Consolidated Kansas

[Kansaseq]

HOLY COW! You guys are hard to keep up with! This thread moves so fast compared to when it first started. Please forgive me for not responding to everyone--just don't have the stamina, though I do enjoy reading about all of your lives.

Josie, yes, he's a Belgian Tervuren. I used to have 3, but my two old rescue bitches passed on, both at the age of 14 yrs. Beowulf was a gift from my old boss. I knew my boy's mom from the time she was a puppy, and followed her all through her pregnancy,breeding to my all time favorite Terv, Savar(, who won the WORLD show down in Milan, Italy, (tiny little proud-mamma brag moment!) ) and was there the Christmas night he was born. Didn't even know I was getting a puppy until he was 6 wks old. He is incredibly sweet, has trememdously high energy (well, less now that he's almost 12), highly intelligent, and incredibly bonded to me. We did confirmation (easily finished his Championship), some agility and competitive obedience classes, but didn't show in those (but did with one of my girls). He's mostly just been my constant companion, both at home and work, for his entire life.
Sorry-nostalgic brag moment!

crap! How do you get photobucket to directly post pics now??

 

[chicken danz]

Kansasqu, Click on the link that says [img It should be the bottom one.

 

[Kansaseq]

Kansasqu, Click on the link that says [img It should be the bottom one.

Thanks, Chicken Danz. It's not working, though

 

[pikeman94]

This is Scout, my Campine.

Good looking bird there!

 

[HEChicken]

.... I could have built nest boxes on the outside of my shed, but I chose to have them inside so I have to go in there to get the eggs. I actually don't mind, that way I can check out the hens that are in there at the time & in the evening see the ones that are already on the roost.

That's so funny because after going around and around on this point in my new coop build, I've decided to do the same. My current coop, I have to walk in and collect eggs and I kind of like that because it gives me a chance to check the feed level in the feeder and make sure nothing is amiss in the coop. Nevertheless, I had planned to have my nest boxes on the outside, and was trying to figure out how best to do that, when it hit me: why do they have to be on the outside? I'll be entering the coop every day to check on things anyway - why not just collect eggs from inside while I'm there and save myself the hassle of the extra supports for external nest boxes, worries about leaks etc. So, although I have not yet built the nest boxes, I have planned where they will go when I do.

Morning everyone. I have an Orphington hen (about 4 months old) that is having trouble standing up. I was sitting outside last night watching them and noticed that she was sitting a lot. She can stand up for a little bit and then starts to wobbling front to back and then sits back down. She can get around well enough that she could get away from me for a little bit while I was trying to catch her but not for long. I picked her up and my DH and I both looked and felt her leg & thigh and couldn't tell anything was wrong. While holding her I put my hand under her feet and I think I felt the same amount of pressure against my hand from both feet. We separated her overnight to help protect her but she's not standing much better this morning. My Maran rooster tries to bully this group of 8 so they are still in a separate pen from the older group but I do let them out a little together. The Maran was chasing them last night but I'm not sure if he caused her to hurt her leg or not. Does anyone have any suggestions ... should I keep her separated from the rest of her small group of put her back out in the run? Thanks.

Another thing you might look into is Marek's. I don't know a ton about it, but believe it does cause gradual leg paralysis among other things.

Just came in to get the camera. It's not painted or finished in any way but here is my button quail cage thing: Yes those are clothes pins I used to hold the doors shut. I tilted the roof which you can't see so it will hopefully drain beyond the back of the pen.

That is looking really great - good job!


Well, it is another hot one today. I spent all day yesterday working on my coop. It was forecast to be 92 but that is in the shade and I was in the sun, on a ladder, roofing most of the day. It may be the hottest I've ever been. I know I've never sweated as OBVIOUSLY as I did yesterday and all of my clothes were practically wringing wet by the end. Had to drink gallons of water just to get through the day.

By the end of the day though...we had the roof pretty much on (still need to add the roof vent but although we had it sitting right there, we had run out of energy so decided it will have to wait until the next coop-build-day - hopefully this Friday.
Here is a photo of our progress by the end of the day yesterday:



And now a question: I am planning to install an auto door. After researching several different models, I decided on the one I want. It operates via a light sensor so will close the coop at different times throughout the year, depending on the amount of light (seasonally). There is an option to use a timer instead but I'd prefer to use the light sensor as long as it works well. Anyway, the company has two sizes available. The standard size is 9x12 and the larger is 11x13. Right now, the standard would work for all the birds I have but as I plan to have turkeys at some point, do you think I will need the large? I will have heritage turkeys and my preference is MW or RP's, so they won't be huge birds but I still wasn't sure if they'd be able to squeeze through the 9x12 door or if I should play it safe. What do y'all think?

