Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

Danz, thanks for letting me know about the blue kote working on the hen's back, I do have some of that. I also just got a bottle of the Vetericyn too so I could add that to my chicken medicine cache. I just hate that those darned roosters are being so rough on my hens, the poor things. I really just think if I got rid of the one it might help, he is the most aggressive of the 3. I just can't see myself processing him, he's been too good of a rooster for us & honestly I think he would be a good one for someone else if they didn't already have too many. You just have to let him know you're the boss & not him because he had flogged me a couple of times & I just drop kicked him both times & chased him back & now he doesn't bother me. I had read that you have to face them, look them in the eye & back them off & they don't like that & he certainly didn't, he wanted to be the aggressor & when he wasn't then he just gave up on it with me. I know what you mean about pulling off those spurs, I don't know if I could do that either & what rooster is going to hold still long enough to get that done.

Well it's time to go out again & start another round & feed this time.

 

[medawinks]

Thanks Josie and Danz! Go figure I would actually almost cave over a noisy little bird! That solves that.... Maybe. They sure were cute! The kids are absolutely bent on a duck. Are there any quiet ones?

Hawkeye, we have a crazy little Phyllis Diller bird we picked out of the bantam pullets at Orschelen's. No one picks on her, but man can that bird move!!! She is the first to food, first to escape, first to fly anywhere. She is a hoot! We call her Daffy..... Knock on wood, my crew pecks at each other slightly to move each other around when treats are out, but they all seem to get along really well. Bloom( silkie) is the boss at meal time and Molly, the Buff Orpington is the protector. They must all be pretty calm breeds compared to our Polish They absolutely crack me up trying to get up on the roost all together or when they all pile together around the bags of ice or frozen pop bottles of water Outside of Molly, the bed head bird and a white rock, I have just Silkies, D'Uccles and Ameracaunas though, no real production birds. Just pets My Silkie, Bloom, and D'Uccles are my loudest birds. The D'Uccles just cackle, but it sure is different sounding than the birds I heard today. I guess they are all pretty quiet I bet they would all be comical with those painless peepers on! Gee, that sounds like something from Harry Potter. Lol

I have a wooden privacy fence and keep both gates locked with padlocks at all times. But then I do live in the city and have neighbor boys who have thought it was hilarious to torment my dogs.... I can only imagine what they would do if they could get at my birds.

Trish can you hire someone to come ice down your birds while you are gone? I did that while we went to Chicago. I had them come 2 times a day. I didn't lose anyone, and poor Molly got sick after I got back and had been iced and watered down personally. I understand how scary it is to think something in your care is out there melting without relief....

Danz, if you do decide to sell your Polish, we would love to buy her- if it is a her . They are just too comical!! The way they shake their heads and twist and turn them when you talk to them makes me laugh. Good therapy birds

Oh Danz, we also saw a peacock today at the fair and Sera announced loudly, " Mom, that peacock broke his tail turning around in that tiny cage. What is wrong with these people? Peacocks need big cages like at the bird farm! She knows better! ". I had to shush her and tell her that wasn't possible at the fair , and hide my laughter, because that poor bird did have a broken tail.... And it was turning around and around in it's cage. She still shocks me at the things she catches on to.

 

[Trish44]

Oh & I just wanted to share this recipe with you all, it sounds kind of strange, but I had seen them make it on one of the Diners, Drive Ins, & Dives shows & looked up the recipe on Food Network. It looked so good that we just wanted to try it. I'm not a big fan of firing up the oven in this hot weather, so we waited until really late last night to make it. Here is the recipe, it's really yummy, we had a piece today! Oh & by the way, I didn't make the pie crust, too much work, so I used a frozen one.

