Consolidated Kansas

[sunflowerparrot]

I made this album public on facebook, so I am thinking anyone can see it.. here is the Surplus Box turned into chick coop photos - not quite finished, but finished enough! Still need to paint the caulking, put up the fenced area, fill up the inside with mowed cattails and put the chicks in!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3476917124068.2133956.1305438222&type=1&l=e4808f8454

 

[checoukan]

Checoukan, If those sebbies are anything like mine I would jump on that deal. They were going for $110 each at the Gardner auction this spring. Someone local was selling some for $50 each but just because I knew who he was I wouldn't have paid $10 each for his birds. I would find out how old they are. If they were this years birds and related I might trade you a drake so we could each add another blood line here. You would love these guys. They are so comical. I love just going out and talking to mine because they are total clowns.
Ivy good luck finding a new job. I am with you. I believe you wouldn't have found such a perfect place if you weren't meant to be there regardless of employment. I would so love to have such a lovely home and land. Particularly that pond. My ducks would be thrilled.

I told him I would wait until saturday to say I would take them. Yes they are this years babies. He has three, I don't know how to sex but he does. I might work out a trade with you. He had the parent birds at last years fair. We have the misters running full blast in the barns, I think it is only that is saving the birds. Hurry 10 pm saturday!!!!!

 

[sunflowerparrot]

I am going to add some more vents Sunday before putting the chicks in this. I will probably double what I already have.

 

[chicken danz]

I have three coops made of shipping boxes. One of them I made shorter and is used as a duck house. The other two are both 7 foot tall so you can walk in them just fine. One came from Spirit and one came from Wolf Creek. I had some more panels but they sat out in the weather so long they were splitting so they went to the burn pile. We just put a frame work and metal roofing on top.
Every building I have here has been made from something re-purposed.
I am exhausted. I took my granddaughter to town to the swimming pool. I don't like going in public in a suit with my farmer's tan but we had a pretty good time. Now I need to get busy doing some laundry and getting things ready for my grand daughter to fly back home tomorrow. I also need to come up with some idea for dinner that isn't hot. I really didn't want to stop at the store soaking wet!
I think when I get home tomorrow evening I'll just crash. Unfortunately I will have to go to church Sunday AM, then I have to get up and go to Topeka Monday AM. No rest for the wicked. Maybe Tuesday I can sleep in and enjoy a little peace and quiet.
I got a bag of tomatoes very reasonably priced at a garage sale in town my sister told me about. I don't normally go to garage sales but I wanted tomatoes. I am thinking I should have bought more of them. Mine aren't doing any thing.
I guess I should go check the birds again and make sure they did okay this afternoon.

 

[Trish44]

sunflowerparrot, yes do add more vents, the more the better. I have been trying every since I converted my shed into a coop to get enough air circulation in there & still can't seem to get enough, it's still hot in there.

It's been a real bugger out there today. I have been alternating places with my mister trying to keep everyone cool enough, but it's almost impossible. My black Ameraucana rooster has really been suffering today & I have sprayed him down twice. The 2nd time he didn't even seem to mind. I had an experience with the mister today when I had part of the hose out across the driveway & went out there to check it & that water was scalding hot. I actually burned my hand trying to take the mister off to cool it down. I'm headed out there again in a few minutes to feed & check on everyone. My adult chickens at least have enough sense to go under a bush where it's shady, but the younger ones that are out are still hanging around in the run. I went in there twice today & ran them out & they go right back in. Then they pile over by the pen where there is nothing in there now & pant, gosh silly birds. I sprayed the floor in there, which is sand today a couple times just to cool off a place at least where they could sit so it wasn't so hot. I got very few eggs today, it's just too hot.

I've been considering canceling the trip to KC in two weeks for my Dr. appt. & postponing it until later in the fall when it's not so darned hot. I know that my DH is going to get upset with me when I bring it up, but I'm afraid to leave my birds for 2 days with nobody here to cool them off in this heat. My DH just doesn't understand & I know I'm going to hear a lot of cursing & going on about how my chickens dictate everything we do. His brother has a big anniversary party coming up in 3 wks too & if it's not cooler by then I don't even want to go there. They're having it at some park & if I tell him I don't want to go to that either he's really going to throw a fit. I have some expensive birds here & I hate to have to just leave them & hope they don't die while I'm gone & my rabbits too. Yes, it does restrict what we're able to do sometimes, but these things are important to me & I know he doesn't care about them, but I wish he could respect my feelings & not put me down for having these things. I don't plan to get rid of them all any time soon, so he might as well stop riding me about it.

