Consolidated Kansas

[pikeman94]

Hawkeye - I think it was you that wanted to know about where I got the kennel I have my chicks in. Honestly, I don't know where it was purchased. I got it from my father-in-law when he passed away. He used it for a beagle he had many moons ago. There is a manufacturers tag on it. I could get the info if you want.

On a sad note I lost my beagle "Lucky" of 16 years on Sunday. I had to take her in to be put down. She was just old and in so much pain. Sad day around the house.

 

[Hawkeye95]

WOW! 24 lbs a day?!?!?!

I guess that if she can't graze or eat hay though it would be different. I think my grandparents give a few pounds a day (can't remember exactly how much) but they have constant access to good hay and pasture. In fact, now I think "my" horse (the one that I ride and train, but sadly can't keep here because we don't have the space or the money

) is a little overweight. He's always been a little tubby though.

Sorry, that just really surprised me

.

Yes m'am, and obviously you don't have a senior horse or you'd be fighting tooth and nail to keep that weight on. About 3 years ago, my mare was down to skin and bones and she looked terrible and I was trying everything I could think of. After 3 vet visits with lots of talking it over, we decided to increase her grain amount, so my vet is well aware of what I am feeding her. I tried out probably 6 different weight supplements ON TOP of the grain. They didn't work. My last ditch was the pig increaser at the CoOp, and it is very, very expensive. You can't afford a bag, that's for sure. They sell it by the pound, but even at that, I think I spent close to $40 for it. After using it up and seeing no difference, back to the vet we went. We did more teeth work and came up with another plan. In the end, just increasing her grain and giving her Cool Calories is finally what did it. I know a lot of people use beet pulp, wet the feed down, and on and on. Been there... done it all. (my vet decided it was a thyroid problem-- because she doesn't finish shedding out anymore, either) My horses are not tuby or over weight by any means. This is why I would never sell these guys, no one would take care of them like I do. They'd be skin and bones in someone else's hands. And that someone would probably just attribute it to their age.

Hawkeye - I think it was you that wanted to know about where I got the kennel I have my chicks in. Honestly, I don't know where it was purchased. I got it from my father-in-law when he passed away. He used it for a beagle he had many moons ago. There is a manufacturers tag on it. I could get the info if you want.

On a sad note I lost my beagle "Lucky" of 16 years on Sunday. I had to take her in to be put down. She was just old and in so much pain. Sad day around the house.

I did want to know! But that's okay, I just really liked the look of it and wondered where they were being sold. I'm so sorry about Lucky. So very terribly heart breaking to lose a long time companion. They mean so much and I know you'll be feeling that void for a long time to come. My sympathy to you and your family.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Okay, so I did more bumblefoot surgery today! DANZ--- I got the "before" pictures for you. Here are today's photos!

The bumble foot before anything was done. Although-- these are feet that have already been soaked for about 5 mins in the Epsom salts in the sink. So they are mostly clean and the round spots are the Bumble.

Very small bumble:

Very LARGE bumble (before) picture:

Okay-- and here is what that really large scab looks like when it's pried off!! This is SO cool!!!!

Here it is when it's been pulled off and I cleaned it out with Iodine and then sprayed peroxide on it until more stuff started fizzing out and the peroxide pushed out all this white stringy stuff that I was able to use my tweezers on and get it pulled out. That peroxide rocked!! See how pretty it is now??!

And then putting Triple Antibiotic on the gauze and then wrapping vet wrap around the gauze. All done!

You can see a bit of gauze peeking out-- I meant to cover it all, but whatever.

 

[Hawkeye95]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Danz!!!!!

Leo's are AWESOME!!!! Rawr!! LOL!!

 

[Trish44]

