Consolidated Kansas

[lizzyGSR]

I have been so busy recently that I've barely had time to skim to keep up with all the chatter! It has been gorgeous here for the last week or so, and I've been stuck inside trying to plan the Valentine's Banquet, which is tomorrow! Then, my husband and I decided that we are going to try to sell our 4wd SUV and our 2wd pickup and just get a 4wd pickup so we can save on tags and insurance. So, I've been point on the vehicle search. Ugh! That is one thing that I did NOT need claiming all of my time this week! I am so far behind on trying to plan the banquet. Valentine's day isn't too far away and I have no idea what I'm going to do for my husband!

I've had some uh-oh's on a bird-related note recently as well.

Some of you who have been on here for a while may know that I got ducks and geese despite the fact that we have a lab (a.k.a. a dog who is bred to hunt birds). We worked with him when we first got the birds and haven't had a problem with him. In fact, I was comfortable enough with him getting along with the birds to leave him alone with the birds for 20-30 minutes while I walked to go get the mail. Yesterday, I was on the phone with the owner of one of the vehicles we're really interested in and I caught that the dog chasing my whole flock.

Now, I've seen him run PAST my flock in the past, and the flock thought he was chasing them. This time was NOT the same. He actually followed them when they changed direction. So, I went out and yelled at him and told him he was a bad dog. Then, this morning, I let my birds out same as always. Then, a little while later I caught the dog chasing one of my geese around the yard. He got tied up after that. When my husband got up, I told him to put the shock collar on the dog and keep an eye on him. So far, he hasn't done it again. I really don't know why the dog has suddenly started chasing my birds, but it's got me concerned. We've had the birds for nearly a year, and he is just now deciding to chase them. I really hope that it is just his way of trying to get more attention (my DH and I have been REALLY busy recently) and that it will stop when my husband spends more time with him. However, this dog has gone hunting without my husband before and has caught birds (pheasants, quail, chukar, etc) that are way more agile than my birds... I'm scared for my birds and not really sure what to do about this behavior. So far, he hasn't actually done anything more than chase the birds (he could have actually grabbed them in either instance), but I'm concerned that one baby step will lead to a landslide in this instance. AND, the dog is my husband's dog - one my husband uses for bird hunting among other things. Getting rid of him is NOT an option. I don't want to think of what will happen if I can't figure out how to solve the problem...

 

[chicken danz]

You did great!!! Now you're getting the hang of it! Sounds like everyone has a tire story! LOL But hey, I'm with you on the 5:30 somewhere!
So has anyone else had a wheel and tire come off a car while you were doing 65 mph and seen your own tire roll out across the field in front of you? Yep that happened to me. One of the problems with aluminum nuts ...they stretch with time and come loose! I actually kept the car on the road!l

You're not going to believe this.... NO ONE showed up!

Everyone was sent an email two weeks prior, and then a week prior, and then 3 emails went out THIS week alone, and the last one went out yesterday morning as a quick reminder! I had people contact me to say that Thursday wouldn't work for them, but my next date (on Tuesday) would be fine. So I really, really hope that my next workshop people will be there. I did take a picture of the room set up-- it was really nice. I'll try to post that here later for you to see. YAY for going to Pryor, I'm sooooo envious... I really wanted to do that one. This is just all bad timing, darn it!!!
I'm so sorry. I know you were apprehensive.

Thank you Trish! The stress is kind of getting to me. It's tough sleeping, for sure. Sorry you didn't get anything else done, but it's been raining and kind of a cruddy day to work. I hope you get something done today, I don't know what the weather is supposed to do today, but I hope it's sunny and bright and warmer for you!
Hang in there. When one door closes, God will open another one.



