Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

Thanks for all the welcomes!

here's with run attached. Sadly the coop looks very broken now, but onward and upward- decided to make the run taller while I'm at it so I can get in to clean easier.

ADORABLE!!! I'm so sorry it was smashed by a tree limb.

Hawkeye95,

This sounds like something I would love to attend with my 10 year old - but Wichita is a little far. She told me last week that when we get silkies she wants to show them, of course I have no idea how to do any of this. When we first decided to go into chickens, we bought some eggs from Catdance to hatch, but we didn't have any success. The week they shipped it was 100 plus degrees, so I am sure that had something to do with it. My biggest problem is I can read these standards until I am blue in the face, but I don't understand how to interpret them, but I can definitely see the "whole picture" difference of a SQ and a pet quality.

I also belong to a golden retriever forum that many reputable show breeders belong to, and people who are not part of the show world, do not understand how every breed has a breed standard. I have gone to many dog shows as a spectator and at times brought other people, and they cannot understand why the "prettiest dog" didn't win. It so hard for them to understand that they are shown against their breed standard, not each other.

You are already half way there to understanding about breed requirements if you understand dog breeding. It all transfers (the general idea, that is). Try Catdance again, she has gorgeous silkies and I think you'll like her birds. I would personally stick to Standard colors if you are doing the 4-H thing. They aren't real enthusiastic over AOV colors. You might want to try Catdance in Feb when it's not too cold or hot. Shipping in 100 degrees+ heat probably killed all your chances of hatching anything. The darker the combs, the tighter the wings, the nice S shape type-- you should be good to go.

Oh, Hawkeye, you sure know how to bring back the memories!!

First, do you have open class? I mean can adults show at your fair?
What actually happened here, was we do have open class, and they had been encouraging former 4H adults, and others to enter in the fair. So I did. Well, and DD did. Thats all it took. We wiped everybody out. Nobody could beat DD. Well, people started coming up to me and asking questions. The poultry was down to about 20-25 birds total, and was not much. A lot of parents liked what I talked about, I took time to show them, and point things out to them.

Nobody else had ever taken the time to do that. Now with the back yard movement, lots of people are looking into poutry, and lots of "Town" kids are looking into 4H and they want to bring their hens.
Have to remember most of what I did to turn things around came before I was poulty and fair superintendent. Rumurs are flying around now about them me going on to the fair board. I don't know about that.
Lots of people still have the old saying in their back pocket, "Its just a chicken". That phrase has got to be stomped out!

The hatchery bird thing. You got to remember, is that some people will always go and buy hatchery stock. Let them do it, in fact you can let them know it is ok, BUT, you also have to show them, at the fair, take the time to show them the diffferences in Blue ribbon birds to white ribbon birds.

When Michelle started showing here, EVERY BIRD recieved a blue ribbon!! I was shocked!

Now you see all colors on pens. If they are not good type to the breed, what ever it may be, I tell the judge to rank the birds 1.2 or 3. I will not let the judge DQ a bird in 4H. I have some kids that bring cross breds in. WE place them in the class that they closely match. I always let the judge know what is going on, Some kids thats all they will ever have. They still get a ribbon, and premium money.
Now open class is a different story!! You better know what you are doing there, or you will get DQ'd.

Showmanship. Do you have a fax? I can send you what we use for judging. Have some practice showmanship meetings. Let the kids bring the birds, they love to show off their birds, or at least these kids do, but we have strong competion here too. We pay a premiums to the kids on showmanship for the ribbon placing, do you? Just lots of practice. Our kids even get a trophy at the award ceremony. If they got grand, and they also get the rosette.

How many trophy's do they hand out at the awards? We hand out 7, or 8, I will have to look. Kids love those small trophies Just small plastic ones with the emblem and what it was for and the year won.

We do have Open class, and they are judged separately and then when we get the best of them, they are judged against the 4-H'ers for grand champion. We had older kids who had been in 4-H show up for Open. I'm glad we have that class! Okay, so I will take your advice and tell them it's okay to buy hatchery birds or bring them, but I'll explain briefly about the SOP and how their birds might (or might not) stand up. I have a fax machine, but I don't know how to use it except to send OUT. No idea how to get stuff in. I did find online a great form that is the Judge's form for how the points are divided up and exactly what they are looking for. I printed it off and I think I will use that. I have a couple of forms from my son's Showmanship's and this form looks very similar to the ones he's gotten back. We have awards for all the exhibition. But last year, we only had Participation ribbons for Showmanship. I think it needs to be more competitive than that! I think we need at the very least--- a Rosette for each age class, and that would really impress the kids! It would make them want to do it again, for sure! I'm taking notes on everything you are saying, so if you think of anything else, go ahead and tell me!

hawkeye, another thing we did, was because of the show and time constraints, we had a chicken dinner for lunch, anybody was welcome to come, just had to pay for their lunch and RSVP. We fed our judge, and then if parents, kids, who-ever had a question for the judge, that was the time they were allowed to freely to talk to the judge. It was a lot of fun, and was very popular. Really impressed some parents, when the judge would answer a question the same way you had already answered their question!!