Well I had better get out there & take care of things. I hope you all are surviving along with your birds. My little Swedish Flower Hen chick still is not good, it can't stand & just flops around in the crate. I keep giving it electrolytes & it started fighting me to use the syringe, so I got it to drink it by dipping it's beak in there. I did get a tiny bit of yogurt down earlier, but not much. I have given it two doses of vitamin E today too. It has improved a tiny bit from this morning when it's head was almost upside down, it can hold it's head up now. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

 

[medawinks]

Trish, did you try a bit of corn syrup? Josie told me to try that and it really did perk Molly up. She still couldn't hold her head up this morning, but after a bit more ... She started eating yogurt on her own, while lying down and look what she is doing tonight .

I hope it works for your hen too!!!

I understand your apprehension to leave in this heat. 100%

 

[cherwill]

Well good news I think. After Josie's post yesterday about the neurological damage I started giving the rooster some vitamin E along with all the other stuff I was giving him by dropper. This morning I gave him more. He has actually drank an entire bowl of pedialite, probiotics, sweetener and water and eaten almost an entire raw egg. There's hope! That is the first food he had consumed. He really fought me giving him the vitamin E this morning so that encouraged me.
I'm not going to put him back outside for several days as long as he continues to improve, I had heat exhaustion once and it took about 2 years before I could tolerate the heat. I am going to assume that animals are the same.
He's got a ways to go yet but just seeing him eat and drink on his own again has given me hope. I just hope if he recovers that his reproductive system remained in tact.

Good news!

Just went and checked on my 5 chicks (2 months old) and they're doing great - active, eating, drinking, etc. They're in a rabbit hutch in an area with some fairly decent shade...

I will get some photos of my temp chick coop later this evening. Basically - it is a surplus box that we cut some holes in and reinforced the edges. All I have to do is get a little fenced area up for them to run around. This is just a temp coop - will eventually be used for broilers - but am going to start building the real deal for the layers in a few weeks.

Boyfriend came out this afternoon and we had delicious BLTs for lunch along with chips/salsa and cantaloup... YUMM! I am glad I took half a day off from work

Sounds like a perfect day. I checked out your FB photos; the coop is really nice!

I have three coops made of shipping boxes. One of them I made shorter and is used as a duck house. The other two are both 7 foot tall so you can walk in them just fine. One came from Spirit and one came from Wolf Creek. I had some more panels but they sat out in the weather so long they were splitting so they went to the burn pile. We just put a frame work and metal roofing on top.
Every building I have here has been made from something re-purposed.
I am exhausted. I took my granddaughter to town to the swimming pool. I don't like going in public in a suit with my farmer's tan but we had a pretty good time. Now I need to get busy doing some laundry and getting things ready for my grand daughter to fly back home tomorrow. I also need to come up with some idea for dinner that isn't hot. I really didn't want to stop at the store soaking wet!
I think when I get home tomorrow evening I'll just crash. Unfortunately I will have to go to church Sunday AM, then I have to get up and go to Topeka Monday AM. No rest for the wicked. Maybe Tuesday I can sleep in and enjoy a little peace and quiet.
I got a bag of tomatoes very reasonably priced at a garage sale in town my sister told me about. I don't normally go to garage sales but I wanted tomatoes. I am thinking I should have bought more of them. Mine aren't doing any thing.
I guess I should go check the birds again and make sure they did okay this afternoon.

As far as I'm concerned, public swimming pool = nightmare! You're a wonderful grandmother!

I go to a lot of garage sales sometimes, then I get out of the mood and quit. Never found tomatoes at one, though. Mine are doing OK. Some of my first Romas have blossom end rot, but I just cut that part off and use the rest. The plants are loaded. If they all get ripe without too much rot, I'll be in good shape.

I only have one "can" of diced tomatoes in the freezer. I've made two batches of caponata (one for family night dinner and one to can) so that has used most of my tomatoes so far. We tried some heirloom tomatoes this year. DH has raved and raved about the Cherokee Purple tomatoes. They're huge, juicy tomatoes. None of the Brandywines have ripened yet, so I don't know what they're like. I don't eat raw tomatoes, so all I care about is if they make good salsa or diced tomatoes for the freezer!

