Consolidated Kansas

[PrairieChickens]

HeChicken where do you have your calenders made. That is an awesome idea. I don't think I'd have time to get one done this year but I could compile stuff next year for one. I am always looking for something my kids won't think is an unnecessary gift.

You can make your own custom calendars through the same site I sell mine.
http://www.zazzle.com/custom/calendars

 

[Trish44]

I did consider doing that, but decided against it. My gutter length is considerably longer than the one in the picture, so to get enough slope where feed would really move down to the other end, one end would have to be place way too high for the birds to even reach. And, I didn't want one end to be so low that they would easily bill the feed out of it. So, although I didn't use a level (just eye-balled it), I left it mostly on one level. I did think this morning I might be able to do a "Y" up top, leading down to two more "Y"'s, for a total of 4 pipes spilling out into the feeder and that would probably fill it pretty well. It would be quite a complex little arrangement of PVC pipes though.

Have you seen my PVC feeders in my main coop? There are pics on my BYC page. Maybe you could do something with PVC pipe like that to go into your gutter. I like the idea of the gutter for the feeder part. Mine aren't very big openings, so they have to take turns eating. I may have to make some changes to mine in the spring.

So here is something that has me very upset. Somewhat related. I just learned my 3 year old granddaughter has Whooping cough. It makes me angry to be quite frank. She just started pre-school in September. I am sure she must have picked it up from another child there. What makes me angry is I know that they were vaccinating her as a baby. But this son and his wife aren't very responsible people sometimes. I can't help but wonder if they didn't complete her shots. I thought that this would have been something they would be on top of because my son is adamant about following every single rule they give them, like no nuts until age whatever and none of this and none of that. I am just feeling so upset that that sweet little girl has to go through this and it is so dangerous. I hadn't even heard of any outbreaks on the news about it.

I'm sorry to hear about your granddaughter, hopefully they can get it treated & get her well quickly. Kids get sick fast but get well quicker than adults too.

I heard one of my peafowl sneezing this morning, Danz can I give them the same antibiotics as the chickens? I have a sick hen too, I sure hope I'm not starting a whole round of sickness here again with the change of weather. I have the hen in a crate right now separated.

 

[chicken danz]

I've been giving my peafowl the same things I would give pheasant which in turn is the same thing I give the chickens. So my guess is yes. I am sure there is a reference somewhere that says what is safe. Anything that is safer for pheasant is safe for them, since they actually are in the pheasant family. Luckily I haven't had any colds yet. But i have given pheasants VetRX and it works well with them. As far as antibiotics I wouldn't hesitate to use tylan or baytril on them.
My DIL says Emily (granddaughter) has had all of her shots. She is pretty mad about it too. Why would someone send a sick kid to preschool or why would a teacher come sick. She said something about someone possibly being a carrier and not showing signs. I don't know if the doctor told her that or not. Whooping cough is very dangerous because little kids cough until they run out of air and can die from the result. Just think of the lung damage that could occur. Also being related to me bad lungs and asthma is a prominent thing. It really scares me. I sure hope the medical clinic there notified the CDC of the outbreak.
I sold my ducks and my roosters. Mammahen if you are reading I sold the larger barred rock roo but I have younger ones that will have to go later. I needed the money and the room. I saved one young Marans roo cause I think he is going to be blue but not quite sure. He is kind of a black blue copper. I have one splash roo that I might use with the BCM hens to create blue.
I don't know if it works that way or if it has to be the BCM roo over a splash hen. Need to check on genetics.
Well I need to get back out there and get busy. I have lots of birds to move around again.

 

[mstng67]

Danz, it sounds as if our immune systems are related. I catch everything, and never knew why until a doctor finally told me that it would always be this way because I had cancer as a baby. I had measles 3 times. I caught whooping cough in South Africa in the 80's. the only thing I seem to have an immunity to is mumps. I was the only one of six kids not to get it when we were young. I had the Pneumonia vaccine this week, and was not surprised that I had all the major and minor side effects associated with it. Now if I could get my piano students to stay away when they are sick all would be well!

