Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

I think especially now the ducks would be fine together. He needs a new friend. There might be a little picking at each other but that is just deciding who is gonna be boss duck. I would imagine it will be him. I'm glad at least he is okay.
Turkeys aren't very hardy birds but maybe with luck he can pull through. If I were in your shoes I'd be crying. That is so sad. I can't imagine the trauma the birds have been through. The worst thign is you have dogs to protect your birds but they accept the other dog as belonging there. I am really glad your geese weren't accessible to him! That would have been the worst of all.
I was flying a foot or so off the ground when I saw the egg. Now I hope she lays some more and sits on them. I just cut lumber yesterday to build her a different nest box. I guess I won't be using that now. I had put a washtub in there a few weeks ago and filled it with straw but she hadn't paid attention to it. I'm glad she chose it. It's a little safer than just a ground nest.

 

[JosieChick]

Trish-

I am so sorry about the little chick. Such a bummer. Maybe when I pick up the roo you can let me know where you got your eggs from and maybe I could try hatching some. This is just a terrible day.

Danz- Thanks for the advice, I will keep a close eye on them. He is the lower ranking duck and he likes to visit through the fence with the two younger girls so hopefully he will be ok. He is hanging around with my other cochin rooster right now.

The turkey just died. I gave hims some tramadol (pain medication) about an hour ago and darkened the rooms so hopefully he could get some sleep and he was gone when I just checked on him. Poor guy, now I only have one lonely turkey.

I just want to crawl back in bed.

 

[JosieChick]

I feel badly for Molly. She looked very unhappy and confused when I got home. She has gotten aggressive with our house dogs before but I usually tell her its enough when I am out there watching them. I can't imagine what she could have done to stop him short of ripping his neck open, he is like a total psycho when he gets out of control like that. She is still really upset today and has been out back all day pacing around the pens when she usually sleeps. I am afraid she is going to wear herself bone tired. She growled when we put him in the car this morning so she knows he did something very bad.

 

[Ivywoods]

Josie-I know what you mean. I remember our GP's grabbing at our murderous dachshund trying to stop him from killing chickens without hurting him. It has to be confusing for them.

I should have RP turkey poults hatching in a day or two if you are interested. I have some older ones that another lady is selling for me if you are interested in them. Heck, I would even sell some of the ones I was saving back to raise for us since it looks like we will be moving.

 

[JosieChick]

Thanks Ivy, I have the four RP poults of yours in the garage in a brooder still. I wonder if they will befriend my giant, lonesome BBB turkey when they move outside? I feel so badly for it. They were quite the gang those turkeys. They went everywhere together, I don't know what it will do now. They did use to go in the garage to visit the baby RPs so maybe they will all be friends eventually?

 

[Trish44]

Oh & I forgot to also say that on top of losing Josie's chick today, which was a total bummer in itself that this rude lady from GQF called me & wanted to know if she could send Fed Ex to get my incubator parts. She said they NEEDED to get them back so they could figure out what went wrong. I tried to explain to the stupid woman that I had to borrow an incubator from someone because I had eggs in mine when it failed & I didn't have a cord for both of them so I need to get that Thurs. & then troubleshoot the parts on mine to make sure it works before I give the other one back. I told her that I wasn't ready to send those parts back yet. Heck I had to wait 2 & a half weeks to get my parts & now they want me to jump & hurry to get the old ones back to them. GRRRRR!!! I'm not happy with this company at all! So she rudely said for me to call them back as soon as I can send them back so they could arrange pickup. Geez, I may keep them longer just because they have caused me so much trouble & been so rude to me. We were told to change out the yellow thermostat box first & then if that didn't solve the problem to change out the whole digital control box. Well let me tell you it's no simple thing to change out & on top of that they have sent absolutely NO instructions on doing this nor is there any kind of instructions or diagrams on their web site. What do they think we all are electricians or what? I'm really aggravated about this whole experience & if they keep acting like this I may make them come get the whole incubator & give me another one. It's under warranty for a year.

