Consolidated Kansas

[ChicknBaron]

I hear a lot of you have gooses (or geese, i should say...) and ducks. What do you use them for? i don't know much about them so... Like eggs or meat or... just wanderin...

 

[lizzyGSR]

Woot! The birds have officially declared that home! I don't blame you. I am all for free. I wish I could score a few more deals like that myself.

Free but with a price tag - sweat. The chicken wire I'm gonna use for my duck run was on a pen that had previously housed pheasants and had belonged to my neighbor. The original pen was ~30 feet wide by 140 feet long. My neighbor said we could have whatever we wanted off of it (except for the tin around the base). All we had to do was take it down. We put in probably 20 hours of work and got between 300 and 350 feet of chicken wire that stands 8 feet tall. We also got a 10 foot wide chain link gate that's covered in chicken wire, some old poultry netting that needs some TLC, and some wooden posts. So, out of these supplies, we're making a 16 foot wide by 35 foot long by 6 1/2 foot tall duck run with chicken wire on all four sides plus the top, and the only thing we'll have to pay for is some 2"X4" welded wire to reinforce the sides and keep predators from tearing through it. So, in total, we'll get the duck run for about $100 plus time. I'd say that's a pretty good deal!!!

 

[JosieChick]

Josie, it looks like you're getting rid of some birds on the Poultry Swap, that's great! I'm sorry I didn't get the pics taken of my turkeys today, it was just a busy day. I'm trying to get things done to make the trip to OKC to take my granddaughter back down for her dentist appt to get the permanent crown on her tooth this time. Hopefully this is the last trip for that for awhile. The dentist said she will probably have to have it done again later on because her teeth are still growing.

Oh wow, I just looked at Greenfire Farms, I need to stay off their website! They're going to have blue laced Barnvelders, but not until 2014. They're just gorgeous, I must have some of those.

I am, I think! I have had so many inquiries, it has been a bit frustrating. I don't understand people that say they want to buy some birds and then they don't message you back. Blue laced barneys! Yikes, I best not look.

I hear a lot of you have gooses (or geese, i should say...) and ducks. What do you use them for? i don't know much about them so... Like eggs or meat or... just wanderin...

I have sebastopol geese and they are strictly for my enjoyment. They only lay about 40 eggs in the spring so I hatch and sell what I can but we don't eat goose eggs. I love my geese, they are wonderful yard ornaments and quite comical! Here is one of my juveniles.

Free but with a price tag - sweat. The chicken wire I'm gonna use for my duck run was on a pen that had previously housed pheasants and had belonged to my neighbor. The original pen was ~30 feet wide by 140 feet long. My neighbor said we could have whatever we wanted off of it (except for the tin around the base). All we had to do was take it down. We put in probably 20 hours of work and got between 300 and 350 feet of chicken wire that stands 8 feet tall. We also got a 10 foot wide chain link gate that's covered in chicken wire, some old poultry netting that needs some TLC, and some wooden posts. So, out of these supplies, we're making a 16 foot wide by 35 foot long by 6 1/2 foot tall duck run with chicken wire on all four sides plus the top, and the only thing we'll have to pay for is some 2"X4" welded wire to reinforce the sides and keep predators from tearing through it. So, in total, we'll get the duck run for about $100 plus time. I'd say that's a pretty good deal!!!

Wow, that is a lot of work! Congrats on the birds going to bed on their own!

 

[Trish44]

tazcat, I hatched out the Welsummers from eggs I got on eBay. I ended up with only 3 pullets, but that's about all I wanted, so it worked out OK. I've just had them in my grow-out pen with a bunch of other chicks until they get big enough to put in with my general layers. I haven't had Welsummers before, I had just heard other people saying they really like them, so I'm going to give them a try. I haven't been impressed with some of my other layers this year, so I hope to have some better ones next year & I probably will cull out some that aren't laying much. I had about 4 hens go broody this summer, both of my Black Copper Marans & both of my Australorps were broody more than they laid. I love the dark eggs from the BC Marans, but they don't lay that much. I'm about ready to trade them in for something that lays more regularly. My best layers have been the Barred Rocks & Red Star. I just got two little pullets about ready to lay, they're RIR & Buff Orpington mix, so I'm anxious to see if they lay well. I also hatched out some Lavender Orpingtons & got a couple of Lavender Orp/ Porcelain Isabels from ChooksChick, so I have been growing them out to see if I have pullets or roos. I have had lots of projects going on this summer, maybe too many all at once. Now I'm trying to get things done before winter hits.

lizzy, you can't beat free, what a deal! I don't tend to fall into those kinds of deals, I wish I did.

