Consolidated Kansas

[lizzyGSR]

Hey all! It's been quiet on here! My DH and I finally have a way to store bulk feed. I'm wanting to try to start mixing my own chicken/duck food. I prefer something I can feed to both chickens and ducks, young and old! I'm currently buying bagged feed from Orscheln's (only place nearby that carries it) and would love to get something I can buy in bulk and save $$ on. I can get a total of ROUGHLY 1,000 pounds of feed, depending on how "fluffy" it ends up being. Does anyone have any suggestions? What do ya'll do for chicken/duck/bird feed?

 

[HEChicken]

I think everyone is busy. I just buy bagged feed so I'm no help. I don't have any way to store bulk feed but I'm sure it would be cheaper to buy it that way.

We had an incident with a thermostat that means we are currently without A/C. The replacement thermostat arrived yesterday but needs to be wired in and DH hasn't had a chance to do it yet. I've done some wiring but never like doing it as I'm always afraid I'm going to fry myself so for now I'm sweltering in a hot house waiting for him to get a chance.

The days go by in a haze of milking and cheese-making. We finally got the sheep and goats started on rotational grazing for the year. We're really late but had some issues with the fence energizer. I'm glad to finally have them going with that.

Had a new lamb born early Saturday morning. Her mother produces very big lambs and this one was no exception - 13 pounds. She was delivered unassisted though and is doing very well now. Her mom seems to have way too much milk and loves to have her udder "massaged" so I'm tempted to milk her but truly do NOT need any more milk (would love to make sheep milk cheese though.....)

The garden is starting to look really good. I dug the first few bulbs of garlic the other day and finally did a count of how many I have - 55. And I don't even like garlic!!! Don't ask what possessed me to plant so much of something I don't particularly care for. I guess I was just excited to be planting something in the fall. The few that needed to be dug early are now drying, though I did use one clove in last night's dinner.

Corn should be "knee high by the 4th of July" but mine was taller than that by the 4th of June. The peas that I planted at its base are almost tall enough to start using it for support.

 

[chicken danz]

Hey all! It's been quiet on here! My DH and I finally have a way to store bulk feed. I'm wanting to try to start mixing my own chicken/duck food. I prefer something I can feed to both chickens and ducks, young and old! I'm currently buying bagged feed from Orscheln's (only place nearby that carries it) and would love to get something I can buy in bulk and save $$ on. I can get a total of ROUGHLY 1,000 pounds of feed, depending on how "fluffy" it ends up being. Does anyone have any suggestions? What do ya'll do for chicken/duck/bird feed?

I'll send you what I use so you can make some adjustments. Actually where you are and the excess or lack of certain grains can help determine what you use in your feed.

I think everyone is busy. I just buy bagged feed so I'm no help. I don't have any way to store bulk feed but I'm sure it would be cheaper to buy it that way.

We had an incident with a thermostat that means we are currently without A/C. The replacement thermostat arrived yesterday but needs to be wired in and DH hasn't had a chance to do it yet. I've done some wiring but never like doing it as I'm always afraid I'm going to fry myself so for now I'm sweltering in a hot house waiting for him to get a chance.

The days go by in a haze of milking and cheese-making. We finally got the sheep and goats started on rotational grazing for the year. We're really late but had some issues with the fence energizer. I'm glad to finally have them going with that.

Had a new lamb born early Saturday morning. Her mother produces very big lambs and this one was no exception - 13 pounds. She was delivered unassisted though and is doing very well now. Her mom seems to have way too much milk and loves to have her udder "massaged" so I'm tempted to milk her but truly do NOT need any more milk (would love to make sheep milk cheese though.....)

The garden is starting to look really good. I dug the first few bulbs of garlic the other day and finally did a count of how many I have - 55. And I don't even like garlic!!! Don't ask what possessed me to plant so much of something I don't particularly care for. I guess I was just excited to be planting something in the fall. The few that needed to be dug early are now drying, though I did use one clove in last night's dinner.

Corn should be "knee high by the 4th of July" but mine was taller than that by the 4th of June. The peas that I planted at its base are almost tall enough to start using it for support.

I would just die without an air conditioner right now. I am outside working most of the time but inside where the air is much stiller and the humidity builds I can't handle not having the AC on. I was raised without an AC and spent a good deal of my adult life without one. But once spoiled I won't do without. I figure at my age staying comfortable is just as important as any other health related reasons.
Many years ago we were trying to be good citizens and turn down our thermostats to 68 in the winter. I had a new baby. Well she nearly died of pneumonia that came on in an instant and I ended up sick as well. I vowed never again to let finances rule comfort. However I still did without an AC because I was used to the heat.
I ended up putting in a window unit in the bedroom cause I couldn't sleep during the day due to the extreme heat. The window unit cost so much to operate the next year I put in central air. I haven't done without since.

 

[HEChicken]

I would just die without an air conditioner right now. I am outside working most of the time but inside where the air is much stiller and the humidity builds I can't handle not having the AC on. I was raised without an AC and spent a good deal of my adult life without one. But once spoiled I won't do without. I figure at my age staying comfortable is just as important as any other health related reasons.
Many years ago we were trying to be good citizens and turn down our thermostats to 68 in the winter. I had a new baby. Well she nearly died of pneumonia that came on in an instant and I ended up sick as well. I vowed never again to let finances rule comfort. However I still did without an AC because I was used to the heat.
I ended up putting in a window unit in the bedroom cause I couldn't sleep during the day due to the extreme heat. The window unit cost so much to operate the next year I put in central air. I haven't done without since.

