Consolidated Kansas

[tweetysvoice]

I'm sorry I haven't been on in the last few weeks. I was sicker than a dog all last week and in the hospital all this past week, just got out this morning. They have finally determined what is wrong with me and it's one of my worse nightmares. I have gastroparesis, which is basically a paralysed stomach. I can't eat anything without getting super bloated and in major pain because my stomach doesn't push the food out. It just sits there and ferments. I am on a liquid diet for now and in a month or so am allowed to graduate to pureed food. I love food, so this really freaking sucks. I might not be posting as much until I can get this under control and get my meds regulated. I just wanted to check in with everyone and tell ya'll that I've been thinking about you.
P.S. Chickens and ducks are doing fine - looks like i'll be selling more eggs than eating them though.. sigh...

 

[HEChicken]

If anyone is interested in the muscovy ducks, send me a PM. I have 33 that need to find new homes.

I am a huge fan of muscovies. I got my first this Spring and they are now about 3 1/2 months old. DD always wanted ducks but I didn't want to deal with the mess and the noise even though I love duck eggs, so when I heard about muscovies they seemed too good to be true. However now that I've had them a few months, everything I read before getting them seems to have been spot on.

I started with 4 ducks, 2 drakes, but the fox got two of the ducks so now I have two pairs. I have wondered if I should add a couple more ducks but wasn't sure how accepting they are of newcomers. Do muscovies reject newcomers out of hand, accept them after some bullying (like chickens), or just welcome them with open wings?

On a muscovy-related note, last night I had my coop door open, leaving the hinge to lie flat. It was new when I built the coop so is still pretty shiny and reflective. The chickens walk into the coop through the people door without giving the hinge a second look but every one of the ducks started to walk through the door, did a double take, and then stopped to examine his/her reflection for several minutes. Of course they didn't understand it was their own reflection, so there was lots of peering behind the door to find the other duck, and lots of head bobbing out of concern that another duck was trying to join the group. I got quite a kick out of watching them.

A breed of sheep that I had and really liked was the Soay Sheep. They are a very small, landrace breed and are also a "hair" sheep, so no shearing. They are thrifty and easy to keep and if properly managed will not need constant worming.

I have not read enough of the posts to know what your family size is, etc, but one of the good things about them is for a small family, they take up less room in the freezer. And their meat is leaner and less greasy.

Thank you for this tip - I haven't heard of this breed before but will research them now. Perhaps you can answer another question. When you say "hair" sheep, does that mean whether or not the hair is used is optional? I.e., if no shearing is required, how is the hair cared for - do they require brushing?

I heard from my son this afternoon & they have been doing some more testing on Dana & some more biopsies. They found Thyroid cancer & she has multiple tumors & it's in her lymph nodes, it doesn't sound good at all. She wouldn't have even known anything was wrong if her lymph nodes in her neck hadn't been swollen & her voice got kind of scratchy sounding. She said she had a history of throid goiters, so I don't know if that made her more prone to this or not. I guess they'll know more as they get the results back on the tests. I sure hope they can treat her, she seems like such a nice girl.

I'm so sorry the news isn't better. I hope after more testing they find that it is treatable and give you a better prognosis.

Well, I started this last night before bed, and had "multi-ed" a few posts. All I will say to explain the rest of my evening is: GAH - TEENAGERS - WHO INVENTED THEM ANYWAY? So after submitting this, I'll have to go back and see if there were any posts I missed in the meantime.

 

[HEChicken]

I'm sorry I haven't been on in the last few weeks. I was sicker than a dog all last week and in the hospital all this past week, just got out this morning. They have finally determined what is wrong with me and it's one of my worse nightmares. I have gastroparesis, which is basically a paralysed stomach. I can't eat anything without getting super bloated and in major pain because my stomach doesn't push the food out. It just sits there and ferments. I am on a liquid diet for now and in a month or so am allowed to graduate to pureed food. I love food, so this really freaking sucks. I might not be posting as much until I can get this under control and get my meds regulated. I just wanted to check in with everyone and tell ya'll that I've been thinking about you.
P.S. Chickens and ducks are doing fine - looks like i'll be selling more eggs than eating them though.. sigh...

Tweety, I am SO sorry for the troubles you've been having. What a bummer about not being able to eat eggs now that your birds are producing so well for you. I think I've experienced something similar. Back when I lived in Australia I went for weeks feeling constantly full and uninterested in eating. I was even getting those little "burps" you get after eating, that tasted vile because the gas was being produced off food that had been sitting there fermenting a long, long time. What is strange is that when I mentioned to a few friends that I couldn't eat because I felt constantly full, they all thought I was lucky and said they wished that would happen to them so they could lose some weight. But it was so unpleasant, that I finally went to the doctor. Gastroparesis was never mentioned and actually its been so long I can't even remember what advice I was given or whether or not I had any meds. I do remember basically having liquids for awhile and then eventually I was able to eat again. It hasn't happened again since so I don't know what sparked it on that occasion. Should I keep my fingers crossed that once you get through this, it won't ever happen again for you either?

