Consolidated Kansas

[sunflowerparrot]

aw new year babies

ooops... meant 1/11/13

 

[chicken danz]

I got the little mix, I call him Sparkplug, out with the others in the grow out area and it is so small comapred to everyone. Now the little babies ( Danz when did the duccle and mix chicks hatch?) have the brooder all to themselves and one of the little black and brown polish mixes chirps constantly. I dont know what is wrong I have checked to see if it is cold or hurt and all is ok so maybe it is just talkative. I didnt think my 14 year old would be as thrilled as his sister but he gave me a huge hug and thanked me and offered to try to find a way to make money to pay for his chicks food. That blew me away. sometimes as a mom you dont realize just how responsible your kids really are.

If I remember right they hatched late on the 16th and then the rest on the 17th. Sparkplug is an excellent name for that little thing. It fits him perfectly. I love that perky little tail of his.

Quote:

how much u gettin for one of your males? or they not for sale?

Send me a PM. Yes they will be for sale.

Quote:

Need help. I have an aggressive rhode island red hen, 1 1/2 y.o., who keeps bullying a younger buff orph. I have only 4 hens, and whenever I try to put the hens together, the RI red goes after this poor buff, jumps on her and plucks her feathers out. The poor buff is afraid to come off her roost unless I'm close by to protect her. This has been going on for months. I don't have the heart to kill any of my chickens, but would like to find another home for the RI red. I think if she's mixed in with a bigger flock with possibly a rooster it might keep her in line.
I live in Topeka and would be willing to deliver within an hour away.

I don't know off hand of anyone who wants one right now but I'll keep my ears open. The reason I suspect is a breed issue. RIR are a more hyper high spirited bird and orps are docile and quieter breeds. The RIR is establishing her dominance. She just needs to be with other birds with her nature. Have you put an add on craigslist? By the way welcome here. Feel free to jump in and chat.

 

[mommahen10]

Danz, I'm kinda disappointed but my 15 yo ds already cut the hole for the sink when we got home. I can't use either of the cute little faucets now. The sink we had planned takes up the entire top surface, and the faucet we had went on a back board. I told my 17 yo to tell him not to cut it yet but he did. I think he was just too anxious. He knows I'm not happy. He's got all the lights hooked up too. I wish we could have sommehow put a little window in the oven door but I sure wouldn't want to use glass for that. I will hold on to the faucets and return them to you at the next opportunity. I'm hoping and praying your eggs are just delayed because of the cold weather. I've been thinking about what I would do in power outage. I think I'm going to put together a kit for emergencies. I'm going to get a few more tubs and fashion the lids so I can bring more chicks inside where we would have the fireplace to help even though it's not enough. I'm also going to keep a look out for hot water bottles, I can always boil water on the stove. I wonder if the hot water bottles would help keep heat up in an incubator for shortish periods of time, it wouldn't work for days but it may be possible to do it for a few hours. Thinking about it, adding water bottles may help keep the temps more consistent even during normal incubation conditions. It helps freezers run more efficiently, so why wouldn't it help this way too? I tried using my baby doppler on eggs once to see if I could hear a heartbeat, it didn't work but I'm not sure why it didn't work. Maybe the gel is too thin to get a good seal on such a small round surface. Don't you wish they had stethoscopes for eggs?

Danz/Maidenwolf, the tiny chicks when we were on the way to drop them off were chirping differently than I had heard before but I enjoyed listening to them. It was like normal chirps mixed with a little birdie whistle chip usually at the end of the chirping. You know those bird shaped whistles that you used to put water in? It was that kind of a whistle sound. I thought it was cool and I wondered if that breed just chirped differently.

Wow Sunflowerparrot, that looks so high tech. How many eggs do you have in there? Looks like fun to me. I decided to stop hatching for 2 mos and it's already bothering me and I still have eggs in the incubator.

LJack, sorry you are having trouble with your hen. She could join mine but I'm quite a ways away from you. I will be in Ottawa on Christmas Eve, I could check with my dh to see if he's going to Topeka anytime in the near future.

 

[mommahen10]

What do you think Maidenwolf? LJack's hen and Anubis together? Just kidding, but I think she would be fine in a big group too and being the newbie in a big group too should calm her down too even if the temperment of the flock is nice I would think.

 

[cherwill]

Well I finally got Cloud up and took the opportunity to take a couple pictures of our new additions. Here they are. Click to see larger.

They're so cute!

