Consolidated Kansas

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Hey, anyone from Chase County here?

 

[Trish44]

Hawkeye, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, I hope you have a great day!

HEChicken, Yeah maybe the 6 foot roost is a bit high, but may not be the only cause either. There are just so many things they can step on outside too. I have my main roost all at about 4 ft on the same level. I started out with the ladder type & 2x2s & then people told me to change to the 2x4s so they could tuck their feet under at night in the winter, so I just made a double roost at the same height & they all roost on that now. As soon as it gets cool enough to work out there I'm going to take the old one out & rebuild another one of 2x4s for the other side of the coop so there is room for the new pullets coming up because the old roosts are almost full at night now. I'm just going to re-use the 2x4 supports off the old one & get some more to make the new roost from. Then nobody will be fighting over any higher roost because they will all be at the same level.Oh I meant to tell you I'm glad you found someone so happy about the guineas, that's great they will have such a good home! It would be nice if we all could get that lucky with the places our birds go. I just found out one person I sold several of my Ameraucana chicks to is now selling them all & all of the rest of her chickens, so who knows who will get them now.

Sunflowerparrot, yes I think I do want to get some of that cattail stuff from you, but we need to find somewhere to put the wood in the truck first, it's full of OSB for my coop. You probably saw it out there when you were here looking at my new coop site. Tomorrow we have to drive to Lowe's in Derby to get some more wood, so we'll have to figure out where to put this stuff then. Maybe I can come out the first of the week some time. I'll let you know.

I went out to check on all the birds right after my DH left & found 5 of my little guinea keets had escaped their pen, geez. I had a time catching the little critters, they're fast. The only way they could have gotten out is that I ran out of hardware cloth & the far end is chicken wire, so they had to have gotten through that, little escape artists. I got them all back in thank goodness before they got outside or I would have never been able to get them. I had two of my little young pullets escape last night while I was filling up water containers for all of the birds. One of them was my favorite Swedish Flower Hen pullet & the other was a Welsummer pullet. I about had a heart attack over the SF pullet being out, but she was already looking for a way back in thank goodness, so she was easy to catch. The Welsummer pullet I ddn't realize had gotten out because I guess she went around the side of the pen & I didn't see her. I heard a chick yelling really loud about the time I thought I was done outside, so it was dark by then & I had to get the flashlight & go out there. I'm so glad I did because she would have been out all night. I just thought that sound didn't quite sound right, more of a distressed peeping, so I had to go back out & see what was wrong.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Hello all! I've been off the board quite awhile with a busy summer but I have two issues that have cropped up and I need some seasoned advice. First off, my hens have started laying finally. I started off with chicks so no grown birds were around to offer any advice to the youngsters. I am finding eggs all over the place and at random. They do not seem to appreciate what the laying boxes are for. I tried twice to place a freshly layed egg with the presumed layer in the box, but over the course of a week no change. What am I doing wrong?
Secondly, i recently switched from Naturewise brand 16% layer crumble to the equivalent house brand from Orschelns. In addition to filling the trays daily, they have been getting 2-3 hours unencumbered free range time per day and I treat with mealworms and blueberries once a week and all's been well. With the new feed that aren't eating near as much and seem to toss it to the ground and complain. The new feed is in a pellet format whereas the Naturwise was crumbles. Otherwise all the ingredients are the same. How concerned should i be that they don't seem to be eating enough? I'd hate to waste a 50lb bag of feed, but starting to get nervous.
Thanks everyone for your input. If we newbies don't say it enough, believe me - we sincerely appreciate the veterans here.

I have to agree with everyone's suggestion about keeping fake eggs in the boxes all the time. I've had just two that were outside the nest box, but once I put in the fake eggs they've laid in there every time. I did add a second box (just an old covered cat litter box) that sits on the run floor and lately there have been more eggs in there, so I think they like that they have a choice. Could it be that the boxes are too high and they don't want to jump/fly up to get to them?

As for the crumbles, Orchlen's brand is what I use as well and while I notice that they didn't eat it as when when i switched from the chick starter to this, they are coming around. I think it might be too hot to eat as much right now and if you think about it, they are wanting the free range stuff that has more of a water content than the dry stuff. They have to drink more water to process the dry stuff. I'd just keep it there and like HEChicken said - they won't let themselves starve.

Well, it is quiet around here this morning. I had a guy come and buy my whole flock of guineas at 6:30 this morning. I think they are going to a really good home. He already has guineas and talked to them so lovingly, using terms of endearment, as we loaded them into his crate. He was really excited to get some of the colors I had as he said the ones he already has are drab, boring colors. His friends sometimes ask him why he keeps such "ugly" birds but he said to him they are beautiful. So I think he is really going to treasure them and once he gets them settled in there, they'll have a good life. He has 40 acres that they free-range.

