Consolidated Kansas

[ivyrash]

My hens won't eat the oyster shell at all, I crush up the egg shells from the eggs we use & feed them back to them & they love it. I even crush up the shells a lot of the time from the chicks I hatch & feed them back, it's all shell. As long as they're crushed they will eat them. I just collect them for a few days & let them dry out & they're easier to crush. I don't have that much trouble with soft shells usually.

I moved the little turkeys to the turkey pen today, I figure they're big enough to go in there & they will have more room to run around now. The ducklings were glad to see them again, they were chattering & trying to preen the turkeys. I don't know if the turkeys were as glad to see them this time, the ducks are getting pretty big now.

I had one little chick hatch last night, a Cream Legbar & I left it in there till this morning. When I got up there were 5 more hatched, 2 black Ameraucanas, one lavender Ameraucana, & 2 more Cream Legbars. I got two pullets & a rooster in the Cream Legbars. That's one thing I like about the sex linked birds that you can sex them at hatch.

Danz I moved the little Lemon Cuckoo Orps to their own pen in the run today so I could keep them separate & I have 5 left of the ones I got from you. If I had to guess right now I would say I have two roosters & three pullets & if that's what they are that would be great. That way I would have a backup rooster. They sure grow fast, the first group I got from you are all feathered out already & the last ones are starting to get feathers.

These next few days are going to be scorchers, I'm not looking forward to it at all. I would rather my birds that free range would be out of the coop when it's so hot. At least they have bushes & trees they can get under for shade out there. I have one silly little broody hen still sitting on eggs in there. I need to take the eggs & candle them to see if there is even any reason to leave the eggs, I may do that later. I found one egg this morning when I looked under her that had pipped but died before it hatched, it may have gotten too hot. I still have a broody Swedish Flower Hen that had hatched 4 chicks so far last I looked, I need to go check on her again & see if any more hatched since yesterday.

I was holding back shells to feed to the chickens and someone threw them away. I guess there is too much clutter and we don't have a lot of counter space. Guess I will try again.

I would be happy if my SFH would start laying let along be broody! lol

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Danz- sorry you are having coyote troubles. Darn those things..

I hope everyone is staying cool, I have a guy coming to get a few roosters off my hands today YAY!! I have so many. I need to go build some more nest boxes, luckily I am down to 3 broodies,, but I am sure after saying that someone else will go broody

I am making sure they only have 2 eggs each but by any means that is still 2 more that I need to find homes for and feed...
This weekend we butcher the orpington boys they are not really heavy but then again they were on the same food as everyone else. My DH said it would be just fine, I said ok but when we butcher 5 lb birds and get 2-3 lbs of meat that is not my problem. They are 5 months old now. They were paking peanuts when I ordered the bantams. It is irritating but that is how it goes but for him he would rather butcher the whole lot of them and be done with it all together,, it is hard when the person you love doesn't share in ANY of your passions...

Sorry for the rant...
I am still thinking on some guinea, nobody had much to say about them before when I asked so I will ask again.. I have never raised them,, anyone have any info at all for me??

 

[cubbysan]

Hi everybody,

I have not been on for a while, so I need to go back to catch up.

We had a very interesting hatch this weekend. I bought two bantam Cochin hens last month who were already laying. My daughter asked me if we could incubate their eggs after we had the a while, so we collected some eggs and put them in the incubator. Right before lockdown, the temperature got screwed up, went as low as 70 and as high as 110. Last Two Sundays ago, they were supposed to hatch. I thought they were dead, but told my daughter to we could wait a few more days, then promised through the weekend.

Saturday night, my cat is by the incubator all upset, we look and there is a newly hatched chick! Seven days late with another pipping.

The other chick I think was shrink wrapped. Here it is Tuesday and she was still trying to get out, three days later. I water misted her today, and she progressed more. My husband did end up helping her out. She is now hopefully recovering from being hatched, some shell still stuck in places. Praying she survives. I know they say not to help them out, but I believe she would die anyhow, after trying for three days.

The single chick is now three days old and doing great. I put a mirror in the brooder, and he is a lot happier loving the chick in the mirror.

This chick is day 31 and the healthy chick was day 28. Makes me wonder now if in the past I threw away my eggs too soon.