Hi all! Oh goodness, things have been crazy busy! We went to Emporia yesterday and I got to spend the day with my dd. We made some banana muffins and shopped a little. I sure don't like the crowds, not just being in a city nor the holiday business. It makes me so thankful for the every day stuff here at home. We met with Danz for just a little bit to pick up chicks. Danz, it was soooo wonderful to finally meet you and you have such a beautiful smile and pretty bright eyes. I LOVE my new chicks so much, I know I'm supposed to quarantine and all of that but I didn't want to and they look so healthy and happy we just put them in with the others their age. They are hanging out together and seem just fine. That particular group of chicks is pretty quiet and not aggressive at all anyway except for one little roo in there but he's tiny and doesn't cause a stink unless I try to put them with the next group older. He isn't acting up with the new barred rocks either so all is well. They are outside, but I turned the lights back on for them to give the new ones some time to adjust more comfortably from the brooder to outside. Thank you so much for these precious chicks. From there, we were going to bring Maidenwolf her chicks and we stopped in Ottawa to go to Orscheln's to find my ds a coat. We brought all of the chicks in and I got to get a better look under the lights. Maidenwolf's chicks are so tiny, and their fluff looks so smooth. Obviously, I didn't look at them very close at all. I didn't notice mohawks or topknots, I wish I had been more observant. We got my ds a coat, and for a great deal too. From there we drove some more to bring Maidenwolf her chicks. Maidenwolf, it was so nice to see you again and thank you so much for your tremendous giving spirit. My kids are going to love their gifts and your wonderful handmade things that make Christmas even more special. It was great to get to meet your dh too. Your dd was so so precious and sweet, there was no keeping it a secret until Christmas, it just couldn't happen. It was so neat when I brought your extra chick in from Danz in my coat too. I was totally amazed at how you held that chick in a way that it could just leave if it wanted to yet it didn't, and you were so quiet. It was like you and the chick had this silent communication and it was so beautiful to watch. I have some lessons to learn for sure.

I don't know what time it was when we left Maidenwolf's, but we stopped to get gas and I realized that my purse was missing. I think I was so worried about keeping those chicks warm and going in and out of the store that I somehow just forgot it in the shopping cart at Orscheln's. I called there and sure enough they had it. It's really creepy to think that strangers have your purse and can and obviously did look through it to get my name. There was no way we could get it before they closed. Luckily, my parents live in Ottawa and my dad rushed out to my rescue. Thank God! We went back to Ottawa and got my purse from my parents, it was nice to see them even for just a little bit. We stopped to eat dinner after that, it had to be around 10pm. We left my chicks in the truck this time, mine are feathered and they did just fine. They tweeted gently the entire way home and it was so sweet to hear. I missed my chicks/chickens while we were gone all day. I missed my kids too. I wanted to go sleep with the little ones when we got home. We got home around before midnight, I was so tired I just brought in what I needed to. The new chicks slept in a laundry basket last night. It was so cute to hear the kids this morning, I could hear them saying there are big chicks in the house and scurrying around and giggling. We had such a huge day yesterday, and today is huge too but I'm so thankful to be working at home. I think I have everything under control for Christmas other than finishing 4 yo's kitchen set and wrapping.

I'm so glad no one had stolen your purse. Sounds like a busy and good day.

Danz/Maidenwolf, the tiny chicks when we were on the way to drop them off were chirping differently than I had heard before but I enjoyed listening to them. It was like normal chirps mixed with a little birdie whistle chip usually at the end of the chirping. You know those bird shaped whistles that you used to put water in? It was that kind of a whistle sound. I thought it was cool and I wondered if that breed just chirped differently.

I don't know the answer to that. My BOs and Australorps sound the same to me. So does my Wyandotte, though she's friendlier and more curious. Then we got the EEs and they make a whole variety of noises I'd never heard from the other hens. They're much more talkative and much more curious than the other breeds I have. Even the two I got when they were older, who weren't used to people at all, are much more curious and will hover near me. They don't let me pet them if they can avoid it, but they get close enough to see what I'm doing and watch carefully.

 

[mommahen10]

Oh, I have a little experiment. If the temps in the homemade incubator fluctuate 5 degrees with it on the thermostat then how much will the temp of the actual egg fluctuate? I weighed a few eggs, my eggs weigh from 1.9 oz to 2.3 oz. I measured 2 oz of water by weight and added to a glass. I put the sensor of the thermometer into the water, then sealed it with saran wrap to keep the water form evaporating. Then I thought that since it's clear I didn't want it to heat more like a greenhouse so I cut a piece of cardstock into a little box to cover and shade it. Now I can monitor the temp range from within my fake egg. I'm going to try moving this around inside of the incubator to see if there are spots with a better temp than others. I'm also going to get another thermometer to measure the temp range on the outside of my fake egg as well. When the running real incubator is empty, I may try adding water bottles to it to see if it'll maintain heat better too although it's been pretty steady this time around, much more so than any other time I've hatched. This should be my last hatch for the year, although I could change my mind. Maybe the experiments will pacify me while I wait to hatch again.

