Consolidated Kansas

[CowboysAngel]

Oh my! 4 pages behind while I've been packing for the move to Kansas and finding New homes for all the critters!

Still have 2 full size chickens to rehome, and since Miss dixies chicks hatched...8 banties! And 6 rabbits!

We got a house in Lakin after all, about 6 blocks from my mil, which is great! We get along better than I do with my mother...lol

We've set the date for the move! August 3rd it's "Kansas or Bust"!

So tired of looking at boxes! Can't wait to get there and get settled!!

Hopefully my phone doesn't sign me out again and I don't get so far behind!

Here's hoping everyone feeling ill feels much better!

Everyone who's chooks have slowed down laying go back to laying normal.

Everyone getting too much rain starts getting just enough!

Everyone suffering from the high heat can find a cool comfortable patch of shade!

If I missed anything I'm sorry, I have 2 more pages to read...was sneaking a peak while the dh is out bucking hay...and isn't wondering what I or he should pack up next! Lol

Have a fabulous day everyone!!

 

[girlsnammo]

The two places on the top of my list for property Danz is already set up and functional for my purposes. Obviously we would have to check the condition of the fencing but my dh will be more willing to purchase something he don't have to put much effort into setting up. He already works 60 hours a week. The farm I grew up on was self sustaining and my mother taught me a lot. Her family farmed in Iowa and then Nebraska before my grandfather passed. He even taught her to hunt. She told me that it was a woman's job to keep her home and take care of her family while the men provided for the family by working. I know a lot of people think that way of life is outdated. Most of my morals and values are these days. But the sense of pride you get from taking care of your family and the hard work is worth it in my opinion. I'm pretty young yet so I figure i can handle some acres.by the time I can't handle it anymore one of my children can take over. Some hard work would benefit my children anyway. I definitely miss the privacy and solitude, and the noise of being in the country. Cars and sirens and highway noises ain't really my thing. I would so prefer crickets owls and the occasional coyote its so much more relaxing.

 

[chicken danz]

Oh my! 4 pages behind while I've been packing for the move to Kansas and finding New homes for all the critters!

Still have 2 full size chickens to rehome, and since Miss dixies chicks hatched...8 banties! And 6 rabbits!

We got a house in Lakin after all, about 6 blocks from my mil, which is great! We get along better than I do with my mother...lol

We've set the date for the move! August 3rd it's "Kansas or Bust"!

So tired of looking at boxes! Can't wait to get there and get settled!!

Hopefully my phone doesn't sign me out again and I don't get so far behind!

Here's hoping everyone feeling ill feels much better!

Everyone who's chooks have slowed down laying go back to laying normal.

Everyone getting too much rain starts getting just enough!

Everyone suffering from the high heat can find a cool comfortable patch of shade!

If I missed anything I'm sorry, I have 2 more pages to read...was sneaking a peak while the dh is out bucking hay...and isn't wondering what I or he should pack up next! Lol

Have a fabulous day everyone!!

Yay! I'm so happy for you. You'll be here in no time. Hope it all goes smoothly with the move.
Quote:

The two places on the top of my list for property Danz is already set up and functional for my purposes. Obviously we would have to check the condition of the fencing but my dh will be more willing to purchase something he don't have to put much effort into setting up. He already works 60 hours a week. The farm I grew up on was self sustaining and my mother taught me a lot. Her family farmed in Iowa and then Nebraska before my grandfather passed. He even taught her to hunt. She told me that it was a woman's job to keep her home and take care of her family while the men provided for the family by working. I know a lot of people think that way of life is outdated. Most of my morals and values are these days. But the sense of pride you get from taking care of your family and the hard work is worth it in my opinion. I'm pretty young yet so I figure i can handle some acres.by the time I can't handle it anymore one of my children can take over. Some hard work would benefit my children anyway. I definitely miss the privacy and solitude, and the noise of being in the country. Cars and sirens and highway noises ain't really my thing. I would so prefer crickets owls and the occasional coyote its so much more relaxing.

