Consolidated Kansas

[Deerfield Acres]

I am soooo behind! I'm at post 21855 so I still have a bit to catch up. The last couple weeks have been so crazy hectic! Hope to finish catching up with everyone tomorrow but who knows? I put my second batch of chicks in lockdown tonight. Moved birds around and some out to the coop. I absolutely loved the weather today but they say tomorrow is going to be windy -- we'll see how it goes.

 

[tweetybaby2005]

Hello all! I've been away on an impromptu trip. The neighbors took care of my birds (all waterfowl) and horses for me (they have poultry and horses as well). When I got home, my birds were completely out of water - bone dry! I asked the neighbors and they said that they had watered the birds according to the schedule I outlined before I left (and the one that I usually use). The only difference I can see is that the birds were locked up while I was gone whereas they are usually allowed to free range. My best guess is that the birds got bored and played in their water. Then, when they wanted a drink, there was nothing left. I am now looking for ways to prevent the birds from playing in the water bowls that are for drinking water. I have 9 ducks and 3 geese. Any suggestions on what I could do to keep the birds from physically climbing into their water bowls? Their water bowls are the 2 gallon heated water bowls from Orschelns.

Can waterfowl learn to use a nipple drinker or cup waterer? If they can do that, you just need to put a few nipple drinkers under a 5 gallon bucket and hang it for them to drink. Just put the lid on the bucket so they won't be able to get into the bucket and cause a mess. Or use the cup watere and just insert them on the side of a 5 gallon bucket. I've both of them but I don't have waterfowl though. Just a thought...

I have an EcloGlow 20 and mine is at an angel - one side is the next level up from the other side. This allows the chicks that want to be really close to the heat to have that space and others that don't can have a little more distance from their body and the heated surface. I've not tried it more than one level up from the other though.

I put mine on an angel as well. EG20 is a pain to take apart for cleaning though. I like the EG 50 much better. If you want to keep the top of the EG clean, just line it with cabinet liner (the self stick one) or put newspaper on top. I just change the newspaper daily. By the time the chicks are old enough to jump on top, newspaper no long post a danger to causing leg issue. At least that's my limited experience so far.

X2 what Verna said about heat vs. wattage. I do simplify a lot when discussing these, but overall, I found that the Sweeter Heater is hotter than the EcoGlow and this helps with larger groups. I've also found that by hanging it, you can put more chicks under it because you aren't limited by the legs (although that's moot in the EG50) and they don't have to press up against it.

The other BIG thing for me is that the cord on the EG is a flimsy little strand about as robust as your phone charger and I've had it break off of not one, but 2 EG, rendering them useless, as it was where the wire met the sealed body of the unit. It's glued shut, so opening it to swap out the cord will really be a pain and mess & it won't be the same afterward. I did report this to Brinsea and they were going to swap them out for me, but both times UPS cam to get them, I was gone for work. I wish they'd just send me a label!!

The cord on the SH is a nice, robust lamp-wire type, and I can't imagine having the same problem with it.

That's great!! I am using leg bands from Ketchum Mfg. http://www.ketchummfg.com/ There are bunches of colors and you can get a lot of info on them, so I went with those. I like that they are able to be used for multiple sizes of birds and I don't have to go fetch a different set of pliers, etc. With the butt-end metal ones you have to order different sizes and a pliers set for each. The plastic ones only have the pre-numbering, and they break and fall off...which isn't helpful when you have a flock of identical birds and 2 come off before you notice any missing...they also got them to me really quickly!!

I do have to some what baby the cord of the Ecoglow. So far, it hasn't cause any issue. I may have to look into SH if (and only IF) I decide to get a lot more chicks later on down the road. I already have a EG 20 and EG 50. I certainly don't need more... just need to keep telling myself this...

Our babies came today!!! They are so cute! I forgot how tiny new chicks are. The kids are in love! I'm sure I will be back with questions about things I have forgotten since we have had chicks last. They put in four extras that I'm not sure what they are yet. Pretty sure a couple are GLW but not sure on the other 2. Here are a few pics from this afternoon!

Very cute babies!!! They grow up so fast. Where did you get your chicks? I got 25 of them from Meyers 2 weeks ago and they have grown leaps and bounds.

