Consolidated Kansas

[gach4hens]

I'm ready for the heat to break, too.  Looks like it won't be too much longer.

I got conned, er recruited, to teach a class at ESU this fall.  The teacher who was supposed to do it became really ill and had to opt out for this semester.  The department head went the extra step to find me a nice classroom with up to date technology and adequate size, so that is one step.  Classes start in a little over a week, though, so I have to get finished organizing to get the online part of the class ready to go. It is the class that all entering teacher candidates take first, and as I understand it, it is the class that helps them decide whether to become teachers or look elsewhere for a major.  It is only 2 days a week (3 classes all in a row), so the time commitment won't be as great as if it were every day.

I am really frustrated with the number of birds I still have.  I have a beautiful Breda cockerel that needs a new home if anyone wants him as a flock rooster.   Actually I have 2, but one of them needs to move on.  

I also have a trio of gorgeous silver campines I haven't been able to sell.  They are at POL and the girls' combs are really getting red.  I should be getting some little white pullet eggs any day now.  They are a blast to watch.  There are 9 of them, and they move as a group for the most part.  The other day they got startled up by the house and FLEW probably 70 feet to the other side of the yard.  

There are also some English Orpingtons (mostly black) that need to go, but at least  (I think maybe 5) of them are  boys, so I'll be butchering them in a couple of months.  If you need some good egg layers, I have 4 (I think) English Orpington pullets.  The adults are amazing layers, and these girls are 11 and 23 weeks old.

The heat has us all just slogging around.  Come on fall.

 

[Trish44]

I had a nasty surprise tonight when I went to check the chickens. My lovely EE rooster, Jake, was dead on the floor of the coop. Not a mark on him, so I suspect a heart attack or seizure. He was fine this afternoon, protecting the girls and showing them the tomatoes I gave them. He was a wonderful flock rooster and only 4 years old. Sigh. I will miss his maturity and mediation of squabbles in the coop.

Now I have to decide who to elevate to that coop. I have 1 EE chick (about 22 weeks old) that I think may be male as well as a couple of really pretty orpington cockerels the same age. All of them are living in the other coop, but one of them might work out. The Bredas are just too hard on the hens, I think, and they are not particularly good at being attentive to their hens. I'll be watching them over the next couple of weeks, though. My grandaughter named the white splash Breda Daffodil at Easter, so it would be nice if he could stay. Unfortunately he is all teenager right now and a real pill. OF course there is also the extra Campine cockerel. Being Campine, he would probably be able to boss everyone in the coop around LOL. Maybe I could move him and one of his hens in the older coop with the original flock and see how that goes. Then I wouldn't have to sell him. I'm filthy with cockerels right now, I just can't see any of them taking Jake's place in the flock.

Rest in Peace, big guy, you will be missed.

I'm sorry about your rooster sharol, it seems like it's the special ones that we lose for some reason. My oldest hens have been dying lately of old age, I've lost two so far. I knew they were getting older & didn't know how much longer they would be around. I have another one that is an EE that is up there too. So far she is acting fine,but they seem to just drop dead one day.

It's getting somewhat cooler, I'm hoping we don't have to endure the heat all the way through this month. I have so many things I need to do that are waiting for just a bit cooler weather.

 

[chicken danz]

I had a nasty surprise tonight when I went to check the chickens. My lovely EE rooster, Jake, was dead on the floor of the coop. Not a mark on him, so I suspect a heart attack or seizure. He was fine this afternoon, protecting the girls and showing them the tomatoes I gave them. He was a wonderful flock rooster and only 4 years old. Sigh. I will miss his maturity and mediation of squabbles in the coop.

Now I have to decide who to elevate to that coop. I have 1 EE chick (about 22 weeks old) that I think may be male as well as a couple of really pretty orpington cockerels the same age. All of them are living in the other coop, but one of them might work out. The Bredas are just too hard on the hens, I think, and they are not particularly good at being attentive to their hens. I'll be watching them over the next couple of weeks, though. My grandaughter named the white splash Breda Daffodil at Easter, so it would be nice if he could stay. Unfortunately he is all teenager right now and a real pill. OF course there is also the extra Campine cockerel. Being Campine, he would probably be able to boss everyone in the coop around LOL. Maybe I could move him and one of his hens in the older coop with the original flock and see how that goes. Then I wouldn't have to sell him. I'm filthy with cockerels right now, I just can't see any of them taking Jake's place in the flock.

