Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

Sharol, I am so sorry for the loss of Butch - I know how much he meant to you. Know that he had a life 1000% better than the majority of cock birds out there and that he knew how much you cared about him.

It is going to be a hot one today, and now I feel like yesterday was an easy break-in for us because at least there was no wind. Today there is a wind advisory in effect until 8pm so in addition to being 98 degrees, the wind will be howling. Doesn't that sound like the perfect day? Not. I plan to get out this morning with DS and get a couple of hours of work done before it gets hot, and then come in to do inside work later in the day. Our A/C is not running and I have a call in to a tech to get it fixed. I can only hope he can get out here in the next day or so, or the house will get unbearably hot. It makes me so mad as the previous owner of this house worked in HVAC and installed this unit himself, but when we went to turn on the heat, we had to call out a technician because he didn't have it hooked up right and it wouldn't run, and now we have another service call in our future because he also screwed up the A/C portion of the thing. I want to know what company he works for so I can steer everyone clear of them.

Our jungle also continues to grow as I didn't get my zero turn back last week like they said. When I talked to them they said the soonest they could return it is today so I really hope it gets back today. It will be too windy to mow, but at least if I have it, I can get out there tomorrow morning and get started taming the jungle. In the meantime, I pulled out my little push mower last week and mowed us paths to the places we visit most often and they make a huge difference.

Our lambs have eaten most of the edible vegetation in fenced lagoon already, so last night we expanded their fenced area using livestock panels and they were really happy to get out on the new stuff. I can't wait until our pasture fencing is done so we can turn them loose and not worry about them going hungry. The problem with sheep is with their fleece, you really wouldn't be able to see if they were losing weight.

 

[RoosterLew]

Butch lost the fight to infection overnight. Here are some pictures in better times. He will be sorely missed by his girls and by us (his people).

So sorry for your loss, Butch was beautiful.
I hope you get Lil Butch!

 

[sharol]

thanks Lew, that is the plan. I hope, I hope.

Quote:

So sorry for your loss, Butch was beautiful.
I hope you get Lil Butch!

 

[lizzyGSR]

Our jungle also continues to grow as I didn't get my zero turn back last week like they said. When I talked to them they said the soonest they could return it is today so I really hope it gets back today. It will be too windy to mow, but at least if I have it, I can get out there tomorrow morning and get started taming the jungle. In the meantime, I pulled out my little push mower last week and mowed us paths to the places we visit most often and they make a huge difference.

I agree! Paths are incredibly helpful! I had my DH take the push mower out to the pasture and mow along the path I usually follow in the pasture. Not only does it make it easier to walk, but it also makes it easier to see any hazards (snakes, holes, prickly pear, etc) near the path.

Danz - I got home yesterday after a weekend of traveling, and my DH told me a story that made me think of your recent excitement with the black snake. My DH found a big (5 1/2 foot long) bull snakes in the dog cage that is in my duck run. The dog cage is where my geese often lay their eggs. Knowing this snake could be after the eggs, my DH tried to get the snake to leave. My DH sprayed him with water, shook the cage, etc in an attempt to get him to leave. The snake would start to crawl out of the cage and then would turn around and go back in. My DH's story kind of reminded me of your experience with the black snake, except that my DH wasn't going to grab the snake with his bare hands.

 

[chicken danz]

