Consolidated Kansas

[Marty1876]

Hawkeye - good for you. Tell him to put up the greenhouse, and then add on a little bit for the potting shed/chicken shed. Saving the world, one backyard at a time, eh?

Its hard to deal with impolite dogs, and insensitive neighbors. You could complain to the sheriffs office, and have them call him and remind him that he is liable for any damage his dogs do to your expensive poultry. Money talks, and in this case it is saying "hook em up or pay up eventually".

 

[pikeman94]

Everyone - So far I haven't noticed any gaping, but I haven't had a lot of time to sit and watch her (Pepper). That also means I haven't had time to see if she is jetting out pure liquid poo. Although some evidence I did find suggests that her stools are starting to return to normal. If I see any other signs of respitory issues, I will go grab some VetRx and if I need antibiotics I will consult my neighbor -- she is a vet!

Good save on the brooder! I get nightmares thinking about stuff like that.

Well, time to go jiggle some fat aka run on the tread mill.

Pikeman

 

[Marty1876]

Glad shes showing inprovement!


Happy jiggling!

Everyone - So far I haven't noticed any gaping, but I haven't had a lot of time to sit and watch her (Pepper). That also means I haven't had time to see if she is jetting out pure liquid poo. Although some evidence I did find suggests that her stools are starting to return to normal. If I see any other signs of respitory issues, I will go grab some VetRx and if I need antibiotics I will consult my neighbor -- she is a vet!

Good save on the brooder! I get nightmares thinking about stuff like that.

Well, time to go jiggle some fat aka run on the tread mill.

Pikeman

 

[ChooksChick]

HeChick- hope things imporve rapidly.... It can be tough.

How is everyone?

Am i on here too much? Don't want to step on toes of old buddies, and I know a newbie member can mess up comfy groups. ???

Pshaw!! You aren't anything but a welcome new face, and we're happy to have you.

Everyone - So far I haven't noticed any gaping, but I haven't had a lot of time to sit and watch her (Pepper). That also means I haven't had time to see if she is jetting out pure liquid poo. Although some evidence I did find suggests that her stools are starting to return to normal. If I see any other signs of respitory issues, I will go grab some VetRx and if I need antibiotics I will consult my neighbor -- she is a vet!

Good save on the brooder! I get nightmares thinking about stuff like that.

Well, time to go jiggle some fat aka run on the tread mill.

Pikeman

Ivermectin does not take care of gapeworm or tapeworm. You'll need to get some Valbazen, I think. Fenbendazole is available in many different forms at the feed stores, and a pea-sized bit of the horse paste or a small squirt of the goat liquid.

 

[HEChicken]

Hey thanks everyone! DD is young, healthy and tough - I'm sure she'll be over this in no time

I was pleased that she wanted out of there as soon as she was fully awake, and by late last evening she was getting herself to and from the bathroom without assistance (even though we offered to help she insisted she could manage) so I think she'll be better quickly.

It is a gorgeous morning out there today! I love the combo of a little snow still lying on the ground in places, but with a relatively warm air temp, and that low, dense fog. Walking DS to school this morning, I found myself feeling invigorated by the misty fog.

Okay, some advice please! Two different questions though.

1. When I build my new chicken coop on our new property, it will be on a concrete slab that is already on the property. Do I still need to use skids, or are the skids just to keep the structure off the ground so if the surface its sitting on is concrete, the skids aren't necessary?

2. Up until now all I've kept is chickens because in the city I am limited both by numbers but also by how many different species we are allowed to keep. However both guineas and turkeys have always fascinated me, and since I will have no restrictions at the new place, I'm thinking about getting some of each. I know about blackhead (haven't called the extension office yet - has anyone here had any issues with it?), but other than that, I don't know how well or otherwise, they will blend in with the flock. I'd be interested to hear of other people's experiences with keeping these birds along with their chickens.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye - good for you. Tell him to put up the greenhouse, and then add on a little bit for the potting shed/chicken shed. Saving the world, one backyard at a time, eh?

