Consolidated Kansas

[123casper]

Thanks a lot, I have a couple of Kiko bucklings I took off the bottle a week ago im trying to sell at mccune and I might bring Kris the buck as well.

 

[bbsnooks]

x2
I did mealworms for years. Unfortunately I killed them last summer when we were moving, by putting them in the car and stopping on the way to the new house to run errands and it got too hot and fried them. I haven't started up another colony since. I found that as a protein supplement they were kind of expensive to raise, mainly because I was unable to find wheat bran at any of the feed stores here, so I used oatmeal instead. It took a whole canister of oatmeal ($3.50) to fill a sweater sized tub to a good depth for them and that had to be replaced every few months, so in the end I figured there were cheaper ways to get the birds some protein. That doesn't even count the food they needed - a half apple or potato here and there adds up over time. Had I been able to find wheat bran I might have drawn a different conclusion. On the other hand, I actually enjoyed raising them. Watching them morph from worms to larvae to beetles, and watching the tiny little new hatched worms was strangely rewarding. I did mine all in one tub - other people report that the beetles will eat the worms but I saw no evidence of that.

Good to have your input there.. cars.. and kansas.. to hot... in summer. lucky for me the co-op has 50 lb/11-12$
and i find.. checking on them is fun too.. strangly fun.

Then he has the most magnificent heritage turkeys. Bourbon Red, White Holland, and bronze. I'm sure there is much more but I'm brain dead. I so envy his setup.I would never want that many birds. (Can you believe that even came from my mouth???)
I just got an email from Marc Sacre which I've waited on for months telling me he had a juvenile pair of english white orps availble. I had to decline them because of my sick birds. Dang it! Makes me very very disappointed.

would the other big white.. be the Jersey Giant? < I was hoping he had some black's.. - these are the breed that i want to "play" with breeding> supposedly he has the line from Golda Miller.. famous for getting the "flash" which started the Blue Jersey Giants.. right her in little ol' kansas.. ; )

I'd love to have some of his jerseys. next year maybe if he has the Black JG
. . It sounds like it would be best to get the started birds rather than chicks? is that what your <group> thinking?
? any other Giant lover's out there.. ?

 

[HEChicken]

would the other big white.. be the Jersey Giant? < I was hoping he had some black's.. - these are the breed that i want to "play" with breeding> supposedly he has the line from Golda Miller.. famous for getting the "flash" which started the Blue Jersey Giants.. right her in little ol' kansas.. ; )

I'd love to have some of his jerseys. next year maybe if he has the Black JG
. . It sounds like it would be best to get the started birds rather than chicks? is that what your <group> thinking?
? any other Giant lover's out there.. ?

He only has the White JG's. They are stunning though - perhaps you would consider working with white instead of black?

 

[tntblake]

Congrats on the arrival of the chicks - what breeds did you get (sorry if you already told us and I forgot). I'm still waiting on mine that were shipped yesterday

That is great that Casper is so full. I don't think we've had near as much rain in this neck of the woods so I'm glad to hear there's more on the way. That's a great idea! I second the name The Chicken Bus! I must have been in information overload by the time we got to that barn

I got an email from Ideal at 6:10pm last night saying my chicks had shipped. Does anyone know...does this mean they didn't ship until evening, or that they shipped earlier but the email wasn't sent out until evening? I talked to them this morning and they indicated they were scheduled for delivery today but shortly after that call the mail came and it was only a few envelopes. I'm biting my nails a little hoping they're okay after the winter storm.

They will be here tomorrow. I got my message on tues night and the birds were at my local post office at 7:30 thurs morning. I just assumed that they sent out the email the night before they actually shipped. I had forgot how fast chicks grow! They are doing well and have their wing feathers and tails and are starting on their back feathers already. We ended up losing a Delaware and a leghorn. I'm not sure why though. One day they were fine and the next one was too weak to stand and died in a couple hours. Same thing happened to the other chick the next day. No sign of illness or injury and they were eating and drinking like nothing was wrong earlier in the day. The other chicks are healthy and happy.

 

[Trish44]

mrs broody pants and her 4 chicks are doing good and the 5 i have in the brooder our doing good also i guess 9 out of 12 is not bad for shipped eggs.

I was looking at pictures and Dh walked in asked what i was doing i told him im learning how to build a chicken run. He asked why did i need to learn how to build one. I asked him if he could keep and eye on kids while i build the run and he laughed and said okay i will help you build your chicken run

. I hoping we can get started in the next few days if not i will have to wait til i come home from my little trip from texas.

Stay warm everyone
Michelle

See it works, you go girl! I just have to give my DH time to get over his huff about my "chicken stuff" & later he is better about it. I do sometimes start out doing things by myself though & he will check to see if I need any help. If I don't want him to help I just do those things when he's at work, that way I don't have to deal with his perfection mentality if it's not required for the project.

