Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Oh no!! I wouldn't know what to do about the owl either! Especially with it being illegal and all to kill them or trap them. I hope your seed run works out really well for you! Sounds like a long haul to get there and back. I'm sitting about 30 mins from the OK border-- it would be a pretty quick trip for me. Not that I need that much!
You buy this seed by 50 pounds bags. I just chose to buy it by the ton so I could make the trip and gas worth while. It is only $9 a 50# bag and you sure can't buy nice quality bird seed for that. I figured in gas and palleting costs and still came out way ahead of just the ordinary bird seed available. And if you aren't old like me and drive a gas guzzling truck pulling a trailer you'd do even better. There is a place in Wichita that makes bird seed that you can buy at about $.32 a pound but I think that is by the ton price. But it is just your basic millet and sunflower seed mix. I can't remember their name right now.
Yeah, I want to try making my own ACV with the Mother, too!! I think it would be a really fun project for me and the kids! It's sooo healthy, too! Good luck with your hatch! Or was that yesterday? I've been gone a couple of days. Insanely busy here, sheesh! Happy Birthday to your DH! I would have just made him up a cake and called it good. We have traditional b-days-- cake, candles, the song, the wish, etc. My favorite cake is from Cheri's Bakery in Wichita-- the chocolate ganache! It is the BEST cake ever! NO one else in Wichita makes it better. It is like a chocolate ding-dong with the cream layers and then frosted in chocolate frosting and THEN drizzled chocolate over the top of that! I'm not kidding, if you haven't had it-- go get it. I will get one just for the heck of it. That is my favorite bakery, too. It's out on the West side-- right in front of the Warren Theatre on 21st street in that little shopping strip across the street. They make the BEST cookies, too. They are also reasonable-- not too expensive! Especially when you think of all the work that goes into their cakes. Here is the link to the cake: Look for "Chocolate Ganache Dessert Cake" http://cheris-bakery.com/gallery/dessert-cakes-2/
That sounds delicious! Yum!
I want to make some vinegar too but don't know if I would loose interest or forget about it after that long. That is the main reason I haven't started my meal worm farm. BTW Josie how is yours going?

I have about 3 or 4 silkies to get rid of. Honestly, they need to be culled the old fashioned way. They have wry backs/tails. They should never be bred. AND I'm thinking all of them are boys. I don't know that for a fact. Maybe one or two could be a girl, but they look like boys to me. I don't feel right about trying to sell them... they are cute, and they are extra tiny. I'm calling them "micro silkies" because they are much smaller than the rest of my crew. These were out of eggs I had shipped in. I hate to just kill them... but I can't use them, and I don't know what to do with them! Think it would be wrong to offer them free on CraigsList? They are pretty twisted. It's obvious. It doesn't effect their health or how they eat. But they do look "off". Sigh. I wish I knew someone that would want to eat them, because then at least they wouldn't go to waste. And *I* do not want to kill them.

Why don't you offer them for free and just state they are pet quality. That way people can either eat them or keep them for pets.

Just a note to let you know, when I looked up the recommended dosing period for the particular bacteria I had it recommended treating for six days instead of the usual three. So it may take longer for the drug to work depending on what you have going on.
Nope! I "miss" birds I have sold weeks later sometimes. I go "Now where is that bird?" scratching my head and then I go Oh yeah! I sold it..... hehehehehe.
I hear you on this. I think if you list them for free you will get a lot of folks looking for dinner which it sounds like that is where they need to go. I used to get really upset about selling cull birds for dinner but now I would actually rather they not be put into circulation as breeding birds because I don't want them to pass on their bad genes. Plus, being dinner is a noble end I think for a chicken. I have one blue cockerel that I can't get rid of up here, even for free! I may list him down there and see if someone wants him. I have a friend who takes her extra boys to her nail salon and the lady that does her nails has them for dinner that night!! What a deal right? Maybe I need to start getting my nails done.