 

[Hawkeye95]

The vaccine cost us $50 each shot, and you have to get a 1 month booster after the first shot and then yearly after that.

I think it's too bad they don't have rattlesnake vaccines for people!

WOW-- this is totally new to me! I've never heard of a rattlesnake vaccine!!

Danz, you're so lucky to have so many kennels to use for birds. I'm always scrambling to try to figure out where to put something. It seems like the used dog runs lately on CL have been really high priced. There is somebody in Winfield wanting $500 for 10-6x10 panels & one with a gate. I don't care how old it is, they want a new price for a used pen. I hope nobody is stupid enough to pay that for it.

Oh, I've seen that kennel listed for over a couple months now. I don't think anyone is that stupid.... or has that kind of cash to toss on a used pen. There is another pen that is the welded wire and I think they were wanting around the same for it-- and it's just ridiculous. Do they actually want to sell it or show it off? When I'm serious about getting rid of something, I honestly don't care what kind of money I get for it.

If you built a wood frame for the front you could install individual gates pretty easy. Most of our gates on our permanent pens are made of 1 X 3" lumber. You build a rectangular frame.

Yes-- this is what I did to my pen under the deck! I built a wood frame for the door and then stapled the hardware cloth to it. LOVE it!! So easy to open the door and it's pretty sturdy. My DH was telling me that I should change out the hinges for the spring kind. Then it will shut on it's own. I'm thinking I need to do that, because when I walk in, the door hangs open and the silkies like to escape. They are FAST when they want to be! Which is funny, because mine usually just lumber around and you'd never guess they could have that kind of speed to them. hehe!!

My upside down bird is really doing fantastic now. Now I just have to get some weight back on her.

When I was at the feed mill to get feed, I asked how the crops are doing. He said there is none. The soy beans that are so bright green are not setting pods and are being baled for hay. I bring this up, because if anyone happens to NOT be aware of how critical the growing conditions are, it would be good to check out conditions in your area. Plan your winter feed and bedding needs and get all you can safely store as soon as possible.

Now if I can learn to use this new computer and keyboad, life will be a little bit better.

Prices are already going up. I bought horse grain a couple days ago and my jaw dropped! I bet it only goes higher! eek! I totally understand why. My dad's crops fared a little better down in SE Kansas, but still, not great. He does not have any irrigation. I wish I could store more horse grain and stock up now, but it will just mold in my barn. I can safely store right about 1,000 pounds and no more. Sigh.

You know it makes sense that it would start raining now that the town of Winfield is gearing up for the biggest music event of the year, the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival. It seems like it's either scorching hot during that festival or cold & rainy.

I heard from my son this afternoon & they have been doing some more testing on Dana & some more biopsies. They found Thyroid cancer & she has multiple tumors & it's in her lymph nodes, it doesn't sound good at all. She wouldn't have even known anything was wrong if her lymph nodes in her neck hadn't been swollen & her voice got kind of scratchy sounding. She said she had a history of throid goiters, so I don't know if that made her more prone to this or not. I guess they'll know more as they get the results back on the tests. I sure hope they can treat her, she seems like such a nice girl.

I've never heard of that festival! How crazy is that?? I've lived here for a while, too. Not my whole life or anything, but you'd think I'd have seen it on the news or something. We've been to the Tulip Festival in Belle Plaine, but I think because that one Dixie Chick lady owns the arboretum, that she helps advertise and promote it. I've also been to a few of her concerts there, she plays a mean violin. Gosh, it doesn't sound all that great about poor Dana. I hope they can decide on some kind of plan of attack for her and get her started right away.

I'm sorry I haven't been on in the last few weeks. I was sicker than a dog all last week and in the hospital all this past week, just got out this morning. They have finally determined what is wrong with me and it's one of my worse nightmares. I have gastroparesis, which is basically a paralysed stomach. I can't eat anything without getting super bloated and in major pain because my stomach doesn't push the food out. It just sits there and ferments. I am on a liquid diet for now and in a month or so am allowed to graduate to pureed food. I love food, so this really freaking sucks. I might not be posting as much until I can get this under control and get my meds regulated. I just wanted to check in with everyone and tell ya'll that I've been thinking about you.
P.S. Chickens and ducks are doing fine - looks like i'll be selling more eggs than eating them though.. sigh...

