Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Humm! I wonder if it would serve my purposes. I just don't feel good after I use the vacuum. It is just hard on my back. And I feel worse when I sweep with a broom. Due to allergies I usually just vacuum the floor. Sweeping stirs up too much dust. And I dust with a micrfiber cloth cause it seems to pick things up better.
Well I got sidetracked and pulled a bunch of stuff out of a closet. I have so much stuff that I forgot I had. Anyway I ended up with a huge bag of tiny clothing and swimwear. I used to be a size 3 so there is no chance I would ever wear these again. Many of them are brand new and have never been worn. I may just donate them somewhere. If it were earlier in the summer I am sure I could sell a lot of it. When I was skinny I was all about clothing. Now I just cover up and don't care.
I found a completely brand new Victorian table tree and two candle holders with votive cups. It's a beautiful set if you are into the romantic Victorian thing. I had much of that stuff because I lived in that old Victorian home. It's going to the garage sale stuff for sure. I also found some more Christmas and halloween decorations I had never used. I'll put those with my others for now even though I have tons too much.
I need to quit and go care for the birds. I think I have to be under pressure to get things done. It takes me forever to get cleaning done.
Being alone and cleaning house isn't really what I wanted to do for my birthday.

 

[ivyrash]

I just found this video & thought some of you might want to see how chicks are treated at hatcheries, it's a wonder they ever make it alive after the treatment they get & then being transported through the mail. It's not easy to watch so be prepared, here is the link:

. This is just one more reason to buy from local breeders who don't kill chicks just because they're male.

Trish, I think I've seen that video or one similar. It's awful! I have only purchased direct from a hatchery before but I will never do it again. I know things die but lets at least try to be humane about it! Upsets me again just thinking about it! That is a job I would walk out of.

 

[chicken danz]

I've seen several videos that show animal cruelty like chicks, turkeys, cattle, etc. It is a very sad thing. I feel bad just throwing a dead chick in the trash.
I just got in from feeding and watering. It is a wet hole out there. I sure hope we don't get another rain tonight. We need a couple of really windy sunny days to dry some of this moisture up.
I found I lost a lavender orpington hen to the mud as well. I sure didn't want that to happen. I am down to just four hens now and one of those is broody which always worries me. I don't know what to do about the mud. I can't make it go away. The poor birds are just miserable .....except the ducks and geese. They love the big areas where water is sitting.
Looks like I am going to have to go get feed tomorrow or Friday again. At least it lasted a while longer this time. I've just got to hold on until mid September when I call sell the excess at Gardner.

 

[ashncarson]

I really hate to bug you all with another coop question, but our chicks need to get home soon! They are 4 weeks now and the owner says they are ready to leave!

This is what the insid of th coop walls look like. (without the space where it is, it is moved up as a vent bar.
I scrubed it with a scrubbie brush and water so its a bit cleaner but not much

Is this going to be OK for the inside of the coop? I see all those fancy coops with white slick walls and thats never going to happen here!
there will be a roost board under the roosts to help keep it clean.

When we get the babies (at 4-5 weeks old) how high off the ground can the roosts be?

 

[HEChicken]

I've been so busy for the past few days I've had a chance to read but not really respond. Trish and Lizzy - sorry about your falls. Lizzy and Danz, Happy Birthday!!!

I really hate to bug you all with another coop question, but our chicks need to get home soon! They are 4 weeks now and the owner says they are ready to leave!

This is what the insid of th coop walls look like. (without the space where it is, it is moved up as a vent bar.
I scrubed it with a scrubbie brush and water so its a bit cleaner but not much

Is this going to be OK for the inside of the coop? I see all those fancy coops with white slick walls and thats never going to happen here!
there will be a roost board under the roosts to help keep it clean.

When we get the babies (at 4-5 weeks old) how high off the ground can the roosts be?

Ashncarson, my coop walls look just like that - bare, exposed studs. It didn't occur to me to paint and then, like you, I saw coops that were painted on the inside but by then there was too much poop in mine to consider it. I've found it is working just fine to be "au naturale" LOL. I would put the roosts at around 36". At that age they won't have much trouble getting up on them (though you may find they prefer to sleep in a pile on the floor until they're a little older). I wouldn't go any higher than 36". I started out with my roosts a lot higher and ended up with several birds with bumblefoot. I lowered the roosts and they've done great ever since.

Not much new in this neck of the woods. Just trying to survive the flooding like everyone else. Who would have thought this time last year that we'd be complaining about too much rain?

 

[ashncarson]

Ashncarson, my coop walls look just like that - bare, exposed studs. It didn't occur to me to paint and then, like you, I saw coops that were painted on the inside but by then there was too much poop in mine to consider it. I've found it is working just fine to be "au naturale" LOL. I would put the roosts at around 36". At that age they won't have much trouble getting up on them (though you may find they prefer to sleep in a pile on the floor until they're a little older). I wouldn't go any higher than 36". I started out with my roosts a lot higher and ended up with several birds with bumblefoot. I lowered the roosts and they've done great ever since.

Not much new in this neck of the woods. Just trying to survive the flooding like everyone else. Who would have thought this time last year that we'd be complaining about too much rain?

Thanks for the quick response! I painted a outside wall a pretty light blue color from leftover paint!

Is the 36' hieight just for now as they are younger? or a permament roost height?

The flooding is CRAZY....I'm in Hutch and there is lots of it here and until friday night it could still stay like this! I saw some photos today on Facebook from Kake and Kwch from Wichtia!

 

[22qZoo]

Where any of my fellow byc friends at the Johnson county fair today? If so I got Grand Champion with my white silkie hen, josie, and I got reserve grand with my Americana hen :3. I also have 3 polish who all got reds and a white silkie roo who got a purple

Yay, POLISHPAL ! way to go.