Well the multi-thing is acting up. tntblake, cute chicks, looks like you have a variety there. Did you get your shed up?

I took my two little goats out for an adventure this afternoon. I put their leashes on & took them into an old pen the my DH's ex left there that is close to their pen & let them browse awhile. They seemed to enjoy it, but I decided I'm not taking them too far until they grow into their halters. Penny broke her collar & Patches was just a mess, she's like a mule trying to get her to walk on the leash. I think it would be a lot easier to lead them if the halters fit. They have a bit of growing to do yet. Penny is doing fine without her bottle, she still looks for it, but then she decides she's not getting it & goes right on to something else. I give them a snack at bedtime to hold them over & some hay in their shelter for the night to chew on. They aren't hard to get in there any more, they're used to it. I thought the one GP was going to come after me when I was trying to get Penny's collar back on her when we started out, she was bleating & the dog was trying to come through the gate. She thought I was hurting her I guess.

Sure sounds like you have to put in a lot of work to get the goats trained. DH wants a couple of horses since my DD does horse therapy and it will be good for her. Horses do calm her down so the therapy has helped tremendously. Then he also wants some goats. Mind you, we are city folks that have no farm animal experience. We just bought the 9.5 acres and got chickens. I just don't want to jump in and get all the animals and don't know how to take care of them. Then of course there is the money issue. I'm sure it takes $$$ to take care of all the animals. Enough of this rambling. I'm glad you are enjoying the goats and it is funny your GP thought you are hurting them.

Well the darn site messed me up and wouldn't let me post with most of the multis. I went out and worked on the hoop coop today. In the middle of the afternoon I came back in and found two little Sebbies in my kitchen. Obviously they had been all through the house judging from the little presents they left behind. They had jumped out of their bin. So I had to rig up a cage and light for them that they can't get out of. I still haven't gotten all of their messes cleaned up.
So I built my doors for the hoop coop. I built a chicken door inside of a man door so I can go in if I want to gather eggs or whatever but they still have a chicken door. I got the entry door to the whole thing built but it isn't hung and I don't have the wire on it.
Since when is 16 feet not 16 feet? I bought a tarp to use that was 12' X 16'. However there is no way it is 16' because it is lacking at least 2 feet on one side. And then it is also longer than 12'. It's more like 14 feet long. So instead of getting the tarp over the top like I planned I had to stop and decide if I want to buy a different tarp or leave a gap on one side at the bottom. Why is it that nothing ever works like it should?
So I took some pictures the other day and some more today. Here is the progress so far. These are not in order.


Today. Built the inside door to the coop part with the chicken door in the man door.








Taken a couple days ago. This is the hoop coop and the door opening to the house part


.
This shows the outside door I built today ...no hinges or chicken wire on it yet. You can see the hardware cloth I ran down each side for added security.


This shows the floor and the front of the coop part before I built the door today.



Another angle of the same.



This looks crooked but it really isn't. I was just trying to show the floor I built inside the house part. I put netting over the entire outside so even if the tarp blows off it will still be secure.

Oooi, Danz, you are talented to build such great coop. Just looking at how I need to cut the plywood to fit the end of the coop makes my head spin. I definitely need to learn to use some power tools and some carpentery skills. I'm really thinking of building a hoop coop after talking to Trish and seeing how you guys' awesome coops.

Hawkeye - no clue what happened to the multi to your thread but it is missing.. You need to take some serious rest. Go ride your horse with HeChickens. Get some much needed R&R. You have done way too much in a short time and running 100 mph non-stop for days/weeks. I'm sure the pending move is stressful as well. I hope you get a chance to relax and may be hang out with some friends.

*************************************************************************************************************
I'm quite busy at work due to Tax season winding down so I can only post in the morning. In the evening, I would rather not open the slowputer to reply but I still read the posts on my kindle fire. Kindle fire is not multi-quote friendly... sigh... Just glad I'm seeing lots of people posting and enjoying the conversation on chickens and what not. Talked to our city neighbor (we are still living in the city but will be moving in May to the farm - just a bit of info for those of you who are wondering why I refer my neighbor as city neighbor) yesterday and they sold their house in a week after putting it on the market. Him and his wife are moving to Andover, into a much bigger house since they are thinking of having kids. We will miss them for sure. Talking about moving, I still haven't packed a thing to move. I just dread moving. There are just way too many things to pack and with 2 young kids, I just don't know where to begin. Good thing is we can take our time to move since we are not in a hurry to put the house on the market or rent it out. Another good thing is the farm is only 5 minutes away from our current home. Definitely a big plus. With my DH's work gearing up with the warmer weather (he owns a landscaping company), this means I'll be doing majority of the packing and moving myself. I may need to ask a few coworkers to help me out when the actual move happens.