You're so funny! If the blue cockerel isn't tiny and isn't a silkie my Chinese people would take him for eating.
Woohoo, it poured here last night! I put Molly in the garage for an hour it was raining so hard and that fool dog just lays out there in it! I can't stand it when its raining that hard. And it was thundering and lightening like crazy. We even lost power for a few minutes. Seems like last Fall we didn't get any rain up here so we have been really lucky so far. Our pastures are even making a rebound which is awesome.
Marshmallow was laying out in it by the garage in the rain too! I think she must have taken my talk to heart about they had better be watching the birds and not just laying around until they hear something.

Well, I have got to get the jeep cleaned out today so we can list it for sale. It really needs to be vacuumed and wiped down inside. It is long over due for that! And I have to finish putting netting up over the birds runs. I think the sun is finally starting to break through the clouds, it was still sprinkling when I went out last.

Quote:

We got rain twice during the night here with thunder & lightening & all. My yard is actually greened up & there is a little bit of grass growing back, even some new grass in spots coming up, it's strange. After the last two summers we just don't have much grass in some places, the heat & drought did it in. We don't have a well here, so whatever happens does & we lost about all the grass in the backyard, it's just weeds now. We need to re-seed, but it's just not a priority right now with working on the coop & all & trying to get things done before winter hits.
We have no grass or even clover out back. There is just one little crappy weed left that nobody eats. I figured if I tried seeding the chickens would eat the seed.

We went this morning to see our attorney to update our wills, we hadn't done anything with it for 10 years & there were some changes we needed to make, so we got that done today. He told us we need to think about having a medical power of attorney & I told my DH we are getting the age where we probably need to think about doing that. I'm glad to get it all taken care of, it's something we have put off & now we just had to bite the bullet & go do it. Not to be gruesome of anything, but it's just a good thing to do for your family to have things in order.

My kids have asked me to do that. In fact one of them has a best friend who is attorney who said he'd do it for free for me. It's just something I keep putting off. I was just reading in the HOAGBA news letter this morning if you have birds and breeding stock you should make provisions for what you want done with the stock if you should pass away. It suggested marking the pens and leaving records to indicate the type and value of each of the birds. That way your spouse or family would know what to do with them. One suggestion was that if you knew your family wouldn't have an interest in dealing with them that you ask them to be donated to a friend or fellow bird breeder.
I have so much that my kids probably don't want to mess with, aside from birds, that has some significant value if marketed to the right people. I keep thinking I need to go ahead and sell many of my collections so they won't have to. But then I rationalize that I bought them to enjoy and because they were valuable so why should I part with them? It is really difficult to make decisions like that. So I do nothing! In reality I could sell things and use the money for things I need now. But.....

 

[QuackerJackFarms]

For the Kansas Peeps too. Since we're sister states. If you're far from the border there's also a Chicken Swap of Kansas Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/484727341560208/

 

[ChooksChick]

everyone!

I'm just a lurker on here more now than ever- not a lot of time...but there may be more time if I can sell off as many birds as I'm trying to release!

I'm getting entirely out of Cochins, Silkies, Marans, and even the Silkied Ameraucanas, except for the Chocolate versions of each of those. I'm keeping the various Orp projects and Konzas, as well as the South American/Pacific Isles birds.

I have birds available, if anyone has needs for any of those: first come, first served.

I also have 4 Royal Palms (early May hatch, can't sex them) available.

It looks like our little circle has grown so immensely!! I'd love to say HI!! to all of you joiners- it's lovely to see how many folks have come to us, and I adore the way you all get on so well. We have a great group, and even heated discussions are handled with class and grace. You're all amazing.

I hope things settle down soon so I can hang out with you all more- I miss you!!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Josie, Danz and Trish-- thank you for the advice on my silkie culls. I think I will just go ahead and offer them for free on CraigsList and be sure to list them as pet quality. Should I mention they could be eaten.. or just leave it as it is and let people infer what they want? I just don't want anyone feeling weird about getting them to eat. Go right ahead!! LOL I mean, they are sweet and cute... but they should NEVER be bred, and it would almost be best for them, really. Like you all said, they ARE chickens.

