Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

they are nice birds. I want to get some one day

Well, I'll always probably have some! I'm guessing my culls will be getting nicer and nicer each year. I have nicer birds now than I started out with.

My favorite hen, Scout (Golden Campine) appears to be hurt. She isn't using her right leg and when I pick her up it just hangs and she doesn't seem to have any strength in it. She was fine just a couple of hours ago, so I'm guessing she may have caught it in something and pulled a muscle or nerve. She doesn't seem to have any pain when I move the joints or put my hand under her foot to push it up toward her body (when she is in a football carry hold). I have her in the house in a dog carrier for the time being to protect her from her "friends."

Anybody have any ideas? My vet says he will see her tomorrow morning, but that he doesn't really think there is much he can do. She will either get better or not.

Other than the weakness in the leg, she seems to be OK.

Anyone have any suggestions? Would Vitamin E help?

To make matters worse, I'm flying out to Reno to see my new grandson on Thursday.

I'm sorry about Scout, I don't know what to think. Maybe she jumped down from something too high? I don't think any of the suggestions you made were bad ideas-- I'd probably try them all.

I promised to post a picture of my new grandson, Benjamin Cadel Romine-Casteel:




10 lbs, 4 oz. born Sunday morning. He's a brawny little thing.

VERY cute!!! He is a big boy! I had a 9.5 lb baby and thought that was huge-- I can't imagine a bigger one!

Woohooooo!!!!! Congrats Hawkeye on all the prizes, your birds did fabulous. I am so glad my little girl did well, she is so lucky to have found a place with you guys and now she gets to be a show girl!!! I would LOVE to see a pic!
Those blacks are fabulous, LOVE the crest on that pullet and that boy's shape is stunning. Never mind finding pure blacks, that is nearly impossible!!
It did make my day! I am glad you asked for me, I was afraid she did poorly and I almost didn't want to know. There is some stiff competition at those bigger shows and you never know what the particular judges are looking for that day.
We are glad you are here too! Isn't everyone on here awesome? I love this thread, everyone here are my friends. I post on other threads but often feel like I don't belong or just flat get ignored!!
Ahhhhhhhhh!!! I LOVE him!!! What a precious little boy, and I love, love, love the name Benjamin. He is a moose!

Sorry if i missed anyone, I am sooooo far behind on posts that I figured I best just jump in and say hi to everyone. We are in the midst of working on home buying down near Wichita and now I am trying to figure out how we are going to move the small zoo again.

We did get two guns purchased yesterday. So I am the proud owner of a Savage .223 and a .22. No more messing with coyotes after I get some good target practice in!! DH says I have to get good during target practice with the .22 before he will let me blow through ammunition on the savage!!! I am so over chasing chicken eating varmints with shovels.

I also bought my first batch of cloth diapers!!! I know, DH was super excited too.... These are motherease terry cloth pre forms with inserts and covers but they will be our "overflow" diapers for when I get bogged down in laundry. We are planning on having about 30 all in one fancy diapers. I have a lady that has ten bumgenius diapers that she is going to sell me but will still have to do some more hunting. Hawkeye, I need to get with you to see if you have anything in stock you could sell me when I make it down for maternity clothes. Are all your diapers one size or do they come in different sizes? Oh, the things I didn't know I didn't know about diapers!!!

Thank you! Yeah, the picture of my new roo-- the sunlight sort of makes him look like he has gold in him, but there isn't one spot of off-coloring on him. He is black as night! I got him from Birds of Paradise-- she's been raising blacks for years and years. She's never done splits-- and she has some pretty nice blood lines with hers. She showed her blacks in Open, and won BV (best of variety out of blacks) and BB (best of Breed) -- so won out of the entire group of silkies--over other ALL colors! So she really cleaned up in the blacks and then out of the entire Open Class! So I'm confident I have some super nice birds to start my work with. I talked with her as much as I could to pick her brain and hopefully have come away with some good info.

