Consolidated Kansas

[MarcAustin]

The first Saturday in october, is Columbus days. They have a big Hot air ballon show, and this year down at the fairgrounds, they are having old Timers day. Have team horse demonstrations, antique tractors and implements, and they contacted me to have a free poultry swap. So if you are looking for something to do, come to Columbus and join in on the fun. I think they have around 21, or 22 hot air balloons, it is something when they have the balloon glow Friday evening, and then when they all lift off Saturday morning ( weather permitting) very pretty site.

Hot Air Balloon show !?! That sounds like fun. I've got balloon ride on the ole Bucket List around about #14.

 

[MarcAustin]

Hey guys - remember last week when i asked you all about that abandoned horse thing (i'll attach another pic) well last week when that storm came through it blew over and came to rest more than 30 feet from it's original location. I examined the area it previously sat and could see no indication of any (anchorage). The thing is pretty heavy but with that solid back panel and the 45+mph gusts I guess it was too much. So anyways - I will be putting it in a slightly different location but want to know #1 - For this part of Kansas, what is the proper compass orientation to provide the best cold wind shelter on average, and #2 of course if any ideas on best way to anchor it. I was thinking of pouring quick crete around some posts and attaching via the stock panels with thickish baling wire? How deep should the holes be?










Thanks all !!!

Also HEChicken did you see my post on thread: /t/707531/welded-wire-fence-pros-and-cons
if no, you were telling someone about a 240x60 welded wire run and I wanted to know if you had a pic of the finished run. I couldn't see one of your 'Coop' page. Tks!

 

[HEChicken]

It's amazing what a pain these fairly small critters can be, isn't it?! I hope he's back where he belongs.

DH got a list of houses with property for sale in our area. Only one falls within the 5 mile radius allowed by the fire department, and it's overpriced with no basement. There really aren't all that many houses within that distance, never mind houses for sale. It's a mile just to the edge of town if you go south, even more if you're heading north. I'm feeling a little dejected because I'm now 100% convinced that we will have to stay in town for as long as DH works at the FD.

Yep - DD and I got him in this evening. I stayed in the pen to keep Madge from leaving, and DD herded him in. With two of us, it was pretty easy, and Madge was happy to have him back.

Hey guys - remember last week when i asked you all about that abandoned horse thing (i'll attach another pic) well last week when that storm came through it blew over and came to rest more than 30 feet from it's original location. I examined the area it previously sat and could see no indication of any (anchorage). The thing is pretty heavy but with that solid back panel and the 45+mph gusts I guess it was too much. So anyways - I will be putting it in a slightly different location but want to know #1 - For this part of Kansas, what is the proper compass orientation to provide the best cold wind shelter on average, and #2 of course if any ideas on best way to anchor it. I was thinking of pouring quick crete around some posts and attaching via the stock panels with thickish baling wire? How deep should the holes be?

Also HEChicken did you see my post on thread: /t/707531/welded-wire-fence-pros-and-cons
if no, you were telling someone about a 240x60 welded wire run and I wanted to know if you had a pic of the finished run. I couldn't see one of your 'Coop' page.

Around here the prevailing winds are from the south in summer and the north in winter, if that helps. I wouldn't think it would be that different where you are.

When I set my washing line, we dug a hole 2' deep, put rock in for 4", then filled the hole up to 2" below ground level, with concrete, set the pole and when it was dry, filled the rest in with dirt, to allow us to mow right up to the pole. I would guess holes of that depth would work pretty well to set the posts for your horse shelter too.

Yep, that was me on the other thread, and I will try to get pics and put them on my coop page. Today with the rain just didn't feel like a good day to be out there taking pics. Of course if you are free to come meet us for a potluck in a couple of weeks, you can see it in person anyway

 

[checoukan]

Hawkeye, just wanted you to know I have some silkies. Oh, my never thought I would. I got them with the intentions of making broodies out of them, these are a project birds. They mostly are white, some blues, and some white with black saddles, or blue saddles, I will get you some pictures Friday.

Trying to cut down more on my large birds. With feed costs, just not worth feeding a bunch of big hungries!

Oh, by the way those buffs you seen, at Hutch. All show buffs are that big, can you imagine how much those birds EAT!!!

You sure won't give one of those guys a bath in a 5 gallon buck!!!

Are you taking over the show for Segwick county? You probably already talked about it, but I don't want to read 100 pages!