Trish, very wise about the Will. My Dh and I started talking about it and we got so far as to fill out a form that we were given from a lawyer. What to do with our young kids in case of our death. Who would they go to? But we started arguing about who we wanted to take them! LOL We just don't feel anyone would be near as strict as us and prod them into college! Sigh. We had to table it. So bravo for you all getting things sorted out! I think deciding who the house, belongs would go to would be MUCH easier. And then the idea for us would be to sell it all at auction or however and leave the kids trust funds for college. So we've been back and forth on it for years. It's a very tough decision. It's not morbid at all, it's just plain smart to have a set up already in place, then no one fights or argues about what is going to happen to the estate.

Danz, are you possibly talking about Valley Feed and Seed? They mix up a lot of their own bird mixes. They are like a wild-bird Mecca in there. I should probably check them out in prices. I'm glad you got a great deal on your seed.

Josie, that is crazy about the no upper beak!! Wow, I wonder how that happened-- I guess got into a scuffle with the broody? Poor thing. And how embarrassing -- that would TOTALLY happen to me!!! I'm starting to worry less about the procaine in the Penicillin. The more I use it, it just seems to help and so far, no adverse effects. I guess worse case would be that it might kill an already dying bird? Ah well. Good luck on selling your Jeep! I'm very excited for you getting a new car and all!

MaidenWolf-- ask away! Good thing is that you pretty much get instant answers to your questions!

Chooks-- SO glad to see you pop in! I sure hope you have time to do more of that. I sure miss hearing your input on various topics. Ahhhh, Royal Palms... sweet little things. What great birds! I wish I was set up to take in more turkeys! So no more cochins, marans and silkies?? Wow! Sorry to hear that! But it does sound like you are keeping some really fun projects, so I bet you'll still be busy with them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This day has gone by insanely FAST! I made my motel reservations for when I travel up to ASBC Eastern Nationals!! Eeeeks!! So excited!! It will be *my* first show. So far, all of the birds have been shown under my oldest son! He is still going to go-- we're going to split up the birds--we'll be bringing grow-outs that should be ready to show by then. I'm going to do the Double Open and he's going to do the Single Junior and Showmanship. Today, I did some errand running and had lunch down in Clearwater with my mom at Walts. Love that place! My oldest has church choir practice tonight and my middle child has soccer practice tonight... so we'll be splitting up, i guess. We're going to pull a "Karen". hehe! I also have a volunteer/donation project I need to get started on today for Wesley Medical Center thru our church. We are sewing up little dolls with hospital gowns so that when children go to the hospital for a big surgery or something, they get a doll that they can draw on a face, and practice giving shots to, and the nurse can show them on the doll what will happen and draw on it what they will be doing. So we make up dolls sewn out of muslin fabric (a nice creamy color) that is light enough to draw on with no faces or hair and then come up with cute wild fabrics for their hospital gowns. I'll take a pic when I get some finished. So far, we've had some really cute ones already donated from our church. It's such a wonderful volunteer opportunity. Ciao!

 

[HEChicken]

everyone - I've been here but haven't posted too much this week - just a lot on my mind. I've been reading but by the time I go to answer a question, someone has beat me to it LOL

Hi Chooks! Good to see you dropping in, and look forward to hearing more from you when things slow down for you. I'd still be interested in buying some Konza eggs from you at some point, next time you're going to be in Wichita.

Too all those preparing wills, good for you! One thing I wanted to add to the whole will, and who gets the house and kids aspect, is to set up a living will and medical power of attorney. So important that your wishes for what should happen to you in the event you are incapacitated, are documented somewhere.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Yes Hawkeye you do get quick responses which is nice. I ordered my pullets today I am so excited
got 2 of each- black langshan, dark brahma, black australorp, RIR, SLW

 

