Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Yes pine needles will work. I am envious. I wish I had a couple truck loads of them.
Maidenwolf I meant to tell you something got into the Maran's nest and ate all her eggs. Left pieces of shells but nothing else. I just hope whatever it was didn't eat live chicks. I also discovered I'm missing a few more hens. The only thing I can figure is that they must have failed to go in the coop at night, maybe trying to nest elsewhere and something got them. Dang it! They were ones I wanted.
I've been out working on that camper trailer and after cutting new supports for it see the walls are all but rotted away. I am about ready to just tear the thing down and salvage what I can to use elsewhere. At least it has some decent windows but I really don't have time to build another building by myself. I was thinking of buying a cheap light weight green house and use it as a temporary grow out building. It'd be the quickest thing to get up. My other green house is being used by that one hen or I would use it. I guess I could always relocate her and figure out how to get the chicks to Maidenwolf. Of course I couldn't put a run on it cause it would stick out in the driveway where it is now.
So when DH got home I just asked if he had a problem with me tearing that camper apart and recycling what I could. It would leave the trailer in tact that way and surely the aluminum from the outside would be worth something. I could still salvage it for a chicken coop but I might as well just start over for all he work I have to do to make it strong again. If I could salvage the flooring which seems to be in good shape yet at least that would be a beginning for something else. I hate feeling rushed to get things done. This would be a decent sized chicken coop if I could make it happen. I just don't see that I really can though. For one thing it is sitting in a place I have to walk across the property to get to the saws and tools. And like always the balls are off all the hitches again. I have no idea why DH just doesn't leave them on.
I guess I wasted yet another day cause I accomplished nothing.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Danz- thats awful. Is the hen ok? I am sorry you have lost more birds.
I sure hope you can get the trailer worked out. Can you repair the rotted wall?

 

[mommahen10]

Maidenwolf, I looked at the thread you posted but I didn't read everything. That's just terrible. I hope to go back and read it all when things settle down here. Let me know if there is something specifically I can help with.

Hawkeye, sorry about your losing birds. I'm sorry that you stuggled so long with the one in your kitchen, that's no fun at all. It sounds like you did all you could.

Danz, I'm sorry you lost another special bird too. It sounds like you have way too much going on. Then too trying to mange the things on the computer while the internet is not being so good just eats up time like nothing else. You need another you to take care of this stuff.

Maidenwolf, even if you start with your incubator full how likely will it be that at lockdown you still have all of your eggs? I've never had it happen, normally there are some that don't develop at all. I still haven't looked up your incubator to see, sorry, but on mine, I put an aquarium tube onto a bigger syringe. I put the tube through the vent hole, look through the window and squirt the water directly through the hardware cloth. I also have sponges in there too I rewet. I like the idea of having the tubing permanently attached where you need it, but that would be inconvenient before lockdown. Danz, love the idea of plugging those unnecessary holes, thanks.

Danz, I have a neighbor that has used old camper shells for trucks. I think that's what they're called, he built fast chicken coops with those. My battery is dying. Sorry to be short.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Last night about 9pm, I heard peeping from the incubator - woke up this morning (day 20) to 2 pips! I have 19 eggs in there.. I'm a little concerned about the 2 that have pipped a day early - do I need to be concerned or will they be fine in there if they hatch a day earlier than everyone else? (I can't open the incubator)

I did unplug it this morning and moved it to the living room from my bedroom - it was a matter of 1 minute at the most that it was unplugged. I had it in my bedroom just to keep it away and safe from the living area - but I want it in the open for hatching.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Well I blew all of yesterday driving to K State with Lucie. Luckily we have a sunny spot of hope for her!!! The surgeon palpated her legs and watched her walk. He also took another set of x rays and wants to wait four more weeks and see how she is looking. The plate in her right leg was backing out last week and one of the screws had let go but it appears that it has stopped moving which is fabulous news. So it is still stabilizing her leg and she does have some bone grafting in. She is going back on antibiotics just in case there is a low grade infection in the fracture space that is inhibiting bone healing. But altogether fabulous news!!!

