Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

HEChicken,

I know what you mean about feeling like you have to look after them. I'm planning all my errands for morning so that I don't have to be gone during the worst heat of the day. I have 2 misters running, but the wind makes it hard to direct the mist into the shaded areas. I'm refreshing water several times and running a sprinkler on really low in another area to form a puddle for them.

I did this all through July and August last year, but 3 months this year???????

Sharol

 

[HEChicken]

So its not just me? I really don't remember it being this hot this early last year. We can hope that its starting early so it will end early too but even an optimist like me is having a hard time buying that one.

 

[Trish44]

Josie, I love those lav Orps! I have 4 that are doing very well & am getting 5 more in a trade the 14th of July, I can't wait! I love the color of them & if they turn out to be as friendly as the buff I got this spring I'm going to love them. I have heard that they are very lovable birds, so I can handle that. Yeah what is that chick with the black legs? My wheaten Ameraucanas don't have legs like that, they're supposed to be slate colored, but those look black.

My little lonely peachick is doing well, he just wants a friend. My eggs in the hatcher aren't due until Friday, so nothing is even pipping yet. If he at least had a chick in there I think he would be happy. I guess I'll move him into one of the crates in awhile. I'm going to separate the chicks that the guy is coming for tomorrow afternoon from the ones I'm keeping. I never did find his other chick in the garage, it must have gotten under something & couldn't get out. Too bad it wasn't as smart as the little bugger I've been seeking to catch for days. It was a nice looking chick too, I hate it that it got lost, but there is just so much stuff in that garage for them to get under. I'm going to have to try to do more cleaning out when it gets cooler this fall. I have my wire rabbit cages in there & that makes it harder to catch things too because they can run right underneath the bottom ones & I can't get them. They get in behind them too & it's near impossible to catch anything back there unless they're sleeping. I just can't figure out where the little bugger is roosting at, it's just hard to tell. If I could confine it to just one area maybe I could trap it somehow, but as long as it's running all over, it's impossible. I need to figure out how to block off some places.

Oh welcome Ozarkflyer! Another BYC member from south Central Ks, yay! I lived in Derby for 23 years before I moved where I am now & I'm originally from Wichita.

 

[cherwill]

My AC decided to die on one of the hottest days of the year. Good times! Now I wait and sweat.

In other news I think I will be able to move the girls into their new digs this evening. I will take some updated pics.

Ack! I hope you got it fixed quickly. Your coop is looking great.

Goodness yes! One of our fellow BYC'ers has already had to evacuate multiple times. She first loaded up all her animals (including 35 freedom rangers) and went to a friend's but then they got evacuated so she went to a relative but THEY got evacuated. I'm not sure where she is now and I'm sure she's too busy to post an update. She is from the Waldo Canyon area where the fire is only 5% contained and already 32,000 homes have been evacuated. The first just recently jumped a barrier they were trying to create to contain it (I was just reading about it on Yahoo! News a few minutes ago).

I hope she's in another state now, and safe! What a disaster.

I have been trying for days to catch that darned little Ameraucana in the garage & so far to no avail. He is just too smart & he knows as soon as I get the net he should run & hide. Today I went in there & he was in the live trap, but he's too light to trip it. I tried to get over there fast enough to get the net over the end, but he saw me & ran out really fast. I don't know how I'm ever going to get him. Do any of you have any ideas? I didn't see the other one that got loose yesterday yet today. I hope it turns up because this guy wanting these chicks will buy it if I can find it. I still have all of the rest of the chicks in the crates in the house. I covered up the crates last night so it would be totally dark & they would be quiet & that worked until it got light this morning. My DH didn't know they were in here until they started peeping this morning. He didn't say much, I just told him it was too hot in the garage for them & he said, oh I know. I think he's starting to get used to it all. He might as well I guess, huh.

Who'd have thought he could keep it up for so long?!

I just gotta get home from my mom's! We have had a great time while I recover, but my knees feel pretty good now, and I have to go back to work in 2 weeks, so it's time to get home and back in the swing of thingsl

I'm glad your knees are feeling good, though you picked a hot time to get back into the swing of things.