Blueberry Goat Cheese Pie
Recipe courtesy Moira Sommers, Co-Owner/Chef of 3 Sisters Cafe in Indianapolis, IN
Total Time:
1 hr 10 min
Prep
15 min
Inactive
30 min
Cook
25 min
Yield:
1 Pie
Level:
Intermediate
Ingredients
Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 to 3/4 cups cold margarine
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Pinch salt
• Cold water

Filling:

• 1/2 cup soft goat cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
• 4 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:

• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter

Directions
For the crust:
Combine the flour, margarine, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Work with your fingers
gathering and crumbling until you have a crumbly mixture, about the size of peas.
In small amounts, slowly add cold water, gently incorporating by hand. As soon as the dough comes together in a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
For the filling: Mix the goat cheese, heavy cream, egg, sugar, flour, salt and basil together in a bowl. Add the blueberries and mix to desired texture.
For the topping: Mix the almonds, sugar and margarine in bowl, set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out the dough and place in a 10-inch pie pan. Pour the filling into the crust and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake 25 minutes, rotating at the pie halfway through.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Just a quick note to tell you my great news. I told DH about the units on CL that Hawkeye posted. He didn't want to buy those because he figures with our luck it would last a week and then be done. So he did lots of research online and made some phone calls and found a floor unit at Sam's that they gave him a 20% discount and it only cost $240. The portable ones were around $500 for my room size. The one he bought is a window unit but he's willing to put it in through the wall so as not to block the windows. The windows are sliders also, so that makes it a little more complicated. But now, I'll be able to cool the craftroom down enough to keep the birds from dying on me. Maybe next year I'll get one for the coop? We'll see. It's going to be such a relief to have a place to cool off the birds that really get stressed. I was really worried about spending anymore right now but he's more on top of the money stuff than I am so it's doable. I'm so happy to think I'll have A/C out there this weekend!

 

[JosieChick]

Are any of you with GPs having problems with them not eating well right now in this heat? Mine just aren't wanting to eat much & have lost weight. I try to feed them the same, but they just aren't that interested right now in it, it's just too hot. I tried feeding them later last night after dark & it was much later even before they went back out & ate it. The cats seem to like their food & I'm having trouble with them eating their food when the dogs don't eat it too even though I feed the cats & sit there while they eat so the dogs don't get it first. The dogs like the cat food & the cats like the dog food. I feed the dogs first usually then while they're checking out their food I go & feed the cats & sit there so the dogs don't run up & take it. Then when the cats are done, whatever is left I let the dogs have. Then the cats run down while the dogs are busy eating the leftovers & eat what is left in their bowls, it's crazy. I have to have the chickens all put up first too before I can feed the cats or they will just run over & eat it all.

I haven't had any trouble with my girls but I feed early in the AM and late in the evening when its cooler. I have noticed if I try to feed them at 10 or 11 in the morning Molly just turns her nose up and walks away and Lucie will only eat about half of her bowl. I think the they don't want to be full and laying around panting in the heat.

Josie yes I would split a bottle of denagard with you. Valley Vet has it for $39. They are in Bucyrus, Ks. I think that would be pretty darned close to you, wouldn't it? Shipping is around $10 if it is shipped. Anything I've ever ordered from them came the next day. If I had the time I'd love to go over there and just walk around the place. They seem to have everything. I doubt I would ever use a full bottle but it would be nice to have on hand for sure.
I looked it up and its about an hour away. I didn't realize they were that close, no wonder when I place an order it comes the next morning! I will get organized and get some and have DH bring me a pharmacy bottle to put my half in and get the rest to you. $39 isn't too bad!

I checked the bag of feed the day I got it and that lot number wasn't listed. I had cleaned out the tub with Oxine then rinsed it well with clear water. It should have been free of any fragrance or bacteria. That stuff is amazing. I guess I could clean up the tub they were in until yesterday and start over but I would think there would be nothing that would make them sick. I had them on paper towels until yesterday when I put them on shavings. I changed the paper towels every day or two. I've been ultra careful because I have a ton of money invested in this particular bin of chicks.
Oh, oxine, how I love oxine! I used Oxy clean one time and it is nasty smelling.

