Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Don't give up hope on those eggs Hawkeye. Those that I just hatched yesterday sat on the counter un-turned for like 12 days and they all hatched. It was one of those things I didn't get around to.
I have about 6 more I need to get in there in hopes some are from my olandsk hen.
When I looked at the picture of Pikeman's chicken I thought I could see a cut under the eye itself. Looking closer at it now I can see that it does look swollen underneath. Yep I think maybe a round of antibiotics would be the best bet. I stand corrected.
KarenS your birds are looking wonderful. I can see you one day in the near future with a whole yard of spotted little hens running around.
Ppimf good luck with your incubator purchase. Whatever you choose will do the job with a little care on your part. We'll be here as a pep team to help.
Today is going to be a productive day. I promised myself I would actually get something done! We'll see how all that comes out in the plan.
I am thinking I need to build a new separate house and pen for my Olandsk rather than splitting one. Just what I need.... another project. I don't even want to put them back out with the other chickens. I also need separate quarters for my Swedish. I need to divide my d'uccles into the two colors some day soon as the babies mature. I wish it weren't so darned cold out so I could get busy building now that Christmas is mostly over.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Well, out of the loses I have had comes great news. My eggs at mommahens are hatched and healthy

She is bringing them next friday so it is going to go so slow. These are the first babies from my hens and I feel like a new mom

I cant wait to hold my new babies.

Danz I am with you I really need to get things done today. It is decent out there so I need to take advantage of that. Good luck on getting your projects done.

 

[chicken danz]

Congrats Maidenwolf. Those should be really close to the age of the two birds I hatched that I am donating for your son. It all works out regardless of how awful it makes us feel when we loose special birds.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Congrats Maidenwolf. Those should be really close to the age of the two birds I hatched that I am donating for your son. It all works out regardless of how awful it makes us feel when we loose special birds.

What? You are donating some? Thank you. Are they mixes like the others? I have to figure out how to get them. Oh he will be so thrilled.

 

[chicken danz]

Hawkeye, I forgot to answer. Yes I am using oxine in the vaporizers. Thanks to KarenS it has saved more than one bird for sure.
I thought I mentioned that, Maidenwolf. I had two half red laced polish chicks hatch.. much like the others he got earlier. They are doing great so far. I had a few more eggs go in today so we'll see what happens there as well. You never know.
I was surprised that 6 of the lavender orp eggs that had ruptured air cells did develop. Now if they only hatch I'll be very happy. I don't know the blood lines on these particular ones. They were gift eggs. I have some top of the line lavenders now so if these are utility grade I'll probably sell them later on. I think they should be top quality though judging from whom they came from.

 

[HEChicken]

Sorry to all those who have lost birds. Christmas Day was a brutal day weatherwise - such a shock to the system after so much mild weather. My coop door opened as usual that morning but my birds virtually did not come outside all day long. I can't remember another day that has happened but I guess that 40mph wind from the north was enough to keep them in. The ducks spent a little time outside and whenever I went down to the see them, a couple of chickens would come out but quickly went back in again. I usually don't feed in the coop but I did give them warm mashes in the coop that day since they didn't seem inclined to go outside to eat.

...But worms really sounds more like it fits the more I think of it. I never noticed any worms in poop-- BUT they are all in very thick shavings and I don't even see the poop.

Keep in mind that the only worms that will be visible in the poop are roundworms. All the other types of worms are too tiny to be seen with the naked eye. Tapeworm segments could also be seen, however tapeworms in chickens are very rare. So - not seeing worms doesn't mean they don't have them.

...First in order to kill a hen I would think it would take over 2 months to grow enough worms to do that. After you worm there is a chance of eggs being left in the intestine and reinfecting. But if all the live worms were killed a couple months ago I seriously doubt that enough worms would grow to kill her this soon.

The wormer Hawkeye had used 2 months ago was Wazine which only works on roundworms, so if the hen had any other type of worm, she could have been infested a long time and the Wazine wouldn't have done squat about them.

HEChicken-- I hunted down the dosage online for the 1% Ivermectin Injection. It read as "low dose"= 4cc per gallon of water. "high dose"= 8cc per gallon of water. I wonder which one I should start out with? Would the 4cc be too diluted, you think???

I see that you did later get the info. I had not read about the 8cc dose and I just used the 4cc and was very pleased with the results.

I'm wondering how well the girls are doing that HeChicken got. Hopefully they have someone to snuggle up with and have deep litter to lay in. I'm guessing she's got it all covered. For no more silkies than you are wanting, they sleep on the floor and it would be easy to just set up a heat lamp in a corner for them to sleep under in the winter! You'd probably be okay!

