Consolidated Kansas

[cherwill]

Dernit - lost all my multi-posts somehow too..

Me too. I think BYC did an update or maintenance. I had a bunch of posts marked because there were 50-some posts I hadn't read yet.


I didn't get anything done today that I had planned. I've been feeling exhausted and stiff the last 4-5 days. The rain was a nice change, though. Since we have the lilac bushes in the chicken yard, they stay outside in the rain unless it gets really crazy. They just wander around looking for something to come up out of the mud. They look all bedraggled and pathetic.

I'm concerned about Old Sophia. She's the fat BO and I think she just keeps getting fatter. Her belly nearly drags on the ground, her hind end is dirty and she's lost feathers there because of it. I guess the only way to help her is to fence off a section of the yard and keep her in it so we can control her eating. Stupid question: How much food does she need? I don't want to starve her, but she really needs to lose weight. I don't care if she lays eggs or not right now. We can't agree on whether or not she is, in fact. There are some odd shaped eggs now and then, but not like the obviously flattened ones with dark spots that she used to lay. DH has checked her over several times and we don't think she's egg bound, so she must be laying eggs, right? She's only a couple of years old.

 

[pikeman94]

I am finally getting around to taking a better video of the Marans. They are 8 weeks now. Here is the video I took this morning:


Let me know your thoughts

 

[Hawkeye95]

Josie, I forgot to answer you! The Denagard is 8cc per gallon of water for maintenance and it's 16cc per gallon of water for sick birds. I only used 15cc in a gallon of water for my silkies because most of them are young chicks and I didn't want to over do it. Although, it's supposed to be self-dosing because a smaller bird is going to drink less than a larger bird. So far, I've had no side effects or ill effects that I have noticed from the drug.

Sunflowerparrot, I hope your birds are home now??

Cherwill, oh wow, no idea what to do! Are you sure she is fat? It almost sounds like fluid retention to me. Have you felt her? Does she feel sloshy or does she really feel solid and fat? When my hen got really fat earlier this year and was having all those issues with her poop (very runny and explosive) she was just solid blubber. I cut down on her BOSS (sunflower seeds and treats) and she evened out and is back to normal again. I was just over feeding her on treats. Can they really eat too much pain layer feed? With her condition, I wonder if there is something else going on.

Trish, hope you get a bird wrangled!


OH! I got an email from the Sedgwick County 4-H office and they have officially asked me to be the Poultry Superintendent. Pretty exciting! Except that I am going to need a lot of guidance! LOL The lady that is retiring from the position said that she would help me and answer my questions, so I think I'll be okay.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

I agree with the others that they might still show up yet.  If you haven't found evidence of a predator attack (piles of feathers or worse), then there is a good chance they're okay.  Last December I lost two on the same day - a rooster and a hen.  It was when I was still living in Wichita and our backyard was pretty safe.  With no evidence of predators, I was sure somebody came into my backyard and stole them and I was so mad I put padlocks on both our gates which was inconvenient for us going back and forth but also made it more difficult for whoever it was to come back and get more. 

On the third day, I was in the coop and heard a scratching noise above me.  I couldn't see up on the roof very well but eventually figured out the hen was up there.  I was overjoyed.  I don't know how she got up there but she was stuck and didn't know how to get back down, and I was perplexed as to how to help her.  I needed something to stand on, so pulled my bin of feed over to stand on, and the lid popped off.  There in the feed bin was the missing rooster.  I thought it was amazing that they both went missing the same day and I found them within minutes of one another, in two completely different places.  I think the last time I filled the feeder I had left the lid ajar and he stuck his head in to see what was in there, realized it was the mother lode of food, climbed in to eat his fill and then couldn't figure out how to get back out so just hunkered down and slept for a couple of days.  I got the hen down and the two of them went over to drink water for about 15 minutes straight, they were both so dehydrated.

Anyway, every situation is different but it really is amazing how many ways they can find to get trapped or lost and yet will show up a day or two later, so don't give up hope yet.

Trish, congrats on the free peacock -  what a find.  I hope you are able to trap one.  I'm surprised they haven't molted their tail feathers yet.  Percy at our barn has been molting for weeks and when I saw him this morning he really looks like a shadow of his former magnificent self.

Well, Cyrus flogged me tonight.  I didn't see it coming because he's been so sweet up until now, but he ran up behind me and threw himself against the back of my legs.  He doesn't have spurs yet and didn't draw any blood but he sure found out how to make me mad.  I turned around and kneed him and then chased him a few more times to make him back down and away from me.  After that I walked towards him several more times to make sure he got the message that he has to avert his eyes and walk away from me - not the other way around.  He's at that hormonal age and I know he is trying to do a good job of looking after his hens so I'm not going to get too worried about it unless he doesn't outgrow it.  He has such a sweet nature overall that I don't think it will become a problem, but I will be looking over my shoulder when I walk away for the next little while, I think, so he doesn't catch me unawares again.

I agree with Trish, you just need to show him who's boss now, while he still can't hurt you, then you won't have such a problem when he could actually hurt you. For now I would just hold him upside down for a second or two when he is bad, just remember to return him to his normal position slowly. I just do that until I figure out what works best on him. For my d'anver you just have to let him "attack" you(his idea of a full out assault has no spur or beak action, just kind of lazily hugging you with his wings), then he is begging to be held and snuggled. My d'Uccle too on the other hand was just aggressive when I "got" him( my friend told me I was just going to watch him for a few weeks, but won't take him back, nine months later). For him I have to distract him with a yellow bucket, he just hates that color.... Once you figure out how to discipline him, you should be fine.