[mommahen10]

maidenwolf, I'm going to follow along with your chicks in the cold months idea. I'm REALLY wanting laverder Orpingtons just because I think they're pretty. They're really expensive so my plan is to buy hatching eggs. But, they're so expensive. I'm going to keep hatching through the winter just to get as confident as I can before I buy eggs. I want to know I'm going to have a good hatch rate and I have done great until this last time. I just want to feel like I can consistently hatch with a good outcome before I buy eggs. I am nervous about it because it's a huge responsibility to make sure they stay warm. Right now, I have a my baby chick pen and it's outside and they're still doing fine out there currently. It's essentially a wooden box, there is wire on one side so I can see them. I use wood shavings in the bottom and change regularly, more regularly when it rains... grrr. I have a heat lamp in it, but it's not on because it produces too much heat for the size of the box so I'm going to take that out. There is a smaller snuggly box attached with a small opening so they can get out of the wind, there is a regular light bulb in there and it's on all the time. So they have options, they can go to a warmer area if they need to, I've never seen all of them in there. I have a tarp over this entire box, but it just hangs over it not tightly. When I go out in the morning I lift the tarp from the front to the back so they can get some sunshine. If it's windy I put it back down, if it rains I put it back down. Today, I'm watching the weather closely to put it back down. Even during the storms last night, they acted like all was perfect. They didn't even seem to notice anything was up. I did have to change their shavings today, it seemed damp but not soaked on the bottom layer I'm not sure why. They usually stay in this pen for about 3 weeks, the number of chicks in there seems to influence how soon I take them out and move them to the next area. The next area they move to is pretty big but not too big, it's completely screened and they have a dirt floor, I put wood shavings on it but they get to scratch around. We were constantly covering the sides or the top to block wind or too much sun in the heat. They have a house with a light inside too. We also have a heat lamp outside for them but it seems useless becuase it's so open. This area isn't going to cut it in the winter at all. This is where we had trouble last night in the rain. Both of these little pens are inside of another pen with adequate fencing. In the open fenced area I can let them out of this second pen when they are bigger and need more room. The bigger fenced area has a house also, without a light. Essentially, I can have 3 stages in this one area. Part of what happened last night is that we just rotated stages. The 6 weekers last night were totally confused, some were trying to get back in to their pen some were trying to get into the bigger house, some were trying to get under it some were just inbetween. This is the area we've been working on all day after last night's disaster.

For the winter, I have a room in the barn that is insulated and has a concrete floor. The room is practically empty right now except for some shelving. I plan on using this room for the chicks in the winter. I feel bad thought that they won't get sunshine. I have another area in the barn that we plan to make an indoor/outdoor area for bigger chicks. I'm just so scared that the outdoor area won't be enough. I know I wrote a book, but is it enough to just make sure that they have a place to get warm if they need to? At what point do they have enough sense to get out of the weather? Last night the 2 mo olds had to be encouraged into their house too, they were standing in the rain next to it although they stayed there after we got them in there. The 6 weekers, I can't believe one drowned in a little puddle. They had shelter but didn't go in it. We put them in, they got back out and didn't all go back. I'm still bothered by what happened last night. It's different if an animal is sacrificed to feed people but for them to die for nothing really bothers me.

Hawkeye, my wounded chicken is doing better. She was just standing up when I went out there. I don't know what happened to her but I'm wondering if I caught it after it was already getting better. The smell is decreasing each time I check her, the wound appears to be closing and is no longer draining but still looks gross, I actually didn't smell anything when I cleaned her this morning. She seems to be getting more energy but I don't want to put her back with the others until she's completely healed up. She's improving so quickly I don't want to start antibiotics now but I intend to buy some to keep on hand, $11 bucks is reasonable. I can't get out today anyway, my dh took my van to get some new tires put on so I'm stuck for today. The kitten was on our path from our house to the barn. The kids found a second one that died last night too. I don't understand why they didn't get out of the weather, they weren't super tiny kittens, maybe 3 mos. Maybe the hail hit them. The hail was huge, bigger than quarters. I don't like butchering myself either but somehow my dh and older boys can handle it. The boys butchered one of my roos earlier today, just because they wanted to try it. They just did a deer during youth season so I think it was not a big deal after that. I can do some of it after the big part is done. I didn't watch, but my heart sank when I saw some of what was left. It makes me cry but I have to pretend like it's not my chicken now that the meat is inside and it's my turn to do the next steps. I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, but I shouldn't assume that I won't. I used to not even go in the chicken coop, I was scared of them.

