Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

HEchicken - what is in your feed? Some kinda hormone? Maybe its the water?
Dang gal your turning into a fowl maternity ward!

Or "foul" maternity ward as it turns out, with all the contaminated eggs I've pulled lately!

Hechicken, when I let my turkeys sit all of the eggs have become contaminated. I have one bourbon red hen that is a couple weeks into sitting so until they explode I guess I'll let her keep setting. I've been pulling all the others. The bourbon is pretty protective of her eggs though. I am getting hatching tired so I am just letting her sit. She had about 8 earlier this year and none of those were any good. I do seem to have decent hatches from the ones I collect though. The problem is she is taking my other red hens eggs to sit on as well.
I meant to tell you all I have hatched 3 peafowl so far. I have as many or more eggs that didn't hatch but I'm getting better I think.

I wonder why turkey's eggs get contaminated under them - it seems a little contraindicated to survival of the species. I think next year I will only let them sit on a few and set some in the incubator at the same time. Then I can put the newly hatched poults under them the night they hatch and let them raise them once I've done the work of hatching.

Congrats on the peafowl.

Well, I got half of the chicken yard mowed - enough that they can move around more easily again. And I got the wading pool set up. So far they are ignoring it but once they figure out it has water in it, I'm sure they'll be in it - they loved it last year.

 

[cherwill]

Sharol, I was just going to say that I'm not having any problems, then I discovered that I can't Quote.

HEchicken, NO! I'm not ready for it to be this hot. I shouldn't complain, though, because we did have something like a spring here this year, complete with rain.

 

[chicken danz]

I watered the birds early and let all the geese, ducks, and midget turkeys, and lots of the chickens out to free range. I got fans set up in two houses No trees near there to help keep them cool.
then I came back in and spent 3 and a half hours cleaning and setting, candling and moving eggs around. I was actually able to shut one incubator down!!!
I have a big load of eggs to hatch on Saturday. I got a fire going to burn trash and dead chicks and bad eggs that were piled out there for the last several weeks. So maybe I reduced the fly population some. I had some maggots in the bottom of a trash barrel. Not sure why.. .there was no food in there. I dumped the trash and washed out the barrel and the chickens are having a maggot feast. Sure wish they'd eat flies like they do maggots! It would be a perfect world.
Now I need to get busy on the outdoor activities. Seems like I go all the time and am always behind.

 

[Trish44]

Wow, I'm with you HEChicken, I am not ready for this heat! I went out this morning & had to spend a couple of hours out there cleaning out waterers & making sure the rabbits had extra water in this heat. I let the turkey hens out today & they went right to the water & stood in it. One went right into the kiddie pool I have out there for the dogs to get in & one just stood in the water pan I have out for the chickens & whatever wants to use it. I have several around the yard in places. By the time I got back in I was really getting overheated. With my heart problems I just can't afford to get too overheated, I just don't feel good if I do that. I had to get back in & drink some water & get cooled down. I'm not going back out till later when it's not so hot. Thank goodness we turned the air back on & it's working now. We found out it was something with the thermostat my DH bought that he has to change some settings for the season. It's one of these newfangled computerized devices. It really is pretty cool, but he has had to have some help with setting it up & for the season change he had to spend about an hour on the phone.

Danz, yeah I finally have no more chicks in the house. I have chicks in all my brooders in the garage, but some will be moving outside soon too.

 

[chicken danz]

I wish I could say the same. I have three bins in the house. Plus a stock tank with new hatched ducklings and a brooder with guineas in the basement. I sure wish I had a pen attached to the brooder house. It would be so nice if all these chicks could get outside. Of course in a perfect world I would have a poultry barn with my own little hatching and brooding room and all things chicken would be outside.
I had put a Lady Amhurst hen in a cage cause my rooster had torn her up and scalped her. I have kept her isolated about 3 weeks. Yesterday I thought she was finally well enough to go back in the pen. Today he had torn her up really bad. I'm not sure she will make it this time. I wash her head off and put antibiotic cream on it and gave her some sulfa drugs in her water. She is back in the cage alone. Poor thing. The other hen is fine. I just don't think this one runs from him enough. I've hatched several chicks this spring from them so I am hoping to get some more females. I would probably just sell them all including the adults but everyone thinks they are so beautiful. I like the red goldens so much better cause they aren't hyper.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Maidenwolf if I were closer you could get a couple from me. I haven't had as many this year as normal though.
I guess if I had been bitten by a snake I would hate them but they really aren't something on my list of fears. I don't like them but only because they surprise me now and then and because they eat eggs and little birds. Now a spider is a whole 'nother thing. Give me the bug spray!!!
I have been sitting here looking at stuff and haven't done a thing this morning. I have some birds hatching in the hatcher right now. I loaded it up yesterday.
I have a group of shipped eggs hatching surprisingly. I need to go back and figure out exactly what they are. LOL

I know, the distance is the problem for sure.