Well it was some fun getting these GPs into the car to go to the Vet. I got Lily on the leash easier than Jasmine. Jas had just caught herself a rabbit & she thought I was trying to get it away from her, so she just kept moving away from me. I had to hold onto Lily & my DH had to circle around behind Jas & catch her. She dropped the rabbit when she saw him, go figure. Lily will walk on a leash fairly well, but Jas is a different story. We did finally get them walking & got them over to the car, but no way were they going to get in. Thank goodness my DH was here to help, I would have never been able to do it. He had to pick each of them up & put them in the back seat of his car & let me tell you they're no light weights. At first they were panting & Lily was obviously scared to be in the car. I was afraid I would have two huge dogs in my lap before we got far, but they kind of settled in after a few blocks into town & laid down. Then when we got there they didn't want to get out of the car, so it was another struggle then & then they didn't want to go inside the Vet clinic. Here we are tugging & pulling these big dogs into the clinic, thank goodness nobody else was there. They were really not liking being inside at all & while we were paying Jas was looking out the door like get me out of here. HEChicken, we had to take them in because this was for rabies shots, so I couldn't do them myself. I have given them all of the puppy shots myself. We will be taking them back soon to get them spayed, so we'll have to go through this again. I would just like to do one at a time so we have one dog to still work while the other recovers. The Vet wants to get them done by the end of the month before they get any bigger & he wants to do both at the same time, but I would rather not have them both down at the same time.

Today the birds all seem to be doing all right. It's 92 here now & we had some clouds, but no rain. It was supposed to be a high of 106 today, but I don't think it will get to that, I hope not anyway. The forecast for here shows two more days of above 100 & then it's supposed to cool down to the 90s. I never thought I would look forward to 90 some degrees, but after the way it's been it will be a relief. The Vet had doom to say about the weather, he said that we're supposed to have a 7 year drought, I sure hope not or we will be living in a desert with no greenery at all, that will be terrible.

So far my brick blockade has held the little guineas in, maybe they gave up on it, I hope so because they're little buggers to catch. I was finally able to see them far enough apart to count & they're all there, so that's good. My two young peafowl are starting to make some strange sounds. I never have had peafowl, so I don't know what they're supposed to sound like. I just wanted to make sure they're doing OK & not having any respiratory problems so I tried to find peafowl sounds online, but none of the ones I found sounded like these. They're making them pretty much continuously & I know that peafowl make quite a bit of noise, but I don't really know what to expect right now when they're still young.

I went out & checked on the young chicks in the grow-out pen a little bit ago & they're really enjoying that dog house. Some of them are just lounging around inside it, so I guess that's good that I got it. The little Swedish Flower Hen chicks that I just put out there a couple days ago are at the bottom of the pecking order, so they're having to get picked on some right now, but I think it will be OK after the others all get used to them. Nobody is hurting them really, just pecking them on the head once in awhile to remind them they're the new guys. I have one SF hen chick still in the crate in the house just to keep the tiny little Cream Legbar chick company. I didn't want her to have to stay all alone, so I left one in there with her. She seems like she is growing kind of slow, but I think that breed kind of does grow slower than some of the others. I only have one crested Cream Legbar pullet so far, the other two look like they're going to be non-crested. I don't know yet on the young Swedish Flower Hen chicks whether any of them will be crested or not. They don't get their crests for awhile after they start feathering out. In the first 4 that I had hatched that are really coloring out nicely now I have one that is crested. She is my favorite so far, she's kind of an orange color with grey & white, she's really pretty. Shana & I were talking about that breed the other night, she has a pair of them & she really likes them too. They're just really friendly, curious little birds. Mine come up to me when I go into the pen & peck at my shoes & then follow me around. I really think they're my favorite breed now. I let the little brown leghorn pullet out of her pen last night & took her in to roost with the others. She seems kind of lost today because she doesn't know the others now & they don't know her since she has been penned away from them for awhile to heal. I hope she doesn't run off again & get lost like she did before.

I have to go get feed today, I'm out of all of my feed now since I had to wait to go. I'm going to go get the bulk feed today & see how that works out. It will save me a lot of money if my birds will eat it. I guess they will have no choice if that's all I have to feed them.

Tomorrow my DH goes to OKC with my granddaughter to get her tooth fixed. I hope that goes well because I don't feel like I can go with it still being hot here. I've been losing birds even when I'm here most of the time, so I can't chance leaving town for sure.

Pikeman, I'm sorry to hear about your dog.

Happy Birthday Danz! Oh & I agree Hawkeye Leos rock, I'm one too!

 

[JosieChick]

Introducing Fern She is home!

Very cute sunflowerparrot, she looks like a doll!

Can't wait to see your pics, Josie. I figured she would jump out of rubbermaid bin. I guess it might be worthwhile to try. What's a few more chickens in the house any way??

I took some of my older chicks out of the bin in the house and put them in the brooder house last night. This silly peachick cried all night. She still has chicks with her but I guess I took her buddies!

