Consolidated Kansas

[Deerfield Acres]

Danz, we did it again -- posted at the same time!

 

[Grain Gypsy]

@MrsProf

That is so cute! I remember incubating and hatching chicks in the 3rd grade. Mrs. Cheek, our teacher, decided to allow us to draw for the chickens. Everyone wanted the gray one. I was drawn. I was a city girl. Mrs. Cheek somehow contacted my parents (which wasn't hard, as my parents were teachers at the middle school) and okayed me bringing it home with them. They said yes, and it lived the next few weeks in a box by itself in my bedroom. Then it started hopping out and we had to find a home on the farm for it, LOL! Brooding chicks has been so fun and educational for my four home-schooled kids. I think we might see if we can find an incubator next spring and incubate some chicks for that learning experience. Your story brought back wonderful 3rd grade memories.

Thank you!

 

[Grain Gypsy]

We picked up our day-old chicklets from the post office at 8:30 this morning! They are so sweet. These chicks are energetic little buggers. One of the chicks succeeded twice in jumping out of the box onto my daughter's lap. They've all figured out the food and water and a snuggled up under the EcoGlow for the night!

We got one of each (all hens)

• Cream Legbar
• Silver Spangled Hamburg
• Buff Brahma
• Light Brahma
• Golden-Laced Wyandotte
• Silver Laced Wyandotte
• New Hampshire Red
• Rhode Island Red
• Welsummer
• Golden Buff (roo)

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Grain Gypsy, Happy New Chicks To You!!

Love that assortment - it will be so much fun watching them feather out. It was so exciting when the kids and I got our first chicks... nothing like it! Thanks for sharing that memory, such a pleasant thing to read this morning.

 

[chicken danz]

You're garden area looks great, Deerfield. I did spend ten minutes in mine yesterday looking at the weeds grow. I planted the four broccoli plants my friend gave me. Still waiting to see some germination on the beans. I probably should have put plastic over them to warm them up. Maybe they'll still come up. I need to get moving soon cause I have so much to do but I wanted to enjoy some coffee before I plugged into the day.
I wish I had free wood shavings. I probably would use them for the big birds in their pens. It would give them something to dig through and look for bugs and something to help keep them drier. The city keeps a big pile you can take from but I never go to town and that is a lot of work shoveling a truck load of them on and off. Of course they'd all be wet now from the recent rains. Too bad I'm not close enough to town they'd just dump them off here.
When I was shopping the other day I found that Menards has some wood shavings and they are in bigger bags than what TSC and Orshlen's carry. They're a dollar higher than the sale price elsewhere but you get a third more. I put that in my mind for future reference. It may just be a seasonal item but it was a nice find.
Nice selection of chicks Grain Gypsy.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Thanks Danz! It has been a ton of work. DH and I planted the last bed of strawberries yesterday. It started out fine but then he was being Mr. Man and going faster and faster and I couldn't keep up so I had to sit down. Humiliating for a tomboy like me, but he finished everything up himself so I guess there's always a trade off. Pride? or Job Done? I'll take the job done, this time. I know he isn't trying to embarrass me, he worries about me and would rather I just sit down.

Anyway, I didn't get to the fruit trees because I did strawberries instead and today I have to go to a visitation and a funeral tomorrow. A friend's mom passed. So I have to save what energy I have for that. I've called her Mom since my mom passed. My Dad dumped her for the woman he married after my mom passed away. TMI, but there you have it. He is happily married and didn't have to lose another wife and for that, I'm very thankful.

Mother's Day is coming up and I'm wondering if anyone else had pet names for their mom? I used to call mine up and when she'd answer I would speak in a French accent and inquire "Mommaselle?" It made her laugh because she was always a tomboyish sort. She never even went to the salon for hair and nails. I miss my mom, a lot. So all you peeps with Moms give them a big hug for me and tell them how important they are to you, not because it's Mother's Day but because it isn't and it's just more fun when it isn't Mother's Day.

Back to chickens. I am waiting for that Aloha hen to lay today. She stopped laying with the dip in temps, so today she has absolutely no excuse! LOL! I've mentioned that to her this a.m. Everybody else kept laying, she just seems to think she's a Queen and only expected to lay when all conditions are perfect and the stars are aligned properly. Maddy, the other Aloha, is still sitting faithfully on her eggs and they should hatch any day now, if they were fertile. This is her first hatch. I had two Buffs share eggs last year. It was really cute.

Okay, I'm off to take my leisure at something else. Have a great day everyone, hope you get lots done and enjoy the beautiful weather.

