Consolidated Kansas

[lizzyGSR]

Oh, I almost forgot to post a picture of the bird I've seen several times in the yard today. Again, I think this is a bird that was planted by the neighbors to be hunted and has taken cover on our place. I believe this is a chukar, which is a kind of bird I'd never heard of prior to discovering them in the yard this time last year.

 

[Trish44]

HeChicken, my DH ran the Memorial Marathon down in OKC and afterwards we looked at all the chairs. I didn't really feel too emotional until we got to the little tiny chairs for the kids. Then it really hits you the lives and futures of the people destroyed. SO glad that you are okay after your horse fell down! Geez, I've done that a couple of times! The worst was when I went to Kanopolis a couple years ago and my big gelding walked right into a sand trap and sunk down to his knees, but he was leaping to try to get out and he fell down onto his belly. I was about to jump off of him... but I felt him powering all his muscles under him and he made one last lunge and got out of it, me still on top. But I have been knocked off-- the person in front of me on a trail held back a large limb and it snapped back and hit me and I had no time to duck under it. I was drug off my saddle backwards and my feet were stuck in the stirrups! I took the saddle with me, too-- the saddle went under his belly. He kept walking until I hit the ground. I had my feet in the air in the stirrups and he drug me for another step until he stopped and looked back at me like "you idiot! GET UP!". I was wrapped around his back legs. THANK GOODNESS he is a calm boy and just an awesome horse. I was able to disentangle myself and put the saddle back on, etc. But I was REALLY sore after that. I had a mark on my throat where the branch swung at me and just bruises from the being drug off his back.
We have been to the Memorial in OKC a couple of times because my DH usually does the marathon there. The feeling you get when you stand out there where those chairs are just takes your breath away. The first time I went there I was standing in that corner where so many people died & I had this overwhelming feeling of sadness come over me & it made me cry. Even going back the 2nd time it's still really heartrending. I can't even imagine how it is to go to NYC where the twin towers were, I haven't been there, but it must be awful.

It's been crazy busy here. Seems like as soon as it's November, everything just leaps into Fast Forward. My oldest had his NutCracker performance last night. He was the Nutcracker! He did a great job with his solo speaking parts! Seems like every single evening, we have something going on, we have basketball practices, games, piano, Choir, and I know I'm forgetting a few other things. Our 4-H meeting is this coming Monday. I need to shop-- we're supposed to have things to wrap for the families that we adopted. Also, the kids classrooms have doubled homework asking for the kids to decorate gingerbread men and bring them back, or do other holiday projects to return. I just can't keep ahead of it all right now. Today is a down day. I managed to get our Christmas tree up last night, but my DH dropped a bag that held half the lights and they all broke. So I put up the lights that were fine and did the top half and plugged them in for the kids. I need to go buy more for the bottom half. Sheesh. Because of that, we haven't put up the ornaments, either. Although, I did put up one-- I found this really pretty turkey ornament at Target the other day. They didn't have white and black Royal Palm ones..

So I figured this one was close enough to honor Seymore our well loved turkey this year.



Oh, I love that ornament, where did you get it? That is just perfect for you.
Also, perfect timing for all the Christmas pictures we'll be taking, but my 4 yr old daughter decided to give herself a hair cut!

She cut off all the hair in front and down the sides. It looks AWFUL!!!!! My boys never did that, so I can't imagine what the heck she was thinking to go and ruin her hair like that. Also, for some reason, my back and neck have felt worse than ever, and I didn't know why. I was actually starting to feel better, and I woke up and BAM... I saw the PT, but she said it's not from sleeping on it wrong, like I guessed. She said it's like i had a "mini whiplash" all over again. She asked me if I had fallen or done anything. After thinking for a while, I realized I DID fall a few days ago, but didn't put the two together, because I didn't start hurting that day. It was totally stupid, too. I tripped over a toy that is NOT supposed to be upstairs anyway, and then that caused me to shuffle forward and stub my foot terribly on the sofa leg and because of the forward momentum I had going from the initial trip, and then the stubbing, I again tripped over the sofa arm and fell flat on my stomach! I did catch myself with my hands. I was more worried that I had broke my toes than about my back and neck! I sat on the floor rocking back and forth sucking deep breaths with the hurt from the toes. When it finally went away (just a bit of bruising) I just forgot all about it and didn't think anything else of it. Now it looks like I messed up my back and neck again. Figures.

It won't take much now that you hurt yourself once to do it again, so even jarring at this point of any kind could set it off. I had my injury like that years ago when I totaled my car on the ice & even years later it just takes very little to get it flared up again. My neck & upper back have just never been the same since then. Just be careful & try to let it heal, it takes a long time for those kinds of things to get as healed as they're going to be.

