Consolidated Kansas

[tweetybaby2005]

It has been a bad morning. A baby chick was born but not sure what happened but its skin from the neck up was torn and pulled all the way up to the top. I knew it won't be able to live and was probably suffering so I decided to cull it. This is the first time I had to cull a chick. I have no idea how to do it so I just broke its neck. But I must not have done it right and it was still alive. So I took a knife and did a clean cut. I hope I didn't make it suffer much. I'm still trembling as I type. Never thought I had the courage to cull a chick but I knew it was suffering. I thought it was best to end its suffering. Argh...I know it comes with the territory of owning chickens but it was still hard.

If there is a better and more efficient way to cull a chick, please let me know.

I'll be back later to read some posts. I need a stiff drink right now to calm my nerve!!! I just don't have any alcoholic beverages in the house so I'll just go drink some ice water.

 

[Trish44]

Frizzled I love those birds although I just don't stay interested in bantams. I'm happy with my LF Cochins now that I am down to just two colors. I'm a bigger the better kind of chicken girl. but i've got to say those colors are awesome.
Trish don't be surprised if those orps never roost. Those big heavy bodied birds don't like being over about a foot to a foot and a half at most off the ground. I think it's pretty hard for them to fly up very far especially when they get full sized. I keep all of my roosts low because most of the chickens I have like it that way.
My house has been invaded with flies. It's driving me insane. I have no idea how I am going to get rid of them. There's too much in and out traffic here for sure.
I could swat them for weeks and never make a dent. There's things about fall I really really hate. Two of those are flies and gnats!!! Even though the weather doesn't think it's fall the bugs and the birds do.

Wow, it's been busy here this morning. Danz, I didn't think about them not being able to fly up to the roost, I have never had that big of birds before I guess. I will have to see if there is any way to lower the roosts in both of those pens. I hate flies too, especially in the house. You just think of all the things they walk on & it grosses you out.

For me, I just get bogged down once I am on the internet and forget what it was I wanted to do!

~ Lou in Udall

Welcome to BYC & the Consolidated Kansas thread! I'm just down the road from you on the northeast edge of Winfield. What kind of chickens do you have? I agree with Danz, we will contribute to your internet habit, ha!

Howdy everyone!!! Hope you are all well, I am so very far behind, I skimmed posts but figured I better just pop in real quick.

Trish-Sorry about your SS hen, that is hard. I sold my seramas last week and just found out one of the frizzled pullets passed away. I was pretty sad, she was a sweet little girl.

Danz-I go around with vinegar spray and spray the flies in the house so they fall down then squish them! DH picks on me relentlessly when I go "fly hunting" but I can't stand them in the house!!!

Frizzledpink- Post baby pics when those little chickies hatch!!! I can't wait to see them. I just hatched out a bunch of accidental cochin chicks, again. They were under a broody hen. Now I have a bunch of black mottled splits to mille fleur that I really don't need! My last hatch was heavy with boys too which is a bummer. Two of them are super cute calicos.

Amelia and I went to Maine for a week to visit family. She was awesome on the plane rides both to and back home. I was so proud of her but what an exhausting thing flying with a baby. SO much to do and remember when its not just you anymore!

Here is my little sweetie at the beach sinking her toes into the sand for the first time!

I loved seeing all your pics on FB, she is such a cutie! I'm glad you had a good trip, but I'm sure it is a challenge with a baby & all the stuff you have to take for them. I'm sorry to hear about your Serama, it's always hard when you have taken such good care of your birds & then you hear that things have happened to them after you let someone else care for them.

It has been a bad morning. A baby chick was born but not sure what happened but its skin from the neck up was torn and pulled all the way up to the top. I knew it won't be able to live and was probably suffering so I decided to cull it. This is the first time I had to cull a chick. I have no idea how to do it so I just broke its neck. But I must not have done it right and it was still alive. So I took a knife and did a clean cut. I hope I didn't make it suffer much. I'm still trembling as I type. Never thought I had the courage to cull a chick but I knew it was suffering. I thought it was best to end its suffering. Argh...I know it comes with the territory of owning chickens but it was still hard.

If there is a better and more efficient way to cull a chick, please let me know.

I'll be back later to read some posts. I need a stiff drink right now to calm my nerve!!! I just don't have any alcoholic beverages in the house so I'll just go drink some ice water.

I'm sorry about your chick tweety, that really is hard & it doesn't seem to get easier. You just want them to live, but you don't want them to suffer either.

It's a hot bugger out there today, everybody stay cool.

 

[Aliaslucyvp]

I live with my husband, four dogs (three dumped here and we rescued them), two cats, 9 chickens and 4 roosters (surprise!), and eight Guineas on a small airstrip southeast of Udall, KS.