Josie, my parents are coming from Melbourne, Australia, where it is winter so it will be a big shock to their system. They usually come either in May or September/October when the differences aren't so great. Looking at the 7-day forecast it is triple digits for all 7 of them. Sigh.

That is funny about Lucie barking at the blanket. I can just see it! This morning one of the chickens peered into the hedgerow and then started singing the egg song like they did that day when they saw the fox. The dogs weren't showing any interest but I asked Tory to go check it out for me anyway. She, Sammie, and I all walked back there and as we approached I heard a crash in the hedgerow so I think there was definitely something there but neither of the dogs showed the slightest interest. We walked back and forth and Tory was looking kind of puzzled, like "why are we walking up the hedgerow". Later on another chicken started singing the egg song at the exact same place. Weird.

My chickens do that sometimes and I am sure they are warning about something important but sometimes they are just being ridiculous. I realized the other night that we have swallows that come and feed in the evening and they swoop down a lot and the chickens do their warning call everytime a swallow swoops over the chicken pen. I guess they don't call them chickens for nothing! Gosh, I hope your parents don't suffer too much in this weather, lots of indoor activities!

And, I had a shock at Orschelns when I noticed the same chicken feed that I was raving at the price the other day, has gone up $1.50 a bag!!! When I commented at the cash register that it was $1.50 just two days ago she said yes, they redid all their pricing yesterday. Plus, I found out its not nearly as cheap as I thought it was because the bags at Orchelns are only 40lb whereas the bags at Atwoods are 50lb. They are both Nutrena All Flock so I'm really surprised they bag two different sizes to sell to two different stores but apparently they do. So:

Atwoods, it comes down to 33c/lb when it rings up at $16.59 for 50lb
Orschelns, it was 35c/lb on Sunday and 39c/lb today.

So I guess I'll be going back to Atwoods in future after all. Except of course theirs will probably go up now too.

I am sure everyone's feeds are going to go up with all the crop failures and recalls they have been having. I was going to ask about the bag size the other night but forgot. I am surprised nutrena makes a 50 pound bag! I shop at orschelns (closest to us) and I used to buy purina but they stopped carrying it and I was annoyed that they only had a 40 pound bags of the nutrena. So strange, I might have DH pick up feed at Atwoods down in Andover, I don't think we have one anywhere near where I am up here.

HEChicken, I didn't realize Atwoods had 50 pound bags, I knew that Orschelyn's had 40 pound ones, that's why I like to go to TSC because theirs are 50 pounds. I only try to go to Orschelyn's if I can't get to TSC. If this other feed works out for me though I may hopefully save some money on feed at least for most of the birds. Next year when I'm hatching lots I will have to have the chick starter that is medicated though, I like to feed that to the newly hatched chicks.

Well I just went out awhile ago to move the mister & saw my big huge Black Copper Marans rooster mating my poor bare-backed Barred Rock hen & her back is now torn. I can't catch her until she goes into roost, but I will have to get her then & put her in a cage so I can put something on her poor torn back & keep her there until she heals. I hate to have to do that right now when it's so darned hot, but I don't want them to tear up her back any more than it is. She is one of my best layers. I really have got to figure out what to do about the extra rooster right now. There are 3 of them loose & that is one too many for the number of hens I have right now. The Speckled Sussex roo will go into the breeding pens whenever it gets done, but in the meantime I either need to re-home my RIR rooster or something. He has been such a good protector of his hens, but after the incident with my granddaughter getting attacked on Sunday maybe it's time for him to go. I really hate to, but my poor hens need a break. These roosters gang up on them 3 at a time & it's too much. Josie, if you want to teach your pup not to bother the chickens this is the rooster for you. He sure taught mine not to bother the chickens & to this day they will walk way around just to avoid him. I just got this beautiful Black Copper Marans rooster a few months ago & he is growing into the most gorgeous boy so I don't want to get rid of him. If any go it will be Big Red, the RIR roo.

