Consolidated Kansas

[OzawkieBantams]

@ Tweety,

Ozawkie - I'm sorry you hate my hospital L If I'd know you were coming I could have tried to get you through a bit faster. I work in the ER. Did you have a long wait? We've been so unusually busy these past couple weeks it's crazy! I'm exhausted every day.

Yes was almost a two hour wait. Then the jack wagon running the MRI asks me where and what part of my wirst hurts, so I told t him. and he grabs my hand a yanks it into this box like thing. OMG........ IF IT DIDN'T HURT SO BAD THAT LITTLE HALF SIZED MAN WOULD HAVE STOPPED BREATHING RIGHT THERE!
No apology or nothing. Now i don't care if he was having a bad day or not that was BS!
Ifit would have been my choice OPRMC is where I would have gone. yep would have cost me sixy bucks in gas , but would have been worth it.

 

[OzawkieBantams]

Has anyone else ever seen this before?
This hen hurt her legs some how. I put her in isolation and this is how her legs (both) heeled.
Now she walks on her Knees.

 

[michelleml]

Thanks for the input Hawkeye and tweetysvoice on the roost.

Good morning everyone its so nice out this morning we have the house opened up again loving it.

Danz if you have any pullets in your newly hatched chicks will you be selling them? Not sure how far you are from me but i may want a few let me know so i can save up some money


Ozawkie Sorry to hear out your visit yesterday and about your hen that looks very painful poor thing

Have a great day everyone

Michelle

 

[lizzyGSR]

I woke up to thunder/lightning this morning. Even so, we still didn't get any rain. The storm went around us, as usual. However, it is cool this morning. It was cool yesterday morning as well. Today's high is only 92! Yesterday only got into the upper 80's. It was REALLY nice to be able to go out and work in such cool weather!

On another note, my husband and I have been working on a pen for my ducks and goose. Their duck house will be inside this pen. We're planning on having the pen be made of chicken wire with a chicken wire top. The wire we're using is used wire that we got from a neighbor who was taking a pen down. The wire is several rolls of wire put together vertically to create a fence that is about 8 feet tall. Our pen will only be about 6 1/2 feet tall. To keep predators out, we're planning on folding the wire at the ground and laying it on top of the ground on the outside of the pen. Then, we'll bring in some dirt to cover the wire. Is 1 1/2 feet of buried wire around the pen enough or will a predator be able to figure out how to go around it?

I have some tin that I plan on putting around the bottom of the pen to prevent coons and such from reaching through the chicken wire. I'm not sure that the tin will be tall enough (it's about 2 feet wide by about 12 feet long) so I was considering putting another foot of hardware cloth above the tin to be sure that nothing can reach through and get my birds. While I plan on locking the birds in their duck house at night, my goal for this pen would be to have it secure enough that my birds would be safe in it at night in the instance that the person who takes care of them when I'd gone forgets to lock them up at night. Also, my husband works shift work. If he's taking care of my birds when I'm gone, I'd like the pen to be safe enough that he could lock the birds in the pen when he leaves for an evening shift and have them be safe in it 'till he comes home at midnight to lock them up in the duck house. The gate for this pen is a chain-link gate that's been covered in chicken wire. Does it sound like my plan would result in a safe pen for my birds? We have coons, possums, and coyotes around here.

 

[HEChicken]

Lizzy, I hate to say it but chicken wire isn't predator proof at all. Raccoons and coyotes and foxes and even dogs can just rip right through it. Even with tin lining it, I can see them making a hole large enough to climb through. You really need 1/2" hardware cloth if security is an issue at all.

Trish, I meant to ask what the vet's reasoning is on spaying both dogs at the same time? Like you, I think having only one down at a time is a better idea. They're young enough they'll heal very quickly so you could schedule them only a week or two apart and have better coverage than doing them both at the same time and have a few days where they really don't feel up to working.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Lizzy, I hate to say it but chicken wire isn't predator proof at all. Raccoons and coyotes and foxes and even dogs can just rip right through it. Even with tin lining it, I can see them making a hole large enough to climb through. You really need 1/2" hardware cloth if security is an issue at all.

Trish, I meant to ask what the vet's reasoning is on spaying both dogs at the same time? Like you, I think having only one down at a time is a better idea. They're young enough they'll heal very quickly so you could schedule them only a week or two apart and have better coverage than doing them both at the same time and have a few days where they really don't feel up to working.

I was planning on having tin up to 2 feet and then hardware cloth another foot above that. Is that not enough?

 

[JosieChick]

Hi everyone!!!!

Lizzy, I hate to say it but chicken wire isn't predator proof at all. Raccoons and coyotes and foxes and even dogs can just rip right through it. Even with tin lining it, I can see them making a hole large enough to climb through. You really need 1/2" hardware cloth if security is an issue at all.

Trish, I meant to ask what the vet's reasoning is on spaying both dogs at the same time? Like you, I think having only one down at a time is a better idea. They're young enough they'll heal very quickly so you could schedule them only a week or two apart and have better coverage than doing them both at the same time and have a few days where they really don't feel up to working.

