Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

I hope everyone had a good day. We are doing good just wish the days would warm up more

Just wanted to share what my father -n - law made me I just need to paint or stain it
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Very cute! How is you DH feeling these days?

It was really cold here today, I hope tomorrow is better, I'm so sick of this cold weather it's just the pits. I have so much that I need to do outside & I can't get out there to do it.

It seems like this wet cold is worse than the winter weather.

This is my first hatching experience as an adult. My family raised chickens when I was growing up. I have wanted my own flock for a long time. We finally are able to get started! I have my egg babies in a Little Giant stryofoam still air incubator I borrowed from my friend. I have Silver Laced Wyandottes, Black Copper Marans, Lavendar Orpingtons, Basque, and Olive Eggers (BCM and Ameraucana cross) in there. I am hoping for some happy, healthy hens!

Hatching can be difficult. Let us know if you need some help.

We don't have anything planted yet, either. I had almost given up on having a garden this year. Summer isn't summmer without fresh tomatoes, & i need fresh cukes to make my yummy pickles! Plus, I will.have chickies who will covet the scraps!

I need to get mine tilled up. It was either too wet or too cold. I don't know how I'll ever get the tiller in there if it keeps raining this week. I have a big area I was going to plant for just the chickens as well that nothing has been done with. I need to get it sprayed for weeds before planting and I haven't even gotten that done.
I plant extra cucumbers just for the chickens. They love them and water melons particularly. I fed my entire garden to the chickens last year other than the butternut squash which I coveted for myself!!! My tomatoes did nothing.
Well yesterday was an interesting day. When I was out feeding and watering I noticed my Mandarin duck pond is loosing water. I must have a leak somewhere. I have no idea how to even find it until the water stops dropping. I might have done it using the pressure washer on it if I drove a sharp rock shard or something into the liner. To top that off I discovered I had some baby Mandarins running around. Last year when they were hatched they were all kept close by the Mom and since I put fiberglass panels along the bottom of the aviary they stayed in. Well there were a couple in there that were climbing up the wire one claw at a time. The mom was no where to be found and the other Mandarins were not wanting the babies to get near them. I assume the Mother must still be in the nest sitting on more eggs. Those little things are fast as lightening and can get out of anything over 1/2 inch wide. I caught the two that were in the pen. There was another one out running around the yard but as soon as I'd spot it it would disappear faster than I could get around to it. Finally later in the evening he heard one of the other females hollering and had gone back to hang around the the Mandarin aviary. I managed to catch him. So now I have 3 baby Mandarins in the house. I have them in a regular bird cage for lack of anything else that will keep them contained. They are not your normal little baby domestic ducks for sure. I'll have to be watching for more babies. I can't afford to loose these little guys. I need to sell some of the other birds. I had too many boys last year. It sure was a lot easier to just let the Mom raise them. I guess before next spring I am going to have to come up with another plan to keep them in.
I have several more chicks in the hatcher I need to get moved again. I had quite a few that should have been moved into the hatcher yesterday but there is no room. I have to get it done today.

 

[HEChicken]

This is my first hatching experience as an adult. My family raised chickens when I was growing up. I have wanted my own flock for a long time. We finally are able to get started! I have my egg babies in a Little Giant stryofoam still air incubator I borrowed from my friend. I have Silver Laced Wyandottes, Black Copper Marans, Lavendar Orpingtons, Basque, and Olive Eggers (BCM and Ameraucana cross) in there. I am hoping for some happy, healthy hens!

LG still airs are notoriously difficult to hatch in. Here is a cheat sheet written specifically for this type of incubator, by one of our own: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chookschicks-incubation-cheat-sheet Hopefully it will help you to have a successful hatch.

Oh, I agree! Make sure to add chicken poop to your garden, you'll be surprised at what a difference chicken poop fertilizer makes! Your plants will be jumbo in size, no steroids used. Also I found that my plants are hardier and grow better and faster with chicken poop.

Just be careful about putting chicken poop where you are growing tomatoes. It is too high in nitrogen so what will happen is the plants will grow like crazy but they won't set much fruit. Ask me how I know

. This year I am using hay that hasn't been around chickens to mulch my tomatoes, and using the straw with chicken poop from my DLM coop over the winter, to mulch my greens, so hopefully that will work out well.