Now I need to get out and start packing more stuff in the garage here so we can get the pod done and hauled down to the house in Towanda. I hate moving!

Not fun about freezing in the new house! Glad that it was something that doesn't have to happen again. Great news about Lucie! Maybe you'll have some time to decide what to do and maybe it'll sort itself out if it is grafting on new bone! I would probably go ahead and hang the drywall over the plaster if it were me. Plaster is so hard to keep from cracking. Most home shows I watch now just knock out all the plaster walls and get rid of the knob and tube and hang up drywall. What happens to it if you want to hang pictures, etc? Anyway, good luck with the repair!

I lost a Dan Powell bred brahma girl this morning. She had doing the topsy turvy thing, but yesterday showed real improvement, and last night she was eating on her own like she hadn't eaten in weeks. Why do I get my hopes up? She was dead this morning. I should know they have that last bit of energy before they die. She was such an awesome looking bird with the best feet and leg feathering I had ever seen on a brahma. It was a real disappointment..
I had another issue take to much time this morning. Somehow when I made a credit card payment it referred back to an old bank account I haven't used in at least 5 years. The account has been closed a long time and I had removed it as a source of payment. I looked back into my account and it shows nothing but my current account for payment. The first phone call I was told to just go in and make the payment off the right account....which I did.
Well then I got another email from my credit card company saying they had suspended all my ability to pay on line. So that meant another long phone call. I guess the emails they are sending is late coming in and I was assured again that all was well and that only referred to the old account. I get so uptight worrying that things go awry due to computer glitches. It worries me sick.
Then I tried to email a towing bill to the insurance company and the email address the adjuster gave me was incorrect. Grrrr! So now it is back on the phone again to see what I can do about that. It is no wonder I seem to get nothing done. This entire week has been like this.
Never ever refinance a home and total a car at the same time. It's a mad house!!! Then I have to worry about car shopping too. It is going to have to wait and I hope my old junk car keeps running long enough to get me by.

So sorry about your hen that died. I think they must have something else going on when they do that. My silkie did that-- he didn't flip over, but he couldn't keep his head up, kept tucking it under his body. Sounds like as usual, you have a lot going on. I hear you on the credit card thing. I just had my credit card number stolen a few days ago. That is like the 6th or 7th time in the last 3 or 4 years. No joke. Our company is quick to catch it-- usually the person using the number does not have the right address or the correct name on the card and of course, doesn't know the the 3 numbers on the back of the card. So they will just charge like $2-$3 and donate it or buy something really small to "check" it. My company catches it every time. They don't actually have my card-- they are just great at guessing the numbers! Anyway, I got my new card yesterday which was nice, but it sure makes me leary! Because of all the hacking, we have entirely stopped using our debit cards and stick with credit cards and pay them off each month. Much safer. But when you have a card try to link to something that isn't there anymore.... that would really freak me out! I would be pretty upset about that, because who knows what happened. I'm sorry about the card troubles! I understand!!!

Danz, I sympathize. We have a lot going on at the moment too and it seems so hard to get anything done because each of the things relies on getting something else done first, and there are obstacles in the way to completing THOSE things. My car is still in whoop whoop KS. Monday morning they said they thought they'd be finished with it by that afternoon and they'd call me. Here it is Wed afternoon and I haven't heard a word from them. I would have called them multiple times in the past two days except I don't know how or when I can go and get it with the other things we have going on anyway. I did get one of our inop cars running this morning. It needed a new battery but I couldn't even get it started to go get the battery, but finally was able to jump start it this morning so at least we have two vehicles running.

Sorry about the loss of your brahma and Hawkeye, sorry about your silkie. It is so hard to lose these guys after we get attached to them.

My Millie (Mille Fleur Silchin) is still showing respiratory symptoms. I've been treating with VetRx but it doesn't seem to do much for her. She's had so much eye discharge that her eyes get sealed shut and I have to help her open them several times a day. She's such a timid thing that I've been feeding and watering her separately so she will settle down and eat without fear. Yesterday I segregated her into a small chick run just so she can get sun and fresh air and still eat and drink when she wants to. This morning I finally broke down and started her on Denagard. I had been hoping it would run its course like it did in a few cockerels that were snuffly awhile back but so far no sign of improvement. I was gratified to go down to see her this afternoon and find her eyes open all on her own. I wouldn't have thought the Denagard would kick in that fast but maybe....

