Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

nasty things, aren't they? My chickens won't touch them. I just squish them with my shoe. They make a real satisfying splat. last spring I found them on my potatoes and green peppers. Shudder.

I'm so surprised to hear they won't touch them! When I dump them out in a pile, they do peer at them for a minute the first time but then they dive in and gobble them down. The turkeys got most of them because they're always first in line for treats but if a chicken is able to get a hold of one, they will take off with it.

 

[tweetybaby2005]

Cherwill, I am with you on the car shopping - I hope the Jeep works out for you.

I discovered my tomatoes have Tomato Hornworms the other day, quite by accident. I was picking and spotted one. Once I knew to look for them I found 3 more in quick succession and then heard my hay guy coming so I had to run to open the gate for him. I went back out the next evening and found six more. Some of them are HUGE so have clearly been eating for awhile. I'm glad I found them when I did - the turkeys are quite happy to help me out by eating them. I need to go back out to night and see if I can find some more.

Man I hate those hornworms. They absolutely gross me out when they are big and fat! I would use a pair a long chopsticks (about 16" long) to grab it then cut it up to feed to my fish in the pond. But I don't have a garden this year so no hormworms. I'm sure they will show up next year though. They are nasty.

We just got back from the garden. The peas are coming up. The beets came up and something ate them. I'll be lucky to get five beets from the fall harvest. The radishes and squash look good. Carrots haven't come up at all yet, and something's started eating the wax bean sprouts.

We traded some fennel bulbs for a tub of tomatoes, though, so that was good.

To make this chicken related, I'm still getting 0-1 egg a day. Grrrr.

I hear ya on the egg front. We are down to only 4 or 5 from 15!!! I need more eggs! I think some of the chickens are starting to grow their feathers back though. The chicks I got in March should be laying by now but so far, I think only 2 or 3 of them have been and I can tell the eggs apart, they are quite smaller since they are pullet eggs.

It has been awfully quiet here recently. I would think most people would be inside keeping cool. Sounds like you had an excellent shower, Lizzy. I don't even think I know 30 people that would consider coming to anything for me. I guess that is life as a hermit.
I'm pretty much an unhappy camper. I took some of my ideas out to DH to bounce off him about building cages. He's been leading me to believe he would at least make some boxes to start with. He'd mentioned going to buy lumber for them. When I told him how many I needed and what size he got all crabby about it . He said he was going to take a nap and then go shopping so if I wanted him to get anything I'd better be thinking about it. Well I had quite a list and I had planned to go myself but he gave me the impression we were going together. So now I guess I am building cages alone without any material and no help and will have to make a separate trip to get the things I need later on. I swear sometimes I could pull my hair out. I would have had this at least half done had I not been led to believe he was going to work on it with me. I've been planning this for 6 months and yet he acts all surprised I have to get it done.
I had purchased some cheap small clothes baskets some time back and I cut some heavy rigid plastic I had saved to put in the bottoms to strengthen them up. I am going to cut some plastic hardware cloth to use on the tops, attach some feed and water containers...and those will be the cages for the Mandarin ducks. I have two old cages I think I will use for pairs of pheasant. I will have to modify the tops so they don't hurt their heads but other than that those are done. I need to make two more for pheasants, make two for peacocks and then those for the geese. It's so hot out there I can hardly stand it. It's almost enough to make me say forget it and just try to sell birds from here.
I snapped and canned 7 quarts of green beans this morning. I decided to busy myself while DH slept in.
My turkey hadn't sat on the eggs in the pen so I brought them in and put them in the incubator. All but one of them appeared to be okay as far as starting to develop but they hadn't been sat on and they were cool. I put them in the incubator anyway and figure I'll check them in a few days to see if any of them are still alive.
I have chicks hatching today. I am out of chick starter so I am just letting the rest finish hatching before I remove them.
It's really not been a very satisfying day so far. And since I got up so early I am feeling a bit more grouchy than normal.

Awwww... so sorry you have to get the cage and things together in such a short time! It is just the pits to have to scramble to have everything ready, especially you have been planning for it for 6 months!

*************************************************

Boy was it hot outside and windy! My allergy is in full swing. I am back to using my steroid nasal spray or I won't be able to sleep at night. It is giving me a bit of sore throat too. This wind is not helping at all. It kicks up all the pollen, dust, etc. The cooler weather can't come fast enough.

