Consolidated Kansas

[tweetybaby2005]

Dans, Congrats on the peachicks. Talking about heat, my birds have been staying inside the coop more ever since I I have turned the fans on for them. They sure know where to find shades.

Trish, glad your hen is recovering fine. I agree with Danz that heat is a deadly killer.

Well, my broodies are still sitting on the eggs. They are due any day now but with the broken eggs and what not, i have no idea if they are viable. They are not stinky so I'll let them continue to sit for a few more days to see if anything hatches.

We had a hawk incident over the weekend. I was outside giving some treats to the birds and all of a sudden, i saw the ducks ducking and literally bee lined into the coop through the gate followed by the chickens! Then I saw the hawk swooping down really close to me and landed on a tree! This was the first time I have encountered a hawk. I wonder if the hawk was the culprit for my missing birds. DH does not think a hawk could grab a grown bird. He still blames it on the stray dog.

The weather seems pretty cool this morning so I did a good cleaning of the coop and get all the feeds all organized and took inventory. I am glad I got it all done though since the heat will be back later this week.

 

[HEChicken]

Danz, I've never had a turkey raising chicks but I did have a chicken hen raise some turkey poults and encountered the same thing where they didn't really seem to respond to her calls. When she found a treat, her 3 chicks raced over at her urging but the turkeys just continued what they were doing. And when she pointed out food for them, the chicks would dutifully peck where she told them to, while the poults would just stand there waiting for dinner to be served. My hen was amazing - a true maternal hen - and she was so patient with the poults. When they wouldn't peck where she told them to, she learned to pick up food in her beak, then lower her beak to the poults and let them eat directly off her beak. They would do that when they wouldn't peck at the ground. Eventually they did learn to eat out of the chick feeder and follow her around but they really never bonded with the chick siblings and to this day, do not appear to have any relationship with them.

By contrast, the 4 chicks that I used as turkey tutors, continue to hang around with the turkeys. Its funny to see 12 turkeys and 4 chickens, going around in a big group together. Those same 4 chickens even prefer to roost outside with the turkeys at night, and have to be encouraged to go in when I herd the turkeys into the coop.

Please let us know how your turkey hen does with her chicks....as an alternate solution, what if you took the chicks away from her and gave her back the turkey eggs? Do you think she would continue to sit on them until they hatch, since it sounds like they are still viable?

 

[Trish44]

Danz, I've never had a turkey raising chicks but I did have a chicken hen raise some turkey poults and encountered the same thing where they didn't really seem to respond to her calls. When she found a treat, her 3 chicks raced over at her urging but the turkeys just continued what they were doing. And when she pointed out food for them, the chicks would dutifully peck where she told them to, while the poults would just stand there waiting for dinner to be served. My hen was amazing - a true maternal hen - and she was so patient with the poults. When they wouldn't peck where she told them to, she learned to pick up food in her beak, then lower her beak to the poults and let them eat directly off her beak. They would do that when they wouldn't peck at the ground. Eventually they did learn to eat out of the chick feeder and follow her around but they really never bonded with the chick siblings and to this day, do not appear to have any relationship with them.

By contrast, the 4 chicks that I used as turkey tutors, continue to hang around with the turkeys. Its funny to see 12 turkeys and 4 chickens, going around in a big group together. Those same 4 chickens even prefer to roost outside with the turkeys at night, and have to be encouraged to go in when I herd the turkeys into the coop.

Please let us know how your turkey hen does with her chicks....as an alternate solution, what if you took the chicks away from her and gave her back the turkey eggs? Do you think she would continue to sit on them until they hatch, since it sounds like they are still viable?

It looks like they just changed the editor again, I wish they would quit changing things, I just get used to one thing & then they change it again. Anyway, talking about relationships between bird species it's funny that even though the ducks have been separated from the turkey poults I got from you for quite awhile they will still go back & sit outside the turkey coop if the young ones are in there. If they're out free-ranging then the ducks will hang around with the turkeys at least part of the time. Last night I was getting birds in & feeding & was calling the ducks to go down to their pen to be fed & the two young turkeys followed along to the duck pen & after I got them all in their pen & fed they continued on to their pen. I can't help but believe there is some kind of communication though because that turkey hen was standing outside of the pen where I had my 4 new Red Star hens the next day or so after they came here & she was clearly trying to say something to them. She was there for quite awhile making a sound I had never heard her make before to those hens & they were listening.