Sharol I am so sorry about Butch. I so hope those eggs hatch for you. Let me know if you need anything at all! That was excellent timing on your part to set eggs. I am surprised he was able to breed being in that bad of shape.
Lizzy I probably wouldn't have done that had I not been desperate to protect my birds and or eggs from this snake. Did you DH get the snake??
I didn't tell the rest of the story. I black snake emits a musk from his tail if he feels frightened. I really wasn't aware of that until I did some more reading. But I had come back in the house afterward and gotten on the internet. My cat jumped up there and sniffed my hand. She jumped back like she had been shot. She kept coming back and smelling that hand and jerking back. I know why now. It was kind of comical. I had to do some reading to figure out why. It wasn't something I could smell. I had washed my hands but apparently not enough to get entirely rid of it. I was thinking years ago if I had some of that scent it would have been excellent to put around my flower gardens to keep the neighbors cats from using them as their own private restroom!
I didn't get done with the hoop coop yesterday. In fact I accomplished very little. I just wasn't in the mood to get stuck with wire a million times. I already look like I have been through World war III.
All of my ducks have been out being broody. I have done a full scan and realize that almost all of them are gone. I suspect they went out far and sat on nests and something has been picking them off. I wonder if we have owls again. The dogs have been very active at night barking and that could be why. There is no trace of bodies anywhere.
So I guess that is a good thing I haven't sold all my ducks. I need to sex some and mark them to keep. I would really like to get down to just one breed but I don't know if I can do that. Each breed has it's good points. It's so hard to make these decisions. Any input? It seems everyone wants something different. They are easy care birds and I don't pen them... just the babies. I spent some time last evening looking at videos on dressing them and cooking them. I may actually have to dress a few and try them. I may also try to sell some drakes for eating. I have some that are nearly ready.

 

[Trish44]

Sharol, I'm sorry for the loss of Butch, I hope you get some babies from the eggs.

Danz, you should keep those ancona ducks for sure, they're in the rare category, not that many people have them. If I was going to get some more ducks I would get some of those.

Well I need to get moving, I have a person coming for some baby rabbits in an hour & I haven't been out yet. I also have had some other people contacting me today, so I hope that pans out too. Everybody stay as cool as you can, it's going to be a hot one & tomorrow is going to be even worse, ugh where did the cooler weather go.

 

[JosieChick]

Josie I think the county will only do that if they find you in violation and then they charge too much. Is there a local co-op near Rantoul? I know Ottawa co-op does spraying and they are pretty close. They have been out here to spray before. Most co-ops do spray. I assume they would use roundup or something that is formulated not to kill the grass. I know they sprayed my pasture last year because I felt there were too many weeds out there. My farmer arranged it so I have no idea what it costs. He gets all the hay so he also got the expense for that.
If you want you could call the county Noxious weed department and they could give you options of what you can do. The people at ours are very nice and accommodating.

Poor thing. I have an EE hen that got her side torn open by a roo spur so she is in isolation right now recovering. I feel so badly for her. I need to get rid of some boys. I sold a bunch to be butchered but more apparently need to go! I hate the girls getting worn out by roos. I have saddles somewhere but they have been misplaced in the move and I have searched high and low for them.

I wish I could say the same. I have three bins in the house. Plus a stock tank with new hatched ducklings and a brooder with guineas in the basement. I sure wish I had a pen attached to the brooder house. It would be so nice if all these chicks could get outside. Of course in a perfect world I would have a poultry barn with my own little hatching and brooding room and all things chicken would be outside.
I had put a Lady Amhurst hen in a cage cause my rooster had torn her up and scalped her. I have kept her isolated about 3 weeks. Yesterday I thought she was finally well enough to go back in the pen. Today he had torn her up really bad. I'm not sure she will make it this time. I wash her head off and put antibiotic cream on it and gave her some sulfa drugs in her water. She is back in the cage alone. Poor thing. The other hen is fine. I just don't think this one runs from him enough. I've hatched several chicks this spring from them so I am hoping to get some more females. I would probably just sell them all including the adults but everyone thinks they are so beautiful. I like the red goldens so much better cause they aren't hyper.

Oh Sharol I am so sorry! I know you loved Butch very much, he was a very handsome boy.

Sending you happy hatching vibes that you will get LOTS of Butch's babies and have several nice boys to choose from so you get the best gentleman in the gang!

Butch lost the fight to infection overnight. Here are some pictures in better times. He will be sorely missed by his girls and by us (his people).

Argghh!! I want my mower back too! I mowed with the school bus on Saturday! (The finish mower behind the kubota) Thank heavens we have that but it is hard to maneuver and you can't get too close to stuff or the tractor hits things etc. I ran over several things.....

Sharol, I am so sorry for the loss of Butch - I know how much he meant to you. Know that he had a life 1000% better than the majority of cock birds out there and that he knew how much you cared about him.

