Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

I think you should wait until a day when it isn't windy and burn the trash pile. Unfortunately these dogs love to collect things. It last until they reach maturity. Give them lots of chew toys and maybe if you could score some nice big uncooked bones give them those. They are at the stage where they want to chew all the time and get bored easily. You need to create something that is more appealing to them. Fluff would grab anything he could get hold of. I don't know how many extension cords he chewed in half his first year. They always have to be chewing on something while they are young.

 

[checoukan]

Hey Ivy, If you are going to sell the silver Amera's, I guess I will take them..... Anyway getting ready to go outside and brave the wind in the school bus. Yikes...likes to blow you around. We are all doing fine down here, getting ready to move eggs to the hatcher. Rosecombs, and blue/red OE's, still some crazy sporatic egg laying going on here. Oh well, get em as the come around.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Rittert, if I were you and were serious about breeding, then I think it's a good idea to try to join up with any group that is in the know of good genetic background and breeding practices so you can learn all you can about what you are working with.

Marshmallow is getting more normal every day. This morning she was chasing chickens out of the pen that got too close to the dog house. I probably should open the back end so they have a place to get away when she chases them. The chickens never learn. She's never grabbed one but chased them if they got too close to the puppies for a couple weeks after the last litter. Very protective mama. But later on the chickens and the pups were always together. Marshmallow is actually laying outside the pen gate right now. That is great. She just hasn't wanted to be any distance. I'm so glad my dog is going to be ok.
I am excited today. I found a potential source for midget white turkeys this spring. I've been looking for months. That is the breed I want to raise if I'm going to have turkeys. They are perfect for what I want. Of course I have those slates in the incubator and I am sure I'll love them too, assuming I hatch any that live. I've got some Seramas hatching today. I'm really going to downsize there. I have so many nice roos I need to move but not sure how to do it. I don't want to get rid of an equal amount of hens because I am roo heavy. There just isn't a practical use for extra roos.
Speaking of which, I have a few mixed breed cockerels I may sacrifice for dog food. I normally sell them to a commercial person but I am thinking for what I get I could sure add some nutrition to Marshmallows diet. I just hate to butcher. It is probably on my least favorite things to do list.

Danz, so glad that Marshmallow is feeling better and starting to act more and more like herself. I hope she doesn't get a hold of a chicken in her irritation! I've seen those midget white turkeys! They are cute. Are you wanting to eat them? Why that breed over the others? Just curious! I had no say in the breed of turkey I got since Seymore was dumped as a fuzzy baby, but I like the "looks" of the red turkeys-- don't remember their names. But I have no idea what they'd be good for. ha! With all of your extra serama roos... what do you do with them? Soup??

Danz, that's great that Marshmallow is such a good momma, she sounds like she's getting back to normal again. I don't blame you for wanting to keep the puppy that you rescued, that would be my choice too.

rittert, I will be raising some Cream Legbars eventually, but I will be getting chicks so it will be a long while before I get eggs or am able to hatch chicks. If you hang out on the Cream Legbar thread you will see which people are selling eggs & chicks. There is already one guy in Missouri that is selling hatching eggs & will be selling chicks soon. It depends on whose price is the best as to who I get some from. They're all from the same farm since they're the only ones in the US that have them. They're very popular in the UK.

Hawkeye, if you were going to stay at your place you could get someone to come & kill the coyotes for you. My friend that lives in Derby just had them come out & they have gotten one so far on her land. The coyotes ate her little Chihuahua awhile back & the neighbor's dog also & she has 3 little dogs there. I sent her an ad from Craigslist for some guys that hunt them for people if they're threatening their pets or livestock. They don't charge anything for doing it.

Trish, I've seen those postings on CL's for the hunters to come out and 'remove' coyotes. So far, my little pack haven't done anything that would warrant me going after them. But a few years back, that was a different story, for sure. But 3 of my neighbors went after them and got a few and the problem of them packing together like that hasn't happened since then.


I'm worried about my apple trees-- I have 5 of them and they are ALL starting to bud out!! Yikes! I noticed fuzzy buds on them the other day. I sure hope that doesn't mean I will lose all their fruit when it finally does turn into winter. Or maybe it will be enough time for them to start again. I don't know. Then again... if we're moving, it won't matter anyway. Sigh.

 

[Ivywoods]

Hawkeye-It's kind of a pain being in limbo about moving, isn't it? I'm kind of in a similar situation. We WANT to move, but our situation is not ready yet.

Tomorrow my DH goes in for some testing. We will see how things go. If I am not on here for a few days it will be because I'm "taking care of business."