danz, I marked that link. That's a really good idea and great back up plan for unexpected weather changes too. I'm going to need a couple of those. The shelving in the room in my barn that I'm going to make a brooder room is very sturdy wooden shelving we are going to convert into pens for them. We will install heat lamps on the upper shelves for the chicks below. These shelves are deep, we used this room as a store room and they were built to hold my big rubbermaid tubs. I can keep my chicks off the floor in the winter when they are smaller but I don't like to keep them cooped up when they look so bored. I have another area in the barn that I intend to use that has dirt floor and I want to make it indoor with an outdoor option for bigger chicks. Do you think the dirt would be less cold than the concrete? The door to my room with the concrete floor, my dh wants to redo that door because it's the only source of any drafts in that room. It's old barn wood and worn away in places. He was going to put a regular door, it's a double door where it opened at just the top or just the bottom. Maybe the double is a good idea because I could use it to let sunshine in on the milder days. I don't want to make birds stay indoors for the first 2 mos of their lives, it doesn't feel very nice.

Hawkeye, good luck on your trip and I'd love to see your dolls. I love to sew and I'm sure I'll be sewing again as it gets colder outside. OMGosh!!! I can't believe it's already 4:30pm. This day has gone by fast. I better get busy with dinner I'm behind schedule.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

maidenwolf, I'm going to follow along with your chicks in the cold months idea. I'm REALLY wanting laverder Orpingtons just because I think they're pretty. They're really expensive so my plan is to buy hatching eggs. But, they're so expensive. I'm going to keep hatching through the winter just to get as confident as I can before I buy eggs. I want to know I'm going to have a good hatch rate and I have done great until this last time. I just want to feel like I can consistently hatch with a good outcome before I buy eggs. I am nervous about it because it's a huge responsibility to make sure they stay warm. Right now, I have a my baby chick pen and it's outside and they're still doing fine out there currently. It's essentially a wooden box, there is wire on one side so I can see them. I use wood shavings in the bottom and change regularly, more regularly when it rains... grrr. I have a heat lamp in it, but it's not on because it produces too much heat for the size of the box so I'm going to take that out. There is a smaller snuggly box attached with a small opening so they can get out of the wind, there is a regular light bulb in there and it's on all the time. So they have options, they can go to a warmer area if they need to, I've never seen all of them in there. I have a tarp over this entire box, but it just hangs over it not tightly. When I go out in the morning I lift the tarp from the front to the back so they can get some sunshine. If it's windy I put it back down, if it rains I put it back down. Today, I'm watching the weather closely to put it back down. Even during the storms last night, they acted like all was perfect. They didn't even seem to notice anything was up. I did have to change their shavings today, it seemed damp but not soaked on the bottom layer I'm not sure why. They usually stay in this pen for about 3 weeks, the number of chicks in there seems to influence how soon I take them out and move them to the next area. The next area they move to is pretty big but not too big, it's completely screened and they have a dirt floor, I put wood shavings on it but they get to scratch around. We were constantly covering the sides or the top to block wind or too much sun in the heat. They have a house with a light inside too. We also have a heat lamp outside for them but it seems useless becuase it's so open. This area isn't going to cut it in the winter at all. This is where we had trouble last night in the rain. Both of these little pens are inside of another pen with adequate fencing. In the open fenced area I can let them out of this second pen when they are bigger and need more room. The bigger fenced area has a house also, without a light. Essentially, I can have 3 stages in this one area. Part of what happened last night is that we just rotated stages. The 6 weekers last night were totally confused, some were trying to get back in to their pen some were trying to get into the bigger house, some were trying to get under it some were just inbetween. This is the area we've been working on all day after last night's disaster.

For the winter, I have a room in the barn that is insulated and has a concrete floor. The room is practically empty right now except for some shelving. I plan on using this room for the chicks in the winter. I feel bad thought that they won't get sunshine. I have another area in the barn that we plan to make an indoor/outdoor area for bigger chicks. I'm just so scared that the outdoor area won't be enough. I know I wrote a book, but is it enough to just make sure that they have a place to get warm if they need to? At what point do they have enough sense to get out of the weather? Last night the 2 mo olds had to be encouraged into their house too, they were standing in the rain next to it although they stayed there after we got them in there. The 6 weekers, I can't believe one drowned in a little puddle. They had shelter but didn't go in it. We put them in, they got back out and didn't all go back. I'm still bothered by what happened last night. It's different if an animal is sacrificed to feed people but for them to die for nothing really bothers me.