 

[HEChicken]

Have you seen my PVC feeders in my main coop? There are pics on my BYC page. Maybe you could do something with PVC pipe like that to go into your gutter. I like the idea of the gutter for the feeder part. Mine aren't very big openings, so they have to take turns eating. I may have to make some changes to mine in the spring.
I'm sorry to hear about your granddaughter, hopefully they can get it treated & get her well quickly. Kids get sick fast but get well quicker than adults too.

I took DH down to show him the gutter feeder and he had a great idea for how to do the PVC that is much simpler than the convoluted affair I was thinking about with all the Y connectors. I'm excited to get it done now - I'll take pics once it is. The feeder itself is working great. Its about 4' long so there is plenty of room for multiple birds to eat at once. The LF can reach over comfortably to eat - the bantams have to work a little harder but can still reach. I also have a brick for some of the smaller ones to stand on if they choose. The Seramas just jump up and perch on the edge of it. I do also have another feeder outside so no one will starve but I'd like to transition to just using this one so I don't have to worry about it starting to rain and the outside feed getting ruined. That hasn't been much of a concern lately but I remain optimistic it will one day rain again.

 

[Trish44]

Yes HEChicken we want pics when you get the feeder done.

 

[JosieChick]

Aww, love the turkeys! How cute they wanted to come in for a visit!

10 am and I hear a tap tap tap tap on the door. We have visitors! Turkeys are so much fun!! The hen was interested in the cat food, the jakes were interested in the hen. When my son gets home from school he honks the horn and they gobble, fun for the whole family.

I have a pallet compost system here too. It aint pretty but it seems to be doing the job. We've had skunks around here but so far no critters have tried to get into it. I was originally afraid my neighbor's chickens, who used to free-range over here before we moved in, might get in and scratch it out so I put a spare pallet on the front to block it. Its not attached so can be moved when I need to access it, and so far it seems to have prevented anything getting into it. I can't wait until Spring when I will be able to add a bunch of compost to my garden.
Homemade compost is the best. DH had raised garden beds at the house in Wichita and the first year he put them together he bought several bags of "store" compost and was being a total snob about using my two huge barrels of homemade compost that I had been working on for eight months. We got into quite the debate because he didn't think my compost was good enough so I challenged him to use just my compost in one box and his store bought bagged stuff in the other two. Well guess which box went gang busters?

We had okra plants the size of Texas out there. So he learned an important lesson about compost!

I have never heard of a composting system like your dad talks about. In Australia every household is issued with both a trash bin and a recycling bin. The trash is picked up weekly and the recycle bin bi-weekly. The recycle bin is divided in two - one half for paper and the other for everything else. Trash/recycling are not a private enterprise like they seem to be here in KS, but are covered in the property taxes, so every household has the same bins. It seems like most people participate since they already have the bin, so I think it does increase the amount of stuff that is recycled. I've continued to recycle here but I have to say it is more of a hassle since I have to separate out the different things - paper, tin cans, aluminum, plastic and so on, and then load them up and take them to the drop off point. Still, I've never heard of a composting system added into the mix.
In Maine the trash/recycling is like that too. The taxes pay for your pick up. I hate recycling here, I have to drive all the way up to Olathe with our recycling so I just try to take it when I make a trip to Sam's club. It gets to be large load because I only go about twice a month at the most. I wish we had free curbside recycling.

When I was a kid my parents always just dug holes in the garden and put all the garbage in them and covered them up. They naturally composted and you never had to stir or attend it any way. when he tilled in the spring it had all just become dirt.
Josie I think the community your Dad came from had a great idea other than the smell. Did he live near one of the fishing communities? That would have made some really gross smells.

They lived pretty close to the coast so I am sure there was a lot of fish and shell fish! He talks about how gross it smelled because it was his job to take the compost out and dump it into the hole!

How nice your neighbors are to put your horses up. That is so sweet your boy is so spoiled he would put his nose in someone's car. I can imagine your horror though. He is a giant dork. He was probably hoping she had some cookies. He must have knocked the gate over and jumped it and couldn't figure out how to get back in. The other three never left the pasture, too scary to jump a big metal gate on the ground! Thank heavens because the ponies are impossible to catch without grain or cookies.