 

[Grain Gypsy]

@Deerfield Acres , thanks for sharing about your mom. I am sorry she is not with you in our earthly home anymore. I am 36 years old, and I still call my mom "Mama." It just slips of the tongue so easily still. My mom is a retired home economics teacher with tons of energy. Everything she touches with her presence or skills becomes "home" and/or welcoming and warm, for lack of adequate words to explain her special touch. She taught me to love flowers...in particular, perennials. She helped me re-learn how to sew when my husband and I bought our first house 12 years ago and I couldn't afford to dress the windows in our house with curtains and drapes. I still call her for advice on parenting and cooking. And I still want her when I'm sick. We talk several times a week, and she calls me every Sunday afternoon just to check in if I don't get her called first. Now that I live only 4 hours from her, we see each other much more often again. I love that.

Sooo...this morning I spent 45 minutes unclogging our light brahma chick's vent. I'd never seen anything like it. This was more than just the common pasting problem. I was checking them all for pasting and noticed that light brahma had some. So, I cleared it, only to discover a bright red and swollen vent. I did a little research and found out the poor thing was probably poop stuck. I manually expressed its bowels. [GROSS

], gave it a little sits bath in epsom salt, and then gave it a warm blow dry. It LOVED that part! Then I put a couple drops of lavender essential oil on its vent, along with some bacitraycin. It is successfully pooping on its own now, because it pood several times as I was blow-drying and doctoring her up. I put her back out under the warmer.

Miss Swollen Butt's vent AFTER I manually expressed it.




My daughter went out about 30 minutes later to check on the chicks and came back in carrying Miss Swollen Butt. My daughter said she found her laying under the EcoGlow, seemingly unable to move, as the other chicks ran over her. I gave her a good look-over, and she seems drugged. She just wants to sleep, her head flops around when we wake her up, and she is sleeping on her side. I've got her on a heating pad beside me right now for warmth. I hope she makes it. I can't tell if the little one is on her last leg of the journey, or if she's just feeling the calming effects of lavender x10,000. I hope I didn't just kill this chick using lavender!


Miss Swollen Butt (hopefully) sleeping off the calming effects of the lavender on a heating pad next to me.




Also, speaking of strawberries, our strawberry bed that we planted last year is looking GREAT! The 6 of us love strawberries, so we are very excited about them ripening. They're on their way!

We saw Mrs. Foxy Loxy and her pups around lunchtime. We love our foxes, which is why my husband was kind enough to make a secure chicken run for our chickens so we can all live in peace and harmony. They are beautiiul creatures.

Okay, back to home schooling my kids. It's so hard to stay focused during these beautiful spring days, but if we push on, we'll be done schooling by May 11.

 

[Grain Gypsy]

Turns out, I think I just drugged our chickie with lavender.

About 3 1/2 hours after the little chick "went to sleep," she came out of her lavender-induced stupor and was as sprightly as ever. It was like the chick was lavender drunk.

The undiluted lavender applied directly to the chick's vent acted like the chick version of anesthesia. Well, at least she had a good sleep?

I think the moral of that accidental experiment was two-fold for me (1) No undiluted essential oils for my chicks anymore, and (2) When using essential oils the dosage has got to be FAR less than the human application!

I went to the store and got some Preparation H for it and applied it. I hope it helps its little bum. It is still red, but not AS red.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Turns out, I think I just drugged our chickie with lavender.

About 3 1/2 hours after the little chick "went to sleep," she came out of her lavender-induced stupor and was as sprightly as ever. It was like the chick was lavender drunk.

The undiluted lavender applied directly to the chick's vent acted like the chick version of anesthesia. Well, at least she had a good sleep?

I think the moral of that accidental experiment was two-fold for me (1) No undiluted essential oils for my chicks anymore, and (2) When using essential oils the dosage has got to be FAR less than the human application!

I went to the store and got some Preparation H for it and applied it. I hope it helps its little bum. It is still red, but not AS red.

Such a relief to hear she's up and about! I'll have to tell the caponizing group about this because we're all about trying to figure out how to anesthetize a chicken when they are intolerant of anesthesia. I think you've just made a scientific breakthrough!

 

[ashncarson]

Turns out, I think I just drugged our chickie with lavender.

About 3 1/2 hours after the little chick "went to sleep," she came out of her lavender-induced stupor and was as sprightly as ever. It was like the chick was lavender drunk.

The undiluted lavender applied directly to the chick's vent acted like the chick version of anesthesia. Well, at least she had a good sleep?

I think the moral of that accidental experiment was two-fold for me (1) No undiluted essential oils for my chicks anymore, and (2) When using essential oils the dosage has got to be FAR less than the human application!

I am sorry but I had to laugh at this Good to know!