Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

Busting in here to say Hello! Sedan, Chautauqua county.

Welcome, I'm down the road a ways from you in Winfield!

I received 27 chicks as a 56th birthday gift from my friend Tom. They are the brown egg layer assortment from McMurray. Extra chick is a Silver penciled Wyandotte (I think) rooster ( I know). I didn't really want Turkins but got two.
I was also given a Hova bator and would like to hatch some Auracana eggs if I could find some as a gift on Toms birthday.
The girls are 6 weeks and tough!

That was a nice gift from your friend. I'll bet that Silver Penciled Wyandotte is going to be pretty when he's grown. I agree with Danz, it will be extremely hard to find pure Araucana eggs. It's easier to find Ameraucana eggs, but right now it may be harder to find those too. The Ameraucanas are notorious for not laying in cold weather, mine just usually stop until spring & both pens I have already have quit for the year. They will start up again when it's warmer.

It was another busy day today, I had to run to Wichita for a Dr. appt this afternoon & then after that stop at Lowe's & buy groceries, so I didn't get home till about 7:45. I finished feeding the rabbits when I got home & the GPs & then went in to see my new kitty. She was really sick of being in that crate tonight, so when I let her out she ran off into the garage & kept running away from me, so she is now loose in the garage & she was having none of me calling her to come this time. She's been really good till now about it, but I've been so busy the last few days I haven't had much time to spend with her & she was mad at me for it. I'm going to have to catch her somehow because we're going to work on hauling off the stuff to Goodwill tomorrow that is in the garage & I really didn't want her outside yet. Maybe she will come to me in the morning after she has had a night of freedom, we'll see I guess. I got the two extension cords I needed to finish hooking up my heated waterers this evening & went out in the dark after I got back to hook them up. I wanted to get the water in those two pens thawed out at least.

That is funny HEChicken about not noticing how big your birds were getting. I kind of had something similar happen to me only it was just me looking at the bird & not anyone else. I just noticed the other day how big my little Cream Legbar pullet with the beard had gotten. I decided after noticing that it was time for her to join the main flock.

 

[HEChicken]

The Ameraucanas are notorious for not laying in cold weather, mine just usually stop until spring & both pens I have already have quit for the year. They will start up again when it's warmer.

Sigh. So what you're saying is that my two little wheaten Ameraucanas who hatched last February and are yet to lay their first eggs, probably won't now, until spring and they are a year old????

I hope you are able to get your kitty back in the morning. Perhaps after a night of exploring the garage, she'll be ready to go back to her bed to sleep for the day.

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

It's supposed to be warmer today but still only in the 40s but this weekend it's predicted to be back to the 70s both days for here, I can handle that. It will get a bit cooler than that after the weekend, probably back to more seasonable temps. It's just teasing us this weekend.

Well now that my son finally announced it I can tell all of you, a couple already know but we're going to have a new grandson in February. He's due around Valentine's Day. I sure hope everything goes OK, this is a high risk pregnancy. That's why they waited so long to announce it to everyone. They have been buying baby stuff of all kinds & we ordered them a high chair after I found out their color scheme. I've been excited but cautious about it at the same time. Those of you who are new here don't know that my son's fiancee had thyroid cancer awhile back. She has had two surgeries & radioactive iodine. This pregnancy was a surprise because she had been told it wasn't even a possibility.

Well it's going to be another busy day, so I better get moving.

Congratulations on the baby!

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter-in-laws health issues and I'm sending positive thoughts that everything will go well.

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

Busting in here to say Hello! Sedan, Chautauqua county.

Hello!!

I'm new to this thread as well but seems like a great group!

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

Welcome, I'm down the road a ways from you in Winfield!

That was a nice gift from your friend. I'll bet that Silver Penciled Wyandotte is going to be pretty when he's grown. I agree with Danz, it will be extremely hard to find pure Araucana eggs. It's easier to find Ameraucana eggs, but right now it may be harder to find those too. The Ameraucanas are notorious for not laying in cold weather, mine just usually stop until spring & both pens I have already have quit for the year. They will start up again when it's warmer.