I don't know why little girls go through that stage with the hair cutting, I never had a little girl but others have told me their daughters did that & my granddaughter did too. It's just something they have to go through I guess. I know, bad timing, that's usually how it is.

No, he doesn't usually put his ears back while backing up. The last couple sessions with him have gone really well, which surprised me because three sessions ago went REALLY poorly. He was chewing on me, the rope, everything he could possibly get his lips on. He is a Left-brain extrovert and is very mouthy. I think he also starts mouthing things when he gets bored so it is my job to keep throwing new and interesting things at him. Speaking of which, Pat Parelli uses plastic barrels as toys for the horses. Does anyone know of anywhere I could go to get a few of them?

Some of you may remember a while back that I was looking for another goose. I was REALLY picky on what I wanted, mainly I didn't want a large bird, and I wanted one that would be friendly. I finally resigned myself to the fact that I would have to raise a gosling or two. Then, yesterday, I get an e-mail from one neighbor saying that she saw that another neighbor had two geese advertised on facebook to give away. Well, when I went to look at the post, it looked like the birds had already been claimed, pending pickup. Well, apparently the first neighbor talked to the second neighbor last night, and I got a call from the neighbor with the geese this morning offering me the geese. I did end up having to compromise on the breed of goose I got, but they are friendly and will tolerate me handling them once I catch them, which isn't an easy feat though they don't run from me until I start trying to catch them. Laurie, the lady who owned the geese, thinks that one is a gander and one is a goose. Her husband thinks that they are both geese. They didn't know what breed they were, but I think they're Embdens. What do you think? Goose? Gander? One of each? Do you agree with me on the breed? They are both pure white with blue eyes and orange beak/legs. The bird to the right in the photo is just dirty.


They look like Emdens to me, but I couldn't tell you sexes, I'm not an expert on sexing waterfowl.

I have one more thing I have to do this afternoon to get ready for the cold & that is to go to Sunflowerparrot's place & get another load of cattails. I want to get some before it too cold to be out there shoveling them. Hopefully we will still have a few decent days in December where I could go back later & get some more, but for now I do want to have another load. They really are useful in my outdoor pens especially. I mix them in with other things in my main coop for the deep litter method. I went out today & stirred the stuff around in there & turned some of it over again. In the spring I need to scrape off some of the roosts & disinfect them. Does anybody have any easier way to get all that dried on stuff off the roosts? My main roosts just have a layer of dried stuff, not real thick, but it's there. But the board they use to hop up into the nest boxes & get on their other roost is really caked with dried stuff. That board & the original roost are painted.

It is a little cooler here today, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be, I'm glad, I'm really not ready for that stuff coming Monday. It's supposed to be a high of 38 here that day, ugh that's not going to be fun. I hope the wind isn't blowing along with it.

 

[chicken danz]

Good to see you back Hawkeye. Everyone is so busy including myself, but I am not getting much done these days. I really need to get in gear and get things caught up.
Thanks so much for the compliment on my peacock. I do think he is an awesome looking bird. Love the turkey ornament!!!
So in all my Danzsizing, besides not having coops and pens ready I didn't stop to think what on earth I was going to do with all the cockerels I hatched. Here is my dilemma. I paid as much for eggs for cockerels as I did for eggs for pullets. I really hate selling them as meat birds. I don't get squat out of them. I am going to save some of the more expensive birds and decide which ones I want to use for breeder roosters but I will still need to sell some eventually. It sure crowds things up. Maybe after the first of the year I'll start putting a few on craigslist. Most are still pretty small though.

Danz- I was thinking brahma/cochin on this red one. this is the one that looked exactly like the sussexX when they were all fluff. The other one I was thinking maybe your light brahma roo because she is starting to get a black ring around her neck and she is the one that doesnt have feathered feet that awhile ago you suspected phoenix. Boy of boy do these guys change fast. I love the mystery. Hope you all dont mind me posting for opinions so much lol.
Here's my take:


the little black cochin looking like a pretty girl Cochin

At 7 weeks no wattles or comb. Someone said sometimes hens dont get them at all. Now, is she a straight polish like another member suggested? She looks like a silver laced polish to me. The problem I am having with it is my silver laced have excellent top knots and this one is really sparse.

this little roo has maybe 2 feathers on his feet a tiny beak and dark colors Who knows. Perhaps Wellsummer or pheonix crosse with ??? accidentally deleted his picture.

these 2 have the same comb and looked exactly the same while in fluff but she has extreme falcon hocks and heavy feathers on her feet and darker colors throughout.I"d say they are both sussex brahma mixes.

this one I am not sure on sex,it is tiny and active. Definitley has some black cochin in it. The comb isn't right though.

