Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

We have people from all over the state & a couple other surrounding states on the Kansas Poultry Swap. It gets pretty busy in the spring & summer. I do have Black & Blue Copper Marans myself but they're not laying right now & I'm almost to the KS/OK border. I'm sure there will be someone up closer to you later on who will have some eggs or chicks.

Boy I'm ready for it to warm up a little again. Yesterday was a really cold day. I had to feed all the birds & animals early because I had another Dr. appt. in Wichita to get approved for my upcoming surgery. There sure is a lot of red tape these days just to get something done.

 

[dwink2]

Wow! Thanks for all of the help with my chickens. Danz has been my fountain of knowledge along with reading lots of posts on here. I started several of my sick chickens on Tylan 50 on Sunday night and I can't believe how much better they are doing. My daughter ordered me some Tylan soluble that should be in today and I will start the whole flock on that. I am confident that I can get this sickness stopped and hopefully avoid having to send anything to K-State. It sounds like that could get quite costly and if things continue to get better I won't need to now. Nice info to have on hand though.

It sounds like snow/rain/ice is forecasted again. I am so ready for spring. I never see my chickens in the light which is part of the reason that I didn't realize how sick they were. I leave for work in the dark and come home in the dark. I miss my chicken therapy time. Lol

Trish when do you have surgery? I had mine replaced 4 years ago. If you have a stationary bike it will become your best friend. It helps to keep things from getting stiff. When I was in pain I would just go get on my bike. Borrow one if you don't have one.

 

[chicken danz]

Hello Ladies I have some questions for those who use water nipples. Every morning and evening when I check on my now 7wk chicks the bedding is wet under the nipples. I thought as the chicken got older and better at drinking this would stop. But it hasn't and Im afraid that it could harm my chicks. I of course scoop out the wet bedding and replace it with dry but I'm beginning to think we to go to either a different water method or place gutter drains half way under the nipples to catch the spill. But im not sure how we can do that in such a way that it would work and the chicken would still be able to drink. Any suggestions?

I tried nipples and certainly don't recommend them especially for use inside. They have to be perfectly straight up and down to keep from dripping. I have several of them on hand but doubt I will use them cause they can be so messy.
Chicks are messy anyway and tend to leave wet bedding. The best set up I have used is a square stand made out of 2X4s (around1 sq foot). Make a simple frame and cover it with hardware cloth. Preferable 1/4 " size but 1/2" will work as well. Then set a gallon plastic poultry waterer on it. The hardware cloth lets the spills fall to the floor but there is enough air circulation they can dry out. The chicks have no problem at all climbing up on the stand.

Wow! Thanks for all of the help with my chickens. Danz has been my fountain of knowledge along with reading lots of posts on here. I started several of my sick chickens on Tylan 50 on Sunday night and I can't believe how much better they are doing. My daughter ordered me some Tylan soluble that should be in today and I will start the whole flock on that. I am confident that I can get this sickness stopped and hopefully avoid having to send anything to K-State. It sounds like that could get quite costly and if things continue to get better I won't need to now. Nice info to have on hand though.

It sounds like snow/rain/ice is forecasted again. I am so ready for spring. I never see my chickens in the light which is part of the reason that I didn't realize how sick they were. I leave for work in the dark and come home in the dark. I miss my chicken therapy time. Lol

Trish when do you have surgery? I had mine replaced 4 years ago. If you have a stationary bike it will become your best friend. It helps to keep things from getting stiff. When I was in pain I would just go get on my bike. Borrow one if you don't have one.

Yay for Tylan. Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm so glad your chickens are doing better.
I'm with you on "ready for spring". This cold just makes my work so much harder. Today was warmer than expected with the only real downfall being that all the melting ice left us in a mud hole. I'll be so glad to get my pens in and maybe some day recover some grass around the house. My long term goal is to have a fenced yard so even if I let some birds free range they will stay away from the house. It's going to be a chore to get grass to grow again.
I let all my layers out today and ended up chasing one hen around and around even past dark. She just couldn't figure out where to go. How can you be closed in to a pen for a month and not be able to find it? I had moved all the layers to the hen house pen some time ago and figured by now they would have figured out where home was.
I hope there are no owls out tonight. The dogs are all busy pursuing coyotes.