I was raised with the same thoughts and honestly never even thought I would have to have a career and support myself and my children. Times change and situations change a lot. I totally agree with the concept of the husband providing and the wife keeping the home.
My children are grown now but anyone who knows me knows I work very hard. I try to be as self sufficient as I can but that leaves no time to play housecleaner etc. I'm just at the age now that all this physical stuff is taking it's toll. I have some medical conditions that are slowing me way down. My DH keeps saying he is going to find me dead in the yard someday when he comes home from work because I don't have the sense to stop. He could be right.
I spent the afternoon moving panels, setting up a new pen, covering it with netting, and moving a shelter in there. Then I started catching roosters and moving them out to that pen. When I get them all moved I'll start taking down the pen they were in. Hopefully I'll find a suitable place to put it back up and then I can sort through some more young birds that need to be moved. It's so hot and humid it seems to take me forever to do things. Like right now I had to come in and rest a bit so I can go back out and finish moving the birds. Then there is more feeding and watering to do.
Slow but sure I am clearing the area so I can build some more peafowl pens next to the existing ones. I'm determined I am going to get this place tidied up and get permanent pens built before winter. The summer is going way too fast.

 

[girlsnammo]

Danz I understand completely. These past 3 years is the longest I have ever been without a job. I'm just afraid if I don't have stuff to keep me busy I will go nuts! There's only so much you can do inside the house. I need to get a portable herb garden set up or I won't have any without buying dry stuff from the store. Seems like I can't get everything set up fast enough since we moved at the end of may. I still haven't gotten my lilies or roses from the other house yet. I might just leave them and set up something new here at the new house. We have a beautiful mammosa tree in our front yard now and was thinking of putting in some lavender in the box around the base to have a nice pink and purple contrast. Can't do much else in the front yard though. I also need to string up where I want to put my veggie garden but won't be able to start that until next spring. Our first priority is getting the coop built and set up before winter. Guess I won't have apple butter or anything to can but its OK. Maybe I can find a good farmers market somewhere around here. My old lady is laying again but is showing her age. She has spots on the end that are weak and crumble. So the girls got some scrambled eggs with cheese, mushrooms, and bell peppers tonight. That lasted less than 5 minutes! I also plan on getting some feeder crickets to let loose in the run this week. That will be fun for everyone, I might even video tape it.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

I was in a bad wreck back in '95 where my car was T boned right at the drivers door. My seat belt saved my life cause my seat was ripped from the base. But the seat belt stayed in tact and kept my body from becoming air born. I did have a compression fracture in my spine where the force of the seat belt crossed my body, and a bruise on my shoulder where the shoulder belt caught it. It's funny how your subconscious mind takes over in crisis. I saw the vehicle coming and there was nothing I could do about it. The last thought going through my head then was that my kids were at home alone and no one was there for them when they'd be told I was dead.
When the first person showed up and tried to get me out of the car all I could say is, "My kids are home alone! " My kids are home alone!" I am sure they thought I had lost my mind. It took me several minutes I guess to realize that I had survived. Then panic set in because the door was crashed in on the opposite side of the car and I couldn't get out it. They had to show me that the whole drivers side was wide open and I could simply go through the big gapping hole.
Thank heavens I never had a wreck with my kids in the car.

That sounds scary as heck. It's crazy where your mind can go during times of stress!

 

[Grain Gypsy]

@Anderson Lowe , congratulations on the first egg!! How exciting!

