Consolidated Kansas

[Ivywoods]

"Besides I always get grouchy when I clean."

um.... that's sounds too familiar!

We do manage to take our shoes off. If we didn't....... EEEWWWW! I'm afraid some of the stuff we would track in would be more than I could handle. Sometimes I can smell those shoes when they are in the mudroom or back entryway. I keep special shoes for wearing around here. I call them my "poop shoes!"

 

[chicken danz]

I have new hardwood to lay in my kitchen and dining room. When that gets installed the rules will change. I don't let the dirty shoes get in my front room or areas where the hardwood is done. I have tile at the back end so it cleans pretty easy. I like wearing slip on shoes so I can kick them off. I got DH to buy some slippers to put on when he comes in but they don't always get used. He is pretty good about taking off his muck boots when it is muddy. Of course the poo part is all me. I try not to track it in. At least I learned to wipe my feet when I was young!
OMG! It finally happened although I never thought about it. I had a chick hatch that only has one toe on each foot. Looks like his feet didn't develop and his legs are at a funny angle. I don't know if they are that way because of his feet or because they are made that way. There is no inbreeding here. My cuckoo marans (that's what the chick is) are totally unrelated. I feel bad because I know he won't thrive cause he can't walk. I would try to raise him anyway but I imagine DH is going to say to put him out of his misery. This just baffles me. I guess it can happen any where but it has never happened to me before in well over 2000 chicks this year. It makes me feel just awful.

 

[Ivywoods]

Quote:
Oh, what a bummer! I just hate it when chicks hatch that can't or don't thrive. My husband (before I met him) had a chick hatch that had his legs on upside down. His legs were coming out of his back or some weird thing like that. Needless to say, that one didn't thrive.

When we moved into this house we pulled out all the carpet, except in the bedrooms and put in hardwood floors. I really like them. I hate carpeting, especially with pets. I don't think carpets ever are very clean, and since I don't clean as often as I should, I know mine would be terrible.

Back to the serama drama. I think I could keep the little guys warm most of the time, it is just in case of a power outage that I am concerned. We have had one every winter since we have lived here, at least for a day or so. I'm thinking I should buy a batch of those "hot hands" that stay warm in your pocket or shoes. Some of them last about 8 hours. If I put one of those in each cage in the event of a power outage, maybe that would be enough to keep them warm. Otherwise I would have to bring them in the house. We can manage to keep the house warm during a power outage, but we wouldn't be able to warm up the barn or the coop at all.

 

[chicken danz]

We had a couple power outages last year. Actually the coops stayed pretty warm because they were shut except for the chicken door and a vent. Chickens do put out some heat. If they are kept in a small area I have also thrown an old tarp or blanket on top of a cage to keep heat in. If you are using those stacking cages you talked about I would think that would help. The hot hands is a good idea. My only problem last year during power outages was keeping the water thawed. I have some bantam polish that aren't any heavier and not much bigger than the Seramas. They did great last winter in their own little house. No insulation. I did close the chicken doors when it was really cold and then opened them in the morning if the sun came out.
That reminds me. We cut vents in a couple houses that I need to get doors made for before it gets too cold.
More projects!

 

[rittert3]

My dad has some pergo type floor that is really nice and durable with 6 grandkids a 7 kids in and out it's still in perfect shape, and looks like hardwood with less work. We were our shoes here most of the time, my sale barn boots get knocked off outside and come off just inside the door. I where flipflops most of the time if I'm not working so not much mess. We have "wheel chair" carpet and lenolium here so not hard to clean.
As far as "bad" chicks I've only ever had prolapses which sometimes go away after a few hours. I always just get them off the wire (so it dosn't rid open) and "take care of them" if its not better by day 2. Most of my problems have been with cats.

