Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

Trish, so sorry about your cat. 10 years is really not that old so perhaps she had something else going on. I know what you mean about "not the nicest cat ever". Years ago my kids adopted a kitten and I thought she was the most annoying cat ever because she "talked" constantly but it sounded like whining. It took 3-4 years before I got used to her and started to actually like the sound of her talking to me. And then I really missed her when she was gone.

Checoukan, that is awesome that your poultry show is expanding so much. I guess the increase in interest in backyard chickens in recent years is indicated by the increase in interest at the show too. Who knows? Maybe one day we will be normal and people without chickens will be the weirdos.

Danz, glad you didn't lose any more birds while you were gone today. I hope that little Serama hen continues to hang in there.

Tweety, congrats on the eggs. As long as I do this, one chore I never tire of is collecting the eggs and I still get excited when a new pullet starts to lay, especially if it is a different egg than any other I get in some way - color, size, shape, speckles etc. Laying has picked up for me in the last week. I didn't notice a reduction in laying as a result of our move but the fox sure did cut into their enthusiasm for the job. Of course, I lost some layers in the attack but even among the survivors, several stopped laying, but they seem to be recovering and picking it up again this week.

Sunflower, I am no expert on guineas. I got some of Danz' keets a little over two months ago and they are now about 10-11 weeks old, I guess. I have not found them to be near as noisy as people said. I have 13 and I brooded them with a half dozen muscovy ducklings. They are really bonded to the ducks and prefer to stay close to them so even though they *can* fly out of my 5' fenced area, they prefer to stay in. When one occasionally takes flight and by mistake lands on the wrong side of the fence, all he/she does is pace looking for the way back in. So far at least, they have filed into the coop every night and slept there despite having trees immediately beside the coop that they could roost in. Their main priority at least at the moment is to stay close to the ducks and if the ducks are sleeping in the coop, then that's where they want to be too. That may all change as they get older and reach sexual maturity but so far, so good. They are also very predator savvy. When a fox wiped out a good portion of my flock a few weeks ago, I didn't lose a single guinea.

So far I have two confirmed females, who buckwheat off and on all day, and two confirmed males (I found that out when one got out and paced up and down giving his one-tone call, while another on the "right" side of the fence replied in his own one-tone call). The other 9 are still questionable although I suspect a couple of others of being males.

What I've always heard with guineas is that you have to keep them confined for at least six weeks, otherwise they will just fly off and you'll never see them again. I was unable to do that because when we moved out here (we only moved a month ago from the city so are kind of having a parallel experience with you), I kept them confined for a couple of days and then a heat wave started and I didn't think I could safely leave them in the coop in the heat. So, I reluctantly let them out and was surprised that they stuck so close to the coop. But - I do think that was largely because the ducks were close to the coop and they didn't want to leave the ducks. By two months they can fly - really well. My chicken yard is 240x60 and I often see the whole baker's dozen take flight and fly higher than the 5' fence, the entire length of the yard (which is when, occasionally, one will misjudge its landing and end up on the wrong side of the fence). Since yours won't be bonded to the coop or the existing chickens, I'd really worry that they will fly off and you will never see them again. If there is any way you can confine them until they imprint on your property, I would suggest you do that.

 

[redsoxs]

Howdy - just popping in to say howdy to fellow Kansans!

 

[HEChicken]

Howdy - just popping in to say howdy to fellow Kansans!

Howdy! Tell us about your flock? And feel free to just jump in and join us. Its a pretty active thread but is really just a conversation so just jump on in and join the conversation!

 

[redsoxs]

Thanks for the welcome, HEChicken! I actually joined last year but haven't been active online for while but I am back!
My flock: Right now I have 11 assorted layers, 8 more assorted pullets that are about 2 months old, 6 Cornish X (dwindling as they are sent to the freezer as they get big), and 5 ducks - pekins and cayugas. Most interesting thing for me is that I have experienced my first predator problem this past week after a year with no problems. Lost one of my favorite hens - a black Australorp, a buff cochin cockerel (Murray McMurray "mystery chick) and one of the pekins. So, no free range until I can trap this guy - happened in the middle of day in all this heat.
Whereabouts in the state are you?

 

[sapphireblu76]

Well, I tried to catch up, but I was 115 posts behind. Those were some funny animal stories, they gave me a great chuckle.

I have a hose run out to the chicken yard with an adjustable spray nozzle on it. I set it on mist and it seems to keep them cool enough. They have dug a little wallow under it where the water puddles a little

My black hen still isn't laying, but she looks much better than she did a few days ago. My Marans isn't laying, or something is getting into their tractor and just taking the egg. I wouldn't doubt if she's just not laying, my other layers didn't have any eggs for me the last few days either.

I have one EE who appears fine, eating and drinking, not panting or fluffed up, good color, talkative...but then she "hee-haw"s??? What is that about? It's not like the honking that they do when they get too hot, so I'm not sure what it is. Ideas?

Praying for rain, rain, rain, rain, rain and cooler weather!