Thanks Josie and Danz! Go figure I would actually almost cave over a noisy little bird! That solves that.... Maybe. They sure were cute! The kids are absolutely bent on a duck. Are there any quiet ones?
Hawkeye, we have a crazy little Phyllis Diller bird we picked out of the bantam pullets at Orschelen's. No one picks on her, but man can that bird move!!! She is the first to food, first to escape, first to fly anywhere. She is a hoot! We call her Daffy..... Knock on wood, my crew pecks at each other slightly to move each other around when treats are out, but they all seem to get along really well. Bloom( silkie) is the boss at meal time and Molly, the Buff Orpington is the protector. They must all be pretty calm breeds compared to our Polish They absolutely crack me up trying to get up on the roost all together or when they all pile together around the bags of ice or frozen pop bottles of water Outside of Molly, the bed head bird and a white rock, I have just Silkies, D'Uccles and Ameracaunas though, no real production birds. Just pets My Silkie, Bloom, and D'Uccles are my loudest birds. The D'Uccles just cackle, but it sure is different sounding than the birds I heard today. I guess they are all pretty quiet I bet they would all be comical with those painless peepers on! Gee, that sounds like something from Harry Potter. Lol

Calls are super cute ducks! I have noticed that the smaller the duck, the noisier they are! My snowy mallards are pretty loud and they are around 3 pounds each. The cayugas and magpies are not as loud but I also house them separately from my chickens. They get kind of naughty with the chickens and will chase them around a lot and pulled on tails etc. Ducks (and geese!) are like 2 year olds I think, everything goes in their mouths! I have heard of (never experienced this myself) ducks drowning chickens in small pools when they are housed together. Most people think it is male ducks trying to mate and those that have caught them and intervened said it was their male ducks dragging a chicken into the kiddie pool attempting to mate. I don't think I would have just one duck either, they are very social and seem to form very strong bonds with their little duck flock.


Well one of my poor seramas was all dizzy tonight. I have two hens in that pen that are broody right now and I think the roo has been overmating the remaining three hens half to death. I think he must have clocked her in the noggin because she had a terrible nystagmus and seemed pretty out of it. I brought her in the house and gave her some steroids at DH's suggestion and she is starting to look better. Of course I had to bring her girlfriend too so now I have a duck and two frizzled seramas in the living room. See Karen, you aren't alone!!

 

[JosieChick]

Danz-There is a gal on the facebook chicken swap that wants to trade a slate blue tom for a slate blue hen. She is in Chanute and her name is Kimberli Dameron. Weren't you looking for a tom?

 

[Trish44]

Josie, yes I did try the chicken saddles & they worked for awhile & then the hens started taking them off & losing them so I kind of gave up on it. It really wasn't worth having to fight with them to get them back on all the time or buy new ones when they lost them somewhere out there. I sprayed the one hen with the torn up back tonight with the blue kote & we'll see how she does. I hate to confine her to a cage if I don't have to, but I don't want them to kill her either, her back is really bad. I had seen that she had a sore place & then today they just tore the skin way more. That blue slate tom must have just gone on there tonight, I hadn't seen it.

Karen, I'm so glad for you on the air conditioner, yay! That will make you feel so much better & maybe you can relax a little more & your blood pressure can go back down, good for everyone.

 

[HEChicken]

The kids are absolutely bent on a duck. Are there any quiet ones?

