Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Maidenwolf I'm not sure those birds are mixed with a cochin but they could be. I think it is easier to tell when they are first hatched by their markings, or when they are fully feathered in.
Speaking of eggs I found two large nests of eggs out of place yesterday. Dumb birds. They have gotten used to being closed in at night but are still going to some hiding places to lay. I fed all the eggs in one spot but didn't get them picked up in the other. I still have one rogue hen who sleeps in the barn. I'll just watch the pile and see what happens. If no one is sitting on them they will freeze and break anyway.
I'm glad my layers molted early. I am back to pretty heavy egg production again. Not like spring but back to keeping up with the orders.
Looks like Christmas week I will have lots of extras cause people are going to be gone.
I found a little pasty butt on one of my olandsk babies this morning. Dang it. I hate it if that starts. These guys are pretty difficult to raise, kind of like the Seramas were. I have to grind their food or they won't eat it. I still don't see them drink but they must, cause they would have died by now if they didn't. At least they are the only chicks in the house right now. They are very quiet for chicks which is nuts cause my older ones are very talkative.
I've got to get in gear and do some major cleaning today. This place is driving me nuts.
I might even have to think about putting up some Christmas decorations of some kind. I also need to do some shopping. But that probably isn't going to happen today.

 

[PrairieChickens]

I guess I'm pretty lucky then... Yesterday I got 13 eggs from my 20 girls. They slowed down a bit when the older ones started molting but now seem to be back at full production in spite of the shorter days.

 

[JosieChick]

I had a hen that laid soft shelled eggs from the perch. I had a poop board at the time so it only fell about 8 inches so they were usually whole funny looking jelly eggs. I have a few hens that will go sit in the nest box for a while then get up and leave. I guess you could let eggs pile up and see if she sits but I find my best broodies are the ones that will not leave the nest box even with no eggs to set and you pull them out and they go right back in. I had a few birds that would be flaky broodies and would sit for a bit and then get up to go eat and drink and not go back to their nest for 8 hours or more so I never let them set eggs because they were just too unreliable for my liking. Plus I would always want a bator as a back up in case the hen decides part way through that she is done sitting and then you have all these half developed eggs with no mother!

So i got my very first soft shelled egg today. Weird thing was when I opened the coop door it rolled out. I dont know why a hen would lay it there that is right under a roost, could she have laid it while on roost? I have my EE hen still insisting on laying on top of other hens while they lay and laying hers behind the chicks dog house in their pen. I dont know if she is trying to go broody or not. She sits on someone elses egg for an hour or so and gets off to eat and drink and that is when I take it. Should I leave it and see what she does or is she just quirky?

Those last little chicks I put pics up of yesterday,, they are slower to feather I am thinking because of the brahma, and I think cochin, I want to get them outside, this week is going to be in the 50's + so move them? Or wait longer? they are 6 weeks

Danz- If you are at all interested Karrie and I sell eggs down at the kennel for $3 a dozen and we have both been low on eggs the last few weeks and there are a lot of people asking. If you are up this way at all this weekend let me know and we could meet you and pick up some eggs and then send you the money once they are all sold which probably wouldn't take long right now with how demand has been. I have only been getting a dozen or two a week and I need to deworm everyone so then I will have none for a bit.
I wish I had the gall the raise production layers and butcher when they quit laying but I just get too attached to them. I don't think I could do it. Now I have a bunch of hatchery birds running around that haven't laid an egg in who knows how long!
Hope your little pasty butt chicks are ok. I was talking to another serama breeder that sometimes when she has pasty butts she mixes parakeet grit into their ground feed and it cures them really quick. I tried it with the last batch I had and it seemed to help pretty fast.

