Consolidated Kansas

[Deerfield Acres]

Trish --- How did I miss the part about bunnies? I want to get a bunny, just one, this year. What kind will you have?

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Ivy - I hope they find the problem your DH is having and get it solved quickly.

The hen is still doing ok this evening. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

I found the first goose egg of the season today also.

cherwill - If you are interested in doing some knitting that does not use knitting needles, you could check out "loom knitting". It uses the looms and some people like it a lot better than needle knitting. It is easier on hands that hurt with repetitive motion, etc. I have some of the looms and am only doing so-so with it. I find it faster to crochet, but with the old arthritis getting worse, the looms do have some merit. There are some really nice patterns and things that you can make with the looms. I need to spend more time working with them.

Oops, I forgot to say how much I enjoy hearing about the crocheters on board. I used to do a LOT of cross stitching but haven't done any in several years. Then I started doing a lot of crochet after my Grandma died. When she was in a facility to recover from a bone break, she always had a lap robe over her lap and legs. I'd never heard of a lap robe, but I guess a number of older ladies would crochet, knit and sew these very small blankets to put over the legs of the patients in wheelchairs. After Grandma died, I made a whole bunch of lap robes (Granny Squares, so very easy) and gave them to a local nursing home. Then I crocheted a stuffed Tigger for my niece and pretty much quit because I was burned out on it. Maybe I'll take it up again. I've tried knitting, but apparently it's beyond my ability. I always end up with a bunch of stuff on the needle that's so tight I can't budge it.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Only have a minute-- Ivy, I'll be praying!!

 

[rittert3]

Ivy- I'll be keeping you and your DH in my thoughts and I hope they figure out what is going on and get it corrected.

Danz- I'm sorry to hear about you brooder bulbs, it's to bad you couldn't set something up with a pet shop. It maybe worth looking into. If nothing else it might be able to help with gas when you have to go into Topeka.

Hawkeye- Here are a couple links that might help if you are interested in OEGB. The reason for the dubbing is tradition of the breed, they were bred down from a LF fighting type breed (LF OEG). I do agree that they look better with their comb, although in some large combed breeds it can help prevent sterile roosters due to frozen comb.

http://secuservices.com/ideal/newideal/Products.aspx?Category=Bantams - Old English

http://www.bantychicken.com/cgi-bin/OEGBCA/index.cgi?action=forum

They really are neat little birds with big personalities, and like Ivy said don't take up much space. My 3 stay in a 2'x3' rabbit cage a night and on cold/nasty days and act really comfortable. On nice days I let them out in a 14'x14' covered run with a dog house type shelter and they almost act like they prefer the tighter space, although they do enjoy scratching around and inspecting little bit of whatever they find.

 

[WichitaKidd]

Spent some time this evening figuring out material costs for a hoop "run". By my rough estimate to build a 6'x20' run would cost right around $200-$250 in materials. The cattle panels are 4'x16' & are surprisingly cheap; $18.79 at TSC. Most expensive item to buy is the 1/2" hardware cloth. I saved some costs by using regular poultry wire on the top half of the run & 1/2" hardware cloth along the sides. Adding a tarp over part of the run for shade/cover adds another $30-$120 depending on what kind of tarp you buy. TSC has a heavy black tarp that would cover roughly half of the run for $45. Enclosed both ends with a simple framed 2x4 wall cover with OSB plywood with a small door in one end. Even looked at putting wheels to the run so I could roll it around to different places in the back yard. Going to spend sometime this weekend working up my design in SketchUp so I can getter a better idea of exact material list. At first glance though, this might be an option I really have to consider.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Spent some time this evening figuring out material costs for a hoop "run". By my rough estimate to build a 6'x20' run would cost right around $200-$250 in materials. The cattle panels are 4'x16' & are surprisingly cheap; $18.79 at TSC. Most expensive item to buy is the 1/2" hardware cloth. I saved some costs by using regular poultry wire on the top half of the run & 1/2" hardware cloth along the sides. Adding a tarp over part of the run for shade/cover adds another $30-$120 depending on what kind of tarp you buy. TSC has a heavy black tarp that would cover roughly half of the run for $45. Enclosed both ends with a simple framed 2x4 wall cover with OSB plywood with a small door in one end. Even looked at putting wheels to the run so I could roll it around to different places in the back yard. Going to spend sometime this weekend working up my design in SketchUp so I can getter a better idea of exact material list. At first glance though, this might be an option I really have to consider.

