Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

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You know what?! My vet suggested that MY silkies could be sick from the shavings I have in their pen, too. He said it's not uncommon, and he wanted me to take all the shavings out and put in newpaper litter. I didnt' do it, though. I figured that can't be right and that it must be them just being sick from being shipped half way across the country. But.... now I wonder! I think I will switch them off the pine shavings for a while and see how they feel with just newspaper litter in there. Hmmmmmm...... I'll really feel dumb if that's all it turns out to be. Guess I'll be bringing up my shredder...

 

[Trish44]

Hawkeye, I'm sorry to hear about Boeing, I hope your hubby can find something else in the area so you don't have to move, that's the pits!

 

[chicken danz]

Hawkeye it would just break my heart to see you have to move after all the work you have put in that chicken house. I do think you could cut off the legs and trailer it to your new place. I put one of my houses on big cement pillars and it worked very well. High off the ground and it is moveable. But worse than that, I would hate to see you leave and have to uproot your family and your home. That just really bites. Did they indicate where they might provide him a new job?
I'll pray that God will take care of you.
About shavings, I know you can't use cedar shavings with chicks but pine should be fine. I normally buy shavings with larger flakes and these are smaller pieces. I just wondered if they might ingest smaller pieces of wood or dust. But again that doesn't make sense it is just silkies that have died off. Maybe I'll just go through with vinegar and peroxide and spray everything down again to make sure it is all disinfected.
I also found out about a 3 month old GQF incubator in Mississippi that is only 3 months old I bought for a prayer. It was a divorce thing. I sent off the money for that today. I really didn't need another big incubator but couldn't pass it up. I may sell one of my other big incubators this spring. That puts me up to a total of 7 incubators. I'll bet I could fill them all but don't see myself handling that many chicks at once.

 

[Ivywoods]

Hi Candace

I love the GP's. I looked at your website after Trish44 told me about it. I love the ones with black, and I'm the one that wrote to you about the GP with the black ears (Buddy.) They are just the BESTEST dogs. We, too, live where there are coyote packs, bobcats, wild dogs and all kinds of other varmints, and we have not lost any livestock or birds to predators with the exception of one guinea hen that we lost to an owl one morning. Darn thing swooped down right in the front yard. The dogs were out back by the goats.

I agree with all that you've said. I wish Buddy would stay in a little closer to the goats, but he was an adult when we got him, and he patrolled several square miles with those goats before we got him. He doesn't really "roam" but he does get up to 3/4 mile away from the house when he is chasing coyotes. I've witnessed him and Sophie chase off 5 coyotes at a time.

We handle our dogs just enough to teach them the basics as you said, but they are raised with the animals, fed out there, and they are NOT house dogs. Runt, our youngest, is a little more bonded to people than Buddy, but he still knows his job, and nothing stops him if he sees or smells a predator. When my husband goes outside, runt comes up to him for a pat or a rub, then follows him around the farm, which is all pretty close to the animals since that is what he is taking care of. Runt will stop a few feet behind my hubby, lay down and wait until DH goes somewhere else, then follow him there, lay down, wait, and this continues pretty much the whole time my hubby is outside. HOWEVER, if he senses a varmint, or hears Buddy sound the alarm, he is off like a rocket, and I don't think anything could stop either one of them. Buddy drags around like he is 80 years old (we don't know how old he is) until he senses a varmint, then he is off like well toned athlete. He is loosing some of his steam and stamina, though, we have noticed.

Danz- I wonder about the shavings, too. It might be worth pulling the chicks off it. I really don't like putting chicks on shavings until they are a little older. The little seramas are doing well. I haven't gotten any eggs yet. I want to get them separated a litle more. I'm sure they would all enjoy a romp in the dirt at this point, so I am trying to figure something out to allow that. Right now they are in the cages I built.

Checoukan- my little ginger red pullet looks better, but she is still getting flipped over once in a while and having trouble with that wing and leg. Poor thing. She is such a little sweetie.

Trish- I'm getting eggs from my wheaten ameraucanas and my black. None from the lavender yet. Hopefully soon.

Hawkeye- I think you are just going to have to cut that coop off and take it with you. You have put SO much work into it. I'm sure you would HATE having to leave it behind. Always look toward the bright side, even though moving is a royal P.I.T.A. maybe you can find a place that will have a great barn that will accommodate more chickens!

 

[Hawkeye95]

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Danz, thank you so much for the prayers- I really appreciate it and I believe this will work out for the better because of it. I have a running dialog with God going most of the day. ha!! I sure don't want to move and I'm hoping by the time it all comes down, maybe there will be some opportunity for us to find something with Spirit or another aerospace company here. I don't know. And worst case, I'm hoping we could move to Oklahoma City near Tinker AFB where the other big Boeing plant is. My DH got offered to transfer to St. Louis. That would royally stink, because their cost of living is so much higher and the housing market is insane up there! We could not afford to have what we have now. But if we went to OKC, it would be right about equal! We'd be alright there. I hate uncertainty. I just wish they'd let us know for sure what's going down so we can start hunting or organizing ourselves.


And Trish, it would sure stink to move.

Ivy, can't wait for your Serama's to start laying! That will be fun!