It is going to be a hot one today, and now I feel like yesterday was an easy break-in for us because at least there was no wind. Today there is a wind advisory in effect until 8pm so in addition to being 98 degrees, the wind will be howling. Doesn't that sound like the perfect day? Not. I plan to get out this morning with DS and get a couple of hours of work done before it gets hot, and then come in to do inside work later in the day. Our A/C is not running and I have a call in to a tech to get it fixed. I can only hope he can get out here in the next day or so, or the house will get unbearably hot. It makes me so mad as the previous owner of this house worked in HVAC and installed this unit himself, but when we went to turn on the heat, we had to call out a technician because he didn't have it hooked up right and it wouldn't run, and now we have another service call in our future because he also screwed up the A/C portion of the thing. I want to know what company he works for so I can steer everyone clear of them.

Our jungle also continues to grow as I didn't get my zero turn back last week like they said. When I talked to them they said the soonest they could return it is today so I really hope it gets back today. It will be too windy to mow, but at least if I have it, I can get out there tomorrow morning and get started taming the jungle. In the meantime, I pulled out my little push mower last week and mowed us paths to the places we visit most often and they make a huge difference.

Our lambs have eaten most of the edible vegetation in fenced lagoon already, so last night we expanded their fenced area using livestock panels and they were really happy to get out on the new stuff. I can't wait until our pasture fencing is done so we can turn them loose and not worry about them going hungry. The problem with sheep is with their fleece, you really wouldn't be able to see if they were losing weight.

We butchered two ancona drakes a while back and they were very tasty according to their recipient. It took forever to hand pluck them though, it was awful. I felt like they cayuga drake I had was a lot more aggressive with the girls which I didn't like at all. I am kind of glad I didn't sell my calls because they are funny little ducks and I love watching them waddle around the yard. A lot of folks don't free range them because they could fly away but these guys don't go anywhere. I kind of wish I hadn't sold my snowy mallards because they were really cute little ducks too. I am just partial to bantam type birds I think.

Sharol I am so sorry about Butch. I so hope those eggs hatch for you. Let me know if you need anything at all! That was excellent timing on your part to set eggs. I am surprised he was able to breed being in that bad of shape.
Lizzy I probably wouldn't have done that had I not been desperate to protect my birds and or eggs from this snake. Did you DH get the snake??
I didn't tell the rest of the story. I black snake emits a musk from his tail if he feels frightened. I really wasn't aware of that until I did some more reading. But I had come back in the house afterward and gotten on the internet. My cat jumped up there and sniffed my hand. She jumped back like she had been shot. She kept coming back and smelling that hand and jerking back. I know why now. It was kind of comical. I had to do some reading to figure out why. It wasn't something I could smell. I had washed my hands but apparently not enough to get entirely rid of it. I was thinking years ago if I had some of that scent it would have been excellent to put around my flower gardens to keep the neighbors cats from using them as their own private restroom!
I didn't get done with the hoop coop yesterday. In fact I accomplished very little. I just wasn't in the mood to get stuck with wire a million times. I already look like I have been through World war III.
All of my ducks have been out being broody. I have done a full scan and realize that almost all of them are gone. I suspect they went out far and sat on nests and something has been picking them off. I wonder if we have owls again. The dogs have been very active at night barking and that could be why. There is no trace of bodies anywhere.
So I guess that is a good thing I haven't sold all my ducks. I need to sex some and mark them to keep. I would really like to get down to just one breed but I don't know if I can do that. Each breed has it's good points. It's so hard to make these decisions. Any input? It seems everyone wants something different. They are easy care birds and I don't pen them... just the babies. I spent some time last evening looking at videos on dressing them and cooking them. I may actually have to dress a few and try them. I may also try to sell some drakes for eating. I have some that are nearly ready.

I am a bit frustrated with my birds right now. I don't really want to build anymore pens right now because it will just be more feeders and waterers to deal with but I am having rooster troubles. I have a welsummer roo that I was planning on putting in my big pen that has my EEs in to make olive eggers but he keeps fighting with Spanky my little cochin/serama roo. Spanky is a very good little roo. Sweet to his girls, alerts the flock when there is danger. He will never run for cover before making sure everyone else has reached safety. But the new roo keeps picking fights with him.