Okay chicken people....after all our whining about snow, are we ready now for the summer weather? The forecast this morning is for 90-degree weather as far as the eye can see. I don't like snow any more than the next person but I'm not ready for this yet either! Today is supposed to be 97. I guess I need to get out there and do my outside chores before it gets too hot. I need to mow in my chicken yard again as the grass is just long enough to make it difficult for the little babies to run through it, so I'll mow the front of the yard down a little for them. Then I guess I will set up the wading pool for the ducks. They haven't been able to get down to the pond for several weeks now because the grass/hay is too long for them to forge through, so I'm guessing they'll really enjoy having their pool set up again.

Yesterday I got the last of my brooder babies moved down to the chicken yard and cleaned out all the brooders for the year - yay!!!

Two more hens have dropped to the broody bug. Right as its getting hot to be miserable to sit, surely. My silkie is already broody again! Her chicks are only 8 weeks old and she kept them with her until last week. I did know she was laying again but she only laid half a dozen at the most before going broody again. And my little game hen is broody now as well. Gah. I cannot keep up with them, even giving them only one egg apiece. DH was down at the coop yesterday offering some tips for things I can do to improve the set up, and he looked in the nest box and asked about hens who were sitting. When I pulled back the curtain and showed him several more, and then pointed out the little A-Frame on the floor that is also occupied by a broody, well, he was just shaking his head at that point.

My poor turkey is having quite a time of it. Several eggs have become contaminated and exploded under her. That smell is just the worst. Twice now I've removed the straw from her nest and given her fresh but then another explodes and I have to start all over. Yesterday I pulled her off and booted her out of the hoop coop, then pulled ALL the eggs out (very carefully), and then pulled all of the bedding out. I hosed off the tray that is in the bottom of her dog kennel, then took the eggs up to the house, carefully washed them all, and then candled. I only saw obvious movement in two, but could see veins in a third so I left it in. The rest were not clearly viable enough for me to take the risk of putting them back under her. So with fresh straw in a freshly washed out kennel, I gave her back just 3 eggs. She started with 20 so this is a terrible result and now I'm down to hoping at least one hatches after all this. I just don't know what's going on. I hatched in the incubators without a single egg every going bad, and had 100% hatch rates on all of her eggs up til now. The only thing I can think is that there are also broody ducks in the hoop coop and perhaps when Madge gets out to eat and drink, she gets their poop on the bottom of her feet and then climbs back in on top of the eggs. I wish I had a separate place to brood just her but with the number of broodies I have at the moment there is just no way to separate every one of them into a separate area. Just buying that many feeders and waterers alone would break the bank

The sudden heat is the a stinker for sure.. It is one thing or the other here in the mid west!

 

[bbsnooks]

Sometimes I wish BYC had a "like" button

Hello sunflower .. i believe the equivilant of the "like button is at the bottom right of every post
its the thumbs up..
it gives you a chance to thank// and say what you Liked about the post.. and sends it to the author..
I think its under used.. lots of great info. .to acknowledge.

Hello all ..
I'v not been keeping up on posts.. but wanted to say hello.. ; )
Day befor yesterday we had 2" of rain and probably 2.5 more of hail that i couldnt measure.. could have been 4" or more total by the drink cup i left on top of compost pile.
.. and a near tornado.. the neighbor got video of he said was about a mi.north of us. -- glad i didnt see it--
I was trying to round up chickens.. and did it too soon.. with the scratch..
I should have thrown cardboard boxes over the garden plants instead
so.. when 15 min go by.. the chickens went back out..
the hail shreaded trees shrubs and garden. one.. pepper plant is still standing.. and I'm hoping the tomatoes will maybe come back.
it smelled like a fresh cut christmas tree.. around the yard for a day..
3 of the S.Favorelle's were caught out in it.. and managed to find a hiding spot.

I've got lots of raking.. to do.. so.. I"ll say hi and by..
and try to post some photos of my latest poultry math expansion
I have 4 keets..2 white 2 brown. that are making use of the shreaded bamboo patch.. they have a hide out under the leaves..
they're probably a week old tomorrow.. how fun.. i take them out for a while 2x a day
I"m hoping that handeling them may help them come to me and
to keep them in with the chickens when they get older?
they have a wire play pen that .. they're getting to know each other thru now. tho the 7 -8 wk old chickens.. are mostly interested in their food ; )
I hope i'll get the integration good enough that they'll share the coop.. if not.. guess the'll sleep in the tree's like my grandma's..
I'm excited to have some garden friendly bug eating guineas..
take care

 

[chicken danz]

Wow it was a hot one out there today. Tomorrow will be worse. I sure hope this is a lone week and it cools back down some.

 

[sharol]

Butch lost the fight to infection overnight. Here are some pictures in better times. He will be sorely missed by his girls and by us (his people).

 

[lizzyGSR]

Wow it was a hot one out there today. Tomorrow will be worse. I sure hope this is a lone week and it cools back down some.

I completely agree! Our pastures out here can't take much more heat... they're already turning brown. I went back home to surprise my mom for her birthday this past weekend. My sister and I surprised her at church, took her out for lunch, and then took her to Salina to go shopping. I was amazed at the difference just a couple hours drive East can make. The grass out there looked thick and very green. There was water standing all over the place in the fields outside of Salina. So far, we are better off this year than last, but ranchers in this area are still having to sell off my livestock. We need rain desperately and could really use some cooler temperatures right now too.