It was another busy day today, I had to run to Wichita for a Dr. appt this afternoon & then after that stop at Lowe's & buy groceries, so I didn't get home till about 7:45. I finished feeding the rabbits when I got home & the GPs & then went in to see my new kitty. She was really sick of being in that crate tonight, so when I let her out she ran off into the garage & kept running away from me, so she is now loose in the garage & she was having none of me calling her to come this time. She's been really good till now about it, but I've been so busy the last few days I haven't had much time to spend with her & she was mad at me for it. I'm going to have to catch her somehow because we're going to work on hauling off the stuff to Goodwill tomorrow that is in the garage & I really didn't want her outside yet. Maybe she will come to me in the morning after she has had a night of freedom, we'll see I guess. I got the two extension cords I needed to finish hooking up my heated waterers this evening & went out in the dark after I got back to hook them up. I wanted to get the water in those two pens thawed out at least.

That is funny HEChicken about not noticing how big your birds were getting. I kind of had something similar happen to me only it was just me looking at the bird & not anyone else. I just noticed the other day how big my little Cream Legbar pullet with the beard had gotten. I decided after noticing that it was time for her to join the main flock.

When I was a child we got a wild barn cat from my Grandpa's farm. When we brought him home he spent days in the garage rafters just glaring at everyone. Then all of a sudden he came down and him and I were joined at the hip until the day I had to tell him goodbye. I hope your kitty enjoys her bit of freedom and hurries back to you!

 

[tweetybaby2005]

Wow, look at all the posts! I was only gone for a few days!

I have not read every posts yet since there are so many of them I caught a glimpse of a couple of new people joining us so a big welcome to them! I think I also saw Trish is going to be grandma again... Congratulations! I did see some nice chicken pictures ... that's always a plus! Just can't have enough chicken pictures and fuzzy butts.

I have been gone for a few days due to my busy work schedule (normal till after tax season

). Things are progressing well in the chicken front but not many are laying. I'm sure the shorter days and shock of the cold winter gusty wind didn't help any. It was a good thing I put out the heated dog bowls before the freezing cold hit us and got a couple of extra black rubber bowls for the ducks. Can't imaging having to scrambble to get them all situated in this weather. Brrrr... Even though I like it cold, I really don't like the gusty wind in this temperature.

I still have my last batch of chicks in the mudroom that I need to move out to the barn. I think I'll do it this weekend when it is warmer. I have thorougly cleaned and disinfected the brooding area so hopefully the chicks will stay healthy. They are getting huge and really need bigger space to run around. What I really want to do is to move them out directly to the coop but since my coop is open on 3 sides, it is cold and the chicks still haven't completely feathered out yet. I think I can do it by Thanksgiving though.

Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm. I'll check in from time to time as time permits.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I received 27 chicks as a 56th birthday gift from my friend Tom. They are the brown egg layer assortment from McMurray. Extra chick is a Silver penciled Wyandotte (I think) rooster ( I know). I didn't really want Turkins but got two.
I was also given a Hova bator and would like to hatch some Auracana eggs if I could find some as a gift on Toms birthday.
The girls are 6 weeks and tough!

How wonderful, what a great birthday gift.

 

[chicken danz]

Danz, you wanna hear something funny? You know how you get used to seeing what you see and you don't notice it change when you see it daily? Well, the other day, I had some friends over who had never been here before, and I took them out to introduce them to the flock. They were fascinated by my RP's who of course ran to greet them, and then I pointed out the Bourbon Reds, saying "and those are my babies over there". One of them kind of gaped and said, "Those are BABIES?" and I looked at her funny and said, "Yes, of course".