In fact, there are

The reason I got muscovies over any other breed of duck is that they don't quack - they are almost completely silent. As ducklings they peeped but once they stopped peeping, they went quiet. I understand that they will hiss when threatened or broody but other than that, they are very quiet. I haven't heard mine hiss yet. I've always thought ducks were cute but a) didn't want to mess with the mess they make around water and b) didn't want the noise. Muscovies are perfect for me because they aren't as interested in water as other ducks. Oh sure, they like to get in and sit in it in this heat (but then, so do the chickens), but from what I understand, they don't need a water source for swimming. They are a heavy bird that doesn't like to swim as much as other ducks because their feathers fray. One source said they are not a duck per se but a "perching water bird". But they look so much like ducks, I find myself calling them that anyway. They wag their tails like dogs and have a little crest on their heads that they can choose to raise or lay flat on their heads. They raise it to show emotion, and wag their tails then too. I read one article that called them "extremely intelligent". I don't know if I'd go that far but when you look in their eyes, even as ducklings, there is a serene wisdom looking back at you.

When I started researching them, they seemed almost too good to be true - a good meat bird that is also a good layer that is also a good mother and is also quiet and doesn't make a mess around water? So far I've found the hype to be true. Mine aren't laying age yet but everything else I read has been spot on so far.

Oh & I just wanted to share this recipe with you all, it sounds kind of strange, but I had seen them make it on one of the Diners, Drive Ins, & Dives shows & looked up the recipe on Food Network. It looked so good that we just wanted to try it. I'm not a big fan of firing up the oven in this hot weather, so we waited until really late last night to make it. Here is the recipe, it's really yummy, we had a piece today! Oh & by the way, I didn't make the pie crust, too much work, so I used a frozen one.

Blueberry Goat Cheese Pie

That sounds divine. I can't wait to try it....

Just a quick note to tell you my great news. I told DH about the units on CL that Hawkeye posted. He didn't want to buy those because he figures with our luck it would last a week and then be done. So he did lots of research online and made some phone calls and found a floor unit at Sam's that they gave him a 20% discount and it only cost $240. The portable ones were around $500 for my room size. The one he bought is a window unit but he's willing to put it in through the wall so as not to block the windows. The windows are sliders also, so that makes it a little more complicated. But now, I'll be able to cool the craftroom down enough to keep the birds from dying on me. Maybe next year I'll get one for the coop? We'll see. It's going to be such a relief to have a place to cool off the birds that really get stressed. I was really worried about spending anymore right now but he's more on top of the money stuff than I am so it's doable. I'm so happy to think I'll have A/C out there this weekend!

I don't know if I've said this before but....your DH is a keeper. Seriously, congrats - that will be awesome. And when the craft room is not occupied by birds you can still enjoy the A/C.

Josie, yes I did try the chicken saddles & they worked for awhile & then the hens started taking them off & losing them ....

Maybe I'm just over-tired, but that just cracked me up. I had visions of the hens reaching around and carefully taking off their saddles, putting them down and later, scratching their heads thinking "Now WHERE did I put that saddle?"

 

[cherwill]

I can't remember everything I've read so I'll apologize in advance for everything I forgot ...

Trish, that pie sounds wonderful. I love blueberries and I love goat cheese. I'm going to have to try it. Timing is everything sometimes, and I'm with you on not wanting to leave your birds. Right now, I don't like to be where I can't run home and check on them several times a day.

Karen, your DH does good work! I don't have too much patience for the research stage of things.

HEChicken, I hope your parents can stand the sudden shock of the temperature change. I think I'd stay in Melbourne and come to Kansas in October or something!

MyABCs3, congratulations!

Those of you with dogs, are your dogs shedding like crazy? It's ridiculous around here. Shouldn't they have lost the winter undercoat a long time ago? And I'm shedding like crazy, too. My mom says we shed our hair in spring and fall, so what's up with this? Is it like the trees dropping their leaves due to heat stress?

 

[Hawkeye95]

Josie, no, don't think I'll be getting peas. Unless we move out of this neighborhood. Not sure the neighbors would appreciate that.... but then again, I don't know. Since we could be moving, now wouldn't be the time to get any large bird like turkey or peas. Just don't know what we're going to do. I think I'm going to build wire pens in my horse barn along the side of the wall up front. That means we need to get rid of a ton of crap in there. Mostly kid junk. I'd like to have my silkie breeding pens set up in there and it would be a great place to have them for this winter. It stays pretty nice in there when I shut down all the doors. And there's plenty of electrical outlets in case I do need to hook up a heat lamp if they are suffering just in case. These silkies do seem like they require a bit extra care, for sure. Ah well.... totally in love, can't stop now! LOL!! I love that pen of yours-- what a score!!!!