Its hard to deal with impolite dogs, and insensitive neighbors. You could complain to the sheriffs office, and have them call him and remind him that he is liable for any damage his dogs do to your expensive poultry. Money talks, and in this case it is saying "hook em up or pay up eventually".

I've already called Animal Control (in the past) and talked to them about our situation. The other neighbors are just as upset, btw. There is a guy down the road that brings up his cows that are calving to the pasture right behind his house. Those dogs go over there and chase around the babies. He's threatened the guy with the mean dogs that he'll shoot his dogs if they go after his cows. But it's never happened. I see those dogs in his pasture in the mornings and they are just snooping around and doing who-knows-what. He has chickens, too. He has a heck of a lot more chickens than I do. He built a solid enclosure with a top so nothing could get his birds. Anyway-- back to Animal Control, they told me that they can not enforce the city's "leash law" out here because we are rural and Unincorporated out here. We have no police, fire, etc... The only call Animal Control can respond to, is if the dogs bit someone or if the dogs were skinny and malnourished or if it was a stray.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hey thanks everyone! DD is young, healthy and tough - I'm sure she'll be over this in no time

I was pleased that she wanted out of there as soon as she was fully awake, and by late last evening she was getting herself to and from the bathroom without assistance (even though we offered to help she insisted she could manage) so I think she'll be better quickly.

It is a gorgeous morning out there today! I love the combo of a little snow still lying on the ground in places, but with a relatively warm air temp, and that low, dense fog. Walking DS to school this morning, I found myself feeling invigorated by the misty fog.

Okay, some advice please! Two different questions though.

1. When I build my new chicken coop on our new property, it will be on a concrete slab that is already on the property. Do I still need to use skids, or are the skids just to keep the structure off the ground so if the surface its sitting on is concrete, the skids aren't necessary?

2. Up until now all I've kept is chickens because in the city I am limited both by numbers but also by how many different species we are allowed to keep. However both guineas and turkeys have always fascinated me, and since I will have no restrictions at the new place, I'm thinking about getting some of each. I know about blackhead (haven't called the extension office yet - has anyone here had any issues with it?), but other than that, I don't know how well or otherwise, they will blend in with the flock. I'd be interested to hear of other people's experiences with keeping these birds along with their chickens.

If you are going to be building a pole type structure, you won't need skids. I would cut the cement for your holes to insert your poles into. Or you could make the shed/barn a bit bigger than the cement pad and dig down into the ground just outside of the pad to put your supporting poles into. Either way-- you are intending on using the cement slab as the floor for your building, right? Be sure that anything that touches the ground or the cement (as cement draws up moisture) is pressure treated lumber. From there, you could build a deck structure over the cement if you aren't using it as your floor-- but personally since you have a nice slab, I'd build a traditional shed/barn that you can walk into and use the slab as your floor. Are you insulating it like a stick-built structure, or are you intending on building a pole-barn type structure? If you are going to sheet in metal, you could simply put up OSB on the inside and leave it at that. With my horse barn, the front part is not insulated-- we can see the sheet metal when we walk in. However-- back where all the horse stalls are, we bought U channels and inserted 2X4's (in 12 foot lengths) along the walls of the barn to insulate and keep a silly horse from kicking a foot thru the metal siding and sheering of their hoof. And trust me-- just that alone really makes that side of the barn feel warmer with no drafts. It really doesn't take much and you don't have to get too worked up about how to insulate. I'd just use the $5 OSB boards at Lowes to put up on the side. You can attach your roosts to them and it will serve to prevent drafts, too.

Have you seen Dark Matter's pole barn? It really is just simply a barn and he's always bragging about how healthy his chickens are.

He doesn't even insulate the inside with OSB. His floor for the barn is just simply the earth. He uses DLM on the inside and in that case-- it really does have a chance to compost in there.