Maidenwolf I'm not sure those birds are mixed with a cochin but they could be. I think it is easier to tell when they are first hatched by their markings, or when they are fully feathered in.
Speaking of eggs I found two large nests of eggs out of place yesterday. Dumb birds. They have gotten used to being closed in at night but are still going to some hiding places to lay. I fed all the eggs in one spot but didn't get them picked up in the other. I still have one rogue hen who sleeps in the barn. I'll just watch the pile and see what happens. If no one is sitting on them they will freeze and break anyway.
I'm glad my layers molted early. I am back to pretty heavy egg production again. Not like spring but back to keeping up with the orders.
Looks like Christmas week I will have lots of extras cause people are going to be gone.
I found a little pasty butt on one of my olandsk babies this morning. Dang it. I hate it if that starts. These guys are pretty difficult to raise, kind of like the Seramas were. I have to grind their food or they won't eat it. I still don't see them drink but they must, cause they would have died by now if they didn't. At least they are the only chicks in the house right now. They are very quiet for chicks which is nuts cause my older ones are very talkative.
I've got to get in gear and do some major cleaning today. This place is driving me nuts.
I might even have to think about putting up some Christmas decorations of some kind. I also need to do some shopping. But that probably isn't going to happen today.

Trish-I forgot to multi your post but I must have the hova bator mixed up with something else in my head. I thought they had one that had a plastic shell instead of the styrofoam but I don't know where I got that from. Does your 1588 hold temp well? How often did you have to add water to keep your humidity up to 40%? I never had trouble with my hovabator keeping the humidity where I needed it but I had trouble with temp swings. Never as bad as an LG though! And it is a million times easier to adjust the temp on the hova bator. I think that still might be a good option for maidenwolf because they are a bit easier to keep the temp stable than an LG and are probably one of the nicer styro bators on the market. I always liked mine I just had trouble with silkies in there. Does yours have a fan? We installed a small computer fan in mine after we bought it.


Well I had an exciting morning!! Pregnant girls should not be chasing loose ponies! Ugh. And of course it had to be the pony who is uncatchable. He wore me right out but I finally got his dumb butt back in. Running down the middle of the darn road, thank goodness we don't live on a busy road. I need to get out and unload the car and get all my feed mixed for the birds. I have another hen I need to catch and clip her wings because she keeps jumping the fence. It is so annoying. I bought a bunch of flock blocks for while we are away so they have something to pick at. I am seriously considering composting in my chicken runs, I hate to do it because I am kind of a neat freak and I like to rake everything clean but I think the chickens would love it and keep them busy!

 

[chicken danz]

Josie I have to deliver eggs to the restaurant next Monday but after that I won't have to deliver any until January 2nd. So that is when I will have extra eggs. You might let me know what days you will be going to the clinic and I will arrange to meet you then. Also I think Trish might to use your delivery service as well. I don't know if she has contacted you. Anyway it will be at least the middle of next week before I have excess eggs.
I really don't use that many eggs if I'm not having company or baking for something. But I swear I can hardly down a restaurant egg any more. It's like a tasteless blob.
I have one broody Marans hen who has been sitting for at least 3 weeks without a single egg under her. I feel sorry for her. Maybe I should take that group of eggs I found in the barn and give them to her. She has her belly bared and growls when I lift her and I never see her off her nest with nothing in it. Silly bird.
Lots of times birds lay shell-less eggs when they are going into molt, when they first start, or when they are starting to lay after a molt. I have only found a couple of chicken eggs in years like that, but the ducks and the pheasant do that off and on. Same situations. My pheasant always start the laying season with a few soft eggs. I have the more common tiny eggs that are about the size of shooter marble more often.
Josie I have some bird gravel and I might try that with the olandsk chicks. I've never heard of that. I've learned over time that these tiny bantams require a little more heat than the normal chick too. I don't want to loose them. Other than that one chick they are doing great so far...knock on wood. I keep half of their bin covered with a towel to hold in more warmth. I love this adorable little breed. They are so pretty and hardy. Unlike the Seramas that came from a warm climate, these came from a cold climate. My little roo and hen are always outside running around their pen even when I can hardly stand being out there.
Oh that naughty pony. I would hate being out chasing a horse....especially pregnant!! I remember chasing cattle that got out when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter. We lived along a highway and of course they were right in the middle of it.
I like these production type girls for their eggs. I have a couple of buyers who want to buy older hens to butcher so there is always a market for them where I don't have to do the butchering. I need to work on banding legs or something so I can move a batch out about every 18 months or so. I would rather sell them as layers than as meat. At 18 months they still will lay about another 18 months or so. If I don't sell them then, I could sell them at about 2 1/2 years old as meat birds. I am undecided which way to go. My girls now are just a little under a year old and are super producers. They are very sweet chickens but I am not emotionally attached to them at all. Having production birds is the only way to go if you want a bounty of eggs. I have the red stars and a few production reds. I am not impressed with the production reds at all but the red stars are egg machines.