Happy Birthday DANZ !

 

[Trish44]

We have more rain on the way, arrrggghhhh, I'm so done with this mud & mess, it's awful. I put up the tarp over the new growout pen, the former turkey pen this afternoon. I was sore, but I managed it. I'm thinking though I may have to buy a new bigger one because this one just isn't big enough for this project. It will have to do until the end of the week when I can get another one. Then I'll have to take all I did today down & start over again with the new tarp, but I think it will work better. I moved all the chicks from the hoop coop where it's so nasty to this new pen where it's starting to dry out some. Since it was covered on the front half last night where it had been so wet it actually soaked in & is a lot better in there. I figured even it it is a little bit muddy in there it's better than where they were where I was still sinking every step I walked. It wasn't fun catching all of those little critters, they can be fast when they want to be. I would catch them at least 3 at a time or more if they were small in my net & take them over & come back for more. It took me awhile to catch them all. The lavender Orp rooster was one of the last, he was a fast dude. The very last one to go was my Red Blue Laced Wyandotte pullet, she just didn't want to go, but in the end she jumped right in the net. She is getting really pretty now. My DH said he couldn't understand why I was in such a hurry to get this pen finished but he doesn't understand there are 2 or 3 other projects hinging on getting that one done. It's always like that, it's just a domino effect. Now that the hoop coop is empty of birds I can hopefully start working on dividing it into two pens, that is unless it rains a bunch more & makes it an even worse mess in there. The mud smells so bad here too with all the chicken, turkey, guinea, & peafowl poop mixed in & it being wet ack it's just nasty. I can't wait for it to dry out some here, this rain has to stop some time soon.

On another note, all my turkeys have been in their pen & they are not happy about being confined in there. I decided they have to stay in there for awhile to learn that it's home now & I've got to break that one from running off. They have all been pacing around the pen like crazed caged animals. They knocked their water bucket over twice today flying at it, I mean totally turned a 5 gallon bucket of water on it's top. They will hopefully settle down soon & decide they're not getting out.

The ducks decided on their own to come out this afternoon, I now have two muscovies flying over the fence & I have not had time to do anything about it yet. I saw them out & just decided to let all the others out for awhile. They are good about going back in at night at least. Patches the goat however is sticking to her resolve not to go into the pen at night without cookies. I think she is too smart for her own good. I get Penny in each night with only her regular feed, she trots right along with me & goes in. Then I have to go get the cookies & coax Patches in. She's really a pain sometimes. Who knew a goat could have an attitude.

 

[cleansquared]

Happy birthday everyone! I should be picking up that wheat from my brother tomarow danz hes up here dealing with flood water i guess so let me know if you want some to feed the roos and others i did a fair last weekend it went well at least some of my customers are happy campers now as they have their tired tootsies ("foot crack") and love potion #9 lol... Im just glad to be home this weekend ive been gone 3 weekend in a row and am ready to just chill my house is a muddy mess because of this rain but i know we needed it. Im trying to dig down to the 100 year old sidewalk so i dont have to tromp through mud to get to the chickens... It may be more trouble than its worth but im tired of the mud so im trying luckily the chicken pen is my rocked drive so the water is not bad in there just getting to it is the issue.. So danz any thoughts on the non crested legbar not laying do you think its too soon or do you think something could be wrong i did find one once in the water dish ive looked around and havent seen any

 

[chicken danz]

Cleansquared, my guess is she is just taking a break. Could be weather related or just about anything. I sold Checoukan some bantam polish and they waited until summer to get started laying after a long long time. Different breeds have different habits. I really don't know what the legbars do as far as laying since I hadn't had them all that long. As long as she isn't getting sick or something I would say she will just resume when she is ready. I worm fairly regularly but it might not hurt to worm them. I always worried in the big group they were in if all of them were getting wormed. I always used ivermectin in the water. Josiechick mentioned that new wormer you mix with feed. I think that would be excellent for a small flock. I am trying to figure out how on earth to apply it to my mess.
You can bring the wheat up when you come for the boys. No hurry. I can always use wheat.
I so know what you mean Trish. It is always one pen movement to another. I thought I moved enough breeds and birds it would be simple but not so much.
Now I am getting Britt back from Ivy next weekend. One of Marshmallow and Fluff's puppies. I have to get a house and a pen ready for her because she won't stay here unless she is confined for awhile. I hate doing that to a dog. Ivy is too close to town and too close to a highway to keep her now. I think she'll be back on here posting soon. She is there and her DH is moving the rest down soon. I sure don't need another dog especially since I don't have much livestock any more. But at least I will have one to carry on since Cloud was killed. My DH isn't thrilled cause dog food is so pricy.

Ashncarson I think your coop will be fine. I only painted the inside of my walls to keep it a little cleaner and dryer. Most of my coops have no paint. I think the only one that got painted inside was the first one and the brooder house. I put my roosts about 18 inches to 2 foot high. A lot depends on what breeds you have. Big heavy breeds like some of these I have don't do a good job of getting up on roosts unless they are low. So base the height dependant on your breeds.
It's raining again!!! We have water sitting everywhere now. And like Trish says that mud stinks. I have some puddles getting that heavy algae slime on them like what gets in ponds. I worry my birds are all going to get sick cause they can't get out of the wet. Even inside the buildings it is wet because they are tracking mud back in. I am going to have to do some major cleaning when this stuff dries up some. I don't dare put more breeds in pens in this from those that free range now. It would be just cruel.
Back to cleaning again today. It sure seems pointless in this rain!! I have to figure out what I am going to cook for Saturday as well. I was going to try to make some homemade ice cream but in high humidity it would just melt instantly.