I'm converting the 2nd horse stall to a chicken coop this weekend. I will take some pictures when I get a chance.

Are we having an April gathering? I thought I read it a few weeks ago that we are having one but I could be wrong.

Hope everyone enjoys this warm Spring weather. It is windy outside though. If you are suffering from seasonal allergies like I do, make sure to take your allergy meds. I'm miserable with the stuffy nose and scratchy throat.

Kuan

 

[123casper]

Bummer

 

[Hawkeye95]

Our babies came today!!! They are so cute! I forgot how tiny new chicks are. The kids are in love! I'm sure I will be back with questions about things I have forgotten since we have had chicks last. They put in four extras that I'm not sure what they are yet. Pretty sure a couple are GLW but not sure on the other 2. Here are a few pics from this afternoon!

Adorable!!!!! Aww, I'm so darned ready to hatch chicks!! I wish my girls would start laying, I don't know what their deal is.

Well the multi-thing is acting up. tntblake, cute chicks, looks like you have a variety there. Did you get your shed up?

I took my two little goats out for an adventure this afternoon. I put their leashes on & took them into an old pen the my DH's ex left there that is close to their pen & let them browse awhile. They seemed to enjoy it, but I decided I'm not taking them too far until they grow into their halters. Penny broke her collar & Patches was just a mess, she's like a mule trying to get her to walk on the leash. I think it would be a lot easier to lead them if the halters fit. They have a bit of growing to do yet. Penny is doing fine without her bottle, she still looks for it, but then she decides she's not getting it & goes right on to something else. I give them a snack at bedtime to hold them over & some hay in their shelter for the night to chew on. They aren't hard to get in there any more, they're used to it. I thought the one GP was going to come after me when I was trying to get Penny's collar back on her when we started out, she was bleating & the dog was trying to come through the gate. She thought I was hurting her I guess.

Funny! Glad they did okay, but lots of work and training on the halters will make them much more cooperative. And when I'm breaking foals, I cheat and use treats now and then. Of course, that can create a bad habit, so I've been careful about it in the past, but when they are being really mulish, it can help. I'm guessing that would transfer to goats, too! Sounds like they are doing great.

I had this same concern prior to my last trip. I knew I could leave out enough food for all of them and enough water for the chickens but I also knew the ducks would get in the water bowls and splash it out and then none of them would have anything to drink. I solved the problem with a piece of hog panel. I laid out all the water bowls I have and filled them with water, then laid the hog panel over the top. The large holes (4x6, I think) of the panel allowed the birds to reach through and drink but did not allow the ducks to get into the bowl. When I returned, there was a little water left at the bottom of most of the bowls.

Girl, you are on the verge of burn out and you need to get some R&R. Seriously. If you can find a sitter for a few hours, why don't you come over and ride your horse with me?

What kind of quail? I have hatched Coturnix and they have the same incubating temp/humidity as chicks, but go into lockdown on day 14 and hatch (like popcorn) on day 16. I believe Bob Whites actually take a little longer than chicks - 24-26 days if I'm remembering correctly. But I think all quail have the same basic conditions as chicks.

Chicks are so much fun! I can't wait until mine arrive next week.

I don't recall that stopping you in the past.....

Oh, I would love to go riding! I definitely need a sitter. Right now my inlaws are dealing with a family death. My MIL's brother died. She is just coming back from his funeral and I probably need to give her a bit of time before I ask for her to watch my kids!

I'm interested in hatching and relasing quail or pheasant. I can't do it right now, but maybe next year when things are settled. I think that sounds like fun! Great idea about the duck water!

