Consolidated Kansas

[tweetybaby2005]

LIZZY- your little one is so cute,he IS growing like a weed, boy time flies.

SHAROLL- your hens are beautiful,I like Diva the best. I think it's fun to find a bin of EE pullets at the farm store you can get a lot of variety and great eye candy for the yard.

It's funny I guess, my thoughts about keeping chickens have changed quite a bit since this whole poultry thing started and it's only been a couple of years. At first DD and I got them and were going to do the 4-H show thing and signed up to late to be able to show at the county fair, and now I don't think we're going to do the show thing. (I have a hard time picturing any of our chickies being very happy about being in a little cage at the hottest time of the year in a noisy building with tons of other birds they don't know and a bunch of people looking at them with nowhere to hide)
I can appreciate other folks that do show 4-h ,just don't think it's our thing. Now I sort of look at them like the flowers or herbs that I have planted in beds and containers ,they are visually very rewarding and going out to get eggs is always a treat,and even tho we have about 30ish taking care of them isn't a lot of work. So, I guess in a rambling round about way I'm fine with the hatchery chicks from the farm store, and maybe there are people on FB that breed and sell chicks but I sure don't see very many on CL up here in KC. If I lived some where between DANZ and TRISH44 I could see myself having a whole different kind of habit.

I'm not a crowd person so showing birds is out for me. Plus where do I find the time to do so? LOL.

I see more "chicks for sale" in CL more lately in the Wichita area. Guess more people are hatching in the Spring.

 

[tweetybaby2005]

Hi Kansas Chicken People! I've been lurking around here for over a year, I think and have officially decided to take the plunge and get a few chickens. I've read that for a beginner it's best to get some teenage girls. Would you agree? Where could I find them? I live in Arkansas City.

Welcome!! We started out with a flock of birds ranging from chicks to old birds. DH bought it from a family who can't move the flock with them. It depends on what you want right now. Do you want instant gratification of having eggs? If yes, then get some pullets who are at the point of laying or started laying already. If you want to experience raising babies and watch them grow, then get the chicks. With chicks, you will need to worry about providing heat and they can't really be out in the element just yet since it is still cool. They feather out by about 6 weeks so if you need to have a brooder for them.

You can get chicks from the feed store like TSC, Atwoods, Orschelen's or from someone who hatch chicks. You can check with Trish since you are in Ark City, I think quite close to her.

Don't hesitate to ask questions. We have plenty of very knowledgeable people here. We talk just about anything and everything.:

 

[chicken danz]

I've been moving panels and trying to set up another pen. I was going to move my young English to it but after thinking about it I think I'm going to move some other birds around and move them to another pen that is currently occupied. I am waiting right now for DH to finish moving the house I plan to use there so I can start moving birds. He is never in the state of mind I am to get things done now....not months in the future whenever the mood strikes.

I have the netting ready to go on top but can't hook it up until the house is in place. I HATE waiting. I have two incubators full of chicks and one baby goose that I need to put some place and was hoping to have room in the brooder house.

Meanwhile I got the birds fed and collected eggs. I hadn't done very well in the that department for a couple days due to feeling so crummy.
ctrymama, I laughed at your post. I thank God I don't have to get approval to do what I want. If it were up to DH I would have no birds at all.
Just having a bit warmer weather today has helped me feel better. I still feel crummy but I feel like moving around when the weather cooperates.

 

[okjenyp]

Hi Kansas Chicken People! I've been lurking around here for over a year, I think and have officially decided to take the plunge and get a few chickens. I've read that for a beginner it's best to get some teenage girls. Would you agree? Where could I find them? I live in Arkansas City.

