Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

ZigZag the straw might help but I wouldn't spread it around.. They will certainly do that on their own. You have to be careful with straw cause it will mold if it gets wet and isn't kept aired out. If it were me I would just set a bale in there and let them sit on it. If you have a couple scraps of wood I would set it on them off the ground to keep it from getting wet.

x2. I use straw as the bedding in my coop, where it stays completely dry (the birds poop on it but it is able to absorb that amount of moisture and dry it out without molding). I don't spread it out for them. Straw and hay are baled in "flakes" that separate easily. So I take the wire off the bale, and then take each flake and throw it to a different part of the coop. Within hours they have it completely spread out, far more evenly than I could have. I actually just took a new bale down there yesterday morning since it was rainy here and I figured it would give them something to do while they self-confined themselves to the coop. They've been needing new bedding for awhile and I was waiting for a rainy day to do it. A few hours later I opened the door and they had been busy all morning and had it nicely spread around. My coop is 10x10 and one bale does very nicely to provide a thick layer of bedding. Over time it gets compacted and when it needs more, I take another bale down and repeat. About every 6 months I do a complete clean out of the coop and add the straw bedding to my garden as mulch/fertilizer.

 

[JosieChick]

Morning all! I am kind of far behind again....sigh.

Danz-Sorry about your pea hen, that is a total bummer. I hate losing birds.

Thanks for input on propane suppliers. We are going to try to burn more wood this winter to heat the house. Last winter we had a ton of really old hackberry and it burnt up really fast and wasn't very hot. We found a guy up in Newton that sells seasoned hedge and that stuff is HOT! So that will definitely help to burn better wood. I am hoping to keep propane use down this year.

So I could use some input from everyone. I have a bunch of birds to sell but they are in kinda rough shape from too many roos and some are molting. I would really like to get birds sold this fall so we don't have to pay to feed them all winter but I feel badly selling birds in such rough shape. Do you guys think its ok to sell birds for less than regular market value with the honest disclaimer that they are pretty rough? They just need to grow some feathers back in but some of them look awful right now. We are trying to cut way back to save some money because our timeline to move back East has been bumped up a bit and we are shelling out a lot of cash for chicken feed. Thanks for any advice!

 

[chicken danz]

NO!!!!!
Don't take my baby and move back East. I would miss you and your DH too terribly! Say it isn't so!
I think a true bird fancier is going to recognize a good bird even if it is rough and molting. Other people not so much. I can vouch you have healthy well cared for birds. Be sure to tell prospective buyers what your DH does for a living. That should help sell them.
I wish I could get some decent heat out of my fireplace but it wasn't put in really efficiently and all the heat goes up the chimney. Plus the wood burner is in the basement and the gas burner is upstairs. Kind of crazy if you ask me.
We just renewed our propane contract yesterday. ..to the tune of $1400. We always contract for more than we think we need cause one year when it was bitter cold we ran out and the prices had doubled. We still have some credit from last year and our tank is full. We should be in good shape. Too bad we can't get a lower price for electric that way. It eats our lunch. If I had the funds I would so put in a geothermal system. I should have done that 5 years ago when I put in this heat system. I wouldn't have spent much more.
Did you have your DNA done on your Sebbies? I paid for expedited shipping on mine and it still hasn't arrived. It will be three weeks Friday. So much for guarantees. If it isn't there by Friday I am going to call the post office and see if they can track it down some where. The last activity had it leaving Kansas City. I sure don't want to do all that blood drawing again. The envelope with the test kits got here faster by snail mail then my expedited package has.

 

[JosieChick]

NO!!!!!
Don't take my baby and move back East. I would miss you and your DH too terribly! Say it isn't so!
I think a true bird fancier is going to recognize a good bird even if it is rough and molting. Other people not so much. I can vouch you have healthy well cared for birds. Be sure to tell prospective buyers what your DH does for a living. That should help sell them.
I wish I could get some decent heat out of my fireplace but it wasn't put in really efficiently and all the heat goes up the chimney. Plus the wood burner is in the basement and the gas burner is upstairs. Kind of crazy if you ask me.
We just renewed our propane contract yesterday. ..to the tune of $1400. We always contract for more than we think we need cause one year when it was bitter cold we ran out and the prices had doubled. We still have some credit from last year and our tank is full. We should be in good shape. Too bad we can't get a lower price for electric that way. It eats our lunch. If I had the funds I would so put in a geothermal system. I should have done that 5 years ago when I put in this heat system. I wouldn't have spent much more.
Did you have your DNA done on your Sebbies? I paid for expedited shipping on mine and it still hasn't arrived. It will be three weeks Friday. So much for guarantees. If it isn't there by Friday I am going to call the post office and see if they can track it down some where. The last activity had it leaving Kansas City. I sure don't want to do all that blood drawing again. The envelope with the test kits got here faster by snail mail then my expedited package has.

Sorry!!! It is so. It was originally five years but it could be in the next two if we can get our finances ready. I really want to be back with my family. It really does take a village to raise a child and I have a very supportive, loving one back home. Not so much here. We really don't have anyone to help and it is frustrating and exhausting. I would like to have another in the next couple years and I can't imagine two with no family help! We will be back to visit the in laws so its not like we will never be here.

See I think I need to do that with the propane because I thought there was a deal if you paid ahead of time. I am really hoping good wood will make a difference for us this year. I am toying with the idea of moving our bedroom downstairs so we can just close the upstairs off and not worry about it. It is all old windows up there and we had to use portable electric heaters last year to make it bearable for sleeping.

