Consolidated Kansas

[lizzyGSR]

Why don't you try to put cookie in with the other birds at night first and see if they accept it okay. Then if they seem to be accepting it let it out with them in a few days. I'm not sure if the dog would leave it alone since obviously it isn't going to move as fast.

I'm giving up!!! Last week my two year old $800 dryer quit working. I'm still waiting for the replacement part to come in. Then this morning my 6 month old newest freezer stopped working. What in the world is going on? Luckily the freezer was still under warranty. I wasn't as lucky on the dryer.

that really stinks about your appliances!!!

I remember you having suggested to put new birds in with the rest of the flock at night. I'll try that tonight and see what happens.

 

[lizzyGSR]

I am both perplexed and saddened. Cookie (the chick whose mama died last night) has disappeared. S/he was in an XL dog cage that I had put right next to the chicken run. I went out right after dark to put him/her in with the rest of the birds and s/he was gone! I looked around as best I could with a flashlight and didn't see any trace of the bird. I wonder if it managed to squeeze out somehow.

 

[mamalovescoffee]

I'm sure someone on here can hook you up with some nice chicks. Dani4Hedgies it sounds like it closer to you. There are other Lawrence people, but I haven't seen them on here in a long time. I'm quite a distance from you, almost to the OK border but I will be hatching chicks probably in March. I do have Buff Orps & Barred Rocks of those you mentioned & I have lots of other breeds & colors as well. I would stick with the most common ones to start out with though. There also are swaps on Facebook of which I run a couple but I'm not allowed to post links on here. If you're interested send me a PM.

Well let me add a little advice for the breeds you've chosen if you don't mind. At least what I have found on these. All of the breeds you've listed other than the orpingtons are sit in your lap calm. I've tried just about every breed there is and have settled on the calmest and friendliest breeds I could raise because that is what people want the most. I do have some others that are more hyper that I personally like and raise as well.
All in all though Brahmas are the calmest birds of any I've ever raised. Orpingtons come in as a good second. Particularly large fowl orpingtons. Some of the bantam orpingtons are higher strung. Cochins are great as well however they tend not to tolerate the heat as well as some others. Breda fowl are awesome tamable. For in your lap hand feeding chickens nothing can beat a speckled sussex. They are naturally eat out of your hand birds. Polish hens are cute but they are a weak breed and terrible layers. One school of thought on birds is that if you buy a smooth coat bird as opposed to a fluffy one that it will do better in heat. This is not true. Those extra feathers often protect the bird serving as insulation for them from the sun. Also in general dark colored birds seem to be more susceptible to heat exhaustion than light colored ones but not always.  Regardless either way birds do much better in cold temperatures than they do in hot temperatures. If they have a place to go in the shade in summer  with air flow they will be fine. Sometimes pans of water will also allow them to cool their feet.

I'm sorry about your appliances. Maddening.

Do Brahmas' feathered feet require special care? I've also read that they have a tendency towards broodiness. Has that been your experience?

I've been looking over my calendar and realized that I have to be out of town at the end of April. If I want our birds outside by then, I need to get chicks very soon, is that correct? If so, where should I look at this late date? I'd rather not order by mail but am not utterly opposed if circumstances require it. We are also within homeschool-field-trip range of Cackle Hatchery (a day of audiobooks in the car is a nice change of pace now and again) if there is a chance they'd have breeds I'm interested in in the store.

I'm sorry to hear about your hen & her chick, lizzyGSR.

 

[tlzimmerman]

Candled the eggs tonight, this is the end of Day 5.

6 of the 8 have visible embryos! The other two have veining and darkening, but we couldn't make out exactly what was going on. One of those two was the one with a detached air cell.

I am kinda pumped! I know we are a long ways away and could turn south at any time, but having for sure 6 viable so far is well above my expectations. FINGERS CROSSED!

When you guys do lock down on shipped eggs do you prop them up like they are in the turners or lay them on their side?

 

[lizzyGSR]

Yippee!!! Cookie was waiting outside the chicken coop for me this morning! I was thrilled to see him/her alive and well! I moved the cage inside the chicken run and put Cookie back in it. I've never seen a bird so happy to be in a cage before! Poor thing was hungry and thirsty! Assuming Cookie doesn't try impersonating Houdini again, then I'll try Danz's suggestion tonight. I'm just so relieved to see that silly bird!

 

[chicken danz]

Candled the eggs tonight, this is the end of Day 5.

6 of the 8 have visible embryos! The other two have veining and darkening, but we couldn't make out exactly what was going on. One of those two was the one with a detached air cell.

I am kinda pumped! I know we are a long ways away and could turn south at any time, but having for sure 6 viable so far is well above my expectations. FINGERS CROSSED!

When you guys do lock down on shipped eggs do you prop them up like they are in the turners or lay them on their side?

