Consolidated Kansas

[checoukan]

IVY, I took a couple pics of Blackie while I was out there, it was cold & he wasn't too cooperative so they're not the best, but you can maybe get a better idea about him than the other pics I had.



You can see the igloo dog house in there that the dogs will eventually need, but for now these guys need it. You can see the two Lavender girls in front of Blackie.

Trish--is this one of Ivy's rooster's? I sure hope I can get some black pullets from her. She left the lavendar rooster here with me, and he does not have any girls! One lonely boy for sure, he did turn out to be just beautiful!!!

 

[Trish44]

tweety, thanks, I used to have quite a few rabbits years ago when I had an indoor place to keep them. I had an old horse shed that I used one stall to hang cages in there & it worked great, but I don't have a place here like that unless I would go to the trouble & work to close in the front of our big horse barn here. DH & his ex built a 3 sided horse barn, but it's pretty tall & would be some work to build a front for it. Besides, it's a ways from the house & water, so it would be kind of a hassle to use it. I asked him why he faced it the direction he did & he didn't really know. I have wished it was a little closer up & faced towards the house instead of away. There is a fence there too that you have to walk all the way around to get there. If I ever use it I will have to put a gate beside it so I don't have to walk the whole way around. I would just rather build my breeder coop for the chickens up close where I don't have to walk so far & water is near & electricity. That is another factor too since there is no electricity to that horse barn. Anyway, back to the rabbits, yeah a friend of mine has gotten me started on rabbits again. She has been buying some & selling the extras she doesn't need since she has gotten deals where they're cheaper if she buys more. When I went down there this last time I went with the total intention of buying a whole different breed from her than I came back with. I kept looking at these little babies with the spots & they're so darned cute I just had to bring 2 home. I knew that I was saving their lives because if I didn't buy them from her they would have been snake food & I couldn't stand the thought of that. I'm too much of an animal lover, but I really don't like snakes. I told her I don't see how she can stand to feed those poor rabbits to that snake knowing how much she likes animals. She told me she has to throw it in there & walk away clear out of the house because she can't stand the screams. There is not too much worse than hearing a rabbit scream if you have ever heard one. My cats got a baby rabbit last summer & I got it away from them after hearing it scream like that & I tried to save it but the shock was too much for the poor little thing. I hope to get 2 more babies this weekend if DH will let me run to get them while we're down seeing his family. He thinks I'm totally nuts already, so he shouldn't be surprised at anything.

 

[Trish44]

Oh, hey Hawkeye, I have been meaning to ask you what kind of material you used for the wood part on the outside of your coop & the floor. I am watching for scraps of things to use & kind of need to know what to watch for. My friend told me she would help me build the coop if she had someone to watch her baby for her. Darn, I'll bet we could do it too, but I don't know of any handy babysitters nearby.

 

[rittert3]

checoukan- My birds are in a 3'w x2'd x18"h rabbit cage in a shed that stays a little warmer ~30-60 so far. The water did freeze in there last night and today, but does keep the wind off of them. I've also been carrying them out to a 12x10 run when it's over 40 out hoping that some sunshine and fresh air would get them acclimated. They aren't incredibly tame birds and have been raised as livestock (not pets) and I've had to handle them pretty extensively, and at times roughly, the last couple days so I imagine they're under a little stress even though they act really content as soon as I put them down. I guess lower egg production just comes with the breed I'm hoping to get 6 a week between the 2 hens later this spring I may but a 3rd hen if I can't.

 

[checoukan]

checoukan- My birds are in a 3'w x2'd x18"h rabbit cage in a shed that stays a little warmer ~30-60 so far. The water did freeze in there last night and today, but does keep the wind off of them. I've also been carrying them out to a 12x10 run when it's over 40 out hoping that some sunshine and fresh air would get them acclimated. They aren't incredibly tame birds and have been raised as livestock (not pets) and I've had to handle them pretty extensively, and at times roughly, the last couple days so I imagine they're under a little stress even though they act really content as soon as I put them down. I guess lower egg production just comes with the breed I'm hoping to get 6 a week between the 2 hens later this spring I may but a 3rd hen if I can't.

Are the females hen's, or pullets. If they are hens, you will have a better chance of getting that many eggs a week. But, if you heart is set on that many eggs, you really might consider getting one more female. I used to only have trio's, but now, I only work with quads. Just seems faster working towards goals.

 

[rittert3]

I'm not really working toward a goal with this bunch, just something to pass the time. But I'd like to sell a few hatching eggs and chicks before I get rid of them late spring-early this summer. My buddy that sold them to me said that the hens are about a year old and the roo is about 2. One hen looks a little older, shes a little bigger overall and is showing a little wear and tear. I am battling the after effects of leg mites on the roo and 1 hen so that may be an issue too. I've been dipping their legs in veggie oil every other day and I dusted them with poultry dust yesterday.

 

[checoukan]

I'm not really working toward a goal with this bunch, just something to pass the time. But I'd like to sell a few hatching eggs and chicks before I get rid of them late spring-early this summer. My buddy that sold them to me said that the hens are about a year old and the roo is about 2. One hen looks a little older, shes a little bigger overall and is showing a little wear and tear. I am battling the after effects of leg mites on the roo and 1 hen so that may be an issue too. I've been dipping their legs in veggie oil every other day and I dusted them with poultry dust yesterday.

