Consolidated Kansas

[JosieChick]

Medawinks- WELCOME to the chicken addiction!!!!!

Ivy- I wish you and your DH were my neighbors!!! Never a dull moment at your house!!!

You did better than I did with my shovel. Still need to get that gun bought but we are at least gun educated now and a very nice gentleman that taught one of our hunter safety classes offered to help us practice when we get our gun. He was pretty excited that I was after coyotes!

Hawkeye- Congrats on the new chick! I love splash silkies, they are my favorite.

 

[Trish44]

Wow, it's taken me awhile to catch up again. IVY, I'm glad you got that darned coyote, I hate those things! I haven't talked to the neighbors since our GP pups have been out a night to see if they seem to be keeping them away from their place too. Since we turned on the air conditioner a couple days ago I don't have the doors & windows open to hear whether we still have them yipping out there. They probably are still across the road, the Dr. that lives there has about 40 acres with her place & that's usually where they are over by their pond. I have been hearing this year that people in this area are having more problems with foxes also, sneaky, crafty creatures that they are.

BTW, Welcome to the new people!

Well I made it through my 40 year high school reunion last night, it wasn't too bad. It's hard to figure out who people are after that many years sometimes. Some people don't change so much, but especially the men were hard to recognize. We had a huge class, about 700, but only about 90 showed up last night. They had a thing the night before too, but my DH had to work, so we couldn't go. They had a bigger showing it looked like at the 30 year reunion, which I didn't attend, but I got to see the photos last night. Anyway it was an enjoyable evening & dinner was pretty good too.

My little turkey poults are doing a lot better today, when I got up only one of them was on it's back, that's a great improvement. They all seem to be walking around lots better today & are a lot more steady on their feet. I fed them some scrambled eggs this morning & at first they looked at it like it was an alien & then one grabbed a bite & took off with it & they all chased after to try to get it away. Then they started eating some of it. I'm glad to see them eating at all & walking around. I love the sound they make, it's more of a whistling noise than peeping, sort of a combination. I guess the combination of the vitamin E & just keeping them on their feet for a few days is working. If they're doing this good tomorrow I will move them out to a brooder as soon as I get it cleaned out & ready for them. I'm going to do some modifications on that brooder first. I'm not fond of the way that guy made it with the hardware cloth on the bottom & the tray underneath is just a mess to clean. I think his idea was somewhat good, but he just didn't quite make it right, so I'm going to just take that hardware cloth off & put a solid bottom on & put pine shavings in. That just seems to work the best for me. I just keep adding some new shavings in & I think last year when I had chicks I didn't have to clean the thing out but once before they outgrew it. Of course this time I have lots more new chicks though. Chicken math really hit me this time!

Hawkeye, I hope you're feeling much better, that's too bad you have been so sick.

rvroman, good luck with your studying, I know exactly how you feel. I used to be a nurse & even though it's been years ago I still remember the painful studying for hours at a time, it was excruciating at times & so stressful.

Danz, I don't know how you keep going like you do, I just can't do it any more. I used to go & go all day long & now I just can't. This arthritis takes so much out of me along with the Fibromyalgia I have. As you know, when you walk around in pain all the time it does take a toll on you. It just wears on you to be hurting so much. My knee was just killing me in the car on the way home last night & I made the decision to call Monday & make an appt. with the Dr. I saw before for my knees. It's just hurting way more than it ever has & I told my DH last night that I have a pretty high pain tolerance but this was just way over the top. I got home & sat in the recliner & froze the darned thing with my ice pack, it seemed to help for awhile.

Well we have my granddaughter coming today, so I've got to get ready for that. We haven't gotten to see her for awhile since her mother hasn't let her come until now. I hope you all have a good day!

 

[rvroman]

So we had a mini mothers day photo shoot of my boys yesterday, this is the first finished fully edited one I have seen, I love it. I just wanted to share this with you guys!!!!!! This is my almost 4 year old James, the chicken whisperer.


She just added this one, this is James and Brandon my 2 1/2 year old!

