Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

You know, that thought crossed my mind this morning when there was an egg from my Polish Crested in that nest box. I think my Polish Crested usually lays in the afternoon. I did not realize that they set flat like that. Good to know because we are growing out some silkies - I guess we will have a lot of scares from them!

I guess I am going to have to put something like that in my CL ad. What I am afraid of most, is somebody taking them to rooster fight. Not sure if there is any or much of that around here.

Yes, isn't it amazing how they flatten themselves out? That is how a hen can sit on way more eggs than you would think when she is moving around normally. I even had a hen the size of a Serama comfortably sitting on 3 full size eggs.

I wouldn't worry too much about fighting. The roosters they want for that are usually specially bred for the purpose and ordinary roosters wouldn't be of interest to them. Best case scenario they will become a flock leader over some hens and worst case they will be processed. But most people try to do it humanely, and at least you know they had a much better life leading up to that point, than the chicken sold in the grocery store, that led a miserable life.

 

[RoosterLew]

You know, that thought crossed my mind this morning when there was an egg from my Polish Crested in that nest box. I think my Polish Crested usually lays in the afternoon. I did not realize that they set flat like that. Good to know because we are growing out some silkies - I guess we will have a lot of scares from them!

I guess I am going to have to put something like that in my CL ad. What I am afraid of most, is somebody taking them to rooster fight. Not sure if there is any or much of that around here.

Well if your not in hurry to get the EE Roo gone, I think I will be ready for one in a few weeks.
Guaranteed to be spoiled, lol!
Only fighting will be if he comes between me and fresh eggs!

 

[Hawkeye95]

This is one of those questions that you will get a lot of different answers to you so just have to wade through it all and see what you think will work best in your situation. That said, here is MY response.

There are a number of different types of worms that chickens are susceptible to getting. Of them all, about the only one you will ever actually see, is roundworm. If there is a gutload, some live worms will be expelled in the poop and they are easy to see - anything that is white and moves around for about 5 minutes after the poop is expelled, is more than likely a roundworm. The other worms they can get are too microscopic to be seen in poop. So - if you see a roundworm you know they have those but if you see nothing it doesn't mean they don't have worms.

The most common (only?) wormer found in the chicken section of most feed stores is Wazine. This is effective ONLY against roundworm. It is easily administered, but I lean away from it because I know if they have anything in addition to the roundworm, it won't do a thing for them.

So, I went looking for a wormer that is broader spectrum and just as easily administered. I did find one that got excellent reviews because it kills every type of worm they could possibly have, but it has to be administered orally, and while that may be practical for a small backyard flock, if you have a lot of birds, it will get tricky to round them all up and give them the oral dose. I have birds that don't like to be handled, and I could just picture trying to get all of them dosed with that. Its name starts with "D" but I can't think of it right now.

In the end, after researching for hours, I read a blog in which a lady had used injectable Ivermectin, except instead of injecting, she put it in the water. She had figured up the dosage to be 4cc per gallon of water. But - she said to remove all other water sources and provide enough of the medicated water to last the flock 2-3 days straight.

The reason I was worming was that I had several hens I knew had roundworm because I was seeing them expelled. Incidentally, I also had a very sick turkey at the time. He was listless, lethargic, had watery poop and was clearly not thriving. I didn't know what was wrong with him, so I had multiple things to worry about. I dealt with the one I could - the worms - while pondering what to do with the turkey. I mixed up enough Ivermectin in their 5-gallon waterer and removed all other water, so they had no choice but to drink it. Within 24 hours, the turkey had perked up and started eating like there would be no tomorrow. He has never looked back and that was around October of last year. I had no idea his symptoms were the result of worms but I can draw no other conclusion given the timing of it all. Meanwhile, I stopped seeing roundworms expelled in the poop of my hens, and they have never returned.

There is a 2-week withdrawal period. As it turned out, due to the time of year and molt, I didn't have to discard too many eggs.

