Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

That's how I felt about my roo, Butch. And that is why I hatched the last of his fertile eggs. I got 2 nice roosters out of it (well cockerels at this point). I'm not sure which one will turn out to be my alpha, but their father's personality was wonderful. Of course, they are mutts -- one EExEE the other EExBO.

Trish, I've 3 salmon roosters right now. I'm trying to get a Speckled Sussex rooster just like the 1 I lost that's why I'm incubating his eggs. He was such a good rooster. He took great care of the hens, made sure to call everyone over when he found food and sent out alerts when he spotted predators. I really miss him.

Hechicken - is that a baby snake or just a regular earth worm? I can't really tell from the pic.

 

[tweetybaby2005]

Holy smoke... it's gettingready to rain again!!!! Argh... I'm so ready for some dry cooler days it isn't even funny. I need to clean the coop but cant do it now because of the mud. I haven't really cleaned it much because we have been having rain for over a week!!! Just sick of it!!!

Sharol, with my luck, all of them will be cockerels. I'm glad you have 2 little Butch though.

 

[HEChicken]

That's funny HEChicken! Well if you have one I'm sure you have a lot more because they probably hatched a bunch of them. Later on you'll probably be finding the bigger ones. I'm surprised your chickens didn't eat it too thinking it was a worm. That reminds me about when my DH & I were working on taking off the wire on the back of my hoop coop in preparation for me to convert it to the 2nd pen. We were moving rocks I had up against the back of the coop & I moved a good sized rock & this weird looking think crawled out, I'm not even sure what it was. About that time a chicken wandered over saw it, grabbed it up & ran off with it. It was so fast that my DH didn't even get a chance to see what it was. We just stood there & laughed it was so comical. Bugs just don't have much of a chance around here with all the birds I have wandering around. My DH mentioned awhile back that we have no grasshoppers up by the house & to the range that the chickens go. As you drive down the driveway & get out of their range you start to see grasshoppers again. I know we used to be overrun by the nasty things until I got chickens again, now they keep them cleaned out. I'm sure that's why the guineas have had to expand their territory now going further out because between them, the chickens, & the ducks they have pretty well cleaned out the bugs up close now.

We're going to have a jungle in our yard if it doesn't dry out enough soon for me to mow. The last time I finally was able to mow it was pretty darned tall & it's getting there again. It's just too wet to mow & it rains every night.

Oh yes - you remember when you were here and you commented on me having grasshoppers? Well, since then I've started letting the birds free-range pretty much all day - before it was just in the afternoons. Before we had our fencing in, I didn't want to let them out long enough that they would get out on the road but now that its pretty safe, I let them range all day, and we have far fewer grasshoppers now. I love it! The turkeys are especially good at hunting and they stay together in a pretty big group, fanning out a little as they go to have the best chance of finding good things to eat. I actually cut down to a lower protein feed since they are supplementing their protein so much now with all these bugs. Plus, I figure the more time they spend out hunting, the less time they're hanging around the feeder eating the feed, which saves me money there too. This afternoon I did see them up almost at the end of the driveway, but they turned to come back down again and they're now taking a break in the lawnchairs on the front porch. When I open the door to check on them, a dozen turkey heads turn to me in unison with a look of "What?" on their faces.

I got my mowing all done in one fell swoop this past weekend. It wasn't quite dry enough but I knew we had more rain coming and figured if I didn't get out and do it then, I didn't know when I'd next get a chance. I don't usually do it all in one sitting but I did that time - including the chicken yard where the grass was getting especially long. But with all this rain, I know it won't be long until I have to do it again anyway.