Some of you may remember a while back that I was looking for another goose. I was REALLY picky on what I wanted, mainly I didn't want a large bird, and I wanted one that would be friendly. I finally resigned myself to the fact that I would have to raise a gosling or two. Then, yesterday, I get an e-mail from one neighbor saying that she saw that another neighbor had two geese advertised on facebook to give away. Well, when I went to look at the post, it looked like the birds had already been claimed, pending pickup. Well, apparently the first neighbor talked to the second neighbor last night, and I got a call from the neighbor with the geese this morning offering me the geese. I did end up having to compromise on the breed of goose I got, but they are friendly and will tolerate me handling them once I catch them, which isn't an easy feat though they don't run from me until I start trying to catch them. Laurie, the lady who owned the geese, thinks that one is a gander and one is a goose. Her husband thinks that they are both geese. They didn't know what breed they were, but I think they're Embdens. What do you think? Goose? Gander? One of each? Do you agree with me on the breed? They are both pure white with blue eyes and orange beak/legs. The bird to the right in the photo is just dirty.

Yep those look embden. Watch how they act. If one of them always comes up to you first and tries to keep himself between you and the other he would be a male and the other a female. If they both get up equally as close they are most likely same sex. If they have joined your other geese and you have females watch for dominant behavior.
Quote:

Oh, I almost forgot to post a picture of the bird I've seen several times in the yard today. Again, I think this is a bird that was planted by the neighbors to be hunted and has taken cover on our place. I believe this is a chukar, which is a kind of bird I'd never heard of prior to discovering them in the yard this time last year.

Yep that is a chukar. I have several acquaintances that raise them.

Quite honestly the bombing in OKC was a very hard time for me. I hadn't been gone from the city that many years when it happened. I spent many hours in the court room there. I lost friends who were there. My ex husband went there to help with the rescue and clean up. It was just too close to home for me. I sat glued to the TV for days in disbelief, and I never watched TV back then. I can't go down there to the memorial. I know it would be too much for me. I never looked at the final list of names of those who died. I had just heard from an acquaintance a few of the mutual acquaintances we knew that passed.
Trish sending you a PM.

 

[chicken danz]

Hechicken. I forgot. I meant to give my take on the flu shot. They try to decide which flues are going to be prominent that year and then make the flu shot with those particular killed viruses. IF something new comes up or they don't use the right combination you are subject to getting the flu. It's all a guessing game. But even if you do get a flu that wasn't included the flu shot will help reduce the severity of the kind of flu you get if it is a close strain.
I am one of the rare ducks because even the dead virus will cause flu like symptoms with me. I don't have a normal immune system so it often reacts the wrong way. It is still far better than getting the full blown flu anytime. Normally I can get by taking tylenol a couple days.
I am germaphobic for sure. I wash my hands and hit the disinfecting gel any time I can find some in public. I am super careful never to touch my face until I wash my hands particularly if I am in a medical facility.
I am considered high risk so I usually am one of the first to get a flu shot. My doctor sends out notices to high risk patients. I just didn't get it done early. Too busy with the birds!!
I totally encourage everyone to get the flu shot that can.

 

[checoukan]

Oh, I almost forgot to post a picture of the bird I've seen several times in the yard today. Again, I think this is a bird that was planted by the neighbors to be hunted and has taken cover on our place. I believe this is a chukar, which is a kind of bird I'd never heard of prior to discovering them in the yard this time last year.

yes This is a chukar, the hunt them to. Usually, they place call back pens to capture the loose birds at the end of the hunt. I bet if you put a small wire pen they would go in at nite, and then let them out in the morning, that way the owls won't get them, they will hang around if you throw some wheat out for them.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Thank you Danz- with the polish I was thinking perhaps she just isnt top quality. I have been researching my butt off lol. I just love her she is the cutest thing ever. She is calming down and alot more since I brought her outside. she has the shape, the leg color, the knotch on her beak and the area of her knot starts were it should and is shaped likr it should. Now granted I do not own any other than her so this is redearch purely on the internet. you on the other hand have them and see them and breed them so know what you are talking about from experience and since she came from you, well you are the expert here. Since she is young do you think it will expand more and develop like it should or will it remain small? I guess we will see as she developes, but as it looks so far I cant see anything ( and boy have I turned this bird upside down and sideways) that would suggest any other breed in her. Sorry I am excited Polish is something I have wanted and then the cochin on top of it,

.. Danz you have such beautiful birds. I really would like to expand and add more styles and colors and breeds from your collection. I think from now on when I am buying birds they will come from you, I am thrilled with everyone I have gotten from you so you are my new hatchery lol. On the little roo, it is obviously a roo in my opinion, correct me if I am wrong, I was thinking phoenix and braham? the pic really didint show the true colors, he is black with silver and white, the tiny bits of tan are going away it was barely tan at all really. He was one of the chicks hatched by the phoenix and so was the black one all the others hatched by her died. The 2 fluff balls are the ones you thought may be all brahma or white cochin in the begining.