Well the darn site messed me up and wouldn't let me post with most of the multis. I went out and worked on the hoop coop today. In the middle of the afternoon I came back in and found two little Sebbies in my kitchen. Obviously they had been all through the house judging from the little presents they left behind. They had jumped out of their bin. So I had to rig up a cage and light for them that they can't get out of. I still haven't gotten all of their messes cleaned up.
So I built my doors for the hoop coop. I built a chicken door inside of a man door so I can go in if I want to gather eggs or whatever but they still have a chicken door. I got the entry door to the whole thing built but it isn't hung and I don't have the wire on it.
Since when is 16 feet not 16 feet? I bought a tarp to use that was 12' X 16'. However there is no way it is 16' because it is lacking at least 2 feet on one side. And then it is also longer than 12'. It's more like 14 feet long. So instead of getting the tarp over the top like I planned I had to stop and decide if I want to buy a different tarp or leave a gap on one side at the bottom. Why is it that nothing ever works like it should?
So I took some pictures the other day and some more today. Here is the progress so far. These are not in order.


Today. Built the inside door to the coop part with the chicken door in the man door.








Taken a couple days ago. This is the hoop coop and the door opening to the house part


.
This shows the outside door I built today ...no hinges or chicken wire on it yet. You can see the hardware cloth I ran down each side for added security.


This shows the floor and the front of the coop part before I built the door today.



Another angle of the same.



This looks crooked but it really isn't. I was just trying to show the floor I built inside the house part. I put netting over the entire outside so even if the tarp blows off it will still be secure.

Danz, this looks amazing!! This is really on the fancy end of the spectrum! WOW! I'm super impressed with your skills!

I missed a few of the questions. I band so that I can have concise records of the lineage of each of my birds for breeding, plus the bands have a unique serial number on them, my name and phone number. I keep a record of each bird and it has their corresponding number. I can tell at-a-glance the year a bird was hatched, as well, as it's recorded on each band.

I wait until they are large enough to keep the band on their leg at the size I know they'll need it to be when they are grown. Most of the cockerels will need it to be at its largest, hens on the middle one, and clean-legged banties on the smallest. If I need to remove one, it can be snipped off with short scissors, and I'll simply reapply the appropriate year from my leftover bands, then change the number for the bird in my books.

I couldn't wing-band...I'm a big softie. This works well for me.

Heather, I'll make you a video if I can get someone to old a camera for me!!

Yeah, I don't think I could wing band either! I was going to answer the banding question with why *I* did it-- and it's the same reason you do it. Of course, I need to keep track of my pens and who is out of which line or what parents. Tracking lineage. Banding isn't necessary for a flock that is barn yard mixes or for someone who is not working on a project with the intent on bettering the breed to Standard, creating a new color, or showing, etc.. Or in Chooks case--- creating a new laying bird.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning has gone well so far! YAY! I remembered what time the kids go to school! It's the small successes! LOL

Hey, I have a question for you guys that bought the Reese Barred Rocks or those breeding to Standard on rocks-- and even if Chooks knows-- chime in! I'm going to start my own flock and keep on with what he is doing but in a very small scale. I'll probably bring in new blood at some point from another reputable breeder. But anyway, for now, I need to critique what I have to get rid of my culls. I can't tell quality of them at this point and I don't know a lot about the barred rocks to do a full judged critique on them anyway. I do need to break out my SOP book and read it. But for now, I have a little cockerel that has GOLD in his feathers around his neck. I'm guessing that gold leakage is a disqualification and grounds for culling from a breeding project, and if it's anything like silkies, it's nearly impossible to breed out. In which case, this bird needs to GO. (or be eaten when the time comes) Anyone else get gold leakage in their Reese birds??? I think he's the only one I've noticed. I've looked the others over for gold, but I don't see any. I will get a picture later today and post it and see what you all think. Meanwhile, I need to hunt down any discussions on gold leakage in barred rocks. I never would have thought that would happen with a Reese bird??? But hey, you always get those culls even out of your best quality birds. Thoughts on this??? BTW-- Karen, do you keep in contact with him? Maybe we could see what Frank has to say about gold leakage and if he culls them???