Maidenwolf, usually you remove the turner at lockdown since the eggs no longer need to be turned at that point. So that will open up a little room for you in the incubator.

Just had to agree that when you have things stacking up and you need to do several things on something else before you can work on the thing you actually want to get to--- oh my gosh, I do that all the time. So frustrating. It feels good when you finally get something entirely accomplished, but getting there can make you lose your hair! Thanks, I sure liked the little curvy guy. Even though he didn't walk right and he was messed up, he was a very sweet bird and I had given him baths and grooming often because he was always getting poo stuck in his rear. He was very calm about letting me fix it for him. But it's almost a relief not to have him anymore and have all that extra worry for him. But I am sad he's gone and what a terrible way to die. I wish I'd just walked out there and he was dead... not have days of dying.
So glad that the Denagard seems to be working! I sure hope that is the case! I would have given up days ago and tried antibiotics if you were having to open eyes and go to so much trouble! I sure hope she will be okay!

Yes, you can use pine needles in the coop, I have some I plan to add to my DLM pile too in there as soon as I have the time to go rake some up.

I can sympathize with all of you with things going on with cars & such. My DH's car is still in the shop & they just looked at it today & told him it would be about $500 to fix it. This car is starting to become a money pit. He's going to have to make a decision at some point about how much money he wants to put into it or if he wants to go buy another car. We still have payments of course on our new car, so it wouldn't be fun making two, but it just seems like when you're putting so much money into an old car you have to look at whether it's worth it or not. He has been babying this one alone for quite awhile now.

We went out this morning & put up the rest of the doors for the new coop & found out he had cut one wrong, nothing new. So we went ahead & put them up & will have to jerry-rig that one to make it work. He told me today he's not building me any more coops after this one. That's OK, I think it wouldn't be that hard if I wanted to later to add onto this one since the main building is up, maybe I could do the addition mostly myself. I just want to get this one done though so I can move all my birds where they need to be. We got the two end windows put on, they're aluminum crank-out windows like Sunflowerparrot has in her coop & they're wonderful. I have one in my main coop too like that & am putting another in when it's warmer, I just love those windows. You can have them open even when it's raining & it won't come in, of course unless the wind is also blowing 50 miles an hour. We have trim work now to do around the doors inside & I need to get the plexiglass for the front windows. We're about ready to start building the walls for dividing the rooms in there. It's just a painstaking process to get my DH in gear to get things done. If I complain too much he just gets mad at me & then he won't work on it, but sometimes like this week while the weather was warmer I was just determined I was going to get him out there & get a few things accomplished. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I knew nothing would get done if that happens.

I'm sorry about the lost birds, it's just not turning out to be a great winter for some of them.

I got another pretty blue egg from my Wheaten Ameraucana today, so that made me happy. Some of my Swedish Flower Hens are starting to lay also now. I'm glad I put the nest boxes in. My Cream Legbars haven't started laying yet, but they should soon I think. I've got some organizing & cleanup to do on my brooders & incubators before I start hatching, so I have to get on that before too long. I also have people contacting me for chicks already. I was thinking I will have to start incubating probably the middle of February or around there to have chicks hatching in March. That's when people start wanting chicks I think. Wow, time is just flying by it seems like!

Glad you got your doors done! The one messed up one... what a pain! But when it gets warmer, maybe you can go back and take it apart and fix it. Sounds like it is coming along nicely! I can not wait for Spring so I can get started on my breeding pens for the silkies! I have big plans!! It is NOT turning out to be a great winter for keeping birds healthy. I'm not pleased at all that I have already lost two now. Neither died of a cold -- but just kind of up and decided not to be healthy and give it up. Sigh. That is nice your birds are laying again. Only my barred rocks are laying. They are the only ones I can count on. My Wyandottes and Polish and silkies are not laying. (well one of the silkies have laid an egg twice in the last week, but that could be a fluke!)