Babies! Lavender orps, wheaten/blue wheaten ameraucanas, gold laced/buff laced brahmas, black jersey giants and white leghorns. (Jerseys and leghorns were extra surprise hatch day chicks to make the order 15 chicks, thought a surprise might be fun!)




Does anyone ever tire of baby chicks? They are so stinkin cute!!

Nope, I never get tired of the little cuties!

Okay excuse my dirty brooder bin. Haven't changed the paper towels today. I did change the waterer twice already though! Messy little chicks! The one odd chick in there is a chick one of my hens hatched that got picked on by other fowl. He is missing the top of his beak and blind in one eye but thriving well.

Aw, poor little bullied chick! They're sure cute.

Haha, I think i figured out how do do a post! Thanks hechicken! I am near rose hill,KS and have had horrible luck with ebay eggs under my broody game hens. We have a small 80 acre homestead and are looking for a good layer and meat bird and have settled on Sussex or blue laced red wyandotte. I have 18 eggs under a hen now that are bad, they are 2 days over due, but the chicken keeps setting. Does anyone close have any new chicks to put under her? we had our other hen hatch out 3 ducks and 2 chicks from ebay and I'm worried this mother will get discouraged if I don't give her some babies to raise. can I put new eggs under her for another 21 days or should I just put any chicks under her. I am typing from my phone so i hope I'm clear on what I'm trying to say. Thanks guys and gals
Ed

Welcome!

Every day, the 10 day forecast says the next day will be 107-108, then it gets cooler by a degree or two each day after that. But each night, the next day's high is still supposed to be 107-108 ... someone's lying! I took ice out three times today. I put some in the waterer and spread the rest out under the lilacs. Twice a day, the micro-watering system makes a bit of mud under the lilacs, so the birds are clustered around them anyway. Then I spray the whole pen down with cold water and chase the girls around a bit with it. They don't like it at all, which is silly because it should feel good and they have no problem standing around in rain. They're panting nonstop, but they sure get a burst of energy when I start spraying the hose around. I couldn't get out today because DH has the truck, but tomorrow I need to go shopping (in between gardening and mowing a couple of lawns) so I'm going to look for a mister. I checked online and I can't find where any store in McPherson carries a Cobra or anything like it, so I'll probably be stuck spraying the house and making ice for the chickens until I can get out of town. DH thinks I'm silly because they survived last summer with just the fan in the coop and lots of cold water. Except he is worried about Old Sophia. I know I have obsessed about her weight here, but this heat must be harder on her than on the others. The only way to put her on a diet would be to separate her from the rest of the flock, which we haven't wanted to do. She's still one of my better layers (which means an egg or two a week these days), but the egg is almost always cracked. The shell is very thin in places, and she's so heavy, those poor odd-shaped eggs don't have a chance! The other eggs have thicker shells now that we've got some oyster shell out.

Stay as cool as possible; there's no end in sight according to The Weather Channel.

 

[chicken danz]

I got a call and my midget white turkeys are at the post office. I was told it would be Friday. Of course I'm totally unprepared. I haven't gotten the older ones moved out of the bin I need for them yet. Heavens, I have no idea where I am going to put them due to the heat. I had planned to move them outside but I think it would stress them too much to go from 73 to 103. I should be working on that instead of sitting here.
Trish I candled the rest of my peacock eggs and only one of the 6 showed any development. And then it has to manage to hatch. I didn't see any movement but that doesn't always occur anyway.
I should know better than to order eggs. I still plan to try to get some from the lady in Scarnton where you got yours next week. I can drive up there for them.
The other two I ordered weeks ago still haven't been mailed. I am getting a little irritated. She is till selling eggs but they are all a couple weeks in advance of when they are scheduled to arrive. wish I had noticed that when I ordered them. If she can't fill my order I think she needs to stop selling weeks ahead. I wrote her last week and she said she thought they would be ready to ship last Monday but still nothing from her.
I'm giving up on my own peahen as well. She is still at 3 eggs and not sitting. I think it is just too hot. I am sure at least one of the eggs is no good by now as long as it's been there and as hot as it's been.
The difference in the weather this year and last is last year we had a very late spring. It was just starting to warm at the first of June. Look at how hot it has been all spring! Very worrisome. I had read earlier this spring that El Nino had ended so weather would return to normal this summer. That is so much bunk! If you read about the further future it talks about the global warming and it being followed by another ice age. I'd say we are definitely in the global warming part of it all.
Well I'd better go get my new babies!

