Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

sharol, I had an EE hen that got bumblefoot & I did surgery on her & soaked & wrapped her foot to keep it clean & it healed & so far she has not had any recurring problems, that was over a year ago. We also have a gravel driveway, but my feeling was that she got it jumping down from the roost without enough shavings underneath at the time to soften the blow. Now I make sure I have enough shavings underneath there for them to land safely. Good luck with treating them & let us know how they do. I never did get any of the tricide-neo, it's pretty pricey stuff.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

sunflowerparrot, it was nice to meet you in person this evening & see your place. You have a nice spot there & I know you will enjoy it. I do think maybe you should reconsider getting a livestock guardian dog, especially a Great Pyrenees. I wish you would come over & meet mine & then you can see how they are & whether you might like one or not. I think with where you are your chickens are sitting ducks for predators, they just haven't found out they're there yet. You definitely will have encounters with about all of the predators to chickens there. My very worst were raccoons & possums & with the water sources you have & the trees you definitely will have them. Your pen also is not predator proof & they're getting very bold this year with the drought. Your chicks look like they're doing awesome & I would hate for you to lose them all & have to start all over again. I would leave those baby guineas in that hutch for awhile until they do some growing too, just to keep them safe for one thing & for another to teach them where home is. It's just something to think about. Some of us had to learn the hard way after losses already occurred about needing an LGD. I wish I would have had them way before I did & then I wouldn't have lost birds like I did. Oh & I didn't see any of the peacocks you were talking about, they must have been in a pen somewhere maybe eating or somewhere in the shade.

I was happy you came over And so glad you could use some of those panels! On Saturday, my boyfriend and I are going to Hutch to meet a lady who has one GP puppy left.. while I told her I was probably not going to be getting him, I'd still love to see her farm and setup. She's invited us for lunch, tour and good conversation - can't go wrong I might even be able to milk her goat she said if she's cooperative! So... I will think a little more about the puppy situation. I just keep focusing on the negative and not focusing on the positive. Maybe I should just do it and then at any point if it doesn't work out, I'm sure I could find someone who would love to take her! Just know that I'll be asking a lot of questions if I get a GP And, I'd LOVE to come see your place... give me a buzz/text and let me know what works for you. I will be home all day starting on August 1st and will have much more time than I do now while working. I hope to meet other locals too..

 

[schellie69]

Dang miss a couple of days and have pages of post to catch up on. Sorry to all who have had birds go down in this heat and to those who have lost birds to this heat. I lost one of my older hens earlier in this heat wave. So far the rest are doing okay I have one stubborn broody laying on a clutch of eggs we shall see how this works. I planted squash, pumpkins in my garden in spring i had a huge harvest then when the plants started dying in the heat I pulled up the plants, and DH tilled the garden up and I replanted a fall crop, sunflowers, carrots some herbs, pumpkins and squash, cucumbers, watermelons, and some beans to be dried to use for chili I had read in square foot gardening book this was a great way to get more out of a garden so I am trying it this year. I hope it works. I am watering every other day right now. So far all my chickens are handling the heat okay I do spray down there pen floor I am lucky since there pen is shaded almost all day. I didn't get any chicks this spring I want certain breeds and didn't look for them. My oldest dd lost her 3rd daughter and 30 weeks (stillborn) in January it just took me some time to heal and by then all the chicks were gone from the farm stores. I am still looking for certain breeds and was hoping to get some older chicks, Which are Marans (want those dark eggs), Ameracuana's and Easter eggers (I want green eggs) I just want some more color in my eggs basket. The pheasant that I rescued from cats has found new home with someone who raises pheasants and know how to take care of it. If any one knows of anyone selling culls on these birds or needs homes for any please let me know I would love to add a few new ones to my egg layers. I hope everyone stays cooler this week.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Danz, so very sorry about the little duckies. Honest mistake, on your part. I also understand the feeling you are describing. I am having a situation myself. I nearly cried last night, I had to have my neighbor come over and help me with Cassie, my mare. I'm just sick. Hang in there, girl. I sure hope your buyer follows through and you get your guineas sold. Good luck with the sale!

Sharol, oh what a royal PITA that you have more bumblefoot. Are they limping? Or did you just see swollen feet and that was it? Just wondering what I should keep an eye out for. Let us know how it goes. I for one, am very interested in how you treat it. I hope your birds will be okay! But it does sound serious.

Schellie, sounds like a rough year for you. That is devastating to have lost a baby at 30 weeks. I'm so sorry for you and your daughter and family. I bet you can find those birds you are looking for this Fall. Those are breeds a few of us on the board raise.

