Consolidated Kansas

[ashncarson]

so do any of you guys have instagram? I am looking to add more friends on there!

I wish I could comment more often but being new to chickens, I don't have alot to add! I now have at least 4 chickens laying, possibly 5.

Do you guys keep a monthly egg count? I am starting one just for fun and ended up with 29 eggs for Jan! I thought that was pretty good for the first month!


Stay warm everyone! We had a ugly possom in the backyard tonight, the dogs where fighting with it but it left after I got them inside. We plan on setting a trap out soon for it!

 

[Frizzled Pink]

I love the look of those Vulturines, they're so pretty! They're big though, you would have to have a huge pen for those things!

I'm getting into the Orps too, I blame Danz for that, that's my story & I'm sticking to it. That's OK Danz, we're enablers. I already have lavenders & lemon cuckoos & will be getting partridge this spring as well. I'm also trying to get my blue laced Barnevelders going, they're not as hardy as other breeds, so it's been kind of struggle so far. I have more eggs due the 8th though of those. I also after two years am going to have all lavender Ameraucanas, I had to work up to that point with those. I will be selling off my Salmon Faverolles this spring to make room for the partridge Orps. So Frizzled what breeds are you raising now?

Getting out of the Orp's --sticking with the Silver Sussex for our big boys. Have the BBS ameracauna's, SLW bantams, cochin bantams +frizzle working on color patterns, out of the swedish now, and then the here and there breed egg layers, still nowhere near the variety you all have, but starting to get a handle on what works (yeah) and what doesn't

for us, getting a handle on the colors/genetics (double breeding, double dose colors like chocolate etc) working on some things but not counting chicks before they hatch (HA! ), still working on the organic green house and veggies (and the banana trees because everyone in Kansas needs a banana tree) dabbling a bit in the essential oils area

I like the Barnvelders pattern, but really know nothing else about them, so will be watching your journey to see what you think of them.

Talk about enablers---killing me with the chick pictures..1 simple car trip down i-35 last year and look what happened

 

[Frizzled Pink]

so do any of you guys have instagram? I am looking to add more friends on there!

I wish I could comment more often but being new to chickens, I don't have alot to add! I now have at least 4 chickens laying, possibly 5.

Do you guys keep a monthly egg count? I am starting one just for fun and ended up with 29 eggs for Jan! I thought that was pretty good for the first month!


Stay warm everyone! We had a ugly possom in the backyard tonight, the dogs where fighting with it but it left after I got them inside. We plan on setting a trap out soon for it!

You will be amazed at how much you will learn --who knew there was a hidden chicken world out there? I am not an instagram peep, i have enough trouble keeping up with byc and facebook so i am in awe of those who can do all the instagram/snapchat/other programs.

Someone last year had a computer program to track eggs. It was pretty interesting setup.

 

[ashncarson]

You will be amazed at how much you will learn --who knew there was a hidden chicken world out there? I am not an instagram peep, i have enough trouble keeping up with byc and facebook so i am in awe of those who can do all the instagram/snapchat/other programs.

Someone last year had a computer program to track eggs. It was pretty interesting setup.

We where driving home eariler today and I go "CHICKENS" "I SEE CHICKENS" This house had this small fence built onto their house and a door that went what looked like into the house, but on the side, built in! my family thinks I am CRAZY!

 

[Frizzled Pink]

We where driving home eariler today and I go "CHICKENS" "I SEE CHICKENS" This house had this small fence built onto their house and a door that went what looked like into the house, but on the side, built in! my family thinks I am CRAZY!

LOL yes thats chicken fever, LOL, i live in the Kansas City area so i think its fun to show my city friends the frizzled cochin (what is that a chicken?? it has feathers on its feet and whats up with the feathers--looks like it stuck its beak in a light socket) yes its a chicken and here is a blue egg (chickens lay blue eggs? did the blue egg come from the frizzled chicken) No the blue egg comes from the bearded chicken (stunned silence) ---WOW i am apparently on a roll tonight--i will blame it on the barometric pressure from the storm AND cabin fever

Stay safe and warm everyone.

 

[HEChicken]

I hope everybody is ready for this storm to hit tonight & tomorrow, it's not going to be fun, stay warm & be careful everyone!

I pretty much spent the day preparing for the storm. I added 3 bales to the hay walls for the sheep and goats. They prefer to graze but had eaten the walls back at least far enough to need to add some finally. I also filled up my feed bin at the coop so I won't have to haul feed if we get all the snow they are predicting. And, I put the glass in my storm windows. I prefer to have it out no matter how low the temperature is, as I think the ventilation is more important, but if it snows and BLOWS snow, I didn't want snow coming in the open windows and getting the whole coop damp so I put the glass in at least until the snow is done. I brought in some firewood so we can have a fire in the fireplace on the really cold days. It doesn't add a lot of heat like a wood stove, but it is nice to have it burning, just the same.

Heather, I just assume if one bird has worms all the others with him will as well. I forgot your ducks run with the other birds. I can't imagine maintaining just one water bowl. It would be nice!