Oh Danz, we also saw a peacock today at the fair and Sera announced loudly, " Mom, that peacock broke his tail turning around in that tiny cage. What is wrong with these people? Peacocks need big cages like at the bird farm! She knows better! ". I had to shush her and tell her that wasn't possible at the fair , and hide my laughter, because that poor bird did have a broken tail.... And it was turning around and around in it's cage. She still shocks me at the things she catches on to.

I can't imagine a portable or break down cage at a fair that would house a peacock. I've never seen peas at the fair-- probably just for that reason. Those cages are just big enough to get turkey in without messing up their tails. And even then, you'll see a lot of fraying and broken tail feathers from a bird being in a cage. But that is pretty smart of Sera to recognize what was going on and see how it was effecting the beauty of the pea's tail. Quite a shame.

Just a quick note to tell you my great news. I told DH about the units on CL that Hawkeye posted. He didn't want to buy those because he figures with our luck it would last a week and then be done. So he did lots of research online and made some phone calls and found a floor unit at Sam's that they gave him a 20% discount and it only cost $240. The portable ones were around $500 for my room size. The one he bought is a window unit but he's willing to put it in through the wall so as not to block the windows. The windows are sliders also, so that makes it a little more complicated. But now, I'll be able to cool the craftroom down enough to keep the birds from dying on me. Maybe next year I'll get one for the coop? We'll see. It's going to be such a relief to have a place to cool off the birds that really get stressed. I was really worried about spending anymore right now but he's more on top of the money stuff than I am so it's doable. I'm so happy to think I'll have A/C out there this weekend!

FANTASTIC!!!!!

So glad that you are getting your ac unit for that room! That is really going to make life so much easier on you. That's a great price for a new one at Sams, too. Good shopping skills he has there!

Josie, yes I did try the chicken saddles & they worked for awhile & then the hens started taking them off & losing them so I kind of gave up on it. It really wasn't worth having to fight with them to get them back on all the time or buy new ones when they lost them somewhere out there. I sprayed the one hen with the torn up back tonight with the blue kote & we'll see how she does. I hate to confine her to a cage if I don't have to, but I don't want them to kill her either, her back is really bad. I had seen that she had a sore place & then today they just tore the skin way more. That blue slate tom must have just gone on there tonight, I hadn't seen it.

Karen, I'm so glad for you on the air conditioner, yay! That will make you feel so much better & maybe you can relax a little more & your blood pressure can go back down, good for everyone.

I have one hen wearing a saddle right now-- been wearing it for weeks. Yes, even in this heat. My rooster just won't leave her alone and I don't have another place to put him. But I can't imagine her getting that saddle off. It has elastic with snaps and it fits perfectly. I bought it from someone who specially makes them for silkies. So maybe the fit has a lot to do with it. I have more saddles from her, and had one on my other hen, but my rooster rarely breeds her or even looks at her. Odd. Anyway, she didn't need it, and in this heat, decided not to burden her with it. But the fabrics I picked out are just adorable! I do enjoy seeing them wear them. So sad about your hen with the messed up back. That's going to take quite a while to heal. You might try a saddle again and see how long you can get it to stay on when she is on the mend.

Those of you with dogs, are your dogs shedding like crazy? It's ridiculous around here. Shouldn't they have lost the winter undercoat a long time ago? And I'm shedding like crazy, too. My mom says we shed our hair in spring and fall, so what's up with this? Is it like the trees dropping their leaves due to heat stress?

So far haven't noticed my dogs shedding, but they are kept really short and go to the groomers every few weeks. Interesting, though!