Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

What do you look for when you sex ss chicks? Danz says you have a method that seems to work, and I have 5 SS eggs from her under my broody.

sharol I read about this from an excerpt that is out of an out of print book. I have ordered the book just for curiosity sake, I found it on eBay. I like old books & they can be interesting. At any rate they SS are similar I think to Welsummers with the markings. The females seem to have clearer, brighter markings on their backs & the males are darker & more blurred. Here is a pic showing what I'm talking about:


Left female, right male

Thanks Danz, I went ahead and fed the grain to the birds, bugs and all. You peafowls look awesome! I wish mine didn't die. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be, I supposed.

The weather was hot and muggy. I was going to drain and refill the duck pond but figured I would do it tomorrow morning while it's cooler. It really looks yucky.

My ducks either take a break from laying or they have a nest some where else. I've not found an eggs for the last 4 or 5 days. I hope they will again soon. Maybe they are moulting. I'll. Need to pay closer attention to see where they head out to tomorrow. Right now all the birds have access to several acres during the day. Sure makes it difficult to find the new nest if that's the case.

I've started the zucchini squash for Fall. Hopefully it will produce enough for me to cook the dog food with and for us to eat. I'm starting yo plan for next year's crops. Hopefully I'll do a better job next year.

tweety my ducks quit laying over a week ago as well. They had been laying gangbusters until then. This is the first year I've had ducks laying eggs so I guess it's normal for them to take a break, I really haven't researched it but it would make sense that they need one like chickens. I didn't have enough duck eggs left to sell to anyone, so a few days ago I used some of them to make a pan of brownies. Wow were those things rich & wonderful! I do have one customer who buys duck eggs part of the time, but he'll just have to do without for awhile I guess. danz do you know if they'll start back up this year or will they wait till spring to lay again?

HEChicken you have more energy than me to make all of that sauce, I hope it turned out great after all of that work. Yeah I agree the goats are more of a pain than the sheep. Yesterday mine decided to break out of their pen, it wasn't their day to be out, but they decided it was anyway. I had DH wire the gate so I don't think they'll be able to break out again so easily. Speaking of that he started putting up fence yesterday, but is finding hooking the fence onto the wood support posts to be very time consuming. I'm sure the t-posts are going to be a breeze compared to those wood ones.

Wow danz I didn't know you had so many peachicks this year, that's a bunch!

I got all of the watering done yesterday for all of the birds & animals so they all have fresh water again. That is a chore in itself & in winter it's really a big chore carrying buckets.

 

[HEChicken]

LOL HEChicken I try to warn every one about goats because at some point that love/hate relationship swings too far one direction.

Maybe if I get my poultry building in with the auto watering system I won't use as much for the birds and feel better about using it for the garden next year.

Trust me when I say the goats were NOT my idea. We kept goats as a kid so I knew what to expect from them. But, everything we've done around here so far HAS been my idea and DH has always been the sort who would really rather have fewer animals than more. So when he came up with the idea of "let's get goats", although my enthusiasm for the idea was not high, I wanted to encourage him to participate and agreed to get the goats because he really seemed to want them. In fact, I wound up getting them for him as a surprise birthday present and Trish44 and I went together to pick them up.

It wasn't until I went away the first time that DH found out first-hand what a pain they are and boy, I did not hear the end of that!

I would suggest when you do your poultry building, to put gutters on and feed the water into rain barrels - or better yet, water buffaloes. If we have a low-rain year you might still have to supplement from rural water but in a good year like we've had this year, I've been able to water all my animals from collected rain water and it makes a huge difference on the water bill to do that - not to mention the convenience because I don't have to run hoses.

Speaking of that he started putting up fence yesterday, but is finding hooking the fence onto the wood support posts to be very time consuming. I'm sure the t-posts are going to be a breeze compared to those wood ones.

Yay for progress on the fencing!

My mower is fixed and the wheel is back on - yay! I am waiting until it cools down this evening but I'll be really glad to get the mowing finished. It hasn't been done since before I left on the last trip and after 3+ weeks it looks really untidy. Not to mention that the birds have an easier time finding bugs when the grass is shorter. Speaking of finding things, yesterday I was out trying to herd goats and sheep when I heard a commotion and looked up to see the birds had found a snake. They were fighting over it so there was no point trying to rescue it at that point and set it free somewhere safe. They sure did seem to think it was the prize of the day though.

 

[tatinatimom]

Hi everyone! Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Sunday afternoon! I have 2 questions. 1.When a pullet starts to lay, will they sing they egg song every time they lay? 2.Will they continue to lay in only the one place they started to lay or will they move around?

 

[Trish44]

HEChicken I'm glad you got your mower fixed. We have so much trouble here with the darned hedge tree thorns so we have to use plugs a lot & that slime stuff you put inside the tires to help plug smaller holes. I really need to mow here but I don't want to do it when it's so darned hot out there. I thought I was going to die before I got chores done last night it was still so hot even at almost dark. I had to keep wetting my face down to cool off. I sure hope it cools down just a bit soon, I need to start cleaning out my breeder coop & outside pens in preparation for winter. It's going to take me awhile to get them all done so as soon as it's cool enough I need to get started. I want to get all of that done before I have to start winterizing pens.

 

[Trish44]

Hi everyone! Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Sunday afternoon! I have 2 questions. 1.When a pullet starts to lay, will they sing they egg song every time they lay? 2.Will they continue to lay in only the one place they started to lay or will they move around?

It seems like the hens I have that are the loudest with their "singing" when they're laying continue to do so, not all hens are so vocal. I think my hens have particular nest boxes they claim as theirs & I have seen them arguing over them if one gets there first. They tend to share boxes even though I have a 10 hole nest box now. So I guess the answer to your last question is yes they usually pick a favorite place to lay for the most part.

