Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

Sunflowerparrot, yes coops are expensive, we haven't even gotten the most expensive part of ours yet, the roofing, so I don't know as of right now where we're at on expense. It will all be worth it in the end, but it's a lot of work & money to get there. We will be working on it tomorrow some, I think my DH has a few more boards to put up on the supports for the roof yet. I hope I can get those windows like you got for the ends of the coop, those would just be great, much better than what I was going to do. Yeah, Lowe's has quite a bit of our money too & will get more yet.

I have never really done bottle calves, the calves I had years ago were just past the bottle feeding when we got them at an auction. It takes awhile for a calf to grow, not like pigs that you butcher in 6 months & they eat quite a bit to get to butcher weight too. Of course you know what you fed & the meat is the best in the world, but to say it's cheaper to raise your own wouldn't be accurate. You have to feed them for all of those months, about a year to 18 months & then the cost of the processing on top of that. I think I would rather just find someone else to buy the meat from after they raised it & had it processed for me.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Hey all! Had a pretty rough week here, I'm still trying to gage what I can and can't eat, and apparently white rice isn't one of them. I only ate a few teaspoons full, but suffered and was off work for 3 1/2 days because of it. grr. I made my hubby take me to the deli today just so I could eat soup somewhere else other than my kitchen. I hate being cooped up (haha) and wanted to go somewhere else other than work, walmart, or home. I had a dr's appointment last Thurs with a GI doc and he's referring me to a gastroparesis specialist at KU Med Center. Yay! It's going to be a long wait for an appointment though, i'm sure. In the meantime, though, I get to have a colonoscopy on Monday. Not yay! LOL

Sorry I've missed so many posts. I've been sleeping a lot, but have felt much better these past couple days and had tons of make-up work for school as well as housework and coop clean-up. I read just back the past few pages, so sorry if I"ve missed anything.

HECHicken, I'd love to come, but as much work as I've taken off lately, unless I can claim it as FMLA, I won't be able to come I work Mon-Fri.

Welcome to all the newcomers and Mammahen10, that's sweet that you tried to save the calf. How is it doing, or do you know?

Ya'll were speaking about puppies. I convinced my DH to get me a puppy for my 40th birthday (Oct 4th), so now i'm on the hunt for a pup. I want something short haired, larger dog. I'd love to adopt an older dog, but our American Bulldog isn't completely reliable around other adult dogs and I know that he'd be ok if we brought a young pup in though. It's amazing the prices that some people want for dogs!!

I'm taking over $1500 for a dog. I was thinking $100 or less, free is better. I don't care if it's not purebred or registered or anything like that. I'm sure the right one will come along.


Took some pictures of the flock after I cleaned up the coop, thought I'd share with ya!




Amber (Was the spray legged baby)


Ametheyst




This is Jade - "she's" the one that I think might be a roo. The wattles are a lot bigger, as well as the comb, than the others. No crowing yet though




Onyx had to say Hi





Cool pic of water dropping off of Daffy's beak




Then, had to add one of my favorite flock member - Kaylea! She's getting so big and almost crawling!

 

[JosieChick]

Tweety- Have you looked at the Lawrence Humane Society? They have several pups on their website that are under 4 months and they are altered and vaccinated and not $1500.

If you don't find anything there drive to Wichita for a day trip and get a pup from the Kansas Humane Society. They are always overloaded with dogs and almost always have litters of pups. They will even do a waiting list if you are looking for something in particular and will call you when it is available for adoption.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Tweety- Have you looked at the Lawrence Humane Society? They have several pups on their website that are under 4 months and they are altered and vaccinated and not $1500.

If you don't find anything there drive to Wichita for a day trip and get a pup from the Kansas Humane Society. They are always overloaded with dogs and almost always have litters of pups. They will even do a waiting list if you are looking for something in particular and will call you when it is available for adoption.

I have looked at the humane society, but our biggest issue is that they want a vet reference if you already have a dog. We buy the shots and give them ourselves and only bring the dogs in when they are sick or injured, so I can't prove shot records like they want with a reference.