Checoukan-I will save the silvers for you. They are pretty nice, but as you know I just need to limit some of my varieties and I already have 3 other ameraucana varieties.

Trish-I have never had very good luck trying to keep our GP's confined. Thank God we live in an area where they can pretty much roam wherever they need to. They don't really roam, but they do go after coyotes and sometimes that leads them up to a mile away. I agree with Danz about giving them plenty to occupy them that they can chew on. If you manage to get them some beef bones or something it should help. If they loose interest in it, get them a new one or something else to keep them chewing and occupied.

I took 3 chicks out of the incubator this morning. One marans and two lavender ameraucanas. So far all the ones I have hatched are doing well with no problems. I have a few more eggs to go into lockdown on Wednesday. I haven't candled them so I don't know how many will be going in. I'm going to use my hatcher for all of them except the marans eggs. The hatcher I will run at 70% humidity and the incubator runs at 50%. That way the marans can have a more favorable lower humidity than what the others require.
I guess I better get outside and take care of birds. I am hoping to find a couple more eggs. I've been putting them in the 'bater once I get a dozen. Since I don't have turners going in my incubator I just leave them in the cardboard carton and turn the whole carton. Seems to be working okay, but auto turners would be nice.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I'm starting to get really annoyed with BYC--- that post I just posted took about an hour to go thru! ARGH!!!!!!!

I wonder how long this one will take. I give up on going back to edit my grammar. I do know how to spell.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye-It's kind of a pain being in limbo about moving, isn't it? I'm kind of in a similar situation. We WANT to move, but our situation is not ready yet.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ivy, it's very frustrating not knowing if we're staying or going. I feel pretty sure we are going... but if not and DH finds another job here, then I have so much I want to work on outside. I had wanted to plant a few trees around the coop, and build the perm. run structure off of it. Like I said, I'm worried about the apples, and the kids are whining about not having their swing set anymore. (remember it got blown away in the storm)-- so now they run over to the neighbors and are over there nearly all day long playing on their old swing set. I was going to start a veggie garden this year-- after seeing how my herb garden was so successful. Sigh. I just want to find out asap what we're doing so that we can get ON with it. What all do you have to do with your house to sell it? We're going to replace our counter tops in the kitchen with granite (it has formica from 12 years ago when we built the house!) and put in a new sink, faucet, etc... Basically update the kitchen without ripping out the cabinets... thinking of having the doors on the cabinets either replaced or refaced/refinished. They are in good shape--no scratches or dents, but they are a honey oak color, and that is not in style anymore at our price point. And i want this place to sell fast and not have people be put off because it's out dated. Oh what a mess. So much to do and we don't even know if we should get started or not. [/FONT]

 

[Ivywoods]

Hawkeye-I have no idea why you are having trouble with posting or editing being slow. I haven't noticed that mine is slow at all, and believe me, since I am no computer guru, if anyone is going to have problems with a computer it is me! Thankfully my DH can fix just about anything that goes wrong with it. That's probably why I haven't bothered to learn any more about it than I have.

It's not so much fixing up that house that is slowing us down. It's my DH's medical condition and the fact that I need knee surgery. I have put that off now until after we get Mike fixed up. Once he is on the mend I will get my knee fixed I will be able to cosider the job I am wanting to move into. As soon as my surgery is done I will start looking at job openings in the areas I want to go. I have several possible areas picked out, but who knows? By that time I may be open to other places. As far as things to do around here there is more to do than we could ever finish. We are right now working on finishing two rooms in the basement. That's not moving fast at all due to Mike being down right now. The other thing is I need to go through a bunch of stuff and pare down many belongings that we don't need. I wish I had your skill at keeping clutter down. I am a "junker" from the get-go and I tend to collect way more stuff than I need.

Speaking of which.... I think I am going crazy. I thought I had picked up an old delapidated sideboard at an auction that I was going to convert into a brooder. Either I am dreaming or the thing is lost. I have been out looking for it and there seems to be no such thing sitting around out there. So I guess I need to get a different idea. I have stock tanks that I have used in the past, but I just hate cleaning those things. I feel like I have to stand on my head to do it. I'd like to get my brooders so they have wire bottoms that the poop would fall through. It's not so necessary when they are small, but as they get older it sure is nice and easier to clean out from under the brooder rather than in it. I've got several ideas of what I can do, but like I said, I need to pare down so I don't want to buy something else to build it. I guess I could build a stand to raise the tanks up and then cut the sides down so they wouldn't be so deep. That would be better, but I stillwouldn't have the wire bottom I would like. Hmmm. I guess I could cut the whole bottom out of the tank and then build a frame with a wire top on it that I could just set the tank on. I don't know. I guess I am just thinking as I type here. Nevermind my rambling.