Ok, every one,
Just now getting ready to start my new barn. Everything got put on hold this summer, It was just too hot and we were so busy, So hopfully, they will start this coming week and should be done by the time the snow flies.
The entire barn is going to be 80X80 My area for the chickens will be 30X60. Out of that, I will have a enclosed room for my incubators, sink, med cabnets, and what ever else. Above that entire area, I am going to have a loft. Up there is where all my totes, taxis, extra things I need, but not all the time will be out of the way, clean and dry. Im going to have twice the room I have now, trish has seen my barn, and its not the best, but all my birds seem to be happy in there.

In the center of my work area is where my cage training pens will be for my rosecombs. I need to be working on them now, but don't have any place to separte them out in individual coops. So amy shows I make they will have to wing it. on their beauty!!
I hope to take some pictures in the morning, and get them posted, my young pullets are just fantastic this fall.
Better go, hope everyone is well, still has not rained here yet today, don't know if it will now, but has really cooled off.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye, just wanted you to know I have some silkies. Oh, my never thought I would. I got them with the intentions of making broodies out of them, these are a project birds. They mostly are white, some blues, and some white with black saddles, or blue saddles, I will get you some pictures Friday.

Trying to cut down more on my large birds. With feed costs, just not worth feeding a bunch of big hungries!

Oh, by the way those buffs you seen, at Hutch. All show buffs are that big, can you imagine how much those birds EAT!!!

You sure won't give one of those guys a bath in a 5 gallon buck!!!

Are you taking over the show for Segwick county? You probably already talked about it, but I don't want to read 100 pages!

Ok, every one,
Just now getting ready to start my new barn. Everything got put on hold this summer, It was just too hot and we were so busy, So hopfully, they will start this coming week and should be done by the time the snow flies.
The entire barn is going to be 80X80 My area for the chickens will be 30X60. Out of that, I will have a enclosed room for my incubators, sink, med cabnets, and what ever else. Above that entire area, I am going to have a loft. Up there is where all my totes, taxis, extra things I need, but not all the time will be out of the way, clean and dry. Im going to have twice the room I have now, trish has seen my barn, and its not the best, but all my birds seem to be happy in there.

In the center of my work area is where my cage training pens will be for my rosecombs. I need to be working on them now, but don't have any place to separte them out in individual coops. So amy shows I make they will have to wing it. on their beauty!!
I hope to take some pictures in the morning, and get them posted, my young pullets are just fantastic this fall.
Better go, hope everyone is well, still has not rained here yet today, don't know if it will now, but has really cooled off.

OMGosh, I can't imagine you with silkies! I think it's great!! Sounds like you might have some AOV's in there too-- maybe Columbian or a partridge of some kind?? I have a lot of Blues and Splash. When I get back to hatching, I'm going to order from a lady who is breeding Black X Black with no splits and start a black pen. I want to keep my blacks clean, but I'd love to put them over Splash and see if they darken up my spots. But I won't be intentionally breeding black with blue or splash to get more black. I'll probably do AI so I can cover them all! LOL I would LOVE to see pictures of your birds!! Very exciting about your barn! WOW, that thing is going to be HUGE! Which company are you going with? We are going to build another barn next year, I think and we were looking at Wick, Cleary, etc at the State Fair and talking to them. We want a cement floor. It's not for birds. But that would mean I could build my pens in my horse barn and I could have the front half (it's 50 feet long) so I'd get about 24 feet of it. I'm very envious of your future set up! NICE!!

Yes, I am now officially the new Sedgwick Co Superintendent for Poultry. I had my first meeting at the County Extension building a couple weeks ago. Looks like I've got a bit of work to do for it. I'm also going to be the new leader for our 4-H club. I don't even know how I got rooked into that one. Our leader is leaving (her kids have aged out at 19yrs) and I've only JUST finished our first year there. The other parents nominated me....??? Ah well. I asked two of them if they would seriously help me and be co-leaders. I got one that said she would. I need to recruit new kids into our club, we are dwindling down in size. I want to send flyers home thru the school. But the current leader is kind of slowing me down, because she said she would do it and it's been 2 weeks later and she still hasn't done it. I am hoping I can call her and see if she will just let me do it before half the year is gone. She is a really nice lady, and I like her a lot, but she has a lot going on right now and is just really busy.

 

[Trish44]

I agree, I haven't had really good luck with saving chicks with very much unabsorbed yolk they usually do bleed to death, but yours looks like there isn't that much left, which is good. I also agree that it needs to stay in the incubator where it can be warm. If they only have a small amount of yolk left they usually do OK, it will absorb on it's own & everything will dry up. I think chicks are a whole different thing than turkeys. After my experience this year with turkey poults I hope my turkeys can raise their own babies next year so I don't have to worry about the babies so much.

