Consolidated Kansas

[tweetybaby2005]

Lizzy, congratulations on the new addition. I was right along Danz there... pointy tummy = baby boy!

Take care of yourself and enjoy the baby.

 

[tweetybaby2005]

[COLOR=0000FF]When mine were smaller I fed them gamebird starter, but now that my peachick is bigger she eats with all of the guineas & other peafowl so she eats the FF they get.[/COLOR]

Trish, I was going to start doing FF again soon. But I had better head out to the store to get some gamebird starter for the peas. I'm also excited to hear that the wormer works for you. I'll need to see if TSC carries it. I don't remember seeing it at the Atwood store. Does the label say how old the birds need to be before they can use it? I have a batch of 9 weekers who have been out in the main coop. Since they are out there, I will need to worm as well since they eat with big birds.

 

[cherwill]

I am not taking the time to catch up on reading. However, I did want to let ya'll know the news!

Ethan Michael was born yesterday. He was 8 lbs 13 oz and was 20 3/4" long.

Congratulations! What a sweet family picture.

Limpy, the little duck that survived an attack about a month ago is now bait, that is the bad news. The good news is since that attack I have either shot or trapped one coyote, one opossum, one skunk, one hawk and three coons! Had I known that I would have been doing so well I would have had Okie Queen Bee skinning them critters.

You've certainly been busy! I often wish I was in the country, but I guess the upside to living in town is not having to worry about quite so many predators.

 

[Trish44]

Trish, I was going to start doing FF again soon. But I had better head out to the store to get some gamebird starter for the peas. I'm also excited to hear that the wormer works for you. I'll need to see if TSC carries it. I don't remember seeing it at the Atwood store. Does the label say how old the birds need to be before they can use it? I have a batch of 9 weekers who have been out in the main coop. Since they are out there, I will need to worm as well since they eat with big birds.

I couldn't find any info on age, I wouldn't think it would hurt the 9 week olds though. I haven't looked for any at the local stores, I looked at TSC's website & didn't see it. I would call them & check unless you're just going there anyway. If I remember right they don't carry gamebird starter there any more, I have had to buy it at Orschelyn's. The cheapest place I found online to buy the Rooster Booster Triple Wormer is Fleming Outdoors.

 

[HEChicken]

Lizzy - congratulations on your new arrival!

Tweety, Atwoods has the best game bird starter in my opinion because it is 28% protein. Most of the others around are much lower. If you have an Atwoods close to you, I would get that over other brands.

KsKingBee - WOW. That is a boatload of predators - good job!

 

[HEChicken]

Sharol, I wanted to update you on the post about dogs yesterday, because the information given by others is totally correct. What I had meant to put in my original post is that by all accounts, I have been extraordinarily lucky with Sammie. Most people with labs or lab mixes, have NOT found them to be good dogs around poultry. It was suggested that perhaps Sammie is more border collie in her personality, than lab, however we find her to be pretty much just a "small lab" in her personality. She is absolutely "retrieving obsessed". Hedge apple season means that every time I step outside, a hedge apple is dropped at my feet (for me to throw for her), and she will follow me around dropping it at my feet over and over as I move around doing my chores. If she can't find a hedge apple, it will be a stick. Whatever I can throw for her, she is happy to give me. She also loves water, like a typical lab, and will jump into any pool or water. Meanwhile….I was curious when we got the sheep to see if her border collie instincts would kick in. She was certainly fascinated by them, and ran around them, barking, but when the first sheep turned around and presented its head to her, she tucked tail and ran

. Now it is sort of a game they play but in every case, the sheep dominate the "herding" dog. She will bounce around trying to get them to play but as soon as they stomp a foot or look the slightest bit threatening (and that is saying a lot for a sheep), she isn't willing to stick around and see what they're capable of.

That is also a good point about what happens to dogs that are returned. I know that the organization here in this area that we've adopted dogs from, only wants to make successful matches. They don't hold back on disclosing EVERYTHING about the dog, because they want the dog to be successful in its new home, and they never give up on any dog. That dog I mentioned, who we couldn't keep, I kept tracking on their website. It took them 9 months but they did finally find him an adoptive home and the new owners are thrilled to have him in their family. I don't know what rescues are available in your area but those are really good questions to ask.