 

[tatinatimom]

[COLOR=0000FF]It seems like the hens I have that are the loudest with their "singing" when they're laying continue to do so, not all hens are so vocal. I think my hens have particular nest boxes they claim as theirs & I have seen them arguing over them if one gets there first. They tend to share boxes even though I have a 10 hole nest box now. So I guess the answer to your last question is yes they usually pick a favorite place to lay for the most part.[/COLOR]

I am trying to figure out who layed our first egg. It should be my 20 week old EE BUT the egg was brown. I was so excited to get the very first egg that it didn't dawn on me at first. There has been a lot of commotion between nest boxes today but no egg yet to pin point the layer. My next closest is a14-15 week old RIR.

 

[chicken danz]

I would suggest when you do your poultry building, to put gutters on and feed the water into rain barrels - or better yet, water buffaloes. If we have a low-rain year you might still have to supplement from rural water but in a good year like we've had this year, I've been able to water all my animals from collected rain water and it makes a huge difference on the water bill to do that - not to mention the convenience because I don't have to run hoses.
That's a really good idea but I have to have pressurized water to run the auto waterers I want to install. It would be nice for the chicks I am brooding and stuff though. I'm not sure if I can install a gutter on a metal building though. I'd probably have to have them incorporate that into the design.
Originally Posted by Trish44

Hi everyone! Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Sunday afternoon! I have 2 questions. 1.When a pullet starts to lay, will they sing they egg song every time they lay? 2.Will they continue to lay in only the one place they started to lay or will they move around?

Some pullets sing and some don't. I have a couple that get so loud that every one gets upset and starts yelling. And others just go in and lay an egg in total silence.
The day is going too fast. I seem to be just walking in circles. It's hot out and I am really tired. Kind of becoming a wasted day.

 

[HEChicken]

Hi everyone! Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Sunday afternoon! I have 2 questions. 1.When a pullet starts to lay, will they sing they egg song every time they lay? 2.Will they continue to lay in only the one place they started to lay or will they move around?

They're individuals so some sing and some don't. Some continue to sing throughout their egg-laying years, while other older hens give it up after the excitement of the first few eggs. Where you get the first egg is not necessarily where they will lay every egg. Sometimes the first egg sort of takes them by surprise but once they realize what's happening they'll plan better and make it to the nest box in time for future eggs. Even as an established layer, sometimes they lay in their sleep and I'll find an egg under the roosts in the morning. Often a new pullet will not want to compete to get into the nest boxes with the higher status older hens, so she will make her own nest in some out of the way place to begin with. As she moves up in status, she will gain the confidence to compete to get into the choice nest boxes to lay her egg. Over the course of their lives, they'll often change multiple times.

HEChicken I'm glad you got your mower fixed. We have so much trouble here with the darned hedge tree thorns so we have to use plugs a lot & that slime stuff you put inside the tires to help plug smaller holes.

That's our problem too. When DH went to repair it, he found the biggest hole was caused by a hedge tree thorn and he got it repaired. Then he sprayed soap and water over the whole tire and found 5 more smaller holes. They are such slow leaks I'll be able to keep the tire inflated long enough to mow but I know that tire will continue to go down slowly. Eventually we'll just replace it but for now I'll keep babying it so I can get the mowing done.

I am trying to figure out who layed our first egg. It should be my 20 week old EE BUT the egg was brown. I was so excited to get the very first egg that it didn't dawn on me at first. There has been a lot of commotion between nest boxes today but no egg yet to pin point the layer. My next closest is a14-15 week old RIR.

EE's don't always lay colored eggs. If the next oldest is only 14-15 weeks, my guess it is the EE and she is one who won't lay green eggs.

 

[Trish44]

danz no we don't have a pneumatic anything. I have tried over time to get my DH to buy one of those, but he has resisted. Do you have to have electricity to run that? He's working a long ways from any electrical source.

 

[tweetybaby2005]

Hechicken, what is water buffalo? I'm interested in getting rain barrels hooked up to the gutter so I can use the rain water for the birds and maybe even gill a small duck pond. You sure have put in lots of hard labor to can those tomato sauce. I'm not sure I've that kind of patience. I was just thinking of having a couple of milk goats for their milk. Now that I've read your goat story, I'm not so sure. The last thing I need is yo goats running around eating my veggies and other stuff. Maybe DH is right, maybe we should get a moo cow. . Oh, glad that your mower is back in commission. I really like my grass cut low. Long grass to me means chances of snake encounter. And it seems like your chickens are great at getting snake!

Danz, crop planning really is not my strongest trait. Fir years I "tried" to plan fir the crops and I have plenty of great ideas but nothing even came close to my "dream" garden when it came down to it. Pumpkin was on my lust to plant this year. It was for tyro chickens since we don't eat pumpkin pies. Alas, that didn't happen. Maybe nexy year. I asked DH to downsize the garden to a more manageable size but knowing him, he would just go bigger.

Trish, I'm glad I'm not the only one with ducks not laying. I was going to wait till it cools down in the evening to go look for a nest some where. I don't envy your DH having to put fence in. It's definitely hard work.

I spent a few hours doing deep cleaning of all the feeders and waterers. They really need it. I was soaking wet by the time I came back in. After asking DH to clean out the storage room in the barn, he finally did it. Had mice issue in there so everything was cleaned out and tgen put back in. I sprayed ozium to deodarize the air. I can't handle mice smell. Made me sick.

Also found a bird unable to walk. I put her in the cage and isolated her. Put a bowl of water in there for and boy did she drink it. I hope she will recover. Maybe the heat got to her.

Stay cool everyone.