Yay!

Yippee!!! Cookie was waiting outside the chicken coop for me this morning! I was thrilled to see him/her alive and well! I moved the cage inside the chicken run and put Cookie back in it. I've never seen a bird so happy to be in a cage before! Poor thing was hungry and thirsty! Assuming Cookie doesn't try impersonating Houdini again, then I'll try Danz's suggestion tonight. I'm just so relieved to see that silly bird!

I'm so happy your chick was okay. That's such a good sign.

 

[Trish44]

Candled the eggs tonight, this is the end of Day 5.

6 of the 8 have visible embryos! The other two have veining and darkening, but we couldn't make out exactly what was going on. One of those two was the one with a detached air cell.

I am kinda pumped! I know we are a long ways away and could turn south at any time, but having for sure 6 viable so far is well above my expectations. FINGERS CROSSED!

When you guys do lock down on shipped eggs do you prop them up like they are in the turners or lay them on their side?

I normally don't candle till at least day 7 but even sometimes at day 10, by then you can see better what is going on. Good luck with your hatch, let us know how it goes. I lay all of my eggs on the side to hatch, whether they're my own or shippped eggs. Be sure to turn your turner off at lockdown.

Yippee!!! Cookie was waiting outside the chicken coop for me this morning! I was thrilled to see him/her alive and well! I moved the cage inside the chicken run and put Cookie back in it. I've never seen a bird so happy to be in a cage before! Poor thing was hungry and thirsty! Assuming Cookie doesn't try impersonating Houdini again, then I'll try Danz's suggestion tonight. I'm just so relieved to see that silly bird!

Yay, it must be a little Houdini. I don't know how old it is, but chicks can squeeze through things you wouldn't think they could, like 1 inch chicken wire. I have had to put up half inch hardware cloth where I want to keep chicks or even ducklings in to keep them from escaping. If I don't they go right through & there is always a cat waiting right outside to nab them. I hate working with hardware cloth, it's a pain & I end up with my hands torn up every time, but that's the only way to keep them safe. I'm working on my duckling pen right now trying to get it fixed up for hatching season soon & it's causing me all kinds of grief getting it up. The pen is inbetween my LGD pup's dog run & my lavender Orp pen so I have to run around & around hooking up cable ties, it's maddening. I have about half of it done so far & I hope in the next couple days to get the rest done.

 

[chicken danz]

I forgot to comment on position of eggs. My eggs are all set broad side up, pointy end down, even for hatching. I hatch in egg trays. I used to hatch my goose eggs laying on their side but found if they pipped on the wrong side they'd suffocate and not make it out of the shell. IMO it's just safer to do it with them sitting up where you can be assured they sit with the air cell up. With of course the exception of using a broody because she will continue turning her eggs. I would do it on their sides if I had an incubator with a egg roller system rather than one that turns side to side.

 

[Plinky]

Interesting event tomorrow, 2/11, for those around Lawrence...

8th annual Kaw Valley Seed Fair 9 to 3 at the Douglas Co. Fairgrounds

It's mostly a free seed exchange but there are vendors as well and I think there may be some chicken action (information, not birds) as well if I recall correctly what I read. Some nice sustainable ag exhibts in the past.

If you're interested, I advise going early and bringing your own little zip-lock bags for the seeds and sharpies for marking.

 

[lizzyGSR]

I normally don't candle till at least day 7 but even sometimes at day 10, by then you can see better what is going on. Good luck with your hatch, let us know how it goes. I lay all of my eggs on the side to hatch, whether they're my own or shippped eggs. Be sure to turn your turner off at lockdown.

Yay, it must be a little Houdini. I don't know how old it is, but chicks can squeeze through things you wouldn't think they could, like 1 inch chicken wire. I have had to put up half inch hardware cloth where I want to keep chicks or even ducklings in to keep them from escaping. If I don't they go right through & there is always a cat waiting right outside to nab them. I hate working with hardware cloth, it's a pain & I end up with my hands torn up every time, but that's the only way to keep them safe. I'm working on my duckling pen right now trying to get it fixed up for hatching season soon & it's causing me all kinds of grief getting it up. The pen is inbetween my LGD pup's dog run & my lavender Orp pen so I have to run around & around hooking up cable ties, it's maddening. I have about half of it done so far & I hope in the next couple days to get the rest done.

The chick is about 2.5 months old. It was hatched mid-November. I noticed this morning that the one door on the cage was only partially closed. The top latch wasn't hooked but the bottom one was, so I'm guessing the chick is a smart little booger and figured out it could somehow get out there. I made sure the doors were securely locked today, and the chick stayed put. I also put the whole cage INSIDE the chicken run, which is kind of a pain cuz that leaves very little walking room, but I wasn't going to let Houdini spend the night outside again tonight if i could help it.