Yes pine needles will work. I am envious. I wish I had a couple truck loads of them.
Maidenwolf I meant to tell you something got into the Maran's nest and ate all her eggs. Left pieces of shells but nothing else. I just hope whatever it was didn't eat live chicks. I also discovered I'm missing a few more hens. The only thing I can figure is that they must have failed to go in the coop at night, maybe trying to nest elsewhere and something got them. Dang it! They were ones I wanted.
I've been out working on that camper trailer and after cutting new supports for it see the walls are all but rotted away. I am about ready to just tear the thing down and salvage what I can to use elsewhere. At least it has some decent windows but I really don't have time to build another building by myself. I was thinking of buying a cheap light weight green house and use it as a temporary grow out building. It'd be the quickest thing to get up. My other green house is being used by that one hen or I would use it. I guess I could always relocate her and figure out how to get the chicks to Maidenwolf. Of course I couldn't put a run on it cause it would stick out in the driveway where it is now.
So when DH got home I just asked if he had a problem with me tearing that camper apart and recycling what I could. It would leave the trailer in tact that way and surely the aluminum from the outside would be worth something. I could still salvage it for a chicken coop but I might as well just start over for all he work I have to do to make it strong again. If I could salvage the flooring which seems to be in good shape yet at least that would be a beginning for something else. I hate feeling rushed to get things done. This would be a decent sized chicken coop if I could make it happen. I just don't see that I really can though. For one thing it is sitting in a place I have to walk across the property to get to the saws and tools. And like always the balls are off all the hitches again. I have no idea why DH just doesn't leave them on.
I guess I wasted yet another day cause I accomplished nothing.

Sorry about the nest and the eggs. I sure hope the hen was okay? If so, at least you can start over again! I just don't want to lose my parent stock! Sounds like good plans for the camper! I'm with you on the hitch and things never being where you think they are. That happens to me all the time! I am the one lately that uses all the tools. I put them up and we have shelves in the garage where they should be. One day not too long ago I was wanting to do something and searched for about 30 mins for my circular saw and finally called my DH. He sounded guilty and said he'd taken it out to the barn and left it out there. I went out there and it was OUT of it's case just laying on the GROUND!!! I mean-- REALLY!??! Those things are so expensive! Sheesh! It was fine, but I was angry that it wasn't in it's case and put away when he was obviously done with it. That usually does not happen, but now that the both of us are using the tools, I like them to be where they need to be.

Last night about 9pm, I heard peeping from the incubator - woke up this morning (day 20) to 2 pips! I have 19 eggs in there.. I'm a little concerned about the 2 that have pipped a day early - do I need to be concerned or will they be fine in there if they hatch a day earlier than everyone else? (I can't open the incubator)

I did unplug it this morning and moved it to the living room from my bedroom - it was a matter of 1 minute at the most that it was unplugged. I had it in my bedroom just to keep it away and safe from the living area - but I want it in the open for hatching.

Congrats on the pips! Moving the incubator is no big deal at all. Get ready to have lots of fun today! Especially with Sam coming home! I meant to say-- your vet must be like a SUPER AWESOME vet if he actually 'sacrificed' his own dog to get blood to use for YOUR dog. I mean... wow! That was an amazing call and I'd say your vet is a very smart guy. He knew what he needed to do to save your dog and he went for it. Truely... hang on to that vet!

 

[HEChicken]

Not fun about freezing in the new house! Glad that it was something that doesn't have to happen again. Great news about Lucie! Maybe you'll have some time to decide what to do and maybe it'll sort itself out if it is grafting on new bone! I would probably go ahead and hang the drywall over the plaster if it were me. Plaster is so hard to keep from cracking. Most home shows I watch now just knock out all the plaster walls and get rid of the knob and tube and hang up drywall. What happens to it if you want to hang pictures, etc? Anyway, good luck with the repair!