LOVE this idea!!!! I mean, LOVE it! Okay, so did you have your judging in the morning and then break for lunch? And then you did Showmanship? Just wondering how you set up the timing of it. Since I think we have so few kids that showed, maybe we could go ahead and do Showmanship and then the lunch??? Ideas on that? I just don't want the kids leaving and wandering off somewhere and miss out.

Danz- Don't know what happened with your post. I laughed at your hardware store!! I started tying things to the fence for the geese to play with, they really seem to like that and of course they are free ranging today which consists of napping on the lawn right now! I put pools out for them which they are in heaven with.
Ohhh, no AOV!!!! Darn. I might be limited. I will have blue bantam cochins hopefully. The calls are butterscotch so they are not an APA color yet. The orps are black but split to lavender so they might be decent for show. Do they have to be this years hatch to show them?
Oh my goodness that is darling!!!!! You could be straight out of a magazine, no wonder your neighbors love your chickens! Sorry about the limb that fell!
Mine kinda took a while, hmm hmm hmm, to get here. But I bet yours will be here in no time flat!!! If you don't have it by next week let me know and I will start box diving. I know I just packed it the other day so it is around.
APA SOP is gibberish, that is why you can't understand them! I have a terrible time. If you get a breed to work on get in with some local breeders or on here with a breed specific thread and ask every dumb question you can think of. I just started looking at one part of the bird at a time. Solid colors are easier than patterned birds too. A lot more is going on in a patterned bird to learn about. I have self taught and been educated by good breeders by picking a place to start. For example if you decide to go the silkie route start by learning about combs. So a silkie (Hawkeye will be all over this!) is supposed to have a walnut comb and it should be mulberry in color. Look at lots of pics of silkie combs and learn what breeders are saying about the comb, its color, if it has horns, if the size is acceptable for a hen or cockerel etc. If you start with "pieces" of the bird it helps you to start to look at a bird critically and assess what is good and bad. Some things are forgivable if other things are looking good. Other things have no place in a show bird and would be considered a pet. It is challenging but fun and once you start to get better at it you can assess a bird and then read what a really good breeder said about the bird and "compare" notes. Most breeders LOVE to chat about their breed of choice!
ALRIGHTY, back to the grindstone. At least it is pleasant out today!

Any kind of poultry--- turkey, geese, ducks, whatever. I know call ducks are very popular. If the Khaki is a BIG project, perhaps it might be okay? They do NOT have to be this year's hatch. We have a class for pullets and cockerels (under a year) and cocks and hens (over a year of age). So age doesn't matter at all. They can be 5 years old and if they are in good condition, they will be great! I totally agree with looking at each part and understanding it before moving on. This is what I did too!

 

[cubbysan]

That is an interesting take on things. I guess that is possible. I went out and gave them a bit of dog food a little while ago. Don't worry, it is something I give them only rarely. Do you think boredom could be the same cause for the ducks? Also, you mentioned giving oranges to birds. I thought oranges and other citrus were bad for ducks and assume that if it was bad for ducks it would also be so for geese... Am I wrong on that one?

Have you seen this list:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/242460/the-ultimate-list-of-duck-treats-and-supplements

 

[lizzyGSR]

Have you seen this list:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/242460/the-ultimate-list-of-duck-treats-and-supplements

Yes, I have. That is where I saw that citrus was bad for ducks. Thank you so much for sharing it, though!

 

[HEChicken]

...

Hello everyone!  Gosh, there's so much chatter recently that I'm having a hard time keeping up!

I have one quick question for you all.  A month or so ago, I started mixing my bird's feed.  I use 50% of the (16% all purpose poultry food that I get at Orscheln's), 25% rolled corn, and 25% rolled milo.  Yesterday, I noticed my geese picking at some dog poop in the yard and saw my ducks doing the same thing earlier today.  This tells me that they've got some sort of deficiency, but what could it be?  I do allow them to free range, but with the drought and now the cold/snow, there isn't a whole lot in the yard for them.  Opinions and suggestions on this would be very much appreciated.