Yay! It's always a nice feeling when you know your animals are going to a good home!

It's my birthday!! Anyway, going to be running around a bit today, so figured I'd jump on really quick.

CUTE!!! Love this statue!!
I've noticed my boys tend to square off and "fight". They all get along really well though, but they do enjoy the play time. I have a little cross beak pullet that I need to find a special home for. She is close to 3 months old. She is beautiful!! Big crest, perfect toes, etc.. Such a shame. The type of cross she has is supposedly not genetic, because the beak does not scissor or actually cross, but it all just turns to the side. I need to file her down a bit more, but she eats and drinks fine. She just needs a home that won't mind her defect.

Again, Happiest of all Birthdays!!!!! I always have a special place in my heart for the animals that need help. I was horrible about that as a kid, but I was lucky that my mom put up with the strays and injured wildlife I brought into the house. Do you have to keep up with the cross beaks? do you have to file regularly?

 

[sharol]

Close. We are in lyon.

Hey, anyone from Chase County here?

 

[cherwill]

Well, whatever I wanted to respond to here is long gone from my memory, and apparently from the computer's memory as well!

Sunflower, I love that name for your puppy. I am terrible at naming pets (hence most of my flock remains name-less). My kids named a BO "Scramble" when she was a chick and that stuck. Cyrus and Suzette came with names. And just a few weeks ago my grey hen finally got a name. I wanted her to have a special name but for the hens, favor the old-fashioned names. So she is Matilda, because it is an old-fashioned name and because I am an Aussie and Waltzing Matilda is our unofficial anthem. I am incubating some eggs right now and when DD and I saw movement in one of Matilda's eggs we said "Its waltzing!" Yeah, yeah, crazy sense of humor, I know.

I'm not great with names either. My chickens tend to be named after TV show characters, like the Golden Girls. My dog Tai is named that because my niece chose the name. Gypsy was originally named Makayla by the Amarillo SPCA. We thought it was too long and didn't seem to suit her, so we were thinking of naming her Tillie. Then we met her, and Tillie didn't suit her at all. Gypsy just came to me because of all the places she'd been shuffled around to. She'd been a stray and ended up at a ranch. The rancher brought her to the SPCA along with some other strays that had been dumped at his place. In the 5 months after that, she went from the SPCA to a school for dogs to help blind people, back to the SPCA when she turned out to be pregnant, to a foster home, to the vet for having pups and spaying, to the SPCA for a while again and back to the foster home before we got her.

Just stopping by again to give an update on the possible ordinance change in Rose Hill. The Council will be voting on whether or not to approve my request this Monday, August 6. Hoping that the outcome is positive!

Good luck! There are plenty of things in town that noisier than chickens.

Quote:

I hope i don't have to do this bumble-foot surgery i check feet but nothing so far. I found a blog that shows very good pictures I posted it before but can post again if anyone wants it.

how many hens would you recommend for a family of 5? I'm wondering if i will have enough eggs to sell to make up for feed cost? we have 3 hens and 1 roo how many do you think i would need?

I will agree with the people who've said to space out your chickens. We have 6 that are all the same age. They are Buff Orps, Australorps and a Wyandotte. For almost a year after they started laying, we got 4-6 eggs a day. Then they got broody, one at a time, then it was HOT last summer, then there was some molting and more broodiness. Eggs dropped off to 1-3 a day and at the beginning of this spring, we often had no eggs at all. We were getting 4-5 a week. They're 2 years old now and I've been told egg production can drop drastically after a year or so. I think the new girls have been a good influence, though, since no one has been broody this summer yet and we're getting 4-5 eggs a day again. When the two older EEs started laying, I guess the older birds thought they should, too.

I'm glad, but now we have 10 birds and that's about all we have room for. In a couple of years, we'll probably have the same problem with lack of eggs. Yes, I know many people butcher the old hens to make room for new and younger models. I'm just not sure I can do that. As my husband says, I can't eat something once I know it by name, and it seems like a sorry way to repay them for their years of egg service! So my suggestion is, if you have the room, get more than you think you need, and have a program where can add more hens every year or two. There are only 2 of us, so when we had too many eggs, my in-laws bought the extras. I was able to make them very happy last week when I finally had enough to spare them a dozen. It had been a long time!