Rest in Peace, big guy, you will be missed.

So sorry Sharol. I know how attached you were to him. I have no idea why your Breda boys are so onery. Mine seem so attentive to their hens. Of course they have never been allowed to free range and I guess that could make a difference.
Trish I've lost a couple hens in the heat this year as well. They weren't even all that old. I think these big fluffy girls have a lot harder time when it is hot, humid, and still. We've had a lot more days like that this year than normal. I sure hope the cooler weather holds.
I sold all my layers which got rid of a lot of girls before they got too old. I need to get some more girls moved in that pen soon. I only have 2 hens in there. But the lone turkey, some ducks, and the guineas all seem to go sleep in there at night. That will have to stop when I move more girls in.
Yesterday we installed a new toilet in DHs bathroom and it was quite complicated cause it's entirely different than a traditional one and nearly impossible to hook up because the bolts are inside the walls of it. The flush is a push button on top. I have one for my bathroom as well but it's a lot more crowded where it goes so I'm not sure we'll even be able to install it. I'd like to get it done but I'm sure DH has other things in mind. We've had them over a year so I think it is about time.
I've had some people ask about birds but I've offered some really good deals and they just tend to disappear after I price them. Why do people do that? They could say they think it is too much, or I'm not interested etc. But after they pursue me and ask me about buying some you wouldn't think they would just drop off the face of the earth.
I plan to move some more birds around today if it stays cool. Yesterday was a day for feeding and watering only. I planted iris and worked on that toilet so bird projects went on a back burner.

 

[sharol]

So sorry Sharol. I know how attached you were to him. I have no idea why your Breda boys are so onery. Mine seem so attentive to their hens. Of course they have never been allowed to free range and I guess that could make a difference.
Trish I've lost a couple hens in the heat this year as well. They weren't even all that old. I think these big fluffy girls have a lot harder time when it is hot, humid, and still. We've had a lot more days like that this year than normal. I sure hope the cooler weather holds.
I sold all my layers which got rid of a lot of girls before they got too old. I need to get some more girls moved in that pen soon. I only have 2 hens in there. But the lone turkey, some ducks, and the guineas all seem to go sleep in there at night. That will have to stop when I move more girls in.
Yesterday we installed a new toilet in DHs bathroom and it was quite complicated cause it's entirely different than a traditional one and nearly impossible to hook up because the bolts are inside the walls of it. The flush is a push button on top. I have one for my bathroom as well but it's a lot more crowded where it goes so I'm not sure we'll even be able to install it. I'd like to get it done but I'm sure DH has other things in mind. We've had them over a year so I think it is about time.
I've had some people ask about birds but I've offered some really good deals and they just tend to disappear after I price them. Why do people do that? They could say they think it is too much, or I'm not interested etc. But after they pursue me and ask me about buying some you wouldn't think they would just drop off the face of the earth.
I plan to move some more birds around today if it stays cool. Yesterday was a day for feeding and watering only. I planted iris and worked on that toilet so bird projects went on a back burner.

I think part of the problem with the Breda boys is that they are so rough with the hens. Now that Jake is gone, and he won't be claiming the other hens in the coop, maybe the Blue Breda boy won't be so hard on the 2 bredas and 3 Araucanas in there. He seems to pull feathers out of their faces after he breeds them, and I'm about done with his abuse of the girls. None of the other roosters do this, so I don't know where he learned it. In any case, I suspect that he won't be the lucky Roo that rules THAT roost. The Breda and Araucana girls are so sweet and gentle, and he (and to a slightly lesser extent the white splash Breda) just aren't.

One of my Campine cockerels has an on again/off again problem with his leg. I guess I won't be selling him. I thought it was a cured problem a month ago but he is limping again. He is very sweet, but I'm afraid I will have to cull him. I really hate that. That means I need to rethink my rearrangement of birds AGAIN. The Campines have started laying, so I could sell a couple of layers (they have gorgeous shimmery white eggs) to think the herd and cull the injured cockerel, move the Breda splash to the main coop. That would leave 6 in the hoop coop. That isn't an unreasonable number of medium sized birds especially since they get out in the yard every day for a while. That would eliminate the transitioning to the bigger coop issues. Hmmm. maybe that would work. thinking out loud, obviously.