 

[chicken danz]

My turkeys and chickens run around together but once in a while a Tom and a rooster get into it big time. The roosters are no match for the Toms cause the Toms jump higher and grab them by the comb and don't stop. The turkey is doing pretty good so far. She wants to sit with the chicks and the chicks keep running off. Likewise when the geese came out to eat they ran every one else off and the turkey ran but the chicks didn't. Thank goodness the geese ignored the chicks. They get kind of bossy with food and water. I have a couple of poults that are only a couple days old. I thought of switching them with the chicks but I'm not sure how to pull that off. I figure the chicks don't have much of a chance at surviving which doesn't matter cause they are just who knows what. It seems a shame though. You never know...the turkey may raise them perfectly.
I had to laugh yesterday cause they were trying to chase Britt off (the newly acquired GP -that was one of my pups), and she didn't budge. She just sat there looking at them like, "I was sitting here first and I'm not moving." It's funny the geese would do that because they just hang around the other two GPs. My older geese that stay in the pen will chase the dogs out though.
I've been out setting up the pen and getting it connected to the house. I got DH to move the house for me.
That was after I moved the ducks' house and pen.
I got the netting up and am ready to put some chicken wire along the bottom to keep the critters out. I need to disinfect the inside of the coop and I'll be ready to move the birds. I don't think it will happen tonight though. I still have too much to do and I'm wearing down.
I am starting to feel pretty sick now and I believe it probably is the ragweed that is causing it. DH is getting congested as well and he usually doesn't suffer much from allergies. He doesn't have the sore throat I've been having though.
Guess I'd better get back out and finish my pen and get the birds fed for the evening.

 

[chicken danz]

Shot this earlier this evening. When I went to get my camera one of the chicks had her head sticking out from under her wing. No such luck catching a great shot.

 

[ChickieWickies]

That's so sweet!!

Shot this earlier this evening. When I went to get my camera one of the chicks had her head sticking out from under her wing. No such luck catching a great shot.

 

[Trish44]

Shot this earlier this evening. When I went to get my camera one of the chicks had her head sticking out from under her wing. No such luck catching a great shot.

Wow that is something, I just never thought of a turkey hen taking care of chicks. I just wonder how long the turkey hen will be attentive to them, I guess we'll find out.

Today was shot with having to go to Wichita for my DH to get his tooth looked at. He was disappointed the Dentist didn't go ahead & do anything with it today, so he has two more visits coming up to get it fixed. Walking out he said well that was a wasted trip & it kind of was.

 

[cleansquared]

Ach now there are two roos! At what age could they be processed does any one know is 3 months too young?

 

[HEChicken]

Ach now there are two roos! At what age could they be processed does any one know is 3 months too young?

When I lived in Wichita and couldn't have roosters, the deciding factor was when they started to crow. I had to process one precocious young bird at only 9 weeks of age when he let out his first scratchy (but full voiced) crow. They are small at that age but meat is meat, right? Most of the time they were around 16-17 weeks when they crowed for the first time, and they were a decent size at that age. It depends on the breed but 3 months isn't too young. I've even processed bantams and while you don't get a ton of meat, any is better than none. I just turn them into a casserole and with the other things in the casserole, even a bantam can be a meal for four.

 

[chicken danz]

I like having a little more meat on my chickens just because processing is a pain. But they do make wonderful things like chicken and noodles or something. I have also frozen a couple and cooked them both together for more meat. One thing I really like to do is to just boil them down the where even the bones are falling apart. Pick the meat off and then freeze it and the stock for future cooking. If you cook slow and keep plenty of water in it sometimes you will have enough stock for two recipes...one with meat and one with just the broth. I've also done it by using the meat then cooking the bones and skin etc to make another pot of broth. I used to think my mother was too frugal and I swore I'd never do things like that. But in time I've learned you can't beat the flavor of the leftover bones and pieces for broth for future recipes.

Trish, I don't know how long the turkey will take care of the chicks. Probably longer than they like. She did sleep outside with them rather than taking them back into the duck house which really worries me. We've had owls coming back recently. It seems like spring and fall are the worst times for them. Time to SSS.
I didn't get my turkey house started. But I did get the birds moved out to the new pen and the coop we moved for them last night. It was dark by the time we were finished. I had several smaller turkeys I should have moved, but I was afraid to let them out just yet. They seem a lot more fragile than chickens. I hung a light bulb in their house to get them to go in. I have had just a compact florescent bulb on in the brooder house so I could see to go in there at night. So I figured it would help them know where to go. All but one of them went inside.
I turned on a heat lamp in the brooder house just for light last night. I have to move some more chicks out there today so they'll need the heat for a while anyway. I had another chick hatch from the turkeys eggs last night as well. I should just take it to her. It's one more bird I wouldn't have to care for.
I kept coughing last night even after taking extra meds. I moved early this morning and then couldn't stop coughing. So I got up and slept propped up on the couch. I did sleep late that way.