I work at the VA Medical Center in Wichita, KS, four days a week for 10hr each, so I can have three day weekends every week! I hope to retire in around 4 years - depending on the economy.

It is a 45 min drive to and from work, so I listen to audiobooks and sometimes KFDI.

I was born and raised in Southern California and we moved here because it was supposed to be cheaper. My husband was born here. All my family is elsewhere, so I miss them all the time. Just got back from a week visit in CA - visited my son and dau-in-law and grandson, Daniel!

Back to work on Monday. But I generally like my job and the people I work with and love serving our Vets, so I will be glad to be back...sort of.

 

[Trish44]

tweety, I sent you a couple more PMs, I hope it works out for you!

 

[Aliaslucyvp]

We have a Heinz variety of chickens. Since we have coyotes near, we lose one every so often, and my friend from work gives me her "leftovers"! Right now we have one Araucana - she has always been skittish and kinda scraggly, three Speckled Sussex, two Brahmas (I think that is what my friend told me), one Delaware, two big white girls...these I really don't know, and the roosters are two barred rock bantams and one (huge guy - looks like he might grow as big as a goose!) like the two "Brahmas, and one that is completely different from everyone. I will take some pictures and post them so the REAL chicken people can tell me what they are.

We don't kill and eat them, and they have the run of the 5 acres - hence the loss to coyotes. Every animal is one of our babies - I know, I know - too soft!

I live on Cherokee Strip - a grass runway for light airplanes - my husband flies, builds, and repairs small planes, mostly home built aircraft.

 

[HEChicken]

Frizzled I love those birds although I just don't stay interested in bantams. I'm happy with my LF Cochins now that I am down to just two colors. I'm a bigger the better kind of chicken girl. but i've got to say those colors are awesome.

My house has been invaded with flies. It's driving me insane. I have no idea how I am going to get rid of them. There's too much in and out traffic here for sure.
I could swat them for weeks and never make a dent. There's things about fall I really really hate. Two of those are flies and gnats!!! Even though the weather doesn't think it's fall the bugs and the birds do.

I'm the same Danz - I just prefer the LF. I have a bantam game hen, a silkie, a sultan, a pullet that the sultan surprised me with (she went broody and I gave her two BR eggs and she laid another egg, unbeknownst to me until after it hatched) and 3 bantam cochins. I don't plan on raising any more bantams. The silkie and cochins I got for the purpose of having broodies but the Sultan has actually been the best broody of them all. She's currently raising her third batch of chicks - 8 this time - and has always done and awesome job at it.

I hate flies too. I am guessing that Josie using diluted white vinegar/water, as that would have the effect of stunning them (or getting them wet enough they can't fly) and then when they drop you can stomp on them. I might try this too.

Our problem this year has been crickets. Last night I caught one that started its chirping before we turned off the light and we were woken by a second at 4am. I turned on the lamp and was able to locate and grab it within a minute or two. I'm getting really good at cricket snatching - DH says I'd give the turkeys a run for their money. I dunno - is that a compliment?????

It has been a bad morning. A baby chick was born but not sure what happened but its skin from the neck up was torn and pulled all the way up to the top. I knew it won't be able to live and was probably suffering so I decided to cull it. This is the first time I had to cull a chick. I have no idea how to do it so I just broke its neck. But I must not have done it right and it was still alive. So I took a knife and did a clean cut. I hope I didn't make it suffer much. I'm still trembling as I type. Never thought I had the courage to cull a chick but I knew it was suffering. I thought it was best to end its suffering. Argh...I know it comes with the territory of owning chickens but it was still hard.

If there is a better and more efficient way to cull a chick, please let me know.

I'll be back later to read some posts. I need a stiff drink right now to calm my nerve!!! I just don't have any alcoholic beverages in the house so I'll just go drink some ice water.

Tweety, I am so sorry about the chick. Culling doesn't get easier and I'm sorry to say I don't have a better method for culling. I give my chick culls to my snakes which sounds cruel but over time I've come to realize that the way the snakes kill is at least as humane as anything I could do - fast and clean. So I have never had to cull one of the little ones myself.

Welcome Aliaslucyvp!

 

[ChickieWickies]

I'm getting really good at cricket snatching - DH says I'd give the turkeys a run for their money. I dunno - is that a compliment?????

We've gotta love our hubbies!

 

[Aliaslucyvp]

Two Speckled Sussex


Two Brahmas (?)

Rocket J. Squirrel, uh, Rooster - most jumpy chicken I've ever known!

The Brahmas looked like Penguins when little. Any guesses? No idea about the rooster, he is thin and tall, but not as tall as the Brahma Roo.

 

[HEChicken]

Two Speckled Sussex

How old is the one on the right? I love how much white she has on her.....sorry I don't know about the rooster.

 

[Aliaslucyvp]

Ummmm...I think they were given to me in April/May. Not full sized yet.