Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Tar

I always figured that some hens, like people, are just more sexually apealing for some reason or other. My red star also squats for anything, so I figure she is just 'easy' LOL. Now my Light Brahma Aunt Pitty Pat, you have to buy her dinner AND a movie

Her feathers are pristine!!!!!

This has been a selling weekend around here. My numbers are coming down. I wish I had more older birds and not so many young ones. I could have sold a lot more of them.
We had grackles come through and now I have three pens that are kind of together with sneezing birds. I have had such a great year for bird health. This sure isn't the time of year to battle viruses cause I need to get birds settled for winter. I have more I need to get to the pens but don't want to expose other birds to the sneezing. Also when I get ready nothing is going in that building that so much and wrinkles it's brow. I am so not ready for winter and I don't have power to the old barn again yet so I can run extention cords for heated waterers.
I'm selling down lots of birds this weekend which will help some but still have just as many pens left to care for. I have a feeling it's going to be pretty miserable week out there. I may have to get some alcohol and put it in the waterers to keep them from freezing. Nothing like a bunch of drunk chickens!!!

 

[sharol]

I know my hens have favorite friends that they hang out with on the roost, so I suppose it is natural that roosters also have favorites, but my poor little Lacey really gets beat up. The fact that she follows the roo everywhere and adores him seems to be part of it, too. ;-)

 

[Trish44]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been going nuts trying to get ready for this cold blast. I still have more to do today yet & I still don't think I'm going to get everything I wanted to do done, there just isn't enough hours in the day & enough energy on my part. I worked for hours yesterday & I'm so sore I can hardly move today but I have to go back out there. I'm not looking forward to this at all. I hate winter! I think I was meant to live somewhere warmer.

 

[chicken danz]

The cold front hit here about 45 minutes ago and that wind is brutal and strong. I had to be gone all day and just got home in time to blow out the hoses and unhook the rest of them in the dark. I'll have to get out in the morning and bundle up and make sure everyone has feed and water. I don't have power to the barn so I have no electricity to run heated bowls.

 

[spree56]

Burrrrr! Cold in Manhattan. I think I got everything done, but wow!

 

[chicken danz]

In the mid 20's here this morning and the North wind is blasting. Surprisingly the chickens seem to be out in it. I figured they'd be huddled in their huts.

 

[Trish44]

It's 34 here now, with the high supposed to be 37. I'm sure the chickens are shocked this morning, they're not acclimated either. I got up this morning late because I was so exhausted from working so hard yesterday trying to get everything done. I still didn't get my main coop cleaned out so I will have to deal with that as soon as there is a day I think I can tolerate being out there long enough. I did get all of the tarps on the pens but didn't get the plastic on the sides of the hoop coops, I just ran out of time. So I hope the chickens in those will be OK till I can get that done. I did get all of my heated bowls put out in the pens I can get electricity to but didn't get the cord over to the heated bucket for the sheep yet. I was putting straw in the shelters for the goats & sheep right at dark after getting water done, picking up hoses, & feeding. Boy I hate it that this hit so early, it's bad enough to have it hit when it usually does, but we usually have some time around now to finish up getting things done. At least I did get my breeder coop all painted, whew! Here's a pic of it painted:

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm in MO and our high was at midnight last night. It was 73 yesterday. Today is a shock.

 

[zigzag45]

In thinking about how to make a chick creeper (something to allow chicks to eat chick feed and keep big birds out), I realized I think I am over thinking/building something. I'm now picturing buying a clear plastic container (storage tub?), cutting an oval at one side, and placing the feed inside in a small container/bowl. The container would need to be a big enough so that the big birds couldn't sick their necks in and eat chick feed. The bowl would be something like you hang on cages for smaller animals like rabbits.

I know the big birds will make a mess of the outside, but since it's plastic I can pull it out and spray it off.

Does this sound workable?

Since I only plan to cut the oval once, suggestions on what size to make it? I have three mixed breed chicks, the big birds are buff orps, black australorps, and related. I do have one smaller bird, a White Leghorn. I'm amazed at the small openings the big birds can get through. They are amazing when they want to. I'm picturing an oval that is roughly 3" by 5"... think that will work? I can see that Leghorn getting into about anything, might need to make it smaller.

 

[chicken danz]

Zig I think a 3" X 5" would be about right. That would give them some time to grow as well. I cant' see an adult LF being able to get through that.