Consolidated Kansas

[22qZoo]

Whew, just got done doing some mowing with a billygoat, trying to get some of the weeds cut down. My favorite chigger trick is prevention. This year I've mixed 50/50 baby powder and sulfur powder and then powder-up everywhere those little nasty buggers will go , ie, sox, waistband ect.. I had heard about using sulphur powder for years but was reluctant to try it cuz I thought it was maybe toxic or something . I too get really itchy and they last for weeks so this year I did some research and decided to give it a try. So far it been the the best thing yet. I think ITCH-X and Benadryl work pretty good if you do get bites.
TWEETY- it does seem like school is coming up quick. I just did the online registration a couple of days ago . I was looking at the school supplies list for my 7th grader and they still want us to get glue sticks and a couple of boxes of ziplock bags . Really, ! Glue sticks ?
Last year she hardly used any of the stuff on the list .
Question, is anybody else not get many eggs from they're layers or is it just me? I just switched to FF , then there was the heat, got a couple of new birds, is it time for molting the new Sebbie and the Chinese goose are in a molt . We've gone thru the usual hiding spots and can't find any thing. Any ideas?....

 

[cleansquared]

Geranium essential oil works wonders for tic prevention my dog (xlarge wolf-malamute) used to get ticks every time we went to the park then i started putting straight about 5 drops total geranium essentil oil and rubbed it all over his fur legs ears every where throughly now we never get tics! I work in aromatherapy so for sure you want to get a good quality essential oil most low cost ones are readily adultarated with other things the best theraputic brand is by far auria cacia avaliable at most health food stores a good second choice is camdengrey its online at camdengreyessentialoils.com they are reasonable for the excellent quality they also cary neem oil that is a cold preesed so it is also supposed to work as an organic bug repellent.. also if you were going to make the mix stated it would go bad rather quickly with out the addition of vitamin e oil to lengthen the shelf life of the almond oil..

 

[sarahswank]

Is anyone in S.W. Kansas, Dodge City area?

I am from SW Kansas. I live in Garden, drive to Liberal every day for work and pretty much every weekend go to Dodge to spend time with a friend. I know there is atleast one other semi-active member from right south of dodge who gets on here often as well. If you need anything or help let us know (and the members who arent from SW. Kansas are pretty awesome and know a ton)!




So sorry about my long hiatus. Been spending so much time trying to help an old ex in rehab (his choice to go, I am just there to support him though the hard withdrawls and finding new hobbies to fill his time) that my BYC time had been cut short. I could only skim all the old posts that I miss, but congratuations to everyone who had chickens that did well at all the fairs! And YIKES on the snakes.... Thankfully the only predator issue we are having is cats.... And keeping them at bay is still pretty easy for now.

I do have a question for some of you kansas folks who sell eggs and meat.... anyone know the regulations on selling/giving away eggs in our state (or where to find them)? I just want the basic guidelines and any special rules so I can avoid getting myself in a jam. I know where to find the federal laws, but I cant find any info on if Kansas has regulations also.

 

[cleansquared]

I have a question how would i get an old barn dirt floor ready for new chickens to make sure there is nothing there is there somthing i should clean the walls with (wood) there are feathers in the dirt and what looks like goat poop but i dont know for sure there is also weird stuff like an old commercial freezer with no door and sink and cabinet not hooked to any thing as far as i can see should i pull all of this stuff out or is this common things to use in barns we dont close till sept now but i thought i could at least get some cleaning done next month to get the chicken coop ready to go

 

[chicken danz]

I do have a question for some of you kansas folks who sell eggs and meat.... anyone know the regulations on selling/giving away eggs in our state (or where to find them)? I just want the basic guidelines and any special rules so I can avoid getting myself in a jam. I know where to find the federal laws, but I cant find any info on if Kansas has regulations also.