 

[HEChicken]

I have a hen who regularly lays a soft shelled egg from the roost. Usually they are broken and stepped on, but when I check really early (before anyone is off the roosts) it is occasionally intact. I haven't been able to resolve it, so I suppose she has some sort of laying problem. Frankly, I'd settle for soft eggs right now. I'm getting one egg (from my 10 hens) on a GOOD day. Most of them are molting and not laying anything.

I so feel your pain. I am feeding 46 birds, though only 14 of them are laying hens. I have had no eggs for the past 3 days. Zip. Zero. Nada. I have people who want to buy eggs from me and I have to tell them I don't have any. Then in spring, when the regular layers get back to it and the current juveniles all start to lay, I'll have eggs out the wazoo and no one to sell them to.

I wish I had the gall the raise production layers and butcher when they quit laying but I just get too attached to them. I don't think I could do it. Now I have a bunch of hatchery birds running around that haven't laid an egg in who knows how long

Well I had an exciting morning!! Pregnant girls should not be chasing loose ponies! Ugh. And of course it had to be the pony who is uncatchable. He wore me right out but I finally got his dumb butt back in. Running down the middle of the darn road, thank goodness we don't live on a busy road. I need to get out and unload the car and get all my feed mixed for the birds. I have another hen I need to catch and clip her wings because she keeps jumping the fence. It is so annoying. I bought a bunch of flock blocks for while we are away so they have something to pick at. I am seriously considering composting in my chicken runs, I hate to do it because I am kind of a neat freak and I like to rake everything clean but I think the chickens would love it and keep them busy!

That so could be me talking. I went into this determined not to get attached and be purely practical about it all. I do have some hens I'm not particularly attached to, that I will be able to butcher when they're done laying, but I have others it is hard to think about.

Naughty pony!

Last night I gave my dogs a huge rawhide bone I had bought at the feed store. It wasn't cheap but I thought it would keep them busy for awhile on a day that I am too busy to spend much time with them. We have a bunch of neighborhood dogs that I spot regularly in our yard so when I gave it to them, I looked around to be sure we didn't have any visitors and also made a mental note to put it up for the night so it didn't disappear overnight. A few minutes after giving it to them, I heard Sammie barking (she almost never does) and went out to find her searching frantically for the bone. I didn't actually see the thief but there was a little cloud of dust right where our fence meets the road, and heading down towards the a house where two of the regular visitors live. I called that neighbor and caught him at work. He left the office and drove home to find his dog on the front porch chewing on it, so he brought it back to me, very apologetic. What is amazing is that the dog knew it was there! He was nowhere around, but only minutes after my dogs started working on it, he had run up here, stolen it and run home again. I know dogs have a good sense of smell but we're talking quite a distance away as this is our neighbor two doors down, and these properties are all 10 acres.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Cute ultrasound pic of our little peanut learning to suck her thumb! Sorry for those who are on FB as this will be a duplicate for you!

WOW-- so cute! I have kept all of my sono pictures! It's pretty neat!

