Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

Rehoming the orp/Marans roo was a really good idea. There is peace in the run. 7 of the girls have affiliated themselves with Jake and Elwood (who are getting along fine), and the other 5 are hanging out with the Marans cockerel.

It would be really cool if I could keep him. He is so pretty, and my DH really likes the Marans. I'm not pulling the ad from Craigslist yet, but I'm getting closer.

The Marans pullets are both laying, so they now have names: Lacie (for the one with the dark lacing) and Graycie (for the one that is more solid gray), and my DH wants to name the roo Earl (He has so far named all the roos -- Butch, Jake, Elwood and now Earl. He REALLY isn't a redneck. Really.

 

[Trish44]

Trish, I think we'll start with a couple of pullets so they can be in the show pen. We looked them up the other day and my son fell in LOVE!

OK, I'll put you down on the list. They are such sweet little hens, they talk to you too.

Rehoming the orp/Marans roo was a really good idea. There is peace in the run. 7 of the girls have affiliated themselves with Jake and Elwood (who are getting along fine), and the other 5 are hanging out with the Marans cockerel.

It would be really cool if I could keep him. He is so pretty, and my DH really likes the Marans. I'm not pulling the ad from Craigslist yet, but I'm getting closer.

The Marans pullets are both laying, so they now have names: Lacie (for the one with the dark lacing) and Graycie (for the one that is more solid gray), and my DH wants to name the roo Earl (He has so far named all the roos -- Butch, Jake, Elwood and now Earl. He REALLY isn't a redneck. Really.

sharol, sometimes there is just one that causes problems, but I can't help but think you still have some trouble coming up when all of those roosters mature. When they start wanting to breed & get territorial you may have some problems on your hands. I love the Marans pullet's names, I have a hen named Lacie as well, she is a Red Blue Laced Wyandotte, she is a pretty girl. Those are some redneck rooster names if I ever heard any, lol! Normally you only need one rooster for every 10 hens, I don't know how many hens you have.

 

[cherwill]

Nope - not me.

Check into the law before you relocate any wild animal - it is almost always illegal and it generally means death to the animal you are relocating in addition. Wild animals typically live in a territory and a new animal being dumped into an existing animal's territory will either be attacked - and the fight is to the death - or will starve to death as it will not be permitted to hunt in that territory. It can't move on because bordering that territory will be territory guarded by another animal.

Another reason it is not a good idea to relocate them is generally it is just passing the problem onto someone else. Even in the country there are enough people living that is is almost impossible to find a place that truly will not impact anyone - and typically country people are more likely to be keeping poultry and other livestock. Plunking a fox down even in what seems like a remote area, is most likely just going to mean that country person will have livestock losses to the animal - especially since it can't easily hunt the local wildlife due to its competitors.

Foxes are notoriously difficult to trap because they are so intelligent but if you do manage to trap one and can't shoot it in the trap, you should call Animal Control. They will come and get it and take care of it for you.

Danz, I am devastated for you at the loss of your turkey and I so hope the hens are not also affected. I think you said the eggs are developing? I am glad for you that at least you do have the next generation, and the hens next week or so of eggs will likely also be fertile so you can hatch those as well. What a sad reminder this is of how fragile life really is and how fast they can go.

I just got off the phone with DH a little while ago. One of the guys at work has gotten a trapper's license. I guess he originally got it so he could clean out the possums at his step-father's place, but he's found a place to sell pelts, so he'll take anything. He said he could come and set up a live trap, and take it away if we catch the fox.

YEAH for warmer weather So exciting!

Now if they'd just pass it on to my birds ...

 

[sharol]

sharol, sometimes there is just one that causes problems, but I can't help but think you still have some trouble coming up when all of those roosters mature. When they start wanting to breed & get territorial you may have some problems on your hands. I love the Marans pullet's names, I have a hen named Lacie as well, she is a Red Blue Laced Wyandotte, she is a pretty girl. Those are some redneck rooster names if I ever heard any, lol! Normally you only need one rooster for every 10 hens, I don't know how many hens you have.

I suspect you are right. They are already breeding and jockying for position. Elwood is quite submissive to Jake, but that may not last. I suspect that Jake and Elwood may be able to co-exist, but I'm with you about problems with that big, husky Marans roo. I have 12 hens and pullets, not not nearly enough for 3 roosters. Just wishful thinking on my part, I'm sure.