 

[chicken danz]

Yeah I've never seen any rooster pull feathers out of a hen's face. I would say he needs to go elsewhere. I had campines years ago but never cared for their high strung personalities or smaller eggs. What I did love about them were the color and markings on the golden campine chicks. I'd almost have them again just for the chicks. But no more breeds right now. I'm just almost down to where I need to be as far as breeds. I have these Icelandics and am enjoying them even though they are nothing like anything else I raise. I'm waiting to see how they do when they start laying. I'm afraid the eggs will be pretty small cause the birds are. They are a land race and vary in combs, color, leg color crests or no crests etc. Very hard to classify them as one breed other than their small narrow build. The one thing that isn't allowed on the standard is feathered legs. I don't have a spare pen in the building for them either. But I like the idea that they are excellent foragers and they always seem to get excited when they see me coming. (food driven I am sure!) They would actually be a great Kansas chicken because they adapt to such wide temperature swings.

 

[lizzyGSR]

I lost a young cockerel a couple days ago. We found him looking listless in the coop. Upon closer inspection, he had a nasty wound on the back of his head. I think there must've been more injuries than met the eye 'cuz he went downhill the rest of the day. My DH had to cull him that afternoon. I think it's time to send some roosters to freezer camp, but I'm NOT looking forward to the job.

In other news, I got my first GREEN egg this morning! YIPPEEE!!! Now, if I could only convince the girls to lay in the nest boxes, rather than all over the yard.

 

[Trish44]

I lost a young cockerel a couple days ago. We found him looking listless in the coop. Upon closer inspection, he had a nasty wound on the back of his head. I think there must've been more injuries than met the eye 'cuz he went downhill the rest of the day. My DH had to cull him that afternoon. I think it's time to send some roosters to freezer camp, but I'm NOT looking forward to the job.

In other news, I got my first GREEN egg this morning! YIPPEEE!!! Now, if I could only convince the girls to lay in the nest boxes, rather than all over the yard.

I'm sorry about your rooster, it must be the time of year to lose birds for some reason. Congrats on the EE egg! Those seem to take longer to start laying but once they do they lay really well. I have one EE that just lays her egg in the run or sometimes even out in the yard. It's not like I don't have enough nest boxes, they don't even use them all.

Danz those Icelandics sound like they would be really good for free ranging but then you couldn't keep them pure bred that way. The Mille Fleur Leghorns I have are smaller chickens as well & lay a smaller egg.

 

[chicken danz]

I was gone all morning. I have to admit I missed my time on the computer drinking coffee this morning.
@Trish44 I actually could keep the islandics pure. I don't plan to breed them year round if I do keep them. I could pen them when I want to get pure eggs. If you wait three weeks then the eggs should be fertile for sure with the right rooster. I'm just waiting to see what kind of eggs they lay. They are supposed to be good layers. But if they are dinky little things I might just opt to sell all of them. I kind of miss having a great color difference in my layers.

 

[Trish44]

Danz yeah that would work if you have an open pen to put them in. That's usually my problem & is right now because I have birds waiting to be sold that I had to use spare pens for till they leave.

I sure am looking forward to next week being cooler. Maybe I can actually get some things done outside that need to be done.

 

[chicken danz]

I hope the weather cools as well. I have so much to do before fall. Not that even in perfect weather I can get it all done by myself.
I wish I knew exactly what the future was going to bring with each of these breeds so I'd know what to do with all of these birds. My customer didn't show yesterday so I am still on hold waiting to find out what I can move or not move. Once I move them to the hen house I don't want to be catching them again.
My black Orps are starting to venture out a little further but still having problems remembering how to get back into their pen. I have two gates and they keep trying to go to the one I don't want them using right now. I noticed my old sussex rooster found one and girlfriended her and was showing her bugs and food all over. He really is a good rooster. Since I sold the sussex layers I don't need him any more. I have a bevy of boys that I can use for breeders with the breeding group. When I move in the new hens he is going to get displaced.