 

[HEChicken]

Most interesting thing for me is that I have experienced my first predator problem this past week after a year with no problems. Lost one of my favorite hens - a black Australorp, a buff cochin cockerel (Murray McMurray "mystery chick) and one of the pekins. So, no free range until I can trap this guy - happened in the middle of day in all this heat.
Whereabouts in the state are you?

I hear you! I free-ranged for years in the city without a single predator. Then last month my family and I moved out to a 10-acre property (south-central KS) and had been here only 3 weeks when my flock was decimated. It was the 3rd of July and on the 4th, it returned. This time I was waiting for it and that particular predator (fox) will not be bothering us again. It was around 5:30pm both times, when the sun was still blazing and it was hotter than hades. Prior to this, my only experiences with foxes were as a night-time predator so I was stunned when I learned that was what had caused such devastation.

Coyotes, foxes and raccoons are all primarily nocturnal, I believe, but I guess if they get hungry and desperate enough, they'll come out during the day. My coop is Fort Knox, complete with auto door that closes at night. I believe that fox had probably been visiting earlier but couldn't find a way to get in, so he "adapted" and learned to come earlier, before the chickens were locked away for the night.

 

[redsoxs]

I'm still not sold on it being a coyote and I posted on the pests and predators page and others suggested fox as well. It's jsut that I see maybe one fox a year but I see coyotes regularly. What to you think it might have been based on this: found 2 carcasses about 7:00 p.m. - had checked and all was well a couple hours earlier. Whatever it was came right up to the coop - everyone was hanging out in the shade - and snatched them - and carcasses were in the open grassland about 40 yards away weith wings torn off and breast meat eaten. Not sure if there were two or more critters or it it made two trips. Thoughts? I have to think it grabbed the dinky little cochin and it didn't fill him up and then came back for the duck (about an 8 pounder).

 

[cherwill]

My rooster died shortly after my post today. Pretty sad for me.

So sad. Henrietta, one of my EE's, died today. Fine one minute, gone the next.

my husband made it here safely from Texas it was a long hot trip but he is here thank God. Kids have been showing him around talking his ear off

.

Yet even though I've spent the entire day making the rounds I had a Serama hen go down, She was flipping and flopping when I found her. She has been sitting on eggs and I don't think the air was getting to her. I brought her in, cooled her down, gave her vitamin E, syrup, and pedialite in water. She started shivering like my roo had done.I wrapped her in a towel and put her in my tub with her drink mix in case she decided to drink on her own. I'm not sure she will make it. Just the fact that she shivered makes me think she was going in shock. I was so careful to have the water reasonably warm to cool her down slowly but maybe her internal temperature had gone too high. I guess I should gather her eggs and see if they will do anything.

I've got my fingers crossed that she'll make it.

tweety, here is a pic of the two new kitties, I snuck them into the office while my hubby was gone walking the dogs. One of the first things he said when he saw the calico was, it's going to be an outside cat. We already have 3 in the house, which is about 2 too many, but that's just how it turned out.




I just looked at the forecast & we actually have chances of rain three days in a row next week, I sure hope we get some.

Cute picture! I wish we had a chance of rain; it's been weeks and weeks.

Yesterday was a productive and fun day We put the chickens (5 of them.. and 2 months old) into the surplus box coop after we fenced them an area... as the day progressed, we saw they were losing more and more shade. At 4pm, they had a tiny corner of shade and they were laying in that spot with their heads stuck up under the fence (the fence isn't meant for predator proofing, only to keep them in). We went and grabbed 5 skirting panels and attached them to the west side of the fence which gave them a nice area of shade. We had to physically go get them and put them in the shade (chickens just are not very smart!).

Then, around 9:15 pm, they still were not interested to go into their new coop, but I was ready to call it a night. I had to climb into the fence and catch each one and put them in the coop. They huddled into a corner and weren't happy!

I will go out in about an hour and let them all out. I hope they are ok today out in the fenced area. In a few weeks, I plan to start the big coop (about 8 by 12 - will have water and electricity, nest boxes, brooder, etc.) - the big coop will not have a fenced area - they will be free-ranged hens and 1 rooster living in that. The smaller surplus box will be used for broilers/new chicks.

Loving this new life Hope everyone stays cool today and has a lovely Monday!

Yesterday was completely unproductive for me, but I enjoyed it with only a little bit of guilt.

Your chickens will get the coop figured out. It takes them a while, though.

The way the birds all seemed to enjoy the cucumbers I am thinking that would be a great chicken crop. I just planted pickling cucumbers so they aren't huge but they produce a lot normally.
I think I'm going to till up my green beans. They haven't produced a single bean. Maybe I would have time to get a fall crop of beans in and if I watered maybe they would produce. Most of these have just withered up and the ones that didn't have done nothing. My field is planted in soy beans. I sure hope they are doing better than the garden is.

Our cucumbers are bitter; they were last year, too. The chickens get almost all fo them and they don't seem to care at all how bitter they are.