Speaking of eggs. I will be celebrating like I did when we got our first egg when my girls start laying again. Tina is still sitting 24/7 in that darned nest bucket incubating her imaginary babies, most of the time sitting on nothing. One lone girl, though, has been laying a single egg a day these last four days, so this is like fuel for Tina's fire. I get ticked at my kids. They will go in the coop and talk to Tina. For anyone familiar with the movie Napoleon Dynamite, Tina was Napoleon's family's llama. When Napoleon would go feed her, he would throw the food out at her and say, "Tina, ya fat lard, EAT!! Gaaaaah!" Our chicken, Tina Turner, was named after the spritely singer. That hasn't stopped my kids from the Napoleon reference to Tina. They pull her out of the nest bucket and say, "Gaaaah, Tina! Eat, ya fat lard!" Make no mistake, the words "fat" and "lard" (especially when used together) are not EVER appropriate people descriptors in our home, but I think their movie reference applied to our little broody Tina is hilarious! She must be sneaking a bite to eat and a drink now and then, or she'd be dead by now. The broody breaker pen will be finished tomorrow, so she'll be in "broody jail" until she decides to be a part of productive chicken society again!

Our family spent the weekend in Manhattan for the Missouri Valley Swimming West District Champs. The kids swam impressively, and there were swimmers from all over Kansas, and from the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles there. It was an outdoor meet, and the heat on Friday and especially Saturday was pretty hard to handle. I officiated Friday and Sunday. Friday I drank my weight in water and Gatorade and never had to pee once, and on Sunday spent half of the morning session officiating in the rain! Kids are super resilient, though, and hanging with friends at swim meets makes them forget about heat and rain.

We have not lost any more chickens after the little one went missing last week. My husband is going to get up there in the silo and replace the plexiglass on the open window this weekend, so I'm just hoping the owls and/or hawks stay away until then.

Lastly, it's birthday/anniversary week at our house. Our oldest son (2nd-born) will be 13 Thursday, and our youngest daughter (4th-born) will be 9 Sunday. DH and I celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary next Tuesday, my grandparents celebrate 65 years of marriage the 29th, and DH turns the big 36 on the 2nd of August. Both of my children are wanting musical instruments--drums and violin to be exact--for their birthdays. I think I will ask for ear plugs for my birthday!

 

[chicken danz]

Danz I understand completely. These past 3 years is the longest I have ever been without a job. I'm just afraid if I don't have stuff to keep me busy I will go nuts! There's only so much you can do inside the house. I need to get a portable herb garden set up or I won't have any without buying dry stuff from the store. Seems like I can't get everything set up fast enough since we moved at the end of may. I still haven't gotten my lilies or roses from the other house yet. I might just leave them and set up something new here at the new house. We have a beautiful mammosa tree in our front yard now and was thinking of putting in some lavender in the box around the base to have a nice pink and purple contrast. Can't do much else in the front yard though. I also need to string up where I want to put my veggie garden but won't be able to start that until next spring. Our first priority is getting the coop built and set up before winter. Guess I won't have apple butter or anything to can but its OK. Maybe I can find a good farmers market somewhere around here. My old lady is laying again but is showing her age. She has spots on the end that are weak and crumble. So the girls got some scrambled eggs with cheese, mushrooms, and bell peppers tonight. That lasted less than 5 minutes! I also plan on getting some feeder crickets to let loose in the run this week. That will be fun for everyone, I might even video tape it.

Well I hate to ruin your plans. I used to run a landscape design business so horticulture has always been my first love....before chickens. A mimosa is ground rooting and creates too much shade to grow much under it. Lavender needs full sun and good drainage. I lost my huge batch of lavender after having it for probably 15 years this spring thanks to our poor draining soil and constant rain.

Off hand I would suggest Vinca Minor for under your tree. Buy lots of starter plants. It spreads by top feeding roots and enjoys shade. It will do wonderful under the Mimosa and it blooms with the blue/purple flowers.
One would never know about my horticulture and design stuff looking at this place. Dogs, chickens, ducks and geese DO NOT make for a landscape at all.

@Anderson Lowe , congratulations on the first egg!! How exciting!

