Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

Hawkeye, it sounds to me like you have more of a kid problem than an incubator problem. The Brinsea is pretty fool proof I think. I have been able to keep my humidity pretty stable with just adjusting that little vent on the front. I never messed with my temp control at all on mine & it stays a a fairly stable temp. It varies a little when it tilts, but other than that it stays about the same. I saw some partridge silkies on the Poultry Swap & thought of you. I'll bet those are pretty.

Josie, I agree Great Pyrenees hate being on chains, I can tell you that because I was trying to teach my pups not to go into my chicken run & coop because they have acquired a taste for eggs & I tried putting one of them out in the yard on a chain & she was really upset about it. I would just confine her to the barn for awhile until she gets used to her new surroundings & you. I have one GP that is very shy & reserved & the other one is just a clown, she is a character, but neither of them is really trusting of strangers.

This morning DH said when he went outside that the pups were checking out the kittens, just sniffing them & the momma cat was just sitting there watching them, so I guess she knew they wouldn't hurt them. I told him that animals have a sense of those things.

Danz, thanks for the advice on the eggs, that will save me a lot of money not to pay that overnight shipping. This guy sells a lot of eggs on eBay, so surely he packs them really well. I looked at his feedback like I always do on there & people said their eggs arrived unbroken, so we'll see.

 

[chicken danz]

I couldn't put my dogs on a chain. They are just too free spirited for that. My male will handle a leash but my female goes crazy even on that. I intend to leash train my pup. I put a harness on her to get used to it first then I will move to a collar. Josie is this the dog I saw listed at LeRoy? She is a good looking girl if that is her.
I really hate shipped eggs because there is so much that can happen. But if they aren't drop kicked and they arrive in a timely manner this is the perfect time of year to have them shipped.
I had to laugh at Chopper this morning. My cats have a toy box. They have many small stuffed animals that they like to bring me. They do it as offerings I guess since we don't try to keep mice in the house!

Anyway Chopper has a fondness for these stuff animals as well. He is always picking on them and moving them around. This morning he had a stuffed Daffy duck he was playing with. I tried to get his picture but as soon as he saw me he came running. What a dumb duck he is! His head and some of his spots are getting really black. I was hoping he would stay light gray.

 

[Ivywoods]

Hawkeye- the website for Sper Scientific is www.sperdirect.com if you are interested.

Danz-I'm glad you mentioned that. We haven't tried to collar or leash train Britt. I think we better do that. She is doing great. Sometimes she is so funny. We had her in the house last night briefly. She finds the coolest place on the floor and flops down with a big ker-plop. Then she lays there and looks up at you with that beautiful face and eyes that remind me of a baby seal. So pretty.

I guess you can tell we like her.

 

[honeycreek]

Yes, I was - still am, I guess, although nothing ever seems to happen there.

Naola,

Are you on, or were you on the Kansas Garden or Haysville Garden News on I think yahoo?

 

[honeycreek]

The one with the most red on her still had a lot of black. I don't think she was a RIR or NHR, I've had those before.

Hard to tell with the picture. All I saw was red.

I think it is a rose comb, I am new to all of this though, so I can't be certain. It looks like a circle of combiness. I think he/she is a RIR. Why would it be different if it is a rose comb?

I asked because it looked like how a rose comb develops. I'm not saying it indicates sex/gender, just that it looked suspiciously like a rose comb.

 

[honeycreek]

I had a GP/Anatolian mix once, and all the GP breeders/owners I've ever come in contact with have a saying about the GP dogs. A Great Pyr without a fence is a disappear.

Ivy- I am actually going on Friday to look at a female Pyr. She is a bit older but sounds perfect for what we need and I am hoping that if we can get a dog that has been doing this for a while that we can then get a pup to help her and she can help me teach the pup.

Does anyone have suggestions for helping her hang around if it works out and I bring her home? Should I pen her up for several days so she knows where home is?

 

[Ivywoods]

Josie-Danz mentioned Leroy, so I looked that up on craislist. If that dog is the one you are going to look at Friday, you should be getting on that like a chicken on a june bug. She looks good. I wouldn't hesitate to get that dog and get her used to your place. Once she is settled then think about getting a pup to put with her. She will help train the pup. (you don't have to mention that part to your DH....yet.)

The reason I say that is because sometimes your larger breeds of dogs don't live much past 10 years old. I really don't know what the life expectancy of a great pyrenees is. It might be more than that.

