Consolidated Kansas

[Deerfield Acres]

Okay, I did get out and took a picture of my 4 week old chick. Avert your eyes! LOL She is in her ugly duck stage, for sure!

Here she (he) is with lots of attitude: ...already showing off her curves and bumping her chest out! hehe

I've tried so hard not to like these sissy birds (grew up with brothers) but how can you not like something that makes you LOL just looking at it. I give up, I like Silkies. Hawkeye, that's the cutest little thing ever and if I end up trying to breed them into a dual purpose chicken it will be all your fault! (Just kidding, I hope.) That is a hilariously adorable little bit of fluff.

 

[JosieChick]

Hawkeye- that chick is too stinkin cute! Is that the one that hatched under your broody hen? Are you thinking pullet? I love this stage when their feathers start sticking out everywhere.

Karen-I have a silkie roo that could easily be a dual purpose bird!! He is huge!

 

[sapphireblu76]

Oh, stupid, stupid me. I finally got some eggs set in the incubator yesterday and today, was looking at the calendar to see when they should hatch. Wouldn't you know it, they are due 3 days AFTER I leave for Canada for 2 weeks

I sure hope hubby's not gonna mind tending the incubator while I'm gone. I mean, sheesh, he's only got our 2 boys and the dogs and the cats and my parrot (that doesn't really like him) and 3 ducks and 55 chickens to tend to. Pffft! He'll be fiiiiiiine....right

Hawkeye, that chick is flippin' adorable!!!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be nasty earlier. I can't explain on here, but HeChicken knows why. Hawkeye, it must be your soil. I have my blue spruce on the north west side of my backyard, but it is sheltered by a mulberry tree. I love all kinds of trees except hedge & cottonwoods. I have planted quite a few trees att my place too.
We're on the road on our way back. The tooth looks good, he did a great job. It's been a fairly good day except for leaving. My granddaughter just sobbed when she had to leave her daddy. It about broke my heart & it made me cry too.

I wasn't sure how to take your post, so left it alone.

Maybe it is my soil, I think it's pretty cruddy stuff. It's not really all that great. Well, if that's the case, I probably gave this new Co blue spruce the death sentence. Too bad, I sure love those trees. OH and cottonwoods-- our neighbors entire 5 acres is packed with them, so they go and stuff their cotton into our AC and then it causes problems. Glad your grand daughter's tooth looks great, but that is terribly sad that she was so upset at having to leave her daddy. That really is heartbreaking. It's a shame they can't see each other more.

Me too Trish44, no problem. Glad the dental work turned out well. Your granddaughter's sadness is a very hard thing to witness, I'm sure. Sorry for you all.

Now for a heavy sigh regarding Cottonwoods. My 5 acres is covered with them, I'm so ashamed! That and cedar trees, which are equally unimpressive but serve as a windbreak. We bought the place with huge Cottonwoods on them already, knowing full well we would never cut them down because they are so nice and shady. I'm sure our neighbors hate them too. I bought a bunch of red oaks from that K-State site where you can get lots of them really cheap and, of course, they've had a terrible time surviving in our clay, alkaline soil. I have discovered something nice about Cottonwood trees though, that I didn't know before. The sound their leaves make in a breeze kind of sounds like a gentle rain and it's delightful to fall asleep to. I've learned that you can give them injections to keep them from making the cotton stuff but I haven't quite decided how I feel about birth control for trees.

Of course, it's probably a mute point since the expense of injecting all of these cotton-makers is probably prohibitive. Has anyone ever injected their Cottonwood trees out there? Known of anyone who has?

HEChicken, I know what you mean about how your place makes you feel. This house needs work, unlike our previous home. Having said that, I wouldn't trade it for our home in town for anything. There's just something very soothing about being here. We had the same anxieties before buying this place because we're in our 50's and wondered if we would be able to keep up with it all. I don't think we do, there always seems to be several somethings undone, but we keep up well enough. I didn't spend much time at all in the yard in town but here I'm always outside, weather permitting, and I think my quality of life is just so much richer.