 

[sharol]

Sharol, I wanted to update you on the post about dogs yesterday, because the information given by others is totally correct. What I had meant to put in my original post is that by all accounts, I have been extraordinarily lucky with Sammie. Most people with labs or lab mixes, have NOT found them to be good dogs around poultry. It was suggested that perhaps Sammie is more border collie in her personality, than lab, however we find her to be pretty much just a "small lab" in her personality. She is absolutely "retrieving obsessed". Hedge apple season means that every time I step outside, a hedge apple is dropped at my feet (for me to throw for her), and she will follow me around dropping it at my feet over and over as I move around doing my chores. If she can't find a hedge apple, it will be a stick. Whatever I can throw for her, she is happy to give me. She also loves water, like a typical lab, and will jump into any pool or water. Meanwhile….I was curious when we got the sheep to see if her border collie instincts would kick in. She was certainly fascinated by them, and ran around them, barking, but when the first sheep turned around and presented its head to her, she tucked tail and ran

. Now it is sort of a game they play but in every case, the sheep dominate the "herding" dog. She will bounce around trying to get them to play but as soon as they stomp a foot or look the slightest bit threatening (and that is saying a lot for a sheep), she isn't willing to stick around and see what they're capable of.

That is also a good point about what happens to dogs that are returned. I know that the organization here in this area that we've adopted dogs from, only wants to make successful matches. They don't hold back on disclosing EVERYTHING about the dog, because they want the dog to be successful in its new home, and they never give up on any dog. That dog I mentioned, who we couldn't keep, I kept tracking on their website. It took them 9 months but they did finally find him an adoptive home and the new owners are thrilled to have him in their family. I don't know what rescues are available in your area but those are really good questions to ask.

 

[HEChicken]

Sharol, I'm sorry I don't have more experience with Boxers. I grew up with one but of course back then he was my parent's dog and I was just a tyke and we didn't have to worry about how he did around poultry. I do know I've liked every Boxer I've ever met but that isn't the same as them being a compatible dog with cats and chickens. One thing about Boxers is they do tend to be extremely high energy and very strong.

As for whether to add two at the same time or not….that is another interesting question. We had our old dog, Rex, when we added Sammie. We'd had Sammie two months when it was time to put Rex to sleep, and after that we had her for another two months as an only dog before we added Tequila. In other words, we had about 4 months in between the two adoptions. That worked out fine for us as it gave Sammie a chance to settle in and bond with us, before we added the new dog and went through the settling in period all over again. That said, I don't know that it wouldn't have worked out just as well to add them both around the same time - it was just our circumstance.

 

[JosieChick]

So speaking of dogs, this heeler/cattle dog thing that picked up the other day has an owner who finally called last night. BUT they aren't coming to get him until after 3:30 today which I think is kinda crappy. Now I am stuck with this dog in a kennel on my porch until they come to retrieve him and I have nowhere to put my dogs while he is out there so they are running loose in the house and I have somewhere to go this morning! UGH! If it were my dog I would beat a path down here and apologize for the inconvenience....

I tried to put him outside in one of my goose pens yesterday afternoon and he climbed the six foot high welded wire fence and tore through the mesh top to get out and ran up to the house. Nice.

 

[HEChicken]

Oh my goodness - I can't believe he tore through the mesh like that! I guess that answers the question as to how he happened to be out "directing traffic" - he probably climbed out of their yard too. I agree though, that is very inconsiderate not to run straight over there and get him, but I'm glad at least you found the owner and he wasn't dumped.

What is the difference between a "heeler" and a "cattle dog"? I always thought they were the same thing. The heeler is an Aussie breed of dog - full name Queensland Heeler - that was bred to herd cattle by nipping at their heels (hence the name) so in Australia we use the terms "heeler" and "cattle dog" interchangeably. True Queensland Heelers come in two colors - blue and red - but of course over the years other things have been mixed in. However sort of like the Ameraucana/EE debate, anything that is not either blue or red is technically a mix.