I will have to get pics today of them. They are awesome, I love them already. I can't stop looking at them!! Poor pea, missed its friends! They are very delicate creatures aren't they?

do you all have a brooder or do you just let your hens do it natural? I found this picture and asked DH if he could make one for me and he said yes not sure if he know what it is but he said yes. What does your brooder look like and where do you keep it?

My DH is building me something similar to this! They should be done in a few weeks and I will post pics. I have dog crates but my chicks keep jumping out of them and getting loose in the garage.

its a 100 here also no real breeze just hot. I got my oldest registered for school this afternoon so he is ready too go.

Danz do you have any blue laced red wyandottes? or any lavender orpington?

michelleml-I may have some lavender orps this fall. I have some black girls that are split to lavender and one lavender girl that are just getting ready to start laying. I just bought a beautiful black imported english orp cockerel but it is gonna be a few months before he is up for the job!

Well it's been an awful day here for me, it started off just bad. I went out this morning to check on all the birds & found two of the Royal Palm turkeys dead in the pen, one tom & one hen. That was really upsetting since they were supposed to be going to HEChicken as soon as she got her pen ready, arrrggghhhh! This darned heat, I could scream! I think the culmination of so many days of being overheated just did them in because I had been putting water in a pan for them to stand in & spraying their pen down so the ground was cool, giving them iced water, the whole bit. They were fine yesterday morning when I left for Wichita & still when I came back that night, so they died some time during the night. I just don't think they could take it any more, poor things. I just feel so bad about it.

Then after finding the turkeys I went out to let the chickens out & half of my little guineas were out again, so I had to catch them all & put them back in. I had to do that twice today, not exactly what I wanted to do today. I finally figured out where they were getting out & put bricks there, so for now I solved the problem. I hope they grow fast so they can't squeeze under & through things so easily because they are buggers to catch. I figured out that we got Royal Purple, that's mostly what I have & then 4 Pearls. I will be excited to see how they look when they're feathered out. I didn't get such young keets before when I had them, so I didn't have the escaping problem before.

I have to take my GPs to the Vet tomorrow for some shots & this will be their first time in a car since they were tiny pups & I brought them home, so it should be interesting. My DH is going to help me get them there because I told him there is no way I can handle the two of them by myself. I figure Jasmine will be the one to freak out on us. Lily probably won't be as much of a problem, but Jasmine just doesn't like being messed with or doing things that she isn't used to. Even brushing her is a challenge. I got this brush that helps get the loose hair out & gets the tangles out without pulling their hair so bad & I was trying to brush them tonight. Lily just sits there & lets me brush her, but I had to hold onto Jasmine's collar & she was pulling against me trying to get away, it was real fun trying to hold onto her & brush her at the same time. Wish me luck getting them to the Vet & back without them tearing up the car. We're taking my DH's old car, but he said he still didn't want his seats torn up, oh fun. I'll let you all know later how it all goes.

Well my DH is having to make two trips this week without me. He's taking our granddaughter back down to OKC to get her tooth fixed again since she knocked off the cap the dentist put on before. She has to be down there Weds.at 1:00 for her appt. I don't know how that trip will go with him taking a 7 year old by himself, we'll find out. He is going to see his family next weekend & to his brother's 50 year anniversary party without me too. In light of all that has been happening lately with my birds & the heat I just don't feel I can leave right now. He finally seems to understand why I can't go & is being pretty good about it, thank goodness.

So sorry about your turkeys, how tragic! This heat is awful. Good luck with your car ride to the vet. Hope the girls are ok for you! Glad your DH understands that your birdies need you!

all you horse owners what do you feed your horses during the winter? she is in pasture sense she is young we don't ride her so i'm trying to prepare for winter any help is appreciated

How old is your horse? When was the last time she saw the vet? I would HIGHLY recommend having a good horse vet (look for someone who is an aaep member is a good place to start, you can search their website for a vet near you http://www.aaep.org/) give your girl a good check up and float her teeth if needed. Don't go price shopping on a float though. There are a lot of people who don't know how to properly float teeth and can ruin your horses mouth but having her teeth in good shape will help her eat well and keep weight on, especially during the winter.

