Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

I tried alfalfa a couple years ago and ended up just having to throw it away. I had read it was supposed to be a good additive to the chicken feed and there was no way they would eat it. Same scenario. I tried everything and they simply wouldn't touch it. I didn't have peafowl then so maybe I should try it with them. I tried a bale first hopping they'd at least eat the leaves. Then I tried pellets which were even worse.
I was so busy and on the go all day yesterday and didn't get home finally until about 10 PM. Now I know why I hate going any where. I just put myself a day further behind by having one early function and one late function.
I really need to go shopping today but I have so much to do. I have to leave to get feed here in about 30 minutes. I ran out feeding yesterday so some of the birds were kind of cheated on volume. I had planned to shop Friday but the weather is looking really frightful.
I got the brooder washed down and disinfected and then sprayed it down with some high powered insecticide that won't hurt the birds when it dries. Hopefully I'll find the time to get the birds put out there today or tomorrow. Probably tomorrow. I want to be sure it is totally dry and warm before I move chicks.
I have so much cleaning to do this week as well. Holy crap! I am so far behind. The chicks in the trailer house unplugged their heater and their light night before last. I tried duct taping them to the wall yesterday. It wasn't so awful then but if they unplug it while all this cold is here it could be deadly.
I took some pictures of my peacock Christmas tree late yesterday. They turned out a little dark. Here they are: Kind of hard to see the detail. I probably should have taken them when the sun was shining on it.

 

[Trish44]

I just have a minute to stop in, busy day. Danz, your tree looks really pretty, I like those thinner trees myself, they don't take up so much room. That's what I would like to get for here. I just bought a new tree about 3 or 4 years ago, but it's so big I have no room for it now.

It's cloudy here today & not so nice but at least it's not supposed to get cold till tomorrow.

 

[HEChicken]

Your tree is beautiful Danz - I love that color combination.

Yesterday afternoon I went and loaded up another 4 buckets of horse manure. I should probably explain that each of the horses at our barn has a large run that they spend nights in. During the day they are turned out in a large field to graze. When I say I am loading up buckets, I don't have to go around the field gathering it; instead I go to clean my run (which I have to do anyway), but instead of dumping the contents in the pile we have there, I just load the buckets in my car. If I haven't cleaned my run for a couple of days, the poop gets "pulverized" by the horse walking through it and I favor the stuff that is pulverized since the birds don't seem to break up the balls that well.

I arrived home when it was too dark to be work putting it out so I waited until this morning and took a few pictures of the process while I was at it:











I mainly took that last picture to show the crested turkey, but you can see how already - after only about 10 minutes - the pile is being spread out. They will probably keep working this all day.

 

[chicken danz]

I so love that turkey!
I talked to a friend last night and she says her chickens head straight for the cow lot when she lets them out to free range. She offered me cow poop but I really don't want to go shoveling. If I had a trailer for my tractor I could just drive over there and load and come back. However that isn't feasible. I do think I am going to ask my other friends that have all the horses if they happen to have an area where they have an accumulation.

 

[HEChicken]

After seeing the interest mine have in the horse manure, I have been racking my brain lately trying to figure out where I might be able to go and load up some cow dung….I haven't come up with it yet. Most of the area around here is used to grow crops rather than raise livestock.

With 26 horses, I am sure your friend would consider that you were doing her a favor to haul off some of the poop! With only 8 horses at our barn, we have more than we know what to do with!

 

[lizzyGSR]

It was an absolutely gorgeous day here yesterday! Sadly, between work and going to my sister's house to celebrate Christmas with her family and my parents, I didn't get to spend much time outside. Today is considerably cooler (high of 39 compared to yesterday's high in the low 70s). To get to my sister's house on time yesterday, I had to get up early and get to work and then we had to leave the house as soon as I got off work. On the way home last night, my husband asked me if I had locked my birds up. Uh, no. He hadn't locked them up either. So, all the way home (about 3 hour's drive), I was worried about the possibility of a predator getting my birds. Thankfully, they were all in their duck house (door wide open) when we got home last night. My husband's dog was roaming the yard, so he must've done his job well last night. Thank goodness! All my birds are present and accounted for! I can't believe I forgot to lock my birds up before we left! I think I've become incredibly scatter brained since Ethan was born!