When you don't have a choice, its amazing what you can survive

Seriously, I'd love to have our thermostat installed and the A/C on for these hot days but its not unbearable - and not like July/August and triple digits outside. By opening windows at night, we can cool the house considerably and with ceiling fans keeping the air moving, it has been tolerable. However we have company coming tonight so in spite of how busy DH is, I have asked him to try to find a few minutes to get it installed so the house will be comfortable by dinner time.

I had a nice visit with Trish44 yesterday who stopped by to meet LGDs and see the barn and sheep. In the evening our AI Tech came and AI'd our heifer, M&M. This is the calf who was 2 weeks old when we got the cows but is now 17 months old. She has grown into a lovely heifer as we kept her on mom's milk until she was about 10 months old, and she is easily as big as her mother now. She was having a strong heat yesterday so we texted the AI Tech and he was kind enough to make room in his schedule to come out right away, knowing there is a window of opportunity. He agreed she was at a good point in her cycle so there is a high probability this breeding will "take". We'll know in 21 days - whether or not she comes back into heat. While he was here, he preg checked our oldest cow. He AI'd her in January and we've never had any doubt she is pg as she has never cycled again since. Plus, her baby belly gets in our way when we're milking

However it was fun to have him check her and he was able to verify she is carrying only one and even which horn of the uterus it is in.

Well, I have a house to clean and food to prepare for dinner tonight so better get cracking.

 

[chicken danz]

I've been without a choice before. Worse yet in winter when I couldn't afford to pay utility bills and was a single mom. We slept in the living room and I loaded the fireplace to keep us warm. It was a really big house so one little fireplace didn't do much but keep us warm in that room and keep the pipes from freezing.
I'm saying at this age, I can't afford to be without choice. I have so many allergies I can't open the windows or I end up very sick. Also with asthma, temperature extremes either cold or hot trigger asthma attacks. Because I do spend a lot of time outdoors I am doing much better than I would have in past years in respect to the asthma and have also helped me adjust better to allergies. Not right now though. I've been really sick for a week with all the pollens. According to the weather, the mulberry and walnut pollens are really high. I'm guessing I'm allergic to both and there are gobs of both trees around me.
I'm afraid we may get pretty uncomfortable this weekend because we are laying floors and it will be in and out all day for a couple days to cut boards. Plus saw dust is a major allergy as well. I see a doctor's office visit in my near future. I normally just treat these things with natural methods but I think it's beyond that.

 

[Trish44]

danz I think you're going to have to give in & go get something for your sinus infection. I don't blame you for putting it off but there comes a point where you have to give in & treat it medically. I had been having a hard time with all of the cotton flying around in the air from Cottonwood trees. I'm allergic to about every kind of tree around here plus grass pollens & weeds as well so in the spring I don't do too well. There is something that bothers me in the fall too where the pollen is high then.

HEChicken it was nice to see you as well & all of your animals & birds. Your LGDs are going to be big dogs when they're grown, especially that male. It was nice to finally see them in person rather than in photos. That's a nice barn you have as well, I wish we could build one like that, but it's probably not going to happen since my DH isn't into the animals. At least I have something to keep the hay in to keep it dry.

 

[HEChicken]

That's a nice barn you have as well, I wish we could build one like that, but it's probably not going to happen since my DH isn't into the animals. At least I have something to keep the hay in to keep it dry.

The animals were only part of the reason we had to build it. It was as much to house the tractor and the hay out of the weather. Maybe if you can find a way to spin it so your DH sees it as an advantage to him......mine was ok with me taking over some of it for the animals but not all of it. We actually plan to totally rearrange the non-animal end this year. When we built the barn the hay was already stacked so we elected not to move it. However when the new hay is cut this year, we'll be putting it along the back wall and then the tractor will be moved to a better location.

 

[Trish44]

The animals were only part of the reason we had to build it. It was as much to house the tractor and the hay out of the weather. Maybe if you can find a way to spin it so your DH sees it as an advantage to him......mine was ok with me taking over some of it for the animals but not all of it. We actually plan to totally rearrange the non-animal end this year. When we built the barn the hay was already stacked so we elected not to move it. However when the new hay is cut this year, we'll be putting it along the back wall and then the tractor will be moved to a better location.

Yeah it is really big & nice for storing your tractor & equipment too. I at least have a place to keep the hay dry but it only has a small section other than that where I can put a ewe & lamb for a short time. The building was built for my DH's ex for her horse so that's the only reason there is a building here at all. I doubt there would be any way I could spin that so my DH would go for building a barn. He just isn't into the animals & birds at all & is happy to let me care for them. He did it while I recovered from my total knee surgery but was glad to hand it back to me as soon as I was able.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Had an eventful morning moved my new chicks from the house out to the coop garage went back in to get a feed bag and came out to a big black rat snake hauling *** towards my chicks. Yea no nothing is eating my eggs and chickens but me.

 

[chicklover56]

Hi all!

I have a Buff Orphington broody hen. This is her second time being broody since I've had her, and I have decided that I want to let her hatch some eggs. I have no experience with broody hens though and she has been broody since yesterday. I have no fertilized eggs I can give her though. Is it too late to give her some to hatch or would she not stay on them for the full cycle?

If I could still have her hatch some eggs, does anybody have hatching eggs near Topeka?

I am wanting to add some new kinds to my flock, and I already have New Hampshire Red, EE, Americauna, Buff Orphington, Black Sex Link, White and Brown Leghorn, Aracauna, and Production Red.

I have really been wanting Welsummers, but any breeds will probably be fine. I don't want to get 12 eggs though. Also, any information about broodies and what to do would be very helpful.