Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

ChickNBaron, marans eggs are notoriously hard to hatch so don't feel too bad. The first time I tried to hatch marans eggs (shipped), I set 11 eggs and got one solitary little chick out of it. Shipped marans eggs are a double whammy - if you have your own eggs to set you eliminate the worst factor - shipping. I can't remember if you got these eggs locally or shipped?

Trish, sounds like you got a lot done yesterday and your roosts look really good. On the chicks that are having a hard time adapting to being free-range, I don't know if this will help, but I usually do my transitions in stages. Instead of going from one day being in the chick pen and the next day being free-range, I let them out for a short time, and let them back in when they want in. Over a few days, the amount of time they are out increases, until eventually they are fully transitioned. Maybe if you let them out during the day and let them back in to the growout pen for a few nights, they will feel more comfortable and start to follow the rest of the flock into the coop at night?

Medawinks, good to see you back - I was just wondering yesterday how you are doing. Yes, it sounds like you are pretty busy. Running an incubator is fun but if you don't have a turner it does add something else you have to think about multiple times a day, not to mention monitoring humidity, temp etc. Plus, there's the certainty you'll hatch some roos and have to deal with those.

Checoukan, thanks for the update on Ivy. Please tell her we all miss her and can't wait until she is back online with us.

Hawkeye, I meant to tell you what a wonderful job you did on your silkie - she looks GORGEOUS!!!

One of my tasks for today is to lower my new roosts. I was able to sit in the coop at bedtime last night and observed quite a few of them having trouble getting up even with a 15" step. I was worried the 4' was too high but thought it better to start high and go down since starting low and going up would be more difficult. It will be a 10-minute job (I hope) to lower them. I did consider a ramp leading up to them but I'm afraid the ramp would have to be too steep, plus it would take up extra room in the coop. Lowering will just be better all the way around, I think.

 

[checoukan]

I will tell Ivy, she knows, just so busy with working nights, and then having to sleep most of the day, and then the rest of the time she is sorting through things. Some to come to Oswego, and some to go into the auction they plan on having up there. Those of you who have her phone number could text her, I know she would answer back.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Trish your coop looks amazing !!!
Oh by the way.... BABY CHICKIES ARE HERE

I will post pics in a bit...

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Trish, so sorry about your MIL. That's just sad. No, I'm not going to the Joplin swap this Saturday and that's a bit disappointing but oh well. I'll be headed toward Arkansas to pick up my newest acquisitions. I've added a huge Speckled Sussex trio to my mix from this guy and I'm pretty excited about that. They're only 2 years old and a decent price so we'll see how they look when I get there. I hope they're as nice as they sound. I could really use some nice quality birds for my Sussex crew. I really love that breed, even if I do have to baby them.

If any of you are interested in some Bantam Partridge Cochins from this guy, I could bring them back for you.

mommahen10, you may be right about ChicknBaron's unhatched eggs. It certainly couldn't hurt to check them out at this point. I'm liking the idea of opening a breathing area for the birds after checking their position. That sounds like something that could really help. I just hate to have unhatched eggs but of course it happens frequently.

maidenwolf, Yay, for new chicks! Glad they made it! Now for some really good chicken TV.

Hey Danz, leave a few birds for the rest of us today, okay? LOL! By the way, hope you're gonna take it slower today, no heavy lifting or long road trips? Give your poor body a break!

Now I need to get with winterizing my breeder pens and redoing the roosts. Yesterday, I got my breeders separated out into the pens and I'm ready to start gathering eggs for some real hatching for next year's breeders. I'm pretty psyched about it for sure.

Hawkeye, hope everything goes great with showing the birds. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!

 

[Trish44]

Today I have to go pick up my roofing from Lowe's. I wish we were ready to put it up, but sadly there hasn't been a lot of work done this week on the coop. I need to light a fire under my DH's rear end so he'll get busy. He can find every excuse in the book to not work on it. I haven't said much to him, but I'm getting really aggravated about it.

I've got to get out this afternoon & try to get the top fixed on my grow-out pen & put some tarp on the back side. Those birds really need some windbreak. I feel like I have to get some of these things done in the next two days. I have my egg customer coming this afternoon for a few eggs I have collected, but she would really like more. I hope the light in the coop early in the morning helps these hens to start laying again. Some of them have taken a pretty long break & if they don't get started soon I may have to trade them out for some new ones. I can't afford to feed birds that don't lay when that's their primary purpose here. This is my general laying flock I'm talking about. I finally heard late last night from the lady who is supposed to be coming to get my last rabbit I was getting rid of & she is supposed to come Friday evening to get him, I sure hope she shows this time.

Well I have to get around so we can go get the roofing, so I had better start moving.

 

[michelleml]

I hope everyone is a have a great day. my DH is not feeling so good for the past two days. Chemo is kicking his but this time around his throat and mouth hurt so he isn't drinking or eating very much. He's been sleeping a lot sense Tuesday and now its cold outside so he cold more.


Chicken are eating more now that we made it more like the crumbles some so that's good. How do you winterize your pens or do you?