So I guess they can't be penned together. Right now the wellie is in time out down by the geese. Maybe we can just build a little coop down there for a few birds.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Lizzy I probably wouldn't have done that had I not been desperate to protect my birds and or eggs from this snake. Did you DH get the snake??
I didn't tell the rest of the story. I black snake emits a musk from his tail if he feels frightened. I really wasn't aware of that until I did some more reading. But I had come back in the house afterward and gotten on the internet. My cat jumped up there and sniffed my hand. She jumped back like she had been shot. She kept coming back and smelling that hand and jerking back. I know why now. It was kind of comical. I had to do some reading to figure out why. It wasn't something I could smell. I had washed my hands but apparently not enough to get entirely rid of it. I was thinking years ago if I had some of that scent it would have been excellent to put around my flower gardens to keep the neighbors cats from using them as their own private restroom!

Your stories crack me up! Yes, my DH did eventually get the snake. However, we have multiple large bull snakes hanging around the place (we know it's not the same one multiple times because we have been seeing several of them simultaneously) so I hope the others don't discover any eggs. I dislike having to take care of bull snakes as I consider them a "good" snake, even though they scare me. They stop being "good" when they hang out too close to my birds, though.

 

[RoosterLew]

I can see Danz, Rubbing a 6 ft snakes belly all along the borders of her flower beds...bare footed, LOL.

Josie - You could Temporarily keep that Wellie Roo in the Coop with My Wellie Hens,

.

What is funny is I have an EE Roo that I was going to put on the Wellie hens to make OE's - LOL.
Would like to hatch a bunch of Wellies one of these days.

 

[cherwill]

Butch lost the fight to infection overnight. Here are some pictures in better times. He will be sorely missed by his girls and by us (his people).








I'm sorry. He was a pretty boy.

I completely agree! Our pastures out here can't take much more heat... they're already turning brown. I went back home to surprise my mom for her birthday this past weekend. My sister and I surprised her at church, took her out for lunch, and then took her to Salina to go shopping. I was amazed at the difference just a couple hours drive East can make. The grass out there looked thick and very green. There was water standing all over the place in the fields outside of Salina. So far, we are better off this year than last, but ranchers in this area are still having to sell off my livestock. We need rain desperately and could really use some cooler temperatures right now too.

I'm a bit south of Salina. My aunt mentioned a while back that our region is actually ahead on rain for the year so far. What a nice change! I hope you all start getting more.

It is going to be a hot one today, and now I feel like yesterday was an easy break-in for us because at least there was no wind. Today there is a wind advisory in effect until 8pm so in addition to being 98 degrees, the wind will be howling. Doesn't that sound like the perfect day? Not. I plan to get out this morning with DS and get a couple of hours of work done before it gets hot, and then come in to do inside work later in the day. Our A/C is not running and I have a call in to a tech to get it fixed. I can only hope he can get out here in the next day or so, or the house will get unbearably hot. It makes me so mad as the previous owner of this house worked in HVAC and installed this unit himself, but when we went to turn on the heat, we had to call out a technician because he didn't have it hooked up right and it wouldn't run, and now we have another service call in our future because he also screwed up the A/C portion of the thing. I want to know what company he works for so I can steer everyone clear of them.

Why does the AC never go out when it's only mildly hot, but waits until it's blazing hot? It's amazing how that works. The wind makes it seem like you're standing in a furnace. I can't wait to go out and water the garden, since it's in a big, open space. I'll probably have to stand 100 feet away in order to get the water on MY garden!

Argghh!! I want my mower back too! I mowed with the school bus on Saturday! (The finish mower behind the kubota) Thank heavens we have that but it is hard to maneuver and you can't get too close to stuff or the tractor hits things etc. I ran over several things.....

I feel sorry for you! It reminds me of the first time DH put the bagger attachment on ours. I couldn't seem to get the hang of that giant thing off the back end. I knocked into things every time I turned around.