Now, you asked about natural methods. I love to use natural methods as much as possible. However this is one of the things for which I am unlikely to rely solely on natural methods, because unless I do a fecal on each and every bird, I wouldn't have any way to know how effective it had really been. A lot of people advocate pumpkin seeds as a preventative and I see no reason not to offer them pumpkin seeds since they can't do any harm and *might* help to prevent worms. But - there is no natural product that I would truly trust to remove worms once they are established.

Totally agree! I used the Wazine and didn't see much difference in the birds. I used the Ivermectin injection in the water and it seemed like everyone was really refreshed and healthier after that. I had a bird die over the winter that was light weight and looked terrible. No signs of respiratory disease or anything of the like. I noticed that a couple of other birds were looking light weight. Everyone is back to normal after I did the worming.

We planted peas and some of the early spring things (carrots, radishes, beets) at the community garden and a couple of things are starting to come up. Hopefully it won't get too cold and freeze them. We knew it was a risk, but felt like taking the chance anyway. We don't have the bonus garden this year. Unfortunately, the man who let us use it is one of the ones who died. I think it made him happy knowing someone was using that wonderful garden space. My chickens have been hanging out in the shade. If they already think they're hot, I hate to tell them what's coming in July! We haven't planted anything at home yet, so we let them out to free range in the back yard in the evenings. They rototilled all the weeds out of the asparagus bed and they're very busy in my raised beds. There shouldn't be any grubs left, but I'm afraid there won't be any worms left, either.

I have not even thought of planting yet. I think after this possible snow storm/ice that is coming tonight/tomorrow I'll get out there and get started! My chickens have been free ranging a bit in my back yard, but they haven't been interested in the garden. More interested in what is in the horse pasture. I haven't let them out again since the neighbors dog came over and killed two of them.

Does any one on here know how to make fodder?

That is something I was going to set up this year! But I didn't because I figured we were moving. I think the most important step is to get the right trays and watering system/drainage down. It looks easy enough, honestly. You can use jsut about any seed-- all have some benefit, I was thinking of doing it for my horses, so I was looking into seed that would be more suited for them. There is a lot of info about it. But they don't make specific trays for fodder right now. So you kind of have to do your own research and see how you want to do it and then start hunting down trays. I want nice thick and heavy plastic trays. One of my friends is using metal trays and she loves it. Read the reviews on the trays before you buy them! Trays you think are nice might fall apart or have bad reviews on them.

Good morning everyone we have been busy tilling, cleaning flower beds. Looks like everyone has been busy. My shipped eggs hatched yesterday 6 out of 7 not bad. Mrs broody pants has the other six under her they still haven't hatched maybe another day or two. I candle them yesterday they still look goood except one. I have her seperated in a small coop next to main coop. Can she have medicated chick feed or or unmedicated?

Danzsorry all of this is going on and that you doing better today. Sending lots of hugs.

Maiden- how are you today? Hope you are feeling better

That is really excellent odds on those shipped eggs! I'm just happy if I get 3-4 to hatch from a dozen! ha! Yes, your hen can have medicated chick starter.

It also made me realize I NEED to rehome my roosters. I have two RI Reds about 8 months old and they don't let us near the females. I also have an 8 month old EE, who I hate to give up. We were in denial for a long time that she was a he ( we still call her she ). She/he had always been very affectionate until lately too. At the beginning she/he was at the bottom of the pecking order, now I notice the other two roosters allow him to protect too. When I first bought the chickens, I knew there would be roosters that I may not want. I can't eat them - not there yet, and not sure if I ever will be. The one thing that I hate about being a pet owner or animal owner, is when we have to play the part of God.

I am hoping that between the bantam chicks and the silkie chicks, the roosters that come out of my brooders will be a lot easier to handle. The RI Reds would be great if we free ranged, but we don't.

Now to write up a craig's list ad, my daughter says I need to put "not for butchering" in the ad, but I know I will never find homes for them that way. I think I would just rather not know.

Your girl did not fall asleep, she is broody and they go into a "zone" where nothing will get them off. I think it's a good idea to be realistic about your roosters. I'm planning on growing up my own meat birds, so I'm going to try NOT to get attached to them!