Tonight I took out some treats and one of the BR's was right next to a RP hen and....it is taller than her! I am assuming it is the male BR, though in the dusk I couldn't tell for sure. When did this happen? I still see them as babies, but now I'm understanding better why my friend reacted the way she did. She must have been thinking "If that's a baby, just how big is it going to get???" LOL. I can't believe I hadn't noticed how much they've grown. I am so used to thinking of them as babies that I didn't realize they've grown and matured a LOT since they arrived here.

This has been a rough couple of days on the birds. I moved all the hoop coop birds to the main coop, thinking I was doing a good thing getting them into the warmer environment. The unintended consequence was that the broody hen took one look at the roosts and decided she'd spent enough time being a parent and it was time to go back to being a regular flock member so she abruptly abandoned her brood. They are so used to sleeping under her, and suddenly on the coldest nights we've had, they found themselves on their own. Last night I went out to find one of them trying to sit under its sibling and the sibling was standing there valiantly trying to cover her, while both shivered. So now I have a chick inside - the one that was struggling the most. I hated to do it because it interferes so much with their ability to acclimate but...I don't think it would have made it to morning if I hadn't. The rest of them seemed to be doing okay.

I wish I could say the same. I've never had too hard a time tolerating winter but these past couple of days have thrown me for a loop.

Aw poor babies!!! I had noticed my 4 free range guineas were back roosting in the tree again a couple days ago. I couldn't imagine where that tiny little lone surviving guinea chick was. She is still really really little. Last night when I was shutting up pens I heard her peeping. I looked up and that tiny little baby was probably 15 feet up in the tree. I had no idea she could even fly yet. The last I knew one of the Mothers was sitting on the ground with her at night.
I know exactly what you mean about the turkeys. I had someone here the other day who saw the RPs and couldn't believe they were hatched this year. I guess city folks don't think about how slow or fast a bird grows. I am sure it never crosses their minds when they are eating Thanksgiving dinner. And of course when the Tom is showing he looks like he weighs 80 pounds. They don't also realize that's just puffed up bird and feathers.

Sigh. So what you're saying is that my two little wheaten Ameraucanas who hatched last February and are yet to lay their first eggs, probably won't now, until spring and they are a year old????

I hope you are able to get your kitty back in the morning. Perhaps after a night of exploring the garage, she'll be ready to go back to her bed to sleep for the day.

I guess you could rig up a hoop coop closer to the house and run power and a light on a timer to them. Or not. It depends on how much you want eggs.

Hello!!

I'm new to this thread as well but seems like a great group!

It is a great group!!

Well yesterday was another really busy day. Some of the partridge brahmas have a slow feathering gene so it is hard to tell if they are not feathering or have a problem. Yesterday I decided that they were looking way too bare and saw a couple other chicks looking bare. I had put ivermectin in the water a week or two ago and put down sevin and DE in the brooder house. But it looked to me like I was having mite problems. I never see those things but they just creep me out. So I caught all the chicks on one side of the brooder house and caged them, pulled them out one by one, and then caught all the ones on the other side of the coop and put them in the first side. I treated every chick in there with pour on ivermectin. I decided to count while I was doing it. I treated 114 chicks yesterday. And to think I have several more in the house and some more hatching today. I am SO glad I quit hatching!

I ended up culling one chick and I felt so bad. I kept saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I hated doing it. This chick was wheezing a little and I just can't take a chance of getting sick chicks in there. I don't know if it had a bug or if it might have ingested something but I have learned my lesson about taking chances. I felt sick and mean afterward.
So needless to say that little adventure took a pretty big chunk out of time. Those chicks are smart enough to run and hide under things and in corner where this old woman has trouble catching them. How do they know. They flock to my feet when I am feeding them but since I was treating them they were all hiding. And as soon as I was done and started to feed they were back at my feet.
Today I need to get out there and try out my new water system. Sure hope it ends up saving some time and labor. I guess I am going to have to rig up my own hoses to put on it. I got that one cookie tin heater done the other night but I haven't siliconed around the opening the cord goes through. I need to get that done as well.
I managed to catch the free range ducks going to eat last night around bed time so I shut them in the duck pen last night. Sure wish I could time that right every night. I think they would be much safer out there than laying out in the yard. Even if it doesn't have netting on top the dogs patrol that area more. I could leave them there a couple days but my mama turkey and her chicken chicks stay in the duck house at night and I have to let them in and out. I keep thinking I'll put her in with the other turkeys. The chicks are half grown but she still is very protective and worries about them. I'm not sure if I put them in with the turkeys if they would be okay or not. I think at least 2 of the 3 are cockerels anyway.
I know the temperature was much warmer out there yesterday but I about froze. That darned wind just went right through me.