 

[WichitaKidd]

Headed out to the coop this morning to check on the chicks....and I heard it. Yup...one of my birds was crowing. I think I know which one it was, but am not 100% sure. He only did it twice & it wasn't very loud. Haven't heard him again today anyway. Will see what happens tomorrow. Once I figure out which one it is I'll start looking for a new home for him.

 

[medawinks]

MedaWinks-- sounds like you have a really fun and interesting dynamic at home with the kids and house mate. Do the kids really like the chickens? Funny how you started off aiming for 5 birds and ended up with close to 20! LOL Yeah, that's pretty much how it works.

Welcome to the Kansas thread! Definitely jump in on any discussions that are going on!


I skipped church this morning. I'm still not 100%. Sent my DH with all 3 kids to church instead. I get a break, but I've been out mowing. Which is actually one of my favorite things to do. Time to myself and I get to THINK without being interrupted. hehe!! I ran out out of gas though. DH is bringing more home for me. I knew I was low, so I sent him to church with a can. Okay, well, I need to go clean out waterer's and feed, etc....

Yes.... our chicken math is awful!! Had a cute little coop and run built,with the coop inside of my sun porch, kids painted it and decorated it. Used an old dresser, with the bottom drawers for eggs. We are now adding to the run, which is a 6 ft privacy fence with gutter gardens hanging in 2 rows around it. Will have to add another coop, and hide it in the privacy fence, since while my neighborhood association will allow chickens, they do not allow sheds of any kind. They do allow gardens..... so we have an extra fancy chicken garden!! Havent figured out the new portion of the coop yet. At first I hated the thought of having to go out to take care of chickens on top of everything else that is needy in this house, and did not want to have to go all the way outside. Thankfully, now, going out to clean and feed is something I actually enjoy. And yes, my kids love the chickens. Our latest two were their request, since I had sworn that no matter what the feed store had in there, I was JUST getting chicken feed..... Nope, my 7 yr old read Polish PULLETS and screamed for the whole store to hear ,," Mom, these will be girls! We HAVE to have bed heads!!"...... Oh well... we now have 2 bedheads who are absolutely adorable!!

Hope you are feeling better!

 

[medawinks]

So we had a mini mothers day photo shoot of my boys yesterday, this is the first finished fully edited one I have seen, I love it. I just wanted to share this with you guys!!!!!! This is my almost 4 year old James, the chicken whisperer.


She just added this one, this is James and Brandon my 2 1/2 year old!

Too CUTE!!! What handsome little dudes you have!!!

Headed out to the coop this morning to check on the chicks....and I heard it. Yup...one of my birds was crowing. I think I know which one it was, but am not 100% sure. He only did it twice & it wasn't very loud. Haven't heard him again today anyway. Will see what happens tomorrow. Once I figure out which one it is I'll start looking for a new home for him.

My tiny little Belgian D'Uccle is starting to crow too.... It is cute!!! I am bringing him in and keeping him in the house in a big cage, and will take him out to play when I am out there with them. I know I will have to part with him sometime, but dang it... He is the funniest of the bunch! Has anyone done this? Tips??? My kids really want to show him at the fair....

 

[HEChicken]

Well, that was a first for me. That chicken definitely had a "hen talk" and then a crow. She looks like she is pretty young.. not quite mature. I am actually wondering if she is one of those genetic mixups that have both male and female sex organs. What do you call that? Hemaphodite or something like that.

Last year I had an ameraucana that I thought all along was a pullet. I almost agreed to sell too many pullets thinking this one was a pullet. It was nearly fully matured before I realized it was actually a very slow maturing rooster. It was definitely all rooster, though. Certainly never laid an egg. I think it would be interesting to see if that crowing pullet actually lays an egg in the future.

The hen in that video is already laying. My understanding of hermaphrodites is that they are sterile. They can't fertilize a hen but nor can they lay an egg.

ARGH!!!! I have things eating my garden!!!! I need to make a bird proof cage to keep our wild birds out! They are taking whole seedlings out of the bed. I also need to figure out how to prevent bugs from eating the holes in my broccoli plant, my cabbage, my collards...well all of my leafy green things. I expected problems, Im just irritated that the eating fiends couldn't wait until after finals week. Now all I want to do is go out and find the culprits and build bird proof garden cages, but alas, this semester is full of hard tests and painful studying! OH LIFE...well thanks for reading my rant, I just had to do it!