Taz, welcome back, it's been awhile! I'm glad you got moved where you can have roosters now. Are you still doing the Aloha project? I had thought of working on that, but I'm glad I didn't with all the things I have had going on this year. The black Ameraucana rooster you sold me produced a lot of pretty little black chicks this year, hopefully he will produce some lavenders next year. I saved back 3 of his offspring to proceed with my lavender project. I also got Wheatens & Blue Wheatens to breed next year. We're in the process of building a breeder coop so I can separate out some breeds I have obtained this year to breed next year. I will have Cream Legbars, Swedish Flower Hens, Speckled Sussex, & Salmon Favorelles in addition to my Ameraucanas. I also have one more breed I want, but probably won't get it until spring since I have spent so much money on eggs & chicks this year. I added Royal Palm turkeys & Peafowl to my menagerie also as well as quite a few Mini Rex rabbits & Chinchilla rabbits.

HEChicken, I hope you can get the little turkey back in. I'm glad the two bonded & he stayed around the pen. Mine do the same thing because one of my hens got out one day while I was doing something in the pen & she actually was looking for a way back in, so it turned out not to be very hard at all to get her back in. These turkeys I have never have been out of a pen in their lives, so outside the pen is scary to them.

I went out & did chores early tonight & thank goodness I did since it's still been raining here. I welcome the rain, but I'm sure the people out at the fairgrounds at the bluegrass festival don't feel that way. A lot of them are veterans of the festival though, they've been coming for years, so they usually are ready for whatever the weather brings. It just usually does rain about the time the thing starts or somewhere during it anyway. It goes from today through Sunday, so maybe the rest of the time will be nicer weather for them. It sure is packed out there, I drove by there on my way out to Sunflowerparrot's place the other day & wow I think there are more people here than I have ever seen in the 14 years I've lived here. There are people who come from all over the US & quite a few other countries to this festival. They put up flags along the driveways going into the fairgrounds to represent the countries people come from who attend. They also bring in music groups from other countries too.

Anyway, I went out & did my chores & decided since I was already out there & wet as it was I would go ahead & put up the big tarp on the north side of the run to help block most of the wind coming in there & give my little guineas some more shelter. I had already put up some boards on the north side of the pen & then on top too over half of it, but that wind has been blowing all day & the poor little things were wet & cold, so I decided just to get it over with & put the thing up. I usually do it before really cold weather hits anyway, so I'm ahead by one tarp now. I will probably put up the one on the other side too before it gets too cold, it's for me as much as the chickens because then I don't have to deal with the wind or cold while feeding & watering. It gets pretty nice in there with all the tarps over it in the winter. I was counting pens while I was out there & how many more tarps I need to buy to put up, so I'll start buying those a couple at a time. I need to get the top re-done on the two pens together out there, the turkey pen & the grow-out pen so I don't have so much trouble with water & snow. If I have to bend the darned livestock panel by myself I guess I'll figure it out. I was kind of surprised at my DH the other day when he said if I was going to build any more pens I should just do hoop coops. Wow, he is the one that was giving me so much crap about putting up all of these pens & now he's talking about me building another one, huh? Maybe he's finally decided he can't win, so he might as well join in. I showed the little peacock to him when he came back from the gym this afternoon & he seemed pleased about it. At least there is one bird species he is happy about me having. The little male seems perfectly happy with his two new girlfriends, they're getting along great. He doesn't even seem to mind the goofy guineas in there. Those birds were raising quite a ruckus at time to roost tonight, I don't know if they were fighting over where on the roost they wanted or what, but they were making quite a bit of noise. They only just started in the last few days making the louder sounds that guineas make. I can't wait to let them out & see how they do free-ranging. I have never gotten any to the age to be able to do that, before they got eaten by possums before they got that old. The two little tiny guineas I took in & put in the brooder earlier have now recovered & are doing fine. They were all laid out under the heat lamp when I came in & looked really comfortable. They drank some water when I was out there, so that was a good sign. I was really worried that the smallest one that is pied wouldn't make it. It's really tiny & it wasn't on it's feet when I brought it in from getting chilled, but it's been running around & making chirping noises, so I think it will make it. Yeah, I probably will get another one to replace the little white one, I just wanted an even number of them in both groups, don't ask me why, but I just wanted it to be that way. I have never had the pied color before & they only had one of them & the rest were all just pearls or white. I have two other whites in the group out in the small pen. I don't know how they will fare since they stick out like a sore thumb. I don't know if they will be picked off sooner by predators or not, I guess we'll see in about 3 months when I let this group out.