Well yesterday was an interesting day. When I was out feeding and watering I noticed my Mandarin duck pond is loosing water. I must have a leak somewhere. I have no idea how to even find it until the water stops dropping. I might have done it using the pressure washer on it if I drove a sharp rock shard or something into the liner. To top that off I discovered I had some baby Mandarins running around. Last year when they were hatched they were all kept close by the Mom and since I put fiberglass panels along the bottom of the aviary they stayed in. Well there were a couple in there that were climbing up the wire one claw at a time. The mom was no where to be found and the other Mandarins were not wanting the babies to get near them. I assume the Mother must still be in the nest sitting on more eggs. Those little things are fast as lightening and can get out of anything over 1/2 inch wide. I caught the two that were in the pen. There was another one out running around the yard but as soon as I'd spot it it would disappear faster than I could get around to it. Finally later in the evening he heard one of the other females hollering and had gone back to hang around the the Mandarin aviary. I managed to catch him. So now I have 3 baby Mandarins in the house. I have them in a regular bird cage for lack of anything else that will keep them contained. They are not your normal little baby domestic ducks for sure. I'll have to be watching for more babies. I can't afford to loose these little guys. I need to sell some of the other birds. I had too many boys last year. It sure was a lot easier to just let the Mom raise them. I guess before next spring I am going to have to come up with another plan to keep them in.
I have several more chicks in the hatcher I need to get moved again. I had quite a few that should have been moved into the hatcher yesterday but there is no room. I have to get it done today.

Whew - I'm glad you caught them! I am finding raising babies to be very stressful this year. I've never had issues with Mamas raising babies before but with the weather this year, things haven't gone the way I would have liked. I lost a turkey poult because it got too cold at a time of year when normally it is warm enough I don't have to worry about them getting too far from the mother hen. And I think the cold weather is the reason my lone muscovy duckling hatched so late - almost a week late.

Michelle, that sign is just terrific - he does good work!

Sharol, thanks for the tip on free shipping on the pinless peepers. I've never needed any yet but I'm considering ordering while they have free shipping just to have them on hand, in case.

Cherwill, I've had seedlings sitting here waiting to be planted for a week and a half now, and I have to keep watering them because those little pots don't hold much water. Do you suppose we are finally safe to plant?

I know I always said I wanted broodies. Well, I take it back!!! These broody hens are driving me bananas. Seriously. Let's see....I have the silkie and Aloha raising babies. They're doing a good job and I'm happy with them. I have broody duck #1 who hatched a surprise duckling Friday night and still hasn't left the nest. She was also sitting on turkey eggs and I've removed all of them, so I think today will be the day she'll take her little one to show it food and water. I hope. Broody duck #2 is sitting on 23 eggs and is about halfway through her 5 weeks. Broody duck #2 is sitting on 14 eggs and is only a few days in. Then there are the 3 silchin/cochins I got from JosieChick. All three went broody, bing, bam, boom, but each chose a different nest box and it was throwing my whole coop out of whack as the other hens either squeezed in with them to lay eggs, or tried to find other hiding spots for them. Attempts to move them to the hoop coop to brood failed. So on Friday, I fashioned barricades out of chicken wire, to keep them in their individual nests in the hoop coop. Blue Silchin immediately settled onto her nest in her little compartment and after two days of being a good girl, I rewarded her this morning with some real eggs to hatch instead of the dud she was sitting on. Mille Fleur Silchin is sitting while barricaded in, but when I let her out for a broody break, after eating, drinking and pooping, she resumes her pacing of the front fence, looking for a way back to the main coop, so I am still having to barricade her in. Splash cochin is the same as Mille Fleur except she is m-a-d at me for barricading her in and screams "You B****" when I put her back in her nest.

Meanwhile back at the main coop.....I have another broody hen who is something of a surprise. She is the daughter of my sultan and Cyrus, and was an attempt to create a blue egg layer. Instead she lays a cute little green egg. The funny thing about her is she looks exactly like a sultan, except she's jet black. She has the 5 toes, crest, type, shape - just in black instead of white. Funny. Anyway, she only hatched in mid-October so is really young to be broody but she certainly thinks its time to be a mama. She and broody duck #3 argued over that nest for awhile but the duck won, so now the "black sultan" is sitting right outside the duck nest, out in the open - just sitting. I'm probably going to end up giving her the same treatment the silchins are currently getting.

The eggs I am putting under them all are started turkey eggs. I had a bunch going in my incubator and the timing is right that they will be able to sit for about 3 weeks and then have babies. But I'm not willing to risk the eggs until I'm certain the hens are sitting tight in their new nest, so they are sitting on duds until they accept the new digs.