 

[Trish44]

I suspect you are right. They are already breeding and jockying for position. Elwood is quite submissive to Jake, but that may not last. I suspect that Jake and Elwood may be able to co-exist, but I'm with you about problems with that big, husky Marans roo. I have 12 hens and pullets, not not nearly enough for 3 roosters. Just wishful thinking on my part, I'm sure.

I had a Marans rooster before & they're usually pretty aggressive & want to be top dog. I'm going to add another one hopefully when my eggs hatch so I can breed for olive eggers at a later date, so we'll see how my Cream Legbar guy takes that. The BR rooster that is out there right now is going to be going into a pen with his ladies as soon as I can come up with a pen for them because those are my heritage birds. The other rooster that I tried to put in with my main coop before beat the heck out of the Cream Legbar rooster, so he had to leave.

cherwill, I wish you luck with trapping that fox, they are crafty creatures & usually too smart to get caught in a trap. Maybe you will get lucky though.

 

[chicken danz]

Sorry, danz to read about your turkey...what kind are they? I was looking them up the other day to see what colors the one your guys talk about are!

This guy was a Royal Palm. The girls have been laying for a couple weeks already and I have eggs developing so it's very sad to loose him. They are beautiful gentle turkeys. Since I don't feel safe using that pen for turkeys any more I plan to sell my hens once I get done treating them.
I also have Bourbon Reds and MIdget whites.
Quote:

Is that the metranidozole? Maybe I should order some of that the same time I order the Agrimycin. I swear - the pharmacy just keeps growing.
Yes it is. Here is a clue. You can't buy it except by prescription. You can buy Fishzole which is the same thing without a prescription but it's very expensive. You need to get a vet to call in or write a prescription for it and it can be filled at a regular pharmacy. It's not cheap but it will save you a ton. I got 100 mg tablets but next time I would ask for a script for 250mg tablets. What I have is people prescription rather than animal because it is much cheaper.

Congrats on the eggs! I got a ton today too - actually kind of a scary number since at the rate they are picking up, I will be inundated in no time. I'm already practically producing more than my customers can keep up with.

Danz has several varieties of turkey, but the one who died was a Royal Palm. They are the black and white ones that I keep so you would have seen some when you were at my place. Since then I now also have some of Danz' Bourbon Reds and a Blue Slate. I really enjoy the turkeys - they are totally different than chickens but have a lot of personality of their own.

It was a busy day for me yesterday and I still didn't get the things I need to do done. Never enough time in a day! Today is going to be a busier one. I have a doctor's appointment and have to get roosters taken to town on a second trip. That's going to shoot my whole day by the time I feed and water. We have a cold front moving in and the wind is supposed to blow up to 50 MPH. It's even going to blow harder further NW of here.
I hadn't talked to my DH yesterday before he went to work. He gets up and 4:30 when he works day shift. While I was out feeding the first thing I found was a possum that had been shot. The next thing I found was my red laced brahma hen in the hen house whom he had managed to eat. My fault. I hadn't gotten the gate shut. When he got home last night he told me during the night that Fluff had the possum cornered and he shot him. Glad he cornered him but sad he didn't catch him soon enough. Not sure what all transpired but at least the thing is gone. I did make it a point to get the doors shut last night. I have 4 free ranging guineas who can't decide which pen they want to sleep in at night. They eventually go to one pen or another. If they all don't go in one pen then they holler. So I have to wait them out or put up with them yelling all night which gets all the other birds yelling. I left the gate open because I had three in and one out and was tired of waiting. Once again I should have taken a little more time. I feel pretty safe around here with the dogs but I've had a couple occasions a possum has snuck in before they noticed.
ChickieWickies too bad I didn't know you were going to get Faverolles. I had sold my breeders to an acquaintance and she doesn't have an incubator. Her shelter had no floor and it was muddy this summer. One of the hens was sitting on a pile of eggs in the mud. So she brought them to me and I hatched them. I missed giving her one of the chicks accidentally so I had about a 5 month pullet here. I just gave it to a guy who came from Oklahoma to buy my remaining 2013 turkeys.
I also found one of my big Basketball English Orpington hens limping yesterday. I brought her in cause the boys were using her in her weakened state. I didn't even have time to check her out and see what is wrong. I've got her caged her with a little brahma pullet that had a head injury and has recovered. I need to find some time to check her. She's still very nervous in here. She is one of my most valuable hens though so I hope it's an injury and not illness.
I'm so over having problems with the birds!! I spent hours on the phone yesterday trying to locate turkey feed with the histomat in it other than starter feed. No luck so far. The one feed I found that would be available locally was made by Purina and they quit producing it. So if I don't come up with any today I guess I'll just keep feeding cayenne pepper and see what I can do to eliminate earthworms in the pens.