Well, I'm back inside- I was just out freezing off my toes and toes under the coop again. BUT--- I finished off the 3rd and LAST side with the hardware cloth. It's dug down into the trench, but I still need a lot more dirt thrown on top, you can see the wire thru it. But that will come. For now, the wire is there and done. If we're still here in the Spring, I'll get started on building the run of my dreams.. but if not, at least I can pack up the dog panels and move them easy!

I'd sure like to figure out a way to move this coop if it comes down to it. In the Spring, maybe we can brain storm! LOL

 

[Ivywoods]

Well folks, I lied.... unintentionally. I was out doing chores a few minutes ago. My husband asked me if I got my serama eggs. I told him no, I hadn't seen any. He said there were two in there. Sure enough, behind a couple of the seramas were some eggs laying in the shavings. I hadn't even seen them because several of the seramas all crowd to the front when they see me with the feed bucket. They act like they haven't been fed for days, even when there is still feed in the pans. I guess it's one of those "Me First!" things with them.

I now have two cute little serama eggs and have no idea which of 3 hens laid them!

How many serama eggs does it take to make an omelet?

 

[Hawkeye95]

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Oh my!!! They sound soooo cute!!! I can't wait to see what size of an egg a silkie lays. But I'm betting the Serama has teeny tiny eggs! Have they been in with a rooster? I'd be throwing those into an incubator! LOL I can't WAIT till I get fertile eggs to try to hatch. My MIL offered to give me my incubator early for x-mas but I told her there was no need, because I don't think my girl(s) will be laying for another three months or more! They are 4 months old... when will they start laying???? Any ideas? I have kept them away from my cockerel, I took what you all were saying to heart and I don't want them tore up before Spring and the shows start. But I'll have to throw them together at some point. Maybe he'll be nice to them??

 

[Ivywoods]

Quote:
Oh my!!! They sound soooo cute!!! I can't wait to see what size of an egg a silkie lays. But I'm betting the Serama has teeny tiny eggs! Have they been in with a rooster? I'd be throwing those into an incubator! LOL I can't WAIT till I get fertile eggs to try to hatch. My MIL offered to give me my incubator early for x-mas but I told her there was no need, because I don't think my girl(s) will be laying for another three months or more! They are 4 months old... when will they start laying???? Any ideas? I have kept them away from my cockerel, I took what you all were saying to heart and I don't want them tore up before Spring and the shows start. But I'll have to throw them together at some point. Maybe he'll be nice to them??

I don't really have a good way to raise baby chicks over the winter, so I am going to wait until closer to spring to start hatching anything.

As far as the silkies go, I have no idea how long before they will lay, but I know a lot of your smaller breeds lay sooner than some of the larger ones.

Many breeders keep their roosters separate from their hens, and only put the rooster in with the hens a couple times a week, just long enough to get the job done.

Then of course there's the artificial insemination process!

 

[chicken danz]

The silkies should start laying around 5 months old but a lot will depend on the weather, light etc. Why don't you buy or make them some chicken aprons so they don't get their backs torn up? The Silkie eggs are significantly larger than the Serama eggs. I have to incubate my Seramas in pheasant trays because they will fall out of regular egg trays. The silkies need the regular egg tray although they certainly don't fill the hole. I read once where it takes 5 Serama eggs to equal a large grade chicken egg.
Congrats on your Serama eggs, Ivy! Before long you'll have so many Seramas you won't know what to do with all of them. Many of mine have been hatching at 19 days so don't be surprised if you have early hatches.
Hawkeye, I lived in OKC for several years. All three of my sons were born there. That is where I was a police officer. It was the friendliest place I've ever lived. Things have changed a lot over the years but there are so many incorporated towns within the city that there is often pasture and things in between shopping centers. Things are a little rougher near Tinker than they were up north where lived but I think that was because of the AFB. More partying going on with the service guys. I'm sure if you weren't right in the base area it would be great. There's also some mini farms 3 - 5 acres) out that direction. Or at least there was the last time I was down that way. Cost of living there is great. Taxes are even better and they actually really do have free public schools. (Did you know that the revenue created from traffic tickets goes into the school system in Oklahoma?)
And I guess the best part is that you would only be 3-4 hours from Wichita so you could still come visit family. St Louis not so much. Ugh! I'll just keep praying for the best.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Quote:
Wow- they might lay next month!?? Eeek!! That is so exciting!! Well, even if they don't lay for another couple of months, that is great, too. Yeah, if I can't live here, I'd much rather live in OKC than in St.Louis. I like the feel of OKC, and I think it's a great place, which is why I wouldn't be too upset about that move. But if we have to go to St.Louis, you'll see my claw marks all the way there.. hehee!!

I just got back from Orschelns in Wellington, KS. I bought the dog panels there for 20% off! I layed them upright against the coop and loosely formed the rectangle to see what it'll look like. Tomorrow when its daylight, I'll have to set it up. Then I suppose I'm done for the winter! I got the 12 foot length and 6 foot high with a 10 foot panel for the rear. I'll take a pic when I get it up. It's not going to be as big as I was hoping, but this will do for now. And then I can relax for a while. I think the chicks will be so excited to run around outside and have some places to run. OH!! I still need to build the ramp! But that will go fast. I already have all the wood I need.