I think you'll like the Motherease-- I'm not big into fitteds and covers... but it might be fun for overflow. I think you'll LOVE, LOVE the BumGenius. I used those too, and I really liked them. I hate that they are velcro. You'll really appreciate your snaps over velcro, but BumGenius is such a great diaper, you will like it anyway. I have plenty of diapers in stock. I have some DUO's (two-size in one) and I have lots of sized diapers-- those will always fit better than DUO's just because they are made for a specific size, and they will just work better. People love the fact that you buy one diaper and get two sizes-- and hey, I do too!! But once you use "Sized"-- you'll see that they perform better than anything you can get your hands on. Also, MommaHen is right about the bleach-- never use it. It breaks down the threads in your diapers, and it also will delaminate your waterproof covers. NEVER use fabric softener, it makes your diapers repel liquid... so that when they pee-- it won't soak in-- it will just be a mess. But the rules are easy once you go over them. When you get them, I can tell you how to strip them before your first use, and it's a pretty easy process!

They are flooding on the East Coast and we can't get rain in SW Kansas...weird how that works out. I know it's all in God's plan and it will all work out.

No doubt, right?? We are still soooooo dry here. Oh and I didn't multi your other post, but this thread works so well, because of the attitude here. Everyone is wonderful.

Danz, that's so sad about your chick but at least this way the poor thing won't have to suffer. I don't have a clue about what to do about your area that doesn't grow anything, there must be something deficient in the soil.

maidenwolf, what kind of chicks are you expecting this time?

Hawkeye, I'm reading about all the show stuff but I don't understand that too well so I don't know what to say but I wanted you to know that I'm following along.

Danz, what's KIA? and What's pine tar?

Do you think that maybe those participating in that thread are just older people, maybe more opinionated? I haven't been there ever, I'm just saying maybe if we could consider where they came from we would understand the attitude better? I mean, it sounds like my dh's dad would fit in there, he's an old farmer and the animals aren't for fun they're for food. Then old people, sometimes they just think a certain way and there's no telling them otherwise. I don't always agree with what they say, but I don't take offense to it either because I know it's just how they are.

Hawkeye, I'm with you, welcoming and accepting, that's something to live by. We don't have to agree with each other to be accepting.

Josie, I just wanted to mention incase you are buying used diapers. I've read something about if they're washed in bleach it breaks down the waterproof part, and if they're washed with fabric softener they don't absorb as they should. I could have this completely backwards so look it up but I wanted to point it out so you could research and ask the right questions. You probably already did, but I just wanted to be sure.

I love this thread too and coming here is my 'break time' and it's my chance to catch my breath. It would hurt me if people here were cranky with each other and it wouldn't be a break to come. I'm thankful for each of you and all of the support and help regarding chickens or otherwise.

AWWWWW, Sharol, he's just precious. I can't wait until I can post a first grandbaby pic, my oldest dd is due in March.

Agreed with your last statement about our thread. Nice break, which is why we all keep coming back! Showing is really not so hard, there are new terms to learn, but other than that, it's really about showing off your hard work when you are breeding to the Standard of Perfection and how close you are sticking to it. It IS hard work, so it's fun to get there and see how you measure up to others who are doing the same thing. I'm at the very beginning of my journey with my silkies, but I already have better birds now than I did this Spring.

Yup! That was what everyone recommended. The savage has a really nice scope, the .22 doesn't but it is just so I can get my self together and practice until I am better to practice with the .223. Coyotes are our main problem here and we have several day time loners that are hardly fearful of humans. The one the other day was the size of a small german shepherd, scared the daylights out of me so if he comes back he is going bye bye. The coyotes that hunt at night in packs don't scare me nearly as much as the ones that trot right through our backyard like a loose dog!!!

Geez, I hadn't gotten to the part of what to do with it....that would be a pretty big hole. I don't know if I am up for the task of burying dead coyotes. Will have to come up with a plan if I actually get one!

Congrats on your new "equipment"! I think you're going to love shooting them. While I was gone at Nationals, my DH called and told me that he had a friend over and they were out shooting clay pigeons in our back pasture. I was glad to be where I was, but figured, of COURSE! He would go and do something fun like that while i was GONE! LOL! Oh-- and we don't bury dead coyotes, we just drag them to the tree line and let nature take it's course. They decompose REALLY fast.

