Consolidated Kansas

[Ivywoods]

Welcome back Josie! What cute chicks you have there, and a nice assortment. I hope to be raising some olive eggers later this spring, then I will cross those back to another BCM next year to get even darker olive eggs.

I found a cute picture. Everyone here has heard me talk (over and over!) about my two LGD's, Buddy and Runt. Runt is now BIGGER than Buddy, his Daddy. I found a pic of Runt when he was just a few days old. He was only about 1/3 the size of the other pups.

That's Runt with his head on top of the white pup. Runt is 1 1/2 yrs old, so he has managed to grow a lot in that time. Oh, and all those markings he had are pretty much faded out and you don't notice any color on him unless you look at his undercoat of hair.

 

[Ivywoods]

This is another picture of Runt. He was a tiny one.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Awwww!! Runt was so adorable! He was about the size of my Darwin when we got him at 10 days old - before he grew to 150lbs.

I am finally sitting down for the night. My feet are killing me! I had to clean house and set up for my DD's baby shower tomorrow. She's due in 18 days now and we are pretty sure she's going to pop early. She's already dialated to 2 and is HUGE! Dr said that she's measuring 3 weeks ahead of normal so they'll go ahead and let her deliver if she goes into labor.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hi all,
I posted on here ages ago when I was new to BYC and never subscribed to the thread! I lived in Wichita but am in Rantoul now with my chickens who are greatly enjoying being country girls. Here are a few pics of my recent babies from Chookschick.

Sorry for all the pics but I need her help with color identification on the babies!

Orps





And the one silkie and one olive egger

Welcome back to the thread then! Adorable chicks you have!! oh-- never apologize for lots of pictures-- LOVE pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope Renee can tell you what you have. Never heard of Rantoul, where is that?

 

[WichitaKidd]

Wichitakid- My completely unscientific/quick sexing method is the "screams like a little girl" test. The ones that start shrieking and carrying on like they're dying when all you do is pick them up. The drama queens. Those always turn out to be my boys.

Based on this 'highly scientific' method, then I know I have at least 1 little roo. They all throw a fit when I pick them up, but I have 1 that just doesn't stop screaming until I put it back down. The rest calm down fairly quick. Either way, the "screams like a girl" sexing method needs to go into the chickiewiki!

WichitaKidd-- I'd say the odds are VERY high on getting a lot of roosters with your straight run. If you can't have roosters, it probably would have been worth your while to buy the pullets.. Oh-- I remember you said they weren't what you wanted.. there are chicks being sold at Orschelns, Woodard Mercantile, Atwoods, TSC.. might have something you want there. Lots of selection. Our coop (grain elevator) even has chicks! BTW-- I bought only TWO straight run silkies last year from Atwoods... this year, the both of them just learned how to crow. Sigh. I was hoping for at least ONE cute little egg layer. I'm not sure I'm going to keep them or not. It's no biggie to have roosters out here for me, but I just don't know if I want my layers harassed by two little silkie cockerels high on hormones.

I'm quickly learning that 'straight run' might as well mean 'all male'. Going to keep these first 4 & wait until the other 6 I ordered online arrive in a few weeks. If anything, it's been good practice & I just need to be more patient. Trying NOT to go anywhere they have chicks for sale just so I don't buy any more right now.

David, feather sexing on the wings only works within a couple hours of when chicks are hatched and only works on specific breeds. I've tried a lot of different sexing methods but just haven't had that much luck with it being accurate other than color link sexing in breeds you can do that with. Most breeds I can tell by 3-6 weeks what they are. Others they can be pretty much full grown before I can tell. I have a couple pullets crow before I realized I was wrong.

Good to know. Feather sexing seems to be the most common method I've read about. I was being optomistic knowing the chicks were only a few days old that this would actually work.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye, yeah there were at least two big cages of really sick birds at that sale in Yates Center. I honestly couldn't believe they even brought them there in that condition & that the people running the sale let them stay. Who would be crazy enough to buy birds in that condition anyway? My little hen seemed perfectly healthy when I bought her, but she has been really stressed from the traveling to the sale & then home with me 2 hours in the car. Then she's been in a crate since last weekend too. I eventually want to put her in a more open pen to introduce her to my other chickens, but not until I'm sure she's well. She doesn't have any discharge from her eyes or nose or anything like that, just the wheezy sounding breathing, so maybe if I treat her early she will get over it, hopefully anyway. She is a really nice little hen & I would like to be able to integrate her into my flock eventually.

