Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

I went out & moved the little pair of Mille Fleur Leghorns to a chicken tractor I had sitting around till I can get them sold. I needed the pen they were in to house my extra backup roosters in & I have been trying to move all of the extra birds out of the Welsummer pen so those birds could have their permanent pen. I moved 5 Rhodebar pullets to the main coop last night so tonight will be fun rounding them up to go roost. I now have 3 pens with roosters in them. I hate to use up so many pens for roosters but I also have to have backups for my breeding groups. If I just had one big pen I could put them all in that but I have all of my bigger pens taken up with breeding groups. If I could find one more big dog run for cheap I would be glad to get that. It's always musical pens around here moving birds around.

 

[chicken danz]

I've been so busy but finally got the birds thinned down and have been working on some other projects. Nothing seems to go as planned and I'm really getting nervous about having things done in time for my surgery.
The guy that was supposed to cut the window hole in the basement is waiting for someone else to call him back so I'm afraid I'm going to be stuck with a big hole in my yard and no window installed. I hired him because he told me he would be here this week. I've got to have that done! It can't stay that way for winter because my water line to the building is exposed. UV rays will ruin it as well and it would freeze.
Why won't people just show up when they say they will.
I got the roofing felt on a building I need to move to some pens but I figured out I don't have enough tin to finish it without having to buy or cut some. One more thing to worry about!!

 

[Trish44]

Yeah Danz i agree, people should show up when they say they're going to. Nobody seems to care any more if they inconvenience someone else, it's just disgusting.

It's supposed to cool down a few degrees for the next week. It's still hot but at least it won't be 100. There are things I need to be doing out there but it's just been too hot to do them. I went out this morning & tried to fix a gate on one of my pens & was just soaking wet by the time I came in, ugh.

 

[chicken danz]

Sure was nice to step out this morning and not be hit in the face by a hot blast of air. I should be out working on projects now but had to take some time to just enjoy my coffee. Things have been so crazy lately that I haven't had my time to relax as normal. Not that I should be relaxing. Just that I need to for my mental psyche right now.
I have to admit that doing chores is a lot easier without all these extra pens to feed. I still find myself walking my normal path though because I am so used to feeding and watering in all those places. I'm hoping to get the last of the new setups done in a few days and be ready for someone else to feed for awhile.
I've still got a ton to do on my list before surgery but it almost looks achievable now.

 

[Trish44]

It is nice to not have to go out into an oven first thing in the morning! I hope to take the front off of my run today while it's cooler & get rotted boards replaced & put it back up. I've been needing to do that for awhile but it's been too hot to go out & do it. Yesterday was an exhausting day, we went & got 91 bales of brome hay to put in the barn for my sheep & goats for winter. My DH got it all put in the barn first & then we moved about 32 bales to the shed we built so we had some hay closer to where we feed the animals. He has to always move bales for me because I can't lift them due to my weight restrictions so he won't have to move them so much this winter. They also will be where it's easy for my animal care person to get to when she's here feeding for me. We were both exhausted by the time we got all of that done & moved the straw bales I had gotten & put in the shed that had to be moved to the barn. I had to do my regular feeding chores after all of that too. I could hardly move by the time I finished.

 

[Trish44]

Well the run project hit a snag. I took the front down & it really just has to be totally rebuilt for that part, so I have to get another treated 2x4 & new chicken wire to proceed so it will be a project for later in the week.

 

[chicken danz]

My sister came over yesterday and we worked from 9:30 am until after 7:00 Pm shoveling and cleaning out all the chicken pens and the hallway in the building. We must have dumped at least 50 wagon loads of crap in the trash. I sprayed down the floors and we put all new shavings in the nest boxes and on the floors. It looked so nice and smelled so much better. I still need to clean out the other room but it can wait a bit. I am supposed to get the window cut in the basement wall today for the the window. That was supposed to happen yesterday as well but got postponed a day. I was sure glad cause there was no time to work with a window. I still have two more buildings to get completed before this weekend along with normal chores and I hope I have time.
I've got to get down into the basement and move some more things so the guy cutting the hole has room to work.

 

[Plinky]

Hello Folks! Seems I only post when I need advice!
I went out this morning to let the chickens out and found our Barred Rock sitting by the waterer panting. She did not come out and go for the scratch I threw. Just stood up and walked back farther into the coop. About a week ago I noticed she was pulling herself aside and sitting with her neck pulled in. I looked her over and could find nothing visibly wrong. I thought her back may have been arched in a strange way, but I'm not sure.
I gave all of them electrolytes (was anyway during the heat) and her a dropper of nutridrench. She seemed fine the next day.
She has not laid an egg for 3-4 days. Before that there were some with a lot of raised darker brown speckles on them.
Her poo is soft.
Other than that...
I realize it could be many things, but I would welcome any thoughts.
When it warms up a little (ha! imagine saying that a week or so ago) I think I'll try sitting her in an epsom salts "sitz" bath in case she is egg bound?
She is normally the most robust, inquisitive, chatty hen of the group!

 

[chicken danz]

You should be able to feel if she is egg bound. Have you done that? Have you checked her crop to see if it is full. She could also have a sour crop. If I remember right you recently wormed them so that shouldn't be a problem. Is her breathing normal?
I had a rooster I believe that got over heated and I pulled him yesterday. He had been acting fine until one of those really hot days. But since he has held his head cockwise and has been sleeping a lot. I can tell he just doesn't feel good but I noticed yesterday along with that he is loosing weight. I honestly don't expect him to live very long so I just put him out to free range. Thank goodness I had a back up rooster but if something happens to the backup I won't have one.
i'm just telling you this cause it could be another thing going on. She may have had heat stroke at some point. But Breathing heavy either means she is in pain or is having some respiratory issues. Check for an egg and check her crop first then go from there.
I over did it the last couple days and can't bend today. I still have so much to do before next week.
I moved all the peachicks to the brooder house yesterday. I just decided I wasn't going to get the big incubator ready to house birds in time. It's way too crowded in there but I had to do something with them. I am thinking I should put another pen up so when they are old enough they could go outside. It's not a perfect solution by any means. But at least the temperature can be monitored in there. I gathered 3 more peafowl eggs yesterday. I'm surprised they are still laying. It's about time for the India blues to lay their fall clutch. I think I'm just going to let one of the hens sit if she wants. All the boys have shed their tails except him anyway. Soon I hope to have the other two pens ready to go so I can move some of them to a bigger pen. I am of course waiting on DH to put the metal roof on. He didn't like the idea I had for roofing it and so now he is taking too much time to get started on it.
I got my basement window cut and installed yesterday. I still have to get a load of gravel to fill it in and do a lot more cutting and trimming inside. But if I get the outside finished the inside can wait.

 

[Trish44]

Danz you make me tired just reading about all the things you do!