 

[chicken danz]

Loralee, just put new knobs and maybe hinges on those cabinets and the new countertop. I think if they are nice cabinets most people wouldn't mind the oak especially if you don't have brass knobs and hinges.Knobs and hinges are cheapest if bought in lots off Ebay. Besides if you go to the expense of replacing doors or refinishing, the new potential owners might not like that either. Personally there is nothing prettier than oak and it will become popular again. It always does. I didn't update mine and the people went nuts over the kitchen, but I don't think they were style savey at all after seeing what they are doing as they remodel the house. My cabinets were all oak as well. The one thing I see is keeping the cabinet tops clear or all but 1 or 2 appliances. Bathrooms and kitchens sell houses. If you put in granite that will appeal to buyers because they know that isn't an expense they wouldn't have to foot.
From the pictures I've seen of your house I think you are in terrific shape. Uncluttered, clean, appealing paint and decor.
The outside is what does a make or break for your house. If the yard is neat and tidy and doesn't need landscaping that gets you a long ways. The color of the outside of the house might make a difference, but if it does you can always leave a little room in bargaining for allowing them to repaint if they don't like it. Selling a house is first impressions and depersonalizing. Make it look like they can move their own things in and be settled. (I'm no prefessional but have spent way to many hours watching HGTV.)
I did some reading on midget whites and they seem to fit my needs. They aren't a huge bird. Are said in studies to taste better than any other turkey. They have a large breast but still breed naturally. They don't use as much food or take as long to mature. Now that my kids are grown we don't ever need a huge turkey. The 10-13 pound birds are plenty. Sometimes if every one is here we will have one normal baked one and one smoked one. White birds are easier to dress than colored ones normally. They are also reported to be very calm and often just free range with the chickens. Any bird I can let free range is an asset. They are healthier and it saves me a ton in feed costs.
I found almost 3 dozen eggs in the barn today. Didn't know how long they had been there so I cooked them all for Marshmallow. She didn't eat them all but what she doesn't fluff or the chickens will. The I knew a hen was sitting between some hay bales and found another 18 or so eggs there. I am putting those in the incubator. I have no idea what they will produce. My commercial buyer contacted me today and asked if I had any birds for her this time of year. Could solve some problems there.
I just need to sell some of these cochins and brahmas for breeders. They are too nice to butcher.

 

[chicken danz]

Hawkeye-I have no idea why you are having trouble with posting or editing being slow. I haven't noticed that mine is slow at all, and believe me, since I am no computer guru, if anyone is going to have problems with a computer it is me! Thankfully my DH can fix just about anything that goes wrong with it. That's probably why I haven't bothered to learn any more about it than I have.

I am a "junker" from the get-go and I tend to collect way more stuff than I need.

Speaking of which.... I think I am going crazy. I thought I had picked up an old delapidated sideboard at an auction that I was going to convert into a brooder. Either I am dreaming or the thing is lost. I have been out looking for it and there seems to be no such thing sitting around out there. So I guess I need to get a different idea. I have stock tanks that I have used in the past, but I just hate cleaning those things. I feel like I have to stand on my head to do it. I'd like to get my brooders so they have wire bottoms that the poop would fall through. It's not so necessary when they are small, but as they get older it sure is nice and easier to clean out from under the brooder rather than in it. I've got several ideas of what I can do, but like I said, I need to pare down so I don't want to buy something else to build it. I guess I could build a stand to raise the tanks up and then cut the sides down so they wouldn't be so deep. That would be better, but I stillwouldn't have the wire bottom I would like. Hmmm. I guess I could cut the whole bottom out of the tank and then build a frame with a wire top on it that I could just set the tank on. I don't know. I guess I am just thinking as I type here. Never mind my rambling.
Ivy there we go again. Same old similarities. I know you had a sideboard you were going to make into a brooder, or you've been dreaming for a long time. I also know I have two cans of deck paint around here too that I can't find. I just blew another afternoon looking for then. I want to get that trailer floor painted.

 

[Ivywoods]

OMG, Danz!

I I know where your paint is! It ran off with my sideboard!

Now I know you have had a week from hel* there, but it sounds like things are improving. No REAL pressure here, but if Marshmallow is starting to go out a little more maybe it's time for some puppy pictures?