Speaking of eggs. I will be celebrating like I did when we got our first egg when my girls start laying again. Tina is still sitting 24/7 in that darned nest bucket incubating her imaginary babies, most of the time sitting on nothing. One lone girl, though, has been laying a single egg a day these last four days, so this is like fuel for Tina's fire. I get ticked at my kids. They will go in the coop and talk to Tina. For anyone familiar with the movie Napoleon Dynamite, Tina was Napoleon's family's llama. When Napoleon would go feed her, he would throw the food out at her and say, "Tina, ya fat lard, EAT!! Gaaaaah!" Our chicken, Tina Turner, was named after the spritely singer. That hasn't stopped my kids from the Napoleon reference to Tina. They pull her out of the nest bucket and say, "Gaaaah, Tina! Eat, ya fat lard!" Make no mistake, the words "fat" and "lard" (especially when used together) are not EVER appropriate people descriptors in our home, but I think their movie reference applied to our little broody Tina is hilarious! She must be sneaking a bite to eat and a drink now and then, or she'd be dead by now. The broody breaker pen will be finished tomorrow, so she'll be in "broody jail" until she decides to be a part of productive chicken society again!

Our family spent the weekend in Manhattan for the Missouri Valley Swimming West District Champs. The kids swam impressively, and there were swimmers from all over Kansas, and from the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles there. It was an outdoor meet, and the heat on Friday and especially Saturday was pretty hard to handle. I officiated Friday and Sunday. Friday I drank my weight in water and Gatorade and never had to pee once, and on Sunday spent half of the morning session officiating in the rain! Kids are super resilient, though, and hanging with friends at swim meets makes them forget about heat and rain.

We have not lost any more chickens after the little one went missing last week. My husband is going to get up there in the silo and replace the plexiglass on the open window this weekend, so I'm just hoping the owls and/or hawks stay away until then.

Lastly, it's birthday/anniversary week at our house. Our oldest son (2nd-born) will be 13 Thursday, and our youngest daughter (4th-born) will be 9 Sunday. DH and I celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary next Tuesday, my grandparents celebrate 65 years of marriage the 29th, and DH turns the big 36 on the 2nd of August. Both of my children are wanting musical instruments--drums and violin to be exact--for their birthdays. I think I will ask for ear plugs for my birthday!

My eggs are down to a crawl right now. All these birds and they are barely producing. Can't say I blame them in this heat. It's just as well though cause I don't feel much like gathering them right now anyway.
You're as funny as ever. Love the reference to ear plugs.
Today is supposed to be the only decent day of the week. I need to get out there early and get busy. Goal for today is to take down and move a big pen and still as always sort more birds.

 

[Trish44]

Yay! I'm so happy for you. You'll be here in no time. Hope it all goes smoothly with the move.
Quote:
I was raised with the same thoughts and honestly never even thought I would have to have a career and support myself and my children. Times change and situations change a lot. I totally agree with the concept of the husband providing and the wife keeping the home.
My children are grown now but anyone who knows me knows I work very hard. I try to be as self sufficient as I can but that leaves no time to play housecleaner etc. I'm just at the age now that all this physical stuff is taking it's toll. I have some medical conditions that are slowing me way down. My DH keeps saying he is going to find me dead in the yard someday when he comes home from work because I don't have the sense to stop. He could be right.
I spent the afternoon moving panels, setting up a new pen, covering it with netting, and moving a shelter in there. Then I started catching roosters and moving them out to that pen. When I get them all moved I'll start taking down the pen they were in. Hopefully I'll find a suitable place to put it back up and then I can sort through some more young birds that need to be moved. It's so hot and humid it seems to take me forever to do things. Like right now I had to come in and rest a bit so I can go back out and finish moving the birds. Then there is more feeding and watering to do.
Slow but sure I am clearing the area so I can build some more peafowl pens next to the existing ones. I'm determined I am going to get this place tidied up and get permanent pens built before winter. The summer is going way too fast.

Honestly Danz I think your DH is right, sorry to say, about finding you laying out there some day. You work way too hard for what you've got going on. You're going to have to slow down. I worry about you! I know you're trying to get your pens & the building all set up, but it won't do much good if you're not there to enjoy it.