I am fairly new to the chicken world my self. I originally wanted 6 chicks. But a friend told me I needed more so they would keep each other warm. So I settled with 12. An even dozen. The first day was rough ( probably should do on a day off from work!) I kept checking on them trying to adjust the heat lamp for temperature. And I lost two babies the first 24 hrs. Which I found out was normal. Sometimes they just fail to thrive. I got my chicks from atwoods in derby and they said they would replace the deceased chicks. So I replaced one. At first I had them in a home made brooder out of a xl storage tote with hardwire cloth for the top. We'll after a week they doubled in size( and I made the mistake and got 5 Cornish cross which tripled in size!!) so they were quickly running out of space. I then converted a playpen/ pack n play into a larger brooder. And they loved it! While these guys were little I started on my chicken house and yard. I had an old 6x8 metal shed I converted into their house and put a window and altered the door etc. I moved them out a week ago. And they are so happy. Running around chasing leaves and when I am digging holes to plant things, Big Daddy is right next to me waiting for any goodies I might uncover. I am lucky, I live just outside Wichita city limits and don't really have a limit to how many chickens I can have. Since getting the first batch, I got 6 in the big brooder they'll be ready to go outside in a week I hope.. And 8 new ones I got Thursday... It is an addiction. And I wouldn't normally have gotten so many. But since discovering my Cornish cross chickens won't be good for eggs and will make a nice Easter dinner.... I had to replace them. I have a mixture of chicks. Cornish cross, buff Orpington, black sexlink, Easter egger, Rhode Island Red. Sorry to ramble on... My family thinks I have a problem. They sent me a link to a video on YouTube ...

 

[chicken danz]

Funny video.
I did notice one thing that would be excellent advice to coricorndog and anyone else who is just now considering getting into chickens. Have your brooder ready and the heat stabilized BEFORE you buy the chicks. I never put a chick anywhere unless I have the area preheated and ready to go. I aim for 90 degrees.
I am glowing right now. I just emptied one of the incubators and there's a case of cuteness overload. I think that little Sebbie gosling has done me in. It is so stinking cute. I forgot how adorable they are when they are first hatched. Looks like the very first one is a saddle back. Now I can't wait to hatch a bunch more. I did have a really big hatch and tons of those are lavender orps. I got three more English babies, some whites, buffs, and blacks. I also got my first sussex chick of the year finally. I have some partridge brahmas in the other incubator but they aren't quite dry yet.

 

[okjenyp]

Yes that is a good thing to have the brooder all set up before hand. When I got my second and third batch I was prepared and had the brooder ready. Part of the problem with the first one was they didn't like the heat any hotter than 85. But I have learned a lot from the first batch of chicks and have since applied it to the others. One of my favorite sounds is waking up in the morning to the sound of all the chicks chirping... It will be quiet in a few weeks.... Pray I don't get empty nest syndrome and buy more! I don't think my coop can hold many more.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

The monthly poultry swap at Turkey Creek Feeds East of Joplin, Mo. was well attended today. It is the first Saturday of every month, but it has been too cold for this old man to attend until today. There were a good variety of poultry and small animals. I was surprised to see so many venders with the large swap at Jacob's Cave being this weekend also. I think I will just be attending this swap meet and the one in Afton, Ok this year. It is a hassle for me to get everything loaded and get there by daylight. That is when the buying is the most competitive..

 

[Trish44]

tweety I did the same thing for a couple of years, trying out different breeds for laying. I have found which ones I really like now & have hatched some new chicks for replacements this year for some that are aging & also to add a few more so I can keep supplying my egg customers when some are molting. Last time it seemed like about every bird I had went into molt all at once, not a good thing if you want eggs. Now I'm almost done hatching replacements except for some from Danz that haven't arrived yet. After those I should have all the layers I need & more probably.

Speaking of hatching, I have another batch of chicks due tomorrow. I was hoping some would start hatching today but they haven't.

 

[Trish44]

Ralph I have heard of the swap at Jacob's Cave, it looks huge. It's too far for me to go for a swap, but I would probably just get myself in more trouble there anyway, like a kid in a candy store.

 

[TheDownyChick]

Well, the county 4H Spring Poultry Show went well. I helped with the Quiz Bowl again this year, and learned something new. That is my goal: to learn at least one new thing each time. The Silver Laced Wyandottes roo I gave my like-a-son only got a white ribbon. The judge did not have much to say about him at all, positive or negative, other than something about the points on his comb. They are pea combed, so I have no idea how to count points on those combs, nor can I find anything that says they need a certain number of comb points on a SLW. :S