I have been wanting to get the flu shot and I found out that my little pharmacy here is town does them. I will have to check into it. I have never gotten one but with all my issues and meds I am on I am sure I could get it easily. Does it make you sick at all? Or is that just a silly myth?

I am so sorry you went thru what you did. You are a strong woman and the type or woman who grows stronger with every tragedy you face. I am sorry for the loses you have faced from such a senseless act.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Quite honestly, that is why I never get a flu shot. I got one about 10 years ago and that winter I was the sickest I've ever been. I literally had back-to-back colds, flu, bronchitis and finally pneumonia and after 3-4 months of being sick constantly, I was exhausted from it. So I swore I'd never get another flu shot. I never have and I've never had another winter sick all the time like that. Maybe just coincidence but I'm not willing to try it again to find out.

Oh no - so sorry you are hurting again too. It was actually Danz who reconnected with the friend from OKC

. Okay, that horse fall does sound like a classic - certainly sounds like something that would happen to me. I didn't really think about it at the time but the next day a friend asked if my horse had run off, because she said if that happened to her, her horse would be halfway back to the barn before she could pick herself off the ground. I was really fortunate in retrospect that although my horse did scramble to his feet faster than I did, he just stood there and waited for me to get up, check him over, and get back on him.

I hope you don't mind that I'm laughing about the haircut. My DD did that not once, but TWICE. First time she was only two, and I had left her coloring in the living room while I went to put her little brother down for a nap in his crib. When I came back, she looked up at me, with both hands near her head (I later realized one was holding a pair of scissors) and said "Mummy, it okay dat I do dis?" and as she said it, I heard a "snip" sound. As I told her "NO!!!" I looked down and realized that wasn't the first snip - there was hair everywhere. It was all from the same side of her head so she looked pretty funny until it grew out. The second time was when she was in kindergarten. Fortunately, hair does grow back so its not the worst thing they can do, but so sorry this happened right before Christmas. One day you'll look back on photos from this year and laugh about that being the year she cut her hair.

Love that turkey ornament. We got our tree up on Dec 1st but didn't get it decorated until last night. Its our first Christmas in the new house and we love how well it came out this year.

Josie, that must be the fastest house closing in history - it seems like you just had the inspection done!

Cherwill, I hope the trip to Wichita proves to be worth it.

Question for everyone: I read yesterday on a blog, where this woman takes her household compost and dumps it in her chicken coop for the chickens to pick through. She does DLM so it all ends up composting. I've been keeping two small bins in the kitchen - one for chicken scraps and one for compost, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't just combine them. The compost "bin" gets things like coffee grounds, tea leaves, citrus, avocado and banana peels - things I wouldn't have thought the chickens would be interested in. But I do cut everything up into 1/2" or so size pieces before putting it in the compost as I have found it composts faster if I do that. So I'm thinking if I dump all of that in the chicken coop, maybe they would scratch through it and find some nuggets they like and the rest would get mixed in with their bedding and hasten the compost action of the DLM. Has anyone tried this? I certainly don't want my coop to end up trashy or draw more flies than chicken poop already attracts, but I was intrigued by the idea.

I will never get a flu shot-- but not because of the potential for coming down sick, but because of what the vaccine is suspended in. They STILL use Thimerisol and formaldehyde among a few other ingredients I can't spell or remember right now. Even though there was a huge stink over those preservatives a few years back and the potential risk that comes with using them. There was a picture of the most recent box posted on the web a while back that listed the ingredients. My mom is an RN and she has always been against the flu vaccine because of the ingredients. I'm already all about delyaing vaccines for kids anyway, so this is right up there with "I'll never do it". This is just *my* opinion, so I don't get all crazy when people run out and get the vaccine, I say do what you think is best for you!

That is awful that your DD did the same thing! Ugh... well, I skipped the 2yr old clipping... so I sure hope this is the last one. Everyone has been giving her a hard time about it, and the boys are really rubbing it in. I don't know what kind of an impact that is making, she doesn't seem to care! LOL I don't know about adding compost into the coop... maybe if you had a cement floor and wasn't worried about rotting your floor out. That might be a better idea. I have a wood floor with vinyl over it--- I'm not going to be trying that method out! LOL But if you give it a try, keep us updated on how it turns out, I'd be interested.