 

[JosieChick]

Well, it is another hot one today. I spent all day yesterday working on my coop. It was forecast to be 92 but that is in the shade and I was in the sun, on a ladder, roofing most of the day. It may be the hottest I've ever been. I know I've never sweated as OBVIOUSLY as I did yesterday and all of my clothes were practically wringing wet by the end. Had to drink gallons of water just to get through the day.

By the end of the day though...we had the roof pretty much on (still need to add the roof vent but although we had it sitting right there, we had run out of energy so decided it will have to wait until the next coop-build-day - hopefully this Friday.
Here is a photo of our progress by the end of the day yesterday:



And now a question: I am planning to install an auto door. After researching several different models, I decided on the one I want. It operates via a light sensor so will close the coop at different times throughout the year, depending on the amount of light (seasonally). There is an option to use a timer instead but I'd prefer to use the light sensor as long as it works well. Anyway, the company has two sizes available. The standard size is 9x12 and the larger is 11x13. Right now, the standard would work for all the birds I have but as I plan to have turkeys at some point, do you think I will need the large? I will have heritage turkeys and my preference is MW or RP's, so they won't be huge birds but I still wasn't sure if they'd be able to squeeze through the 9x12 door or if I should play it safe. What do y'all think?

Now that is a coop!! I will need one of those built at my house next.

If your turkeys are anything like my turkeys it won't matter what size the door is because they won't go through it to come in anyway!

If I was you I would spring for the big door if you want any luck getting them to go through. They seem to be claustrophobic birds, we are going to build our turkeys a hoop house for the winter and cover it with tarps. Mine don't seem too impressed with being cooped but that has just been my luck so far.

 

[chicken danz]

Kansaseq, Sent you a PM.
Hechicken great job on the coop. I'd like to borrow your helper for about a month!!! I like my nest boxes inside too. In fact I don't have any outside at all. I think turkeys prefer something three sided that they can get in to get out of weather and that would just most likely be coldest winter weather. Mine would rather sit on top of a building than go into it. You've heard of turkey's drowning looking up at the rain??? If there is any truth to that its' because they don't want to go inside.

 

[sharol]

Thanks. She is very pretty -- she came from mpc as a day old chick, so she is just a hatchery quality Campine, but we love her.

She wasn't quite a week old when she first started sitting on the roost. Her little leopard spots were unmistakable from the beginning.

Good looking bird there!

 

[Trish44]

HeChicken, I wouldn't bother buying a bigger door for the turkeys either if I were you. The turkey shelters I saw online are just a roof with a roost underneath & nothing more, so they don't like being inside a building I don't think. It said on the sites I have looked on that something like a carport even would work for them if they have a place to roost under it. Your coop is coming along well, just one question though, what kind of vents are you putting in? I have found out with my shed I converted that you need lots & lots of venting. In fact I'm going to have to cut out another window & I'm just going to cover it with hardware cloth for the summer & then worry about what to do with it for winter later. It's just so hot in that coop it's not funny. I have taken to leaving the front people door open during the day because it's just too hot in there & I have two windows in the sides & one in the door & 3 vents so far. I'm going to put another window in the south wall to hopefully let more breeze in. I really like my automatic chicken door I got from Fleming Outdoors, it's on a timer & you can change it for the seasons. My birds have been going in about 8:30 now, some are in earlier, but the later ones are in by then.

Danz, that is a really nice cage system you built there, that should be great for the quail. Well I don't know whether to do one batch of peacock eggs in the incubator just like I have them & then get my Brinsea out & try laying the other batch on their sides & turn them manually or what. I guess I could try that & see if it truly does make any difference. I don't have the Brinsea running right now, I put all the other eggs in the cabinet incubator.

Kansas, it's really easy to post pics now with the icon on the top of the editor. I think it's so much easier now with the new site than it was before.

 

[chicken danz]

Happy Birthday, Kansaseq!!!!!!!

Yeah she didn't tell us! Today is her birthday.
Trish I have all kinds of parts to a modular cage breeding system. These were spare parts. I built the house for them and built it so the cages wouldn't come out. I grooved the wood so I can slide the trays out to clean it. So far they aren't happy but it's all new to them to be around other birds. They will appreciate it once they get over being scared. I have no idea what I will do with them in the winter. I just don't want them back in the basement again.
I got my feed shoveled into the barrels after the sun kind of lowered in the sky. I drained the duck pond again and used the water on the garden. Just got that cleaned and filled. Then I gathered eggs. I got a whole 5 gallon bucket full of them. I definitely need to take them to the farmers market. I just hate to waste an afternoon sitting there in the heat to sell them.