Consolidated Kansas

[TheCrazyClucker]

Trish we have snow predicted here for Friday and Saturday. Can you believe that? Snow in May????
Welcome Aigamogeek. I am fairly close to you as well.
Well I got some really bad news today. They put my Dad in the hospital yesterday. He was complaining of shortness of breath and chest pains. His heart doctor happened to be in Burlington today and talked with him about what was going on and how he felt. He listened to his heart and checked all his records. He is a little confused about how his pacemaker is functioning. It is working but not always the same way between the upper and lower chambers of the heart. (He knows that from the heart monitor they have on him.) So, he wants to have it really checked by the person who does that, but he was not in town today. He said it might give him a little relief but the real truth is that Dad’s heart is just slowing down. He expects it to get worse not better. He said there is nothing that we can do to improve his heart. If he was 20 years younger he would try open heart surgery but at this point he would probably suffer a stroke or die during the surgery. He said we are not to the hospice stage yet but we are close and he could become bedfast.
I honestly don't feel I can handle this right now. It's just too much after all my losses the past year.
On other subjects the fencing guys were here bright and early. They've been out there working so my morning was kind of throw off schedule. Why do I feel so uptight when someone is around?? I need to get out and get busy building some pens and moving some birds. I am tired of the smell in the house.

SNOW??!!! I hope it doesn't hit the Flints... I have rodeo practice on Saturday!
Sorry about your dad Danz. I hope he feels better!

 

[tntblake]

Danz i'm sorry about your dad. I will be keeping him and you in my prayers.

 

[sharol]

Just FYI, the Emporia Animal shelter has a Great Pyr male puppy on Petfinder.

Sharol

 

[michelleml]

Danz sorry about your Dad I will keep you both in prayers.

Nice warm weather today the kids kept telling me it's too hot outside. We started working on the run today so I'm hoping to have it completed in a few days. I'm hoping before Dh starts radiation.

It's crazy they are taking about a chance of snow on Friday

 

[AmySG]

I am so enjoying chickens more than I thought I would. I've had parakeets and cockatiels before, never a troup of chickens hiding under my hair like the kittens use to do. Took them out to see how easy they could escape the work-in-progress run, and to enjoy the beautiful day, and they all climbed up and hid

. I got to wear a living chicken feather boa

. Then we hunted in the grass together. I'm not the best chicken momma. We only found one worm

and Gold ran off with it because she didn't want to share. Right through the run fence. Well, I knew I had more work to do. Bantams are so tiny! And adorable!

 

[chicken danz]

Very busy day today and I hurt all over.
Bad news first. They are keeping my Dad in the hospital and they went ahead and called Hospice. The heart doctor has determined his heart is failing. Thanks for your prayers. They do mean so much.
I got a new pen up today and got the netting on top. I was going to move the guineas to it but ran out of time and energy. Once I get them moved I have to move the pen they've been in and then put the baby ducks out there.
I moved my PVC pen out into the grass and put my baby Sebbies out there today. They seemed to enjoy it although not sure what to do with the green stuff. Instead of bringing them back in I put them in the green house and put a heat lamp out there. Makes me very very nervous. But it will be nice to be able to sleep tonight without them all hollering for food and water all night.
I got a sweeter heater rigged up over a new bin for the new chicks. I have those in my front room. I never thought I'd resort to putting chicks in the front room.
I pumped out the duck pond and then pressure washed it, vacuumed it, and refilled it. That will last about a half day!!!
I moved some lumber across the yard so I could start on my new hoop coop one of these days.
The fence guys were here all day and got all the post in and the welding done. Looks like now all that needs to be done is the wire hung, and the gates installed. I haven't purchased the gates for the main entrance yet. And the fence contractor said he would make me one out of my wire for the farm equipment gate. I think it is going to be a super nice fence. These guys do quality work for sure.

 

[HEChicken]

Wow, Danz, you had a really busy day. I'm so sorry that your dad has taken a turn for the worse - you are definitely in our thoughts.

I spent several hours this morning mowing and never gave a thought to sunscreen. I mean really, isn't it ridiculous to have to worry about frostbite and sunburn within days of one another? So this afternoon my arms started to feel tight and look pink and I realized I really did it to myself. Darn. I need to get out there and spend several more hours tomorrow mowing - guess I will need to cover up, even though I will be hot. Maybe if I can get started early while its still cool.

Deerfield and her DH delivered me one of her beautiful pens this evening - he does great work and this is a really quality pen. I am so excited to get my chicks moved out to it tomorrow. They're outgrowing their brooder and are ready to experience the great outdoors. I wish the cold weather wasn't moving in later in the week but at least they can get a little time outdoors this week.