WichitaKidd, check with Atwoods for your supplies instead of TSC. Atwoods is MUCH cheaper! I just bought a tarp that fits over my 12X10 dog run-- and it cost me $10! No joke. I can't imagine buying a tarp for $45! Wow! Possibly Atwoods has something that expensive, but in my experience, they are always cheaper enough to be worth it to buy there instead. I know for a fact that their hardware cloth is cheaper. Actually-- Orschlens is the cheapest on hardware cloth-- but that might be quite a drive for you. The one I go to is in Wellington. That's not too far from me, though.

Thanks, Ritter-- I'll check that out later on when I've got some more time! The OEG's are much prettier with their combs. I love big combs, anyway.

 

[HEChicken]

I can't imagine buying a tarp for $45! Wow!

There are different grades of tarp so that would account for the price difference. I have bought the cheapo ones from Walmart and for some purposes they work just fine, but for other applications you are better spending the extra money to get one that is thicker, heavier and will withstand weather far better. In the long run, especially when it gets a lot of weather exposure, you may be better off getting the more expensive one and replacing it less often.

 

[HEChicken]

Spent some time this evening figuring out material costs for a hoop "run". By my rough estimate to build a 6'x20' run would cost right around $200-$250 in materials. The cattle panels are 4'x16' & are surprisingly cheap; $18.79 at TSC. Most expensive item to buy is the 1/2" hardware cloth. I saved some costs by using regular poultry wire on the top half of the run & 1/2" hardware cloth along the sides. Adding a tarp over part of the run for shade/cover adds another $30-$120 depending on what kind of tarp you buy. TSC has a heavy black tarp that would cover roughly half of the run for $45. Enclosed both ends with a simple framed 2x4 wall cover with OSB plywood with a small door in one end. Even looked at putting wheels to the run so I could roll it around to different places in the back yard. Going to spend sometime this weekend working up my design in SketchUp so I can getter a better idea of exact material list. At first glance though, this might be an option I really have to consider.

Sounds very interesting - is there a way to share your SketchUp design after you've worked it out? I've been playing with SketchUp quite a bit and learning a few tips and tricks. I did find it very useful last night for figuring out how many sheets of 3/4" plywood I would need for the floor of my coop - just put in the dimensions of the floor, created a 4x8 rectangle and placed it, and so on until I had my floor done.

If you are shopping for supplies like cattle panels and hardware cloth, also consider Lowes & Menards, along with TSC, Atwoods and Orschelns. Those type of supplies are available so many places that it pays to shop around. I was in Menards yesterday pricing materials and I wanna say that a 50' roll of 4' 1/2" hardware cloth was $41 but don't quote me on it. That wasn't a specific item I was shopping for so I noticed it but didn't write down the price/dimensions as I did for the other items. I keep a memo in my phone, and when I am passing a store and have time, I run in to check pricing on things, so I can later compare and decide what to buy where.

 

[checoukan]

Three new baby rosecombs this morning!

 

[Ivywoods]

Three new baby rosecombs this morning!

AW! I'm jealous. You know I lost one of my little rosecomb chicks. I only have 2 now and my one little hen has stopped laying. I hope she starts in again soon. I did have another wheaten ameraucana chick hatched and a marans pipping. The marans chick SHOULD have hatched almost a week ago! I can't believe how long they take sometimes. They seem to be very unpredictable.

DH going to the DR. today. We are packing and getting ready to go back to Topeka because I am relatively sure that is where we are going to end up today. The friend from work that helps us with our chores when we are not here broke his foot yesterday. He came out this morning to help Mike, and he couldn't walk on it at all! He brought another friend from work and he helped Mike with the chores this morning. It's always something.