Thanks guys. I think these guys ar just so cute. Danz do think the buff/red chicks could be cochin/brahma? I also think the littlest black one is cochinX
Josie- Cute ultrasound!!!
So the hovabator with the window is best? I thought they were plastic too. ManI have alot to learn lol

I don't have the hovabator, but I would say the Brinsea is the best! Easy to control humidity and heat. It regains heat fast after you lift the lid and it's really easy to boost on humidity. It shoots up fast. Mine is fantastic. I have only hatched silkies in it-- which are hard to hatch, they need a lot of humidity.

I am back to pretty heavy egg production again. Not like spring but back to keeping up with the orders.
Looks like Christmas week I will have lots of extras cause people are going to be gone.
I found a little pasty butt on one of my olandsk babies this morning. Dang it. I hate it if that starts. These guys are pretty difficult to raise, kind of like the Seramas were. I have to grind their food or they won't eat it. I still don't see them drink but they must, cause they would have died by now if they didn't. At least they are the only chicks in the house right now. They are very quiet for chicks which is nuts cause my older ones are very talkative.
I've got to get in gear and do some major cleaning today. This place is driving me nuts.
I might even have to think about putting up some Christmas decorations of some kind. I also need to do some shopping. But that probably isn't going to happen today.

I have 9 "egg layers" and i get one egg a day, and the last two days-- nothing. Sigh. Actually, my silkies are the ones keeping me in eggs right now! So we've been eating a lot of silkie eggs. I hope your chicks hang in there and will be okay!

Trish-I forgot to multi your post but I must have the hova bator mixed up with something else in my head. I thought they had one that had a plastic shell instead of the styrofoam but I don't know where I got that from. Does your 1588 hold temp well? How often did you have to add water to keep your humidity up to 40%? I never had trouble with my hovabator keeping the humidity where I needed it but I had trouble with temp swings. Never as bad as an LG though! And it is a million times easier to adjust the temp on the hova bator. I think that still might be a good option for maidenwolf because they are a bit easier to keep the temp stable than an LG and are probably one of the nicer styro bators on the market. I always liked mine I just had trouble with silkies in there. Does yours have a fan? We installed a small computer fan in mine after we bought it.


Well I had an exciting morning!! Pregnant girls should not be chasing loose ponies! Ugh. And of course it had to be the pony who is uncatchable. He wore me right out but I finally got his dumb butt back in. Running down the middle of the darn road, thank goodness we don't live on a busy road. I need to get out and unload the car and get all my feed mixed for the birds. I have another hen I need to catch and clip her wings because she keeps jumping the fence. It is so annoying. I bought a bunch of flock blocks for while we are away so they have something to pick at. I am seriously considering composting in my chicken runs, I hate to do it because I am kind of a neat freak and I like to rake everything clean but I think the chickens would love it and keep them busy!

I bet you are thinking of the R-Com?? It is a plastic incubator with a large clear window on top! Plus, that is a super great incubator, just really, really expensive.

I know someone that has like 3 or 4 of them and she would never use anything else now. Sorry about your Houdini Pony! They are no fun to catch when they think they are living it up on the lamb. I think the trick to silkies is high humidity-- around 65-75% or they just don't come out. On my silkie group, they think it's because of the vaulted heads that makes it harder for them to zip and get out, so the humidity helps. I don't have any theories, I just figure-- hey, these people have been hatching silkies for years, and if they say the humidity needs to be that high, that's what I aim for!

They took out all the guess work, but at the same time, a lot of them are using Brinsea models, too-- except they have the BIG ones.

Last night I gave my dogs a huge rawhide bone I had bought at the feed store. It wasn't cheap but I thought it would keep them busy for awhile on a day that I am too busy to spend much time with them. We have a bunch of neighborhood dogs that I spot regularly in our yard so when I gave it to them, I looked around to be sure we didn't have any visitors and also made a mental note to put it up for the night so it didn't disappear overnight. A few minutes after giving it to them, I heard Sammie barking (she almost never does) and went out to find her searching frantically for the bone. I didn't actually see the thief but there was a little cloud of dust right where our fence meets the road, and heading down towards the a house where two of the regular visitors live. I called that neighbor and caught him at work. He left the office and drove home to find his dog on the front porch chewing on it, so he brought it back to me, very apologetic. What is amazing is that the dog knew it was there! He was nowhere around, but only minutes after my dogs started working on it, he had run up here, stolen it and run home again. I know dogs have a good sense of smell but we're talking quite a distance away as this is our neighbor two doors down, and these properties are all 10 acres.

