Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

Danz, you might be right about the allergies. I'm not really allergic to stuff- at least not that I have noticed. But I have been sneezing too, so I was already considering that possibility. I am surrounded by farm fields on the side and behind me- - and even to the front of me. There is another home in front of me across the street- but they only have 5 acres and behind them is a 40 acre field they are turning over. All summer we go to bed listening to the hum of the irrigation systems turning on at night around us. The greenhouse sale sounds COOL!!!! I'd do that one in a heart beat-- forget about the other stuff! What kinds of things are they selling? I saw a cute greenhouse kit in my magazine today! It looked like a pole barn with the clear corrugated roofing on top and then glass panes on the sides-- built into maybe 2X4 grids. Interesting. No prices... heh. Could be shocking. But I figured.. hey, thanks for the inspiration, I could probably build that myself. hehe! (after I get everything else done....HA!)

Ivy, thanks for the tip on the tea. I'm water logged at the moment, though. But at least my throat is feeling a bit better (for now). Sorry about the tough decision on what to do with your excess birds. You can always "make more", right? Maybe just get really tough and decide to get rid of anything that isn't exactly what you want? (like I know!!!) ha! Good luck!

I was reading an article in the Chickens magazine today and it was talking about old hens and what to do with them when they quit laying. Talked about rehoming them, but I wouldn't think anyone else would want an old hen that doesn't lay either! That idea seems crazy to me. It did suggest to build another coop to keep new egg layers in. But that kind of defeats the whole purpose to be non wasteful and to stay productive. Perhaps sending them off to be butchered... but if I got attached to them, I bet I'd be really sad. Not to mention, would they really be fat enough to be worth it?? Sigh. New problems -- and I don't even have chickens yet! LOL!

I am such a bum today-- I've been laying here acting pitiful.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Quote:
ETA: Danz, I forgot to mention that my DH uses a Netti Pot. It looks like a tea pot that you pour in one side of your nose (hold your head sideways over the bathroom sink) and it runs thru your sinuses and out the other nostril! He uses it a lot and he's been begging me to give it a try for years now. It freaks me out! But I suppose if I feel miserable enough, I might try it. It sounds like the bulb does something very similar in clearing out the nasal passages.

 

[Ivywoods]

"You should have made the trip to the Gardner auction."

Believe me, I would have gone in a heartbeat if I hadn't been working. I could have hitched a ride with Gilavina from Nebraska as she went by and we could have made the rest of the trip together. I know I would have enjoyed it and I probably would have spent more money than I should.

I sorted out some lavender ameraucanas yesterday. I put the cockerells I didn't want to keep outside with the other free range chickens. They were so lost. They just kept trying to get back in the barn. I felt sorry for them,

so I let them back in the barn today.

 

[chicken danz]

I've got a couple of young cockerels I accidentally put in the Serama pen for a couple weeks. When I finally got around to taking them out and taking them to the general population area they kept running back to the Serama pen. Poor things are still hanging out there sleeping on top of the netting over their fence.Makes me feel like a jerk. They aren't very big and I know this cool weather is hard on them.
I am finally back home after a long long day. I decided to make some chicken stew. It's going to be one of those throw it all in the pot kind of things. I had some roos I needed to get used out of the freezer.
Actually Hawkeye when those birds get old they get tough but they make great baking hens. In fact that used to be where a lot of the commercial layers went.. to the grocery shelf as a baking hen. With the rise of cornish cross however that's not the case any more. I think a lot of them go into commercial food like my excess roosters do. For the home chicken person a lot of them just hang around until they die of old age or a raccoon or coyote gets them. I think from the looks of things many show up at swap meets and auctions where people don't have to give an age of the bird. I am still undecided about what I will do with mine. In about a year my oldest ones will probably be slowing down. They'll still lay but not as well. Knowing me I'll probably keep feeding them. I never had much of a brain about those things. I get too attached to my animals even as many as I have. It just doesn't seem right to get rid of them because they are getting older. If humans were like that I'd be in big trouble!!!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Quote:
Danz, yeah, I have to admit, I get pretty attached to my animals, too. I just don't think I could take them to be processed. I don't even have them yet, but I'm sort of thinking I'll feel the same way about them as I do Seymore. Everyone asks me if I'm fattening her up for Thanksgiving since when they come over... I have just ONE single bird under the deck and it does look a bit odd, I guess. But she's way too sweet to harm. Well, that makes sense for the big production hens to go into commercial food-- what else would they do with so many birds! And they have so many, they wouldn't get attached.