I feed brome flakes twice a day, depending on the weather they may get one if its not bad out, if its cold or wet I give them more. On really bad days they get all the hay they want, I go out several times a day to feed hay. You can spread it around their pasture too so they have to walk from pile to pile and keep blood pumping instead of "camping" in one spot. I usually feed prairie hay predominantly but it is impossible to find good prairie hay this year, it just burnt right up. Get hay now! I just spent a small fortune to have a guy deliver hay because I dawdled. It will be gone this year with the drought. There will be no more cuttings this season and most folks only got one good cutting if they started early. Ask if it is horse quality, if they spray for weeds, when it got put up after it was baled, if it got rained on at all. Get a good tank heater, they need fresh, unfrozen water available at all times. It got so cold here last winter that my tank froze over at night even with a cheap float heater in in so I bought the kind that goes in the bottom and it worked like a charm.

I feed very little grain. My horses are all easy keepers and I feed grain by weight. It is nutrena special care for fat horses and is designed to provide the vitamins a horse needs in a small portion of grain. I feed 1/4 pound once a day during the summer and 1/2 pound during the winter. They are super easy keepers. I keep a very close eye on their weight. The topline and ribs are often the first places to show weight loss so watch that closely. I also supplement with alfalfa cubes during the winter. Again, I spread them around the pasture unless their is a ton of snow falling but even then they love to paw through the snow to find the goodies beneath. It keeps them active thus they actually get more from their feed than if they stand and munch out of pan. Keep salt licks in a place where they won't get muddy or covered in frozen junk.

I always blanket my horses during the winter. I moved here from new england and we grew up blanketing horses so I know no difference. A lot of folks don't blanket here. I only blanket here if it is very cold and windy, the wind will cut right through you on a cold day and the horses have to work harder to stay warm too. If it is wet and cold I also blanket. I don't worry as badly about snow as I do about freezing rain or sleet. That is nasty stuff and I only have a run in for shelter so the horses need extra protection when they go out to graze/eat hay. My mustang refuses to go in the run in and will stand outside in the weather because he can't "hear" when rain/sleet etc is hitting the roof of the run in. I love weatherbeeta blankets. They are expensive but they last a long time, are super durable and waterproof. A wet blanket could be a death sentence to a horse. I check at least once a day that the horses are dry and toasty under their blankets. The higher denier (d) nylon the more durable the blanket. Make sure you buy one that is a turnout that is waterproof and not a stable blanket. I usually buy at least medium or heavy weight for winter. This refers to the filling level in the blanket. Kind of like the difference between a light fall jacket and heavy winter coat that has more filling or weight to it. Here is a nice blankie, you can get them at TSC too in less exciting colors for about $90-$100. http://www.doversaddlery.com/landa-freestyle-med-turnout-bl/p/X1-24833/?ids=gd4ahh55v3eihi55nvwbzl55. Pay close attention to straps, I check them regularly to make sure nothing is broken too loose. A horse can lay down and get easily tangled in a loose belly strap and not be able to get back up. A couple hours of struggling on a cold day can be catastrophic. Don't let a blanket fool you into thinking your horse is maintaining weight. I pull blankets every couple days, brush them down and feel them over to assess their weight. Don't let a fuzzy coat do that either. A fuzzy coat can hide a thinning horse very well.

Let us know if there is anything else you want to know about! We all love our ponies here!

Little Miss Fern keeps squeezing under the chicken wire fence So - I went and bought 24 tent stakes - HA! I win (maybe and hopefully!) lol - There was one area where the fence just didn't meet the ground too well and for some reason that area of ground is soft and a stake wouldn't go into it securely. I put up 2 pallets inside the fence next to that area and then dragged a large limb over and set on top of the pallets - that should keep her from that area - the rest is pretty secure now. I will watch to see if she gets out anywhere else and just continue pounding stakes into the area. It is best to fix her escape problems while she is young before those areas become habit for her.


Question - when can I not put Fern into a crate at night? When can I just let her stay in the fenced area? (The fenced area isn't really predator proof - it's just a barrier really.) Would a coyote go after her and she'd not be able to defend herself - or would a coyote just not even bother coming out here because of her? Sorry for all the questions - I just really want to do this right and my top priority is her safety.