Trish- I would totally recommend doing them at the same time. We spayed both Molly and Lucie at the same time and it is so much easier because they were both down for the count for a couple days and kept each other company in the surgery recovery area in the garage. When you spay one, the other one feels fine and wants to play and roughhouse with the dog with the incision which is bad for healing. If they both feel kinda icky for a few days they will lounge around together and heal better. Because your girls are so bonded to each other I would think it would be a lot less of a headache for you. Plus you won't have to deal with a dog that had surgery twice, you will just have two dogs to recover then it will be all done with. It is especially important for your girls to stay quiet because they are so big now. Just my 2 cents.

Well we are off to start assembling our shed in a box! I am so excited. It will store hay and grain and chicken feed so it won't be in the chicken house and garage anymore. I can't wait to have all the feed in one central location. It is one of those vinyl covered metal framed things, hopefully we can get it staked in really well so it doesn't blow away!

Everyone enjoy the cooler weather! This has been wonderful with this nice cool breeze. The chickens are loving it too all out scratching around during the day instead of sitting in front of fans in the shade for a change.

 

[Trish44]

Josie, Our concern with doing both dogs at once is that there will be no guardian dog on duty at all & we have had a lot of barking going on every single night lately, which tells me there are a lot of predators out there trying to come after my chickens & other birds & rabbits. I would hate to have them both done at the same time & then have something coming after my birds & no dog out there to chase them off. We have a terrible time here with possums since we have this wooded area right in front of the house & two of my pens & the rabbits are right there under the trees, sitting ducks. I just don't feel good about having them both down & out at the same time.

Well my DH is out there cutting pieces for the back wall, so I need to go check & see how he's coming along. Enjoy this weather, it's supposed to get hot again after this short respite, ugh.

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Josie, Our concern with doing both dogs at once is that there will be no guardian dog on duty at all & we have had a lot of barking going on every single night lately, which tells me there are a lot of predators out there trying to come after my chickens & other birds & rabbits. I would hate to have them both done at the same time & then have something coming after my birds & no dog out there to chase them off. We have a terrible time here with possums since we have this wooded area right in front of the house & two of my pens & the rabbits are right there under the trees, sitting ducks. I just don't feel good about having them both down & out at the same time.

Well my DH is out there cutting pieces for the back wall, so I need to go check & see how he's coming along. Enjoy this weather, it's supposed to get hot again after this short respite, ugh.

Trish - Im with you on not having them both done at the same time.. I think if you did them a few weeks apart... I'm still on the hunt for another female GP.. vet assistance said her sister just had a litter of pure breeds about 9 weeks ago and she will ask her if she wants to sell one of the females - won't know for another week because they're on vacation at the time. I would like both pups to grow up together and have them both on patrol by winter.

 

[chicken danz]

I thought I posted this a few hours ago. So here it is:
LizzyGSR, Rather than the expense of hardware cloth why don't you buy some 2" X 4" welded wire. I use welded wire and chicken wire for all of my pens and it is safe and strong. I think the idea of placing the chicken wire on the ground will deter digging as well. I don't ever lock my ducks in the house at night. They prefer to lay out in the open unless it is cold out. I think if your pen is secure your duck would be fine without being locked inside.
Daren I have a chicken who splayed and walks on the top side of her foot and leg. Most of those splayed legged birds don't thrive but this little gal is doing great. Have you considered giving your duck Niacin? It could be a deficiency that caused her legs to go bad.Brewers Yeast works well too.
Michelleml, Are you speaking of the lavender orps I just hatched? I am just trying to get some breeding stock started. My first batch I hatched turned out to be all cockerels. I will have chicks next spring if I have any pullets. I'm not that far from you by my terms anyway. I live South of Topeka. We're probably 70 miles apart. We might be able to split the distance or meet in Topeka if I am going that way for anything.
Have any of you seen the blue partridge brahmas? Look at Greenfire farms for a picture. They are gorgeous. They aren't selling any right now. I am on a quest to find some. It may take a few years. I love my brahmas anyway but those things are just gorgeous. I am also planning ahead to get some Rhodebars and some Olandsk. I don't think I'm ever going to get my chicken hoarding under control!!! Looks like both of those breeds amay happen next spring unless I find another source sooner.
Trish I understand both schools of thought and I definitely see your point. I couldn't imagine having all of my dogs down at once. The one thing you would need is a place for one of them to convalesce while the other one is working. They do need that down time to get back on their feet. I might be tempted to have them both done and set up a temporary kennel right near the birds so they could still bark and keep predators away by their presence. If they have something come near, their bark will change for sure. There's a certain bark my dogs make when they have something cornered rather than just barking to keep them away. It always brings me to my feet.
I went out and fed and watered. Caught some roosters and a duck to take to town, gathered eggs, and got them ready to take in. Now I'm tired. I need to go feed and water in the brooder and get my rear in gear. I would rather just stay home. It felt so perfect out there earlier. Just the right temp for me to be comfortable in.