I am praying, praying for my mare. She is in so much pain right now, she is not wanting to eat. I hope today is a better day for her. My farrier cancelled and I *hope* I have another one on the way today. If not, I have another one I can call. Unfortunately mine has cancelled on me twice-- so she's missed two appts. The first time, I could let it slide, she wasn't that long in the foot. But she grows really fast. She lamed up a few days ago and I've been counting down the days till yesterday. It's not like a kid, where you can just take them to the Dr. Vets don't really do feet. Or at least, I wouldn't want any vet touching her feet. They could do something really stupid. Farriers are really the best bet. Anyway, when he cancelled last night, I about lost it. I had everyone in the barn ready to go, I had been soaking her feet and she was tied up to do so. So now I have another day of soaking her feet and waiting on another farrier. Mine has been sick, and he said last night he thought he had kidney stones and was on his way to the ER. Sheesh. I have all the luck. Usually he's pretty reliable. Sigh.

 

[pikeman94]

Danz - I am sorry to hear about that ducks. That just sucks, but don't be too hard on yourself. I remember when I screwed up bad by not understanding the concepts of flock integration and managed to get a 10 week old pullet killed because I thought all the birds would get along. We aren't perfect. My wife and I say that sometimes things happen for a reason. Maybe there is a reason that has yet to reveal itself.

When you said photos 6 and 7 did you mean the little bird with the short kind of saw tooth looking comb? I have long suspected that bird is a cockerel. There are two others I could go either way on. I am getting excited either way -- weird I know. I do need to spend more time holding them. They are fairly cagey.

On another note the young birds are really getting too big for the crate and need to be moved outside, but I am just afraid the heat would be their end. I hope the rain forecasted happens today.

 

[chicken danz]

Yeah I meant the one with the saw toothed comb. I just counted from the beginning. picture 1, 2 etc. I have a couple more chicks I hatched and I can see that one is definitely a roo compared to the other one by the size of their head spots. I should have hatched more eggs so I had more to compare for you. At that time my bators were so full though there wasn't much room. I am as close to not hatching as I've been in two years. I don't have many eggs at all in there. Just a few Serama eggs I gathered from the hen that died, some lavender orps, bantam polish, and some flower hens. I have a few guinea eggs but not many.
So Rob, did Caleb ever get back with you? I'll remind him if he didn't.
It's a good feeling. I really needed a break. Fall hatching will start all too soon.
Well, don't rush getting the birds out. It can't be good, as yesterday proved to me. I am way overcrowded in the house right now but I'm not about to send any more birds out to out door hell.
I have 3 orps in my brooder house that really need to go out with the big girls but I'm afraid just the difference between having those fans and being outside will be too much for them. I may try however to move them this evening about dark and see if they do okay.
I saw on the news last night that the cost of groceries is going to sky rocket because of the heat and drought. Not only does it effect the food we eat directly but all the grain fed animals will get more expensive. Lack of corn will drive the cost up on every thing. My feed costs have already gone out the roof. That will take a major jump as well.

 

[pikeman94]

I saw on the news last night that the cost of groceries is going to sky rocket because of the heat and drought. Not only does it effect the food we eat directly but all the grain fed animals will get more expensive. Lack of corn will drive the cost up on every thing. My feed costs have already gone out the roof. That will take a major jump as well.

That is why I am going to Orschlens in Lawrence this evening to buy some layer feed. If is on sale right now for $9.99 a 50lbs bag. I think now might be a good time to stock up.

 

[chicken danz]

Please check and see if they have any chick starter in stock yet. I sure would like to find it on sale again..... or just find it. I would stock up but the last time I did the feed got moldy over time. I don't think they get it all that dry before they bag it. I was just reading some on feed management and it said you need to have your feed mixed and aerated on a regular basis if you are storing it. I'm not sure how I can do that myself. I go through feed so fast it isn't a problem, but I had stocked up on layer and they don't eat as much of it as my normal feed so it went bad.
If you have a dry place to store it you might want to make some small openings in the bags to let some air flow through. Just an idea. I dumped my bags directly into a large covered trash can like I do all my feed. It was too air tight. I think I may drill a couple holes in the can for the future.

 

[pikeman94]

Please check and see if they have any chick starter in stock yet. I sure would like to find it on sale again..... or just find it. I would stock up but the last time I did the feed got moldy over time. I don't think they get it all that dry before they bag it. I was just reading some on feed management and it said you need to have your feed mixed and aerated on a regular basis if you are storing it. I'm not sure how I can do that myself. I go through feed so fast it isn't a problem, but I had stocked up on layer and they don't eat as much of it as my normal feed so it went bad.
If you have a dry place to store it you might want to make some small openings in the bags to let some air flow through. Just an idea. I dumped my bags directly into a large covered trash can like I do all my feed. It was too air tight. I think I may drill a couple holes in the can for the future.

The Lawrence store has 28 bags of medicated starter/grower for $12.99 for 40 lbs. - http://www.orschelnfarmhome.com/18-...bles-40lb-bag/ctl16754/cp59751/si5176395/cl1/

 

[chicken danz]

I didn't think about looking on line. duh! Of course Topeka and Ottawa are my closest stores which I see are still sitting at 0.