Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

@sharol , It looks really great. Looks like those girls are going to have a nice big yard area to run in. I'm sure the girls are super happy to have their own space as well. I've been so busy with my other projects I haven't made much progress on any of my pens or anything around here. I had another guy out yesterday to look at fence building options. I hope to have an estimate in a few days however it would be some time before they could get the work done. I think they'll be much more reasonable than the last guy and this one wasn't pushing to overbuild for what I wanted.
Good luck with your netting. It's the worlds best stuff in my opinion.
I still have to get the netting on my new peacock pens. I've been so busy with other things I haven't had a chance to work on it. Maybe today if it's not too muddy out there. We got a huge storm last night.
Well my post op chicken is still alive. Yesterday she developed some pneumonia cause she laid in one place too long. I gave her a shot and will keep her on tylan a few days. (if she continues to live) I quit the other antibiotic she was on in favor of working on her lungs. I don't hold a lot of hope for her. She has no balance and falls forward and then flops and flops cause she is frightened. I now have her sitting up with towels all around her to hold her in place. She is eating well and drinking. But she won't drink from the water dish. I have to give it to her with a dropper. This is getting really old really fast. She had broken her neck when she was younger and I don't know if she can't get her head in the right position or what. But stopping by several times a day to give her a few drops of water isn't catching it for sure. She readily drinks when I just drop it in her mouth. I keep telling myself she would be better off if I just culled her but I'm not one to give up so easily.
I still have tons to do outside in the next week or so. I swear. Life just keeps getting busier and busier.
I had a previous customer show up yesterday in the mood to buy birds. I sold him two pair of Mandarins which gets me down to a nice size group for breeding. They really were too crowded before. I also sold him all the guineas I have a group of free rangers around but I'm not planning to raise them again. The owls have picked off a ton of breeders so I may have all males out there now. I sold him a trio of blue brahmas and am now kicking myself for it. I didn't charge nearly enough. I was just trying to make some money. Hopefully by the first of the week I'll have some more open pens.

 

[Trish44]

sharol that coop looks really nice, congrats! Is your pop door electric or solar? I wouldn't worry about the windows being too cold. I leave windows open all winter in my main coop & my breeder coop has open spaces at the tops of the front & back walls. As long as they don't have cold air blowing on them they will be fine. I haven't closed up any of my windows yet in my main coop & still am leaving the people door open at night for more air. When it gets colder I will shut that but want it to stay open as long as it can. I have a lot more chickens than you do.

I've just been working & working trying to get things done outside before the weather turns too much. I still have a couple of roosts I need to adjust & some repairs to do on the steps going into the people doors in the back of my breeder coop. I won't completely winterize till later but at least I put out all of the heated bowls I use yesterday so they're in place but not plugged in. I have 4 pens that I don't get electricity to because if I add any more I think I will blow a breaker because I also have two heated buckets I use for the sheep & goats.

 

[chicken danz]

Sure has been quiet here. I almost got the peafowl pen done yesterday. At least it is done enough I moved most of the babies to one side. They were pretty spooked out going outside for the first time. They have been in cage things so none are really flying much yet. I'm sure once they find the roosts they'll be happy. I put a compact florescent light out there since they have always had light in the building and they seemed to crowd around it. At least they know where the shelter is now where before they were just out in the pen. I'll get some straw out there soon for them. I hope to finish the rest today and move the rest of them in. I have a whole 'nother group to move to the building when they all get moved out to the pen.
I moved several birds yesterday and actually freed up 3 more pens. So I have birds to move around besides the peafowl today.

 

[squirtsmomma]

Well, haven't been on here much with the weather cooling its been so nice to get out and get some things done before the real cold sets in. I also am going through some surgery on my leg so that's been a real pain. The chicks we hatched 6 weeks ago are doing well. Sometimes I sit outside in the lawn chair and just watch. I call it CTV (chicktv). Of course I try to take pictures, but they aren't very cooperative about that. Fast little buggers. Anyway, here are a few pictures.

 

[squirtsmomma]

Sharol, thanks for sharing the pictures of the inside especially. We're working on a permanent house too. Pictures when we've finished.

 

[spree56]

I have a couple of questions for you all.
My chickens run has sand as the liter and their feet are pretty darn clean, my concern is that some seem to have fairly long nails. Do you trim your chickens nails or is it just normal? They only free range about an hour a day.

Do any of you rely on nipple waterers for your chickens? Mine seem to prefer open bowls of water, but I do like the auto system. Has your experience been that they drink enough when they use nipples? I use heated dog bowls for winter.
Thanks all.

 

[sharol]

sharol that coop looks really nice, congrats! Is your pop door electric or solar? I wouldn't worry about the windows being too cold. I leave windows open all winter in my main coop & my breeder coop has open spaces at the tops of the front & back walls. As long as they don't have cold air blowing on them they will be fine. I haven't closed up any of my windows yet in my main coop & still am leaving the people door open at night for more air. When it gets colder I will shut that but want it to stay open as long as it can. I have a lot more chickens than you do.

I've just been working & working trying to get things done outside before the weather turns too much. I still have a couple of roosts I need to adjust & some repairs to do on the steps going into the people doors in the back of my breeder coop. I won't completely winterize till later but at least I put out all of the heated bowls I use yesterday so they're in place but not plugged in. I have 4 pens that I don't get electricity to because if I add any more I think I will blow a breaker because I also have two heated buckets I use for the sheep & goats.