Yeah I agree about the CL ad, you really can't have any control over what people do with your birds or animals after they leave. I have seen the same kind of ad for goats & thought, well I guess the people can lie when they buy them.

I guess we have a cold front coming in this afternoon & it's going to get a lot colder temporarily & very windy, ugh. I just moved all my male rabbits outside last night now I may have to move some of them back in, at least the ones in hutches that don't have a nest box attached. That is about 4 of them. I guess I kind of jumped the gun with getting them moved, I was just wanting to be done with the mess in the garage.

Well I have a busy day today, everybody hopefully have a good day. Danz, I hope you birds are getting better & Hawkeye I hope your day goes better.

What a bummer to move them all out and now might have to move them all back in again! ugh. Sorry about that. Yeah, it's been a better day today, so far nothing has gone wrong... well, nothing major. I do believe that the belt on my alternator is going out.

I need to get my car to the shop.

I am a lot farther west than you are, but the cold front came through here sometime last night. The high yesterday was in the 70's, and we had storms in the area (not here, sadly). There were even tornado warnings in the next county over yesterday. Today, the high is about 20 degrees (and is already dropping), the winds are gusting to around 40mph, and they're calling for light snow all day long. It is COLD out there compared to what we've had recently.

oh no, say it isn't so!! ugh. I HATE cold weather. Maybe that will pass me by-- I'm pretty far down south.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

I am sure there are several support groups for Lupus. At least now you can find a group who knows what you are experiencing. I am so sorry. Being able to get outside even if you don't do anything will help your spirits. I think one of the most wonderful things to do is to sit on the porch and just watch nature. this time of year. It amazes me how things bloom and green up it seems over night. My birds are so much happier too. They are out working that dirt finding stuff.
Originally Posted by cherwill
The multis aren't working here. I am sure I will be headed back to Franks one of these days. If you stick around I'll try to let you know when and see if you'll be around. I've been to McPherson like maybe 3 times in my life. Maybe we could go get a coffee or something.

Obviously if I could work out electric fencing for the back 20 acres it would be the easiest to get in place. I have a lot more learning to do about it though like how close it can be to a regular barbed wire fence. It's all fenced back there but nothing a dog can't go through. My dogs skim right through normal fencing. But it won't work for the yard part. I have to find a way to make that functional for all the things concerned. And I sure don't want to fry a chicken or a duck on a fence that is too hot, but I have to have enough power to fence around 20 acres. I have gotten so much conflicting information. It still seems all wrong to me that I have to protect my dogs from a predator on land they have permission to be on. It's not like they roam the country side. And until we can figure out how to get conductivity here we are out of luck.
I spent a couple hours out in the pen of sick chickens today. I lost another one, a white rock. I had a baby nose bulb thing and a bunch of warm salt water. I was spraying out their nostrils just like I would my own, then spraying their eyes with veterycin. Then I was taking a dropper and dropping water in their mouths. I have sugar in it to kill the taste of the antibiotic so they were getting at least a little nutrition. The problem with them is they just sit there cause their eyes crust shut and they don't eat or drink..so if the infection doesn't get them malnutrition and dehydration will. I've never had anything like this hit my chickens before. It's unbelievable. Lots of them however are sitting under the trailer where I can't get to them. And of course that is where I have found all the ones that have died. I sure hope this runs its course and it's over. I can't stand to see any animal suffer.

I have been following this group for some time now and have learned a lot. I am in southeast Kansas , near McCune, and raise Nubian goats. several breeds of chickens, Guineas, African geese, and Great Pyrenees . I thought I would jump in on the subject of Lupus as My wife has this and was diagnosed in the 1990's. Her doctors told here it was caused by years of drinking diet soft drinks that contained Aspartame and using sweeteners containing Aspartame. I just received an article on this subject on my Facebook today on this subject. If I knew how I would post it for you to read. If you are prone to migraine headaches and drink diet drinks and use sweeteners containing Aspartame you might want to stop. Also it is believed to be the cause of the "Gulf War Syndrome". Aspartame converts to Formaldehyde when exposed to temperatures above 86 degrees F. The Gulf War Syndrome has the same symptoms as Formaldehyde Poisoning. a lot of diet drinks were exposed to 100+ degrees in the Gulf area. Well, enough on that subject. Have a good day. Ralph