Has anyone up in the Marion area heard from Shana lately? She has been out of touch on the Farm Swap, on FB, & by phone. I tried to get in touch with her regarding the pot luck at HEChicken's the 28th, but have had no luck. I'm hoping everything is OK.

 

[chicken danz]

I'm sitting here waiting for a vet clinic to open. My very best cat, the one I consider a child more than the others is very sick. I think she has a blockage of some kind. I'm going to try to get her into a vet in Emporia where they have better equipment to deal with her. I am so worried and of course crying. She is 13 years old and the most loveable cat on earth. I am so scared.
I was supposed to go to a retirement breakfast this morning but this is far more important. My normal vet doesn't really have the equipment to deal with this, so I am going to call blindly and hope for the best.

 

[HEChicken]

I'm sitting here waiting for a vet clinic to open. My very best cat, the one I consider a child more than the others is very sick. I think she has a blockage of some kind. I'm going to try to get her into a vet in Emporia where they have better equipment to deal with her. I am so worried and of course crying. She is 13 years old and the most loveable cat on earth. I am so scared.
I was supposed to go to a retirement breakfast this morning but this is far more important. My normal vet doesn't really have the equipment to deal with this, so I am going to call blindly and hope for the best.

Hope the vet is able to help her pronto.

 

[mommahen10]

Chicken Danz, I'm soooooo sorry about your cat. I hope all goes well today. Keep us updated.

Trish, I was was admiring the Lavender Orphingtons online last night. I didn't even know there was such a thing but they sure are pretty.

All this talk about incubators, I have the first link, it's styrofoam. I wouldn't have purchased it but it was the only one available in our area, we only have Orcheln's. I just don't like the idea of not being able to clean something well. I have hatched enough chicks to pay for itself just this summer and I may just keep using it until we have another, just becuase I feel better about where I went wrong this time. We plan on building our own very soon, we are on the look out for components now.

Yesterday evening we went to Orcheln's and of course I stand there staring at chicks I don't need. They're just so precious I can't take it, I'm worse than the kids. Well, maybe not worse, I'm fine to just watch them and they want to put their fingers in there. Anyway, the lady came up and asked if we needed help. I told her no, but that little orphington has a problem, her bottom was terribly caked with poo. She said, I know, we get in trouble for cleaning it off. The manager told them not to clean it off because it pulls out their feathers and then no one wants to buy them. DUH!!!! I told her I would take just that one, thinking I could put it with the other 4 my DH bought a few days ago when I was so sad with my hatch not going well. She said, she would ring it up as non-sellable. She just gave me a chick. I brought her home and cleaned her up of course, she's doing fine now. I will keep checking. So far, I have 10 that hatched from ours, I'm ashamed to say because this is my worst hatch rate ever. I'm anxious to check the incubator this morning but I don't dare leave my room or else I will wake up the little one(child). I am ready to get the stinky incubator washed up, bleh.

Have a great day.

 

[HEChicken]

.....She just gave me a chick. I brought her home and cleaned her up of course, she's doing fine now. I will keep checking.

Good for you. I hate seeing them in bad shape and too many times the employees could care less.

Since you have the LG incubator, I'd recommend taking a look at Renee's Incubation cheat sheet (she is the thread starter - just go to the first post and look in her signature for the link). She has really honed hatching in an LG and is pretty successful at it. I've never had an LG but I read through the whole article and it is easy to follow and might give you some tips for how to get it to work better for you on your next hatch.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I want to move some birds around, but I don't feel like I can yet with some still being sick in the grow-out pen.

Hawkeye, Rusty was right by the run so he could have made a mad dash into there if he needed to & into the coop, so he must have felt fairly confident he could get there. We have lots of trees here & bushes for the chickens to hide under as well as rabbit coops & such, so they do have cover to run under if needed.