 

[Trish44]

dwink2, I'm supposed to be having my surgery next week but I woke up with a really bad head cold today, so we'll see. I'm trying to doctor myself the best I can today so hopefully I can head it off. It just came on really fast because yesterday I woke up with a sore throat & then it progressed as the day went on.

Chicks are so messy anyway as Danz said & I don't think I would want to use nipple waterers with them unless you have some way to keep the water off the shavings. Wet bedding is the worst thing for them because it can grow mold & other bacteria & they can end up with brooder pneumonia. That stuff is hard to get rid of, so if possible I would change to a different water system for them.

I had hoped it would be warmer out today but it's not looking promising. We had a little dusting of snow last night & it's really cloudy today, yuk. I'm with the vote for spring for sure. I'm still waiting my my pregnant goat doe to deliver, she's been waddling around with a huge bag for quite some time now. I keep thinking any day & then she just keeps going.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

Trish, I have been fighting the same cold symptoms since Christmas. I had my left eye cataract surgery yesterday, and I was able to get it done. My right eye is to be done in February. I have worn glasses since I turned forty. I am able to read and use the compute,r without glasses, for the first time.

 

[venymae]

I use a nipple in my ! brooder & like it a lot. Its a vertical nipple in a juice bottle lid and I have wire threaded through the bottom which I use to hang it on a stick that lays across the brooder. I do keep a small plate beneath it, but mine does not drip a lot (I did have two that dripped really bad and I threw them away!) Once the chicks get about 2-3 weeks old o switch to horizontal nipples because they are MUCH nicer, but harder to depress.

 

[SilverPenny]

I have so much to catch up on! Life got crazy over here. Hope the holidays were good to everyone

I told our neighbors that we were getting peacocks and made peacock stenciled sugar cookies that went over pretty well, and also found out that one of our neighbors previously had an emu until his dog got it. Everyone seemed excited and supportive about the peacocks, which was great.

As the time draws closer, I'm trying to decide where to get my peacocks from, and if I want to brave the day-old chicks, or get an older pair, and if I want to go local with Legg's, or order online. I'm planning on taking a week off work when I get them just to bond.

Also, I'm finalizing plans for the giant coop. I've decided on a hoop design with between 1000-1200 sq feet total. Undecided on the total number of birds too, although that depends on where I get the birds from. Any suggestions for reputable peacock breeders? What about day olds vs older chicks? I honestly don't know if I can handle all the work with the day olds and am really nervous but excited for this whole adventure!

 

[sharol]

Quote:
I suppose the first question is, where are you? I know that @Chicken Danz has peas, but I'm not sure she has any for sale. They are magnificent birds, though. She is near Burlington. I'm not sure who else raises them. I have heard that the babies are really tricky for a little while, but that is hearsay. You might check the thread on pea fowl. I'm sure there is one on BYC. Our neighbors had peacocks for a while and they are so funny to listen to from a mile away. Those guys can be really vocal. Good luck with your endeavor.

 

[chicken danz]

I have so much to catch up on! Life got crazy over here. Hope the holidays were good to everyone

I told our neighbors that we were getting peacocks and made peacock stenciled sugar cookies that went over pretty well, and also found out that one of our neighbors previously had an emu until his dog got it. Everyone seemed excited and supportive about the peacocks, which was great.

As the time draws closer, I'm trying to decide where to get my peacocks from, and if I want to brave the day-old chicks, or get an older pair, and if I want to go local with Legg's, or order online. I'm planning on taking a week off work when I get them just to bond.