 

[HEChicken]

Yeah, I was going to ask you where you were buying medicated turkey feed, since I've never seen it around here.

Hmmm…well, that sucks that you can't just order the Metranidazole, but my horse vet is pretty good about letting me call and order stuff, so maybe I'll just wait until I need it and I can probably get it within a day from her. One time my cat threw up and when I went to clean it up, there were roundworms in the guck. Yech!!! I took one of the worms and put it in a jar and went to my local vet who had seen the cat all his life and showed it to them and asked for Drontal, since that is the best wormer to treat roundworms (the worming stuff you buy at the store is junk - totally worthless and only leads to more worms since it creates resistance). They wouldn't sell me Drontal without seeing the cat, even though I had the round worm in the jar and told them he had thrown it up within the hour. Nope. They said they needed to see him and get a stool sample and do a fecal on it. It made me mad because it was all just about jacking up their bill. So I called my horse vet, explained the situation and she said "Sure - I'll bring it with me when I stop by your barn tomorrow" and that was it. I got the pill from her, gave it to the cat. End of problem. You know, its not that I'm not willing to take my animals to the vet when they need it but this was such a clear cut case. I wasn't guessing what kind of worm it was - I had an actual sample - still wriggling around - to show them.

I'm glad your DH got the possum, but sorry you lost a bird to it. Sigh. I like Sharol's (I think?) description of chickens as "meals on legs". I wish just about everything out there didn't enjoy chicken dinners.

A friend shared a pic with me on my Facebook wall this morning, knowing of my interest in chickens. It is a cool coop idea that I thought I'd share here for anyone interested in replicating it. It is made from a carport and I think you can put up a double carport for about $600 which would give you the frame, roof and side walls coming ⅓ to ½ of the way down, plus the back wall. Then add in the framing and wire for the rest of the sides and the front and you've got a pretty solid structure without spending a fortune (even better if you can get a used carport or better yet, already have one that is not in use). Add in somewhere for them to roost and lay eggs and voila.

 

[chicken danz]

Actually HEChicken I checked into those carports as an option for a chicken building before I built my peafowl pen. The problem was the light weight aluminum frame of those. A good wind here could take it out. One like that with the wooden posts would be excellent. You could anchor those aluminum ones in concrete I guess. And your friend has an awesome set up there in general.

This one pen I have attached to the old garage is an old carport and it is a really great pen. It only has the north wall solid but wire around the rest. The chickens can go in the garage any time they want but unless it is really brutal outside they sit out in the carport part. Probably if I put up a solid wall on the West they'd never go inside. I have no idea what I'll ever do to replace that setup when/if I ever build on my sunroom and garage at the back of the house.
I caught a break of sorts. I just need to get 6 of the roosters ready to go and they will be picked up in the morning. Then I'll take the other 7 to town this weekend. I was wondering how on earth I was going to get two trips to town in in one day. I need to start scooting that direction soon. I hate going any where in the mornings!

 

[HEChicken]

Oh, I should clarify, I have no idea whose set up this is! My friend just came across the pics on another Facebook page and posted them knowing I'd be interested.

I also meant to say Cherwill, it sounds like you have a great solution there if you have someone interested in the fur. Foxes can be difficult to trap but with the right bait and trap, it can happen. You might google best trapping solutions for foxes and see what you can come up with.

 

[sharol]

. I'm going to add another one hopefully when my eggs hatch so I can breed for olive eggers at a later date, so we'll see how my Cream Legbar guy takes that.