Since I don't use any kind of chemicals, fertilizers, insecticides or anything like that anywhere on my property, the only solution I have found to the bugs eating the plants is to pick them off one-by-one. I know it sounds time-consuming but I actually kind of enjoy it. I take a little cup out with me and every caterpillar, grasshopper, tomato worm, or aphid that I find, gets dropped into the cup. At the end of each session, I take the cup out and offer it to the chooks. Great protein for them and I know that is one less critter eating my future produce!

Another thing you can do is encourage the insect predators - ladybugs etc. - to come and live in your garden, by planting flowers that entice them. I actually move the "good bugs" to my garden if I find them outside of it, and hope they take up residence there, to help me in the fight against the "bad bugs".

I have enjoyed reading about the new chicks, crowing hens, new puppies and reading that I am definitely not alone in pushing myself to exhaustion
I guess it would help if I introduce myself so you know who has been reading your news. I am a SpEd teacher , a single mom with 3 kids - I bio and 2 added by choice from China with special needs. We live with a housemate ( fellow SpEd teacher) who has 2 kids, 2 standard poodles, and 3 papipoos plus our expanding chicken family of 2 BCM, 3EE, 1 blue/ lavender true Ameracauna, 1 white rock, 3 silkies, 2 belgian D'uccles and now, hopefully, 2 new Polish < wk old chicks
We also have a cuckoo Marans, a Salmon Favarolle and a Cochin -cockerels, who need new homes. None of our pullets are old enough to lay. The oldest is 13 weeks. We originally wanted just 5-6 pullets. Chicken math struck though... We discovered that chickens aren't just chickens.
I particularly enjoy them and find it very therapeutic after a long day to just watch them gobble up their feed or yogurt etc... They all are so comical and have such unique personalities . I thought I might be losing my mind until I found this board

Glad to have you with us! Your covenant sounds interesting that it will allow chickens but not a house for them to live in. Egad - who WRITES these rules anyway? I'd love to see pics of your chicken garden!

My DH got me back for teasing him about shooting off firecrackers to scare the goats while he was in his underwear. He didn't think it mattered if I wore pajamas or not. He said I could have walked out there naked. The coyote would have taken one look at me naked and it would have scared it to death! I wouldn't even have to shoot. It would have died on the spot and saved some ammo.

 

[sharol]

I hear you. I planted tomatoes yesterday afternoon, and I went out this morning and one of the little cherry tomato plants was nearly all eaten -- just one leaf and a stem left. No clue what ate it, and no sign of the guilty bugs. Dang.

 

[chicken danz]

I used to grind fresh garlic in vegetable oil then spray it on my plants. Works 2 ways. Garlic deters the bugs and the oil sufficates them.You have to grind the garlic really really fine or it will stick in the sprayer. Or if you could find some garlic oil that would work mixed with oil.
Welcome Medawinks. You sound like our kind of person. Karen S on here has 8 adoptive children.
RVRoman your kids are to die for. The little one looks so much like my second son did at that age with little blonde curls. He still have lots of curls, but he won't let me mess with them any more!

What a day! I took in all those deviled eggs to church, then there were very few people at the Senior dinner. I was thinking what on earth am I going to do with all of them. But they disappeared and I ended up getting orders for 10 dozen eggs to bring to church next Sunday. Guess I'd better make sure the girl do their work this week.
I had people here all afternoon getting ducks. I still have at least 100 of them out there. Sure used up my afternoon.
Of course everyone had to take the tour.
I think all of my work and lack of sleep are finally catching up. I am fighting to keep my eyes open and every part of my body is throbbing. I've had enough fun for one day.
Hawkeye hope you get to feeling better.
I could so use a day to myself right now. Oh well in a few days maybe.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Hey guys. Did it yet again. Worked myself into another stupor. Holy cow, I'm sore and tired but happy we (DH and kids) got so much done. Yay!!!! I'll catch up to everyone tomorrow -- ya'll have been busy, too!