Consolidated Kansas

[medawinks]

Wow! All of these beautiful new set ups for your birds and gardens!! I am overwhelmed with all the pics and highly impressed!!!! I love the garden baskets!

I wish I could reply individually, but on my phone, it is next to impossible.... I won't say it is impossible for everyone, but for me, I just can't figure it out!

I am so glad the pea hen came home and that peacock is gorgeous!! My Sera was happy to see it! I told her what happened and she was very upset that the bird was lost. She is my little buddy out with the chickens Helps me happily every morning and every evening!

I have a blue or ? ameracauna I bought from the breeder who sold me my to marans pullets. She is very pretty. I wish I had bought two.... She is supposed to lay a bright blue egg. We will see! Right now she protects my bantams from the white rock. They scurry up under her and she stands against the fence, not letting the bully get at them She is a keeper!! Not so sure about that white rock..... I so hope she ends up being a she!!!

I also have 2 easter eggers from the feed store. They are pretty, but are not as sweet as she is. They are almost totally identical except for a splash of red here and there. I posted to the EE thread, hoping someone there could tell me if they are pullets. Anyone here know?my Ameracauna girl?

I tried to get them to roost last night instead of piling into the coop floor in a heap. Nope!!! Didn't work! I guess they really are still babies even though they are so much bigger than they were ;-)

Hey, Danz, how is the little D'uccle? His buddy, my Mille Fleur really seems to miss him. I miss his cute little crow!!

I feel for you RVRoman..... This getting attached to these little things and having to hear them crow and know they can't stay stinks!! At least I knew our Favarolle was a boy from the first feathers he popped out! Could distance myself. I am sorry Helen Keller crowed! It gives you an excuse to get another Marans though! I love my BCM's. They are so sweet and definitely not bullies like that white rock! Do you have an Ameracauna yet? Or a Buff Orpington. Those two are my LF sweetest, most protective of the bantams and the friendliest with my kids too! My D'Uccles are also very sweet. My two bigger Silkies are not.... I bought them older, about 4-5 weeks old and they just don't like to be held. My little one I got at Orschelen's, just a day or two old, however is the tiniest most relaxed one I have when held. I guess it just depends on the chicken? Or how much they are handled when they are little?

Ahh... enough procrastinating. I need to finish end of the year student folders.....

 

[HEChicken]

How old are they Medawinks? I hate to say it, but the combs are looking pretty red for their size and how much they are feathered out. My guess would be both boys but I'll hope I'm wrong.

 

[medawinks]

11 weeks....... :-(

 

[HEChicken]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. I have a hen who at 16 weeks had an enormous bright red comb. There was never any doubt for me that she was a pullet but I posted a pic of her on a thread asking a different question altogether and just referencing her as a pullet, and was surprised to have an almost unanimous response, basically ignoring my actual question and insisting that she was a roo. Funny thing is, that thread kept going for so long that she was well and truly laying and I *still* had people posting saying she was a boy

. It was actually kind of funny because there was one post saying "boy, 100% certain" and it was followed by a sheepish "Oh - just read that your hen is already laying...."

Anyway, it just goes to show that sometimes they can get red early and not be boys. Here is the 16-week pic of my early maturing hen. The funny thing is, looking at it now, she looks like a very large, solid bird, when in fact she is actually a quite small, petite hen. Without the perspective of another bird in the pic for reference, photos can be deceiving.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Karen, those Aloha's are beautiful! I can't wait to see a picture of your turkeys! SEE?!?! Can you see why I loved mine so much? They are so friendly and happy and very personable birds. They are different from chickens. They seem more "people" to me, I guess.

Yes, Hawkeye, I totally get it!!!! That little thing has me wrapped tight around its little toe. I love their chattiness, it's just so sweet. I didn't get the pic taken today, maybe later, but you'll be here tomorrow, right? So you can meet them in person. I was outside again today, doing battle with weeds in my as yet unplanted flower bed. I have two flower beds that are severely neglected due to chickens and gardens being the higher priority. Poor things need some color.

All I did was step out of my vehicle onto the blacktop to let the kids out at bus stop. Got back in and drove off. Almost immediately felt something crawling up my leg. Pulled over and found a tick.

They must like me too.

Yuck! I hate those things. I don't get them (too much coffee, I think) but the kids have gotten them this year when they normally don't. It's really scary to think about the possibility of it making them really, really sick.

Josie you are in the same boat as I am. People who live in the sticks just don't get cell service. We have Century Link here cause nothing else goes out this far. I hate paying for long distance. I am sure I could get a better plan for more $$ a month but I spend too much already.

We have AT&T out here but I have to sit in a certain spot on the couch to get decent reception. We all joke about our "Green Acres" phone service. I've almost given up several times and ordered a land line, so far I'm still hanging tough!

Sounds like you got a lot done today! If you would like for me to hatch some eggs for you, my Sportsman bator is empty, just bring your extra eggs along. The buffies and sussex should be healthy by the time they hatch and I'll just cart them all up to you. Anyway, just a thought. I hate for eggs to go to waste. My lav orps are in my little Hovabator.

I am so lucky to have the concrete slab, and didn't even know it was there when we bought the house! My original plan had the coop in another area of the yard but then I saw the slab and it was a no-brainer to change plans and put it there instead.