 

[ivyrash]

Danz- sorry you are having coyote troubles. Darn those things..

I hope everyone is staying cool, I have a guy coming to get a few roosters off my hands today YAY!! I have so many. I need to go build some more nest boxes, luckily I am down to 3 broodies,, but I am sure after saying that someone else will go broody

I am making sure they only have 2 eggs each but by any means that is still 2 more that I need to find homes for and feed...
This weekend we butcher the orpington boys they are not really heavy but then again they were on the same food as everyone else. My DH said it would be just fine, I said ok but when we butcher 5 lb birds and get 2-3 lbs of meat that is not my problem. They are 5 months old now. They were paking peanuts when I ordered the bantams. It is irritating but that is how it goes but for him he would rather butcher the whole lot of them and be done with it all together,, it is hard when the person you love doesn't share in ANY of your passions...

Sorry for the rant...
I am still thinking on some guinea, nobody had much to say about them before when I asked so I will ask again.. I have never raised them,, anyone have any info at all for me??

I understand your pain. My DH is tolerant of my hobbies but that is about it. He tries most of the time between complaining about how much money they cost. Gotta love them anyway.

I don't know anything about guineas. I think they are kinda noisy but have never had any so can't help, sorry.

 

[chicken danz]

Maidenwolf Guineas are great for bug eaters. I have some. I normally hatch hundreds every year but this year they keep dying or they aren't fertile. I have no idea why...so I don't have very many keets. Of course if I were closer I'd donate a few to you. I owe Mammahen some but I haven't gotten to see her either. I actually threw out a whole tray of guinea eggs cause I hadn't gotten them in the incubator and they were getting old. I am so tired of having to work so hard it's a lot easier not to hatch right now.
The coyote hasn't been back today so far. I hope it doesn't bother. I've been trying to make sure the birds stay away from the open gate area where he came in yesterday.
I moved my young brahmas out to the hoop coop with the older trio. Of course the older ones are being butts. Then I was trying to put in a couple roosts hoping that would take their minds of being jerks and accidentally let all my Reese barred rocks out. Sure hope they come back this evening. I was just ready to start incubating eggs from them and now I'll have to wait a few days again. I don't want any mixed birds. I do have a couple of normal barred rocks in there with the nice ones in hopes of producing better off spring from them. But that is the only exception I am allowing.
It must be the full moon recently or something. My DH and I had a disagreement this morning because he wanted to go some where together and I said I couldn't leave because it was too hot to leave the birds penned up, and we had that coyote here yesterday. I have been trying forever to get things organized so I have less work and I've sold a ton of birds to try to make him happy. I'm not going to give them all up and end up resenting him for it.

 

[Trish44]

Danz- sorry you are having coyote troubles. Darn those things..

I hope everyone is staying cool, I have a guy coming to get a few roosters off my hands today YAY!! I have so many. I need to go build some more nest boxes, luckily I am down to 3 broodies,, but I am sure after saying that someone else will go broody

I am making sure they only have 2 eggs each but by any means that is still 2 more that I need to find homes for and feed...
This weekend we butcher the orpington boys they are not really heavy but then again they were on the same food as everyone else. My DH said it would be just fine, I said ok but when we butcher 5 lb birds and get 2-3 lbs of meat that is not my problem. They are 5 months old now. They were paking peanuts when I ordered the bantams. It is irritating but that is how it goes but for him he would rather butcher the whole lot of them and be done with it all together,, it is hard when the person you love doesn't share in ANY of your passions...

Sorry for the rant...
I am still thinking on some guinea, nobody had much to say about them before when I asked so I will ask again.. I have never raised them,, anyone have any info at all for me??

Guineas are noisy, so if that bothers you don't get them. They're nothing like chickens at all, they never will tame down like chickens do no matter how long you have them, they're just wild, flighty birds. They also about the dumbest birds on earth, they will fly over a fence & not be able to figure out how to get back. Mine will walk right by the door of their coop & then proceed to pace back & forth trying to find a way in, every day. All of that being said I have them because they are great at eating ticks. We were over-run with them last year & this year they have cleaned out enough around where I am all the time that I can go out without coming in with ticks on me. They have moved further out away from the pens now clearing out that area. I can call them in at night, but they only come over by the hoop coop & I have to entice them in with food.