That is CRAZY!!! WOW. So glad you got your bone back. I would have been upset too, at seeing my money run away!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Josie-- is this what you were thinking of? This picture looks like it's the newest model, I remember them being more boxey looking. The R-Coms do sound like they are great incubators!

 

[Hawkeye95]

OKay-- and everyone knows who Jen is, right (Revolution Mama Ranch)?? Well, here she is with her R-Coms! They look really easy to use! Except that they have the turners on the INside. I really like that Brinsea has the turners on the outside, or you can turn outside by hand, you never have to open the lid even if you turn by hand. But anyway, I've considered the R-Com as a possible next incubator.

 

[JosieChick]

Josie I have to deliver eggs to the restaurant next Monday but after that I won't have to deliver any until January 2nd. So that is when I will have extra eggs. You might let me know what days you will be going to the clinic and I will arrange to meet you then. Also I think Trish might to use your delivery service as well. I don't know if she has contacted you. Anyway it will be at least the middle of next week before I have excess eggs.
I really don't use that many eggs if I'm not having company or baking for something. But I swear I can hardly down a restaurant egg any more. It's like a tasteless blob.
Well that probably won't work because we are going to be gone then but it was worth checking! I feel badly that we have no eggs and everybody wants them.
Oh that naughty pony. I would hate being out chasing a horse....especially pregnant!! I remember chasing cattle that got out when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter. We lived along a highway and of course they were right in the middle of it.
I could have wrung his dumb neck.
I like these production type girls for their eggs. I have a couple of buyers who want to buy older hens to butcher so there is always a market for them where I don't have to do the butchering. I need to work on banding legs or something so I can move a batch out about every 18 months or so. I would rather sell them as layers than as meat. At 18 months they still will lay about another 18 months or so. If I don't sell them then, I could sell them at about 2 1/2 years old as meat birds. I am undecided which way to go. My girls now are just a little under a year old and are super producers. They are very sweet chickens but I am not emotionally attached to them at all. Having production birds is the only way to go if you want a bounty of eggs. I have the red stars and a few production reds. I am not impressed with the production reds at all but the red stars are egg machines.
I would just have a pen full of five year old red stars that hadn't laid in two years!!! I am a sucker for my chickens. I have a few that I am not real attached to but most of them are my little pets.

I so feel your pain. I am feeding 46 birds, though only 14 of them are laying hens. I have had no eggs for the past 3 days. Zip. Zero. Nada. I have people who want to buy eggs from me and I have to tell them I don't have any. Then in spring, when the regular layers get back to it and the current juveniles all start to lay, I'll have eggs out the wazoo and no one to sell them to.

That so could be me talking. I went into this determined not to get attached and be purely practical about it all. I do have some hens I'm not particularly attached to, that I will be able to butcher when they're done laying, but I have others it is hard to think about.

Naughty pony! I should just hang a sign around his neck that says FREE if you can catch me!!!

Last night I gave my dogs a huge rawhide bone I had bought at the feed store. It wasn't cheap but I thought it would keep them busy for awhile on a day that I am too busy to spend much time with them. We have a bunch of neighborhood dogs that I spot regularly in our yard so when I gave it to them, I looked around to be sure we didn't have any visitors and also made a mental note to put it up for the night so it didn't disappear overnight. A few minutes after giving it to them, I heard Sammie barking (she almost never does) and went out to find her searching frantically for the bone. I didn't actually see the thief but there was a little cloud of dust right where our fence meets the road, and heading down towards the a house where two of the regular visitors live. I called that neighbor and caught him at work. He left the office and drove home to find his dog on the front porch chewing on it, so he brought it back to me, very apologetic. What is amazing is that the dog knew it was there! He was nowhere around, but only minutes after my dogs started working on it, he had run up here, stolen it and run home again. I know dogs have a good sense of smell but we're talking quite a distance away as this is our neighbor two doors down, and these properties are all 10 acres.
What a clever dog! Now I know why Molly buries her stash so fast and moves them all on a regular basis. It was moving day last week, I saw her with three different dirt covered bones throughout the day!!

