating towards us. It turned out to be a heron but hey, if you're a rooster and you see a large bird overhead, its better to be safe than sorry, right?

 

[123casper]

That was the same understanding I was under. Basically as long as you have fewer than 250 Hens, and are selling in a unmarked carton with you name and address your good to go! We always sell to people we know as well but this is my first tie using the market will see how it goes. Thank s for alll the good info