 

[HEChicken]

Hawkeye, that is really interesting - I've never even heard of gold leakage on a BR before. As you say, no matter the quality of the parent stock, there are always going to be culls. The way I see it, a good breeder will only keep the best of the best to continue breeding, as you do with your silkies, and everything else will be culled. Like you, I want to try to continue Reese's work, and will be selecting to improve as I go. The nice thing is that with these birds, the "culls" have a purpose too.

In some ways I kind of wish I had got chicks along with you and Deerfield. I have to keep reminding myself that the reason my pullets and cockerel were in the shed they were in, was because he had already culled them, and they were destined to be processed. Had they been the "best of the best", they would have been in his other barn. But - I have what I have to work with and I'll go from there. Even if these birds were his culls, hopefully they have the genetics to produce good offspring. Plus, I do have some other birds coming from another quality BR line in mid-April.

The other thing to keep in mind is that Frank is breeding and culling for a somewhat different purpose than we might be. His goal is a large, tasty bird. So - he is less focused on SOP in some respects. His birds are huge and the barring is stunning, but I didn't get the sense he is as focused on type, tails, wings and so on. I need to get some better pictures of my cockerel as a demo, but what I see in him is that his back is rounded UP - something I have never seen before. Therefore he doesn't have the type/shape that a BR should. The pullet has this rounded up look too, though to a lesser extent. Also, both of them have legs set a little closer together than I would like.

I am actually happier with the NH pullets I got - they are both closer to the SOP for their breed. Plus, I think one of them layed her first egg a couple of days ago

It has been fun watching them integrate with my flock. At first they kept to themselves and didn't explore much. They didn't come running when I approached the yard, and never left it at free-range time. Now one of the NH hens has figured out that I often bring treats (aka kitchen scraps) when I head down there so she comes running along with the others, and they are all starting to venture out and free-range in the afternoons. They are still very shy of me, but the cockerel will come and stand within 2' of me now, so is getting bolder.

Sorry....you shouldn't have got me started....this is a topic on which I can wax endlessly and bore the living daylights out of anyone.

Danz, your hoop coop is looking terrific - great work!

Tweety, I think you are wise to hold off on getting more animals just yet. When we made our move to our "farm" last year, someone gave me advice that made sense, and that is to only take on one new thing each year, for the very reasons you mentioned. I.e. to do anything properly, takes research and a learning curve. If you move and add poultry, goats, pigs and vegetable garden in the first 3 months you will end up overwhelmed and unable to do a passable job with any of them. But if you start with poultry and learn that thoroughly for a year and THEN add goats, you will be able to focus better on learning the goats because the poultry chores will already be somewhat familiar, and you will end up doing both quite well. The next year, when things have settled down with the first two, add something else to learn.

 

[michelleml]

Good morning all
Our bantam chicks are getting their wing feathers we have one that is very tiny if anyone can tell me what it is you can tell from the other picture he is very small compared to the others.

 

[chicken danz]

Can waterfowl learn to use a nipple drinker or cup waterer? If they can do that, you just need to put a few nipple drinkers under a 5 gallon bucket and hang it for them to drink. Just put the lid on the bucket so they won't be able to get into the bucket and cause a mess. Or use the cup watere and just insert them on the side of a 5 gallon bucket. I've both of them but I don't have waterfowl though. Just a thought...
No they have to be able to soak their beak or they will suffocate. A nipple water is an absolute No no for water fowl.


Oooi, Danz, you are talented to build such great coop. Just looking at how I need to cut the plywood to fit the end of the coop makes my head spin. I definitely need to learn to use some power tools and some carpentery skills. I'm really thinking of building a hoop coop after talking to Trish and seeing how you guys' awesome coops.

Kuan

Thanks, I built my framework so the studs would meet at the middle of 4 foot and 2 foot so I could use those to attached the second sheet of OSB. I put the OSB up against the back and held it with clips, then went inside and marked the line with a sharpie, then cut it out with a jig saw. The inside was much more difficult to get right because with the hoops the dimensions change. If I do it again I think I'll find a big piece of cardboard and cut a template for the inside wood.
I personally liked my chicken door within the door idea so I can gain access without ruining the strength and integrity of the end panel.
Quote:

Hey, I have a question for you guys that bought the Reese Barred Rocks or those breeding to Standard on rocks-- and even if Chooks knows-- chime in! I'm going to start my own flock and keep on with what he is doing but in a very small scale. I'll probably bring in new blood at some point from another reputable breeder. But anyway, for now, I need to critique what I have to get rid of my culls. I can't tell quality of them at this point and I don't know a lot about the barred rocks to do a full judged critique on them anyway. I do need to break out my SOP book and read it. But for now, I have a little cockerel that has GOLD in his feathers around his neck. I'm guessing that gold leakage is a disqualification and grounds for culling from a breeding project, and if it's anything like silkies, it's nearly impossible to breed out. In which case, this bird needs to GO. (or be eaten when the time comes) Anyone else get gold leakage in their Reese birds??? I think he's the only one I've noticed. I've looked the others over for gold, but I don't see any. I will get a picture later today and post it and see what you all think. Meanwhile, I need to hunt down any discussions on gold leakage in barred rocks. I never would have thought that would happen with a Reese bird??? But hey, you always get those culls even out of your best quality birds. Thoughts on this??? BTW-- Karen, do you keep in contact with him? Maybe we could see what Frank has to say about gold leakage and if he culls them???

On my other barred rocks I eliminated a pullet for breeding because she had some brown in her feathers. I think that just happens. My cuckoo Marans occasionally had a gold toned or brown feather as well.

Hawkeye, that is really interesting - I've never even heard of gold leakage on a BR before. As you say, no matter the quality of the parent stock, there are always going to be culls. The way I see it, a good breeder will only keep the best of the best to continue breeding, as you do with your silkies, and everything else will be culled. Like you, I want to try to continue Reese's work, and will be selecting to improve as I go. The nice thing is that with these birds, the "culls" have a purpose too.

I think Frank knows a ton about breeding. He was very precise when he picked out the older birds for me as far as shape and color and such. Maybe we are too used to seeing these birds that have been bred to produce better egg laying and don't realize how the real item is supposed to look. I wouldn't change anything about my birds from Frank. I haven't looked at the babies to see if there is any gold leakage or not but I think that does just happen now and then. Probably not a show quality thing.
I would consult the SOP to determine what we are looking for. I don't have a copy or I would be looking it up. I know they are beautiful birds and although mine were supposed to be top quality there is no comparison between Franks and mine. He has the real deal and can trace his birds back in lineage. I think they would be the better examples. Just my opinion.
I've never considered leghorns before but knowing he has some of the few pure leghorns left in the U.S. really temps me.
Thanks for the compliments on the hoop coop. I have a busy day ahead and not sure if I will have time to do more work on it.

 

[pikeman94]

Morning everyone!

I had forgotten how pathetic hens look when molting. One of my production reds (Nutmeg) is just depressing to look at. All she does is mope around. She is eating and drinking, but just looks quite unhappy. She just got her neck feathers back last week. The tail feathers still haven't come in yet. Poor girl!

 

[lizzyGSR]

I had this same concern prior to my last trip. I knew I could leave out enough food for all of them and enough water for the chickens but I also knew the ducks would get in the water bowls and splash it out and then none of them would have anything to drink. I solved the problem with a piece of hog panel. I laid out all the water bowls I have and filled them with water, then laid the hog panel over the top. The large holes (4x6, I think) of the panel allowed the birds to reach through and drink but did not allow the ducks to get into the bowl. When I returned, there was a little water left at the bottom of most of the bowls.

I had thought of something similar, but my concern is that my geese can still stand in the bucket even with the panel on top. I had thought about cutting a panel into a couple smaller pieces and wrapping one piece around each water bowl hoping that it would at least keep them from climbing into the water buckets themselves. Do you think that would work for both the ducks and geese?

My biggest concern about raising the water buckets is that my birds range a lot in height. I have Khaki Campbells ducks (very short) as well as Embden geese and a Chinese goose (tall).

 

[JosieChick]

What a good idea! I am surprised your lagoon is full enough for anything to live in! Ours is so low, I added some water about a month ago but it didn't do much good and I didn't really want to run our well dry...

I had this same concern prior to my last trip. I knew I could leave out enough food for all of them and enough water for the chickens but I also knew the ducks would get in the water bowls and splash it out and then none of them would have anything to drink. I solved the problem with a piece of hog panel. I laid out all the water bowls I have and filled them with water, then laid the hog panel over the top. The large holes (4x6, I think) of the panel allowed the birds to reach through and drink but did not allow the ducks to get into the bowl. When I returned, there was a little water left at the bottom of most of the bowls.

