Consolidated Kansas

[ChooksChick]

HEHE... Here ya go HEChicken! I just picked them up about an hour ago!! Rene hath bless me with three beauties! One of them, unfortunately, has spraddle leg, but I've already gotten out the bandaids and we are on the road to recovery with "her"! Thanks Chooks!!!!!!!

Meet: Jade, Amethyst and Amber (in that order): - I don't think any of them are the vaulted skulls that ya'll were talking about. Not sure though.



Here is Amber all fixed up:

I knew she wasn't going to be able to keep up with the momma and the other 13 babies, so Chrissy was the obvious choice! Also, 3 varying shades of blue were hard to come by in the mix, so the fact that she was in the middle was good.

Hey peeps!

I am lurking. Starting to feel less sore every day. Although I think I over did it today.

I will continue to try and keep up until the grogginess from the pain meds I am on get out of my head. Thanks for all the well wishes!

Glad to see you! Hope you feel better soon!

Im Chris From Topeka.

Hi, Chris! Welcome to your new addiction!

Okay, I have a concern with my black silkie pullet. She's about 10 months old now and has been laying for about 3 months. She has started within the last two weeks of having really runny and stinky poop. I didn't think much of it at first and figured she needed some probiotics and I've been top dressing her feed with probiotics for about 2 weeks now. So far, no change! Not to mention, the amount of poo is a LOT. Now her bottom is dirty because it's sticking to her. I'm at a loss. She used to lay an egg every other day to every 3 days, and now it seems like she's laying an egg every single day! She doesn't seem to be acting much different, except that she is trying to go broody every now and then. When I change her to outside or move her, it seems to stop it for a few days, then she tries again. And through it all, this sudden change in consistency of her poop. Any guesses what is going on? She's not getting any more greens than usual-- just a handful of grass each day, BOSS, and her layer crumbles. Could I be feeding her too much BOSS?? She has really packed on some weight and is a LOT heavier now. In fact, I'd call her fat. Any and all ideas are welcome please!

Check her booty and crest for mites. I agree about decreasing the BOSS, but mucky bums can be a result of mites.

 

[ChooksChick]

Queenbigears, I think you have a Mille Fleur d'Uccle there.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Danz, you made me smile. My mom did that too, Only she stashed little bits of money all over the place. In sewing machines, antique cabinet, everywhere! She also saved buttons, zippers, elastic. They were all neatly organized but the depression era never completely left her.

I wish I knew what the sneezing is about. Only the one cockerel has it so far -- should I separate him? Everyone else seems just fine. I forgot to mention the probiotics in the water, which I do have. None of them have loose stools. All the birds downstairs seem fine, although the bantams just kind of hide out and I don't have much contact with them. I think I should check them out. I think I only have one Buffy left but she's a nice sized bird -- I just don't need her. I'm going to count how many pullets I have left of the SSX later today. It seems like the SSX may be carriers of something, though, that gets them when stressed. What do you think? I'm just really puzzled by these birds.

HEChicken, I just put a few drops in the water and it just sits on top and then they accidentally get it on their beaks. I don't go to all that trouble and they don't get it on their beaks everytime so they continue to drink. After so much beak action in the water it breaks down into smaller droplets and by that time they don't seem to mind it.

Pikeman, glad you're feeling better but pace yourself. There's just nothing more aggravating than having a set back. IMHO! I haven't forgotten your SSX. How is your SSX doing by now and your other birds? I sure don't want to spread any illness.

Ivy, great suggestion!

Teresa, hope your car is looking like new today!

I wonder if the fox/coyotes can hear the pulsing of the electric fence? I heard them ever so briefly last evening but from the moment I turned on the fence not a single thing. The pulse is audible to me but they must have excellent hearing if they could hear it from 10 acres over. Things that make you go hum.

Here are some pics of my Alohas -- cross posted.

My favorite




And look at this 4 week old's red comb!




I have several similar to this one.



Can't wait to see how they feather out!

(Here's your old towels again, Hawkeye!)

Mine are still around because I couldn't bear to use them for a whole year. Didn't want them destroyed as quickly as the last batch. You should have seen the raggedy towels we were using while I hoarded the new ones. Silly, wasn't it? Sometimes I just get so weary of the kids tearing up everything even though they really aren't terribly destructive. Kids are just kids. I protected these towels with my life and while some of them are done I still have quite a few that are still really nice. Especially the beach towel size. Sigh. I'll let them use them this year. I enjoyed you while you lasted towels but I'm afraid this summer is your last hurrah! The wrecking crew is gonna get ya!

 

[BamaProud]

Welcome to all the newbies!

Feel free to jump in and post pictures, ask questions or just "talk" any time. There's lots of good advice and friendly people here. The whole BYC site is s jackpot of information for chicken lover.