 

[mommahen10]

I'm so sorry Michelle, I don't ever say anything because I've had my own experiences and they hurt. I just want you to know that I'm reading and I'm so sorry your family is going through this. I wish I knew something that would help.

Yay for baby chicks arriving. I love my chicks, I think I will go out and play with them today.

We spent a good bit building another coop, we've exhausted all of our supplies that we've collected over the years, but we can't go any further on it until we buy the floor. We planned on doing sack concrete but after what we've already spent it's cost prohibitive at this point and now the coop is on hold until next pay day and my dh only gets paid once per month so that's pretty sad that it's only the 4th, but that's nothing new. Anyone have any other good ideas for flooring? We have the siding, but we don't want to put it up until the floor is done because it's not a huge coop. Thankfully, we don't really NEED this coop right now, but it would have helped and been convenient to have it. I want to rotate them around so we can redo another shed we're using for a coop.

I listed some pullets, I guess I'm not expecting them to sell this time of year but I will be prepared to stick to a fair price this time.

I have eggs in the incubator, nothing stinks yet so that's good. I have to look like a fool talking to my eggs as I turn them.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Trish your coop looks amazing !!!
Oh by the way.... BABY CHICKIES ARE HERE

I will post pics in a bit...

Yay for baby chicks!! can't wait to see the pictures!

Chicken are eating more now that we made it more like the crumbles some so that's good. How do you winterize your pens or do you?

This will be my first winter with chickens, but I'm planning on getting several bales of straw/hay and stacking them on the north wall so it will be a better wind breaker - as well as spreading around more straw in the places that they tend to hide so they'll have something to hunker down in. I'm also going to get a water bowl warmer so I can keep water thawed out while I"m at work.

Anyone have any other good ideas for flooring?

When i was raising rabbits and guinea pigs, I used to go to flooring stores and bought extra pieces of tile and lanolium that they had left over from jobs and couldn't sell. I could care less if they didn't match - they sold it really cheap as well and just fitted it together to cover floors. It's really easy to clean and I just put the pine shavings/hay right over top.

 

[chicken danz]

I swear I put a lengthy post on here early this morning and it is just not here.WT..?
Now I can't remember what I wrote. I hate that!
Mommahen, I'm always glad to help but I always have plenty to learn as well.
Trish I know I have been buying lots of eggs but I am slowly moving out lots of breeds as well.
I certainly bit the dust on this last one. I candled my brahma and breda fowl eggs this morning and only had 5 brahma and one breda egg that was fertile. That stinks for $50. And they still have to hatch yet. They were well packed and air cells were in place so they should have developed if fertile. I do wish I had some kind of tool I could check eggs with as they arrive to determine if they are fertile or not. Of course the guy who sold them wrote me multiple times, but today he isn't answering. I really hate it when people so things like that. One Breda egg isn't going to do any good. And I would have hoped for twice that many Brahmas.
I sold about a dozen polish this morning for a prayer but I was glad to move them. At least it will pay for my new goose. I sold them at meat prices which is dirt cheap and then gave her two extras.
I do hope she breeds them because she has some awesome birds in the mix and a few that aren't so much.
So I guess between selling birds and eggs that won't hatch I reduced some chicken numbers this morning. I am kind of bummed though. I had my hopes up way too high for this batch of eggs.
Michelleml, sorry your husband is not doing well. I do hope that his cancer goes into remission so it will all be worthwhile.
I don't do much to my coops for winter. The chickens regulate themselves fairly well. I just shut windows but leave vents open. When it gets really cold I put a heat lamp in the coops but only if it is below freezing. I like thermocubes for the lights I have to plug in. I put heated water bowls in all the pens so they don't have frozen water. If it is really cold the chickens will huddle on their roosts and they do put out a lot of heat from just their own bodies.

 

[HEChicken]

I hope everyone is a have a great day. my DH is not feeling so good for the past two days. Chemo is kicking his but this time around his throat and mouth hurt so he isn't drinking or eating very much. He's been sleeping a lot sense Tuesday and now its cold outside so he cold more.

So sorry Michelle - I can only imagine how hard this is for you both. I hope he gets to feeling better soon.

I don't really winterize my pens. I have some storm windows to put over my coop windows and I need to finally do that today or tomorrow since there is a cold north wind blowing. Fortunately the windows are on the east and west sides so cold air doesn't blow in directly.

I have several of the doggie water bowls with the warmer underneath that I've used in the past. I also made a cookie tin heater a few years ago and that works quite well. The only problem with these is that winter is when the days are shortest and the birds are only up and about drinking water for about 9-10 hours of each day. So it runs quite a bit in electricity costs, to have the bowls plugged in 24/7 for only 9-10 hours of actual use. Yet if I turn them off at night, the water freezes solid and the heater isn't enough to thaw it out next day. So what I tend to do is empty them at night and unplug them. Next morning I bring down tepid water from the house, refill the bowls and plug them back in. That way the heater only has to maintain for those 9-10 hours. Its a bit of extra effort though.

maidenwolfx80, how are the chicks doing?