Oh, good to know. I can't imagine a muskrat moving into our lagoon, it is yucky.

You need to call a trapper. They will bore through the sides of your lagoon and ruin it. This is pretty serious stuff. I have heard if you have cattails you will get muskrats. So if that is the case you might want to use some roundup as well. There is a season for muskrats and I have no idea when it is. You may have to SSS. Muskrats can be very mean as well.
I loved HeChickens idea of using the panels. I was going to suggest hanging a bucket on the fence that they can't tip over or get into.
ickvoed

Waterfowl MUST have water they can plunge their whole bill into to flush their nostrils otherwise they can get plugged up and die. They might be ok to have nipple waterers in a pen with them but somewhere they have to have a bucket, bowl or pool to clean their bills out.
You are wise to take your time adding animals. They are a lot of work, especially during the winter, and cost a lot of money. We call our horses the hay burning money pits because they really do cost a LOT of money but I love them and that is why we have them. They don't do much but bring me happiness and cost lots of money! We had goats briefly but I was not a goat person. They got loose all the time and were on our porch, cars, in the road. It drove me mad.

Can waterfowl learn to use a nipple drinker or cup waterer? If they can do that, you just need to put a few nipple drinkers under a 5 gallon bucket and hang it for them to drink. Just put the lid on the bucket so they won't be able to get into the bucket and cause a mess. Or use the cup watere and just insert them on the side of a 5 gallon bucket. I've both of them but I don't have waterfowl though. Just a thought...


Sure sounds like you have to put in a lot of work to get the goats trained. DH wants a couple of horses since my DD does horse therapy and it will be good for her. Horses do calm her down so the therapy has helped tremendously. Then he also wants some goats. Mind you, we are city folks that have no farm animal experience. We just bought the 9.5 acres and got chickens. I just don't want to jump in and get all the animals and don't know how to take care of them. Then of course there is the money issue. I'm sure it takes $$$ to take care of all the animals. Enough of this rambling. I'm glad you are enjoying the goats and it is funny your GP thought you are hurting them.

Kuan

Glad you got the kiddos shipped off at the right time! Hope you get some serious rest soon, I feel for you. It is not fun racing around like a mad woman!
What does the SOP for barred rocks say? I would assume leakage would be an immediate cull as it is in most breeds. Even if it doesn't express in the next gen it is still there as far as I understand and will "pop" back up.

Hey, I have a question for you guys that bought the Reese Barred Rocks or those breeding to Standard on rocks-- and even if Chooks knows-- chime in! I'm going to start my own flock and keep on with what he is doing but in a very small scale. I'll probably bring in new blood at some point from another reputable breeder. But anyway, for now, I need to critique what I have to get rid of my culls. I can't tell quality of them at this point and I don't know a lot about the barred rocks to do a full judged critique on them anyway. I do need to break out my SOP book and read it. But for now, I have a little cockerel that has GOLD in his feathers around his neck. I'm guessing that gold leakage is a disqualification and grounds for culling from a breeding project, and if it's anything like silkies, it's nearly impossible to breed out. In which case, this bird needs to GO. (or be eaten when the time comes) Anyone else get gold leakage in their Reese birds??? I think he's the only one I've noticed. I've looked the others over for gold, but I don't see any. I will get a picture later today and post it and see what you all think. Meanwhile, I need to hunt down any discussions on gold leakage in barred rocks. I never would have thought that would happen with a Reese bird??? But hey, you always get those culls even out of your best quality birds. Thoughts on this??? BTW-- Karen, do you keep in contact with him? Maybe we could see what Frank has to say about gold leakage and if he culls them???

I wouldn't beat yourself up too much about getting culls. Keep in mind anytime you buy birds from a breeder you are getting "their" culls. Just because they don't want them doesn't mean they aren't a good start for a breeding project for you. Any good breeder worth their salt wouldn't sell you a pair or trio of birds they didn't think had some prospect if you expressed interest in breeding. If it is a pet quality bird they would tell you right up front like Hawkeye does. That the bird has no place in a breeding program and if the faults are bad enough in the bird they won't even make it to a sale at all. I have butchered birds that I knew I didn't want spreading their genes ever. Usually due to really nasty personalities or a pile of faults that have no place pro creating!

