Consolidated Kansas

[JosieChick]

Tweety- Those chicks look very tame and sweet, I bet they will grow up to be big, pesky love bugs!

Our day started out rough today. The mail lady stopped by at 10 with a package that was my new used saddle for my walking horse mare and I unpacked it and hung it on the porch railing. DH came downstairs and I said "Oh, come out and see the saddle, it just came in the mail." He said he wanted to get a cup of coffee first and I said just come out real quick and look at it and then grab a cup of coffee. Well, thank heavens we went out to look at the saddle. We were looking at it on the railing and I heard the geese start carrying on in the back pasture so I looked up a coyote was jumping around on top of my gander!!!! So I start screaming and run down the stairs, grab a shovel, kick my slippers off and start running as fast as my legs can carry me through the wet muck with DH in hot pursuit. So I am yelling at the top of my lungs which scares the coyote who grabs the gander by the neck and starts dragging him up the hill. Fortunately he got to the back fence line and couldn't get through the fence with the gander in his mouth so he panicked and dropped him and poor Sebastian comes running as fast as his big orange feet could carry him right into my arms. DH scared the coyote away who was still trying to decide if he should come back after his goose dinner.

Poor boy had a punctured air sac so we called all around looking for a vet that would see him and Town and Country Animal Hospital in Louisburg (who is our horses veterinarian) said they could see him so we packed him and Sybil his goose up in the back of the jeep and he got some sutures and pain meds and antibiotics and is home recovering. They took wonderful care of him at Town and Country and I am so glad he is going to be ok. Guess we are in the market for a gun now and this coyote better not come back. The geese are in a pen with electric fence but I let them free range when we are home but I don't let them out til mid morning to avoid any nocturnal predators that might be winding down for the day.

If anyone has info on livestock guardian dogs we are thinking that might not be a bad idea. We have talked about using portable electric pens to free range the birds but I am worried that may not be practical and a dog might be a better investment.

A big, big thank you to Renee for getting back to us so quick because I knew she had a great chicken vet in Lawrence but couldn't remember their name.

 

[ChooksChick]

Danz, I'm trying to sex my Ameraucanas. One bird, the one who is usually very friendly and comes to me first, has a slightly larger comb and it's starting to turn red. The others aren't. I guess that one bird could be a little older, though we got them all at the same time. This is the best picture I could get today, but you can see that bird's comb on the left. I'll try to get better pictures tomorrow if that will help.

My general rule for Ameraucanas and Easter Eggers is that if you can see any red in the comb prior to point of lay, it's a roo. I never see any comb color or development prior to that with my girls, but it may just be my lines.

Tweety- Those chicks look very tame and sweet, I bet they will grow up to be big, pesky love bugs!

Our day started out rough today. The mail lady stopped by at 10 with a package that was my new used saddle for my walking horse mare and I unpacked it and hung it on the porch railing. DH came downstairs and I said "Oh, come out and see the saddle, it just came in the mail." He said he wanted to get a cup of coffee first and I said just come out real quick and look at it and then grab a cup of coffee. Well, thank heavens we went out to look at the saddle. We were looking at it on the railing and I heard the geese start carrying on in the back pasture so I looked up a coyote was jumping around on top of my gander!!!! So I start screaming and run down the stairs, grab a shovel, kick my slippers off and start running as fast as my legs can carry me through the wet muck with DH in hot pursuit. So I am yelling at the top of my lungs which scares the coyote who grabs the gander by the neck and starts dragging him up the hill. Fortunately he got to the back fence line and couldn't get through the fence with the gander in his mouth so he panicked and dropped him and poor Sebastian comes running as fast as his big orange feet could carry him right into my arms. DH scared the coyote away who was still trying to decide if he should come back after his goose dinner.

Poor boy had a punctured air sac so we called all around looking for a vet that would see him and Town and Country Animal Hospital in Louisburg (who is our horses veterinarian) said they could see him so we packed him and Sybil his goose up in the back of the jeep and he got some sutures and pain meds and antibiotics and is home recovering. They took wonderful care of him at Town and Country and I am so glad he is going to be ok. Guess we are in the market for a gun now and this coyote better not come back. The geese are in a pen with electric fence but I let them free range when we are home but I don't let them out til mid morning to avoid any nocturnal predators that might be winding down for the day.

If anyone has info on livestock guardian dogs we are thinking that might not be a bad idea. We have talked about using portable electric pens to free range the birds but I am worried that may not be practical and a dog might be a better investment.

A big, big thank you to Renee for getting back to us so quick because I knew she had a great chicken vet in Lawrence but couldn't remember their name.

