Consolidated Kansas

[rittert3]

lol danz. If you have a .22 they sell a bird shot load for those that will turn a dog the other way but. I wouldn't suggest shooting that load often as it will mess up the rifling in the barrel over time. I have a shotgun but I like my .22 because it dosn't make alot of mess but still leathal. I'm pretty good with dogs but hate cats because they've killed so many of my birds. I have no problems killing a cat. As far as your dog problems go try yelling at it, banging a couple pots togather, smack it with a broom a couple times, if all else fails I would try a low power bb gun. Dogs learn a little easier than cats and unless they are killing things or being aggressive toward kids I wouldn't use leathal force.

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
That is fabulous! I see something like that once in a while, and I think it's those of us who are enamored enough with them to observe these things who are blessed to know what complex behaviors chickens are capable of. I'm still missing Professor, who had a very structured language of clucks, calls, boks and chuckles that were very specific- and I understood him from spending so many hours with him due to his special needs. I'm sure my current covert home roo has his own language, but he's not nearly as charming, so I haven't given him the time to show me.

Thanks for sharing that wonderful story!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Yeah, the problem is I can't kill his dog. So over the years, I've yelled at it and have managed to keep it off the front of our property. But the dog still comes over and snoopes out in the back pasture. And every time you drive by this guy's house- his two dogs bark and chase after your car. Really annoying. I'm pretty sure I would kill the dog if anything more serious happened. If she attacked one of my horses, I'd feel much differently- then I'd be mad enough to do it. Everyone in the neighborhood hates this dog, I'm surprised it hasn't been poisoned or shot already. I would have poisoned it myself, but my direct neighbor's black lab comes over when their kids come over. It's a happy joyful dog and is harmless and just lays there watching the kids. I'd hate for her to get into anything. My chickens likely won't be doing much free ranging with all of these animals around. Plus, we have a barn cat-- it's not really ours. It's my neighbors down the road. But I really like her, and she kills a ton of mice. You'd think we all live on top of each other, but really, we're all on 10 acre tracts or so a piece. And I love all of my neighbors except this guy who lets his dangerous dogs roam. Anyway, lately the bad dogs have been seen less off of their property. The crazy guy got laid off from work and now he's creating an orchard and a vineyard. He's always been a survivalist- he makes his own electricity- solar panels, battery, etc. He has a partial underground house that is made out of cement, with a metal roof. Actually I think he has the coolest looking house down our dirt road! When ever I talk to him, he tells me about his newest turbine project or some other "green" project he's got going on. I'm pretty sure he's building a green house next. I may not like this guy too much, but geez, we'd probably be best friends if it weren't for his dogs! LOL!!! j/k These are all things I want to do!

 

[chicken danz]

Actually sounds like a great guy to get to know. You could learn tons from him, and then teach me. I love the idea of self survival but I've found it takes money to save money. Plus a lot of energy I lack!
Back in the day, I knew people who loaded shotgun shells with rock salt. They used them to shoot at stray dogs. It doesn't physically hurt them but really stings I guess. You can imagine a scratch and having someone rub salt into it.
As far as cats go, I have four of them. The oldest three are 12,14, and 15 years old. They are all fixed and have been part of my family so long they are more like shedding kids. But the point is, my cats are wonderful. They don't bother my birds and when they go outside in the evening, you can always count on none of them coming back without a mouse or a mole. The moles around here eat chicken food like crazy! They and the mice both burrow under the pens and then come up under the feeders where they sit and wait for spills. No strays around here.
The dog didn't show up this morning. Must be because my neighbors are home today. I still need to call them. I just hate confrontation even if it is calm.

 

[Hawkeye95]

So, I took my kids and both our little dogs to WoofStock today. It was really fun. That is, until we loaded up in the van and were down the road about 1/4 of a mile on the highway and both boys started to throw up IN my car!!! Okay, I'm a bit of a clean and neat freak... so quite the dilemma of pulling the car of into the grassy area and getting the boys out to finish throwing up. Kept the windows rolled down all the way to the grocery store where I rented the RugDr (steam cleaner) and proceeded to spend the next two hours vacuuming and steam cleaning the carpet in the van. Scrubbed down the seats (thank goodness for leather seats!) and I came in and took a break. The only thing left to do is the floors in the front of the van, since I'm on a roll and might as well. I even had to steam clean the trunk! You don't even want to know how it rolled back there... ick. Gosh, having young kids is SO fun.

The longer you know me, the more you'll find out that this is the kind of thing that happens to be all the time. Which is partly why I'm always prepared for any event. I keep a first aid kit, wipes, trash bags and extra set of clothes for everyone in the car. WoofStock was fun, but there were soooo many people there it was hard to get around and see all the vendors. I did buy this really cute handmade halter for my Shih Tzu who pulls on her collar. It's really well made, and the lady had them in lots of great prints. I'm ready to call it a day.