That's a good point about one having it they all have it but in this case only the tom was acting droopy so I didn't want to treat birds that weren't symptomatic. As of today he was looking a lot better so I'm hoping the Safeguard is kicking in. Yep - I am really glad to only have to maintain one coop, one feeder and one waterer - I wouldn't have all those pens you guys do for anything

Who was working on the Aloha project--i havent seen updates on that lately?

Deerfield, Tazcat and I are all working on it but with different focuses. Unfortunately, my project is slow to get underway because I am crossing a NH over Exchequer Leghorns but the Leghorns have only just started laying consistently in the last couple of weeks. I don't want to pen them separately in the middle of a winter storm but once this is past I plan to pen them to ensure fertility and then start hatching like crazy.

I think HEChicken has some of her birds and might be working on them a little as well.

Not exactly. I'm not working on the same side of things as Deerfield, so started on a completely separate line of my own. I am currently the only one working the project from this angle so it will be interesting to see what happens.

so do any of you guys have instagram? I am looking to add more friends on there!

Do you guys keep a monthly egg count? I am starting one just for fun and ended up with 29 eggs for Jan! I thought that was pretty good for the first month!

Sorry - not on Instagram and didn't even realize its as a thing you had to join and be friends on. Shows how much I know!

I used to keep track of eggs until midway through 2013, and then I got overwhelmed. I was getting so many eggs I couldn't keep track from one day to the next how many I had brought in, so after more than 4 years of keeping a daily record, I gave it up. I really liked when I was doing it though, as I kept track of expenses, as well as the eggs I got, and it kept a log for me to tell me whether I was making or losing money.

 

[ashncarson]

I used to keep track of eggs until midway through 2013, and then I got overwhelmed. I was getting so many eggs I couldn't keep track from one day to the next how many I had brought in, so after more than 4 years of keeping a daily record, I gave it up. I really liked when I was doing it though, as I kept track of expenses, as well as the eggs I got, and it kept a log for me to tell me whether I was making or losing money.

4 years is a long time I can see how it could be hard to keep track. I received a chicken calender today and might involve my kids in helping me keep track for some math practice.

I have to tell you how much I love my NH that I received from you. She is SO loud and greets me every time I go outside....she was in the nest box yesterday and I could tell as soon as I went outside because she was not there to greet me. I can hear her inside the house with the doors and windows shut even! her personality is amazing!

 

[Trish44]

Getting out of the Orp's --sticking with the Silver Sussex for our big boys. Have the BBS ameracauna's, SLW bantams, cochin bantams +frizzle working on color patterns, out of the swedish now, and then the here and there breed egg layers, still nowhere near the variety you all have, but starting to get a handle on what works (yeah) and what doesn't

for us, getting a handle on the colors/genetics (double breeding, double dose colors like chocolate etc) working on some things but not counting chicks before they hatch (HA! ), still working on the organic green house and veggies (and the banana trees because everyone in Kansas needs a banana tree) dabbling a bit in the essential oils area

I like the Barnvelders pattern, but really know nothing else about them, so will be watching your journey to see what you think of them.

Talk about enablers---killing me with the chick pictures..1 simple car trip down i-35 last year and look what happened

I have not seen a Silver Sussex in person, I'll bet they're pretty. I do love my Speckled Sussex though, they're just yard candy, I love seeing them out in the yard scratching around. That's why I got these eggs to hatch so I can keep some going in my laying flock since I only had one left. I still have my Swedish Flowers for now, I just really like all the colors they produce. I keep getting new projects though, I'm going to hatch Cinnamon Queens this year for the first time, heritage Barred Rocks, & heritage Rhode Island Reds on top of all of the others I already have. Sometimes I think I have lost my mind.

I really like the blue laced Barnevelders especially & that's what I'm aiming to raise, although I hatched a couple of splash in a batch of eggs & from what I read if I breed them when they're old enough to the blue laced Rooster I should get the blue, black, & splash all 3, so it should be interesting. I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh well, we're all enablers aren't we?

HEChicken, I can't wait to see what you come up with on the Alohas with your take on the project. It's all an experiment anyway & who is to say who is right with the path you take. As far as I know nobody has perfected the breed yet to where it was intended to go, so more power to you. I will be excited to see what those babies look like when they hatch & how they look when they feather out. I still want a couple of NH pullets from you when you hatch some of those. After seeing yours & how pretty this rooster is that I got from you I'm excited to get some laying hens going.

I candled all of the remaining eggs in the incubator tonight & it was a disappointment for sure. I had such great hatches those first ones but the rest aren't so exciting. I only got 7 blue laced Barnevelder eggs & only 3 are developing & those are due the 8th. You watch they'll all be cockerels. I guess I'll be looking for some more eggs of those, I really need a couple more pullets. I pitched several of the BLRW eggs as well that weren't developing, a couple SS, & about 3 wheaten Ameraucana eggs. So in all my dogs & cats got a pretty good batch of scrambled eggs tonight, kind of expensive ones.

 

[chicken danz]

Apparently they are quite the "diggers" too. But so on my list in 5 years when i get my bigger acreage.