 

[JosieChick]

Okay Josie, what are you using to spray birds with for mites? Are you mixing up sevin into a liquid or what? It seems like spraying would be a darn site easier than powdering each bird or even treating with ivermectin. I've noticed most of the partridge brahma boys have a slow feathering gene but it worries me just the same that I could possibly have mites in the brooder house. I have treated the shavings with DE and sevin. There are just too many chicks in there to treat each one. I am looking for someway to make sure they are all clear of varmints.

Hmmmm, well she is not as typey as she looked in the first picture. Sigh. Isn't it funny how a bird can look one way in a picture and then another way entirely! I don't know that I would use her either. If nothing else they are cute and would be great "incubators" for you. Cochin girls love to sit on eggs!! If you do breed them I would just be honest that they are pet quality birds and will most likely create pet quality chicks.

Thank you Josie for all of your help. you have been a blessing.

I cant wait to let these babies grow and see how their mottling developes. I think I will go with the black mottled cockerel, the nice black mottled pullet, the blue mottled pullet and the darker blue mottled hen not the one with the bunny tail. I like her but I am not sure if she is over mottled or her color washed out. If the tail isn't desirable then I don't want to continue with her.

Here is the blue mottled hen who had her head turned

Good points! I feel like that last cockerel has a "silkie" look to him, like he has kinda puffy cheeks or something. A lot of people mix cochins and silkies up and then don't say that they are a mix.
SO I have to agree with Frizzled pink, if you want to breed for a higher quality than pet, I would start by pairing the blue mottled pullet (she was the top one in the set of four pics of the younger birds and the younger black mottled cockerel) and see what you get from them.
I will post some pics of my black roos later today to give you an idea of shape.

Maiden--i would use the girl in the top photo, she is more type-ey (when you look at her you see the "round" shape-this is what you want--you should also see "round" when you look directly down on her also) than the other two (bunny tail and the other that head was turned appears to have more of a straight stiff feather tail going on), you must have yellow feet and most colors must have yellow legs with the exceptions of the blacks which can have a swarthy/dusty yellow color to legs but must be solid yellow on the bottoms of the feet, watch your toe count--cochins have 4, if you have darker legs on a color other than black make sure you dont have 5 toes which would most likely be a silky mix bringing the color over, outside and middle toe should be feathered all the way to the end of the toe

We have open air coops for our birds down here. I really like them a lot but the key is that they are deep enough so that there is no draft. Draft is bad, fresh air is good. Air moving over your birds will chill them but air exchange is very important. The open airs have to be a minimum of 10 feet deep because wind can only blow into a structure so far if there is no where for it to go. If you stand in our open airs at the front you can feel the wind but when you move back by the roosts even on a VERY windy day there is no air movement felt, just passive exchange. SO far, knock on wood, we have had no sick birds since we moved them into this arrangement. We had so much funky, gurgly, snotty sick birds last year and they have done awesome in these coops, plus they have free access to their covered runs 24/7.