I'm so glad it all worked out!!! You might check back a few pages, as I think there was a post about LGDs to adopt in a farm site...maybe I'm thinking of another thread. I've had next to zero sleep over the past week and I'm all slap happy and delirious.

Met BamaProud and his lovely wife, who has awesome glasses that I love. They were up visiting KU with their son.

I need to sleep and take lots of zinc...I'm starting to have signs of getting sick.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Tweety- Those chicks look very tame and sweet, I bet they will grow up to be big, pesky love bugs!

Our day started out rough today. The mail lady stopped by at 10 with a package that was my new used saddle for my walking horse mare and I unpacked it and hung it on the porch railing. DH came downstairs and I said "Oh, come out and see the saddle, it just came in the mail." He said he wanted to get a cup of coffee first and I said just come out real quick and look at it and then grab a cup of coffee. Well, thank heavens we went out to look at the saddle. We were looking at it on the railing and I heard the geese start carrying on in the back pasture so I looked up a coyote was jumping around on top of my gander!!!! So I start screaming and run down the stairs, grab a shovel, kick my slippers off and start running as fast as my legs can carry me through the wet muck with DH in hot pursuit. So I am yelling at the top of my lungs which scares the coyote who grabs the gander by the neck and starts dragging him up the hill. Fortunately he got to the back fence line and couldn't get through the fence with the gander in his mouth so he panicked and dropped him and poor Sebastian comes running as fast as his big orange feet could carry him right into my arms. DH scared the coyote away who was still trying to decide if he should come back after his goose dinner.

Poor boy had a punctured air sac so we called all around looking for a vet that would see him and Town and Country Animal Hospital in Louisburg (who is our horses veterinarian) said they could see him so we packed him and Sybil his goose up in the back of the jeep and he got some sutures and pain meds and antibiotics and is home recovering. They took wonderful care of him at Town and Country and I am so glad he is going to be ok. Guess we are in the market for a gun now and this coyote better not come back. The geese are in a pen with electric fence but I let them free range when we are home but I don't let them out til mid morning to avoid any nocturnal predators that might be winding down for the day.

If anyone has info on livestock guardian dogs we are thinking that might not be a bad idea. We have talked about using portable electric pens to free range the birds but I am worried that may not be practical and a dog might be a better investment.

A big, big thank you to Renee for getting back to us so quick because I knew she had a great chicken vet in Lawrence but couldn't remember their name.

oh wow! how scary! perfect timing on your part to save your gander!! I'm glad that Renee was able to help you and locate a good vet for you!! I hope everything turns out ok!

 

[Trish44]

JosieChick, I sent you a PM on here regarding the livestock guardian dogs. I'm sorry to hear about your goose, I hope it's going to be OK. That's a scary thing to happen. We have coyotes all around us at night, we hear them howling really close. I can't wait until my pups get old enough to get out there & work, just a couple more months to go.

tweety, those are some cute chicks, you're going to have them so tame by the time you put them out in their coop.

rvroman, I agree, I think Lilith is a Leroy also.

cherwill, just from that pic I would guess that one chick on the left is a roo. It looks an awful lot like the little roo I had that came free with my chicks I ordered last year. His comb got bigger faster than the others & his legs got really big fast too. He was an Easter Egger roo that I ended up selling to my next door neighbor & both the birds I sold him died over there. He was a pretty rooster.

Well we finally saw the sun here today, yay! I was never so glad to see the sun before. Things are starting to dry out now, so I was able to get out & do some things outside today. I got all of my rabbit cages cleaned & took the tarps off the north & east side of my chicken run today. I'm leaving the one on the west side for shade for them, that is unless I get ambitious & decide to take it all down & put up the shade cloth I bought last year. I eventually want to put up those roofing panels up there, but that will have to wait until later on because I want to start getting materials for my breeder coop first. The tarp can stay on the chicken run for now. It has gotten quite a few holes in it through the winter so now it leaks, but that way the water doesn't just sit up there I guess. My DH has his own ideas I guess about where we should build the coop, so I'm sure that will be a big discussion. I want to keep it closer to the water source, but he wants to put it out in the orchard, but it won't go where he wants to put it, there is an apple tree there I'm not taking down.

Well our car didn't come in this week, disappointing. So I don't know when it will end up coming, probably in the middle of the week next week. My DH wants to take off the day it comes in to take it for a break-in drive, so it would be nice if it comes in closer to the weekend, but we'll take it whenever it gets here. They were supposed to be expediting delivery since we signed the papers on it. Well wish me luck tomorrow, I'm making a trip to Wichita & have to go to TSC, so I hope I don't come home with chicks because I know they got new ones in Weds, we'll see.