Beautiful Danz!! That color is amazing!! Here's the thing-- if there is a standard for the bird already, then it's easier to be judged on a new color of an existing bird. See what I mean? The judge will still be familiar with what kind of comb, color of legs, and type (body shape) the bird should have and how it should be standing, holding it's tail, etc... Then he can look at the color and see what you were trying to do with it. If he understands what you're doing-- say it's another exisiting color on ANOTHER breed of bird, then you could still win with that bird. That's sort of the goal for most AOV's.. Anyway, the gold on this bird is just stunning! Is that a girl, sure looks girlie to me! My male is gold but both girls are blue. Supposedly that will get me 80% blue and the gold is necessary to keep the color going.
I see. Here is a link to a greenfire picture of the same bird. Their lighting was much better so you can see how gorgeous these things really are.
http://greenfirefarms.com/store/category/chickens/brahmas/
Sorry all-- that was a shameless plug for our 4-H club! LOL But hey, they are RIGHT HERE probably like 3 miles from the club.
LOL!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so more bad news. I was picking out a couple of birds to take up to the workshop yesterday and I noticed (thank goodness) that one of my girls is not doing well. She is fluffed up, hunched over and by herself and has a messy rear! I'm thinking it's coccidiosis!!! But of course, since i've never had it in my flock, I don't have Corid on hand. So, I brought her in and she is in my kitchen right now to stay warm and I gave her Tetroxy (which I read can ease the bowl infection caused by the protozoa) and I'm going to run out here in a minute to go buy the Corid. So, I better get going. By the time I get back... if you all have ANY other ideas let me know what I should be treating for.

Here's a full run down of her symptoms:
1. hunched over and fluffed up
2. messy rear like she's been having diahrrea
3.when I pick her up, she groans and acts like she's in pain
4. lethargic and having a hard time standing
5. Not wanting to eat the food or water I'm setting out for her.
6. still have good weight on her-- but I could have caught this early at this point.
7. just very quiet and drowsy acting.

Like i said... I'm thinking coccidiosis..... but if this rings another bell for you, let me know!! She's also a young bird-- under a year of age-- about 8 months. She WAS fed medicated feed for the first 12 weeks of her life, but perhaps with them having the plastic wrapping around their pen it allowed for moisture to build up???? (oh-- going to remove and change out the bedding, too)

OH-- and of course, she is my #2 pullet that always gets second place. UGH, ugh!!

So isn't bloody poop a sign of cocci? I am just wondering if it could be something else. Have you found any evidence of mold anywhere. That can cause similar problems.

I know! I don't have time to be sick and I am down for the count! It hurts to sneeze a lot more than usual the baby sure doesn't like it! The puppies are adorable, its a good thing I wasn't there for long or I would have been hauling that one with the badger face that was laying in the dog house off to the car.
Thanks. I need to post pictures but the puppies weren't being very cooperative. I will be putting some on facebook.
Haven't used the stapler yet, either today or tomorrow depending on how slowly I move. Thank you so much for letting us borrow it! We are moving the cats down today too so I need to start rounding them up here in a few minutes. That should be a fun time!
Alrighty, I need to get off my butt and load up the trailer with all the cats stuff. Yes, our cats have a trailer worth of stuff that needs to move with them....I am so tired though, I just want to crawl back in bed.
Oh you must be getting close if you are moving the kitties!!

I just spent some $$ and I hope it was wise. I'm hoping I can use it for a lot of things besides processing. I bought a propane burner, a 60 quart stock pot and a lid. I have a guy coming next Saturday to process turkeys so I wanted something big enough to really scald them well. All in all it cost me less than half of the cost of a cheap scalder and it gives me the options to use it for other things. I just hope it gets here in time. Now if I had a whiz bang plucker I'd be ready to do some processing. I don't like processing well enough to invest in that. I can sell my chicken boys to other people and so all I really need in general is stuff to process a place to process turkeys. I plan to keep a few turkeys each year for my own table use. I like these little guys. We don't need a huge turkey unless the kids are here. I can always cook two of them for family events or raise one of the blues for that.

 

[chicken danz]

Lizzy keep your eye on him and have the collar up on high. Scold him good. Then pen him and tie him up for a while when he does it. My guess is he is just bored and needs something to do and someone to spend time with him.