As for Blackhead, I see people running their chickens and turkeys together all the time. Now that I have a turkey-- yes, only ONE-- she is NO good around chickens. I just don't think if I were to have more turkey's I'd ever put them with my chickens. Not because the turkey's could get Blackhead, but because the turkey's might try to kill my polish or silkies. They can also fly like nobody's business. It's insane how great of a flyer that Seymore is. The rafters in my barn have to be at least 15-20 high? She can fly straight up to them.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

I've already called Animal Control (in the past) and talked to them about our situation. The other neighbors are just as upset, btw. There is a guy down the road that brings up his cows that are calving to the pasture right behind his house. Those dogs go over there and chase around the babies. He's threatened the guy with the mean dogs that he'll shoot his dogs if they go after his cows. But it's never happened. I see those dogs in his pasture in the mornings and they are just snooping around and doing who-knows-what. He has chickens, too. He has a heck of a lot more chickens than I do. He built a solid enclosure with a top so nothing could get his birds. Anyway-- back to Animal Control, they told me that they can not enforce the city's "leash law" out here because we are rural and Unincorporated out here. We have no police, fire, etc... The only call Animal Control can respond to, is if the dogs bit someone or if the dogs were skinny and malnourished or if it was a stray.

Have you tried calling the sheriff? That is who we call here if the dogs are getting into serious problems. But then the animal control usually gets involved also. Messing with cattle is serious and I am surprised the owner of the cattle is not getting things taken care of.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

2. Up until now all I've kept is chickens because in the city I am limited both by numbers but also by how many different species we are allowed to keep. However both guineas and turkeys have always fascinated me, and since I will have no restrictions at the new place, I'm thinking about getting some of each. I know about blackhead (haven't called the extension office yet - has anyone here had any issues with it?), but other than that, I don't know how well or otherwise, they will blend in with the flock. I'd be interested to hear of other people's experiences with keeping these birds along with their chickens.

I had turkeys with my chickens with no problems. As I understand it, the blackhead organism has to be on the property for the turkeys to get it. ?? So it is not automatic that the turkeys will get it if chickens are around.

I didn't have any behavior problems with them either. They spent the nights in a 12 X 20 shed and free ranged in the days. If they were kept in closer quarters there could be problems. I had royal palms and a big brown tom, Even the toms did not fight. Funny watching them roam around the yard all flared out and gobbling in unison,

 

[chicken danz]

Hechicken, Even on top of concrete your base boards need to be treated. Concrete sweats and there would also be surface water from rains so you would end up with moisture rot. If you are building a pole structure encase the poles on all sides and bottom in concrete. It is strictly against building code for wood to touch dirt.
Not sure what your plans are but I would build a conventional building just sitting on the slab and maybe caulk around the outside edges to keep it dry. It would be the simplest. Pole buildings are cheapest to build but since you have a slab I'd go with a regular structure if it were me. I love the idea of a concrete floor. A lot of people don't. But I had kennels many years ago and you can't get much more efficient. To clean it and get rid of all bacteria and organisms and disease you simply spread lye, sprinkle with a garden hose, wait a few minutes than wash it down with the hose. The heat created from the lye/water kills everything. In my kennels I never had a single flea or tick or disease outbreak because of this technique.
I have my little turkey in with baby chicks. I wouldn't introduce turkeys to chickens unless I had raised the chickens myself. Chickens can carry blackhead and show no signs but the turkeys will die from it. If you are starting with new chicks and new turkeys they should be fine. Or if you get chickens from someone who successfully raises both it should be ok.
I have guineas that were raised with chicks and free range with them because they live together. (the guineas think they are chickens and eat, sleep and live with them. I have other guineas that would tear a chicken from limb to limb because they have been kept in a separate pen. My big turkeys are kept separate. For the most part the guineas are just going to blend in with the chickens if you get them while they are young.
I think it is all a matter of how they were raised to begin with. If they are all out free ranging together and have lots of room they should do fine as long as they were raised as chicks together. If they are kept in separate pens and then released you might have some problems on your hands of bullying. They guineas and the turkeys will win a battle with chickens. I think space is the key factor in how the mixed species get along.
Marty, please feel free to join in. That's what we are here for!
If I were you, Hawkeye, I'd be sitting with a powerful pellet gun and burn those dog's butts any time they came near. I'd be more concerned about my kids than anything. Not that I advocate killing an animal but you have every right to kill an animal on your property that threatens you or your livestock. I kind of kick myself for not doing something about my neighbors dog months before he disappeared.