NOTE:  I have 9 ducks and 3 geese.  I do NOT have any chickens.  The yard is about 3 acres, but they don't spend much, if any time, in front of the house, and don't usually go into the horse pen, which is at the one edge of the 3 acres.

 
LIzzy the protein sounds a little low to me. my chickens get 16% layer feed but i think turkeys & ducks require hgher protein than chickens. plus if you are cutting that feed in half and replacing it with corn and milo that are not high in protein it sounds like you are cutting the protein level even more. dog food is much higher in protein and i bet thats why theyre going after it. if you can find an all flock type of feed or broiler feed that might be a better option for them.

 

[checoukan]

Hawkeye,
You have 3 age groups, so you have Grand, Reserve, grand, and 1st blue, and so on.in each age group. Here our Grand and reserve do not get a premium, but since to get in the running for those two, you have to get a blue, so they still get a premium.

We also have a herdsman of the day award everyday here.
We have a tag system. if a pen is not cleaned, and goes so many hours, they get a yellow tag hung on the cage. If it still not cleaned in X number of hours, they get a red tag, and if still not taken care of, they are dismissed, lose the ribbon, and premium money's won, and any awards. Strict, not really, tolerant, to a degree, enforced, yes by me!

All feed during fair week is supplied for the birds, lime, and shaving are placed in coops at the first, but have to supply their own the rest of the week.

 

[Frizzled Pink]

Hi All

Welcome prarie blue

14 frizzled bantam cochin in the 'bator

1 handsome new guy that has apparently appointed himself the welcoming committee. He flies out of the coop whenever he see's someone to go say hello and then tries to show them where everything is. Yep, I'd say Trish raises some FRIENDLY birds. LOL--hes my new love!

 

[chicken danz]

Josie I think your discussion of the geese must have sparked something in my goosies. I'm not sure what to look for but they were acting crazy today. I'm thinking maybe some mating attempts. They were all doing the fly around with wings in the air thing and acting like they were on crack or something. But several times I saw one of them grab another by the back of the neck. I've never seen that before.
So what do they do when they court each other. I have no idea what to look for in the way of goose romance.
Frizzled don't you love those silly Swedish Flower hens? They are on the top of my list for awesome birds. The older they get the prettier they get.
I did something really really dumb. I put some eggs in the incubator either yesterday or the day before and forgot to switch the turner back on. I sure hope I didn't retard any chicks. I have some test eggs in there from the Swedish Flower hens and the lavender and lemon cuckoo Orpingtons. Even though they are pullet eggs it worries me that I could have messed them up.
I've been waiting since 3:00 for a guy to show up to get a buff orpington rooster from me. He just now called and wanted to come tomorrow afternoon instead. I told them they'd have to show up in the morning cause I have way too much to do. I postponed a trip to town I needed to do because he said he would be here. That really bugs me. Why do people do these things???
I was all set to get the young birds moved into the old camper today. But DH took forever to get it pulled in there. Then after staring at it forever he decided tomorrow he is going to move it again. It is a lot taller than I thought so I'm going to have to use some new netting instead of what I had planned to use over the top. Once it is down on blocks and has the wheels off I think it will make a decent grow out area. I hate the ghetto look but I am desperate for housing.
I got the feed all shoveled off and in barrels. I wanted to move a big barrel into the shop to start fermenting really big batches of feed but DH has such a pile of stuff on the floor there's no place to do it.
I also had a neighbor hit one of my chickens. I had found my sussex roo all crippled up 2 days ago, but couldn't figure out why. The neighbor showed up today and said the chickens were in the road and he hit one with the bumper. I showed him the roo and he said it was probably the one he hit. I wish he had stopped and told me when it happened. Stupid chickens do a pretty good job of staying out of the road but once in a while they venture too far. I guess some people don't realize that these birds have value. Of course he said feathers went everywhere and he figured he killed it. So he might have killed a hen and some of these predators might have taken her body. I check the road but never found any signs of a bird being killed.
I have wanted forever to get a fence on the property but it cost so much to have it done and we have too many other projects that have to be done first.

 

[prairieblue]

Danz, sorry to hear about the hit and run. That's just not very neighborly to run over someone's animal in the road and not stop to say sorry, at least.

 

[Trish44]

Hi All

Welcome prarie blue

14 frizzled bantam cochin in the 'bator

1 handsome new guy that has apparently appointed himself the welcoming committee. He flies out of the coop whenever he see's someone to go say hello and then tries to show them where everything is. Yep, I'd say Trish raises some FRIENDLY birds. LOL--hes my new love!