Sounds like you have a nice set up. I know what you mean about the rain. I actually got rain inside of my run and even a small leak in the coop. I am gonna have to remedy the leak in the coop asap though. I cant wait to get my chicks. I am going to hatch eggs next year.
good luck with your hatching and hopefully all of our babies will be healthy...

 

[chicken danz]

I'm pretty excited. My case of mouse traps came today. It will take a while to get them all baited and set where I want them but my goal for tonight is to catch at least 100 mice. I really think I can do it!! Well at least half that many! I can't wait to check them tomorrow.
It took me forever to feed and water today. It was such a muddy mess and of course I had to dump, wash, and refill every feed and water pan around. I really do need to get things organized or I will freeze to death this winter doing chores.
Quote:

Josie, Danz and Trish-- thank you for the advice on my silkie culls. I think I will just go ahead and offer them for free on CraigsList and be sure to list them as pet quality. Should I mention they could be eaten.. or just leave it as it is and let people infer what they want? I just don't want anyone feeling weird about getting them to eat. Go right ahead!! LOL I mean, they are sweet and cute... but they should NEVER be bred, and it would almost be best for them, really. Like you all said, they ARE chickens.
I wouldn't say a word about eating them. People won't tell you if they are planning on doing so anyway.

Trish, very wise about the Will. My Dh and I started talking about it and we got so far as to fill out a form that we were given from a lawyer. What to do with our young kids in case of our death. Who would they go to? But we started arguing about who we wanted to take them! LOL We just don't feel anyone would be near as strict as us and prod them into college! Sigh. We had to table it. So bravo for you all getting things sorted out! I think deciding who the house, belongs would go to would be MUCH easier. And then the idea for us would be to sell it all at auction or however and leave the kids trust funds for college. So we've been back and forth on it for years. It's a very tough decision. It's not morbid at all, it's just plain smart to have a set up already in place, then no one fights or argues about what is going to happen to the estate.

Danz, are you possibly talking about Valley Feed and Seed? They mix up a lot of their own bird mixes. They are like a wild-bird Mecca in there. I should probably check them out in prices. I'm glad you got a great deal on your seed.
Nope I didn't find a website for them per say and it wasn't crystal clear what they carried. Since I can't get a good signal on my cell I hate to spend a fortune using the home phone making blind calls. It was Delange Seed and it is actually in Sedgewick, not Wichita per say. Most places just had ridiculous prices but Delange did offer a fair price for what they had. If I were you, I'd check with Valley and see what they can mix for you at what price.
Josie, that is crazy about the no upper beak!! Wow, I wonder how that happened-- I guess got into a scuffle with the broody? Poor thing. And how embarrassing -- that would TOTALLY happen to me!!! I'm starting to worry less about the procaine in the Penicillin. The more I use it, it just seems to help and so far, no adverse effects. I guess worse case would be that it might kill an already dying bird? Ah well. Good luck on selling your Jeep! I'm very excited for you getting a new car and all!
I had a chick with no upper beak once. It was broody hatched and the bigger chickens picked on it and broke the beak off. You could see it's little tongue move in there. Really kind of gross looking. The chick was able to eat and drink which astounded me but it died when it got several weeks old.
I really need to go buy some more chicken drugs. I have all these different things but it never seems to be the right one. I need penicillin for a couple of birds with bumble foot. I need some sulpha drugs for colds. I found another dead sparrow today so they must have something going on. I just don't want to battle this stuff all winter. Who'd have thought I would end up spending more on medicines for my birds than myself???
MaidenWolf-- ask away! Good thing is that you pretty much get instant answers to your questions!

Chooks-- SO glad to see you pop in! I sure hope you have time to do more of that. I sure miss hearing your input on various topics. Ahhhh, Royal Palms... sweet little things. What great birds! I wish I was set up to take in more turkeys! So no more cochins, marans and silkies?? Wow! Sorry to hear that! But it does sound like you are keeping some really fun projects, so I bet you'll still be busy with them.