Your birds must have some virus. Hope it runs it's course quickly. I've never had anything hang on that long. BUT... I'm not dealing with new imported stock, either. I bet once you get a few generations into it and just breed the strong/best ones you'll see less of it.

Sure thing! I'll even go pick up more OSB if needed. I have a LOT of chicken wire and hardware cloth - so I can pick up some more 2x4 if needed too... I need to seriously get out there and start these nest boxes. Confession: I'm petrified of the power tools That is what is holding me back. I have all the materials... I just need to get out there and cut my pieces while Stephen is here (in case I cut something off my body I really need! )

So funny!! I practically built my coop myself! I only had ONE accident and it was because I was using a grinder and didn't really know how to use it and nearly took off my thumb! LOL I was wearing gloves-- oh yeah, I always wear gloves when I work with tools, and so that saved me. It cut a hole in the gloves first and barely knicked my flesh by the time I was pulling away from it. And honestly, that happened because I wasn't paying close attention and had grabbed up too high and near the blade. The saws are MUCH easier to use. They all have built in guards and if you are paying attention, you'll be fine.

Hi everyone!

Would anyone be interested in sharing what they are bringing to HEchicken's party? I don't want to bring fruit salad for example if four other people are going to do that.

I don't really know yet, but sort of thinking along the lines of either a mexican dip that has cream cheese, layer of meat, salsa, cheese and tortilla chips... or just picking up rolls and having deli meat sliced for sandwiches.

A major word of caution ....... whatever you do while doing wood work, focus on what you are doing and where you hands are. EYES ON TASK! It is way too easy to cut off a finger. I preach this all the time because I lost the use of my right hand for about 3 years due to an accident. It will never be normal but at least it works now. Yet just last summer I hit my finger with a table saw because I turned for a second to look elsewhere. They are awesome and no reason to fear them as long as you pay total attention to where they are and your body parts are.

I went to town today to do some bank business and stopped to do a little shopping. I found a mouse trap thing that catches up to 30 mice at a time and doesn't have to be reset. It was like $16. If it works I am going to go buy 2-3 more of them. I've been paying about $30 a bucket for mouse bait that no longer kills them. So it wouldn't take long for these things to pay for themselves. I have my hopes up it really works. I'll report back after my first trial run tonight.
I ran into a couple of past coworkers when I was in town. It makes me really appreciate how very much life has improved since I am no longer in the corporate world. Reminds me to be thankful.

I want to see these mouse traps! If they work, let me know what they are called! So they kill them, too??

 

[HEChicken]

I want to see these mouse traps! If they work, let me know what they are called! So they kill them, too??

I'm kind of curious too. I have a couple of the humane traps that are supposed to catch them live. The main reason I was interested in that kind is because I also keep snakes so I figured it was a win-win if I could catch them live - fewer mice eating my chicken feed and free food for the snakes. Unfortunately, apparently chicken feed is far more alluring than anything I tried as bait in the trap. According to the directions, a dab of peanut butter will attract them but the strain of mice I breed likes chicken feed more than peanut butter. I set and reset that thing over and over and didn't catch anything. One morning I picked it up and finally it felt heavier - I could hear something in it - yay - finally caught a mouse. I took it in to give to one of my snakes, opened it and oops, I see two heads. Oh well, they're small, two is a better meal for the snake. Dumped the two in the snake cage and set the trap down next to me. Turns out there were FOUR in the trap (small trap and four is the max it would hold according to the manufacturer). The remaining two mice were now at large in the house. This was at the old house where the pets were indoors but it took the cat two weeks to catch those two mice and meanwhile I had to listen to them gnawing on stuff at night. That trap never did catch another mouse. I can't figure out what was different that night. It was baited the same but it went from catching none, to four back to none. The only thing I can think is once the first went in, it called to the others, until the trap was full.

A few days ago I happened to look over the side of the (plastic) garbage can I store my layer feed in and saw a huge pile of feed between the garbage can and the wall. I guess mice chewed a hole right through the plastic and I have been, for who knows how long, feeding them all they can eat. Last night I went out and bought a metal garbage can and today I have the fun job of hauling everything out of the storage area of my coop, so I can sweep it out thoroughly of all the remaining feed, transfer the feed to the metal can and hopefully limit how much I feed the mice from now on. Grrrrr.