They're not cost effective, not once we buy food and grit and oyster shell and scratch .... but we like knowing what went into our eggs and we enjoy spending time with our chickens. I think all our birds are dual purpose, though, so if you got breeds that are strictly layers, it might make up for the cost.

I wish the temps would cool down ... I wish it would rain ... I wish my coop was done ... I wish my puppy was here ... I wish, I wish, I wish

What do you wish for?

I wish we'd get more than a tiny bit of rain at a time, but I'm glad we've been getting what little we've gotten this week. I wish the flies would go away. I wish my dogs would get along again. I wish we could find a place in the country.

That's really pretty.

I know a few people that don't like chickens, mostly people who had them growing up, but I don't know anyone who thinks they're gross. I know some of our friends and family think we're crazy for having them, especially in town.

OH! I think I remember what didn't show up on the quote from Danz. It had to do with people so rude as to comment on things they don't like about your home and how you keep it. My standards have really fallen since I've had the sciatic/pelvic strain issue and since the weather became boiling hot last summer. Luckily for me, my mom and MIL have loosened their standards over the years and the rest of my family never had the same standards I did in the first place! I know I'd never be so rude as to say something to someone, though. Also, it has never really bothered me to be in someone's dirty house, even when I kept mine spotless. In my experience, people who point out things like that, who try to make you feel inferior, usually feel inferior themselves. They try to make themselves feel or look better by making others look bad. Don't let it get to you! As long as you and your family are comfortable and happy, what else matters?

Hello all! I've been off the board quite awhile with a busy summer but I have two issues that have cropped up and I need some seasoned advice. First off, my hens have started laying finally. I started off with chicks so no grown birds were around to offer any advice to the youngsters. I am finding eggs all over the place and at random. They do not seem to appreciate what the laying boxes are for. I tried twice to place a freshly layed egg with the presumed layer in the box, but over the course of a week no change. What am I doing wrong?
Secondly, i recently switched from Naturewise brand 16% layer crumble to the equivalent house brand from Orschelns. In addition to filling the trays daily, they have been getting 2-3 hours unencumbered free range time per day and I treat with mealworms and blueberries once a week and all's been well. With the new feed that aren't eating near as much and seem to toss it to the ground and complain. The new feed is in a pellet format whereas the Naturwise was crumbles. Otherwise all the ingredients are the same. How concerned should i be that they don't seem to be eating enough? I'd hate to waste a 50lb bag of feed, but starting to get nervous.
Thanks everyone for your input. If we newbies don't say it enough, believe me - we sincerely appreciate the veterans here.

I don't have any advice for you. Mine just seemed to know to lay in the nesting boxes. A couple of times I've found an egg in the yard and I've assumed that bird was chased out of the coop or the boxes were full and she couldn't wait. Also sometimes one will get the idea that it's better to waller out a nest in the shavings underneath the boxes and start laying eggs there.

We always bought the Orscheln layer crumbles, then we thought we'd be oh-so-healthy and buy a more expensive kind. It had more of a molasses scent to it and was supposed to have more Omega-3s or something to make healthier eggs. I think it was pellets instead of crumbles. Anyway, anytime we try to use it, they seem to go off their feed and only eat half as much. They're so picky about some things, and not picky at all about others.

Hey all! DH almost has the A/C finished up. He installed it into a wall and is trimming it out on the inside. Then he has to weather-proof it on the outside and done! Last night the craft room had A/C! Yay! I only cooled it down to 86 degrees but I'm sure that felt like a cold front had come through. Now I'll have someplace to put any birds that need a respite and I needn't shock DH with birds stacked in the BR and bath. I'm feeling very spoiled.

Sounds great!

It's my birthday!! Anyway, going to be running around a bit today, so figured I'd jump on really quick.

Happy birthday! Hope you're having a great day.

.
Well, it is quiet around here this morning. I had a guy come and buy my whole flock of guineas at 6:30 this morning. I think they are going to a really good home. He already has guineas and talked to them so lovingly, using terms of endearment, as we loaded them into his crate. He was really excited to get some of the colors I had as he said the ones he already has are drab, boring colors. His friends sometimes ask him why he keeps such "ugly" birds but he said to him they are beautiful. So I think he is really going to treasure them and once he gets them settled in there, they'll have a good life. He has 40 acres that they free-range.

I'm kinda going to miss them. I enjoyed them, didn't notice the noise, and found them entertaining. And, after processing the one on Tuesday, it turns out I must have got the main instigator in the Cyrus chasing because the coop has been very peaceful ever since then, with the 12 remaining birds keeping to themselves. So if this guy hadn't shown up, I was feeling okay about keeping them. DH didn't love the noise but is pretty tolerant of all my hobbies so would never have asked me to give them up. But now that I've met this guy and seen how much he cares about them, I feel okay about them going to live with him. And, it is 12 fewer mouths to feed now and with feed prices going up, that will make a different too.