I am noticing a reduction in egg production with so many no longer laying but that's actually okay as I have quite a surplus of eating eggs right now. I just hope I don't have any more go broody on me.....

Except the turkey. I about have a clutch saved up to give her so I'm hoping to get her moved to the hoop coop and interested in raising them. It will be a novelty to have a turkey hen raising turkey poults. Meanwhile, I have 7 turkey eggs due to hatch today. None has pipped but they're rocking so I'm just trying to be patient. Since they were incubated under a broody, they may not be exactly on time.

 

[TheDownyChick]

I don't know how to quote a portion of a post, but thanks for the sheat sheet link, HEchicken. I had already read it, but it is good to know it is recommended. I like her idea of the paper towels in the water wells to increase humidity. I could not find the type of thermometer at either Walmart or the pet store in Emporia, so i got a digital thermometer hygrometer combo that has an outdoor probe I can lay on top of the eggs. I also have tbe one tbat came with the incubator. I hope that is sufficient. My friends think I am crazy, I'm sure!

I didn't know ducks could climb! Do you have any pics of your new "roommates" you could share?

 

[TheCrazyClucker]

Bought this guy last weekend. Whaddya think?

 

[chicken danz]

TheDownychick, these aren't normal ducks. They are wild ducks from China. They nest in dead tree hollows and such over water. They have very sharp claws made for climbing wood. Here's the new babies although you can't see them well. Click pics to make them larger.




Here is a picture of the family of ducks last spring.


For some reason it isn't letting me post some other pictures I wanted to show you of how pretty the males are up close.
Crazy Clucker. How old did they tell you this bird is? I raised polish for several years. He does have a nice mix of colors.

Looks like I need to get busy. DH wants to go to Topeka later. I think we are going to get our entry gate. It will be a few days before it is hung but I can't wait to get it in. As soon as we get the gate I need to order my auto opener.

 

[TheCrazyClucker]

TheDownychick, these aren't normal ducks. They are wild ducks from China. They nest in dead tree hollows and such over water. They have very sharp claws made for climbing wood. Here's the new babies although you can't see them well. Click pics to make them larger.




Here is a picture of the family of ducks last spring.


For some reason it isn't letting me post some other pictures I wanted to show you of how pretty the males are up close.
Crazy Clucker. How old did they tell you this bird is? I raised polish for several years. He does have a nice mix of colors.

Looks like I need to get busy. DH wants to go to Topeka later. I think we are going to get our entry gate. It will be a few days before it is hung but I can't wait to get it in. As soon as we get the gate I need to order my auto opener.

He's 1 1/2, they said. Thank you, if you were to see him in real life, he has a silver-y sheen over his body-- beautiful!

 

[chicken danz]

Just judging from what I see in the picture I'd say he is at least another year older than that. There are some tale tale signs there. The super long saddle feathers, the larger v in his comb, and the white colors in his top knot. I can't see his legs very well but they can also help determine age. He should still be great for fathering chicks...but I wondered if someone didn't try to sell him as a younger bird...that's why I asked. Please don't take this as criticism. He is great looking. Just figured you should be aware of it.

 

[TheCrazyClucker]

He's not a purebreed Polish, he's a mix of things. And I really don't care about his age, all that matters is that he is good with my hens and friendly towards me.

 

[cherwill]

Cherwill, I've had seedlings sitting here waiting to be planted for a week and a half now, and I have to keep watering them because those little pots don't hold much water. Do you suppose we are finally safe to plant?

I'd like to think so. I have tomatoes and tomatillos in those little pots; I'm hoping I can keep them alive long enough to go in the ground. We just got back from our garden. The peas still look great; the rest of the stuff is pretty ragged and growing slower than usual so far. It's wet just under the surface, so not good for planting. Then it's supposed to rain Tuesday through Thursday or something. That's not going to help us get stuff planted!


I am noticing a reduction in egg production with so many no longer laying but that's actually okay as I have quite a surplus of eating eggs right now. I just hope I don't have any more go broody on me.....

Do you notice that the non-broody hens don't lay as well when there are broodies? It seems like when even one of mine goes broody, the others slack off quite a bit.

Bought this guy last weekend. Whaddya think?


He's colorful!

 

[lizzyGSR]

Hello everyone! The weather has finally warmed up here, and the forecast is calling for some much needed rain this week (at least a 20% chance Monday night through Saturday - hopefully we'll get SOMETHING out of all those chances!).

Also, my DH and I have some good news to share! Here's a picture explaining it.