 

[HEChicken]

Every day, the 10 day forecast says the next day will be 107-108, then it gets cooler by a degree or two each day after that. But each night, the next day's high is still supposed to be 107-108 ... someone's lying!

Yeah, I noticed that too. Even now the 7-day for this area only has it cooling down to 98-99 for a few days and then back up to triples.

My little lonely peachick is doing well, he just wants a friend. My eggs in the hatcher aren't due until Friday, so nothing is even pipping yet. If he at least had a chick in there I think he would be happy. I guess I'll move him into one of the crates in awhile.

I'm so sorry only 1 peachick hatched - I know those eggs aren't cheap. I always hope for at least two to hatch so they're not lonely. I had one batch where only one hatched but it was during chick days so I was able to go and get it a couple of friends.

I got a call and my midget white turkeys are at the post office. I was told it would be Friday. Of course I'm totally unprepared. I haven't gotten the older ones moved out of the bin I need for them yet. Heavens, I have no idea where I am going to put them due to the heat. I had planned to move them outside but I think it would stress them too much to go from 73 to 103. I should be working on that instead of sitting here.

The difference in the weather this year and last is last year we had a very late spring. It was just starting to warm at the first of June. Look at how hot it has been all spring! Very worrisome. I had read earlier this spring that El Nino had ended so weather would return to normal this summer. That is so much bunk! If you read about the further future it talks about the global warming and it being followed by another ice age. I'd say we are definitely in the global warming part of it all.
Well I'd better go get my new babies!

Right now an ice age is starting to sound pretty darn good!

Yeah for the MW's - I hope they all survived the trip well and are doing okay when you get them home. This heat is a terrible time to be going through the mail.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I think tomorrow we will be about ready to put on the floor boards on the new coop & then maybe this weekend we can go get more wood for the walls. My DH has got his cough back & can't seem to get rid of it. I told him he probably needs to find a Dr. & go see about it. He rarely ever goes to see a Dr, but I told him he needs to have one just in case.

Post pictures if you get any more up!

Teresa, I'm about to think I should swing by with my "chicken catchers". I swear to you, my kids can catch anything, anywhere, anytime, anyhow.

oohhh! I bet your kids could catch that baby!! It would take a few people and it would just be done and over with.

Tweety- I love the ducks in the mister so much I went out today and bought 3!! You should send that pic to the company! I had 3 guys at home depot on a man hunt to find me cobra misters. They were up in the storage bins above the aisles! So far the gang seems to appreciate it, the turkey is hanging out in front of it!

I bought the dogs a kiddie pool the other day and tried in vain to show them how much fun it was too jump in and cool off. They looked like I was trying to dip them in hot lava! This morning I look up and Lucie, the GP pup, is tearing across the yard full tilt and I wonder to myself what she is after. She goes barreling up and bombs into that pool runs in 15 circles with her face in the water and jumps out and tears off! So I guess at least she will use it to cool off! I think Molly is too dignified to be caught in a wading pool.

I am so glad I shaved her down for the summer though. She has grown back a remarkable nap of coat but it is still much shorter than her normal length and I think at least keeps her moderately comfortable!

So glad your birds love the misters! Mine do! My silkies love it the most! They just get soaked every single day now sitting in front of it. But at least they're not dying of heat and out there panting. Lucie is hilarious! Good for her for enjoying the water!

Babies! Lavender orps, wheaten/blue wheaten ameraucanas, gold laced/buff laced brahmas, black jersey giants and white leghorns. (Jerseys and leghorns were extra surprise hatch day chicks to make the order 15 chicks, thought a surprise might be fun!)




Does anyone ever tire of baby chicks? They are so stinkin cute!!

