Consolidated Kansas

[pikeman94]

Johnsen county area. I have silkie's, polish, americanas, a Rhode island hen, 4 silkie×barred rocks, and a silkie×barred rock× polish.
And thanks

Welcome! Where at in JoCo? I am in Western JoCo.

 

[pikeman94]

Hello fellow kansans! like to see there is a good sized group of people from kansas that love their chickens and other birds!

Welcome. Where abouts are you located?

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
X2 what Verna said about heat vs. wattage. I do simplify a lot when discussing these, but overall, I found that the Sweeter Heater is hotter than the EcoGlow and this helps with larger groups. I've also found that by hanging it, you can put more chicks under it because you aren't limited by the legs (although that's moot in the EG50) and they don't have to press up against it.

The other BIG thing for me is that the cord on the EG is a flimsy little strand about as robust as your phone charger and I've had it break off of not one, but 2 EG, rendering them useless, as it was where the wire met the sealed body of the unit. It's glued shut, so opening it to swap out the cord will really be a pain and mess & it won't be the same afterward. I did report this to Brinsea and they were going to swap them out for me, but both times UPS cam to get them, I was gone for work. I wish they'd just send me a label!!

The cord on the SH is a nice, robust lamp-wire type, and I can't imagine having the same problem with it.

Quote:
That's great!! I am using leg bands from Ketchum Mfg. http://www.ketchummfg.com/ There are bunches of colors and you can get a lot of info on them, so I went with those. I like that they are able to be used for multiple sizes of birds and I don't have to go fetch a different set of pliers, etc. With the butt-end metal ones you have to order different sizes and a pliers set for each. The plastic ones only have the pre-numbering, and they break and fall off...which isn't helpful when you have a flock of identical birds and 2 come off before you notice any missing...they also got them to me really quickly!!

 

[HEChicken]

That's great!! I am using leg bands from Ketchum Mfg. http://www.ketchummfg.com/ There are bunches of colors and you can get a lot of info on them, so I went with those. I like that they are able to be used for multiple sizes of birds and I don't have to go fetch a different set of pliers, etc. With the butt-end metal ones you have to order different sizes and a pliers set for each. The plastic ones only have the pre-numbering, and they break and fall off...which isn't helpful when you have a flock of identical birds and 2 come off before you notice any missing...they also got them to me really quickly!!

I went to the Ketchum website yesterday after seeing you mention the place you ordered from on another thread. What I would have liked to see is some short videos showing how they go on, as that is still sort of unclear to me. I like the idea of leg bands better than wing bands because I just prefer to be less invasive than more. One thing that concerns me is how to figure out WHEN to band. I noticed that the leg bands have 3 holes so you can use them on a variety of sized legs. But - if you band when they are chicks and cut off the remaining band as they recommend, when the chick grows up, do you have to remove that band and replace it? In that case, wouldn't it be a different number? I'm sure there's something I'm missing here....

I finished getting my brooder set up this morning so I am all set for my chicks to hatch and my shipment to arrive. I was able to get the holes pounded down so the metal isn't sticking out and then cover them over on both sides with duct tape. Then I cut open some feed bags and lined the floor with those so that chick poop doesn't contribute to rusting it out, covered those with newspaper and on top of that I'll use towels for the first few days and then I might switch to smart pick shavings. I have an EcoGlow out there and was able to feed the cord through the drainage hole of the water tank, so it didn't have to go up and over the wall of the tank - much neater. Hawkeye, I'm going to use your suggestion of putting the rubberized shelf liner on the top of the EcoGlow as it takes them no time to learn to jump up on it. When I used it briefly for the chicks I hatched for Deerfield, they weren't 48 hours old and they were already getting up on it.

Thanks for the clarification on the SH. I can't justify spending MORE right now but if/when I need something else in the future, I may consider getting one of those. I do like that the EcoGlow is good to go right out of the box without having to be hung or mounted but that is a one time thing. Can you stand the SH on blocks on each end, rather than mounting it, or would that interfere with the heat source?