We named the 2 GPs (they didn't have a name before). One of them is Skylette and my son named the other one Rosebud (we call her Rosie for short). They are still timid but they were barking as I was walking to the garage where they stay right now. That's just great because they are alert. They still won't come to me when I was in there, another good sign since I'm, after all, a stranger to them. My husband told me this morning, they did go to him and give him a lick or 2. That just cracked me up. For now, they will be confined in the 2 car garage until they know this is home. Then I'll try to walk them around the parameter of the property. I'll introduce them to the birds much later until I feel that they are ready.

I'm just like you guys, I don't like to go car shopping. My old car (it was totaled back in 2010 by a coworker and we just bought it back as a salvaged car and fixed it up so I can drive it). Now the transmission is acting up. It is not even worth fixing if it goes. I told DH that if it goes, I will just get me a used car or pickup truck. Fixing a 16+ year old salvaged car is just wasting my money imho.

Oh well... my break is over. Gotta go back to work.

Stay cool everyone.

 

[Trish44]

I woke up at 5:30 and couldn't get back to sleep so here I am drinking coffee and writing now that I can finally see the keyboard. Cherwill I had to laugh at your box with windows. DH used to have a Montero and that is exactly how I described it. Sounds like you are having battles with vehicles. I don't think there is anything I hate worse than car shopping. I think it took me over 4 months before I replaced my Outback after the deer totalled it.
Tweety sorry for all the work you have to do at the office. I hate trying to get organized. I have total chaos and it looks like a mess around me but I know where my stuff is. If someone else moved it I would be lost.
Congrats on the GPs. Trish told me about them. I hope they work out really well for you. I have nothing but praise for my dogs.....well most of the time. I can't even fathom what losses I would have without them. My newest dog I've only had back a couple of weeks has presented a couple challenges but she is really well behaved which really helps. The worst part is when I am trying to put the birds in at night she and Fluff decide it is fun to play by chasing each other around the birds. Needless to say it doesn't go over well. I just started putting her in a kennel until I get the birds put up.

Oh and good news. Last night I was out trying to mow some high weeds. I found a nest of turkey eggs and then here came my missing turkey. We had been all over that area and hadn't found the eggs or the turkey before. I am sure she hadn't come out to eat or anything. I put the eggs in their pen and she went in with the others. I'll check this morning to see if she found them. She was pretty upset with me. If she isn't sitting on them I'll check to see if they may still be viable since it was pretty warm out last night. And if they appear okay I'll put them in the incubator and hope for the best. I hope she is sitting on them. She wasn't about to pay attention to me when I was trying to show them to her last night. I'm trying to figure how to get them by leaving them in their pen today. I think tomorrow is supposed to be the beginning of the cool down. I just don't want them dying from the heat out there. I'm out of fans to use.
I'm down to two days to get all those cages made. I figured out I have a minimum of 14 cages to make and that is if my DNA tests don't come back. Holy molly. I guess it's time to start. There could easily be another 4-6 cages if it does come back.

I'm so glad you found your turkey hen, yay! Maybe she will settle down when she finds her eggs. It sounds like you have a lot to do to get ready for the Gardner auction. I hope it goes well for you & you sell things high. Just don't come home with any more birds!

We had to go to KC Sunday & spent the night so I could go to my Dr. appt. on Monday morning. We picked up a little buck Mini Rex rabbit on the way home that replaced the one I lost a couple weeks ago to the heat. Of course my DH was so thrilled to have to pick up something on the way home, but he wasn't too bad about it this time. I think he's getting used to me picking up chickens or rabbits on our travels. He knows if he doesn't agree to it I will just drive back there myself & get it anyway because I have told him I would, so rather than use more gas he has learned not to protest too much. I was worried about leaving my birds & everything in that heat, but I stopped at my neighbor's & asked him if he could come over & shut up the run door for me & he said he would be glad to & even came back on Monday morning & let them out again. It sure made me feel better that they could get out & find some shade. I told him I just felt too bad about them having to stand in there in the heat. I probably would have lost some birds if they had to stay in there the whole two days. Thank goodness for good neighbors!