Beautiful chicks!! No, no one could get tired of seeing or petting chicks. Sticky (my silkie that was sticky when he hatched) has not grown at all!! Is like like a newly hatched chick. I go out there and hold him alot because he's just sooo darned cute! I know he's a lot older, but he's still all teeny tiny like a newborn.

Haha, I think i figured out how do do a post! Thanks hechicken! I am near rose hill,KS and have had horrible luck with ebay eggs under my broody game hens. We have a small 80 acre homestead and are looking for a good layer and meat bird and have settled on Sussex or blue laced red wyandotte. I have 18 eggs under a hen now that are bad, they are 2 days over due, but the chicken keeps setting. Does anyone close have any new chicks to put under her? we had our other hen hatch out 3 ducks and 2 chicks from ebay and I'm worried this mother will get discouraged if I don't give her some babies to raise. can I put new eggs under her for another 21 days or should I just put any chicks under her. I am typing from my phone so i hope I'm clear on what I'm trying to say. Thanks guys and gals
Ed

WELCOME Ozarkflyer!!!

Welcome to the Kansas thread! You'll love it here! Rose Hill isn't too far away from me, either. I don't have any of the chicks you are looking for, but we do have a swap you might find them on. http://www.facebook.com/groups/275183675880038/ But if you can't find any babies, I'd remove the eggs and encourage her to get out and eat and feel the breeze again. They just waste away when they are sitting. I keep water and food right next to their head when I have a broody. That way they don't have to get up off the nest, but can reach over and eat and drink.

Okay excuse my dirty brooder bin. Haven't changed the paper towels today. I did change the waterer twice already though! Messy little chicks! The one odd chick in there is a chick one of my hens hatched that got picked on by other fowl. He is missing the top of his beak and blind in one eye but thriving well.

OH, that poor baby that lost it's beak! I hope she'll be okay! Hopefully it'll be a girl and you can keep her or find her a nice family that would want an egg layer. Poor thing. Glad you brought her in. Your lavenders are gorgeous!!!! WOW! Love that color!

We've been having a HUGE problem keeping the pool clean enough for the ducks (OMG they are dirty - and it keeps burning out any pump we put in there) that DH and I came up with a change of plans for the run. We are going to pull up the pond and fill it back with dirt. Then we are going to lay brick so we have a "patio", put in a trough for the ducks to clean bills in, and add a mister hose - with several misters going - from above so there will be more "misting space" for them and it doesn't get as muddy with the patio. We'll then just get a small kiddie pool that we can fill on the weekends and dump to let the ducks play. The water gets so hot in that black pool (and icky dirty) that they don't even get in there until we've added new water now. I think they like the misters much better since it's always cool. I guess chicken coops and runs are a constant project until you find something that works for everyone involved. LOL

oh wow!! No more pond! But yeah, understandable if you can't keep it clean and the pumps burn out. I'd be working on another solution too. I like your idea of the misters and the water trough. That will work just as well.

I had my mister set up for the first time today and it seemed to be a fairly popular item. However today was the also first day I've seen a hen in some distress. It was my Mama Sultan and while she wasn't exactly droopy, she looked a little listless, so I picked her up and put her feet over the misters to get cool. She didn't seem to mind that at all and started looking around her with more interest than she had moments before. So then I set her in the waterer, which I had just filled with cold water. I have several that like to stand in water but she is not one of them. But I guess it felt good enough that in a minute she bent down and started drinking and then she stood there for about 10 minutes before getting out. When she did get out, she looked like she was feeling a LOT better. I hate that despite shade and digging into the cool earth and cold waterers and misters, I still feel like I have to keep a close eye on them in this heat.

Poor mama Sultan!! I swear, this heat is just awful. I'm working my butt off watering everything around here and trying to keep everything living. Glad that a good foot soak got her back on track. Maybe she'll jump in on her own next time.

Except he is worried about Old Sophia. I know I have obsessed about her weight here, but this heat must be harder on her than on the others. The only way to put her on a diet would be to separate her from the rest of the flock, which we haven't wanted to do. She's still one of my better layers (which means an egg or two a week these days), but the egg is almost always cracked. The shell is very thin in places, and she's so heavy, those poor odd-shaped eggs don't have a chance! The other eggs have thicker shells now that we've got some oyster shell out.