Heather, you are so lucky to have a concrete slab, indeed! How awesome is that? Your project is looking really good. It feels so good to make progress, I'm really happy for you! Sure hope you can make it tomorrow. If not, you'll have to come another day and see all the progress, as well as, your cockerel. I decided to put the birds on antibiotics first and treat for fungal infection second, we'll see how it turns out. I do believe I'll have them all healthy before you're ready to take yours home. Hope so!

I also have 2 easter eggers from the feed store. They are pretty, but are not as sweet as she is. They are almost totally identical except for a splash of red here and there. I posted to the EE thread, hoping someone there could tell me if they are pullets. Anyone here know?my Ameracauna girl?

I

medawinks, My first reaction was cockerel because of the comb color. How thick are the legs? Cockerels usually have some pretty stout legs and bigger feet. The first one doesn't look all that big footed to me. My EE girls are somewhat stand-offish but they say they may sweeten up once they start laying. One of them has already decided that I'm okay with her and will jump up on my leg occasionally, if I sit still long enough. They sure are pretty birds!



Thank you for the comments on my Alohas! I love the variation in color. We're trying to breed for a dual purpose bird that is wildly colorful with yellow legs, no muffs or beards. The white will ultimately be spangled like the Speckled Sussex. It's a really fun project.

Later...

 

[prairie]

Ivy, Don't worry that doesn't sound like my hubby -- he is a really sweet guy -- had him around for a lot of years!! Danz, no he doesn't smoke or chew either. Going to call later and see about coming down tomorrow afternoon.

 

[chicken danz]

Prairie, missed your call but sent you a PM.
Medawinks, I am loving this little D'uccle. He is very sweet. I have even taken the time to get him out and carry him around a little. I should do that with more chickens. I want to keep him very tame so he will attach to DH and follow him around like his little silkie did. So was your friend happy with the chicks you got her? Sera is a little sweetheart. Tell her that maybe if we are lucky the peacocks will have chicks of their own some day and she can come see them.
I sure hope my other D'uccles hatch well. It's all I can do to keep from ordering chicks but I want to wait and see what kind of hatch I have.
Karen I did some candling and found enough spots for the eggs I had. Thanks for the offer. If you want some barnyard chicks to hatch for the fun of it I could just bring you some. I don't need the chicks. I have a very interesting hen that you might want to throw in your aloha project. IMO she is beautiful and I really don't know all of her breeding. She has some gold laced polish, and some Salmon Favorelle in her but I believe she also has some Blk over white polish in her that gives her spots. She isn't very old and I'm not even sure she is laying yet. She is in with my big group of mutts. Of course that probably wouldn't work if you are documenting all your breeding steps.
I can't wait until tomorrow.

 

[sharol]

If I were you, I would try to get the area tilled (if it hasn't ever been broken out, you may need an actual plow the first time), and then till in all sorts of stuff over the summer -- compost, leaves, peat moss, manure (horse is great) -- maybe monthly, and just let it sit for the summer and winter between tillings. I am on the 6th summer for my garden, and it is just now getting to the point that the soil looks healthy. We have mostly clay over rock around here.

When we moved out here I got a small Troy Built electric start tiller, and I figured that after 3 years it had paid for itself if you consider what the tiller guy charges to come till the space. It was expensive compared to the ones at Wal-mart, but it doesn't drag me around and for the most part doesn't fight me.

Sharol

***big snip***

I wish I had a tiller. I need to till an area for my vegie garden and may end up having to rent one. At this point I'll probably leave it til next year as I just don't have time to get it tilled and ready to go this year with everything else.

 

[sharol]

I have a year old EE that looked almost exactly like this at 11 weeks. Maybe a little less red in her feathers, and she is a hen. The combs look pretty much like my EE's did last fall at 11 weeks and they are all girls.

I hope it works out that way for you. I couldn't find the original post, so I replied to a reply. Sorry.

On the roosting thing, what are you using for roosts? My girls were roosting at 8 weeks on 2x4's laid flat about 1 1/2 feet off the floor of the grow out coop. At 12 weeks they moved into the big coop and immediately went to the roost that was nearly 4' up. All are different, though, and I suspect if one gets it, the others will follow suit.

I also have 2 easter eggers from the feed store. They are pretty, but are not as sweet as she is. They are almost totally identical except for a splash of red here and there. I posted to the EE thread, hoping someone there could tell me if they are pullets. Anyone here know?


I tried to get them to roost last night instead of piling into the coop floor in a heap. Nope!!! Didn't work! I guess they really are still babies even though they are so much bigger than they were ;-)

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Karen I did some candling and found enough spots for the eggs I had. Thanks for the offer. If you want some barnyard chicks to hatch for the fun of it I could just bring you some. I don't need the chicks. I have a very interesting hen that you might want to throw in your aloha project. IMO she is beautiful and I really don't know all of her breeding. She has some gold laced polish, and some Salmon Favorelle in her but I believe she also has some Blk over white polish in her that gives her spots. She isn't very old and I'm not even sure she is laying yet. She is in with my big group of mutts. Of course that probably wouldn't work if you are documenting all your breeding steps.
I can't wait until tomorrow.

Nah, I really don't need more chicks but thanks for offering. I'm kind of at max capacity for chickens right now. I really need to off load some of them but I want them healthy before I do. I'm looking forward to tomorrow too! See ya!