Danz, I hear that stuff all the time about not being able to go anywhere because of my birds & animals. It's really hard to go anywhere when it's so hot because you feel like you have to be here to make sure they all have enough water & to cool them down. ivyrash, I think that's how it is for most of us, our spouse isn't into our chicken hobby, I know mine sure isn't, he mostly complains about it. The only thing I have noticed that he does like is seeing the baby chicks after they're all fluffy. Who can not like a fluffy little chick anyway?

I had 4 more chicks hatch this afternoon, they were Cream Legbars & one black Ameraucana. That was it for this hatch, the other two eggs weren't going to hatch, the chicks had already died in the shell. I occasionally have some of those. I'm hatching some chicks for someone right now or I wouldn't be hatching other than some of my project chicks. I had told everyone I was done hatching & then someone asked me to do a hatch for them. It's so hot in the garage where my brooders are I don't need heat at all, but I run a fan when it gets to 100 in there. I just have chicks in one brooder right now. I may have to clean up another one though if the guineas all hatch. This will be my first guineas to incubate & hatch, the first batch of eggs I got weren't fertile.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I understand your pain. My DH is tolerant of my hobbies but that is about it. He tries most of the time between complaining about how much money they cost. Gotta love them anyway.

I don't know anything about guineas. I think they are kinda noisy but have never had any so can't help, sorry.

Yea if anything else you gotta love 'em.. That is mine complaining about feed cost and that I have to much on my plate, because like Trish is saying I cant just leave and go places at will. Yes I am tied down, but its ok. I never went anywhere anyway, I have been stuck at home doing nothing so why not have a reason to be here? My kids go off all day playing my DH at work and its just me. No one wanted to do anything in the evening but now that I have chickens and cant just up and run he complains that it is just too much. Well it makes me happy. So

to you sir!!!!

Maidenwolf Guineas are great for bug eaters. I have some. I normally hatch hundreds every year but this year they keep dying or they aren't fertile. I have no idea why...so I don't have very many keets. Of course if I were closer I'd donate a few to you. I owe Mammahen some but I haven't gotten to see her either. I actually threw out a whole tray of guinea eggs cause I hadn't gotten them in the incubator and they were getting old. I am so tired of having to work so hard it's a lot easier not to hatch right now.
The coyote hasn't been back today so far. I hope it doesn't bother. I've been trying to make sure the birds stay away from the open gate area where he came in yesterday.
I moved my young brahmas out to the hoop coop with the older trio. Of course the older ones are being butts. Then I was trying to put in a couple roosts hoping that would take their minds of being jerks and accidentally let all my Reese barred rocks out. Sure hope they come back this evening. I was just ready to start incubating eggs from them and now I'll have to wait a few days again. I don't want any mixed birds. I do have a couple of normal barred rocks in there with the nice ones in hopes of producing better off spring from them. But that is the only exception I am allowing.
It must be the full moon recently or something. My DH and I had a disagreement this morning because he wanted to go some where together and I said I couldn't leave because it was too hot to leave the birds penned up, and we had that coyote here yesterday. I have been trying forever to get things organized so I have less work and I've sold a ton of birds to try to make him happy. I'm not going to give them all up and end up resenting him for it.

I want to schedule a time to run your way and bring my friend who wants the peacock. Darn it for living so far apart anyway.. I want to get like 4 keets is that enough to start out?

Guineas are noisy, so if that bothers you don't get them. They're nothing like chickens at all, they never will tame down like chickens do no matter how long you have them, they're just wild, flighty birds. They also about the dumbest birds on earth, they will fly over a fence & not be able to figure out how to get back. Mine will walk right by the door of their coop & then proceed to pace back & forth trying to find a way in, every day. All of that being said I have them because they are great at eating ticks. We were over-run with them last year & this year they have cleaned out enough around where I am all the time that I can go out without coming in with ticks on me. They have moved further out away from the pens now clearing out that area. I can call them in at night, but they only come over by the hoop coop & I have to entice them in with food.

Danz, I hear that stuff all the time about not being able to go anywhere because of my birds & animals. It's really hard to go anywhere when it's so hot because you feel like you have to be here to make sure they all have enough water & to cool them down. ivyrash, I think that's how it is for most of us, our spouse isn't into our chicken hobby, I know mine sure isn't, he mostly complains about it. The only thing I have noticed that he does like is seeing the baby chicks after they're all fluffy. Who can not like a fluffy little chick anyway?