I think GP pups can fit through the tiniest openings, Lucie can still squeeze her body through places and I can't believe it! A coyote can easily kill a young pup. It is my understanding that a young pyr should be protected if they are working alone until they are at least a year old and close to their full size. A pack of coyotes can easily kill a young dog (1 year old) Packs of coyotes can kill full grow pyrs too. This is why most folks have at least two dogs working so they can have each others back for protection. I think most GP are smart enough to not get themselves surrounded by a pack of coyotes but don't ever underestimate their ability to kill a pup or young dog. I would keep her crated or inside fencing until she is big enough to protect herself. You will have to watch and see when she starts to "work" Lucie starting working at 4 months and that is when I started letting her out at night but she has an 8 year old seasoned pyr teaching her the ropes. And Molly (my older female) would tell Lucie (pup) when to stay behind and when she could come along. If it was too dangerous the pup had to stay home. I am sure someone else will chime in on this too but keep in mind that a pack of coyotes can and will kill a young dog very easily.

Hawkeye - I think it was you that wanted to know about where I got the kennel I have my chicks in. Honestly, I don't know where it was purchased. I got it from my father-in-law when he passed away. He used it for a beagle he had many moons ago. There is a manufacturers tag on it. I could get the info if you want.

On a sad note I lost my beagle "Lucky" of 16 years on Sunday. I had to take her in to be put down. She was just old and in so much pain. Sad day around the house.

So sorry about Lucky. 16 years is a good and long life.

I am sure she will be greatly missed.

Okay, so I did more bumblefoot surgery today! DANZ--- I got the "before" pictures for you. Here are today's photos!

The bumble foot before anything was done. Although-- these are feet that have already been soaked for about 5 mins in the Epsom salts in the sink. So they are mostly clean and the round spots are the Bumble.

Yuck Hawkeye!!!!!

Well, I have hay! Thank you to those who tried to help too, I appreciate it! I found a guy with really nice brome that was cut in May and he delivered so we are a huge amount of money poorer but as DH says, richer in hay!!!

I miss the cooler air we had for a few days. It was sooo nice. 65 degrees at night, I thought I might need a sweater! I have two eggs in the bator from a batch of 13 shipped eggs, only two made it to lockdown and one just hatched and that chick is screaming its head off. The other egg just pipped so I guess I will be listening to the screaming all day! They are self blue (aka lavender) and self blue split bantam cochin eggs so hopefully I will get a self blue cochin chick!

HEchicken-Do you still want silchin broody fool chicks? I have a bunch sitting on the counter that I can stick in the bator if you want them, otherwise they will get scrambled.

 

[JosieChick]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[michelleml]

We have a yearling paint that was given to my oldest son. We've had her sense June and is doing good so far. i did find a farrier and we are on a 8 wks schedule. She doesn't wear shoes. I have so much too learn I've been reading what i can. She has put weight on sense we've had her but i was told i didn't have to give grain sense she had free access to pasture.

we bought a weight tape and it said 652 lbs so we need to find a good feed and start that slowly

Thanks for all that replied i hope you don't mind if i ask more questions

Michelle

 

[JosieChick]

I have to add one more thing about feeding horses. If you have an older horse like Hawkeye has that can't eat hay or forage any more you will have to feed a LOT more processed grain products. I had a quarter horse mare that lived to be 32 and she had to eat 18 pounds of senior grain a day, 2 cups of corn oil, and 6 pounds of soaked beet pulp to maintain a decent weight. We were always fighting to keep weight on her. Her teeth were just worn to nothing so she would just drop huge balls of hay, we still gave her a little just so she had something to chew on but I doubt any of it made it into her. It is really rough keeping an older horse with no teeth in good weight. You have to feed based upon your individual horse and their needs. My mustang is a fattie pattie. That horse could eat dirt and gain weight. But he is a horse that was bred to live in arid, desert climate and survive on very little so given free choice pasture he balloons. Being fat is as dangerous as being skinny for a horse. They must maintain an average weight to be healthy.

 

[JosieChick]

We have a yearling paint that was given to my oldest son. We've had her sense June and is doing good so far. i did find a farrier and we are on a 8 wks schedule. She doesn't wear shoes. I have so much too learn I've been reading what i can. She has put weight on sense we've had her but i was told i didn't have to give grain sense she had free access to pasture.

we bought a weight tape and it said 652 lbs so we need to find a good feed and start that slowly

Thanks for all that replied i hope you don't mind if i ask more questions

Michelle

If she is in good weight I personally would look for a grass supplement grain. Nutrena makes several products that are designed to get a horse the nutrition they need in a small amount of grain so they don't gain excess weight. She is a young growing horse so you will have to watch her closely. She may need a higher protein grain for growth but you don't want to over do it and force to much growth at once. I would highly recommend finding a good horse vet and discussing her nutrition needs.