Hawkeye, we had the "rooster stick";-)

 

[cherwill]

Josie, I forgot to answer you! The Denagard is 8cc per gallon of water for maintenance and it's 16cc per gallon of water for sick birds. I only used 15cc in a gallon of water for my silkies because most of them are young chicks and I didn't want to over do it. Although, it's supposed to be self-dosing because a smaller bird is going to drink less than a larger bird. So far, I've had so side effects or ill effects that I have noticed from the drug.

Sunflowerparrot, I hope your birds are home now??

Cherwill, oh wow, no idea what to do! Are you sure she is fat? It almost sounds like fluid retention to me. Have you felt her? Does she feel sloshy or does she really feel solid and fat? When my hen got really fat earlier this year and was having all those issues with her poop (very runny and explosive) she was just solid blubber. I cut down on her BOSS (sunflower seeds and treats) and she evened out and is back to normal again. I was just over feeding her on treats. Can they really eat too much pain layer feed? With her condition, I wonder if there is something else going on.

Trish, hope you get a bird wrangled!


OH! I got an email from the Sedgwick County 4-H office and they have officially asked me to be the Poultry Superintendent. Pretty exciting! Except that I am going to need a lot of guidance! LOL The lady that is retiring from the position said that she would help me and answer my questions, so I think I'll be okay.

They get treats in addition to the layer feed. Usually it's chard or veggie trimmings. The neighbors throw in their melon rinds. I still wouldn't think she would get fat on that; the other birds don't look fat. I'll check out her "texture" and see if she feels blubbery or watery.

Congratulations on the job offer!

 

[Hawkeye95]

I am finally getting around to taking a better video of the Marans. They are 8 weeks now. Here is the video I took this morning:


Let me know your thoughts

Great video! I can't help you, but I enjoyed seeing your chicks!

Hawkeye, we had the "rooster stick";-)

ha! That is a good name for it. Since I'm not a kid anymore and don't have to wait on my dad to do something about a mean rooster-- I'm pretty sure now I would just butcher them. Rooster stew. hehe! I'm long done with carrying a silly broom around for protection on my own property. It's still a good laugh for my parents to remember how us kids used to get flogged, though. Although, I was the one that got a new nose "piercing". Ugh.

They get treats in addition to the layer feed. Usually it's chard or veggie trimmings. The neighbors throw in their melon rinds. I still wouldn't think she would get fat on that; the other birds don't look fat. I'll check out her "texture" and see if she feels blubbery or watery.

Congratulations on the job offer!

Yes, feel her over. If she is solid, then she's fat. Oh and thank you! But I'm not sure if congratulations are really in order, because it's all a non paying volunteered position. There is a lot of work behind it too, and an entire week of commitment (actually a bit more) dedicated just to the fair, not to mention a clinic or two that I will put on during the year before the fair. So we'll see how it goes, but I do hope I'll have a good time doing it. Looks like I'm going to need to buy a couple more lab coats to have on hand for Showmanship. I noticed no one but my child had one!

 

[chicken danz]

I am finally getting around to taking a better video of the Marans. They are 8 weeks now. Here is the video I took this morning:


Let me know your thoughts

Well you definitely have a least one or two that has some polish in it. I can see the top knot!! From their color though they look like girls, but the combs are mighty big. I wouldn't decide they are roosters just yet. The marans roosters I have are lean and leggy at that stage. Those look pretty compact to me like a hen would.

 

[chicken danz]

I've been cleaning. But it's like once a year type cleaning that takes me forever. I got up and wiped down the upper cabinets. I have always liked a natural wood cabinet. These are wood and not pressed board but because we remodeled the old cabinets and updated them, we decided to paint them white. I love white cabinets cause they brighten in a room. However I am hating it from the aspect that everything shows on them. I have fly spots every where. Yuk! Another pleasure of country life. So I've been dawdling on that kind of cleaning instead of getting every thing done. At that rate it will take me 3 years to get done cleaning. I really need to get rid of tons of stuff. I do love my collections though.
My next project is cleaning this room with the hatcher and the chick bins, file cabinets and all of the other over flow. That will NOT be a fun job.
I have a sick duck who can't breath. Thanks Josie for your help. I am thinking she has something caught that is blocking her lungs. I'm pretty afraid I'm going to loose her. She is one that just hatched eggs a couple weeks ago so she is thin and worn down any way. I wish I could put her out and use a scope on her to check her out.
Looks like I'm going to pick up some more Swedish Flower Hen eggs on Monday. Yahoo! More pretty babies!

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Sunflowerparrot, any sign of your rooster & pullet yet? It's kind of strange they got separated from the others that much since they really have stayed pretty much together most of the time.

No sign of them at all.. I'm accepting that they are gone. Everything was fine until it rained. I noticed at one point they were all in the coop - then I went back down to the barn and got some more painting done and it started raining harder. I remembered my car windows were down so I ran up to close my windows and noticed nobody was in the coop. I didn't think too much of it. About an hour later, it had kind of stopped raining so I decided to go find everyone out of curiosity of where they would go in the rain and why not stay in the coop. I found 2 in a tree - and that was it. Not a sighting of the other three - then when you came by, that one appeared - that was last night. No sign of the other 2. I think I will take you up on that offer of a rooster. Would you like more pallets? Stephen asked how many more you want...

 

[JosieChick]

That's IT!!!!!! I'M DONE!!!!!!!

The dog is going.!!!!!! She killed one of my precious frizzled seramas tonight. It was a beautiful chocolate and white boy and I had just gone through and culled out birds to sell and decided he was my keeper. He was just like his mom, spunky and beautiful. Poor little thing to die like that and she just came running over with it in her mouth like it was a grand prize. This after she just chewed open a box of clothes to donate and chewed the wiring off the trailer hitch that I was suppose to take down to Wichita with me. I am done with this dog.