Chickies, I think it was you who gave the idea of using the quartered barrel as nesting quarters for muscovies? Well, I noticed some lying around at our barn so I asked the barn manager where he got them and he said he bought them from a guy on Craigslist but doesn't have an immediate need for them so if I want one, help myself. I wound up giving him some eggs in exchange as I'd rather barter than just take something that someone else bought. This morning I went ahead and cut it and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I was concerned that I wouldn't cut on a straight line and it would look like doo-doo, but when I took it out to try to mark it, I realized that the barrel was put together as two halves in the first place, so had a seam running at the halfway point (lengthwise) all the way around. That made cutting it in half really simple - I didn't even have to mark out the line, just follow it with the circular saw. So all I had to do was mark a line to cut going the other way and voila, almost perfect quarters. The barrel was actually made of pretty thick, stiff plastic, and didn't feel like I really needed that board across the front, so I decided to try without it to begin.

When I went down to the coop, I found that Madge was sitting in the broody nest to lay her egg. I wish I'd had my camera - seeing a nest shared by a turkey, duck and silkie at the same time was a little bit of "awwww".

I think I have a musk rat living in my lagoon. I noticed ripples in the top and as I watched, something brown that was floating on the surface (and which I had assumed was a small log), dove. I saw it again moments later, before it dove again. I've noticed a burrow leading from the edge of the lagoon back into the ground but certainly wasn't going to stick my hand in there to find out what made it. So I came back to the house, pondering what it was I just saw. Too small to be a beaver, didn't look like a fish or turtle. If we were in Australia I would have said it was a platypus. Then the thought of a rat hit me and I looked up musk rats and it fits for size and environment, including the burrow and the availability of food in the lagoon. They don't seem to be a risk to poultry so I guess I'll leave it be.

 

[123casper]

Hey everyone been awhile. I have 8 buckling kids about 40lbs to sell and a young boar kiko Nubian cross 16 month old buck to sell if anyone is interested? Just contact me in message and will talk shop! Will be happy to send pics of all I also have pics of the bucks father and Mother, and the kids that were sired by him last fall. Currently using him again to breed back but keeping his daughters so cant keep him. He is a pet and I guarantee extremely easy to handle loads with treats lol!

 

[lizzyGSR]

Hello all! I've been away on an impromptu trip. The neighbors took care of my birds (all waterfowl) and horses for me (they have poultry and horses as well). When I got home, my birds were completely out of water - bone dry! I asked the neighbors and they said that they had watered the birds according to the schedule I outlined before I left (and the one that I usually use). The only difference I can see is that the birds were locked up while I was gone whereas they are usually allowed to free range. My best guess is that the birds got bored and played in their water. Then, when they wanted a drink, there was nothing left. I am now looking for ways to prevent the birds from playing in the water bowls that are for drinking water. I have 9 ducks and 3 geese. Any suggestions on what I could do to keep the birds from physically climbing into their water bowls? Their water bowls are the 2 gallon heated water bowls from Orschelns.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

The EG 20 is not as versatile, since both sides have to be at the same level at the same time, however the EG 50, like the SH, allows you to have one side higher than the other to accommodate different sizes of chicks.

I have an EcloGlow 20 and mine is at an angel - one side is the next level up from the other side. This allows the chicks that want to be really close to the heat to have that space and others that don't can have a little more distance from their body and the heated surface. I've not tried it more than one level up from the other though.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye95
I *might* have a hen I'd part with ONLY if you have a super fortress enclosed area and coop for a silkie that would NEVER let her free range. She can NOT see. She is pet quality but stunning looking, but she has one of the biggest crests. I'm keeping her as a pet for now since she can't be out unsupervised and left out in the yard. She needs a secure pen with a top since she won't be able to see flying predators either. She's slow because of how much crest she has. I'm happy to keep her with me forever or send her to a nice secure home where a dog or raccoon or hawk won't kill her. I just have her to sell (and I'm being very picky) and then I do have a couple of silkie roosters too that I'm not being so picky about. I have two pet quality roosters and one breeder quality that could be shown, because he's nice enough but in a BIG show-- like Nationals he didn't hold up well, he got 4th place.



Wow.. what a cutie.. I dont have a super fortress.. and she would need that.. Or a seeing eye protection dog.. ( grin)
but thanks.. for checking.. with me.. I've known a horse in the same condition.. he had a seeing eye horse pal.. that helped him in and out of the pasture..

Sarahswank.. thanks for checking for me too.. in your area - so glad to have another person out in the SW area.

I'm sure when the time's right i'll find one.. I've heard they are good brooder's.. besides being so cute.

Just wanted to get this .. quick reply.. and thanks out to you.. gotta run...