Speaking of loving chicken, I drive by The Chicken Annie's sign every time I go down to visit Checoukan. We have never stopped. I guess I'm going to have to plan it some time so that we either meet her there or pull over and eat there ourselves. I've always wanted to, but just never have.

It's going to be a busy day. I've got chicks hatching like popcorn in the basement and chicks that need to go into a bigger brooder. I'm hoping to get a spot cleaned out in the barn to set at least one of my new cage units and with any luck maybe the other one, too. Before that comedy starts, however, I need to build a bigger brooder. I think I will drag my old round stock tank over to the shop and start with that. I already have a lid for it. I used it last year. I just hate cleaning the thing out. After that I located two pieces of plywood 8' long and 16-18" wide. I'm going to use that to make a 4'square brooder. I just need to scrounge/salvage/recycle/repurpose something for the cover on the 4'square one. DH has decided to take over the brooder I recently built that is up on legs. That is okay with me. Those little quail are SO cute.

At least it is supposed to be a little cooler today. That will be good. It was pretty hot yesterday, and what little I was able to be out I was sweating like a horse. I guess I'm just not quite ready for the REAL summer weather.

Have a great day, everyone!

Ivy, got something I'm going to bring you that should help out making your brooder and cages.

 

[BamaProud]

Danz,Glad to see you back on here. We are still thinking about you and wishing you the best.

Welcome to all the new faces on here.Enjoy your visits and post often!

Pikeman,glad everything worked out good.Take it easy and try not to do too much before you heal.

 

[Ivywoods]

Bama-Now you've got me wondering!!!! Cool! I love surprises!

Karen-Hoarding towels? Are you sure you don't have a little of your Mother's depression era in you????

 

[chicken danz]

Karen I tend to do that to a small extent. But I get worried if I have much cash around so it goes elsewhere rather quickly. I try to keep enough to make change if I need it. comes form years of being a broke single Mom.
I think the Sussex are more susceptible to being ill like you said. I think there is a virus they have contracted. I would clean their quarters well and separate any that are sneezing. Vet RX seems to help along with some probiotics. I just ddrop the vet Rx in their nostrils rather than mix it. And i squirt some in their water. They don't like it much but drink it regardless. It kind of floats on the water so they pick up a little any time they drink. I have a guy coming by this weekend to buy chicks. I might be able to sell him all I have if I price them low enough. DH says I am not paying for the feed I put in them but I need room and it would be great to start over with nothing but a few polish and some Seramas.
I have a ton of chicks hatching right now. So the numbers will go up between now and then anyway.
Tomorrow I am finally going to get my turkey eggs. I'm trading a load of pheasant eggs for them. I haven't hatched any pheasant yet myself but have a few in the bator. I will have all summer to hatch more melanistics so I don't mind waiting.
I am so excited. I will be Mama hen-ing over that incubator.

 

[pikeman94]

Karen,

Saffron (SSX) is doing really well and gaining weight. She is getting along well with the other two pullets. I will get a pic soon.

It is frustrating being laid up. I so want to get out and get things done. My gut however is making the decisions right now.

I will see how expanding my coop works out as well.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Bama-Now you've got me wondering!!!! Cool! I love surprises!

Karen-Hoarding towels? Are you sure you don't have a little of your Mother's depression era in you????

Good one! Only the kind of depression era that can occasionally accompany being mom to 8 kids! The kids do the weirdest things with perfectly lovely towels, i.e., remove nail polish, makeup, leave them out in the mud after using them for capes or tents, cleaning their bicycles, skates, muddy shoes and some of that I don't even want to know what it is. It isn't that they do it often, there's just enough of them that doing weird things at a normal child's rate adds up to a whole lot of ruined towels in a hurry! I just wanted the rare privilege of gazing at them in their pristine state.

Trust me, I currently have no pristine, hoarded towels. I have semi-pristine beach towels left but that's all. Isn't that pathetic? I do enjoy the kids and being a kid with them, but there are times when all I can think is WTH NOW and Y?

Kids aren't really on a mission to destroy, break, stain and tear asunder, are they? I mean, as a kid I do not recall ever feeling it was my duty to destroy things and yet, I do recall my mother saying "..you are the most exasperating child"! As she surveyed the wreckage of my bedroom. Thinking back on said bedroom, I get it, I really do. The place was ransacked and all I could think of was how in the world am I supposed to play without making a mess? I didn't seem to notice the knobs off my dresser, the cracked mirror above the girly-girl vanity, the miscellaneous etchings in my closet doors. Once, I distinctly remember washing my hands with a perfectly white bar of Ivory soap and leaving it varying shades of grey with grey droplets all over the sink after a successful mud pie making session/turned into dirt clod fight with my brothers. I don't even recall what happened to the towel I used but it couldn't have been pretty. I'm pretty sure I wasn't on a mission but I bet my mom didn't see it that way!

Now, all I crave are sparkling clean towels. My how we change!

 

[sapphireblu76]

One of my eggs has pipped!!!