 

[HEChicken]

Oh wow, so sorry for all the bad news today. I can't believe you are still having issues with GQF Trish - it seems like that has been going on forever. Congrats on getting the foundation for the breeder pens done but sorry your DH isn't enjoying doing it more. It is really hard on these hot days to get motivated to stay outside in the sun and heat for very long. On the days my helper is available, I have no choice but to work alongside him all day and there have been times I didn't drink enough water and got so dehydrated that I found myself just kind of standing, staring into space and had to remind myself to snap out of it and get busy. Yesterday I couldn't find any shoes (not unpacked yet) so had to spend the day working in my flip flops which was not only uncomfortable but although I applied sunscreen liberally everywhere else, I forgot to do the tops of my feet so now they are lobster red and painful, with white strips where the straps of the flip flops lie.

Anyway, perhaps if you and your DH can just commit to working on it from early morning until it starts to get too warm to be comfortable, you'll be able to get more done since it is cool, than trying to put in a whole day when its hot and neither of you really wants to be there.

Josie, sorry about the turkey not making it. It is so hard when they are injured and in shock, to pull them through. It sounds like you did everything you possibly could, though. And that chick didn't make it either? Bummer - I know how excited you were when it hatched.

 

[prairie]

Cherwill,
The little ducklings are better --They totter a little but not much today. They can run really fast so maybe it was they didn't have enough room in the little pen. don't know but they are sure doing fine now. Sorry about your neices duckling. Hope she can help him!

I wish I knew more about ducks and their legs. The third duck that came with my niece's order has a leg that doesn't work right. The friend who wanted the duck said she'd take it anyway, but now she doesn't want it because she can't do anything with it. If it has something to lean against, it can walk, so it puts the bad leg in the waterer trough, leans against the water jug, and walks in circles. The hatchery had offered to refund their money, but they declined at the time. My niece is trying to convince her parents to take the duck and let her try to help it. She's certain it's not a leg problem at all but a mental problem (don't ask!) and it just needs someone to work with it and teach it to walk. She's 14 and does work at a vet's office, but they were no help at all when we had chicken questions. I don't expect them to know much about ducks, but maybe they'll try for her sake.

 

[chicken danz]

Josie, I have lavender orps in the incubator. Due to hatch about the 21st if I remember right.I will watch for a splash chick. I was talking to my daughter yesterday and she had a splash chick hatch in her lavenders as well. Maybe they aren't so difficult to find. So sorry about your turkey. They were the funniest little guys,
Tomorrow will surely be a better day.
I am sure Molly is confused. She'll forget it in a couple days unless one of the other dogs goes for the birds. I am sure she barked and growled but got ignored.
I've been out working on the chicken trailer. I am loosing my good nature. The wood is all splitting and then the ceiling is falling a bit where I need to put the last divider in the first room. I finally had to come in to cool off and DH is going to try to jack up the ceiling some how so I can get my frame in. It is so bad though that I'm not sure it will even hold chickens if they get too feisty. Very disappointing for all the work and money I've put into the project so far. Maybe it will get better as I go along. This room had the most things I had to try to work around so maybe the next will go better.

 

[JosieChick]

Thanks Danz! That would be awesome. They are usually yellow with a round lavender dot on their back. I am going to try to get some eggs from the same lady as Trish did and see if I have any luck. Unfortunately most people assume they are a dud color and sell them off to someone who doesn't care and just wants a cheap chick so it is hard to come by them. I have hatched two batches of lavender orps this year and none of them were mottled. I LOVED those turkeys, they were awesome. I am so sad for the one that is alone. It is hanging out with a bunch of 6 week old cochin chicks, it must be lonely!!!

I was outside digging a giant chicken grave, it looked like I could have buried a person in there. I just finished digging and one of the little serama mix cockerels kept getting out and I heard him carrying on out front of the house so I looked up and lo and behold the missing RIR roo comes running from across the yard and straight to the pen to be let in!! He spent the whole night and day in the woods across the street hiding!! I couldn't believe my eyes. I looked everywhere for him and couldn't figure out why I found all the other dead birds in the same place but couldn't find him and its because he was alive all along! I have never been so happy to see a dumb rooster!

Josie, I have lavender orps in the incubator. Due to hatch about the 21st if I remember right.I will watch for a splash chick. I was talking to my daughter yesterday and she had a splash chick hatch in her lavenders as well. Maybe they aren't so difficult to find. So sorry about your turkey. They were the funniest little guys,
Tomorrow will surely be a better day.