So sorry about your hen that died. I think they must have something else going on when they do that. My silkie did that-- he didn't flip over, but he couldn't keep his head up, kept tucking it under his body. Sounds like as usual, you have a lot going on. I hear you on the credit card thing. I just had my credit card number stolen a few days ago. That is like the 6th or 7th time in the last 3 or 4 years. No joke. Our company is quick to catch it-- usually the person using the number does not have the right address or the correct name on the card and of course, doesn't know the the 3 numbers on the back of the card. So they will just charge like $2-$3 and donate it or buy something really small to "check" it. My company catches it every time. They don't actually have my card-- they are just great at guessing the numbers! Anyway, I got my new card yesterday which was nice, but it sure makes me leary! Because of all the hacking, we have entirely stopped using our debit cards and stick with credit cards and pay them off each month. Much safer. But when you have a card try to link to something that isn't there anymore.... that would really freak me out! I would be pretty upset about that, because who knows what happened. I'm sorry about the card troubles! I understand!!!

Just had to agree that when you have things stacking up and you need to do several things on something else before you can work on the thing you actually want to get to--- oh my gosh, I do that all the time. So frustrating. It feels good when you finally get something entirely accomplished, but getting there can make you lose your hair! Thanks, I sure liked the little curvy guy. Even though he didn't walk right and he was messed up, he was a very sweet bird and I had given him baths and grooming often because he was always getting poo stuck in his rear. He was very calm about letting me fix it for him. But it's almost a relief not to have him anymore and have all that extra worry for him. But I am sad he's gone and what a terrible way to die. I wish I'd just walked out there and he was dead... not have days of dying.
So glad that the Denagard seems to be working! I sure hope that is the case! I would have given up days ago and tried antibiotics if you were having to open eyes and go to so much trouble! I sure hope she will be okay!

Glad you got your doors done! The one messed up one... what a pain! But when it gets warmer, maybe you can go back and take it apart and fix it. Sounds like it is coming along nicely! I can not wait for Spring so I can get started on my breeding pens for the silkies! I have big plans!! It is NOT turning out to be a great winter for keeping birds healthy. I'm not pleased at all that I have already lost two now. Neither died of a cold -- but just kind of up and decided not to be healthy and give it up. Sigh. That is nice your birds are laying again. Only my barred rocks are laying. They are the only ones I can count on. My Wyandottes and Polish and silkies are not laying. (well one of the silkies have laid an egg twice in the last week, but that could be a fluke!)

Sorry about the nest and the eggs. I sure hope the hen was okay? If so, at least you can start over again! I just don't want to lose my parent stock! Sounds like good plans for the camper! I'm with you on the hitch and things never being where you think they are. That happens to me all the time! I am the one lately that uses all the tools. I put them up and we have shelves in the garage where they should be. One day not too long ago I was wanting to do something and searched for about 30 mins for my circular saw and finally called my DH. He sounded guilty and said he'd taken it out to the barn and left it out there. I went out there and it was OUT of it's case just laying on the GROUND!!! I mean-- REALLY!??! Those things are so expensive! Sheesh! It was fine, but I was angry that it wasn't in it's case and put away when he was obviously done with it. That usually does not happen, but now that the both of us are using the tools, I like them to be where they need to be.

Oh Josie, I'm so sorry I forgot to reply to your post when I was writing - that's why I prefer to multi even if it gets long because at least then I remember what I was going to say. I'm afraid I'm with Hawkeye on the plaster. I understand that keeping it plaster keeps the "authenticity" of the older house but plaster is just a pain in the butt to deal with, and if you ever resell, buyers are going to prefer to see drywall than plaster too. It is difficult to hang pictures in plaster without cracking it, and repairs aren't as easy either. I would also cover it with drywall if it were mine.

The Denagard really does seem to have made a difference - I'm kicking myself I didn't do it sooner. Her eyes were open this morning and I thought for sure after a whole night they'd be sealed shut. The only reason I hesitated is it always feels like a guessing game to pick the right antibiotic and I didn't want to create resistance by trying the wrong one(s) first. I went with Denagard as my first choice because I think I remembered hearing it works best for respiratory stuff, and a few days ago Danz reported success with it on birds with similar symptoms. I'm so glad it seems to have made such a rapid difference.