 

[Trish44]

I was out doing some things I've been meaning to do & was just about to come in when I noticed it was really getting dark & cloudy out. I decided I had better get the guineas in before they all got soaked & started trying to run them in but it started raining just as I got all but 3 in. The last 3 wouldn't go in so I told them good luck guys & went to get the ducks in, who of course didn't care a bit about the rain & didn't want to go in. I finally got them rounded up & in but by then I was soaking wet. The goats are standing on the front porch with one of the GPs trying to stay out of the rain since they hate to get wet. I couldn't even see it was raining so hard here, so I figured they're OK on the porch till it slows down. We're getting one of those gully washers here right now, just what we needed. I'm glad at least I got straw put down for the guineas & peafowl so they don't have to stand in the nasty mud any more. It will be wet in there, but at least they won't sink. I put the 4 younger ones in there this afternoon because I put the 4 month old Salmon Faverolle chicks out in the growout pen & the guineas were picking on them something terrible. I thought they were big enough now to go into the pen with the older ones. They're starting to do their calls so I can tell which are males & females & I got some of both so that's good. I was just about to go get some more straw when it started raining for my other two pens up front, but only got about half of one pen done before I had to quit due to the rain. I didn't even get to do my evening chores yet. I guess if they don't get fed tonight they can wait till morning. They may not like it, but they'll live. They have all been out eating all day anyway, at least the ones that are out have, so I guess they won't starve. All I have left in the brooder in the house now are my two 2 month old peachicks & I plan to move them soon to the pen in the run where they can have a little more space & head room. I got it cleaned out & put fresh straw in there this afternoon, but haven't moved them yet. It's pretty protected in there since there is a tarp on the top of the run & I have boards over the top of the pen too so they don't get drips through the pen. The only time it gets wet in there is when it rains at a slant or something where it comes in a bit through the side, but usually not that much.

 

[Frizzled Pink]

Danz I am so sorry for all of the destruction and mess that you have to contend with. We got rain and wind last night but nothing like that. I would love to have more shade around my chicken house but I guess that trees have their disadvantages too.

I am really wanting to get more chickens now that my house is all in place and I have room for more. I would like to get a variety so I don't just want to settle on one certain breed. I have read that some here do fall hatchings and was wondering what kinds you all will be hatching. I don't think that anyone is really too close to where I live so I will have to plan a road trip. After reading several comments I am a little hesitant to go the hatchery route.

Dwink2
It really all depends on what your goals are. Do you have kids that want to show in 4h. Are you looking mostly for egg producers, or do you want a variety of colors in your egg basket. Do you want meat birds for the freezer or little guys that are so friendly they want to sit in your lap? Do you like solid colors, polka dots or stripes. There are also regular smooth feather or the ultra fluffy frizzles and sizzles. Do you want to start with lovely little balls of fluff (so fun but could be hazardous to your Roo ratio and depending on fall hatch dates may need heat supplied in the colder months) or with juvenile pairs that you know you are getting one of each, or straight into laying hens and flock guardians. Sorry to be throwing a million questions at you, but if you could consider and let us know your preferences on these questions, we can help you narrow down on what breeds to suggest to you.

 

[Trish44]

Trish, I've 3 salmon roosters right now. I'm trying to get a Speckled Sussex rooster just like the 1 I lost that's why I'm incubating his eggs. He was such a good rooster. He took great care of the hens, made sure to call everyone over when he found food and sent out alerts when he spotted predators. I really miss him.

Hechicken - is that a baby snake or just a regular earth worm? I can't really tell from the pic.

OK, I thought maybe you lost the only rooster you had. I really liked my Speckled Sussex rooster too, but I had to re-home him because he was beating up on Dexter, my Cream Legbar rooster that I have for my main flock rooster now. He had his comb totally bloodied so I knew he wasn't going to be able to get along & be a good boy. I hated to get rid of him because like you say he was so good with protecting his girls. Dexter is a good flock rooster too, he follows them around & watches over them really well. He's quite a character too, I can talk to him & he acts like he understands what I'm saying. I really like my Speckled Sussex hens too, they're just eye candy for the yard as well as good layers.