 

[honeycreek]

Yes. I've ordered many hatching eggs over the years and having them sent regular priority mail is fine. Just be careful when opening the box. I just got 9 giant dewlap toulouse eggs shipped about 2 to 3 weeks ago, and one of the bottom eggs had gotten broken. There was a bit of a mess in the box.

Has anyone had any experience with shipped hatching eggs? I'm getting some & just wondering if I should have them sent priority mail or just eat the cost & have them sent overnight. What does everyone think. It's really expensive to do the overnight, it's $40, just for shipping, Oh & they're coming from California.

 

[chicken danz]

Hawkeye- the website for Sper Scientific is www.sperdirect.com if you are interested.

Danz-I'm glad you mentioned that. We haven't tried to collar or leash train Britt. I think we better do that. She is doing great. Sometimes she is so funny. We had her in the house last night briefly. She finds the coolest place on the floor and flops down with a big ker-plop. Then she lays there and looks up at you with that beautiful face and eyes that remind me of a baby seal. So pretty.

I guess you can tell we like her.

I am loving my still unnamed puppy. She is such a sweetheart. I am so tickled I chose such an adorable one to keep. Marshmallow has been training her bit by bit but she seems to like hanging around with her daddy. She's a kisser. Always smiling and giving those licks of approval. I can barely walk outside any more because I have a dog on each side and one underfoot. My girl is going to be a much bigger dog than Marshmallow. She is a chunk.

Honeycreek,
Quote: I had a GP/Anatolian mix once, and all the GP breeders/owners I've ever come in contact with have a saying about the GP dogs. A Great Pyr without a fence is a disappear.
I've had my pyrs for a few years now and know several other people that own them. I don't agree with that statement at all. Pyrs need something to bond to and watch and I guess if they were left in a yard with no one or no animals to bond to they might wander off. But the breed is very territorial and they will stay in their area and watch their goats, chickens, or what have you. My male pup used to get side tracked and follow the road maintainer when he was young, but he always came back home. He doesn't do that now that he is more mature.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye-A friend of mine was at the show this weekend. Cody. He had some bantam partridge wyandottes, not in show condition but straight out of the breeder pen. If you are absolutely sure your brinsea is keeping good temps and humidity (Checked with multiple thermometers) then your problem very well may be kid problems. I sure DON"T want to blame them if they are not the problem, though. It's supposed to be a fun project for them, too. Another thought might be temp spikes. I bought a thermometer that keeps track of current temp as well as any highs and lows between the times you check it. It's pretty nice, accurate and reads very quickly. I ordered it from "Sper Scientific." They sell a lot of different ones, so you would just have to cruise their website to find what you want. I think I paid about $28. for mine.

Josie-GP's HATE, I mean HATE being chained up. If this is an older female she might not be so apt to jump the fence, but do keep her penned up with your goats. It sounds like she is already socialized to people so she should be easier to move than some. There are people who do not socialize their GP's at all, and it makes the moving process almost impossible. What Danz said is spot-on.

Avery-Rosie puts on a pretty darn good show down there, and I'm sure she would appreciate any help you could give her at that time. It really is too bad the kids can't do multiple county fairs. I don't think the show Hawkeye went to was a "county fair" but more of an "open" 4-H show for all 4H poultry enthusiasts. It seems like with county fairs struggling to keep their exhibits up they might want to reconsider that idea of being able to show at more than one county fair. I don't know for sure, but perhaps the intent was to keep some of the kids that are "pros" from coming in and sweeping the awards at multiple counties. Maybe they could change the rules to include your county of residence and any neighboring county. It would make sense to me. Of course there is nothing to keep your kids from entering the open class division in multiple counties. I showed in 4H as a kid, but my kids did open class. It was impossible for me to take the kids to 4H meetings with the schedule my ex and I had and his total lack of flexibility so we just did open class, and the kids were accepted by the other 4H kids at the fair the same as if they were a 4H member.

OMG!!!! Ivy, I double checked my therm!!! I'm pretty sure the thermometer I have in there is BAD!! (AKA "Piece 'O Crap") I racked my brains for a good therm I had on hand and I came up with a brilliant idea! I stuck my BBT therm in there! (Basal Body Therm) That is probably the most accurate therm you'll get anywhere and I spent a pretty penny on this one to accurately judge my temps. Whatever.... anyway, I stuck it in there and my tray read at 100.9!!!!!! I killed them!! I killed them, didn't I??!! I already turned the temperature down, but it's already done.

sooooooo sad. Thanks for making me double check.