Ivy-- funny that you went to all the work to separate out your little roos and then let them all back in. A little counter productive... Ah well. Soft hearted isn't a crime in my book.

Do you think a single silkie chick would be okay if I added one to my order? I was thinking if I ever wanted a broody (for fun!)- I've heard they are the best and they are very broody. Of course, I'm not buying any roosters, but I'm kind of hoping their 90% will fail with my order.

My DH would KILL me if he knew this secret wish. Silkies don't roost, do they? They are so darned cute- but their eggs are way too small for me to take them seriously. But one would be fun to have, maybe?

Okay, I know I'm getting a little crazed here.

 

[Hawkeye95]

okay, so I saw someone advertising 2011 hatched white silkies on CraigsList about 2 miles away from me! Would that be dangerous to buy from someone other than a hatchery? Could they have some awful disease.. and if I ask them about diseases, do you think they would be honest with me? They had 5 breeds listed that they hatched-- the silkies were one of them. Good idea.. bad idea?? I looked at adding a silkie pullet to my order from Meyer, but they said they are out, and it's straight run only. So that means i'd get a little roo for sure. Is buying chickens locally always a bad idea???? It sounds like the silkies are already about 8 weeks old or so.

 

[vebi]

Anyone have Fantails for sale?

 

[Katy]

Quote:
You should quarentine them in an area not close to where you're planning on housing your chicks if you decide to get some.

Buying chicks locally is not a bad idea all the time but there are precautions to take. I sell my extras at a local poultry auction. There is nothing wrong with them at all. They just don't fit into my breeding flocks for some reason.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Quote:
You should quarentine them in an area not close to where you're planning on housing your chicks if you decide to get some.

Buying chicks locally is not a bad idea all the time but there are precautions to take. I sell my extras at a local poultry auction. There is nothing wrong with them at all. They just don't fit into my breeding flocks for some reason.

Thanks! It would be kind of nice to just drive down the road to pick them up. I'm sort of wondering if I even know which farm they are on. There is a small farm near me that has goats, turkeys, guinneas, chickens, etc... plus they have large gardens. It may not even be them-- there are so many of us hobby farms out here with horses and chickens. It's kind of like horse central here-- even the new Polo fields are just 3 miles from me. So assume that they could be okay? So if I were to get them, and quarantine them for a couple of weeks... then they are okay? It's safe to put them with my turkey?

 

[Katy]

Quote:
You should quarentine them in an area not close to where you're planning on housing your chicks if you decide to get some.

Buying chicks locally is not a bad idea all the time but there are precautions to take. I sell my extras at a local poultry auction. There is nothing wrong with them at all. They just don't fit into my breeding flocks for some reason.

Thanks! It would be kind of nice to just drive down the road to pick them up. I'm sort of wondering if I even know which farm they are on. There is a small farm near me that has goats, turkeys, guinneas, chickens, etc... plus they have large gardens. It may not even be them-- there are so many of us hobby farms out here with horses and chickens. It's kind of like horse central here-- even the new Polo fields are just 3 miles from me. So assume that they could be okay? So if I were to get them, and quarantine them for a couple of weeks... then they are okay? It's safe to put them with my turkey?

I would never assume they were ok. If they come from what seems to be a good environment the odds are better that they're healthy, but a bird can be a carrier and not show any symptoms.

I very rarely bring any birds onto my farm. I know it's probably over kill, but I've got too much time and money invested in my breeding flocks not to be very careful. The last birds I brought in were in quarentine almost 6 months and then I introduced a sacrifice bird to them to see if they were carriers of anything.

I don't know about the turkey...I've never raised them.