 

[123casper]

Thanks everyone for the info on fodder! We are going to fodder wheat. Feed it to our chickens goats and pigs. Our calves will probably get some as well. I get floor swept from our elevator for .07 cents a pound and load up our hopper with it! Going to start tonight and feed later this week. Ill let you know how it all goes.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I have been following this group for some time now and have learned a lot. I am in southeast Kansas , near McCune, and raise Nubian goats. several breeds of chickens, Guineas, African geese, and Great Pyrenees . I thought I would jump in on the subject of Lupus as My wife has this and was diagnosed in the 1990's. Her doctors told here it was caused by years of drinking diet soft drinks that contained Aspartame and using sweeteners containing Aspartame. I just received an article on this subject on my Facebook today on this subject. If I knew how I would post it for you to read. If you are prone to migraine headaches and drink diet drinks and use sweeteners containing Aspartame you might want to stop. Also it is believed to be the cause of the "Gulf War Syndrome". Aspartame converts to Formaldehyde when exposed to temperatures above 86 degrees F. The Gulf War Syndrome has the same symptoms as Formaldehyde Poisoning. a lot of diet drinks were exposed to 100+ degrees in the Gulf area. Well, enough on that subject. Have a good day. Ralph

My mom is an RN, and all the years growing up we were NEVER allowed to drink diet drinks of any kind for this reason alone. Not sure where she learned that info so many years ago, but I'd have to say that it's not new news-- it's just news that people don't want to believe or don't want to stop doing. For that reason, I will not buy "light" foods where they have cut the sugar and replaced it with sweetners, etc. My mother in law's DH is diabetic and so she makes "sugar free" cakes, etc but she uses the sweetners that have aspertame and I just refuse to eat it and won't let the kids eat it. She also always has diet sodas and again, my kids are not allowed to drink it. I joke that if we are going to eat anything sweet-- it must be "fully leaded".

So you are down by McCune? My family is from there and I went to school for a year in McCune back when my grandma broke her leg and my mom moved down there to help her and put us in school there. I still have family that live there, I could just walk up the road to my uncle's or my cousins. My dad grew up in Girard and we still have farm land down there.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Thanks sunflower! Wow, that question must have been a few pages back.....in the meantime I've decided to delve into heritage birds, picking a couple of breeds that were originally used as America's Meat Bird, prior to the invention of the Cornish Cross. While much slower to get to processing size, they are said to also be much tastier, so I am anxious to find out. I decided not to do any of the currently popular meat birds like Cornish Cross or Freedom Rangers, in favor of birds that are self-perpetuating and less likely to have the health issues associated with rapid growth. We'll see how it goes - its all an adventure, right?

With my usual Cornish cross, I have about 5 Rainbow roosters I will be butchering with them - I'm curious to see if there is a difference in taste/texture with a meat bird that takes 6 weeks to grow compared to a meat bird that takes 12 weeks.

I'm not a fan of these Rainbow birds and will not be ordering them again - they just don't seem hardy and I lost 1/2 of them within the first few days - but didn't lose the other breeds.

 

[HEChicken]

I have been following this group for some time now and have learned a lot. I am in southeast Kansas , near McCune, and raise Nubian goats. several breeds of chickens, Guineas, African geese, and Great Pyrenees . I thought I would jump in on the subject of Lupus as My wife has this and was diagnosed in the 1990's. Her doctors told here it was caused by years of drinking diet soft drinks that contained Aspartame and using sweeteners containing Aspartame. I just received an article on this subject on my Facebook today on this subject. If I knew how I would post it for you to read. If you are prone to migraine headaches and drink diet drinks and use sweeteners containing Aspartame you might want to stop. Also it is believed to be the cause of the "Gulf War Syndrome". Aspartame converts to Formaldehyde when exposed to temperatures above 86 degrees F. The Gulf War Syndrome has the same symptoms as Formaldehyde Poisoning. a lot of diet drinks were exposed to 100+ degrees in the Gulf area. Well, enough on that subject. Have a good day. Ralph

Welcome to the thread Ralph. This may be one of the causes of Lupus but it is certainly not the only one. My mother was diagnosed with it 45 years ago, well before diet soft drinks were even available and it wouldn't have mattered if they had been as she wouldn't have been drinking them.