Danz, I think I did something kind of dumb. I put those 2 chicks in with chicks of like size. What I didn't think was there is one little barred rock chick in there already and I'm scared i won't be able to tell them apart. My chick in there is likely half barred rock and half Australorp/Jersey Giant. I get one that looks like a barred rock 1:10. So far, they've all ended up with a few black/green feathers so I'm hoping I will always be able to tell them apart by that so I can separate them later when I'm ready to set up for breeding. Sometimes they even get a few red feathers and I'm not sure where that comes from. Do you think I should go back and try to mark them now? I'm pretty sure I could tell them apart by them hanging out together if I can't tell them apart by looking. I know that one was lighter than the other in the ones I got from you yesterday too that may help me figure it out for sure. Speaking of barring. I have one white chick, it's probably 3 mos old, he's a roo and he's extremely friendly and social. Anyway, at a distance he looks white but when I pick him up he looks barred but barred with white and the lightest beige color. He's cool, but where did he come from? I thought the white chicks we have came from the white chickens. But if he was from white hen/black roo then where did the barring come from? If he were from barred rock hen/black roo then where did the white come from? I'd like to get the white rocks as chicks in March, will you be ordering more? I wondered if maybe we could get a discount for ordering more? I will also keep a look out for more barred rock pullets. My barred rock hen is old and I don't think she is any sort of quality not that I would know but I think she's beautiful. She's so super fluffy and HUGE. She's very quiet and to herself. Also, do you notice roosters to be more attached to one hen? Daniel has one girl that they seem to be unseparable, not that it matters. Our white chickens that lost their feathers on their heads, they are finally getting feathers back now. I don't know what changed that they are getting feathers back.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

If I remember right they hatched late on the 16th and then the rest on the 17th. Sparkplug is an excellent name for that little thing. It fits him perfectly. I love that perky little tail of his.

Quote:
Send me a PM. Yes they will be for sale.

Quote:
I don't know off hand of anyone who wants one right now but I'll keep my ears open. The reason I suspect is a breed issue. RIR are a more hyper high spirited bird and orps are docile and quieter breeds. The RIR is establishing her dominance. She just needs to be with other birds with her nature. Have you put an add on craigslist? By the way welcome here. Feel free to jump in and chat.

Ok great, thank you. Yes I love the tail

Danz, I'm kinda disappointed but my 15 yo ds already cut the hole for the sink when we got home. I can't use either of the cute little faucets now. The sink we had planned takes up the entire top surface, and the faucet we had went on a back board. I told my 17 yo to tell him not to cut it yet but he did. I think he was just too anxious. He knows I'm not happy. He's got all the lights hooked up too. I wish we could have sommehow put a little window in the oven door but I sure wouldn't want to use glass for that. I will hold on to the faucets and return them to you at the next opportunity. I'm hoping and praying your eggs are just delayed because of the cold weather. I've been thinking about what I would do in power outage. I think I'm going to put together a kit for emergencies. I'm going to get a few more tubs and fashion the lids so I can bring more chicks inside where we would have the fireplace to help even though it's not enough. I'm also going to keep a look out for hot water bottles, I can always boil water on the stove. I wonder if the hot water bottles would help keep heat up in an incubator for shortish periods of time, it wouldn't work for days but it may be possible to do it for a few hours. Thinking about it, adding water bottles may help keep the temps more consistent even during normal incubation conditions. It helps freezers run more efficiently, so why wouldn't it help this way too? I tried using my baby doppler on eggs once to see if I could hear a heartbeat, it didn't work but I'm not sure why it didn't work. Maybe the gel is too thin to get a good seal on such a small round surface. Don't you wish they had stethoscopes for eggs?

Danz/Maidenwolf, the tiny chicks when we were on the way to drop them off were chirping differently than I had heard before but I enjoyed listening to them. It was like normal chirps mixed with a little birdie whistle chip usually at the end of the chirping. You know those bird shaped whistles that you used to put water in? It was that kind of a whistle sound. I thought it was cool and I wondered if that breed just chirped differently.

Wow Sunflowerparrot, that looks so high tech. How many eggs do you have in there? Looks like fun to me. I decided to stop hatching for 2 mos and it's already bothering me and I still have eggs in the incubator.