No, he doesn't usually put his ears back while backing up. The last couple sessions with him have gone really well, which surprised me because three sessions ago went REALLY poorly. He was chewing on me, the rope, everything he could possibly get his lips on. He is a Left-brain extrovert and is very mouthy. I think he also starts mouthing things when he gets bored so it is my job to keep throwing new and interesting things at him. Speaking of which, Pat Parelli uses plastic barrels as toys for the horses. Does anyone know of anywhere I could go to get a few of them?

Some of you may remember a while back that I was looking for another goose. I was REALLY picky on what I wanted, mainly I didn't want a large bird, and I wanted one that would be friendly. I finally resigned myself to the fact that I would have to raise a gosling or two. Then, yesterday, I get an e-mail from one neighbor saying that she saw that another neighbor had two geese advertised on facebook to give away. Well, when I went to look at the post, it looked like the birds had already been claimed, pending pickup. Well, apparently the first neighbor talked to the second neighbor last night, and I got a call from the neighbor with the geese this morning offering me the geese. I did end up having to compromise on the breed of goose I got, but they are friendly and will tolerate me handling them once I catch them, which isn't an easy feat though they don't run from me until I start trying to catch them. Laurie, the lady who owned the geese, thinks that one is a gander and one is a goose. Her husband thinks that they are both geese. They didn't know what breed they were, but I think they're Embdens. What do you think? Goose? Gander? One of each? Do you agree with me on the breed? They are both pure white with blue eyes and orange beak/legs. The bird to the right in the photo is just dirty.

Congrats on the geese! Pretty! The one on the right looks like s/he has a bit different feather definition? Maybe even a bigger chest? No idea what that might mean, though. Well you are ahead of me when I first started the Yo-Yo game with my gelding years and years ago. He HATED it. He would pin his ears and stomp his front feet. Sounds like you have a much more responsive horse, which will be easier to train. Those Chukar are really pretty!! I would be tempted to feed them and keep them!


well, my boys never cut their hair, so I guess it must be a girl thing. Bummer. Since it didn't post, I forget what else you said, but I think it was something else about the Memorial. Oh-- and I got the turkey ornament at Target!

Good to see you back Hawkeye. Everyone is so busy including myself, but I am not getting much done these days. I really need to get in gear and get things caught up.
Thanks so much for the compliment on my peacock. I do think he is an awesome looking bird. Love the turkey ornament!!!
So in all my Danzsizing, besides not having coops and pens ready I didn't stop to think what on earth I was going to do with all the cockerels I hatched. Here is my dilemma. I paid as much for eggs for cockerels as I did for eggs for pullets. I really hate selling them as meat birds. I don't get squat out of them. I am going to save some of the more expensive birds and decide which ones I want to use for breeder roosters but I will still need to sell some eventually. It sure crowds things up. Maybe after the first of the year I'll start putting a few on craigslist. Most are still pretty small though.

Yep those look embden. Watch how they act. If one of them always comes up to you first and tries to keep himself between you and the other he would be a male and the other a female. If they both get up equally as close they are most likely same sex. If they have joined your other geese and you have females watch for dominant behavior.
Quote:
Yep that is a chukar. I have several acquaintances that raise them.

Quite honestly the bombing in OKC was a very hard time for me. I hadn't been gone from the city that many years when it happened. I spent many hours in the court room there. I lost friends who were there. My ex husband went there to help with the rescue and clean up. It was just too close to home for me. I sat glued to the TV for days in disbelief, and I never watched TV back then. I can't go down there to the memorial. I know it would be too much for me. I never looked at the final list of names of those who died. I had just heard from an acquaintance a few of the mutual acquaintances we knew that passed.
Trish sending you a PM.

I would grow your cockerels out enough to see what kind of quality they are and see how well their type ends up being and pick the best two. I don't know how many you need, but you definitely need a back up. I would try selling them based on pet quality or breeder quality for the rest. Maybe someone will know what you have. I guess I'd try the swap first. I've had bad luck with the swap pages. I get a better response from CraigsList. So sad about your ties with the people who worked down there.