Sharol, that is a whopper baby, so cute too! That's so exciting you get to go see him! I don't have a grandson, just a granddaughter.

Josie, it sounds like you're ready for those coyotes now! I don't have anything to shoot them with here except a hand gun & I"m a terrible shot. I don't really need one now though with the dogs here, they have been on the job lately, of course except when Jasmine got freaked out by the fireworks & went two houses down.

My male turkey has just been doing his showoff routine almost constantly lately for his two hens. I let them out this morning for awhile & boy were they full of it, they flew down the length of the yard & one of the hens flew up the hill & then flew back. They were stretching their wings today for sure, it makes me a little nervous to see them flying around like that. I'm always afraid they'll take off. I thought there for a few minutes that the one hen was going to take off up into the backyard by herself. We do have a lot of wild turkeys around here so I don't know if she heard some outside our fence line or what. The dogs won't let them in here any more. We used to have turkeys that came & roosted in the trees down on our front 5 acres, but now they can't come in. They're not part of the inventory here & the dogs know it, so they're just not allowed, even the deer aren't allowed in any more.

I'm just sitting here taking a break, I've been moving books around & trying to do some cleaning downstairs, but after I went out & fed all the animals I was kind of in need of a sit down for a bit. I was going to ask those of you that have automatic pop doors, do you have them on a timer? I have been having quite a time with mine & I may just have to call the company tomorrow. I bought a better timer & I can't get it to open & close the door now. My other timer had quit working, so I bought a more sturdy one & since I put it up the door hasn't opened or closed automatically. I can go out & unplug it & plug it back in & then it will open or close, but not on the timer. It's really aggravating!

Finally my hens are starting to pick up on laying, I was beginning to think they weren't ever going to get to laying like they were again. The older bunch just about all went into molt at the same time & cut down on laying & then the younger ones hadn't started laying yet, so I wasn't getting many eggs for quite awhile. Some of my young pullets are starting to lay now, but not all of them yet. It seems like the Speckled Sussex are a little slower to start laying. The buff Orpington looks like she's about ready to start laying soon, but so far she hasn't. The two young hens I got from the Birdman in Arkansas City awhile back when HEChicken & I went down there are laying now, they're really nice birds. They're RIR & buff Orpington mix, but they look more RIR than Orpington. I just needed some hens to pick up the slack for the ones that don't lay that well like the Black Copper Marans. When they lay they lay nice eggs, but they're not the best layers. In the spring those two hens may be leaving along with a few others that aren't my best layers so I can get some that lay better. I love my Black Copper Marans rooster, he's gorgeous, but the hens I haven't been that impressed with. I may just use the BC Marans rooster to produce some olive eggers next year, I think that would be fun. I want to get some new Barred Rocks in the spring, those two hens I have will be two years old next year & they have been my best layers by far. They may not be that impressive to look at, but they're troopers when it comes to laying. I think they layed right through molting, I don't remember a time they weren't laying, even though that horrible summer we had. I also have been reading about the California Whites & want to try some of those next spring too. They're supposed to outlay the Leghorns. I also like the Red Star I have or any of the production reds like Gold Stars, Cinnamon Queens, etc. They're really good layers. I ordered two Anconas this spring & I think one of them is turning out to be a rooster & I ordered pullets, so I will only have one hen & she hasn't laid yet. They're another white egg layer that is supposed to be a good layer. I hatched out 3 Welsummers this year too that turned out to be pullets, so I will see how they are at laying too. They're younger than the ones I ordered this spring, so it will be awhile yet before they're old enough to lay. But maybe I will get some dark eggs from them so I don't feel so bad about getting rid of the Marans. Since they went through molting the eggs haven't been nearly as dark as they were before either. I don't know if they will darken up again or if they will stay just a darker shade than the other brown egg layers. Before molting they were really pretty, you can see the color in my avatar, but they don't look anything like that now. I just want some hens for my general laying flock that are reliable egg layers. I don't want hens that go broody all the time when I'm trying to have eggs to sell. That was my problem this summer with the Marans & the Australorps. I have two of each so that was 4 hens that were not producing most of the summer. I guess that's what is kind of nice about there being so many breeds is that you can try out some one year & if they don't work out you can try some other breeds the next year. I know some I don't want to get again now anyway.