Yep, all of the above! They are actually doing fabulously and showing no signs of distress in the cold. In fact, they are sometimes out wandering around in the cold when most of the other birds are inside! When I first brought them home, I was concerned they would be picked on by the LF birds, and since I had a dozen chicks in my grow out pen, I added the silkies to that pen instead. So those dozen birds became their friends and later when the dozen integrated into the main flock, I moved another pair of birds in with the silkies. So, by the time I integrated the silkies to the rest of the flock, they had at least 14 birds who are part of their flock, don't pick on them, and with whom they can snuggle up at night. Most of those younger birds sleep huddled together (with the silkies and a duck) in one corner of the coop, rather than getting up on the roosts. Plus, I am doing DLM so they have a really deep layer of bedding to snuggle down into. Most nights I go down with a flashlight after dark to check on the coop, just to make sure no one got left outside, and I always specifically check on the silkies. They are usually in the middle of the pack, looking very happy.

I haven't been online much the past few days. My brother flew in from Australia to visit and he was here such a short time I wanted to spend every available minute with him. I was so sad to drive him to the airport very early this morning - who knows when I will see him again. While he was here, I introduced him to the flock and he was fascinated by the silkies, calling them the funkiest chickens he had ever seen. Yesterday he asked me to take my camera down and take a picture of him holding one. Now he says one day he wants to have silkies too. It is so funny to see this strapping young Aussie guy getting so excited over froo-froo silkies

Right now he lives in an apartment and I told him they are great apartment dwellers if you put a diaper on them. You should have seen his face when he realized I wasn't kidding about there actually being chicken diapers out there.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Oh Danz how wonderful. Thank you, I had no idea. OO do they have top knots showing? He just loves Mohawk and is hoping his other chicks get good top knots. I really want to talk to you about some other breeds so when I am ready to spend some money on a few straight breeds. I dont know what you have available. Oh he will be so excited. Thank you again. I have to figure out now how to get them for him

 

[Trish44]

KarenS, that is a beautiful bird, I love the coloring & the spots, looks like you're going in the right direction with the Alohas. I did get your PM, I've just been super busy with the holiday & all. We took the girls down so my granddaughter could see her dad for Christmas & hauled all of their gifts down. Wow our trunk was so full it wasn't funny. We had the two girls & two little dogs in the car with us. My son ended up staying at the hotel with us too, so it was a full room. Do you like the birds you get from Mt. Healthy better than other hatcheries? I have two Speckled Sussex that I'm pretty sure came from Ideal or Cackle one or the other & they are just gorgeous. They really have lots & lots of spots & color, I just love them. The rooster however isn't as nice for some reason & that is why I was wanting a different one for breeding.

Sunflowerparrot, the Gold Laced Wyandottes or even the Silver Laced Wyandottes are really pretty. I have two of the gold ones & I think I like them the best for color since the silver ones are just black & white, but they are distinctive too. The Speckled Sussex also are pretty birds, but just a little more fragile at times than other breeds, it just depends on the bird. As you know, you can get some really pretty EEs too for some color. The Polish do come in some pretty color combinations also if you can find them & they have the funny crests on their heads. I had them when I lived in Derby & they seemed to do fine in the cold & all. They're not the best layers, but kind of fun to look at. Those are just a few suggestions. Out of those breeds the best layers are the Wyandottes & the EEs. I just love my Speckled Sussex, but they do tend to get stressed easier than other breeds, that is the one that the critter sitter chased around after it getting out & she died later.

ppimf, if it were me buying an incubator for the first time I would go with the Brinsea. I know Sunflowerparrot had a hard time with them, but Hawkeye & I both have one that worked fine. I agree that the GQF Hovabator 1588 is hard to regulate, I have one & don't like it at all to incubate in, I hatch in it only.

Hawkeye, I hope the Ivermectin does the trick for your birds, it sure can't hurt anyway. I need to do that too, but haven't gotten to it yet. I also need to treat my coop & pens for mites again just in case. I hate to stress my birds too much right now though because some in my main coop have "colds". I hope your bird continues to get better.

Danz, don't the vaporizers cause a lot of moisture to build up in the buildings? That would be my concern because I know moisture is not a good thing in cold weather.