HEChicken, I'm glad you got your hay all cut & baled, that has to be a big relief. I wish I had some of that to put up for my goats this winter, I have to find some for them.

tweetybaby, It will take a little while for those dogs to get acclimated & be able to trust you, they are a little more cautious than other breeds of dogs. Once you earn their trust though they are very loyal dogs. I think you will be happy to have them once they get used to where home is & learn their boundaries & all. I know I wouldn't be able to keep any birds here if I didn't have the two I have here because they're out there working every night. They have been barking a lot the last week or so.

It's supposed to really start the cool down on Thursday, I can't wait & I know all the birds & animals out there will be so thankful too.

 

[Trish44]

It has been awfully quiet here recently. I would think most people would be inside keeping cool. Sounds like you had an excellent shower, Lizzy. I don't even think I know 30 people that would consider coming to anything for me. I guess that is life as a hermit.
I'm pretty much an unhappy camper. I took some of my ideas out to DH to bounce off him about building cages. He's been leading me to believe he would at least make some boxes to start with. He'd mentioned going to buy lumber for them. When I told him how many I needed and what size he got all crabby about it . He said he was going to take a nap and then go shopping so if I wanted him to get anything I'd better be thinking about it. Well I had quite a list and I had planned to go myself but he gave me the impression we were going together. So now I guess I am building cages alone without any material and no help and will have to make a separate trip to get the things I need later on. I swear sometimes I could pull my hair out. I would have had this at least half done had I not been led to believe he was going to work on it with me. I've been planning this for 6 months and yet he acts all surprised I have to get it done.
I had purchased some cheap small clothes baskets some time back and I cut some heavy rigid plastic I had saved to put in the bottoms to strengthen them up. I am going to cut some plastic hardware cloth to use on the tops, attach some feed and water containers...and those will be the cages for the Mandarin ducks. I have two old cages I think I will use for pairs of pheasant. I will have to modify the tops so they don't hurt their heads but other than that those are done. I need to make two more for pheasants, make two for peacocks and then those for the geese. It's so hot out there I can hardly stand it. It's almost enough to make me say forget it and just try to sell birds from here.
I snapped and canned 7 quarts of green beans this morning. I decided to busy myself while DH slept in.
My turkey hadn't sat on the eggs in the pen so I brought them in and put them in the incubator. All but one of them appeared to be okay as far as starting to develop but they hadn't been sat on and they were cool. I put them in the incubator anyway and figure I'll check them in a few days to see if any of them are still alive.
I have chicks hatching today. I am out of chick starter so I am just letting the rest finish hatching before I remove them.
It's really not been a very satisfying day so far. And since I got up so early I am feeling a bit more grouchy than normal.

Gosh, I think your DH & mine are twins or something, they sound so much alike. I'm sorry you have to work on your cages alone. Sometimes even though it's a lot more work alone I think it's a lot more peaceful that way.

Oh I forgot to say earlier that I think my two young peafowl chicks are a male & a female black shoulder. That's what they appear to be to me & that would make me very very happy if they are. If that is the case I will have an extra India Blue male to sell because I won't need him. I can't keep him in there come spring probably because the two males will fight. That means I'm going to have to build another hoop coop for the young pair.

 

[cherwill]

Cherwill, I am with you on the car shopping - I hope the Jeep works out for you.

I discovered my tomatoes have Tomato Hornworms the other day, quite by accident. I was picking and spotted one. Once I knew to look for them I found 3 more in quick succession and then heard my hay guy coming so I had to run to open the gate for him. I went back out the next evening and found six more. Some of them are HUGE so have clearly been eating for awhile. I'm glad I found them when I did - the turkeys are quite happy to help me out by eating them. I need to go back out to night and see if I can find some more.

I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying this, but I've never seen a hornworm. What do you do about them? Are they like the potato bugs that infest my eggplant, where you just keep picking them off until eventually you get them all?

The car guy forgot to tell his mechanic to look at the Jeep, so now he's supposed to check it out tomorrow. There is another one in Wichita, but it's newer and more expensive. I also have bad memories about the several fruitless trips we made to Wichita car hunting when we did this the last time.

 

[tweetybaby2005]

I'm so glad you found your turkey hen, yay! Maybe she will settle down when she finds her eggs. It sounds like you have a lot to do to get ready for the Gardner auction. I hope it goes well for you & you sell things high. Just don't come home with any more birds!