LJack, sorry you are having trouble with your hen. She could join mine but I'm quite a ways away from you. I will be in Ottawa on Christmas Eve, I could check with my dh to see if he's going to Topeka anytime in the near future.

That chirping is a sound they make when they go to sleep, are warm enough, or content basically. I love their bedtime song.

What do you think Maidenwolf? LJack's hen and Anubis together? Just kidding, but I think she would be fine in a big group too and being the newbie in a big group too should calm her down too even if the temperment of the flock is nice I would think.

Oh yea sounds like a perfect match for Anubis

ooops... meant 1/11/13

oooppppssssss lol

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Lizzy ~ Lucky's toe should be fine. I have had that happen to some of the geese. They have healed fine. That is funny ~ you have a "Lucy" also. My, Lucy la goosie is a brown chinese that never thought she was a goose. Poor girl, she just does not fit in, but is a super pet. I got a group of ducklings last summer. They were in a grow out pen in the yard. One day Lucy saw them and she made a bee line right for them. It was soooo funny. Just like the cartoons where some caractor is following a scent in the air, nose up, feet spinning in circles, oblivious to anything but the smell. That was Lucy at that moment, nose up, making a funny sound, making a bee line right for that pen of ducklings. following the sight, sound of them. The problem was, there was a fenced in bed of bamboo between her and the pen of ducklings, which she bumbled over with those paddling. big flapper feet, stumbling over the chicken wire, and trampling the bamboo. But she made it to that pen of ducklings and it was instant mother love. She was "on duty" by that pen for weeks until she made a nest and faithfully sat on her eggs (she is the goose that shared a nest with a banty hen). I had to pick her up each evening to put her in her night time pen. Only problem, she decided that bamboo was good food and close enough she didn't have to go vary far from her babies to eat. That bamboo does not look so good now. Then she raised two goslings, was such a good mommy to them, they grew up and have joined the goose flock, the ducklings grew into ducks and have become an adult flock that live in the chicken house with pasture time in the day. Lucy is lost with no babies to tend. I see her all by herself, calling to babies that are not babies any more.

mammahen ~ l will be glad to get some of the seed bags for you, how many will you want?

I like your experiments with using water to simulate eggs. Another way that people do that is to use baggies with the right amount of water in them. By folding, taping, etc you can make them so you can put the senser inside and not spill the water. It does show what the temp is inside the egg. There was a toy called a "water wiggler" (don't know if they are still available) that people would use, but the baggies are so much cheaper.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Wow Sunflowerparrot, that looks so high tech. How many eggs do you have in there? Looks like fun to me. I decided to stop hatching for 2 mos and it's already bothering me and I still have eggs in the incubator.

I put 19 in - This will be my 2nd hatching experience and I'm hooked.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Lizzy ~ Lucky's toe should be fine. I have had that happen to some of the geese. They have healed fine. That is funny ~ you have a "Lucy" also. My, Lucy la goosie is a brown chinese that never thought she was a goose. Poor girl, she just does not fit in, but is a super pet. I got a group of ducklings last summer. They were in a grow out pen in the yard. One day Lucy saw them and she made a bee line right for them. It was soooo funny. Just like the cartoons where some caractor is following a scent in the air, nose up, feet spinning in circles, oblivious to anything but the smell. That was Lucy at that moment, nose up, making a funny sound, making a bee line right for that pen of ducklings. following the sight, sound of them. The problem was, there was a fenced in bed of bamboo between her and the pen of ducklings, which she bumbled over with those paddling. big flapper feet, stumbling over the chicken wire, and trampling the bamboo. But she made it to that pen of ducklings and it was instant mother love. She was "on duty" by that pen for weeks until she made a nest and faithfully sat on her eggs (she is the goose that shared a nest with a banty hen). I had to pick her up each evening to put her in her night time pen. Only problem, she decided that bamboo was good food and close enough she didn't have to go vary far from her babies to eat. That bamboo does not look so good now. Then she raised two goslings, was such a good mommy to them, they grew up and have joined the goose flock, the ducklings grew into ducks and have become an adult flock that live in the chicken house with pasture time in the day. Lucy is lost with no babies to tend. I see her all by herself, calling to babies that are not babies any more.

It's ironnic that your Lucy is a brown chinese. Mine is a white chinese. My Lucy was raised with Lucky, a duck. When they were big enough, I added them to my flock, which consisted of only ducks at the time (except for Lucy). Lucy will be 7 months old this next week and has only had other geese to hang out with in the last two months. She is the glue that holds the two flocks (ducks and geese) together because the ducks follow her and she follows the other geese.