I hear you on the tools. I am strong on "a place for everything and everything in its place" but DH tends to get something out and get distracted and it doesn't get put away. I have a little cordless drill driver that I love because it is good for so many projects and I was really upset a few weeks ago when I needed it and it wasn't in its place - or any other place I looked either - and he was away on a business trip and I couldn't even call him to ask where I should look. I threatened to buy him one of his own if he wouldn't put mine back where it belongs, but that would likely be a waste of money as he would misplace his, then take mine and leave it lying somewhere anyway

. At the end of the day, I'd rather have him than not have him so I try not to let these little frustrations make me forget how lucky I am to have him but.... sheesh.

We got a little rain this morning - unfortunately I forgot to set up the rain gauge so I don't know how much. I'm sure it wasn't as much as we need but I'll take any at this point.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Mommahen- Yes I guess it would be in the way at lockdown. I do like the idea of plugging the holes that danz said so I think I will do that. Otherwise I have to try to make it into these 2 slender moisture cells and I dont want eggs getting wet. Other than that I love the incubator and am collecting eggs to put in for a test run tomorrow. I am interested in buying or trading for some hatching eggs of a couple breeds, cochin bantam or LF, serema, anything frizzled, marans, phoenix, I want mottled and blue or splash. Threre are others they just are not coming to my head just yet.

Yaayy for rain huh? I m so happy, but my birds are going to be cramped up inside all day. Time to find things to entertain them

 

[HEChicken]

They may not stay in all day. Mine don't like to be out in a downpour but as soon as the rain eases, they loved to get out and start scratching in the grass. Even this time of year when I wouldn't have thought there would be many bugs, they find the freshly rained on ground to be exceptionally tantalizing.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

They may not stay in all day. Mine don't like to be out in a downpour but as soon as the rain eases, they loved to get out and start scratching in the grass. Even this time of year when I wouldn't have thought there would be many bugs, they find the freshly rained on ground to be exceptionally tantalizing.

Yea mine go out in a light drizzle. The benefit of today is it is unseasonably warm and they are not freezing their beaks off. The ones that detest the rain and stay in I try to find things to keep them busy usually a handful of scratch in the litter keeps them pretty busy.

 

[chicken danz]

Josie, when I had my really old victorian house I gutted the entire thing. Rewired, replumbed and sheetrocked the entire house. I wouldn't do that again like that. I would do one room at a time starting with the upstairs so all that mess didn't end up coming down in the finished area. The problem with sheetrocking over plaster is that it makes your walls too thick so your beautiful old trim work doesn't work any more. The problem with removing lath and plaster is that sheetrock isn't as thick as the old stuff so once again the trim work doesn't sit right. But it is easier to cut down the wood on a door frame or window frame to fit and remove and replace old wood than it is to try to make old stuff look right by adding on. The other option that might really work is maybe finding really thin dry wall that would be more of a skim coat and not add that much thickness. These old houses are never square. Back when mine was built they just eyeballed everything. The studs were supposed to be 16 inch centers but some were 15 and some were 17 etc. After years of settling nothing was square. I would still take my old house over this one a million times over. I love that wonderful old charm. I wish I could build a copy cat of it. I'd be thrilled.
I was glad that I did gut mine in the long run because I unearthed a multitude of wiring nightmares that could have started a fire any day. It made me wonder how it had survived over a century and a half. Just out of curiosity does the house still have the original siding and trim and footprint inside? If it does you can get like a 1% loan from the historical society to do remodeling and repair work. It might save you some $$ in the long run.
I had trouble sIeeping last night then fell asleep about 5 am and overslept this morning. It's been sprinkling and drizzling here all morning. That means a wet slick mess outside. I guess I can't complain cause it is some moisture in some form. The ducks are having a grand time playing in the mud.
Trish I envy you getting work done on your coop. Maybe some day I'll make some progress here. I checked into the greenhouse option for a grow out coop but I learned it doesn't stand up to the wind so that option is out.
Hawkeye I swear if DH put his stuff up he would be surprised at all the tools. He leaves them laying out wherever he uses them. It drives me nuts. I hate to think of all the things he has ruined.