We had to go to KC Sunday & spent the night so I could go to my Dr. appt. on Monday morning. We picked up a little buck Mini Rex rabbit on the way home that replaced the one I lost a couple weeks ago to the heat. Of course my DH was so thrilled to have to pick up something on the way home, but he wasn't too bad about it this time. I think he's getting used to me picking up chickens or rabbits on our travels. He knows if he doesn't agree to it I will just drive back there myself & get it anyway because I have told him I would, so rather than use more gas he has learned not to protest too much. I was worried about leaving my birds & everything in that heat, but I stopped at my neighbor's & asked him if he could come over & shut up the run door for me & he said he would be glad to & even came back on Monday morning & let them out again. It sure made me feel better that they could get out & find some shade. I told him I just felt too bad about them having to stand in there in the heat. I probably would have lost some birds if they had to stay in there the whole two days. Thank goodness for good neighbors!

HEChicken, I'm glad you got your hay all cut & baled, that has to be a big relief. I wish I had some of that to put up for my goats this winter, I have to find some for them.

tweetybaby, It will take a little while for those dogs to get acclimated & be able to trust you, they are a little more cautious than other breeds of dogs. Once you earn their trust though they are very loyal dogs. I think you will be happy to have them once they get used to where home is & learn their boundaries & all. I know I wouldn't be able to keep any birds here if I didn't have the two I have here because they're out there working every night. They have been barking a lot the last week or so.

It's supposed to really start the cool down on Thursday, I can't wait & I know all the birds & animals out there will be so thankful too.

Trish, I hope your Dr's appt went well. I'm like you, when we went to KC, I stopped by a friend's house to pick up Wakins on the way home. DH pretty much learned to accept that this is part of the routine when we travel. I love those Wakin fish and she is the only one around this area who sells (both wholesale and individually) Wakins.

It was really nice of your neighbor to close the coop door for you. I'm just wondering who will come out and close the door for me if we have to travel in the future. It is not like my city friends know what to do with chickens.

Gosh, I think your DH & mine are twins or something, they sound so much alike. I'm sorry you have to work on your cages alone. Sometimes even though it's a lot more work alone I think it's a lot more peaceful that way.

Oh I forgot to say earlier that I think my two young peafowl chicks are a male & a female black shoulder. That's what they appear to be to me & that would make me very very happy if they are. If that is the case I will have an extra India Blue male to sell because I won't need him. I can't keep him in there come spring probably because the two males will fight. That means I'm going to have to build another hoop coop for the young pair.

Trish, it's great that you have a pair of male and female peafowl. My husband is still thinking of getting a pair but I told him we need to keep at least 2 stalls open for the horses he wants so badly.

But of course if he wants to build a new pen for them, I'm all game.

I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying this, but I've never seen a hornworm. What do you do about them? Are they like the potato bugs that infest my eggplant, where you just keep picking them off until eventually you get them all?

The car guy forgot to tell his mechanic to look at the Jeep, so now he's supposed to check it out tomorrow. There is another one in Wichita, but it's newer and more expensive. I also have bad memories about the several fruitless trips we made to Wichita car hunting when we did this the last time.

Cherwill, the ones I had hide easily among the tomato leaves because their color blend them in nicely. They will continue to eat till the plants are bald! At least the ones I had did that to my tomatoes plants. They are just the ugliest thing and just like Sharol said, they make a good splat if you step on them.

That's just a bummer that the mechanic didn't get to look at the Jeep. Hopefully you will get some good news soon. Don't you hate it when you have a purpose (to buy a car) but those endless trips just yield you nothing!!! I just do not enjoy car shopping. Actually I do not enjoy shopping for anything... PERIOD! I always compile a list of things I need to get then go to the store, grab the stuff, cross the list off then I'm out of there. Clothes shopping is the same way. I go in, pick out the colors (I'm boring... always the same color, same cutting, same styles, etc. LOL), the size, just kinda put it against me to see if it will fit. If it does, I just pay for it and out of the store. For the rare chance that I'm in the mood of trying things on, I'll do that with may be 3 pairs of pants and/or shirts/tops and by the time I got done trying them on, my limit is up and I leave the store either with the clothes (if they fit) or nothing.