So here is something that has me very upset. Somewhat related. I just learned my 3 year old granddaughter has Whooping cough. It makes me angry to be quite frank. She just started pre-school in September. I am sure she must have picked it up from another child there. What makes me angry is I know that they were vaccinating her as a baby. But this son and his wife aren't very responsible people sometimes. I can't help but wonder if they didn't complete her shots. I thought that this would have been something they would be on top of because my son is adamant about following every single rule they give them, like no nuts until age whatever and none of this and none of that. I am just feeling so upset that that sweet little girl has to go through this and it is so dangerous. I hadn't even heard of any outbreaks on the news about it. Whooping cough cases are significantly higher this year in north eastern Kansas. There was a story on the news last night about outbreaks of whooping cough. I hope she is feeling better soon. I know the last time I had a tetanus shot last year it now has pertussis (whooping cough) included because adults can be carriers and expose children unknowingly.

I feel like I am missing multis?....Weird. Sorry if I missed someone. Anyway, trying to get all the coops cleaned up today and heavier bedding down for cold weather tomorrow. Yuck. Lots to do still and as usual I think I am super woman and mostly I am just super slow! I am getting slightly panicked because our pet sitter that was supposed to come out this weekend still hasn't called or emailed and she also hasn't sent me paperwork to fill out yet. I sent her an email last night again requesting the paper work and a time frame to expect her and haven't heard back. I am seriously considering running down to the neighbors and seeing if her highschool son wants a job over Christmas break to earn some extra money. He is a very responsible and polite kid. I hate not knowing how the animals are going to be cared for and prefer that all this stuff is done very far in advance which is why I contacted this gal 3 weeks ago. Ugh.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Danz- Youre right I LOVE these chicks and no matter what they are mixed with they are special and I cant get enough of them. I like to know for the curious side of me that needs to know what "kind this is" lol I love mixed chickens they have so much personality and very hardy birds. I love all chickens though and find something special in each of them. They give me so much joy and make me smile. Sometimes when I feel down I go in and play with the chicks and I feel better, I am not as frustrated and I can pour my heart out to these tiny fluff balls and they just look at me with their big eyes and chirp soft chirps and I cant help but smile. I still cant thank you enough for these little babies. My dh said "well you only have 4 left in the bathroom, what are you going to do when you dont have chicks to go talk to?" AAAHHHH I didnt think of that , hhmm now i need to think of something.

 

[tweetysvoice]

So here is something that has me very upset. Somewhat related. I just learned my 3 year old granddaughter has Whooping cough. It makes me angry to be quite frank. She just started pre-school in September. I am sure she must have picked it up from another child there. What makes me angry is I know that they were vaccinating her as a baby. But this son and his wife aren't very responsible people sometimes. I can't help but wonder if they didn't complete her shots. I thought that this would have been something they would be on top of because my son is adamant about following every single rule they give them, like no nuts until age whatever and none of this and none of that. I am just feeling so upset that that sweet little girl has to go through this and it is so dangerous. I hadn't even heard of any outbreaks on the news about it.

That really sux! I'm sorry to hear that she got whooping cough! There actually is an epedemic in Kansas right now. We've had quite a few kids with it this year at the hospital. I was exposed over the summer and had to get the pertusses vaccine (whooping cough) because i'd been exposed.

Danz- Youre right I LOVE these chicks and no matter what they are mixed with they are special and I cant get enough of them. I like to know for the curious side of me that needs to know what "kind this is" lol I love mixed chickens they have so much personality and very hardy birds. I love all chickens though and find something special in each of them. They give me so much joy and make me smile. Sometimes when I feel down I go in and play with the chicks and I feel better, I am not as frustrated and I can pour my heart out to these tiny fluff balls and they just look at me with their big eyes and chirp soft chirps and I cant help but smile. I still cant thank you enough for these little babies. My dh said "well you only have 4 left in the bathroom, what are you going to do when you dont have chicks to go talk to?" AAAHHHH I didnt think of that , hhmm now i need to think of something.

awwww.. that's so sweet!! I actually feel the same way about my chickies! They have actually helped me through my sickness because they made me get up in the morning and feed them and give them loves.

 

[tweetysvoice]

So neither of the other two eggs have hatched. (they were all set at the same time). She's still sitting on one of them though. The other was pushed to the other side of the house. I'm pretty sure that one isn't going to hatch, but not sure about the other. I doubt it though. I'm just surpised she's still sitting on it.