Oh wow-- I was wondering where you were! I was thinking about you this last week. Yikes, that stomach problem doesn't sound good at all. Seems like you have had a rough year with being sick lately. I hope it straightens out and you can get back to real food. Glad your birds are laying and doing well.

Do muscovies reject newcomers out of hand, accept them after some bullying (like chickens), or just welcome them with open wings?

Soooo... for those of you down this way, it rained ALL DAY LONG!! (yay!!!!!) We are wet and we had rain! The only downside is that the lady that was going to come get my silkie never showed up. She never emailed or texted me about it, either. How rude is that!??!?! SO I re-listed him back on CraigsList again. Hope someone a little more responsible comes to get him.

My silkies are under the deck, so I threw a tarp on top up here on the deck upstairs. For the most part, it kept them all dry while it rained. But THEN we had a big storm come thru in the evening and it came in at an angle and it just doused them with water. They were soaked to their bones. They all looked like wet cats. I brought them in to the garage and they dried off pretty quickly, but they don't look near as fluffy as they did. Sigh. I hope they can preen themselves and fluff back up again.

 

[Kansaseq]

I'm so sorry you're sick, tweety! What a weird, cruel illness to have, too. I can only relate a little bit; back in my twenties, I had surgery which required my jaw to be wired shut for 3 months. Now, I LOVE food, so only being able to ingest liquids was incredibly frustrating. Did learn that Ensure tastes pretty darn good, and shakes from McDonalds, onion soup, etc, were also pretty tasty. And I lost 30lbs and looked fabulous. I'm glad you are out of the hospital, and really hope you get to feeling better, and eating solid food, soon.

 

[HEChicken]

Soooo... for those of you down this way, it rained ALL DAY LONG!! (yay!!!!!) We are wet and we had rain! The only downside is that the lady that was going to come get my silkie never showed up. She never emailed or texted me about it, either. How rude is that!??!?! SO I re-listed him back on CraigsList again. Hope someone a little more responsible comes to get him.

My silkies are under the deck, so I threw a tarp on top up here on the deck upstairs. For the most part, it kept them all dry while it rained. But THEN we had a big storm come thru in the evening and it came in at an angle and it just doused them with water. They were soaked to their bones. They all looked like wet cats. I brought them in to the garage and they dried off pretty quickly, but they don't look near as fluffy as they did. Sigh. I hope they can preen themselves and fluff back up again.

Half your luck! I'm not that far from you but we didn't get near so much. In the morning it rained very lightly. Light enough I was out doing chores in it and got only slightly damp - not enough to even need to change clothes when I came in. For the rest of the day it was overcast and we didn't get any more rain. I woke this morning to thunder and have heard a little rain although it never sounded like it was coming down that hard. I'll have to go and check my rain gauge to be sure, but I'm not going to get my hopes up we got any significant water.

I'm sure the silkies will fluff back up in no time. Bummer about the woman not showing up. Even if it was the rain putting her off, the courteous thing to do would be to contact you and ask to make it another day.....

 

[michelleml]

I'm sorry I haven't been on in the last few weeks. I was sicker than a dog all last week and in the hospital all this past week, just got out this morning. They have finally determined what is wrong with me and it's one of my worse nightmares. I have gastroparesis, which is basically a paralysed stomach. I can't eat anything without getting super bloated and in major pain because my stomach doesn't push the food out. It just sits there and ferments. I am on a liquid diet for now and in a month or so am allowed to graduate to pureed food. I love food, so this really freaking sucks. I might not be posting as much until I can get this under control and get my meds regulated. I just wanted to check in with everyone and tell ya'll that I've been thinking about you.
P.S. Chickens and ducks are doing fine - looks like i'll be selling more eggs than eating them though.. sigh...

so sorry that you have been ill i hope you get better soon

Its been raining here again this morning its finally stopped in time to take the dogs out. They are not crazy about the rain

have a good day all


Trish I will keep your son and friend in my prayers

 

[lizzyGSR]

I'm sorry I haven't been on in the last few weeks. I was sicker than a dog all last week and in the hospital all this past week, just got out this morning. They have finally determined what is wrong with me and it's one of my worse nightmares. I have gastroparesis, which is basically a paralysed stomach. I can't eat anything without getting super bloated and in major pain because my stomach doesn't push the food out. It just sits there and ferments. I am on a liquid diet for now and in a month or so am allowed to graduate to pureed food. I love food, so this really freaking sucks. I might not be posting as much until I can get this under control and get my meds regulated. I just wanted to check in with everyone and tell ya'll that I've been thinking about you.
P.S. Chickens and ducks are doing fine - looks like i'll be selling more eggs than eating them though.. sigh...