I haven't gotten the geese sexed yet but I need to! Can't believe its taking that long, someone on the sebbie thread said it was taking a while for theirs to come back too. Wonder if I should try the other company instead that I saw listed. Did you use the one in Canada? I would definitely call, it should be there by now! I am going to sell a handful of juvies now and maybe an older pair or two. The two big horses and a handful of my favorite goosies are the only outside creatures we are going to move. I think I will ship the geese and see if my Nana can house them temporarily.

 

[Trish44]

Morning all! I am kind of far behind again....sigh.

Danz-Sorry about your pea hen, that is a total bummer. I hate losing birds.

Thanks for input on propane suppliers. We are going to try to burn more wood this winter to heat the house. Last winter we had a ton of really old hackberry and it burnt up really fast and wasn't very hot. We found a guy up in Newton that sells seasoned hedge and that stuff is HOT! So that will definitely help to burn better wood. I am hoping to keep propane use down this year.

So I could use some input from everyone. I have a bunch of birds to sell but they are in kinda rough shape from too many roos and some are molting. I would really like to get birds sold this fall so we don't have to pay to feed them all winter but I feel badly selling birds in such rough shape. Do you guys think its ok to sell birds for less than regular market value with the honest disclaimer that they are pretty rough? They just need to grow some feathers back in but some of them look awful right now. We are trying to cut way back to save some money because our timeline to move back East has been bumped up a bit and we are shelling out a lot of cash for chicken feed. Thanks for any advice!

We burn hedge in our woodstove for one thing because we have so much of it, but it is the hottest burning wood around. It's nasty stuff with the darned thorns, but it is good for burning.

Sorry!!! It is so. It was originally five years but it could be in the next two if we can get our finances ready. I really want to be back with my family. It really does take a village to raise a child and I have a very supportive, loving one back home. Not so much here. We really don't have anyone to help and it is frustrating and exhausting. I would like to have another in the next couple years and I can't imagine two with no family help! We will be back to visit the in laws so its not like we will never be here.

See I think I need to do that with the propane because I thought there was a deal if you paid ahead of time. I am really hoping good wood will make a difference for us this year. I am toying with the idea of moving our bedroom downstairs so we can just close the upstairs off and not worry about it. It is all old windows up there and we had to use portable electric heaters last year to make it bearable for sleeping.

I haven't gotten the geese sexed yet but I need to! Can't believe its taking that long, someone on the sebbie thread said it was taking a while for theirs to come back too. Wonder if I should try the other company instead that I saw listed. Did you use the one in Canada? I would definitely call, it should be there by now! I am going to sell a handful of juvies now and maybe an older pair or two. The two big horses and a handful of my favorite goosies are the only outside creatures we are going to move. I think I will ship the geese and see if my Nana can house them temporarily.

You can't leave till I get some baby Sebbies from you! We all will miss you when you leave, I hope you will visit us on this thread even though you aren't here.

It's so nice out today again, I've been out there taking care of birds & after lunch I'm going out to expand the goat pen a little bigger so they will have more room when they have to stay in. When we built the goat shelter it took up a lot of the pen so I want to expand it with two 12 ft livestock panels I have out that far. We got a few sprinkles today, but that's all, not hardly enough to wet the ground even.

Danz, I'm sorry about your little peahen, that's the pits.

 

[chicken danz]

I know Josie. I raised my kids in Oklahoma with a family in Kansas for a few years. The boys were born down there and they never got to know their grandparents like the other cousins did. Also when I did move back to Kansas we weren't close so it was still a long drive for a visit.
You can definitely save by buying propane on contract. Especially if it gets really cold. Prices go way up and if you don't have a contract you really end up paying a ridiculous amount.
Josie it's not the company that is taking long...it's the mail service. USPS Priority to be exact. The company mailed me my cards to do the test and they got here in about a week. But my return envelope has gone into Heaven knows where. I am pretty upset with the postal service.
I haven't accomplished much today. This weather is kind of a downer.

 

[ChickieWickies]

We burn hedge in our woodstove for one thing because we have so much of it, but it is the hottest burning wood around. It's nasty stuff with the darned thorns, but it is good for burning.

My in-laws burn hedge--it's HOT and there is little ash. It's their favorite.

 

[sharol]

These are Elwood and Jake, my 11 week old EE boys from Butch:



Jake has lovely coloring so far. I can hardly wait to see how he matures. His tail is already iridescent.

 

[cherwill]

My in-laws burn hedge--it's HOT and there is little ash. It's their favorite.

Hedge is so hard, we have a hard time keeping it burning. It wants to smolder, so we try to put a softer piece of wood in with it. I think it's because our stove is smaller, and very airtight and it's hard to keep the right amount of air coming in to keep it burning.

 

[Trish44]

These are Elwood and Jake, my 11 week old EE boys from Butch:



Jake has lovely coloring so far. I can hardly wait to see how he matures. His tail is already iridescent.

Wow, Jake is a handsome guy!

Hedge is so hard, we have a hard time keeping it burning. It wants to smolder, so we try to put a softer piece of wood in with it. I think it's because our stove is smaller, and very airtight and it's hard to keep the right amount of air coming in to keep it burning.

You do have to have a good draft to get it going. I have noticed on the nights when there isn't much wind out that we have a little more trouble getting the fire going, but otherwise it burns really well for us. We just bought a brand new fancy stove about two years or so ago because the one that was in the house when we came here was really old & inefficient. We love the one we have now.

I went out this afternoon & drove in 4 more t-posts to expand my goat pen & had to dig out some big rocks to get them in, no surprise really, but it was hard work. I got it done just about in time to start feeding all the birds & animals. I'm tired now from all of that, so I'm done for the day. Tomorrow I have more on my list for out there.