Mauves? Your brave--the single dose/double dose of chocolate genetics was enough to make my eyes cross.

Since we're playing --LOOK AT THAT---Vulturines!!! Kinda scary looking but i would definitely be looking!!!! Would probably serve as good watch-birds too as i bet a lot of people would think 2x about getting out of the car if that came around the corner. HA!

I hope the Aloha's are doing well--i tend to gravitate to the spotted birds. All the Swedish are now sold to make room for other breeds--but yeah think they will be back on that 5 year plan too.

Wow! Busy posting night last night. The mauves look gorgeous. I doubt they'll catch on as in individual color.
I'd love to have vulturines but not the eggs they keep selling on Ebay. I found out those that are crossed with guineas that you see are mules. What good would it do to spend a couple hundred dollars on eggs and then find out they aren't fertile? I'd want the real thing.

so do any of you guys have instagram? I am looking to add more friends on there!

I wish I could comment more often but being new to chickens, I don't have alot to add! I now have at least 4 chickens laying, possibly 5.

Do you guys keep a monthly egg count? I am starting one just for fun and ended up with 29 eggs for Jan! I thought that was pretty good for the first month!


Stay warm everyone! We had a ugly possom in the backyard tonight, the dogs where fighting with it but it left after I got them inside. We plan on setting a trap out soon for it!

I was on instagram years ago. It works okay but I found that facebook is just as fast and I don't feel bound to sit there and keep up with it if I don't want to. Do you have a facebook page?
Quote:

Getting out of the Orp's --sticking with the Silver Sussex for our big boys. Have the BBS ameracauna's, SLW bantams, cochin bantams +frizzle working on color patterns, out of the swedish now, and then the here and there breed egg layers, still nowhere near the variety you all have, but starting to get a handle on what works (yeah) and what doesn't

for us, getting a handle on the colors/genetics (double breeding, double dose colors like chocolate etc) working on some things but not counting chicks before they hatch (HA! ), still working on the organic green house and veggies (and the banana trees because everyone in Kansas needs a banana tree) dabbling a bit in the essential oils area

I like the Barnvelders pattern, but really know nothing else about them, so will be watching your journey to see what you think of them.

Talk about enablers---killing me with the chick pictures..1 simple car trip down i-35 last year and look what happened

Frizzled you should see some of these big English girls. You might change your mind about the orps again!! I do have bantam chocolates now. Those might be right down your alley. They are way too young to lay yet. I actually got eggs in a trade and decided to use them for breeding LF chocolates. But then I got impatient and just bought some LF Chocolate chicks. Don't have them yet though so it's a long time in the future.
I had read about an in ground green house some time ago and the thought has totally intrigued me. To the point I was thinking about an underground chicken house as well. It seems it would be so much easier to maintain and temperature control, plus you could grow greens for them year round. It will never happen but I can just add that to my every growing index of dreams.
I saved that chicken tracker file and have always thought I would go in and change the programming more to suit my record keeping. Every year I think I will start January first and start tracking everything....not eggs though cause that would be impossible. But here it is February already this year and I haven't done a thing.
One thing has happened though. I have been buying so much feed lately the co-op has finally started sending me monthly statements. I hate buying so much feed but it is kind of nice to have a record of my purchases I didn't have until a couple months ago. I save all my receipts but to get them organized is another matter.
I had two little lavender orp chicks hatch yesterday so the turkey poults have a little company. The lavenders aren't doing real great either. These two came from pullet eggs and although they hatched they are small and not real active yet.
HEChicken I spent a ton of time getting ready for the storm as well. This morning my first thoughts were to run out there and change every thing. But a lot can't be changed that needs to be different for this particular storm. The snow is coming out of the east. I really don't understand that since the storm came from the west! At any rate almost every coop I have has vents or openings on the east and that means they are getting snow inside. I could go out and shut a couple vents but then that would reduce ventilation. The only one I shut is in the brooder house cause it was feeling pretty chilly in there even with all the heaters running. Most of those birds are about old enough to go out anyway. I just don't want to stick them out in the dead of winter.
The south side of my house is going to be a huge mess. The way the wind is whipping it is coming across and then forming a vortex and all the snow is getting piled back there. I may have to get the tractor out before it's over and cut a path to the brooder house. I'm also worried about getting into some of the pens. I have a few pens that the door opens to the inside rather than the outside. You just can't get those doors open if it builds up in front of them. There's not a lot I can do about it the way they are made. Maybe next summer I can figure out a way to reverse some of them. It looks like a blizzard out there already. They are forecasting 30 mph winds tomorrow and I can't imagine how awful that will be. I have a feeling I'll be trapped in for the next few days.

 

[ashncarson]

I was on instagram years ago. It works okay but I found that facebook is just as fast and I don't feel bound to sit there and keep up with it if I don't want to. Do you have a facebook page?

I do have a facebook as well, same user name as I have on here. I love photography and I think that is some of my pull towards instagram as well! I love to share photos. I have a few friends who only use instagram as a social network, so I have to use it to se what they are up to!

speaking of photos, here is one from about 30 minutes ago, I shoveled a path out to the chickens and its gone now!