Also, I'm finalizing plans for the giant coop. I've decided on a hoop design with between 1000-1200 sq feet total. Undecided on the total number of birds too, although that depends on where I get the birds from. Any suggestions for reputable peacock breeders? What about day olds vs older chicks? I honestly don't know if I can handle all the work with the day olds and am really nervous but excited for this whole adventure!

Yep I have several colors of peafowl and am not that far from you. KsKingBee has peafowl as well. He is however a couple hours further to the NW. What color are you looking for? I currently have many 2015 juveniles left. I really need to thin some of them down.
For a first time peacock owner I certainly wouldn't recommend new hatches. Peafowl can go down so quickly that you might not even know something is wrong until it is too late. Particularly with new hatches. I'd personally start with older or started birds and learn from that point. Just my personal opinion. Send me a pm if you like. I am hoping to move several of these out of here before spring. My pens are too crowded.
Well it's rained and rained. My pups look like little mud balls and are cold and wet. I just went out and put another heater out there hopefully to dry them up a little. I had to pull their bedding all out cause it was soaked. I really need to get some straw and fill that pen in to help keep it a little drier. I wish I had another place to put them temporarily where they could clean up and stay dry. I can't move the dog house right now because it's so muddy everything would sink. It's big enough it takes a tractor to move it anyway.

Trish, as long as you aren't running a fever I think they'll do surgery. Have you considered since you are burning firewood that possibly the wood may have had some contaminates in it? I had to quit burning the wood fireplaces for that reason. Plus it makes the air so dry you are more apt to get a sinus infection or something. I'd be putting a humidifier in or keeping water on the stove to put some moisture in the air. I run a humidifier and or vaporizer in the bedroom all winter which helps a lot.

My geese are gearing up for breeding season. Ugh! I hate that since my fencing isn't done. They also tend to rip out all their pretty curls during breeding. I really wish they'd wait until later cause we loose so many eggs to the cold. I wanted to get another shelter or two built for them to lay in as well. There just isn't enough hours in the day.
I have something going on for the next three days and wonder how I am ever going to keep things done around here. Why do things seem to pile up all at once. I thought sure things would slow down once the holidays were over.

 

[Trish44]

Trish, I have been fighting the same cold symptoms since Christmas. I had my left eye cataract surgery yesterday, and I was able to get it done. My right eye is to be done in February. I have worn glasses since I turned forty. I am able to read and use the compute,r without glasses, for the first time.

I'm glad you got your cataract taken care of. A total knee replacement is much different though than a cataract surgery & they are very picky about things being just perfect when you go in to have it done. You are very susceptible to infections in the joint & once it gets in there it's hard to get rid of so they're very careful.

Trish, as long as you aren't running a fever I think they'll do surgery. Have you considered since you are burning firewood that possibly the wood may have had some contaminates in it? I had to quit burning the wood fireplaces for that reason. Plus it makes the air so dry you are more apt to get a sinus infection or something. I'd be putting a humidifier in or keeping water on the stove to put some moisture in the air. I run a humidifier and or vaporizer in the bedroom all winter which helps a lot.

My geese are gearing up for breeding season. Ugh! I hate that since my fencing isn't done. They also tend to rip out all their pretty curls during breeding. I really wish they'd wait until later cause we loose so many eggs to the cold. I wanted to get another shelter or two built for them to lay in as well. There just isn't enough hours in the day.
I have something going on for the next three days and wonder how I am ever going to keep things done around here. Why do things seem to pile up all at once. I thought sure things would slow down once the holidays were over.

Well we'll see how it goes, hopefully I will be pretty much over it by the time I have to see the PA the day before surgery. The wood we burn is hedge & we have always burned the same wood. We have a very efficient stove that we just bought in the last few years. We do have a humidifier on top of it that has water all the time.

Oh wow, the geese are getting ready to breed already? I'm not ready for that for sure. This will be my first breeding season with them. I'm sure my ducks will also start breeding & laying soon as well. I think they started in Feb. last year. I still have one drake I need to get rid of, I don't need 3 of them. I have to feel well enough to go out & take care of him though, hopefully soon.