I'm so glad you like him, he's probably just so thrilled to be out the rabbit hutch I had him confined in & have some new girlfriends. I wish I could find someone to take this other rooster now, he's still out in the other half of the rabbit hutch. I just love those Swedish Flowers, they're so friendly & curious, they're my favorite breed now.

Danz, sorry to hear about your rooster, I don't know why people don't realize our birds cost us money just like anything else. It would have been nice if he would have at least told you that he hit your bird. I sent you a PM, just a few minutes ago.

I have been so busy today it's not funny, we had to go to Wichita this morning for a dentist appt. & then we had lunch & stopped at Lowe's on the way home so I could get some of those ends to go on the guttering for my feeders. I didn't realize those darned things were so expensive, so I didn't end up getting but enough for 3 right now, I'll do the rest later. Anyway, as soon as my DH left I had to go into town & look at a Rubbermaid storage cabinet that a lady had & I bought it to put in the garage to store my extra chicken supplies & rabbit stuff in. Right now it's spread all over everywhere, it will be nice to have it in one place so I can find something. I probably will store some things in there too that won't be hurt by freezing like powdered stuff. After I left there with the cabinet then I had to meet a gal to deliver some hatching eggs, they're just barnyard mix ones because she didn't care what they were. I don't sell hatching eggs that much, but she asked me for them, so I thought why not & she was so excited about it. Then I had to run to Orschelyn's to pick up the chicken wire I'm putting on the top half of my walls in the new coop & some screws to attach the hardware cloth onto the windows with, I already had gotten the washers at Lowe's. Then my last stop was Walmart to get some things I needed to do a better job with the FF. Danz, I ended up getting a plastic container too for that stuff, the bucket just wasn't cutting it. I ended up making a big mess in my entryway & now I think this will be better because I can actually get down in there & stir it all better & get it mixed up. The bucket was way too full & I couldn't get it properly mixed at all. In fact when I tried to dump the stuff from the bucket to the container it just stuck in there like cement. I had to scrape it out of there. Now it will have room to breathe better & ferment like it's supposed to. I added some more ACV because I didn't feel like I had enough in there for the volume. When you add more feed, do you have to keep adding ACV or just water?

There is no way I can go back & respond to everyone. I have been trying to keep up with reading the posts, but it's been busy on here lately. I hope everyone is feeling better who have been sick. Today really was a nice day weather-wise here, I didn't even have a coat on earlier today. I hope it's that nice tomorrow because I plan to go out in the morning & work on the walls in my coop. I don't care if my DH comes & helps me or not, if he doesn't I'll do it by myself. I'm just so tired of waiting for him to do things & I have to get that coop done so I can move my birds.

Oh by the way, I got the best news tonight, there was a gal not too far away from me outside of Belle Plaine that had contacted me about the GP that has been needing a new home for months. If you all remember I posted her photo on here & on my KS Farm Swap. The owner has been back & forth about giving her up, but the dog has been just miserable having to live inside the house & the owner has not liked all the shedding & barking the dog does. If she had only researched the breed she could have saved herself & the dog a lot of frustration. Anyway, tonight I got a PM on FB from this gal & the dog is now hers. I am so thrilled I could do a dance! Not only does she have a new home in the country, but a new job guarding goats! The lady has 4 pigmy goats & 4 horses there & has had problems really bad with coyotes. The previous owner of this dog swore up & down she would not be able to be a livestock guardian dog. Well the dog has other ideas, she is within the first day already guarding the goats & doesn't want to leave them. How is that for good instincts when this dog has been inside a house for a year & a half. This place is just perfect for this dog, I met the lady yesterday & saw her place & it is totally fenced in & she has a gate at the driveway so the dog can't get out to wander, it's just the perfect place for her. I told her I am so happy for both of them!

 

[chicken danz]

Trish once the fermentation starts there is no need to add more vinegar. I added a little more after I started my mix because I made a bigger batch. I think the bins work so much better than the buckets. I still have a bucket in the hallway and it's a mess. The bin in the brooder is awesome. It really helps to get that stuff stirred up when you have more room. I'd love to do one of these 4 foot long 50 gallon or so rubbermaid bins for the flock but it would just take way too much floor space. So I guess I will just have to figure out how to stir a big barrel of it instead.
There is a point after a few days when you smell a different smell and the mix bubbles a lot when you stir it. It's not an unpleasant smell at all. Reminds me of a very fine quality sour kraut. Like the refrigerated kind that you buy in a bag if you've ever had any of that.
I get tickled at these little olandsk. They love this food when it is fresh.They can have a little left over in their bowl, but when I put a spoonful of fresh FF in there they almost dance in excitement. They are such cute little birds.