Josie-- is this what you were thinking of? This picture looks like it's the newest model, I remember them being more boxey looking. The R-Coms do sound like they are great incubators!

Yes! I am a dummy!

I think Maidenwolf wanted something under $150? I know my brinsea with the turner ran about $270ish. I was thinking if she got a new hovabator and hand turned she might be in good shape. Plus I believe she is home a lot so she would have the time to "babysit" the bator. I LOVE my brinsea, but it only holds 24 large fowl eggs if you are lucky and that is a pretty small hatch to me. I really like it because I mostly hatch bantams so it works well for me but as far as hatching from the geese, I can only fit about 6 goose eggs in there which is nothing. I have a Leahy Favorite redwood cabinet bator that DH is supposed to get up and running for me. It still runs but could use some wiring repair and a new water pan. I am hoping to have it by spring for sebbie eggs. They are honking eggs, no pun intended!!


So I have a cochin roo with what I believe is an impacted crop. He is kind of sitting so his front end is up and stiff and his bum is down on the ground like he is really uncomfortable and keeps opening his mouth. He has no sign of upper respiratory problems or wheezing. I brought him in and gave him some mineral oil and vitamins and massaged his crop and he is just sitting there looking miserable. If anyone has any bright ideas let me know.

 

[medawinks]

Beautiful baby pic!!! Sonogram photos just amaze me! Be careful running . When are you due? We should definitely have a shower, online or otherwise, for you! Or has that already happened and I missed reading??? I LOVE new babies

I thought I would try ordering some eggs to see if my persistent Silkie could hatch some. She is not giving up.I missed out on the offer for the bantams with my fall. Thank you though, ChickiesDuckies!! If I do that though and she gives up, I guess I should also have an incubator to try saving them with. The Brinsea mini advance looks to be up my alley and would be useful at school also. I remember reading about a coupon etc... To get it cheaper. Did I read that here?

Sorry to read little kids have been sick. This stomach bug seems to go though our schools so rampantly and I too have heard of whooping cough here. I also heard that it is possible for kids to get it even if they were vaccinated. I know my youngest gets hit hard with any type of cough and I hope we can stay clear of it. I hope your granddaughter is doing better, Danz! For 4, your little one, Hawkeye, is a trooper!! No fun for mom though! I hope you don't have the bug now.

We haven't had a soft shelled egg yet, but that huge egg was from our polish. A double yolker. Not a smudge of blood on it either. It just baffles me! The Marans eggs are as big as or bigger than the grocery store extra large eggs, and this one dwarfed them. My Marans are pretty hefty big girls, so it makes sense. They eat like horses too! But the polish really isn't very big in comparison. She is not really a bantam, but definitely not as big as even the ameracauna. I hope the polish with the torn beak is doing OK.

Now that we have fresh eggs here, I really can't imagine eating store eggs again. We eat lots of them I even have a few to share at times and they are definitely hits.

I love our red chick Danz gave my son. I think she is a sussex, but doesnt have any speckles yet. She is so super friendly. Jumps to be held and chases you if you don't! Silly bird!! Did Feather ever get more spots Danz? Did she lay any eggs you could hatch? I hope so.

My youngest is wanting me to make cookie dough, so I had best get to it I hope you get some holiday energy Danz! I too have struggled finding it, but kids do tend to push for it

Oh, BTW, I know several of you do graphic designs on the computer. What tablet do you recommend? I keep seeing a Bamboo tablet, and considering it as a gift for my oldest daughter, but I really am clueless if it would be what she would need.... Ideas?


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