Consolidated Kansas

[Btinkerbell01]

Would you happen to have the link for it?

 

[ashncarson]

Would you happen to have the link for it?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/275183675880038/

 

[ashncarson]

If you want larger brown eggs you might want to consider Barred Rocks. They're good layers & produce large eggs. Most people would have sold off any extra birds in the fall before winter got here. You might want to check out our Kansas Poultry Swap on Facebook if you're on there.

I just happened to be on FB and here at the same time, hope you don't mind I shared the link

 

[Trish44]

I just happened to be on FB and here at the same time, hope you don't mind I shared the link

Thanks Ash, I was in the car on my way back from Missouri when I saw that message & had no way to send the link. We just got home from visiting my DH's family.

 

[Btinkerbell01]

Thank you guys so much. Just waiting for the approval to join since its a closed group.

 

[chicken danz]

I currently do not have any Chickens at this moment. I know most people hatch in the spring but I was looking for some that might be about 6 mo old. Ones that are still young but yet not in the baby stage. I have a Run that is 5 feet wide and 9 feet long. The coop is and old 6'x6' Shed that was once a Huge dog house that we build nesting boxes for it and perches. I'm very much new to this and would love any help that people want to offer.

I am sure I have some birds in that age group but I live so far from you. How many birds are you wanting? If someone is going that direction we might be able to arrange a chicken train.
If I were going to offer advice I'd be sure to buy from someone in this group or maybe the facebook swap page. You don't want to buy laying age hens from strangers unless you really know how to age birds. Many people sell off old birds as young ones. You'd honestly be better off to get some birds around 4 months or so that still have a couple months to grow before they lay. That way you can be sure you'll get young birds. Most birds aren't going to be laying well until it warms up a little any way and the days get longer.

Well life is on the way back to normal. I didn't think my company was ever going to leave last night. I had stated before they came that I needed to be in bed by 9:00 PM (not really; but I know they tend to stay forever) and it was still 11:00 pm before they left. These are people who stay up until 3:00 to 5:00 in the morning and don't think about how some of us function. I have a ton of dishes to wash today. Probably my most dreaded chore!
Today I will have to get busy getting all the birds ready for another cold spell. I am really dreading the next week. I am so ready for winter to be done with.
It was a wet muddy mess here yesterday. We still have quite a bit of unmelted ice. I hope it thaws and disappears today so we aren't stuck with a sheet of ice for the next week or so.
Tweety I got my DH a Kuerig for Christmas. He isn't a coffee drinker but drinks tea and of course things like hot chocolate. The one I got has a device you can use your own coffee or whatever, instead of having to buy strictly K-cups. It really got a work out yesterday. The K-cups cost about 50 cents each. I plan to continue to make my normal coffee but I always have a late afternoon cup. I am looking forward to not having to nuke a cup of cold coffee now. I just got on line yesterday AM and ordered 3 boxes of tea and a box of hot chocolate for my DH to go with what we already had. One of my sons and his wife already bought him a couple of boxes of tea. ( I want him to feel like it is his gift ..not mine!)

 

[TheDownyChick]

My Ethyl has a wounded comb from when she got caught and we brought her in and doctored her comb with Underwoods. She shivers while I am holding her. She is in the coolest part of the house, but it should be warm for a chicken who has been living outside with no supplemental heat. She has sneezed a couple of times, andnonce made a growling sound. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can help her? I put ACV in her water. I am thinking about taking her outside for some exercise today since it is supposed to get up to 57. Is that a good idea?

 

[22qZoo]

Hope everybody had a nice Christmas, and had a chance to thaw out before the next cold snap. Ralph~hope your roof didn't get damaged.The ice storm we had up here 12years ago sure made a mess out of the trees ,we lost power for 4 1/2 days that time ,had to heat baby food on the BBQ grill for my then 9mo. old.(not fun!).
When ever I've found frozen eggs that are split I thaw them in a bowl and then scramble em up and feed them back to them,they usually have hay and stuff stuck to them. I have seen a couple of "new" eggs out there so hopefully that means they are starting to lay again.
I had a random thought the other day, I've been feeding FF to the chickens for quite a while,which also means the duck and the two geese have been getting it two, that's okay right ? I tried to google it but couldn't find much info.

 

[HEChicken]

TheDownyChick, I think it would be an excellent idea to get her outside on such a nice day and get some fresh air. I don't know what to tell you on the other symptoms - hopefully someone else can help….

Danz, thanks for the review on the Keurig. I've always looked at them and, like Tweety, was thinking it was too expensive to buy the K-Cups but if you think about it, 50c per cup is still way cheaper than if you go out for a cup of coffee at a coffee shop, and if it is a treat you enjoy, well worth it. We just have a drip coffee maker but we're pretty happy with the coffee we get from it. We tend to like it very strong and can make it to our own strength by adding more coffee. I always end up disappointed when I go to a coffee shop as their coffee often tastes weak in comparison to what we are used to. I might consider a Keurig for the future though, when we are empty nesters. Right now, with one of the kids a huge coffee fan, we go through a LOT of coffee as we typically make a big pot in the morning and then another in the afternoon. I refuse to nuke coffee - it never tastes the same.

Yesterday was so lovely and today looks like being another one like it. I wish the next cold spell wasn't coming close on its heels….

Btinkerbell01, good luck on your search. I agree with Danz about sources. Once a chicken is about 6 months old, it can be really difficult to tell its age from that of a 4 year old, unless you know what you are looking for, so it would be easy to get "taken" if buying from a stranger. I hatch from spring through late fall, but there is always purpose to my hatching so by this time of year I am down to the birds I want to keep so don't have much I'd be wiling to part with. This time of year it is harder to find the young ones but they are around and hopefully you will be able to find what you are looking for soon.

 

[sharol]

Btinkerbell01

The other issue with buying older hens is disease. There are horror stories about people who picked up a hen or two at a sale and ended up having to cull the whole flock because the new bird had CRD or some other nasty disease and passed it on to the flock.

If I were you (and clearly I'm not), I would stick to known breeders like Chicken Danz for instance and buy all my birds from a single source to get started. The people on this forum are for the most part reliable (can't speak about the ones I don't know, but....) and honest. It isn't worth the heartache of illness or being cheated to cut a few months off the time before you get eggs..

The other issue is that if you start with babies, you can handle them while they are young and they will be pets all their lives. If you get laying hens, you may never have that sort of relationship with your birds.

You don't need a nice, gentle rooster do you? I have a couple of really nice boys that need new homes SOON. Not sure where you live, but maybe we could work something out? Oh, well, I had to try.

Sharol (near Emporia)