All of my "top quality" breeding birds are all a better than I am breeder's culls.

Chicks are also a gamble because you never know what is going to pop out.

In some ways I kind of wish I had got chicks along with you and Deerfield. I have to keep reminding myself that the reason my pullets and cockerel were in the shed they were in, was because he had already culled them, and they were destined to be processed. Had they been the "best of the best", they would have been in his other barn. But - I have what I have to work with and I'll go from there. Even if these birds were his culls, hopefully they have the genetics to produce good offspring. Plus, I do have some other birds coming from another quality BR line in mid-April.

The other thing to keep in mind is that Frank is breeding and culling for a somewhat different purpose than we might be. His goal is a large, tasty bird. So - he is less focused on SOP in some respects. His birds are huge and the barring is stunning, but I didn't get the sense he is as focused on type, tails, wings and so on. I need to get some better pictures of my cockerel as a demo, but what I see in him is that his back is rounded UP - something I have never seen before. Therefore he doesn't have the type/shape that a BR should. The pullet has this rounded up look too, though to a lesser extent. Also, both of them have legs set a little closer together than I would like.

I am actually happier with the NH pullets I got - they are both closer to the SOP for their breed. Plus, I think one of them layed her first egg a couple of days ago

It has been fun watching them integrate with my flock. At first they kept to themselves and didn't explore much. They didn't come running when I approached the yard, and never left it at free-range time. Now one of the NH hens has figured out that I often bring treats (aka kitchen scraps) when I head down there so she comes running along with the others, and they are all starting to venture out and free-range in the afternoons. They are still very shy of me, but the cockerel will come and stand within 2' of me now, so is getting bolder.

Sorry....you shouldn't have got me started....this is a topic on which I can wax endlessly and bore the living daylights out of anyone.

Danz, your hoop coop is looking terrific - great work!

Tweety, I think you are wise to hold off on getting more animals just yet. When we made our move to our "farm" last year, someone gave me advice that made sense, and that is to only take on one new thing each year, for the very reasons you mentioned. I.e. to do anything properly, takes research and a learning curve. If you move and add poultry, goats, pigs and vegetable garden in the first 3 months you will end up overwhelmed and unable to do a passable job with any of them. But if you start with poultry and learn that thoroughly for a year and THEN add goats, you will be able to focus better on learning the goats because the poultry chores will already be somewhat familiar, and you will end up doing both quite well. The next year, when things have settled down with the first two, add something else to learn.

Cute! No idea what they are though, sorry!

Good morning all
Our bantam chicks are getting their wing feathers we have one that is very tiny if anyone can tell me what it is you can tell from the other picture he is very small compared to the others.

Poor Nutmeg, I hate molting.

Morning everyone!

I had forgotten how pathetic hens look when molting. One of my production reds (Nutmeg) is just depressing to look at. All she does is mope around. She is eating and drinking, but just looks quite unhappy. She just got her neck feathers back last week. The tail feathers still haven't come in yet. Poor girl!

It is tough when you have a very mixed group for sure!

I had thought of something similar, but my concern is that my geese can still stand in the bucket even with the panel on top. I had thought about cutting a panel into a couple smaller pieces and wrapping one piece around each water bowl hoping that it would at least keep them from climbing into the water buckets themselves. Do you think that would work for both the ducks and geese?

My biggest concern about raising the water buckets is that my birds range a lot in height. I have Khaki Campbells ducks (very short) as well as Embden geese and a Chinese goose (tall).

Ok, I need to get my butt outside. The hoof trimmer is coming for the horses in an hour and I need to go lunge Jackson so he is feeling like a good boy and not a giant tool like he was the last trim he had. It was always windy when the trimmer came and he is such a drama queen sometimes. DH came home early last night and finally got the invisible dog fence running so we can start teaching Molly and Lucie the new boundaries of the property, yeah!!!!
So much to do today. I picked up paint for the nursery and the mud on the walls is about dry finally. Can't wait to get it painted and done and move all the baby stuff in! Hopefully before the baby gets here!