Its gonna take time to get the legs back into good condition. If the scales of the legs are raised up, its going to take time for the bird to shed those so the new ones can surface. Can't remember how long it takes. Seem like for ever.

 

[rittert3]

I'm starting to see that they arn't looking as swolen and sore but the 2 still have those raised scales.

 

[Ivywoods]

Hi Everyone!

DH had some tests today. They didn't see anything significant so far. Sure makes me wonder

. We will get the results of some of the rest of the tests HOPEFULLY later this week. I sure don't want to go through the weekend wondering about it.

Checoukan-Hope you get some rosecombs today.

So far I haven't hatched any.

The last one that SHOULD have hatched I looked at it with the flashlight and it looked like it quit somewhere early in the incubation process. I believe it was fertile, though. Trish's black rooster is NOT from me. It is from Jean RIbbicks lines, though. She got him near Wichita. He looks pretty nice. At first I thought it looked like he had a pretty bad squirrel tail, but it doesn't appear to be so bad in these pictures here. He should be happy with those lavender girls.

Danz-OH NO! I hope Marshmallow is okay!

Let us know how she is doing, okay? Gosh, she sure has had trouble with these litters. Such a good momma, but it's not good that it takes so much out of her. I'm sure you are worried sick about her.

Rittert-My OE's are not laying at all right now. TIncture of time and sunlight and they will start.

Trish-Oh, those bunnies are so cute.

I've never wanted to raise rabbits. My older sister did when we were younger and we butchered quite a few to eat. I think I get to attached to them to be able to do that, so I just tend to stay away from them. They are just too cute for words!

Sharol-Are there ever enough pictures on this thread? I can't wait to see pics of Marshmallows babies, but right now I guess it is most important to make sure Marshmallow is doing okay. I could do a google search of images for great pyrenees puppies to get my "puppy fix" but I still want to see the others.

After all, I do intend to bring one home with me.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Trish, those bunnies are so stinkin' adorable!!! I love those! I've seen ones that look just like them at the state fair, but their eye "liner" looked more fine. Perhaps they will grow into that? The ones I saw-- it looked like someone had perfectly drawn on eye liner on each bunny. They were spectacular! I'm a bunny lover, too. Your story about the lady that feeds her snake.. yuck. That just made me sick and I am not a fan of snakes. I'd never feed one. I mean, I'm not scared of snakes-- I pick them up and show my kids snakes -- but I'd never want to keep one that was big enough to eat a rabbit. I've had little bitty snakes before-- the kind that eat crickets. If they need more than that, I don't want anything to do with them. Your cages look great. I see your problem with the free cage. There is no way to fit a tray under it because the legs are in the way. I guess if you wanted a sliding tray, you'll have to lift the cage up and build a tray system where the cage rests now and then build another seat for the cage above that. I would be some work, but wouldn't take much wood, especially if you ripped 2X4's to do it. You were asking what I built my coop with? The entire frame (except for the wall studs) are made of treated 2X4 lumber. THEN I used ( I think it was either 1 inch or 3/4) for the floor of OSB plywood. It was really thick. I believe it cost me about $8-$12 (??) a sheet from Lowes. Then I used the $5 OSB at Lowes (blue painted edges) to be screwed into my studs. That was thinner, and easier to cut and work with. OH! But before I laid down that thick OSB subflooring-- I painted both sides with Porch paint from WalMart so that the underside and top side would be better protected. Then I laid the Vinyl over that. The floor is well protected with paint and vinyl. The siding is just Masonite siding. Not the cement board-- but we did buy the pre-primered Masonite boards. We painted them before we cut them or hung them. Then the entire board was painted and the over lap of the boards-- there will be no worry about them not being painted. But we also ran caulk in all the gaps, too. It was a pretty easy installation. You could also work with the T1-11 board too-- that is a cheaper type of siding. We looked at it, but it has a very bad tendency to warp and rot IF you don't paint it out really well. I think you could use it fine if you primed and painted it well. I didn't have a problem with using the T1-11, however my DH decided he wanted the coop to look like the house. BTW-- those Lavendars are beautiful! Such a pretty color!

Checoukan, love the new avatar! Looks like your DH got a really big buck! Do you all dress them yourselves or take them in to be done? My family has always done everything themselves. But I just don't think I could do that. I've watched and that's about it. Watched my dad skin rabbits too that he shot. He used to take us hunting, but I couldn't handle seeing rabbits killed. The deer was never an issue for me, though.

Danz, not good that Marshmallow is once again feeling yucky. Not good. I wonder if she didn't have the antibiotics long enough? Perhaps another round? She could have had an infection that almost went away and then came back again. She may be running a temperature and in that case may not feel like getting up to eat. Poor girl. I hope she comes out of it for you.

Ivy, glad to hear your DH got the testing done. I would NOT be convinced that the tests showed nothing. I'd be seeking a better Dr and better equipment. The thallium/CAT scan I had done a while back-- they had a brand new machine that they said did a MUCH better job and it was an open tube. You just layed there and the scanner went around your body on rails. You had to hold still and not breathe when they told you too-- but I was impressed with the new technology. Well, I will hope they did find something so they can work to treat it.

Well, all of my birds all went inside last night. It is really hit and miss with them. Mostly miss. I let the crazy Wyandotte back into the coop because she was tearing up my cage-- throwing out chips and making a huge mess. She hasn't seemed to mess with little Cocoa again. Fingers Crossed.