@Anderson Lowe , congratulations on the first egg!! How exciting!

Speaking of eggs. I will be celebrating like I did when we got our first egg when my girls start laying again. Tina is still sitting 24/7 in that darned nest bucket incubating her imaginary babies, most of the time sitting on nothing. One lone girl, though, has been laying a single egg a day these last four days, so this is like fuel for Tina's fire. I get ticked at my kids. They will go in the coop and talk to Tina. For anyone familiar with the movie Napoleon Dynamite, Tina was Napoleon's family's llama. When Napoleon would go feed her, he would throw the food out at her and say, "Tina, ya fat lard, EAT!! Gaaaaah!" Our chicken, Tina Turner, was named after the spritely singer. That hasn't stopped my kids from the Napoleon reference to Tina. They pull her out of the nest bucket and say, "Gaaaah, Tina! Eat, ya fat lard!" Make no mistake, the words "fat" and "lard" (especially when used together) are not EVER appropriate people descriptors in our home, but I think their movie reference applied to our little broody Tina is hilarious! She must be sneaking a bite to eat and a drink now and then, or she'd be dead by now. The broody breaker pen will be finished tomorrow, so she'll be in "broody jail" until she decides to be a part of productive chicken society again!

Our family spent the weekend in Manhattan for the Missouri Valley Swimming West District Champs. The kids swam impressively, and there were swimmers from all over Kansas, and from the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles there. It was an outdoor meet, and the heat on Friday and especially Saturday was pretty hard to handle. I officiated Friday and Sunday. Friday I drank my weight in water and Gatorade and never had to pee once, and on Sunday spent half of the morning session officiating in the rain! Kids are super resilient, though, and hanging with friends at swim meets makes them forget about heat and rain.

We have not lost any more chickens after the little one went missing last week. My husband is going to get up there in the silo and replace the plexiglass on the open window this weekend, so I'm just hoping the owls and/or hawks stay away until then.

Lastly, it's birthday/anniversary week at our house. Our oldest son (2nd-born) will be 13 Thursday, and our youngest daughter (4th-born) will be 9 Sunday. DH and I celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary next Tuesday, my grandparents celebrate 65 years of marriage the 29th, and DH turns the big 36 on the 2nd of August. Both of my children are wanting musical instruments--drums and violin to be exact--for their birthdays. I think I will ask for ear plugs for my birthday!

Congrats on all of the birthdays & anniversaries!

I agree with Danz, about all you can grow under a tree that provides that much shade is a ground cover. I like Vinca because there are several types of it & it does flower in the spring. It's one thing the chickens will not bother. I planted my front yard with it because I have several big trees there that keep anything else from growing & it was just impossible to mow up there any more with the tree roots & how it's terraced due to the hill. I just killed out what grass was left & planted the ground cover. I have a lot of little trees that come up every year in there due to the acorns but nothing else.

I'm enjoying this brief break in the heat, we got rain last night & this morning. I looked at the forecast & we have days & days of heat coming, ugh. I'm sure not looking forward to that & having to try to keep birds & animals cooled down.

My laying flock is hardly laying right now either, but I can't say I blame them. I wouldn't want to sit in a box in this heat & lay an egg either.

 

[girlsnammo]

Thank you for the suggestion I would hate to waste money planting something that won't thrive under the tree. I didn't think that one through. There's been so much going on lately I haven't thought a lot of things through. My babysitter didn't show up again today so after the boys get their naps we will attempt to get work done at the other house. That's taking forever to get done. Unfortunately we can't finish the run and coop until we get that house done. Hopefully soon though. Hope everyone has a great and cool day!

 

[sharol]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Trish44

Honestly Danz I think your DH is right, sorry to say, about finding you laying out there some day. You work way too hard for what you've got going on. You're going to have to slow down. I worry about you! I know you're trying to get your pens & the building all set up, but it won't do much good if you're not there to enjoy it.

Congrats on all of the birthdays & anniversaries!
X2, @Danz