 

[milomac]

He Chicken although I,ve never done it I had a lady tell me she feeds her hens pig feed to encourage them to lay. Her reasoning was that chickens are carnivores and the pig pellets had animal carcasses in the formula. I checked your pictures and did not see any of the checkered leghorns, I always keep an eye out for them as I may have to have some someday

 

[HEChicken]

I checked your pictures and did not see any of the checkered leghorns, I always keep an eye out for them as I may have to have some someday

I am down to only 6 hens of those. Since they are project birds, I ordered 15 but didn't really need that many. Trish44 go a couple of the extras and I sold the rest to others. I had been thinking I would choose the spottiest 6 for the project but they were all pretty close so in the end it was just the ones that could be caught the most easily that got sold, LOL. In some ways I wish I'd kept more of them but I had to reduce the number of birds I had to go through the winter. Unfortunately, as I don't have a rooster, I won't have any more to sell now….

 

[HEChicken]

Oh milomac, I was surprised to hear you didn't see any of the Exchequers in my photos because I remembered seeing them when I was dumping out the buckets. I went back and looked at the photos and they are there. In the third photo, there are 4 of them. In the fourth photo there is just one but she is right in the foreground of the picture. The next two pictures each have one or two as well….

 

[chicken danz]

I just have a minute to stop in, busy day. Danz, your tree looks really pretty, I like those thinner trees myself, they don't take up so much room. That's what I would like to get for here. I just bought a new tree about 3 or 4 years ago, but it's so big I have no room for it now.

It's cloudy here today & not so nice but at least it's not supposed to get cold till tomorrow.

I just had to order a slim tree. I have two huge trees. But my old house could have swallowed this one a couple times and I had 10 foot ceilings so there was plenty of room for a huge tree. If I ever get my sun room built on I'll use one of the big ones again. If I live that long!!!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day here yesterday! Sadly, between work and going to my sister's house to celebrate Christmas with her family and my parents, I didn't get to spend much time outside. Today is considerably cooler (high of 39 compared to yesterday's high in the low 70s). To get to my sister's house on time yesterday, I had to get up early and get to work and then we had to leave the house as soon as I got off work. On the way home last night, my husband asked me if I had locked my birds up. Uh, no. He hadn't locked them up either. So, all the way home (about 3 hour's drive), I was worried about the possibility of a predator getting my birds. Thankfully, they were all in their duck house (door wide open) when we got home last night. My husband's dog was roaming the yard, so he must've done his job well last night. Thank goodness! All my birds are present and accounted for! I can't believe I forgot to lock my birds up before we left! I think I've become incredibly scatter brained since Ethan was born!

It's very cloudy here and feels like it is getting cooler. Glad your birds were okay. I got home late last night and left before bed time so mine didn't get locked up either. The dogs are looking for action because they love this cooler weather so I wasn't too concerned. They all go to their own coops anyway. It's just that the gates weren't shut.
Lizzy you are doing amazing with a new baby. When does he go for his next checkup? I need to hear how much he has gained! I live vicariously through you and JosieChick since I don't have babies of my own any more.

I got to the co-op and got 1500 pound so feed. Stopped in Burlington on the way back and got a package mailed to my daughter for Christmas. I ordered it on black Friday and it just arrived yesterday. With luck maybe she'll get it on time.
I stopped and got a cream filled long john when I was getting gas. I hadn't had one in a couple years and decided to treat myself. It was so good.
Then I got home and got all the feed shoveled off into barrels. I feel beaten up and I still have to feed and water. It's getting really gloomy out. I need to go do some shopping but I haven't made a list or anything. Looks like the weather is going to keep me home so it needs to get done today.
Some time in there today I need to feed and water. I swear the days rush by. I still haven't gotten any cleaning done either.