I had 4 more chicks hatch this afternoon, they were Cream Legbars & one black Ameraucana. That was it for this hatch, the other two eggs weren't going to hatch, the chicks had already died in the shell. I occasionally have some of those. I'm hatching some chicks for someone right now or I wouldn't be hatching other than some of my project chicks. I had told everyone I was done hatching & then someone asked me to do a hatch for them. It's so hot in the garage where my brooders are I don't need heat at all, but I run a fan when it gets to 100 in there. I just have chicks in one brooder right now. I may have to clean up another one though if the guineas all hatch. This will be my first guineas to incubate & hatch, the first batch of eggs I got weren't fertile.

I have heard that they were lower on the intelligence chain, but I want them for bugs. I don't mind the noise at all so it wont be a problem. The whole thing about DH complaining, it is irritating when he wants me to listen to his political ramblings but wont hear a thing about my day because well my day is, is chickens, all day everyday. He wont hold a chick at all. He acts almost as if he is disgusted by their presence. Maybe its because they get more of my attention than he does? Dunno because men wont voice their feelings *SIGH* MEN!!!

 

[Trish44]

I hear you maidenwolf & second that on the chickens making me happy. My DH would like me to get rid of everything I have, but that's not going to happen, not now anyway. I get rid of things when I'm ready, not for his benefit. My DH goes & does things he's interested in, but he's not interested in what I'm interested in. He will listen to some things about the chickens, but if it's too long of a story he tunes me out. Men tend to focus on their own interests & not so much on anyone else's. He did get kind of irritated at me for having the brooder in the house, but did say today that he didn't mind it being in here when it was cold, but now it needs to go. I told him when I'm feeling better he can help me get it out of here. It was built in here & it's big so I'm not about to try to carry it out by myself. It's been empty for awhile now, but I've either been too busy or now I'm sick, so it will get out when it does.

 

[chicken danz]

I had to come in and rest a while before I go back out to feed and water again. I worked in the garden some more today and got a couple fences up for tomatoes, squash and watermelon to grow on. I hope they work. The ducks got in there yesterday and nearly destroyed most of my tomatoes and stuff just running over them. DH had left the gate open when he went in to work on the tiller for me.

You can't make these people enjoy what you enjoy for sure. My family thinks it is insane that I spend so much time and money on the birds.
I had to put the young brahmas back in the brooder. They were just too traumatized by the full grown ones and one of them managed to squeeze out somehow. I walked around today trying to figure out how I can get another pen set up for young birds and give them some shelter. I managed to move out my old dove house/pen from where it was sitting thinking I might squeeze a pen in there but I don't think there is room. There's one of the few trees there and it's just small enough space it won't work. It would be a great space otherwise. But moving the dove pen gave the other birds more room to stay in the shade anyway so I guess it wasn't totally wasted effort.
If I had some more cattle panels here I'd be slapping another hoop coop together. No such luck and right now I can't afford to buy any.
I hear some cheeping in one of the incubators. I am almost too tired to check it out. I didn't think I had anything due to hatch until next weekend.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I hear you maidenwolf & second that on the chickens making me happy. My DH would like me to get rid of everything I have, but that's not going to happen, not now anyway. I get rid of things when I'm ready, not for his benefit. My DH goes & does things he's interested in, but he's not interested in what I'm interested in. He will listen to some things about the chickens, but if it's too long of a story he tunes me out. Men tend to focus on their own interests & not so much on anyone else's. He did get kind of irritated at me for having the brooder in the house, but did say today that he didn't mind it being in here when it was cold, but now it needs to go. I told him when I'm feeling better he can help me get it out of here. It was built in here & it's big so I'm not about to try to carry it out by myself. It's been empty for awhile now, but I've either been too busy or now I'm sick, so it will get out when it does.

LOL Sounds exactly like my house. My master bathroom was converted into a brooder. So we have been down a bathroom for oh about a year lol. That has been a constant battle. He tolerates some of it for the most part because he knows not to butt heads with me. I will do what I want to do. He goes and does his things, like you said, and tunes me out on most chicken things.
Sorry to hear you are sick. Hope you feel better soon.