 

[rvroman]

Thank you all for pretty much confirming my suspicion. I have never owned chickens and I just kind of got that feeling. She (He) towers over all of my other girlies too. Anybody want an unknown cockerel? I think Rhode Island Red, but I could be wrong. I am going to wait a little longer but I really think I have a leroy on my hands.

I went to At Woods today and picked up some of those dried mealworm treats. I also found some Chick scratch, when should I start adding this and how do I give scratch? I would like to start giving occasional treats so I figured scratch would be a good Idea, especially since they made some for babies!

I keep getting asked how long until chickens start laying, I don't really have a good answer for everybody, so what is a good answer? I really don't care, I like them just fine as they are right now!

Are there any plants I should be weary of when I get my chickens outside? I don't want to accidentally poison them because the plants looked so pretty!

Well I think I have done enough rambling again, have a great night/weekend everybody, finally supposed to get some pretty weather, garden/coop HERE I COME!

 

[Trish44]

rvroman, check your inbox again, I sent you another message. It differs for different breeds as to when they start laying & even individual chickens are different. The average is about 6 months of age, but some lay much later than that like the Ameraucanas. Anyway, you have a few months to wait. Chickens usually won't eat things that are bad for them. I have a few things around my place that they're not supposed to eat & they just don't bother them. They seem to know what is OK for them to eat & what is not. Have fun with your planting this weekend. I've got to get busy on my own garden once it dries out enough. The early stuff should have already been in the ground, but it's been too wet to even work on it.

 

[cherwill]

Chooks and Trish, thanks. I wondered if it might be a roo because it was so friendly. The last really friendly bird I had ended up being a roo, and a vicious one when he matured.

Josie, poor Sebastian! Thank the stars you went out there when you did.

 

[tntblake]

Got the garden almost all filled with dirt, my own mix in some and miracle grow in some. Cant wait to go plant stuff with the boys in the morning. We also had to get fencing to put around the garden because my ding-dong doggies keep digging, laying in and eating our dirt!

Theresa, I got your message I will respond once I get a chance to sit for longer than 5 minutes.

ok guys, what do you think, is lillith maybe a leroy??? That comb seems rather large for a 1-3 week old chick, age unknown, pretty sure she (he?) is about 2ish weeks though.

With those giant feet/legs and that comb that is a definite Leroy!

 

[tntblake]

The bird on the left is a roo. Look at his stance, red comb, and those feet.

Danz, I'm trying to sex my Ameraucanas. One bird, the one who is usually very friendly and comes to me first, has a slightly larger comb and it's starting to turn red. The others aren't. I guess that one bird could be a little older, though we got them all at the same time. This is the best picture I could get today, but you can see that bird's comb on the left. I'll try to get better pictures tomorrow if that will help.

 

[sapphireblu76]

I got 4 banties when I got my chicks last week...I think one of them is not like the others, lol. It's the same size as my BR's and just as feathered. The real banties are about half their size and just as feathered. I'm thinking I got lucky and got a LF White Cochin, instead of a bantam Cochin.

I lost 2 of my chicks this afternoon, out of the 35 I got on the 22nd. One was a fryer, I think the other was one of the EE's.

So very glad the rain has gone for now. My poor chickens are up to their ankles in sandy mud. I need to get some straw or pine shavings thrown in there tomorrow.

I got the ducklings out into a temporary pen. They were just getting too big for the cage in the house. I think they'll be happier out there, anyway. Sarge was super interested in them and wanted to play. He would go up to the fence and sniff at them and try to paw. The ducklings ain't skeered, they nipped him right on his nose! He was much more cautious after that.

Hoping to start my garden this weekend, too. I have been seeing a lot of you talk about "the square foot" gardens. What is that about? I've never heard of it before; think I'll Google it. We have 99% sand out here The garden we planted last year actually did really well for as hot as it was, even without amending the soil (screams 'newbies doesn't it?). The onions, water melon, and jalapenos did very well. The yellow squash threw a couple of fruit, the zucchini gave one or two, and the lettuce, tomatoes, and strawberries bombed hard, as well as the wild Sand Hill Plums that grow EVERYWHERE out here. This time, the soil has been tilled, mixing in compost. Hopefully it will be a milder summer and the garden will do well for us. I do so miss fresh garden tomatoes!

Still haven't heard from Rylko Fence. Guess I'll have to call them Monday and find out what the deal is. I want my fence up!!! We're going with 2" x 4" mesh, 5', welded wire horse fence. Won't stop the birds if they REALLY want out, but with the acreage that's being fenced, I doubt they will want to. I mostly want it to keep the dog off the road and deter predators. Plus, when we're ready to get horses, fence will already be there.

Everybody have a great, dry and productive weekend!