Thank you Danz- with the polish I was thinking perhaps she just isnt top quality. I have been researching my butt off lol. I just love her she is the cutest thing ever. She is calming down and alot more since I brought her outside. she has the shape, the leg color, the knotch on her beak and the area of her knot starts were it should and is shaped likr it should. Now granted I do not own any other than her so this is redearch purely on the internet. you on the other hand have them and see them and breed them so know what you are talking about from experience and since she came from you, well you are the expert here. Since she is young do you think it will expand more and develop like it should or will it remain small? I guess we will see as she developes, but as it looks so far I cant see anything ( and boy have I turned this bird upside down and sideways) that would suggest any other breed in her. Sorry I am excited Polish is something I have wanted and then the cochin on top of it,

.. Danz you have such beautiful birds. I really would like to expand and add more styles and colors and breeds from your collection. I think from now on when I am buying birds they will come from you, I am thrilled with everyone I have gotten from you so you are my new hatchery lol. On the little roo, it is obviously a roo in my opinion, correct me if I am wrong, I was thinking phoenix and braham? the pic really didint show the true colors, he is black with silver and white, the tiny bits of tan are going away it was barely tan at all really. He was one of the chicks hatched by the phoenix and so was the black one all the others hatched by her died. The 2 fluff balls are the ones you thought may be all brahma or white cochin in the begining.

I have been wanting to get the flu shot and I found out that my little pharmacy here is town does them. I will have to check into it. I have never gotten one but with all my issues and meds I am on I am sure I could get it easily. Does it make you sick at all? Or is that just a silly myth?

I am so sorry you went thru what you did. You are a strong woman and the type or woman who grows stronger with every tragedy you face. I am sorry for the loses you have faced from such a senseless act.

My dad raised Polish and we had some really nice ones. Depending on what you are doing with them, and what variety you are working with, you'll want to know the SOP (standard of perfection) for them. My dad raised the LF white crested blacks. Some obvious faults that you would NEVER breed a bird with would be the wrong color of legs, white in the body (supposed to be all black and do NOT pluck) and of course, crests that don't maintain shape, too small, too big, or has the wrong color in the wrong part of the crest. Some of that can be bred out if you're careful, but some of it is just hard to. They also must have the correct type and their tails and chest/heads need to be held at the correct angles. So there is more to them than just a pretty bird. I used to show them. They are an awful lot of fun. But they are flighty. Not too bad, but not sweet like a barred rock or orpington. I ordered White Crested Polish from a hatchery last year and while they are cute, they are VERY bad examples of what they should look like. Mine have crests that don't hold shape, have little white flecks in the body, grey legs, and the list goes on and on. Basically everything that could have gone wrong, DID. But they are just part of my laying flock and I'm not using them to breed/show. They are just fun to have here.

Danz had (past tense????) some nice bantams. I love the LF version!

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Hawkeye- Thanks for the info. My birds are just layers and pets. I dont do big time breeding or showing so SOP isnt a big issue for me but I see what you are saying. What is your opinion of my little Mohawk?

 

[JosieChick]

I love home grown fresh hog meat and I've been dying for some. It could end up expenisve with grain prices as they are but it will be worth it. When everyone else is eating their $5 a pound store bought pork chops next summer, I'll be enjoying my nice lean tender home grown pork.
We bought a half a hog last year from a family in Yoder that raises pastured pork and it was the best pork I have ever had. I really would love to raise pigs some day for meat. We have a pen on the property in the tree line that has a three sided shed in it that I think would be perfect for pigs.

cherwill, I might have a touch of the flu cause I just got my flu shot. I normally do get sick after I get one. I could also have my neck messed up again. I get migraines every now and then and this is not a migraine. I tend to think it is more of a flu kind of thing. I have a compromised immune system so my body tends to react like the flu when I get a flu shot. I just never had a case with this extreme headache before. It seems a little better today. I hope it stays that way.
Hope you feel better soon.

Josie (ha! I'm brain dead, I wrote out your real name and had to delete...) DUH! Eeks, I'd be worried about someone else building my out buildings unless they were a contractor. I'm okay doing it myself, then I can blame myself. Exactly! But I think I did okay for never having done anything before-- but that stems from being very anal about everything and wanting it done right and lots of Googling on the internet! Definitely distract them with house stuff and anything else you can think of. We're wanting to hire our next barn built this time around. I think we may build one next year, and my DH has decided he is not building this one himself! LOL We have gotten lots of quotes and have discovered it's not really too bad. Anyway, until we met up on Wednesday, I had no idea you had already closed on the house! I'm so excited for you! I think this could easily be your dream house when you get done with all the renovations. I wuoldn't tackle it all at once, but things like the flooring and painting you can do now. What is that medium white dog you had with you? He was adorable! Sort of like part poodle?? You mean the naughty one that jumped out of the car?!

He is supposed to be a miniature schnauzer but he is huge for a mini. He is built more like a standard and not very good type!! He has almost always been in a short hair cut so he doesn't look like much of a terrier but it keeps him clean and he lives on the furniture so that is a must!