 

[JosieChick]

Is it possible to keep your birds in a fenced run in area unless you are out to watch them? Or tie the dog up when the birds come out to free range? I personally would never trust a hunting dog to not kill a bird if left unattended. We had a flat coated retriever that would ignore the birds if we were out there because he knew he was wearing his remote collar but he dug out of our fenced backyard one day while I was gone to town to get groceries and went on a killing rampage. We lost 13 birds that day and he went to live with a new family that didn't have chickens. I know that isn't an option for you but if they were my babies I would keep them penned or tie/pen the dog when the birds are out. The mix of the two sounds like a ticking time bomb, especially with a dog that has actively been trained to hunt. I am sure the ducks and geese are starting to mate/lay as spring approaches and that creates a lot more noise and excitement than usual too.

I've had some uh-oh's on a bird-related note recently as well.

Some of you who have been on here for a while may know that I got ducks and geese despite the fact that we have a lab (a.k.a. a dog who is bred to hunt birds). We worked with him when we first got the birds and haven't had a problem with him. In fact, I was comfortable enough with him getting along with the birds to leave him alone with the birds for 20-30 minutes while I walked to go get the mail. Yesterday, I was on the phone with the owner of one of the vehicles we're really interested in and I caught that the dog chasing my whole flock.

Now, I've seen him run PAST my flock in the past, and the flock thought he was chasing them. This time was NOT the same. He actually followed them when they changed direction. So, I went out and yelled at him and told him he was a bad dog. Then, this morning, I let my birds out same as always. Then, a little while later I caught the dog chasing one of my geese around the yard. He got tied up after that. When my husband got up, I told him to put the shock collar on the dog and keep an eye on him. So far, he hasn't done it again. I really don't know why the dog has suddenly started chasing my birds, but it's got me concerned. We've had the birds for nearly a year, and he is just now deciding to chase them. I really hope that it is just his way of trying to get more attention (my DH and I have been REALLY busy recently) and that it will stop when my husband spends more time with him. However, this dog has gone hunting without my husband before and has caught birds (pheasants, quail, chukar, etc) that are way more agile than my birds... I'm scared for my birds and not really sure what to do about this behavior. So far, he hasn't actually done anything more than chase the birds (he could have actually grabbed them in either instance), but I'm concerned that one baby step will lead to a landslide in this instance. AND, the dog is my husband's dog - one my husband uses for bird hunting among other things. Getting rid of him is NOT an option. I don't want to think of what will happen if I can't figure out how to solve the problem...

Loose stool is the first sign, blood comes later when the lower GI tract gets really irritated. I am sure your hens will be glad some of those toms are going! Not nearly as close to moving as I would like to be but we have to get something done. Plus it is hard to paint with all the cats in the house and getting into wet paint and hair floating around!

So isn't bloody poop a sign of cocci? I am just wondering if it could be something else. Have you found any evidence of mold anywhere. That can cause similar problems.
I just spent some $$ and I hope it was wise. I'm hoping I can use it for a lot of things besides processing. I bought a propane burner, a 60 quart stock pot and a lid. I have a guy coming next Saturday to process turkeys so I wanted something big enough to really scald them well. All in all it cost me less than half of the cost of a cheap scalder and it gives me the options to use it for other things. I just hope it gets here in time. Now if I had a whiz bang plucker I'd be ready to do some processing. I don't like processing well enough to invest in that. I can sell my chicken boys to other people and so all I really need in general is stuff to process a place to process turkeys. I plan to keep a few turkeys each year for my own table use. I like these little guys. We don't need a huge turkey unless the kids are here. I can always cook two of them for family events or raise one of the blues for that.

Ugh, I can hardly breath. It makes packing and carrying stuff nearly impossible. I am wiped and I still need to load the trailer and the cats. I have everything out on the porch and ready just need to start doing it.

 

[mrsdanamiller]

Thanks everyone for the welcome!

Welcome Mrsdanamiller! Tell us about yourself and your birds or your wanna be birds. I have no idea where Haysville is. Enlighten me.