BTW- I think they got food poisoning! They ONLY thing they ate was the popcorn with butter. And fortunately, my youngest didn't want any, so she didn't eat it. But the boys ate it right down. I'm betting the butter was bad??! But as soon as the popcorn settled, it came right up. And they both got sick at about the same time. I'm so glad I didn't eat anything there.

 

[chicken danz]

OH geez! That bring back memories. My youngest daughter got sick in my new car on my way home from Christmas with my parents. That was like 1975. (Black carpeting to boot! Anyway I shampooed it and did everything I could but from then on, every time I'd turn the heater on I could smell that puke. I'm so happy to only have grandchildren in the Little kids department any more.
Speaking of sick I am today. Running a fever and not feeling good. All I've done is feed and water the birds.

 

[rittert3]

Lol I tolerate most cats and I have no problems with good cats, I just have issues with the cats that don't want to be trained to not kill other pets and especialy the wild ones that go insane if you get ahold of them. I hope everyone gets to feeling better. I worked a sheep and goat sale today and just got done taking a shower and eating, and now I have to go grocery shopping.

Have a good evening everyone.

 

[sharol]

I got an automatic door this week (the timer one from Fleming) and got it installed today. The install was pretty goof proof except that it wants to be screwed to the floor of the coop, and my pop door is about a foot off the floor (deep litter). We fastened a couple of strips of heavy plywood to the corners to make feet to extend to the floor.

I sat outside the coop on a straw bale and waited for it to close this evening. Except for setting the close time a half hour early it worked perfectly. I plan to plant myself outside the coop about 7:30 in the morning to be sure it opens right. I have a long term sub job that requires me to leave the house before it is light (or will in another week when the sun comes up even later), and I'm not comfortable letting the girls out in the dark. My DH helped me with it even though he thinks it is silly.

I'll let you all know how it works in a few weeks when I get used to it. I already know I need to have it close a half hour earlier.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Quote:
I think that sounds great! And a good solution to your problem. Worth every penny to be sure that everyone is safe. I'm also thinking about getting one of those "add a motor" next year. We've already put a ton of money in this coop. My DH is NOT going to go along with buying an automatic door.

I'll have to hit him up later when he's not feeling the financial drain. ha!

So... I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit this... but today while at Atwoods to get other things, I totally caved. They had a new shipment of chicks in. AND btw-- my own chicks are coming on Tuesday or Wed, I'm guessing. So I should not be thinking about buying anything else. Buuuut... they had little white silkies. And I brought home two of them.

I already have someone incubating Lavender silkies for me! My DH is totally going to kill me. He's out with the guys at a bar watching the football game. I called him and told him so that he'd have time to process it.

SIGH. Oh my, I can tell already I'm going to be my OWN worst problem. Okay-- pics coming asap!!

 

[sharol]

Hard to resist, I know. I have to just avoid the farm store on "chick days" or I end up feeling bad that I just don't have room for more chickens.

The door I ordered was about $220 less a couple of discounts. It is fairly simple, but really sturdy. If you need pictures of the inside of it, i can take some for you and post them. It looks like it would be fairly easy to construct if you have the tools and the materials on hand. it actually uses the add a motor and a simple plug in timer. The hard part is the housing for the door to keep the dust and dirt out of the motor. The door itself is fairly heavy aluminum. It will be a lot tighter than the one I used last year. The door faces south, so there should be too many problems with freezing either.

I told my DH I wouldn't need it if I wasn't doing the long term, and he needed to consider the money I was making. After some thought he agreed with me (actually 2 days after I ordered the thing.)

Quote:
I think that sounds great! And a good solution to your problem. Worth every penny to be sure that everyone is safe. I'm also thinking about getting one of those "add a motor" next year. We've already put a ton of money in this coop. My DH is NOT going to go along with buying an automatic door.

I'll have to hit him up later when he's not feeling the financial drain. ha!

So... I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit this... but today while at Atwoods to get other things, I totally caved. They had a new shipment of chicks in. AND btw-- my own chicks are coming on Tuesday or Wed, I'm guessing. So I should not be thinking about buying anything else. Buuuut... they had little white silkies. And I brought home two of them.

I already have someone incubating Lavender silkies for me! My DH is totally going to kill me. He's out with the guys at a bar watching the football game. I called him and told him so that he'd have time to process it.

SIGH. Oh my, I can tell already I'm going to be my OWN worst problem. Okay-- pics coming asap!!