 

[JosieChick]

I have looked at the humane society, but our biggest issue is that they want a vet reference if you already have a dog. We buy the shots and give them ourselves and only bring the dogs in when they are sick or injured, so I can't prove shot records like they want with a reference.

The Kansas Humane Society doesn't ask for any references if you guys ever get ambitious. I always see pups on craigslist too. Just be careful to check people out because there are some people who keep pups in terrible conditions and they are very ill. DH had clients who bought two pups from a parking lot and two days later they were both dead. It was so sad. Good luck on the puppy hunt!

 

[HEChicken]

I have looked at the humane society, but our biggest issue is that they want a vet reference if you already have a dog. We buy the shots and give them ourselves and only bring the dogs in when they are sick or injured, so I can't prove shot records like they want with a reference.

Wow, I didn't realize the humane society up there would be so strict! The one here in Wichita does not require a vet reference so it might be worth a trip down. And if you were making a trip down here.....ahhh.....I won't be an enabler by pointing out that the get-together will be VERY close to your birthday

By the way, I do think you might be right about Jade being a boy. How old are they now? My silkies both started crowing around the 5-month mark.

Sorry to hear about your continuing health issues and hope the specialist is able to help you.

The Kansas Humane Society doesn't ask for any references if you guys ever get ambitious. I always see pups on craigslist too. Just be careful to check people out because there are some people who keep pups in terrible conditions and they are very ill. DH had clients who bought two pups from a parking lot and two days later they were both dead. It was so sad. Good luck on the puppy hunt!

x2. A lot of times people will go to see puppies or kittens in deplorable conditions and feel they are "rescuing" them by adopting them, but all they are really doing is encouraging a backyard breeder to continue to do it. While it is hard to walk away from a cute puppy or kitten in those conditions, I do think if more people did, and the "breeder" had a hard time placing them, it would discourage them from using their dog or cat to try to supplement their income.

 

[MarcAustin]

Yeah, the expenses really do add up. I
MarcAustin, I may be right with ya on the calf. DH and I have tossed around several idea, one being goats or sheep and the other being raising a couple of beef steers. I like goats but the problem with them is they are escape artists so I am leaning more towards either sheep or calves. Let us know how you get on with them.

But Goats have such Personality !!!!

 

[mommahen10]

Thanks Tweety, no, I don't know how the calf is doing. I haven't gone back out there and I think I'm just afraid to look. I enjoyed looking through your amazing pics but I must admit that the last one is the sweetest. She's a doll. Hope you continue to feel better.

Many Blessings, Treva

 

[MarcAustin]

BTW - now that I've known 'em, I'll ALWAYS have chickens !! Between the fridge full of eggs, ease of maintenance and comedic performance out in the yard, I couldn't go without less than 8 or 9. But when I grow up (keepcommentstoyourself) I want to have a fairly self-sufficient little 'hobby-farm'. So I do need to learn other things. The better half has been doing gardening all year with mixed results, but she learned a lot for next season. Especially starting seeds instead of just tossing them out there. I may just sneak in a Dwarf Pygmy Goat when no one's paying attention . . ..

 

[tweetysvoice]

The Kansas Humane Society doesn't ask for any references if you guys ever get ambitious. I always see pups on craigslist too. Just be careful to check people out because there are some people who keep pups in terrible conditions and they are very ill. DH had clients who bought two pups from a parking lot and two days later they were both dead. It was so sad. Good luck on the puppy hunt!

Thanks! That's something good to know

By the way, I do think you might be right about Jade being a boy. How old are they now? My silkies both started crowing around the 5-month mark.

They are just 7 days shy of 5 months, so I guess if he starts crowing, it will be anytime now.

Thanks Tweety, no, I don't know how the calf is doing. I haven't gone back out there and I think I'm just afraid to look. I enjoyed looking through your amazing pics but I must admit that the last one is the sweetest. She's a doll. Hope you continue to feel better.

Many Blessings, Treva

Thank you That's my granddaughter who is just a bit over 6 months old