My turkey hen was laying very consistently, and then suddenly the eggs just....stopped. Oh, I knew she didn't actually stop laying but after being so good about laying in the nestboxes, she suddenly decided to hide a nest somewhere and I had no idea where to start looking. This afternoon I noticed Ned was by himself, which only happens when she is laying, so I asked him to show me where Madge was and he actually led me right to her. (I'm sure she was so thrilled with him). She was up under my pole barn - the opposite side of the yard from the chicken coop) in a 5-gallon bucket. Well, she's a turkey so she wasn't actually IN the bucket, but she thought she was. I think its the same principle as playing peek-a-boo with a baby who doesn't realize when she covers her eyes, it is only she who cannot see - we can still see her. So Madge had her head and neck in the 5-gallon bucket and apparently assumed that meant she was hidden. A little pathetic really. I was glad to find her nest but didn't have high hopes of finding eggs in it. I was sure my dogs had discovered this little secret sooner than I did and sure enough, when she got done I went to check and there was just the one egg in there. That means I lost 4-5 eggs to my dogs. Grrr. I can't blame them, but do wish Madge hadn't changed things up on me - I didn't have a problem with the former arrangement. I guess I need to get going on building that second hoop coop, like yesterday, so I can pen her up and make sure I don't lose any more eggs. At least I will be home tomorrow so can keep an eye on her when she heads up to hide in her bucket, and put the dogs up until I've collected her egg.

 

[cherwill]

Tv test pattern! LOL!! Does anyone watch "The Big Bang Theory"? Sheldon dresses up as the Doppler Effect for a Halloween party and he looks like a zebra and these birds remind me of his costume--- so funny! Now I'll be making the "sound" that goes with the visual 'noise'. haha I love the juvenile crows too! The silkies are really the most funny, poor things! I expect these boys to have "real" crows.

LOL! I love Big Bang Theory. Bazinga!

The forecast for my area is 87 today, and it is supposed to get down to 33 again later this week. That is a more than 50-degree swing - it must be so hard on the plants and animals to make those adjustments. Today my birds are holding their wings out and their mouths open because they're so hot. I bought more seedlings to replace the ones that were killed in the cold snap last week, but I'm afraid to plant them out and them killed later this week too. So hard to know how to get started this year - I've never known a year like it before.

That's how it is here, too. 85 was supposed to be the high, then a low of 33 one night. A couple of days ago that low was supposed to be 28, so I guess I should be happy. They also dropped the snow out of my forecast; it's just supposed to be rain now. I have a tray full of tomatoes and tomatilloes I started from seed. I hope they'll last until next week. My track record with starting things from seed and then transplanting is not so good.

I am so enjoying chickens more than I thought I would. I've had parakeets and cockatiels before, never a troup of chickens hiding under my hair like the kittens use to do. Took them out to see how easy they could escape the work-in-progress run, and to enjoy the beautiful day, and they all climbed up and hid

. I got to wear a living chicken feather boa

. Then we hunted in the grass together. I'm not the best chicken momma. We only found one worm

and Gold ran off with it because she didn't want to share. Right through the run fence. Well, I knew I had more work to do. Bantams are so tiny! And adorable!

That sounds like a nice way to spend the day. I can't believe Gold got away with it. My chickens will grab something and then get chased around for 10 minutes, trying to stop and eat before having to run again. It never fails to amuse me. This is kind of disgusting, but the first time I threw a grub at the chickens was something to see. At the time, I had seven. All seven darted in, then ran off in different directions. There was no sign of the grub left behind, but all seven chickens had a piece of it. It took about a second for all that to happen.

Very busy day today and I hurt all over.
Bad news first. They are keeping my Dad in the hospital and they went ahead and called Hospice. The heart doctor has determined his heart is failing. Thanks for your prayers. They do mean so much.

I'm sorry about your dad.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

I did the same thing as HEChicken -- outside with no sunscreen and I'm really burned. The tops of my knees are asking "Why?" tonight. Sigh. I sure enjoyed being outside mowing and visiting with the ducks and chickens. I love this weather! I wanted to get the mowing finished before the next ridiculous cold snap but still have a ways to go tomorrow. I'll be out there in a sombrero and snowsuit to avoid the sun! LOL!

I have my Aloha chicks in one of the pens DH makes for me in the unfinished part of the shop. They were all showing off their flying skills and I was really glad they were enclosed! I want to move them outside so I'm really hoping this is the last bit of cold weather. It's getting tedious waiting for decently warm weather to come and stay. At least it hasn't hurt my strawberry plants. They're doing just fine.

For those who don't know, Danz lost her mom just a year ago. It seemed like just one thing after another and now this. I'm sure keeping you in my prayers, Danz.

 

[Trish44]

Danz, I'm sorry to hear about your dad, you're in my prayers also.

I spent a lot of time outside today too, we got the door for the hoop coop hung & I started on the wire. It takes forever to put all of those cable ties on, so I just got on half of the front & one side done. This hoop coop is the same size as the other one I have 8x16 feet. I hope to get some more done tomorrow before the rain & cold front comes in. I have a feeling I'm going to have to go buy more wire, I don't think I have enough, but I can run & get another roll if I need to. I've got to get this thing done before I need to move the chickens in there. Of course I hope it actually gets over this darned cold soon so I can move them in there. I've been removing plastic & tarps & here it comes again. I had to put one back up already on the north side of my run because I have my baby barnevelders in there in a pen. I guess I had better wait to take down any more tarps. Gosh is this stuff ever going to be over? I'm beginning to wonder.

We were going to get the mower going so I could start mowing the jungle backyard, but my DH got it out & the battery was no good, so he had to pick one up on his way to work this afternoon. We had the little goats out again today, they sure are enjoying getting out & munching on some nice green stuff. They don't eat the grass like sheep do, I told my DH if he wants something to eat grass he's going to have to buy a sheep. He then asked me how much they were, but after seeing that they weren't cheap he decided we would just mow.