Tweety - My Mom has gastroporesis and a whole host of other ailments. For her gastroporesis, she got a pacemaker for her stomach, and it seems to help. Maybe you can ask your doctors about that as well?


I nearly had a poultry catastrophe this morning. I have been feeding my birds a little less than recommended in an attempt to encourage them to free range. My ducks seem to be fine with this, but my goose acts hungry. So, I started feeding her separately and giving her more. My birds recently discovered dog food and seem to really like it so I have been putting some in with their poultry food when I feed them. Since my goose discovered dog food, it seems as though she doesn't want the poultry food. When I gave her extra this morning, she ate the dog food and ignored the poultry food. Then, she led the flock to trying to steal the dog's food (he's a chocolate lab and weighs roughly 100 pounds) from him WHILE he was eating. Yesterday, they tried this same stunt, and the dog just growled before I stepped out and saved him from the birds. Today, I wasn't there and he tackled my goose. He can't get much more aggressive towards her without using his teeth. I think she might leave his food alone if she were getting enough herself, but I don't know what to do. She didn't eat all the (poultry) food I gave her this morning. Plus, she loves dandelions, and we have plenty, but since the rest of the flock doesn't hang out in the area where the dandelions are, she doesn't eat those either. In fact, I don't see my flock free ranging much at all (which is why I decreased their food rations). She is roughly 3 months old, and is still growing, but she is the only goose I have and therefore hangs out with the ducks, and the ducks don't seem to spend much time grazing or chasing bugs. At least for now, I think I'm gonna have to lock the birds up until the dog has eaten his food, but he doesn't always eat his food immediately, and I can't keep the birds locked up all day, so I guess I'm stuck between a rock and hard place here... Any thoughts/suggestions/hints would be greatly appreciated!

EDIT: I thought I should add that I don't blame the dog for trying to protect his food. I just worry that my goose won't get the hint and back down before the dog has to do something more drastic (like use his teeth).

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

I started with 4 ducks, 2 drakes, but the fox got two of the ducks so now I have two pairs. I have wondered if I should add a couple more ducks but wasn't sure how accepting they are of newcomers. Do muscovies reject newcomers out of hand, accept them after some bullying (like chickens), or just welcome them with open wings?


Personalities of the scovies vary like with all birds. I hear of some that are very aggressive, etc, but mine have never been aggressive to me or other birds/criters. The drakes fight during breeding time, but never harm each other. The ducks will sometimes fight - like one will get mad about something, but a short chase and all is well again.

It would be a good idea to have more ducks than drakes and if you do add more, just do the usual introducing and watch to make sure all goes well. ++++If you get grown, or nearly grown scovies, PEN THEM in a secure pen for at least 2 weeks. They fly very well and will/could fly away if allowed lose before they feel your place is home. Many people report that their new scovies are gone the next day.


Thank you for this tip - I haven't heard of this breed before but will research them now. Perhaps you can answer another question. When you say "hair" sheep, does that mean whether or not the hair is used is optional? I.e., if no shearing is required, how is the hair cared for - do they require brushing?


Not a professiional answer, but I hope it helps to explain - Most sheep have wool. It has those properties that allow it to cling and when sheared and processed turnes into that wonderful fiber we turn into sweaters, etc. If I understand it correctly, the wool keeps growing forever, not shedding. So if a wool sheep does not get sheared, the wool gets longer and longer. I heard of a sheep that got loose and they can't catch it, and it is just a mound of wool now.

Hair sheep, have "hair" instead of wool. It does shed and has different properties than wool. When they shed they rub on fences, etc and leave clumps of the fleese behind. Sheep raised mostly for meat like the Katahdins and Dorpers are hair sheep. That eliminates the problems that come with shearing if the wool is not part of the wanted end result.

With the soay sheep, different lines have different qualities to their fleese. Some people are using it to make yarn and other fiber items. It would be combed or harvested like you would from a rabbit that is used for fiber. If using the fiber for crafts is wanted, then chosing sheep with that type fleese would be a goal.

I still have the name of the gentleman in Mo that bought my flock if you are interested. There are not a lot of the sheep in the middle of the country the last I was aware.

Oh, they are mostly shades of brown and with those neat horns (the rams have horns that are really impressive ) and passerbys will think they are goats. I had a black ewe that was special in color and personality. I miss them.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Will someone with a PC please tell me how to increase the size of the font. Somehow I got it microscopic in size and cannot find how to change it. Even my yahoo account is teeny tiny. This is terrible. I am used to a mac, not a PC