Well I promised pics of the little peacock, so here are a couple of him & the hens along with the goofy guineas who have to be in the middle of everything of course. Then there will be pics of other things, so prepare for lots.


Here he is surrounded by guineas


Here are the 3 of them looking out the front of the coop. The hens like to use that brace like a bench & sit there & look out at the chickens out in the yard.


I had to throw in a couple of the progress on the coop


The dogs approve


Two of my wet turkeys on their roost


And my hen who always comes to the gate to talk to me


Updated pics of the girls laying in the mud, Jasmine


Lily dozing


My new female Netherland Dwarf rabbit


And the little male Netherland Dwarf, my new babies

Here are some pics I took at the 1800s farm we visited in Missouri on our KC trip:


Piles & piles, there were more than this, I have several pics of all of the different pumpkins, squash of various types, & gourds


Pumpkins galore


All of the stuff they had out there was for sale


Some of the turkeys they had


The brooder I mentioned


Old wood poultry crate


La Mancha goats, they don't have ears - there is a sign over on the fence that says "have you seen our ears?"

I have more pics, but I won't bore you with them all. Inside the big barn they had all kinds of old farm implements & tools displayed on the walls & all along the floors. They give tours here to school groups that come in & they said they have food that is served on the weekends out there. In the store part they had all kinds of canned produce, jams, pickles, you name it, home-made soaps that smelled wonderful, fresh apples for sale & you could pick your own too if you wanted to walk out to the orchard. They gave you a little basket to take with you to put your apples in. I'll bet it's really a fun place for the little kids to come to, heck we adults enjoyed it too. They have weddings there too & probably other banquet things because they had a room off the store where they had a lot of tables.

 

[checoukan]

They are just babies of different ages. like I said they are a project a guy was working on. He is trying to breed white with a black saddle. I think he is getting close, but these where his not good enough colors, but if I get some hens for broodies, it will work. I have not even paid any attention to them other than to look at their feet and count toes.

 

[mommahen10]

Okay, so triple antibiotic ointment on the chicks tummy it is, I will apply every 4 hrs during the day starting now. The little thing looks shriveled up, like a deflated balloon and it's not nearly so yellow. The chick is up and moving around as vigorously as I would expect now. I didn't help this chick, but I've helped plenty out at times. I've had them die while hatching and I get nervous if they don't make much progress in a 12 hours, 24 hours it's usually too late. When I do help them, it's when it looks like there are 2 membranes one attached to the shell and another shrink wrapped against the chick. It looks like they can't move, when I see that I watch for a while, I try for 12 hours but not more than 24 hours, then I will help them in little increments and wait again. I've never had them die when I helped them, but I have lost a few while they were hatching and it makes me so sad. It's weird but it has happened way more with our white chicks than our black ones, the white ones are always bigger. I didn't have to help this little chick though and his shell wasn't all bloody and gross, it looked a bit dry. I also think they're hatching too early. His shell is dated 8/25. The incubator has held steady at 99.5 except for when I open it of course. Sometimes we have mishaps, such as someone unplugging it accidentally or someone turning it up but that didn't happen with this hatch at all. I've tended them myself.

The t-shirts were quite a process but the designing and cutting it all out took way longer than actually putting them together. It only took me about 5 minutes to put together from the point everything was cut out. I'm going to go check out that font right now. Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

 

[Trish44]

By the time I got all of my pics loaded in several people had posted again. checoukan, wow I envy you that big barn, that is going to be fantastic! You are going to be so lucky to have something like that for your birds & other animals. I won't ever have anything like that here I'm sure. I just feel lucky to be getting this breeder coop right now. I sure hope we get it closed in before bad weather hits. Somehow I agree with hawkeye, I just can't picture you with silkies, but I keep reading they are good broodies. I just don't have any place good for broody hens to sit. They take up nest space in the regular coop & the one that did choose to sit on the front porch in a planter didn't have a safe place to hatch chicks, so it hasn't really worked out well for me to use broody hens. I just got this brand new incubator this year anyway, so now I have to use it next year bigtime.

HEChicken, I'm glad you got the little turkey back in, what a relief!

 

[mommahen10]

Trish I enjoyed reading your post and seeing all your pics. It does look like a great time.