I'm glad you found a place for them that you're happy with. It helps a lot to know they'll still have a good life. S

With all this talk of bumblefoot, I told my husband we should check ours out some time. Apparently he went right out and turned everyone upside down because he came back in a little bit ago and said they all had healthy feet!

I'm in tomato heaven. I have bags and bags of diced and crushed tomatoes in the freezer, and a tub of roasted tomatoes. The heirlooms are starting to produce more and I'll start making salsa for the freezer. I know I sound like an idiot over some silly tomatoes, but this has been a dream of mine for years!

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Ack! So, it seems that the puppy I was going to get in the next few months turned out to be a male! But - there was one female from the last litter and the person who was supposed to come get her changed her mind. So - tomorrow, I will have my puppy! I am so not ready or prepared... Her name will be Fern, she is 10 week old and a Great Pyrenees

So - what do I need????? I am going to get:

Leash
Collar
Tag made with my phone number engraved on it (PetSmart does that)
Plastic swimming pool for her to lie in/next to
Bag of food she is currently eating
What else do I need???

She is going to sleep in the chicken coop with the chickens during the night and be in the little fence with them during the day. I am glad tomorrow is going to be a little cooler. I want to walk with her a few times a day around the entire perimeter of the property on leash/collar so she 1) learns to walk with a leash and collar 2) learns the boundaries. This will give me good time with her to train and praise.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Close. We are in lyon.

SWEET! I thought I was the only chicken person out here... Have you ever heard of a restaurant called Ad Astra?

 

[chicken danz]

Hey, anyone from Chase County here?

Nope but I used to live in Morris County and I now live in Coffey County. All pretty close. Do you live in Cottonwood Falls or Strong City or somewhere else?

With all this talk of bumblefoot, I told my husband we should check ours out some time. Apparently he went right out and turned everyone upside down because he came back in a little bit ago and said they all had healthy feet!

I'm in tomato heaven. I have bags and bags of diced and crushed tomatoes in the freezer, and a tub of roasted tomatoes. The heirlooms are starting to produce more and I'll start making salsa for the freezer. I know I sound like an idiot over some silly tomatoes, but this has been a dream of mine for years!

I've been looking at all my chickens feet when they walk near me. I haven't seen any evidence of bumblefoot on any of them yet. Mine free range all the time and spend little time in the coop, Maybe that helps.
I am so jealous of your tomatoes. Mine just aren't producing at all.

Ack! So, it seems that the puppy I was going to get in the next few months turned out to be a male! But - there was one female from the last litter and the person who was supposed to come get her changed her mind. So - tomorrow, I will have my puppy! I am so not ready or prepared... Her name will be Fern, she is 10 week old and a Great Pyrenees

So - what do I need????? I am going to get:

Leash
Collar
Tag made with my phone number engraved on it (PetSmart does that)
Plastic swimming pool for her to lie in/next to
Bag of food she is currently eating
What else do I need???

She is going to sleep in the chicken coop with the chickens during the night and be in the little fence with them during the day. I am glad tomorrow is going to be a little cooler. I want to walk with her a few times a day around the entire perimeter of the property on leash/collar so she 1) learns to walk with a leash and collar 2) learns the boundaries. This will give me good time with her to train and praise.

I think you need to consider a bigger area for her to stay in than the chicken pen. She might get bored and decide to play with the chickens. Not a good idea. Introduce her to them little by little and tell her a firm NO! if she starts to chase or play with them. Take some time to pet her and reassure her. She will fight you on the leash to begin with. Don't pull on it. Just let her get used to walking with it before you make her walk where you want.

SWEET! I thought I was the only chicken person out here... Have you ever heard of a restaurant called Ad Astra?

I see that restaurant is in Strong City. Are you one of the owners?

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Nope but I used to live in Morris County and I now live in Coffey County. All pretty close. Do you live in Cottonwood Falls or Strong City or somewhere else?

I see that restaurant is in Strong City. Are you one of the owners?

I live in a "community" called Elk. It's about 25 minutes from Strong City.

Yes, my mom is one of the owners. I work there sometimes. I wanted to see if any BYC-ers have stopped in yet.

 

[Trish44]

I'm so excited for you sunflowerparrot! I can't wait to meet miss Fern! She & my Jasmine could be twins they look so much alike, but then they have the same parents too. Did you see the photos of mine when they were little pups?