This has been brought up before. If you sell eggs they must be washed. If you use old egg cartons they must have your name label covering the original label that also states they are not graded. They must be kept cold. If you give them away you can do it however you want. Avoid having things like organic, free range, or other words on them without researching official meanings of each term. If you just sell to family members or close friends I wouldn't worry at all.
Quote:

I have a question how would i get an old barn dirt floor ready for new chickens to make sure there is nothing there is there somthing i should clean the walls with (wood) there are feathers in the dirt and what looks like goat poop but i dont know for sure there is also weird stuff like an old commercial freezer with no door and sink and cabinet not hooked to any thing as far as i can see should i pull all of this stuff out or is this common things to use in barns we dont close till sept now but i thought i could at least get some cleaning done next month to get the chicken coop ready to go

I'd remove anything you think you aren't going to use. If the sink and cabinet would come it handy for storage or usage I'd leave it there. You could possibly adapt it to a water hose and attach a drain hose to the drain that leads to a garden or something if it is convenient. No use wasting water but I certainly think having a water source and storage near chickens is a God send. I would saturate the dirt with a good disinfectant. I personally like using lye and then soaking it really really well so it penetrates down deep if you aren't moving right away. The heat from the lye will kill many organisms and bug eggs. This only is a good idea in areas you don't expect vegetation to grow.
I would recommend using oxine or Tektrol for disinfecting anything else...or even the ground although that might take a lot. Both would need to be ordered most likely and are not cheap. But they go a long ways and are both excellent. Plus you can use them both for all kinds of chicken things. I keep both on hand and use them nearly daily.

 

[Trish44]

This is copied from the Departmentt of Agriculture for Kansas:

Any person selling, offering for sale or distributing, or grading eggs in Kansas needs to obtain a license. A producer of eggs when selling ungraded eggs of the producer's own flock production is exempted if the producer owns 50 or fewer hens. Here is a link to the Kansas Egg Law also, but most of it applies to commercial producers & sellers: https://agriculture.ks.gov/docs/def...dsafety-lodging/egglaw_full_page.pdf?sfvrsn=2

 

[ashncarson]

I can't find it now, but we bought some hardware cloth here at Lowes in Hutchinson last night. We spent $105.96 and bought 4 rolls at $26.49 each. they where 1/2 inch, 36 inches tall by 25ft.

 

[chicken danz]

Hey Trish. I found this picture. You mentioned you couldn't imagine what a cuckoo lavender orpington would look like. This is a beautiful example. I am hoping to produce some just as good.

 

[Trish44]

Hey Trish. I found this picture. You mentioned you couldn't imagine what a cuckoo lavender orpington would look like. This is a beautiful example. I am hoping to produce some just as good.

Yeah after we talked about that I saw a pic of one on the Rare Breed Auctions site, there are some people breeding for them now on there. They do look really pretty after seeing that.

We just got back from buying all my stuff for the third hoop coop. My DH had to go on to work this afternoon, so I'm hoping it doesn't rain again here tomorrow so we can get started on it. I have decided to put my turkeys in there when it's done so they have more room since I now have 4 of them. They will have room in the back for nests too so hopefully they can sit in there if they go broody instead of taking off to who knows where. I got the supplies to support the tarp on the present turkey pen too & we'll get that fixed also so that isn't an issue any more. That pen then will become my growout pen. It is in a much drier spot & will be better for younger chicks. Then I'm going to convert the hoop coop that is being used for the growout pen now into two pens & move my lavender Orps in one end & the lemon cuckoos into the other end. I will have to add a door on one end where there isn't one now & put up a wire divider between the two sides, but that won't be all that hard. It's musical pens around here trying to get all the birds housed somewhere. I ended up just getting hardware cloth from Atwoods, it's generally cheaper than Lowe's for that kind of things. I paid $56 for a 50 ft roll of 36 inch wide half inch gauge. I usually just put it up to where the tarp comes down to it & don't put it over the top.

 

[chicken danz]

I've been out working and it seems like I am moving extra slow today. My back is killing me but I need to get a bunch of this metal picked up and moved to the metal pile. I've just been feeding and watering. I'm playing musical pens as well. I just moved two araucanas and a creme legbar rooster to a tractor. They had been occupying a whole house and pen and I decided it was time to get it ready for a larger group of birds. I am waiting for these girls to resume laying. They haven't done so since they've been here. I figured while I still had a cream legbar roo here I might as well use his genetics. I want to create my own breed of blue egg layers. These girls are hyper and crazy. The legbars are docile. I figure there's 100% chance of blue eggs layers and hopefully some of the roo's nature will rub off on the offspring. I just hope they start laying before the roo goes to his new home. It's just a fun experiment. They are all small breeds which aren't my favorite but I do love seeing the pretty eggs.
I have so much more to do before winter to cut down on chores. Including selling more birds. I don't know how I'll ever get things done.