Chicken danz, I am just south of Wichita. The city limits touch, that's how close. I've got some chickens being held for me through some local people. I'll get them in a couple weeks when my coop's done. I'm getting pullets who are just starting to lay. I thought I'd skip the chick raising for my first time keeping chickens. I just want to figure out how to keep them then do that sometime in the future. I'm getting around 5 chickens of the following breeds: Barnevelder, White Rock, RIR crossed with a white hen(I don't know the breed). About myself: I'm 20, married to my husband (Daniel, 29) who works at KU School of Medicine in the IT dept. We have an 11 mo old son named Josiah. We are Christians, love spending time with family, playing nerdy board games with friends, etc. I am also fumbling along at learning how to garden. Lol chickens and gardening (oh and being a mommy to a little one) are a lot to take in.

WELCOME!!!!!!!!! So, so, glad to have you here on the thread!! I'm just south of Haysville a bit, so we're neighbors!

DO you have kids that are 8yrs old and up?? If so, we have a 4-H club right off Meridian south of Haysville and the end-date for signing up for a Project is March 1st. You don't have to have animals to be in 4-H. We have city kids and farm kids, so it's a nice mix. Of course if you want to get into poultry (making a wild assumption since you are HERE--hahaha!) I'm in charge of the poultry project!

Sorry all-- that was a shameless plug for our 4-H club! LOL But hey, they are RIGHT HERE probably like 3 miles from the club.

Hehe I don't mind your shameless plug!! My kiddo isn't old enough by any means but I'd love for him to get involved in the future! I wasn't in 4-H as a kid, but had horse-owning friends that were, so I was interested in it, but still don't really know much about it. But yay for being neighbors!! Thanks for the welcome! You wouldn't happen to live off 79th between Seneca and Broadway would you? I used to live on Nina Ct. and near there on the south side of 79th was a house I remember always having chickens everywhere in the yard. lol

Welcome mrsdanamiller! Yes, there are quite a few of us here in Kansas, kind of spread around, but quite a few of us around the Wichita area. Feel free to tell us about yourself & your birds, what kind do you have? There are some on here that just lurk & don't post much & those of us who post all the time. Just jump in any time, we chat about a lot of things on here.

Danz, Haysville is south of Wichita kind of west of Derby just a few miles if you know where Derby is. It's one of the towns included in the metro area for Wichita. Those Brahmas are beautiful, kind of like the blue lacing I'm hoping to have on the Barnvelders I'm getting only blue, not gold. I hope your hand is doing better & your dad too.

Hi there! I'm getting a couple Barnevelders too! I love the lacing on the feathers and I'm excited for the dark brown eggs!

 

[JosieChick]

Before I forget. I have a beautiful green fires farm lemon cuckoo orpington rooster that is free to a good home if anyone wants him. He probably should not be bred because he is missing some toe nails (since hatch) and I don't know if it is genetic or caused by incubation. (none of the other chicks in that hatch had any toe troubles) So if anyone is looking for some handsome eye candy and a fella to look over their ladies send me a PM! I will get pics of him soon. He is such a nice boy I don't have the heart to butcher him.

 

[Hawkeye95]

The weather sure isn't cooperating well with my building plans yesterday or today. Yesterday it was wet & chilly & today just more chilly & cloudy, no sun here, at least not right now. I'm hoping to at least go out & cut the corner pieces for my gates in the garage & maybe I can just carry the wood up here & screw them together in there instead of outside. Darned weather anyway, I'm so ready for spring. I hope we do have a spring this year instead of going right from winter into the heat.

It isn't too bad outside right now. I went on a field trip with one of the county extension agents and we looked at some possible stuff for the poultry barn. It didn't pan out, but we didn't freeze, either. Although, it's not nice enough I would want to spend a LOT of time out there right now. I feel for you! I'm with you on the Spring! Bring the rain and the cool/warm temps!

I know! I don't have time to be sick and I am down for the count! It hurts to sneeze a lot more than usual the baby sure doesn't like it! The puppies are adorable, its a good thing I wasn't there for long or I would have been hauling that one with the badger face that was laying in the dog house off to the car.