Silkies make great broodies and pets. The hatchery quality silkies don't have much of a crest at all, so they can see great. That may be what you want to stick with. The ones I'm raising won't be able to see once their crest reaches maturity. They get around great in their own pens, but they really need to be protected. But no big deal, I don't care if I sell her or keep her. I have another one just like her that is perfect except for gold leakage under her chin and she was a great broody for me last year.

Johnsen county area. I have silkie's, polish, americanas, a Rhode island hen, 4 silkie×barred rocks, and a silkie×barred rock× polish.
And thanks

WELCOME! sounds like a great mix of birds you have!

Hello fellow kansans! like to see there is a good sized group of people from kansas that love their chickens and other birds!

Another big WELCOME! Everyone is coming out in droves now! haha!

I went to town yesterday and spent time with my Dad. I just brushed everything else aside because I had just not had time lately to go see him. It is appearing his hearing is gone for good. They have tried steroids and his ears are clean and it's gone. The belief is now that he possibly had a stroke and since it has been some time may never regain his hearing.
I think it is miserable. He has so little to look forward to these days anyway but not being able to hear makes it almost impossible for him to have anything to entertain him at all.
He has closed captioning on his tv but what fun is that to read everything when you can't really read and watch at the same time? It is very difficult to communicate because we are writing what we want to say on a marker board. I can talk non stop but to write my thoughts down in large letters is hard for me to do. I wish I could use a key board to write. It would be much easier.
I'm sure hoping for the warmer day we are supposed to get. I really need to get some work done outside. It was all I could stand to feed and water yesterday.
My little sebbies are jumping out of their bin already. Every time I leave the room one of them manages to hop out. I am going to have to find another way to contain them. They dump their water as soon as they get it and make a mess. I sure wish it were warm enough to brood them outside!!!!

I'm so sorry for your dad. I feel so bad for him, because it must be so furstrating not to be able to hear. Glad that your sebbies are doing great! Sounds like they are getting big and strong if they are hopping out!

The other BIG thing for me is that the cord on the EG is a flimsy little strand about as robust as your phone charger and I've had it break off of not one, but 2 EG, rendering them useless, as it was where the wire met the sealed body of the unit. It's glued shut, so opening it to swap out the cord will really be a pain and mess & it won't be the same afterward. I did report this to Brinsea and they were going to swap them out for me, but both times UPS cam to get them, I was gone for work. I wish they'd just send me a label!!

The cord on the SH is a nice, robust lamp-wire type, and I can't imagine having the same problem with it.

That's great!! I am using leg bands from Ketchum Mfg. http://www.ketchummfg.com/ There are bunches of colors and you can get a lot of info on them, so I went with those. I like that they are able to be used for multiple sizes of birds and I don't have to go fetch a different set of pliers, etc. With the butt-end metal ones you have to order different sizes and a pliers set for each. The plastic ones only have the pre-numbering, and they break and fall off...which isn't helpful when you have a flock of identical birds and 2 come off before you notice any missing...they also got them to me really quickly!!

Ahhh, interesting about the cords on the Eco and the Sweeter. Thanks for the link to the bands. So I'm guessing you use the leg bands and just wait until they are adult to band them? I have been using the spiral numbered bands on my silkies because they will grow with them a bit. But I'm interested in getting something more permanent.

Hawkeye, I'm going to use your suggestion of putting the rubberized shelf liner on the top of the EcoGlow as it takes them no time to learn to jump up on it. When I used it briefly for the chicks I hatched for Deerfield, they weren't 48 hours old and they were already getting up on it.

Thanks for the clarification on the SH. I can't justify spending MORE right now but if/when I need something else in the future, I may consider getting one of those. I do like that the EcoGlow is good to go right out of the box without having to be hung or mounted but that is a one time thing. Can you stand the SH on blocks on each end, rather than mounting it, or would that interfere with the heat source?

Chickies, I think it was you who gave the idea of using the quartered barrel as nesting quarters for muscovies? Well, I noticed some lying around at our barn so I asked the barn manager where he got them and he said he bought them from a guy on Craigslist but doesn't have an immediate need for them so if I want one, help myself. I wound up giving him some eggs in exchange as I'd rather barter than just take something that someone else bought. This morning I went ahead and cut it and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I was concerned that I wouldn't cut on a straight line and it would look like doo-doo, but when I took it out to try to mark it, I realized that the barrel was put together as two halves in the first place, so had a seam running at the halfway point (lengthwise) all the way around. That made cutting it in half really simple - I didn't even have to mark out the line, just follow it with the circular saw. So all I had to do was mark a line to cut going the other way and voila, almost perfect quarters. The barrel was actually made of pretty thick, stiff plastic, and didn't feel like I really needed that board across the front, so I decided to try without it to begin.