I'm the guy that bought the Alohas that didn't make the cut. So I guess I will have to make do with the B team. Yes I have beautiful, sweet, horses. They have all been rescued, just like most of my roosters. I do barter riding lessons for stuff. I really need a massage therapist on a weekly basis. I don't just teach riding, I teach horsemanship. In other words how to think and see the world like a horse. I am not a cowboy, I'm not that macho. I guess you could call me a chicken wrangler or a duck wrangler.

glad to have you here. Feel free to jump in any time, we're always chatting about a little of everything here.

Josie, I'm glad you're getting your nursery painted, I'm sure that will be a relief since you're getting so close to time to need it. Just think, in a couple of weeks give or take you will be welcoming that sweet little girl into the world!

Karen, sorry to be so negative, but kids tend to take all of your time & energy until they're grown. That's why it's nice to be a grandparent & just have them visit & then when you're tired you send them home. You can spoil them rotten when they're there & then send them home to their parents, love it. I love the name Chicken Bus for your van, that would be so appropriate.

Chooks, I know what you mean about trying to type on your phone, it drives me nuts!

I'll get some pics posted of the Barnie chicks after while. I have been letting them chill since they came & they're doing fine.

I am so ready for it to stay warm, I'm with the rest of you I've had it. I started on my garage project, which is a big one & I can't do it when it's cold outside. My DH is going to eventually get upset that his car has to sit outside while I sort in his half of the garage. It's for a very good cause, we will have a much cleaner & more roomy garage when I'm done, but getting there takes time. It didn't get messy in a day & it's not going to get cleaned in one either. I just hate it that while I was on a roll the weather had to strike a blow again & slow me down. I want it to get done & over with so I can go on to other important projects. I have to move the male rabbits back out again too as soon as it's warmer again. I will move all the mommas & babies when I feel that it's warm enough for them to be out there. Right now they're still tiny little babies. They are so cute, they have some fur now & are starting to hop around a little bit in the nest boxes. I love to seem them at this stage, they're just adorable. They get you when you pick them up though, as soon as I pick one up it pees on me. I found out last night by investigation that my one momma has a color that I haven't had before, it is a lilac Mini Rex. I can't wait to see how it looks when it gets older. I probably will keep that one because it's not that common. I also got a black otter & I love that color. I have 10 Mini Rex babies & I think 4 Chinchilla rabbit babies. The Chinchilla mom doesn't want me to mess with hers yet, they're younger than the others, she gets upset when I try to look at them, so I'm not bothering them any more than necessary.

Oh tnt, sorry for the loss of your two chicks, I'm glad the rest are doing OK. I think sometimes just the shipping through the mail traumatizes them more than we think.

HEChicken, I hope your chicks make it all right. I know how you feel with the cold spell, I was sweating it on getting mine here right in the middle of that.

 

[cubbysan]

Anybody ever try using a used baby's pack and play or any other type of play pen as a brooder? The rubber maid container I have my baby silkies is getting a little snug.

 

[bbsnooks]

I'm the guy that bought the Alohas that didn't make the cut.

any photo's.. I dont know what they look like.. < guess i could google them..but your chicks are cut e'er I"m sure!! even the b team.. ; ) >

He only has the White JG's. They are stunning though - perhaps you would consider working with white instead of black?

Speaking of B-teem.. my jersey's are B-teem.. and i chose the Black/ Splash because they cross to. make the "Blue"
from Indigo http://www.indigoegg.us/JerseyGiants.html hope this i the right way to post some one elses photo..
...I plead ignorance...

isnt he pretty.. so..


this is my B team.. and maybe i'll have some blue petty coats.. in a year or 2..
pretty boy floyd < the flash > has crooked toes.. .. and Festus.. has a crooked neck..
.. having mutt chicks raised here .. will be fun.. even if they dont bring home a blue ribbon.. ; ) they can put meat and eggs grown fresh. and healthy.

 

[bbsnooks]

Anybody ever try using a used baby's pack and play or any other type of play pen as a brooder? The rubber maid container I have my baby silkies is getting a little snug.

I want one..
I saw photo's on the natural chicken keeping thread a week or so back.. it looked good to me ..

 

[Trish44]

I have not used a pack n play for that purpose, I have brooders, but you can usually find them on the swaps on Facebook or Craigslist & later on garage sales. I sold the one I had when I was selling all my baby stuff that I used for my granddaughter.

 

[milomac]

hey guys still around picked up several large limbs brought down by the ice. A friend of mine raises large giant cochins and lost her rooster. Does anybody have a giant black cochin rooster