**********************************************
Man, the board is slow lately. Where is everyone? May be most people are out at the state fair doing some fun stuff. I'm loaded with allergy meds right now and it feels like my head is as big as the big dog pillow. The drainage is horrible, causing me to have a sore throat. Can't wait to have the first frost to get some of these allergens settled down.

Enjoy the heat if you like it. I think we are cooling down tomorrow.

 

[sharol]

Hornworms are really nasty looking. I look for branches that look like all the leaves are gone, and then look for the hornworm causing the damage. it is easier than trying to see the critters on their own. Summer before last we found one almost 4" long and as big around as my thumb. She was eating the last of the leaves on my tomato plant by the time I found her. YUCK. You can also look for their poop at the bottom of the plant. It looks like segments of a big, dark brown straw.

 

[sharol]

This morning when I went out to let the chickens out into the yard I realized that 1) I have nearly doubled my flock this summer, 2) I now have 17 chickens with a coop built for 12. Oops. Of the 17, at least 2 are possibly extra roosters, so they will be rehomed when I'm sure of gender. One is a pure Marans, so he should have a chance for a 4H home (assuming he is a he).

My coop is 8x6 so according to the book, 12 is the limit. Does anyone have any experience with, say, 15 chickens in the space for 12? Can we make this work? I don't want to get rid of any of the pullet babies I've raised (of course the cockerels will have to go, but that is a different issue).

I also realized that I have a varied flock -- 1 BO, 2 Delawares, 4 EE hens and 2 EE cockerels (Butch's boys), a Welsumer, a Golden Campine, 3 Marans (1 possible cockerel) and 3 Marans mix chicks (one clearly a cockerel). Yikes.

At his point the mixed chicks are in the portable coop, but they are free-ranging with the flock all day, so they will be moving into the coop pretty soon.

I'm turning into the "chicken lady."

 

[cherwill]

That's just a bummer that the mechanic didn't get to look at the Jeep. Hopefully you will get some good news soon. Don't you hate it when you have a purpose (to buy a car) but those endless trips just yield you nothing!!! I just do not enjoy car shopping. Actually I do not enjoy shopping for anything... PERIOD! I always compile a list of things I need to get then go to the store, grab the stuff, cross the list off then I'm out of there. Clothes shopping is the same way. I go in, pick out the colors (I'm boring... always the same color, same cutting, same styles, etc. LOL), the size, just kinda put it against me to see if it will fit. If it does, I just pay for it and out of the store. For the rare chance that I'm in the mood of trying things on, I'll do that with may be 3 pairs of pants and/or shirts/tops and by the time I got done trying them on, my limit is up and I leave the store either with the clothes (if they fit) or nothing.

You sound just like me, except I will force myself to try on the clothes every time. I've had to return too many things in the past when I didn't try them on. I pick out mainly brown, green, and orange things. I'm most likely to buy the green things. I don't understand the people who shop as a form of entertainment, but I know a lot of people who do.

I'm turning into the "chicken lady."

My husband has called me that on more than one occasion and I only have ten chickens!

 

[chicken danz]

Oh I forgot to say earlier that I think my two young peafowl chicks are a male & a female black shoulder. That's what they appear to be to me & that would make me very very happy if they are. If that is the case I will have an extra India Blue male to sell because I won't need him. I can't keep him in there come spring probably because the two males will fight. That means I'm going to have to build another hoop coop for the young pair.

Well I can always sell you another India blue chick (female) to go with your boy so you'd have two pair!!! Surely out of all these chicks I have a female.
Quote:

It was really nice of your neighbor to close the coop door for you. I'm just wondering who will come out and close the door for me if we have to travel in the future. It is not like my city friends know what to do with chickens.

I wish I had someone to close my coops, feed, water, put birds up etc. No one would take that on out here. I get complaints how we can't go anywhere. Maybe some day I'll get my projects done so it is a little more automatic.

Trish, it's great that you have a pair of male and female peafowl. My husband is still thinking of getting a pair but I told him we need to keep at least 2 stalls open for the horses he wants so badly.

But of course if he wants to build a new pen for them, I'm all game.
I can sell you a pair of peachicks too. Just give me the word. These babies are too young to sex yet but they are cheaper at this point. Or if you want to wait I can tell better. ..but of course the price goes up.