I wonder if your bird had cocci?? Did he die, or did he recover? My bird isn't thin, I felt her all over, but she's not eating, either. So it wouldn't take much for her to lose weight fast. I think I caught it pretty early, because she didn't look like this yesterday. I force fed her the Corid water this morning when I got back from Atwoods. She didn't want to eat or drink. After her force fed session with the Corid water, she perked up a bit and went over to the feed and pecked around in it a bit. Don't know how much she ate, I had to leave again and just got home a bit ago. When I came home, she was holed up in the side of the box and didn't look happy. Going to force feed her more water. But since I've been home, she's been on her feet and is looking around like she wants out. She seems more active. So I wonder if she's been drinking water and eating a bit since I was gone. I was gone for about 2.5 hours. She seems a bit more perky in the last few minutes.... I hope that's not a bad sign-- the sudden urge to get that last ditch energy.

I have been so busy recently that I've barely had time to skim to keep up with all the chatter! It has been gorgeous here for the last week or so, and I've been stuck inside trying to plan the Valentine's Banquet, which is tomorrow! Then, my husband and I decided that we are going to try to sell our 4wd SUV and our 2wd pickup and just get a 4wd pickup so we can save on tags and insurance. So, I've been point on the vehicle search. Ugh! That is one thing that I did NOT need claiming all of my time this week! I am so far behind on trying to plan the banquet. Valentine's day isn't too far away and I have no idea what I'm going to do for my husband!

Good luck with the truck hunt! I think the shock collar is a great idea. Just always be handy and watching! Otherwise, I think I'd pen him or tie him up. I don't think I'd trust him. Maybe if he had a chance to make a run for them and got shocked, it would change his mind... but then again, if he's a smart boy, he might know it's coming from the collar and the next time you forget to put it on, he will know he is free to do what he wants.

So isn't bloody poop a sign of cocci? I am just wondering if it could be something else. Have you found any evidence of mold anywhere. That can cause similar problems.
I just spent some $$ and I hope it was wise. I'm hoping I can use it for a lot of things besides processing. I bought a propane burner, a 60 quart stock pot and a lid. I have a guy coming next Saturday to process turkeys so I wanted something big enough to really scald them well. All in all it cost me less than half of the cost of a cheap scalder and it gives me the options to use it for other things. I just hope it gets here in time. Now if I had a whiz bang plucker I'd be ready to do some processing. I don't like processing well enough to invest in that. I can sell my chicken boys to other people and so all I really need in general is stuff to process a place to process turkeys. I plan to keep a few turkeys each year for my own table use. I like these little guys. We don't need a huge turkey unless the kids are here. I can always cook two of them for family events or raise one of the blues for that.

She doesn't have bloody poop. But when I got home, it's runny and messy. I don't know if she's had bloody poop or not-- in that pen, there's no way to know because there are other birds in there. I think I'm going to run Corid for all the birds out there. I'll see how she responds for today with it and then check on the others and if they look ify-- then I'll run the Corrid. There is a TON of medicine in that bottle!! You only use 4.75cc for a half gallon and 9cc for a full gallon and I think there's enough to do something like over 800 gallons. I hope your stock pot gets here! That sounds really neat!

Is it possible to keep your birds in a fenced run in area unless you are out to watch them? Or tie the dog up when the birds come out to free range? I personally would never trust a hunting dog to not kill a bird if left unattended. We had a flat coated retriever that would ignore the birds if we were out there because he knew he was wearing his remote collar but he dug out of our fenced backyard one day while I was gone to town to get groceries and went on a killing rampage. We lost 13 birds that day and he went to live with a new family that didn't have chickens. I know that isn't an option for you but if they were my babies I would keep them penned or tie/pen the dog when the birds are out. The mix of the two sounds like a ticking time bomb, especially with a dog that has actively been trained to hunt. I am sure the ducks and geese are starting to mate/lay as spring approaches and that creates a lot more noise and excitement than usual too.
Loose stool is the first sign, blood comes later when the lower GI tract gets really irritated. I am sure your hens will be glad some of those toms are going! Not nearly as close to moving as I would like to be but we have to get something done. Plus it is hard to paint with all the cats in the house and getting into wet paint and hair floating around!
Ugh, I can hardly breath. It makes packing and carrying stuff nearly impossible. I am wiped and I still need to load the trailer and the cats. I have everything out on the porch and ready just need to start doing it.