 

[chicken danz]

Well when I really examined the chick I noticed he only had half legs as well. He could scoot as long as he was on a rough surface. Could have survived by himself but never in a group. Poor thing! DH woke up and euthanized him. I couldn't do it.
I took a Serama cockerel I heard crowing in the house. I put him on my postal scale cause he was pretty small. He weighed 9.3 ounces. He of course is one of the smaller ones out there and probably has a little more growing to do. My first Serama birds were all over a pound. I'd sure like to cull out some more of these larger ones.

 

[tazcat70]

I am the only one in my area with chickens. I am sitting outside while my son plays and I hear a hen making distressed sounds. I can't see one of my girls, so thinking maybe she got into the neighbors yard, I look over there. I then notice theat thay are butchering.

It feels strange. I have sold their family members excess roos in the past, but in the many years they have lived there I have never seen them (the actual neighbors) do it.

So I came inside.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Danz, Ivy- I had carpet in this house when we first moved in. It was the bane of my existence! I mean, I truly hate carpet more than anything else in this world! hehe!! We finally saved up enough and ripped it all out and bought the really thick stranded bamboo flooring. Supposed to be harder than oak. Weve had it a couple of years now, and there are no dents or anything. But then again-- when you only walk around in your socks or bare feet... But the kids have tested out their toys from time to time on it. Now I want to rip out the carpet downstairs. I'l like to put in a laminate (can't put hardwood on a concrete slab) which is great, because it will be cheaper. I'm with Ivy-- I want something easy to clean when I get around to it.

Danz, sorry about your chick. That is really odd! I guess it's just a fluke, right? You must have hit the 1% chance out of 200 chicks... time to buy that lotto ticket.

Taz-- YIKES! I do not want to be anywhere near butchering again. Brings back not fun memories of my childhood of chopping heads and burning my hands while ripping off feathers in scalding water. ANyway, I'm with you- I'd have gone back inside too.

Fabulous day! It was getting a bit on the hot side, though. My mom and I went out together this morning after dropping of the kids, and we went to the Caring Hands humane society in Newton and walked dogs for about and hour and 1/2. We love doing that.

My mother in law picked up my little ones and she has them for the day, so I was free to do whatever. My oldest will be coming home on the bus here in a bit, then we run into town for his allergy shots and I think we're done for the day. I'm exhausted. Oh, and my 4-H leader called me today and told me that enrollment for projects/classes will be first of December. I can't wait!! We're going to the meeting this coming Monday to check it all out.

 

[chicken danz]

Actually you shouldn't put laminate on a concrete slab, but you can put engineered wood which installs just like laminate. I have no carpets at all. There was one in the front room when I bought this place that had been here since the house was built. A gold one! Yuk! I ripped it out months before I actually got the hardwood installed. I have a hardwood nailer that has never been out of the box waiting to install the rest. I had borrowed my brothers to do the front room, and he and his wife did the bulk of the work cause I had recently had back surgery. Wish they'd come help install the rest. I'm sick of this old floor.
I went out and laid concrete pavers around the new Mandarin pond. I had put some there earlier but they were mostly just to hold the liner in place. Then I mixed up a special batch of concrete, (using my own formula for the application) and troweled in all the cracks between the pavers.
Now I hope the other ducks don't decide to go for a swim and wash out my concrete before it gets set. That would upset me. It was a lot of work. Actually the pavers don't look that bad and I could leave them as the permanent edge that shows, but I really want a more natural rock edge on the pond. I have been drawing out a design for a special filter for the duck pond that I can clean from outside. Most of my filters I have built in the past were in-pond filters. I want something easier to get to especially in cold weather. I think I've got the right plan if I can just find the right pieces to make it. I think I can hide it in rocks so it isn't an eye sore either. Sometimes it takes me a few days of thinking to engineer a plan. But this one kind of came to me a couple days ago.

 

[tazcat70]

Danz- I can't wait to see it once it is done.

Loralee- you have inspired me. I am going to get rid of some stuff.

I spent some time this afternoon retrimming trees. I had some birds that were roosting in them, so I trimmed em back. Well 2 birds still roosted in the tree, so I trimmed again. Tonight they are roosting on the powerline

by the tree. Ugh!