Man, the board is slow lately. Where is everyone? May be most people are out at the state fair doing some fun stuff. I'm loaded with allergy meds right now and it feels like my head is as big as the big dog pillow. The drainage is horrible, causing me to have a sore throat. Can't wait to have the first frost to get some of these allergens settled down.
I so understand that! I have been really sick. I keep syringing my nose with salt water and taking decongestants and I am starting to do much better. I thought sure I was going to have to resort to antibiotics there for a couple days when I couldn't break my fever.
Enjoy the heat if you like it. I think we are cooling down tomorrow.

This morning when I went out to let the chickens out into the yard I realized that 1) I have nearly doubled my flock this summer, 2) I now have 17 chickens with a coop built for 12. Oops. Of the 17, at least 2 are possibly extra roosters, so they will be rehomed when I'm sure of gender. One is a pure Marans, so he should have a chance for a 4H home (assuming he is a he).

My coop is 8x6 so according to the book, 12 is the limit. Does anyone have any experience with, say, 15 chickens in the space for 12? Can we make this work? I don't want to get rid of any of the pullet babies I've raised (of course the cockerels will have to go, but that is a different issue).
Sharol, I have broken chicken space rules all over the place. I think it is actually more important for them to have the outside space than the inside space. I also see roost space as additional square footage. The only time I've ever been concerned about crowding in the coop itself is in the worst of winter weather when there's a blizzard going on. In that case the heat they put out actually helps them protect each other and I try to put something in there for them to entertain themselves. Like a hanging cabbage or something to keep the busy rather than bothering each other. And of course I NEVER have a coop shut completely up. Even in the coldest winter I still have a vent open. You will know if it is too crowded if they start bickering and picking on each other.
I also realized that I have a varied flock -- 1 BO, 2 Delawares, 4 EE hens and 2 EE cockerels (Butch's boys), a Welsumer, a Golden Campine, 3 Marans (1 possible cockerel) and 3 Marans mix chicks (one clearly a cockerel). Yikes.

At his point the mixed chicks are in the portable coop, but they are free-ranging with the flock all day, so they will be moving into the coop pretty soon.

I'm turning into the "chicken lady."

You sound just like me, except I will force myself to try on the clothes every time. I've had to return too many things in the past when I didn't try them on. I pick out mainly brown, green, and orange things. I'm most likely to buy the green things. I don't understand the people who shop as a form of entertainment, but I know a lot of people who do.
I am like you guys only worse. I only look at the Clearance racks. I figure they'll all end up with chicken poo on them anyway. I don't care much about color other than I rarely wear red. I hardly EVER try on anything. I look at how full it is cause I don't want anything accentuating my tummy rolls.
And I am the worlds worst about returning things. I either convince myself I'll loose weight or I stick them in the closet thinking I'll take them back or give them to someone. Usually they stay in the closet. Needless to say I need to purge purge purge.
The exception to the rule for clothing is if I go shopping at Kohl's. I buy nicer things there and quite often try them on. But that might happen once a year if that often.
I don't like shopping at all by the way. I would rather be beaten!!! I don't like spending money and I rarely go shopping unless I am totally out of something. I make a list which I promptly loose somewhere in the store and I come home without half of what I needed and make it wait until the next time I brave the store. This can be as long as 2 months later. If I can talk DH into picking up what I need on one of his trips I feel I am way ahead of the game.

Well I ended up venting yesterday. I really try not to do that but I was letting my irritation get in my way of getting anything done. We finally got things discussed and I went with DH to Topeka. It made it a very late and expensive evening. I got lumber to build my cages, and lumber to build my turkey pen. Ouch! That was well over $350. Then I went to Walmart and spent another $75 on a little of nothing. It was just a couple things I was out of and I didn't sway off my list. I got more canning lids and rings and should be set for the rest of my canning. There were a couple things I planned to pick up I couldn't find. We got dog food and cat food and chick starter as well. We had a nice dinner. DH said he would help me get the cages built today.
The worst part is I need to get another load of feed about tomorrow. I quit feeding the fermented feed and I am using double what I was. I may have to go back to feeding it to at least the chickens just to save money. They waste so much of the feed otherwise. I've been scrounging money but it's obvious I still need to do a lot more downsizing.