Ivy, your picture taking fiasco sounds like something that would happen to me! I have picture taking issues.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

I just figured out this morning that I HAVE to sign up for medicare. I didn't realize it wasn't an option. My insurance is now only going to pay as a secondary payment. I can see my health care going down hill drastically. I also have tons of forms to fill out which I am just not in the state of mind to do. Getting old really stinks! Being unhealthy stinks worse. You would think paying over $800 a month for health insurance they could still pay like always.
It's pretty chilly out there this morning. I unlike Karen am a woos and wait until it warms up before I venture out. I can hear all my baby ducks yelling because they are hungry and thirsty. I have so many it requires me to feed and water them several times a day. Sure glad the mama is keeping the Mandarin babies cared for. I noticed my water is running slow in my pond so I need to get out there and do some maintenance some where. I just cleaned and refilled that a few days ago.
I feel like I need a vacation but it sure isn't happening. Tell me things will slow down when spring is over!
Avery I don't fail to encourage people to get certified to test but lots of the people here don't have enough birds to warrant the expense. If I only had a few birds I certainly wouldn't pay those fees every year and buy the serum. Just sayin'.
I have some more babies hatching in the incubator. I am really dreading it because there just isn't any room anywhere for more babies. I guess I'm going to have to post an add and see if I can move some. I just hate dealing with the phone calls and the no shows that say they are coming and don't show up.

I didn't realize people had to sign up for medicare. How do you know when you're supposed to? Is it age or something else? It's crazy you have to worry about that now with everything else that's going on.

You're no woos and I am just oblivious enough to not know it's chilly before I step out into the Arctic breezes. I tried to tough it out but had to come back in for a jacket and even then just watered the garden and swish! I was back in the house. Then, after lunch I was so tired that I decided it was a perfect day for a nap! I probably won't sleep tonight but it sure felt good this afternoon! I got very little done today. Oh well. It'll all wait for me til tomorrow.

I would love to see those little Mandarin babies with their mama. Bet that's some real cuteness going on there. I'm still trying to decide if I need more ducks or if it's just duck math telling me I do. We really enjoy our silly ducks! What kinds of babies are you hatching now?

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Hawkeye- that chick is too stinkin cute! Is that the one that hatched under your broody hen? Are you thinking pullet? I love this stage when their feathers start sticking out everywhere.

Karen-I have a silkie roo that could easily be a dual purpose bird!! He is huge!

Oh my gosh JosieChick, don't tell me that. Do you sell hatching eggs? (Say no, please say no.

) But really, do you?

Oh, stupid, stupid me. I finally got some eggs set in the incubator yesterday and today, was looking at the calendar to see when they should hatch. Wouldn't you know it, they are due 3 days AFTER I leave for Canada for 2 weeks

I sure hope hubby's not gonna mind tending the incubator while I'm gone. I mean, sheesh, he's only got our 2 boys and the dogs and the cats and my parrot (that doesn't really like him) and 3 ducks and 55 chickens to tend to. Pffft! He'll be fiiiiiiine....right

Hawkeye, that chick is flippin' adorable!!!

Oh dear. We chicken ladies do get ourselves into some predicaments. He'll be fine, I'm sure, maybe. Just tell him to be thankful it isn't 8 kids, 4 dogs, 2 cats, 6 ducks, 2 bunnies and 100+ chickens and a huge garden that needs to be maintained. That'll make him count his blessings and lucky stars!

 

[pikeman94]

Anyone know how to get rid of voles? I thought I had this problem stopped, but the little bastards are back and eating the chicken feed. I can't be sure, but it looks like they are leaving turds in the girls water dispenser. Grrrrrrrrrrr.........

 

[HEChicken]

Pikeman are you sure they are eating the chicken feed? As far as I'm aware they are exclusively insectivores, so I would be surprised if they are. But no, I don't know a good way to get rid of them. Years ago we adopted a dog who started "digging to China" in the backyard. We thought it was just a vice but it turns out, he was digging to get the voles. He made a mess of the yard but he did get rid of the voles.

He has passed now, and last year I saw a little of their activity again. Haven't seen them (yet) this year.

 

[HEChicken]

Oh this is great! I was just browsin' Craigslist and came across this ad:
http://wichita.craigslist.org/grd/3006740429.html
Naturally, I was wondering how it could be converted to a chicken coop but then laughed out loud about the part

Quote:

 

[Deerfield Acres]

I had to look very closely to find the dog, but it's there.

Funny, how everything looks like a chicken coop to us, but I bet it would make a nice one.

I candled the Lav Orp eggs last night and out of 23, 9 are growing. That's better than 0. Hope they hatch!

Another Dr. appt for DD this a.m. Tomorrow I'm helping watch little kids for a MOPS group, you know where the moms of preschoolers get to do something fun without worrying about their kids. I would have loved something like this when I had littles! It's fun to help out. The poor moms come in a bit frazzled and then leave happy.