It's been crazy busy here. Seems like as soon as it's November, everything just leaps into Fast Forward. My oldest had his NutCracker performance last night. He was the Nutcracker! He did a great job with his solo speaking parts! Seems like every single evening, we have something going on, we have basketball practices, games, piano, Choir, and I know I'm forgetting a few other things. Our 4-H meeting is this coming Monday. I need to shop-- we're supposed to have things to wrap for the families that we adopted. Also, the kids classrooms have doubled homework asking for the kids to decorate gingerbread men and bring them back, or do other holiday projects to return. I just can't keep ahead of it all right now. Today is a down day. I managed to get our Christmas tree up last night, but my DH dropped a bag that held half the lights and they all broke. So I put up the lights that were fine and did the top half and plugged them in for the kids. I need to go buy more for the bottom half. Sheesh. Because of that, we haven't put up the ornaments, either. Although, I did put up one-- I found this really pretty turkey ornament at Target the other day. They didn't have white and black Royal Palm ones..

So I figured this one was close enough to honor Seymore our well loved turkey this year.
Busy mom! Congrats on your son's role in the Nutcracker! Love the turkey ornament.



Also, perfect timing for all the Christmas pictures we'll be taking, but my 4 yr old daughter decided to give herself a hair cut!

She cut off all the hair in front and down the sides. It looks AWFUL!!!!! My boys never did that, so I can't imagine what the heck she was thinking to go and ruin her hair like that. Also, for some reason, my back and neck have felt worse than ever, and I didn't know why. I was actually starting to feel better, and I woke up and BAM... I saw the PT, but she said it's not from sleeping on it wrong, like I guessed. She said it's like i had a "mini whiplash" all over again. She asked me if I had fallen or done anything. After thinking for a while, I realized I DID fall a few days ago, but didn't put the two together, because I didn't start hurting that day. It was totally stupid, too. I tripped over a toy that is NOT supposed to be upstairs anyway, and then that caused me to shuffle forward and stub my foot terribly on the sofa leg and because of the forward momentum I had going from the initial trip, and then the stubbing, I again tripped over the sofa arm and fell flat on my stomach! I did catch myself with my hands. I was more worried that I had broke my toes than about my back and neck! I sat on the floor rocking back and forth sucking deep breaths with the hurt from the toes. When it finally went away (just a bit of bruising) I just forgot all about it and didn't think anything else of it. Now it looks like I messed up my back and neck again. Figures.
Oh no!!!! A home haircut!! Oh you poor thing, nothing worse than trying to save yourself from a fall and falling anyway. Hope you feel better soon.
So HEchicken-- you know how you said you are hobbling around?? Me too.

I feel like I'm too young to hurt like this.

Love that turkey ornament. We got our tree up on Dec 1st but didn't get it decorated until last night. Its our first Christmas in the new house and we love how well it came out this year. I miss having a Christmas tree, we are always gone for the holidays and last year the house was such a mess from moving we didn't even put a tree up. I hope next year we can in the new house, I know exactly where it is going to go!

Josie, that must be the fastest house closing in history - it seems like you just had the inspection done!
My in laws helped us out with the financing so we were able to close really fast because we didn't have to wait to deal with banks and financing stuff.


Question for everyone: I read yesterday on a blog, where this woman takes her household compost and dumps it in her chicken coop for the chickens to pick through. She does DLM so it all ends up composting. I've been keeping two small bins in the kitchen - one for chicken scraps and one for compost, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't just combine them. The compost "bin" gets things like coffee grounds, tea leaves, citrus, avocado and banana peels - things I wouldn't have thought the chickens would be interested in. But I do cut everything up into 1/2" or so size pieces before putting it in the compost as I have found it composts faster if I do that. So I'm thinking if I dump all of that in the chicken coop, maybe they would scratch through it and find some nuggets they like and the rest would get mixed in with their bedding and hasten the compost action of the DLM. Has anyone tried this? I certainly don't want my coop to end up trashy or draw more flies than chicken poop already attracts, but I was intrigued by the idea.
We composted in Wichita. Haven't been as good about it here but I will get back into it when we get moved. I don't know about dumping the compost pail in with the girls. It would make me nervous. There were often things in our compost bin that could taint egg flavor like onions or things they shouldn't eat that are toxic according to the "list" like potato peels. If you do it let me know how it goes. I would be afraid the "wet" would be yucky in your coop but beats me!