The door is electric. I have an extension cord nearly 300 feet long from the other coop. It doesn't pull much power (just the door and a light and in winter a heated waterer), so it should work ok. I thought about going solar, but the cost was an issue. I can add on the solar later for the same price if I want to, too. The power cord is there mostly for the heated waterer. It makes a huge difference in the winter, and I couldn't get solar that would run them without spending a fortune.

We are putting in a solar system this fall (when they get to us), so some of the power will come from solar one way or another.

 

[sharol]

It has been one of those weeks. The 5 year old washing machine is throwing a nasty error code and refusing to drain until I unplug it for an hour or so and then try again on the final drain/spin. Not good. The troubleshooter says it is probably connected with the "board" (I'm thinking expensive computer part) and a sensor that attaches to it. I have a call in to the repair guy,and in the meantime it fails on about every load. One of these times unplugging it isn't going to solve the problem, and I'm going to have a real problem.

I still need to put the extra wire on the outside of the fences around the new pen and get the netting up. That was supposed to happen Sunday, but a combination of events prevented that happening, so I guess it will be another week. At least they are big orps, so they should be fairly safe. The funny part is that they actually LIKE hanging out in the coop. I suppose the windows make it bright and breezy inside for them.

Tomorrow I am cleaning the original coop (yuck). At least it is only once a year. I have a question. Why do we do the heavy cleaning in the coop in the fall (for those of us who do deep litter)? It seems like cleaning in the spring would make more sense. They spend less time in the coop in the summer so it would stay clean longer, and the heating from the deep litter would have a head start in the fall. Anyone?

 

[chicken danz]

I have a couple of questions for you all.
My chickens run has sand as the liter and their feet are pretty darn clean, my concern is that some seem to have fairly long nails. Do you trim your chickens nails or is it just normal? They only free range about an hour a day.

Do any of you rely on nipple waterers for your chickens? Mine seem to prefer open bowls of water, but I do like the auto system. Has your experience been that they drink enough when they use nipples? I use heated dog bowls for winter.
Thanks all.

Chickens shouldn't need their nails trimmed. They dig for whatever and wear them down. My one winged house chicken is a different matter. If you feel they are too long, throw some treats or scratch grain in the run so they'll do more scavengering.
Nipple waterers leak and they also freeze unless you provide heat for the coop...or whereever you have them. Personally I'd stick with the water bowls. @zigzag45 made one a couple years ago that was heated with nipple waterers. You might search out his post or contact him and he could show you how.

It has been one of those weeks. The 5 year old washing machine is throwing a nasty error code and refusing to drain until I unplug it for an hour or so and then try again on the final drain/spin. Not good. The troubleshooter says it is probably connected with the "board" (I'm thinking expensive computer part) and a sensor that attaches to it. I have a call in to the repair guy,and in the meantime it fails on about every load. One of these times unplugging it isn't going to solve the problem, and I'm going to have a real problem.

I still need to put the extra wire on the outside of the fences around the new pen and get the netting up. That was supposed to happen Sunday, but a combination of events prevented that happening, so I guess it will be another week. At least they are big orps, so they should be fairly safe. The funny part is that they actually LIKE hanging out in the coop. I suppose the windows make it bright and breezy inside for them.

Tomorrow I am cleaning the original coop (yuck). At least it is only once a year. I have a question. Why do we do the heavy cleaning in the coop in the fall (for those of us who do deep litter)? It seems like cleaning in the spring would make more sense. They spend less time in the coop in the summer so it would stay clean longer, and the heating from the deep litter would have a head start in the fall. Anyone?

Oh washing machines are so expensive these days. I have worried about the EE models since it's all computerized. I'm just hoping mine lasts a long long time.
If you've read that you should clean in the fall for deep litter method I assume it is so the girls will start out with a clean area if they are going to be spending a lot of time in there. However I have always thought spring was the appropriate time to clean. That way the old stuff has begun composting and will put out more heat for the winter. Plus it will be a deeper layer to keep them warmer. My DLM has gone to the way side since one of my customers comes to clean out my coops on a regular basis to put on his gardens. He doesn't like the shavings which I have to disagree on cause it helped break my garden up. But as long as he is cleaning I'll leave them out. I do use shavings in my new building and my brooder house. I'm not going to have the mess there to make him happy.
I've got to get around. I have an appointment later this morning. Have to cut my coffee drinking time short today!!!

 

[Ralph Moyer]

As for the washer with the computer problem, the unplugging the machine is like a hard boot on any computer. You can reset an engine light on a automobile by disconnecting the negative lead on the battery for a few seconds( over 10 seconds you will have to reset the clock). A flashing engine light indicates a serious problem, and needs immediate attention Every now and then, the passenger side window, on my Dodge van, will not go down. but by disconnecting the battery for a longer period (,like over-night), it will work as it should for several months before malfunctioning again. The engine light problem on my van is a small vacuum leak that causes the gas-cap light to come on, and eventually the engine light.(nothing wrong with the gas-cap). At one time in my life I was a repair service person for Montgomery Ward and an independent appliance repair co. but that was a long time before the computer boards were put on major appliances. I have been keeping my older machines operating to avoid them.