When I went down to the coop, I found that Madge was sitting in the broody nest to lay her egg. I wish I'd had my camera - seeing a nest shared by a turkey, duck and silkie at the same time was a little bit of "awwww".

I think I have a musk rat living in my lagoon. I noticed ripples in the top and as I watched, something brown that was floating on the surface (and which I had assumed was a small log), dove. I saw it again moments later, before it dove again. I've noticed a burrow leading from the edge of the lagoon back into the ground but certainly wasn't going to stick my hand in there to find out what made it. So I came back to the house, pondering what it was I just saw. Too small to be a beaver, didn't look like a fish or turtle. If we were in Australia I would have said it was a platypus. Then the thought of a rat hit me and I looked up musk rats and it fits for size and environment, including the burrow and the availability of food in the lagoon. They don't seem to be a risk to poultry so I guess I'll leave it be.

Very cool about the barrels! I hope they like them! That will be great! Funny about Madge, a silkie and a duck all in the same nest! That is kind of nuts! LOL Sounds like a musk rat. I've never known them to be a danger to poultry... but what do I know!?!

I'm with you though-- betting he's just intereting in hanging out at the pond won't be too interested in your birds.

Hello all! I've been away on an impromptu trip. The neighbors took care of my birds (all waterfowl) and horses for me (they have poultry and horses as well). When I got home, my birds were completely out of water - bone dry! I asked the neighbors and they said that they had watered the birds according to the schedule I outlined before I left (and the one that I usually use). The only difference I can see is that the birds were locked up while I was gone whereas they are usually allowed to free range. My best guess is that the birds got bored and played in their water. Then, when they wanted a drink, there was nothing left. I am now looking for ways to prevent the birds from playing in the water bowls that are for drinking water. I have 9 ducks and 3 geese. Any suggestions on what I could do to keep the birds from physically climbing into their water bowls? Their water bowls are the 2 gallon heated water bowls from Orschelns.

Can you put your water up on a cinder block up higher so they can not play in it? Otherwise, I don't know what to tell you! They are just messy birds and love their water!

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

Well I don't have any sad stories for today, thank goodness. However, I did do a crazy thing-- I woke up so tired and exhausted from another sleepless night and I couldn't work out in my mind thru the fog what time the kids go to school. I ended up driving them to school 20 minutes late because my brain would not cooperate with me this morning. I just feel deal tired. I realize at some point I'm going to get sick or...?? I don't know. I need some real sleep and rest.

 

[KuroKitsune]

i live in eastern rush county and live about 45 mins to an hour from Hays.

right now all i have are 59 button quail eggs in my incubator that are due to hatch the 13th and 14th. i would love some mille fleur d'Uccle pullets but all the places i've checked only sell straight run and i cant have any roosters.

really glad to see such a big thread of kansas people

 

[Trish44]

Welcome to the new comers, we haven't had too many out in the western part of the state. Feel free to jump in any time, we chat about a little of everything here.

I have the ecoglows myself & I really have been liking them, especially since I have had to have chicks in the house instead of out in the brooders in the garage. I hope it warms up enough soon to move some of these chicks out of here. I really think the ecoglows might be better for my setup because I can't imagine how I would hang the sweeter heaters. I know they do have the type too that you can hang on a wall, but I wouldn't think they would get the benefit of the heat as well that way. I haven't used my big ecoglow yet, I plan to use it for my broiler chicks that are coming in my bigger brooder.

We took a whole pickup load of trash to the dump today that has been sitting here in the truck waiting for the rain to stop. I sure was glad to get it out of here. I probably will have another one after I clean out the garage, but at least we got this one gone. I'm going out there in a few minutes to start moving some things around in the garage. I need to get my bigger brooder finished & find a place for it. It's just been too cold & nasty to go out & do anything. I hope that's going to change now, I have things outside I really need to get done.

I just moved my little Cream Legbar chicks & Wheaten Ameraucana chicks to a crate for now. I have another batch of eggs going into the hatcher Sunday that will go with the Wheatens in there for an order I have, so I had to get the hatcher cleaned out so I can get ready for the next hatch. Have any of you hatched quail before? I have a friend that is wanting me to hatch a couple different kinds of quail & chukar for her & I have not hatched those before. If you have any tips for me I would be glad to get them.