Drafts aren't as big a concern once a chicken gets older. Drafts are dangerous for chicks but once feathered in it seem they do better in open air.
If I remember right JosieChick built her new chicken buildings open on one side because she had found that the chickens with an open building were the ones that stayed healthy. I think when you close a building up you are potentially building toxins that can hurt the birds a lot worse than the cool drafts will. As I said, I always leave their doors open as well as other ventilation. In the last few years we've had some super below zero weather with high winds. I have closed up the coops more during those times and each time I would notice a lot more ammonia smell that I never normally smell. Also the windows steam up from all the humidity they put in the air. That can't be good for them.
I would honestly rather run a little heat some way than close up a building.
That is just my opinion. I have lung issues so I notice bad air rather quickly. If it bothers me I am pretty sure it is bothering them.

I wouldn't do anything to that, the waterfowl will already consider that "closed in." Put some straw down and they will do great. Ours prefer to sleep out in the open than go under a structure. I would go out last winter and all the geese would be covered in snow!

All this talk of winterizing, so.. I moved the two geese and the one duck together into the swingset coop that we made back in July. My thought was to put straw in the bottom and then close it off around the ends with just an opening for them to go thru, they have a bigger "yard" that we let them out into during the day. I gues they have pretty good down coats , any thing else I need to consider ?

Thanks Thish44. I'll check email and give them a call.
Danz- when it rains it pours, sorry about your day.

DItto to this! Heat=danger of fire.

I agree with Danz, I couldn't tell you how many times on BYC the question is asked about providing heat to birds, but wild birds survive just fine without supplemental heat. The down layer of their feathers keeps them warm and makes them far more cold hardy than heat hardy. What they really need is fresh air. More coop fires are started every year by well-intentioned people running heat to their coops when it wasn't needed in the first place.

I don't heat my coop at all. I have year round ventilation via the vaulted roof and open soffits. My windows face east and west since the prevailing KS winds are almost always from the north and south. I put storm windows in the two window openings but never close them all the way. I have never lost a bird to cold and the only time I see them looking unhappy with a low temperatures is when it is in the single digits. Today was just "business as usual" for them (even though I was being a wimp and really feeling the cold today).

As for the difference between drafts and ventilation. I see drafts as being air flow that places air blowing directly over the birds, whereas ventilation is allowing for free air flow, to allow the ammonia to be vented out and replaced by fresh air.

I know! I laughed at your chickadee stick legs!!! You would think they would just go "chink" right off, frozen little twig legs!!

Congratulations!,Trish44 will keep my fingers crossed.
Ventilation it is then, it boggles my mind how some of the little tweety birds can survive in the wild. When Igrew up in No. Minnesota -40* was not unusual at least once or twice a winter and those little chickadees didn't seem to mind. I get that they are wearing a down coats but those little stick legs seemed like they should just go "chink" and fall off.

Welcome!!!!

I received 27 chicks as a 56th birthday gift from my friend Tom. They are the brown egg layer assortment from McMurray. Extra chick is a Silver penciled Wyandotte (I think) rooster ( I know). I didn't really want Turkins but got two.
I was also given a Hova bator and would like to hatch some Auracana eggs if I could find some as a gift on Toms birthday.
The girls are 6 weeks and tough!

Gonna warm back up this weekend! Yipee!! Hoping to make it up to the show in Hutch just to wander around and see how it all works so I can prepare for it in the spring. Also really must list some birds for sale this weekend. I hate selling birds, I want them to go to the most wonderful homes and I always worry about their care once they leave. But it is nice to scale back, I feel like I have a better handle on them now than I did this summer.

HEchicken- That wellie roo is molting and grew his tail back in! He is looking quite roostery these days with his big green shiny tail. I need to get some pinless peepers and try to incorporate him into the main pen again, he does not get along well with my other boys. DH doesn't like him because he doesn't like DH!! He gets out of the pen sometimes and DH is a terrible chicken herder and chases him all over trying to get him back in so they don't like each other. He has a very distinct warning noise that he makes when he sees DH!!!! Too funny. It is nice that he makes that sound though because the Pyrs know that is his "warning" noise and that something is up and they come running all huffy and ready to kick some butt if someone is after their birds.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Hmmmm, well she is not as typey as she looked in the first picture. Sigh. Isn't it funny how a bird can look one way in a picture and then another way entirely! I don't know that I would use her either. If nothing else they are cute and would be great "incubators" for you. Cochin girls love to sit on eggs!! If you do breed them I would just be honest that they are pet quality birds and will most likely create pet quality chicks.