Hechicken. I forgot. I meant to give my take on the flu shot. They try to decide which flues are going to be prominent that year and then make the flu shot with those particular killed viruses. IF something new comes up or they don't use the right combination you are subject to getting the flu. It's all a guessing game. But even if you do get a flu that wasn't included the flu shot will help reduce the severity of the kind of flu you get if it is a close strain.
I am one of the rare ducks because even the dead virus will cause flu like symptoms with me. I don't have a normal immune system so it often reacts the wrong way. It is still far better than getting the full blown flu anytime. Normally I can get by taking tylenol a couple days.
I am germaphobic for sure. I wash my hands and hit the disinfecting gel any time I can find some in public. I am super careful never to touch my face until I wash my hands particularly if I am in a medical facility.
I am considered high risk so I usually am one of the first to get a flu shot. My doctor sends out notices to high risk patients. I just didn't get it done early. Too busy with the birds!!
I totally encourage everyone to get the flu shot that can.

It is pretty uncommon to have a reaction like you are having to the flu shot. I have heard of people getting sicker if they get immunized while ill but they say you shouldn't get a flu shot if you aren't feeling well so I don't know why they got the shot to begin with.

I will never get a flu shot-- but not because of the potential for coming down sick, but because of what the vaccine is suspended in. They STILL use Thimerisol and formaldehyde among a few other ingredients I can't spell or remember right now. Even though there was a huge stink over those preservatives a few years back and the potential risk that comes with using them. There was a picture of the most recent box posted on the web a while back that listed the ingredients. My mom is an RN and she has always been against the flu vaccine because of the ingredients. I'm already all about delyaing vaccines for kids anyway, so this is right up there with "I'll never do it". This is just *my* opinion, so I don't get all crazy when people run out and get the vaccine, I say do what you think is best for you!

That is awful that your DD did the same thing! Ugh... well, I skipped the 2yr old clipping... so I sure hope this is the last one. Everyone has been giving her a hard time about it, and the boys are really rubbing it in. I don't know what kind of an impact that is making, she doesn't seem to care! LOL I don't know about adding compost into the coop... maybe if you had a cement floor and wasn't worried about rotting your floor out. That might be a better idea. I have a wood floor with vinyl over it--- I'm not going to be trying that method out! LOL But if you give it a try, keep us updated on how it turns out, I'd be interested.
I just got a flu shot last week. It is preservative and thimerasol free and is give intradermally in a much smaller dose. The only trouble I had was some itching at the injection sight which is common with intra dermal injections.

Well I dropped DH off at the airport this morning to go to NY for the weekend. I was wiped when I got home so I finally gave in and took a nap. I need to get out and finish chores this afternoon before the sun goes down and it gets chilly. I am still trying to draw up plans for chicken pens and I am terrible at it. I am meeting with a contractor that builds barns on Tuesday so that will be good. He sounds like a really nice guy and I have learned a lot about contractors in the past year so I feel prepared apart from my terrible drawings!

Then I spent some random time trying to figure out pairs/trios for my sebbies this winter. I can't decide who to pair up and color genetics is sebastopols is crazy. A lot of the dilute colors are related to each other and it is super confusing. Never mind trying to pair up birds who will hopefully create offspring that have better overall type which is lacking in colored sebastopol geese to begin with.

Lucie had her 8 week post op x rays the other day. Sigh. She is doing ok but not as well as we were hoping. Her left leg is healing well but her right leg was the one that was really just shattered mid femorally. They placed bone fragments in the space but it appears that they dislodged because they aren't there anymore. They were supposed to help form a bone graft but now there is just a space that is 1 1/2 inches wide and only metal is holding her leg together. Now she has to have 4 more weeks of cage rest and leash walking AFTER getting a sedative so she doesn't bounce like tigger the whole way outside. So we shall see. I have decided to add some vitamins, fish oil and cottage cheese and yogurt to add some calcium to her diet to see if we can't encourage bone healing.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye- Thanks for the info. My birds are just layers and pets. I dont do big time breeding or showing so SOP isnt a big issue for me but I see what you are saying. What is your opinion of my little Mohawk?

Yeah, mine are just for fun right now, too! It's something I might get into later on down the road. But right now, I'm content with just breeding silkies. You said your Polish was 7 weeks, right? Well, they don't get in a crest until they are nearly mature. But I can already tell that the vault on the bird is a bit on the low side and the crest even at that age should be engulfing more of the head-- even with pin feathers. I'm guessing your bird might be a cross between a silver laced and a white crested... somehow you ended up with a mottled bird. Very interesting color, none the less! Actually, mottle is a color that is being worked on with Polish, but I don't know how far along in generation they are.
This is a Silver laced polish rooster: Silver laced Sebright

Anyway, the pattern for lacing is very distinct should look like this:

THIS is a mottled: (see the difference?) But this is a Houdan, not a Polish.

My opinion of your little Mohawk is that you have a very adorable little bird on your hands, but so far, looks to be a pet quality right now. But don't tell him that!!!