My mom is an RN, and all the years growing up we were NEVER allowed to drink diet drinks of any kind for this reason alone. Not sure where she learned that info so many years ago, but I'd have to say that it's not new news-- it's just news that people don't want to believe or don't want to stop doing. For that reason, I will not buy "light" foods where they have cut the sugar and replaced it with sweetners, etc. My mother in law's DH is diabetic and so she makes "sugar free" cakes, etc but she uses the sweetners that have aspertame and I just refuse to eat it and won't let the kids eat it. She also always has diet sodas and again, my kids are not allowed to drink it. I joke that if we are going to eat anything sweet-- it must be "fully leaded".

So you are down by McCune? My family is from there and I went to school for a year in McCune back when my grandma broke her leg and my mom moved down there to help her and put us in school there. I still have family that live there, I could just walk up the road to my uncle's or my cousins. My dad grew up in Girard and we still have farm land down there.

x2 - we don't do low sugar, low fat in anything because after everything I've read, at the end of the day the "fully leaded" versions are better for you.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

My mom is an RN, and all the years growing up we were NEVER allowed to drink diet drinks of any kind for this reason alone. Not sure where she learned that info so many years ago, but I'd have to say that it's not new news-- it's just news that people don't want to believe or don't want to stop doing. For that reason, I will not buy "light" foods where they have cut the sugar and replaced it with sweetners, etc. My mother in law's DH is diabetic and so she makes "sugar free" cakes, etc but she uses the sweetners that have aspertame and I just refuse to eat it and won't let the kids eat it. She also always has diet sodas and again, my kids are not allowed to drink it. I joke that if we are going to eat anything sweet-- it must be "fully leaded".

So you are down by McCune? My family is from there and I went to school for a year in McCune back when my grandma broke her leg and my mom moved down there to help her and put us in school there. I still have family that live there, I could just walk up the road to my uncle's or my cousins. My dad grew up in Girard and we still have farm land down there.

My wife is also an RN but wasn't a believer until it was too late. There have been bills before Congress on this subject, but the lobby against it is too strong. They care more about the next election than peoples health.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Thanks everyone for the info on fodder! We are going to fodder wheat. Feed it to our chickens goats and pigs. Our calves will probably get some as well. I get floor swept from our elevator for .07 cents a pound and load up our hopper with it! Going to start tonight and feed later this week. Ill let you know how it all goes.

What kind of trays did you end up buying? I've been pinning fodder equipment and ideas to my Pinterest for a few months now. I usually take months to decide on which route I'm going and research everything to death! LOL I'd love to know how your trays hold up after you've been doing it for a month or two. I want really stable trays. Here are some pics I've pinned where I liked their trays or their set up:

Anyway, like I said, I've been reading and reading on this for a few months. But so many people disagree on what trays to use. Are you soaking your seeds with a bleach or rinse to wash them with first? So many people said that if they didn't wash them first, they get moldy and you can kill your animals. So being especially clean about your euipment is very important. I'd love to know what works for everyone, which is why I keep reading and haven't dove in yet! I hope when we settle I can get a system set up that I will eliminate all the problems I keep reading about. Can you post a picture of what you're doing?? I'm really interested!! I think this is such a fun topic!! I think it can be done so many ways and done on the total cheap-- which is really the whole idea. I saw a system where someone had used trays (or some kind of tubs) they had gotten from a nursing home and it was a great idea. They drilled holes in the bottom and set them in another tray so it would be easy to drain. Thought that was a brilliant idea.