Frizzled, those are some good questions for anybody trying to decide on breeds of chickens. You should write a guide to chicken buying! I might add dwink2 that you might google chicken breeds & just read about different ones & look at pics & then you can make a more informed decision too. One good site that has some good info & links to pics is: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html. You will find the most common breeds there & on the left under the breed name you will see some links to sites where you can usually find pics of them. It tells you approx. how many eggs they lay per year & facts like that. I'm sure others can point you to other sites as well. Here is another one that has lots of info & pics: http://feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html

Wow, it rained cats & dogs here for awhile & now it's a huge mess again. I came in to get some dry clothes on after getting soaked & then heard this awful noise coming from the heat pump. I turned off the system but the noise continued, so I didn't know what else to do but call my DH at work. I rarely call him to come home, but I didn't know what else to do. He came home long enough to go up in the attic & shut off the breaker to the heat pump. Why they put it up there I have no idea, but I can't even get up there. So we have no air conditioning till we can get the company to come out that installed it & see what the problem is. It's going to be so darned humid in here it's going to be awful. I haven't opened up the house yet because it's really still fairly cool in here & we have fans going. I'm sure tomorrow we will have to open it up & then the fun begins. Ugh, I hate not having air conditioning in the summer. I don't handle this darned humidity well at all.

 

[chicken danz]

Trish sounds like a dehumidifier would be a great option for you. I run one often in the summer and it seems to help keep the AC from running so much. Probably mostly because if it takes out the excess humidity you don't have to keep the house quite as cool to keep comfortable. They are well worth the money I think in terms of comfort for sure. I used to have one in the basement as well but it finally died. I can't keep windows open at all especially at night. Once in a while I will open some if it's really comfy outside but never long term. I have too many allergies. DH thought I would end up sick all the time when we moved to the country but my health and asthma has improved a ton out here. Fall and spring are really tough but the rest of the time I do much better.
I went in yesterday and spent the afternoon with my brother, his wife and my sisters. Looks like I'll be doing the same the next couple of days. We were going through the garage and garden shed deciding on what to take, sell, and those things we couldn't decide who got. We decided to do a couple drawings on some things we all liked. The problem with our family is we all would like to have certain things but at the same time we don't want to take something someone else wants. I got a little shovel my Mom used all the time. It was the one thing I really wanted. Both for sentimental reasons and the fact that it is an awesome little shovel I can throw in my car. I've been known to stop along the road and dig a plant growing in the ditch more than once.
I got a metal wagon. We have a couple but it seems like they are always loaded down. I use them to pull cages around with birds in them or haul materials. Then I picked up a few more garden tools that I can always use. I have a bag of other things my mother saved from my childhood like pictures and cards. I haven't gone through those yet. This could take forever! My mother was a master at packing things away. We found lots of old coins and jewelry in an old suitcase yesterday as well as a bunch of old things that were my grandmother's.

I had to come home and feed birds in the late evening. I have got to get out and get everyone watered this morning because I ran out of time to get them fresh water. Looks like we have clear skies today and then it's supposed to rain again the next two days. I really really could do without the rain!!!

I've got two speckled sussex roos but I like them both. I only have 4 girls so I sure don't need more boys. But neither one of them are aggressive or even fight with the other roos so I guess they don't hurt anything. My speckled sussex are nothing special at this point but they are the sweetest chickens. They talk to me and eat out of my hand.

 

[HEChicken]

Tweetybaby, that was a little baby snake, but it was about the size of an earthworm!

Trish, I hear you on the issue of mature roosters going at each other. I have two that I want to use as breeders - my Reese Barred Rock and my German NH. I had hoped they would be happy to coexist in my flock, since as you know, I like to run all my birds together. But the BR went after the NH fiercely when he first arrived so I had to keep the NH and a NH hen in the hoop coop. Even then, the BR used to rush the sides of the hoop coop, aggressively trying to intimidate the NH. The situation wasn't helped by a little bantam cochin rooster, who also went after the NH. Even when the BR was far away, the Cochin would start something and the BR would come running over. So I processed the cochin a couple of weeks ago, and then I made the roosters switch places - now the BR and a BR hen are in the hoop coop, while the NH is out with the flock. He was pretty intimidated at first when I gave him his freedom and he let the turkeys chase him all over. But the turkeys have given up that nonsense now, and it is actually more peaceful with the BR in the hoop coop as the NH doesn't ever try to rush him and intimidate him through the hoop coop walls. I'm half hoping that after the BR has been taken down a peg or two by being locked away, and the NH has established himself as head cock bird of the flock, that it might be possible by winter for them to both live in the main coop. But, if I have to keep switching them back and forth, so be it. At least whoever is locked in the hoop coop, I know I am getting purebred eggs.