We pulled our beans a while back. I got a couple of handfuls of beans before the mites took them out completely. The garden next to ours had the same thing happen and pulled all their beans this week. I've been wondering about a fall crop of beans, but no one I've asked seems to know whether or not they'd be a good fall crop.

Okay, I saw a very sweet moment this morning! My dear old beloved Cassie (the mare that is trying to die on me every day this week) and my big bad boy (the one I ride and is in my Avatar) were rubbing/biting each others backs this morning. What a sweet thing to see. I don't often see them do this very often. Obviously Cassie (grey mare) was feeling pretty good this morning. I had to take a picture! SO beautiful to see them so happy.

Awww.

Funny to hear you guys say that about your tomatoes. I've got tomatoes out the wazzo! I'm collecting at least 20plus cherry tomatoes a day. I water them about every other day and that's it.

I think these are the chickens used in Chinese Restaurants???

If they grow up together, the cats will probably co-exist very happily with the chickens.

I officially have three layers now! And through some sneakiness, I've determined who is laying what... Onyx, my sweetest girl, is the last of the four. They all are laying at different times. Opal is laying in the morning, Ruby laid her first today (YAY!) about 5pm, and Pearl, who was the first layer - lays at about 7pm.

Woo hoo! My second EE started laying yesterday. I'll try to get a picture up soon. Her first egg was bigger than the other EE's, and she lays olive eggs. Her second egg, laid today, is as big as my 2 year-old BOs and Australorps! That must have been quite a surprise to her.

Howdy - just popping in to say howdy to fellow Kansans!

Hello!

 

[Trish44]

Hey if anyone is interested I just found a clear acrylic door for the GQF cabinet incubators on eBay for $58.95 & free shipping, that's considerably less than you can get one from GQF by the time you add their shipping charges. Here is the link for it & there are now 2 left after I bought one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/300747004110?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:VRI&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2661. I have been drooling over those every since I got my incubator & this was too good to pass up.

sunrflowerparrot, I'm sending you an email.

HeChicken, my next door neighbor has seen a fox at his place in daylight hours before, so yeah if they get hungry enough they will come out, even coyotes will if they're starving. My neighbor found that out too. Earlier in the year before it got so hot my chickens were ranging further than I was comfortable with & going down to the fence line where there is a lot of tree cover & weeds. I was really nervous about them being down there & I did lose a hen during that time during the day, so I think something was hiding down there & got her. She was one of my best layers, a red star. That also was before the pups were old enough to do their job, they were tiny pups then. Yes, my cat was sick so it wasn't old age that killed her. But it wasn't anything contagious because our other two cats didn't get whatever it was.

Redsoxs! The predators seem to be a lot worse this year due to the terrible heat & the drought in the state. They have gotten bolder & even people who thought they had their birds secure have found out they didn't. The best avenue seems to be if you can get a livestock guardian dog that will keep the predators away. Other than that, just being watchful & keeping the birds locked up at night if about all you can do. Some of the predators will come out just at dusk & also right before dawn, so it doesn't have to be in the dead of night either.

tweety, congrats on the eggs! Isn't it nice to finally go out & collect eggs?

I finally took the nest pads out of the nest boxes this evening. Some of the hens don't like them, picky girls, so I decided to take them out & see if more will use the boxes without them. Here I built that nice 6 hole nest box for them & they lay on the floor in the shavings or in the straw out in the run, geez how aggravating. Some have used the boxes from the day I put them in there, but of course not all of my hens are laying right now either. I have two an Australorp & a Black Copper Marans that are still being broody. I keep kicking them out of the nest boxes & don't let them have any eggs, but they go right back in there. So far I think the Black Copper Marans have been broody & not laying more than they have laid, I'm about to replace them this fall if they don't straighten up. I love the dark eggs, but it doesn't do much good if I'm not getting any. I just can't afford to feed slackers when I'm trying to sell eggs. I read that someone else said their BC Marans were broody all the time too. I'm hoping these brown leghorns I got & the anconas will be some good layers for me. The one little leghorn pullet that had gotten lost & gotten hurt is recovering nicely. Her feathers are growing back in & the wing is starting to grow back also. I'm thinking maybe it won't be too much longer before I can let her back out of the cage she's been having to live in to recover. I hope the other young pullets aren't mean to her when I bring her back out again. I think what happened was she got chased by one of the ornery roosters & then wandered too far off & got lost, then something got hold of her & pulled about all of her feathers off her back & one wing. She was about starved by the time I found her too. I'm just glad I found her when I did or she would have been dead.

 

[averytds]

Grand Champion Rosecomb pullet, Same pullet Overall Grand Champion

Its hot!!!

on the win and on the great turnout! Ready for Coffeyville?

Okay let's all put our minds together and think rain and 75 degrees. Maybe a combination of the minds working together will make a difference.

Only victims here so far have been my pallet strawberries. I'm okay with that if it's an either or thing between the chickens and strawberries. DH mowed more than half his garden. I didn't ask.