Good points! I feel like that last cockerel has a "silkie" look to him, like he has kinda puffy cheeks or something. A lot of people mix cochins and silkies up and then don't say that they are a mix.
SO I have to agree with Frizzled pink, if you want to breed for a higher quality than pet, I would start by pairing the blue mottled pullet (she was the top one in the set of four pics of the younger birds and the younger black mottled cockerel) and see what you get from them.
I will post some pics of my black roos later today to give you an idea of shape.

We have open air coops for our birds down here. I really like them a lot but the key is that they are deep enough so that there is no draft. Draft is bad, fresh air is good. Air moving over your birds will chill them but air exchange is very important. The open airs have to be a minimum of 10 feet deep because wind can only blow into a structure so far if there is no where for it to go. If you stand in our open airs at the front you can feel the wind but when you move back by the roosts even on a VERY windy day there is no air movement felt, just passive exchange. SO far, knock on wood, we have had no sick birds since we moved them into this arrangement. We had so much funky, gurgly, snotty sick birds last year and they have done awesome in these coops, plus they have free access to their covered runs 24/7.

I wouldn't do anything to that, the waterfowl will already consider that "closed in." Put some straw down and they will do great. Ours prefer to sleep out in the open than go under a structure. I would go out last winter and all the geese would be covered in snow!

DItto to this! Heat=danger of fire.

I know! I laughed at your chickadee stick legs!!! You would think they would just go "chink" right off, frozen little twig legs!!

Welcome!!!!

Gonna warm back up this weekend! Yipee!! Hoping to make it up to the show in Hutch just to wander around and see how it all works so I can prepare for it in the spring. Also really must list some birds for sale this weekend. I hate selling birds, I want them to go to the most wonderful homes and I always worry about their care once they leave. But it is nice to scale back, I feel like I have a better handle on them now than I did this summer.

HEchicken- That wellie roo is molting and grew his tail back in! He is looking quite roostery these days with his big green shiny tail. I need to get some pinless peepers and try to incorporate him into the main pen again, he does not get along well with my other boys. DH doesn't like him because he doesn't like DH!! He gets out of the pen sometimes and DH is a terrible chicken herder and chases him all over trying to get him back in so they don't like each other. He has a very distinct warning noise that he makes when he sees DH!!!! Too funny. It is nice that he makes that sound though because the Pyrs know that is his "warning" noise and that something is up and they come running all huffy and ready to kick some butt if someone is after their birds.

Thank you. I am excited to see what develops from these guys. My son wanted a breeding project to do with me, he is 15 now and when your teenaged son wants to spend time and is excited about something you love I want to do this right for him. He said he wants to better the mottling and shape, I was impressed, at that age you don't think they hear anything you say lol. Maybe I will keep that blue older hen and see what she produces but I want to do this were we can have the best chances at producing a better bird. That is why I have so many (probably annoying and repetitive) questions. I appreciate all the honesty you are passing along and helping me pick the best subjects.

I think the black mottled pullet is a good starting point from what i can see. The cockerel is hard to tell type from the way he is standing and i cant tell on his feet if its lack of foot feathers or if he is just in a broken foot feather stage (easy to have for these guys unless you keep them totally caged on shavings) so i would use him since you have some pretty little pullets to start with

Thank you. I wish there were more than one blue mottled in the younger ones but its ok. I can use the 2 black mottled and the one blue mottled with that black mottled cockerel. I also thank you for all your knowledge and honest opinions to get me and my son going in the right direction.