 

[pikeman94]

Trish sounds like a dehumidifier would be a great option for you. I run one often in the summer and it seems to help keep the AC from running so much. Probably mostly because if it takes out the excess humidity you don't have to keep the house quite as cool to keep comfortable. They are well worth the money I think in terms of comfort for sure. I used to have one in the basement as well but it finally died. I can't keep windows open at all especially at night. Once in a while I will open some if it's really comfy outside but never long term. I have too many allergies. DH thought I would end up sick all the time when we moved to the country but my health and asthma has improved a ton out here. Fall and spring are really tough but the rest of the time I do much better.
I went in yesterday and spent the afternoon with my brother, his wife and my sisters. Looks like I'll be doing the same the next couple of days. We were going through the garage and garden shed deciding on what to take, sell, and those things we couldn't decide who got. We decided to do a couple drawings on some things we all liked. The problem with our family is we all would like to have certain things but at the same time we don't want to take something someone else wants. I got a little shovel my Mom used all the time. It was the one thing I really wanted. Both for sentimental reasons and the fact that it is an awesome little shovel I can throw in my car. I've been known to stop along the road and dig a plant growing in the ditch more than once.
I got a metal wagon. We have a couple but it seems like they are always loaded down. I use them to pull cages around with birds in them or haul materials. Then I picked up a few more garden tools that I can always use. I have a bag of other things my mother saved from my childhood like pictures and cards. I haven't gone through those yet. This could take forever! My mother was a master at packing things away. We found lots of old coins and jewelry in an old suitcase yesterday as well as a bunch of old things that were my grandmother's.

I had to come home and feed birds in the late evening. I have got to get out and get everyone watered this morning because I ran out of time to get them fresh water. Looks like we have clear skies today and then it's supposed to rain again the next two days. I really really could do without the rain!!!

I've got two speckled sussex roos but I like them both. I only have 4 girls so I sure don't need more boys. But neither one of them are aggressive or even fight with the other roos so I guess they don't hurt anything. My speckled sussex are nothing special at this point but they are the sweetest chickens. They talk to me and eat out of my hand.

Did you get those Sussex from Karen? Mine are the friendliest birds too. They follow me every where in the yard and give me the status report from the coop.

 

[chicken danz]

HeChicken my Reece New Hamp rooster is a pushover as well. All of the other roosters pick on him and he runs from all of them. I really like this guy. He is beautiful. I sold a pair to a guy for the fair and I almost wish I'd kept them so I could breed them. They did really well though and I think they are going to state.
I have a couple of the barred rock boys and they get along fine together. I guess they are a pretty even match even though they are in a pretty small pen with only 4 girls. I have some young ones growing up now as well but haven't for sure decided how many of each sex I have.
Yep Pikeman the sussex are from Karen. I have a couple younger ones that I got from some show lines but they aren't running with the adults yet. They are old enough I think. I just am waiting to mix them. School is ready to start so hopefully we'll hear more from her in the near future.
DH got home from work while ago and has already said he wants to use the wagon. So much for me having it all to myself!! I went through the box of pictures and stuff and found my baby books. Interesting. I've never seen them before. And there are no pictures of me until I was a year old. I know I was really sick and in the hospital for the first part of my life but you would have thought they would have taken a picture or two since they were told several times I would not live. I was surprised to learn I had dark hair when I was born. Any pictures I had taken later I had blonde hair.