Good to know... I was worried that I may be treating for the wrong thing, because there is no blood in the poop. But I'm hoping it's because I caught it early enough. She just seems droopy and run down. Don't over do the work today! You'll regret it later. I hope you get to feeling better quick! NO fun being sick!!

So do you think that's likely what she has??? Would she have some kind of other infection that mimics coccidiosis?

Thanks everyone for the welcome!



Chicken danz, I am just south of Wichita. The city limits touch, that's how close. I've got some chickens being held for me through some local people. I'll get them in a couple weeks when my coop's done. I'm getting pullets who are just starting to lay. I thought I'd skip the chick raising for my first time keeping chickens. I just want to figure out how to keep them then do that sometime in the future. I'm getting around 5 chickens of the following breeds: Barnevelder, White Rock, RIR crossed with a white hen(I don't know the breed). About myself: I'm 20, married to my husband (Daniel, 29) who works at KU School of Medicine in the IT dept. We have an 11 mo old son named Josiah. We are Christians, love spending time with family, playing nerdy board games with friends, etc. I am also fumbling along at learning how to garden. Lol chickens and gardening (oh and being a mommy to a little one) are a lot to take in.
Hehe I don't mind your shameless plug!! My kiddo isn't old enough by any means but I'd love for him to get involved in the future! I wasn't in 4-H as a kid, but had horse-owning friends that were, so I was interested in it, but still don't really know much about it. But yay for being neighbors!! Thanks for the welcome! You wouldn't happen to live off 79th between Seneca and Broadway would you? I used to live on Nina Ct. and near there on the south side of 79th was a house I remember always having chickens everywhere in the yard. lol
Hi there! I'm getting a couple Barnevelders too! I love the lacing on the feathers and I'm excited for the dark brown eggs!

Nice to meet you! I live right off Meridian. Sort of. So that isn't my house you saw, but it sounds like a neat place! I'm married and have 3 kids, and my youngest is 4 years old. Gardening is a hobby most of us are also passionate about here, too! So you'll have lots of help if you need it when you get your garden kicked off!

 

[Hawkeye95]

OKay, well, my indoor silkie is now an outdoor bird again. She started throwing a fit in here. She just became more and more alert and active and started trying to fly out of the box. I do have pens, but they are so big, I didn't want to bring them in here. I'm sure she would have settled down if I'd had her in the wire dog kennel. But I went ahead and dosed the water outside with Corid and put her out there. She just started hunting around for a spot to check out... I hung out there a while to see if she was wanting to lay down or what, but she never did anything but kept looking like she was searching for something. I'll go out and look at her again in a few and see what she's up to. Could she have egg-peritonitis?? I felt around her vent and under her pubic bones, but it's just all squishy and doesn't feel like there is an egg in there. Corid doesn't work THAT fast, does it???

 

[chicken danz]

I think it improves them quickly but not that quick. I could be wrong .I just know when my daughter had cocci she said they were up and going in 24 hours after treating.
Sending you a PM Hawkeye

 

[Hawkeye95]

I took these pictures last night on my phone. The room I'm going to use for the Poultry is really neat. I didn't have it all set up at this point-- but it's got cement floors and a drain in the floor, so if you really need to wash down the floors, it's possible. There is a sink to wash hands, etc.. I traveled up with my dog kennel and then put up the wire dog cage after I got them there.

BTW-- Checoukan, your post didn't multi and you asked about the plastic on my pen. I have an outdoor pen under my deck and I wrapped it in plastic. There is still airflow through the top-- as the deck boards allow air through and the plastic isn't entirely to the top of the pen, anyway. I figure it's enough to block most of the wind, but it does still allow some rain and snow to come in.

Yoda and Miss Zebbie