It's not quite as cold today as yesterday. I went out in my whole garb & came in sweating. Those down overalls my DH gave me are wonderful to cut the cold & wind when it's really bad out. It takes me awhile to get all suited up in it all, but worth it to not be so cold & frozen when I get done. I decided after not being able to find what I wanted for my head out shopping yesterday that I was just going to come home & look online for a crochet pattern & make one. I found two different ones & am trying out one pattern first & then will make the other & see which I like the best. I need to run to the Walmart & get some more yarn, but I'm waiting on my egg customer to come for her eggs & I don't know exactly when she's coming. She was going to come yesterday, but my DH decided he wanted to go to Wichita so I had to put her off until today. I sure need to get some eggs out of my refrigerator so I have room for something else. I need a bigger refrigerator, this one we have just isn't big enough, but any more it's a major investment to buy one. Well everyone have a good day & stay warm.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

HeChicken, glad you had a nice visit with your brother! I bet it was very hard to say good bye. I used to think I got cheated because I didn't have a sister but a really good brother is really just as good!

Hawkeye, I see I forgot to answer you about DH's job situation. They cut his group in half so now the guys are working longer hours, weekends, overnighting, etc. We're very happy to still have a job but he is putting in lots of hours he wasn't used to. They've told his group there won't be anymore lay offs and are already discussing possibly hiring a couple guys back that were laid off. Planes started to sell again once the bankruptcy was final so it's going well. That would just be the absolute pits if you guys have to move. I'm praying for God's best for you guys.

Sunflower, do you think R would be interested in EE mixes? I think I may have some extra pullets I could part with no charge. Let me know, and I'll go check and see what I have. I could post some pics, if she's interested. However, if she specifically wants day old chicks, I won't have any for another month. I can't even tell you how old mine are -- a couple months by now, I think.

Trish, I've only used two different sources for Speckled Sussex. One was Mt. Healthy and the other was Murray McMurray. Overall type and size was much better with the Mt. Healthy birds, while I've heard the McMurray birds are better layers. Maybe that accounts for their smaller build -- more of an egg layer. Still my Mt. Healthy birds were good layers, just not typically every single day layers. As far as appearance goes, the McMurray birds were extremely dark -- lots of black, while the Mt. Healthy birds had more of the mahogany color and more spots. Neither was particularly spotty. I would have liked more white on my SSX and am toying with the idea of ordering some from Ideal as they are known to have the spottiest birds. I personally prefer more white but SOP is for small spots and evenly placed overall, no white feathers. So I guess it just depends on what you prefer in a SSX. I'm afraid I haven't been too helpful but that's the extent of what I know about SSX. OH! Except I do have Tony Albritton's contact information if you're looking for very high quality birds. I've also toyed with the idea of ordering some of his. They are ridiculously reasonable, if I am remembering correctly, something like $7 each. If you're interested in some, maybe we could split an order. I need to decide what I'm going to do -- can't decide if I'm going to just use the birds I have, since the Swedish are maturing so I really don't have to have more SSX, and I have plenty of Aloha/SSX chicks to work with, plus, German New Hamps and Wellies. Decisions, decisions.

One thing I can say for certain and that is that the mixed SSX are much more robust than the pure SSX. The mixes have been a breeze to raise -- no issues.

 

[chicken danz]

Trish I have vents open on the coop where I have the vaporizer and the second vaporizer is in the house with my Olandsk. I brought them in because they aren't as hardy as some of the other birds.
What a miserable day outside. I was feeding and watering and the hookup to the hose sprung a leak. I couldn't get it off and had to dig through this mess in DH's shop trying to find something big enough to use on the hose fittings. I finally got it all apart and had to replace 3 washers in there. The cold weather must have destroyed them. I got so wet and cold. Then still has to drag the hose around and water everyone. I need to go back out shortly and blow out the hose so it doesn't freeze. If it didn't already.
My other project was breaking ice on the duck pond. That thing never froze the entire winter last winter but it was frozen solid on top. Some ice was thin but down where I have the pumo it must have been three inches thick. Of course when I broke through I managed to totally soak myself in water. I put a stock tank heater in there for now. I probably won't leave it but until this extreme cold is over I'm hoping it keeps part of it open.
I still have tons to do yet but had to stop for a cup of coffee to warm up and ease my aching muscles for a while.
Hawkeye I so hope that something works out for your DH's job. I know you have lots of plans for staying here and are counting on it.
Maidenwolf I can't see much of a top knot but there is no doubt who the daddy is of the two roos I have in there.
My suspected second buff orpington that was guaranteed a pullet was crowing today. It won't be long I am going to have to move some boys out of here. I really don't want to butcher them. Hopefully someone will want to buy a few of them for spring breeders.
This is usually one of my favorite times of year. When the seed catalogs start coming out and I get all excited about what flowers I am going to plant. I can't even consider looking after the hundreds and hundreds of dollars I lost last year due to the drought. It has always been my spark of light before the dawn to start ordering stuff. I have to concentrate on veggies for the birds this year and none of the pretty flowers I normally grow.
Gotta get back out there.