Ditto! Miss ya, girl! I can understand getting down to certain breeds. I am trying myself but keep getting new ones. The orps are some of my major projects right now. I really like these girls, especially the English ones. Just wish it wasn't costing so much to get the projects going. My problem is not the number of breeds as it is the number of colors to separate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This day has gone by insanely FAST! I made my motel reservations for when I travel up to ASBC Eastern Nationals!! Eeeeks!! So excited!! It will be *my* first show. So far, all of the birds have been shown under my oldest son! He is still going to go-- we're going to split up the birds--we'll be bringing grow-outs that should be ready to show by then. I'm going to do the Double Open and he's going to do the Single Junior and Showmanship. Today, I did some errand running and had lunch down in Clearwater with my mom at Walts. Love that place! My oldest has church choir practice tonight and my middle child has soccer practice tonight... so we'll be splitting up, i guess. We're going to pull a "Karen". hehe! I also have a volunteer/donation project I need to get started on today for Wesley Medical Center thru our church. We are sewing up little dolls with hospital gowns so that when children go to the hospital for a big surgery or something, they get a doll that they can draw on a face, and practice giving shots to, and the nurse can show them on the doll what will happen and draw on it what they will be doing. So we make up dolls sewn out of muslin fabric (a nice creamy color) that is light enough to draw on with no faces or hair and then come up with cute wild fabrics for their hospital gowns. I'll take a pic when I get some finished. So far, we've had some really cute ones already donated from our church. It's such a wonderful volunteer opportunity. Ciao!
What a great project! Hope to see pictures!!!

everyone - I've been here but haven't posted too much this week - just a lot on my mind.
You are in my prayers!!

Yes Hawkeye you do get quick responses which is nice. I ordered my pullets today I am so excited
got 2 of each- black langshan, dark brahma, black australorp, RIR, SLW

Congrats on the new chickies. Isn't it exciting?

maidenwolf, I'm going to follow along with your chicks in the cold months idea. I'm REALLY wanting laverder Orpingtons just because I think they're pretty. They're really expensive so my plan is to buy hatching eggs. But, they're so expensive. I'm going to keep hatching through the winter just to get as confident as I can before I buy eggs. I want to know I'm going to have a good hatch rate and I have done great until this last time. I just want to feel like I can consistently hatch with a good outcome before I buy eggs. I am nervous about it because it's a huge responsibility to make sure they stay warm. Right now, I have a my baby chick pen and it's outside and they're still doing fine out there currently. It's essentially a wooden box, there is wire on one side so I can see them. I use wood shavings in the bottom and change regularly, more regularly when it rains... grrr. I have a heat lamp in it, but it's not on because it produces too much heat for the size of the box so I'm going to take that out. There is a smaller snuggly box attached with a small opening so they can get out of the wind, there is a regular light bulb in there and it's on all the time. So they have options, they can go to a warmer area if they need to, I've never seen all of them in there. I have a tarp over this entire box, but it just hangs over it not tightly. When I go out in the morning I lift the tarp from the front to the back so they can get some sunshine. If it's windy I put it back down, if it rains I put it back down. Today, I'm watching the weather closely to put it back down. Even during the storms last night, they acted like all was perfect. They didn't even seem to notice anything was up. I did have to change their shavings today, it seemed damp but not soaked on the bottom layer I'm not sure why. They usually stay in this pen for about 3 weeks, the number of chicks in there seems to influence how soon I take them out and move them to the next area. The next area they move to is pretty big but not too big, it's completely screened and they have a dirt floor, I put wood shavings on it but they get to scratch around. We were constantly covering the sides or the top to block wind or too much sun in the heat. They have a house with a light inside too. We also have a heat lamp outside for them but it seems useless becuase it's so open. This area isn't going to cut it in the winter at all. This is where we had trouble last night in the rain. Both of these little pens are inside of another pen with adequate fencing. In the open fenced area I can let them out of this second pen when they are bigger and need more room. The bigger fenced area has a house also, without a light. Essentially, I can have 3 stages in this one area. Part of what happened last night is that we just rotated stages. The 6 weekers last night were totally confused, some were trying to get back in to their pen some were trying to get into the bigger house, some were trying to get under it some were just inbetween. This is the area we've been working on all day after last night's disaster.