Trish, how is your hen doing today? Glad she doesn't have any other symptoms. Hope she feels better soon!

I've been trying to do income tax and can't get a fricking answer to a tax question. Free HRBlock my butt.
I've just wasted 3 hours and gotten no where! Grrrr!

So sorry about the taxes! Sounds like a very frustrating day for you. I'd be about livid about that.

Here's the link to the Kansas scorecard. http://kansas4h.org/p.aspx?tabid=67 Not sure where the 50's book thing is at, sorry. Ours and many others I've seen, we recommend the kids dress nice and neat, hair back, but don't require the lab coats. We don't have a table set up w/or without a cage. That is observed as each kid takes their bird in and out of their show cage. We don't have the kids walk the birds. Rarely do you see a judging stick and no positioning. The bird never leaves the kids' hands. Now keep in mind, we are also outside in a park next to a zoo and wooded area and so long as we are, I'll fight to not change that. A loose bird makes for a bad situation.



I don't remember everything DS told me, and it was done individually in a separate place, also not something we're used to, but I saw kids dressed for a wedding, wearing lab coats, many covered in patches, with judging sticks, some wearing safety glasses, carrying birds many adult breeders would be thrilled to have.....

My kids joined the youth ABA-APA. Here's a link to the educational info including showmanship checklists by age group. http://www.apa-abayouthpoultryclub.org/educational_material.htm We also recently had an email saying questions about NPIP could be asked and kids needed to be familiar with it as well. Different levels for different age groups, but there's quite a bit expected I'm sure many adults would need to look up.

Thanks for the links-- I'll check that out here when I get some time today! I have to run into town this morning to pick up the cake for tomorrow. I really appreciate all the help!! I think we are really going to enjoy this.

Guess what tomorrow is? Did you guess?



It is hatcher time on the pea eggs!!!!!! I will candle them again when I move them over and let you know.

good luck with your hatch!

 

[ChooksChick]

Lovely group! I'm sorry your other Silkies didn't make it. I have a lot of chicks if you want a pal for that one!

 

[Hawkeye95]

This is another picture of Runt. He was a tiny one.

OMGosh!!! He is the cutest thing ever!! Amazing that he still turned out to be such a big boy, too!! Never would have guessed. I love puppies.

 

[Marty1876]

Ivy woods - Cute puppy

 

[chicken danz]

Danz-My hatcher trays are the ones that came in it. I don't have pics. I have tops on them. The tops are made of lightweight screen that I cut and laid on top of the trays. There wasn't enough room between the sides of the trays and the hatcher walls to put "edges" or lips on the lids so they would fit on securely. I belileve the trays are about 2" deep, but I haven't measured them. I put some linoleum down in the bottom to keep the shell pieces and dust more contained, and then since that was slick, I put some thick, rough paper down in the bottom that is about the size of a napkin. I'm wondering if maybe I should just take all that stuff out and not worry about the mess until I clean out the whole tray. I bought some of that drawer or shelf liner that is some kind of plastic and has a woven like texture. I'm thinking maybe I will take the other stuff out and then just use the drawer liner stuff, and if that doesn't work I might just take it all out and just let them be on the wire in the bottom of the trays.

Yeah just use the shelf liner in the bottom of the hatcher. It's easy to clean. Just rinse it out, run it through the washer or whatever. You can cut extras to use while you are cleaning another. I have the same trays but I don't use anything on the bottom of the trays and I don't use lids. Sometimes the chicks will jump ship to the bottom but it doesn't hurt them. I have a cake pan with clay pot pieces in the bottom for added humidity and use one of those metal covers over it to keep the chicks form getting into it. the chicks can still run under that wire and move around down there if they want, but they are normally up at the front looking out the door. (I have a full view door on the hatcher.)