Trish, did you try a bit of corn syrup? Josie told me to try that and it really did perk Molly up. She still couldn't hold her head up this morning, but after a bit more ... She started eating yogurt on her own, while lying down and look what she is doing tonight .

I hope it works for your hen too!!!
I understand your apprehension to leave in this heat. 100%

It's good to see her standing up like that!

Mine are getting used to me hosing down their yard, though they still run away if I aim the hose at them. If I turn it to the shower head and aim it straight up, it comes down among the lilacs and they think it's rain, so they stay in the area and let the drops hit them.

 

[HEChicken]

I made this album public on facebook, so I am thinking anyone can see it.. here is the Surplus Box turned into chick coop photos - not quite finished, but finished enough! Still need to paint the caulking, put up the fenced area, fill up the inside with mowed cattails and put the chicks in!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3476917124068.2133956.1305438222&type=1&l=e4808f8454

That looks really great! I'm envious. I've wanted to go to Spirit and get one of their shipping boxes but don't have a way to bring it home.

Trish, did you try a bit of corn syrup? Josie told me to try that and it really did perk Molly up. She still couldn't hold her head up this morning, but after a bit more ... She started eating yogurt on her own, while lying down and look what she is doing tonight .
I hope it works for your hen too!!!
I understand your apprehension to leave in this heat. 100%

Glad to see Molly looking so good!

...Never found tomatoes at one, though. Mine are doing OK. Some of my first Romas have blossom end rot, but I just cut that part off and use the rest. The plants are loaded. If they all get ripe without too much rot, I'll be in good shape.

I only have one "can" of diced tomatoes in the freezer. I've made two batches of caponata (one for family night dinner and one to can) so that has used most of my tomatoes so far. We tried some heirloom tomatoes this year. DH has raved and raved about the Cherokee Purple tomatoes. They're huge, juicy tomatoes. None of the Brandywines have ripened yet, so I don't know what they're like. I don't eat raw tomatoes, so all I care about is if they make good salsa or diced tomatoes for the freezer!

That's awesome you are getting so many tomatoes. So many people are finding the heat is killing their tomato production.

Yesterday I mentioned my little game hen. Hawkeye, you had asked what breed she is and I always assumed she was an English Game Hen but she was out of the mixed bantam bin and all I had was a list of breeds to go by so if someone thinks she looks like something else, I'll be interested to hear it.

I went out and took some pictures of her yesterday. Here she is in the nest box (which is 14x14). She started "practicing" a few days ago:


And here is Cyrus, my beautiful, wonderful EE rooster:

I tried to get a picture of the two of them side-by-side. I've seen the little hen walk under his legs. Alas, they wouldn't cooperate. However Cyrus went to stand on the other side of the feed bucket and another hen joined them. Just then the game hen jumped down from her nest box practice session and walked over to the feed bucket so I was able to get a photo with all three of them in it. Hopefully you can get an idea of the difference in size from this:

Isn't it scary to think about HIM mounting HER???? He was so gentle though and she didn't seem at all put out afterward.

And this evening I went to check on them and found this in the nest box:

That is her egg next to a penny and one of my medium eggs. I'm actually kind of surprised how big it is considering this is her first egg, and being a pullet egg, is probably smaller than they will eventually be. If you look at the egg next to her, it really seems kind of big in comparison to the size of the hen who laid the medium egg above. I also didn't know the little game hen's eggs would be white so that was a fun surprise too.

 

[HEChicken]

If anyone is looking to add a LGD...I just saw this on CL. I don't know where Rock, KS is. She is a GP/Anatolian mix and is a year and a half old. It doesn't sound like they are even asking for a rehoming fee - just want her to go to a good home:
http://wichita.craigslist.org/grd/3112310185.html

 

[Trish44]

HeChicken, congrats on the little game chicken egg, it's so cute! That is a small little hen too. Your EE roo is a pretty boy. I have an EE hen named Audrey that is one of my favorite hens, she lays a really pretty egg. I looked at that ad you mentioned for the LGD & they are listed as being in Udall, but Rock is not that far away from there, it's just north up highway 77. We go through there all the time coming to Wichita & Udall too, depending on where we're going.

I need to go down & check on my little chick again, I don't have any corn syrup in the house, I'll have to get some at the grocery store. If it can do that then I need to get some! I have a list of things to get at the store tomorrow for the electrolyte solution & I'll ad the corn syrup too. I wonder why that perks them up so much, just the sugar? I can't remember all the details in your previous post Josie about all of that. I need to go back & read that again.