For the winter, I have a room in the barn that is insulated and has a concrete floor. The room is practically empty right now except for some shelving. I plan on using this room for the chicks in the winter. I feel bad thought that they won't get sunshine. I have another area in the barn that we plan to make an indoor/outdoor area for bigger chicks. I'm just so scared that the outdoor area won't be enough. I know I wrote a book, but is it enough to just make sure that they have a place to get warm if they need to? At what point do they have enough sense to get out of the weather? Last night the 2 mo olds had to be encouraged into their house too, they were standing in the rain next to it although they stayed there after we got them in there. The 6 weekers, I can't believe one drowned in a little puddle. They had shelter but didn't go in it. We put them in, they got back out and didn't all go back. I'm still bothered by what happened last night. It's different if an animal is sacrificed to feed people but for them to die for nothing really bothers me.

Hawkeye, my wounded chicken is doing better. She was just standing up when I went out there. I don't know what happened to her but I'm wondering if I caught it after it was already getting better. The smell is decreasing each time I check her, the wound appears to be closing and is no longer draining but still looks gross, I actually didn't smell anything when I cleaned her this morning. She seems to be getting more energy but I don't want to put her back with the others until she's completely healed up. She's improving so quickly I don't want to start antibiotics now but I intend to buy some to keep on hand, $11 bucks is reasonable. I can't get out today anyway, my dh took my van to get some new tires put on so I'm stuck for today. The kitten was on our path from our house to the barn. The kids found a second one that died last night too. I don't understand why they didn't get out of the weather, they weren't super tiny kittens, maybe 3 mos. Maybe the hail hit them. The hail was huge, bigger than quarters. I don't like butchering myself either but somehow my dh and older boys can handle it. The boys butchered one of my roos earlier today, just because they wanted to try it. They just did a deer during youth season so I think it was not a big deal after that. I can do some of it after the big part is done. I didn't watch, but my heart sank when I saw some of what was left. It makes me cry but I have to pretend like it's not my chicken now that the meat is inside and it's my turn to do the next steps. I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, but I shouldn't assume that I won't. I used to not even go in the chicken coop, I was scared of them.

danz, I marked that link. That's a really good idea and great back up plan for unexpected weather changes too. I'm going to need a couple of those. The shelving in the room in my barn that I'm going to make a brooder room is very sturdy wooden shelving we are going to convert into pens for them. We will install heat lamps on the upper shelves for the chicks below. These shelves are deep, we used this room as a store room and they were built to hold my big rubbermaid tubs. I can keep my chicks off the floor in the winter when they are smaller but I don't like to keep them cooped up when they look so bored. I have another area in the barn that I intend to use that has dirt floor and I want to make it indoor with an outdoor option for bigger chicks. Do you think the dirt would be less cold than the concrete? The door to my room with the concrete floor, my dh wants to redo that door because it's the only source of any drafts in that room. It's old barn wood and worn away in places. He was going to put a regular door, it's a double door where it opened at just the top or just the bottom. Maybe the double is a good idea because I could use it to let sunshine in on the milder days. I don't want to make birds stay indoors for the first 2 mos of their lives, it doesn't feel very nice.

Hawkeye, good luck on your trip and I'd love to see your dolls. I love to sew and I'm sure I'll be sewing again as it gets colder outside. OMGosh!!! I can't believe it's already 4:30pm. This day has gone by fast. I better get busy with dinner I'm behind schedule.

You sound like me. Lots of plans and lots of projects. Sometimes I wish my kids were still home to help me get some of these done.

I just set 10 of the mouse traps. I could have probably set all 13 and still had places to put more, but I figured I'd better be reasonable about it. I have to be able to remember where I put them all!
I got my hatcher all cleaned and disinfected and still need to move some eggs in there. The days just go to fast.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Chicken danz- It is super exciting. I am so anxious and the wait will be awful I know. This is my first time ordering from a hatchery. I am not sure what to expect.