Worst case, I do believe Lowes or Home Depot has the water mister heads... you could just use a staple and put them on a board and stick it upright. Or even, hang them over the top of their run so they can get under them. That's if you can't find a Cobra. Just another idea.

I got a call and my midget white turkeys are at the post office. Look at how hot it has been all spring! Very worrisome. I had read earlier this spring that El Nino had ended so weather would return to normal this summer. That is so much bunk! If you read about the further future it talks about the global warming and it being followed by another ice age. I'd say we are definitely in the global warming part of it all.
Well I'd better go get my new babies!

YAY!!! turkeys!!! I want pictures when you get a chance!! Yeah, the weather patterns are really out of whack. It's very worrisome. Yeah, that whole el nino has ended crap is like saying the recession is all over. I heard that the other day!!! We had a Bishop come visit our church and he was saying "now that the recession has ended"... and my DH and I looked at each other like-- WHat the heck is he smoking?? Especially when Boeing is shutting down and we're out of a job soon-- and HELLO, if the recession had ended, Cessna would not be on furlough and Beech would not be laying off another 300 people... Yeah. We're really pulling out of it. Uh hu. SO ANNOYING! Idiots!

OKay.... that hit close to home, sorry. LOL!!

I've been out watering ALL morning!! Argh. Moving the hose from tree to tree and trying to get everything watered before I need to hook the hoses all back up to the water misters again in the pens. Sigh. This is like a never ending cycle! Who said that they are wanting to do all their stuff in the morning and be home by the afternoon so they can take care of birds?? I find myself doing that too. I'm still holding out hope that the heat will let up. Could be a pipe dream... hehe

 

[HEChicken]

I keep water and food right next to their head when I have a broody. That way they don't have to get up off the nest, but can reach over and eat and drink.

Hey Hawkeye, I've actually heard its better to leave the food and water far enough away that they are forced to get off the nest and stretch their legs occasionally. Someone on the forum one time had a serious issue with her hen because she left the food close enough the hen didn't need to move so she started just pooping on the eggs rather than get up. If the food and water are a few feet away, she'll get off at least once a day, get the blood flowing back to her legs, poop, eat and drink and it will be better for her overall.

 

[ozarkflyer1974]

Hey guys thanks for the advice. I am going to see if I can find some day old chicks in the next few days before I take her eggs away. I have read through some of these postings and you guys seem to have a good time. We have 8 kids and a bunch of animals on our ranch near rose hill. I especially love the birds and hope to find some more through this website. I do have a question about our silver appleyard ducks our hen hatched out along with one sussex and one blue laced red wyandotte (we started the duck eggs in the incubator a week before adding the chicken eggs). Are these girls or boys?

We also have a pair of sebastopol geese, 5 chickens, 14 goats, and 10 cows. We definately need more birds! Thanks again!

Ed

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hey Hawkeye, I've actually heard its better to leave the food and water far enough away that they are forced to get off the nest and stretch their legs occasionally. Someone on the forum one time had a serious issue with her hen because she left the food close enough the hen didn't need to move so she started just pooping on the eggs rather than get up. If the food and water are a few feet away, she'll get off at least once a day, get the blood flowing back to her legs, poop, eat and drink and it will be better for her overall.

Probably not a bad idea if you have a typical broody. Although, I did this because my broody was wasting away to nothing and she flat out refused to get up anyway. I had her in a kennel with the rabbit cups and I could see if she was drinking or not. A day would go by and nothing-- by day 2, I could see she still was not eating or drinking. I moved everything right close to her so that she would be more tempted. As it was, she lost so much weight and was really weak. I wasn't so sure she was going to be okay, but she's doing okay now. She still hasn't gained back all of her weight, poor thing. So I think it's going to depend on your situation. And if you remember, I was saying I was taking her out of her nest to make her walk around each morning? She was a die hard... mostly trying to die. HA!!