Well I have to go get back to work, hope you all have a good night!

My hens still aren't laying. My barred rocks are, but the others aren't. Nice to hear that yours are-- I hope mine aren't too far behind! I really love the brown eggs-- just because it seems 'homey' and earthy. So I LOVE my barred rocks-- I'd get more of those. My Polish are more pretty than anything, but they laid really well all Spring and Summer. But they haven't started laying since they started molting, so I hope it's soon. I really need to do the Ivermectin worming. Going to get that done this week, I hope. Was there an egg withdrawal on that treatment????

Hopefully it's a sore muscle and she'll get over it quickly.


Back when I thought I could have kids, I'd planned to name a boy Benjamin. I love that name and he's a real cutie.

Awww, I'm so sorry you couldn't have your own. But yeah, Benjamin is a really great name.

 

[sharol]

Update on Scout. She isn't able to balance on the leg, and it is still pretty limp. I'm going to take her in to my vet early this morning. I don't really have a lot of options with her. I have to leave Thursday a.m. early, and my DH (who is a saint) is not going to want to nurse her in the house (especially if there isn't much hope for the leg). I can't have a house chicken (not going to happen, even with a diaper, even Scout). I suppose if the vet says there is permanent damage, I'll have to have her euthanized. What a hard call. I was hoping I would wake up to improvement, but it just didn't happen. Maybe Dr. Mendoza will have a suggestion.

Sigh. It had to be Scout.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

HAWKS, I wish they would move on with their migration, there was one on most every power pole yesterday, on irrigation sprinklers and fence posts, it is time for them to head south! We had one in our drive way eating a big dove, until my dogs discovered it. The big rooster won't let the hens go out in the corrals now, he keeps them up close to the barn on in the coop. The turkeys just stop in their tracks and look up at the hawks, they don't head for shelter or stay up against the barn like the chickens.

Beautiful day here yesterday, and looks like another pretty day today.

Congrats on your new "equipment"! I think you're going to love shooting them. While I was gone at Nationals, my DH called and told me that he had a friend over and they were out shooting clay pigeons in our back pasture. I was glad to be where I was, but figured, of COURSE! He would go and do something fun like that while i was GONE! LOL! Oh-- and we don't bury dead coyotes, we just drag them to the tree line and let nature take it's course. They decompose REALLY fast.

Clay pigeons are fun! I'm sure you already know clay pigeon pieces are toxic to pigs.

We don't bury coyotes, we also drag them off, they stink something terrible, dead or alive. I ruined a nice pair of leather gloves dragging one, could never get the smell out.

 

[mommahen10]

Thanks for the info about the clay pigeons Kansas Prairie, I will make sure my boys know. I cleaned up lots of them out of the pig pen before we got the pigs but only because I was just cleaning up, now I'm glad I did.

 

[chicken danz]

Danz, that's so sad about your chick but at least this way the poor thing won't have to suffer. I don't have a clue about what to do about your area that doesn't grow anything, there must be something deficient in the soil.
This area had been used as a feedlot of sorts where they guy brought his cattle in at night to feed them hay. The ground is so mellow it won't hold roots. I tried planting various things and they would just fall over when they got just so tall. I think it needs to be deep turned over, like plowed deep and then worked down. I imagine the Johnson grass survives cause It has tremendous sized roots. I am waiting to hear what kind of herbicide I can use to kill it and the horse weed out and still plant melons next spring. I hope I can get my farmer to plow it for me if he can get his big equipment in there.

Danz, what's KIA? and What's pine tar?
Know It All. Pine tar is just that. You find it in the isle with horse treatments. Typically used on horse hoofs and wounds.
Do you think that maybe those participating in that thread are just older people, maybe more opinionated? I haven't been there ever, I'm just saying maybe if we could consider where they came from we would understand the attitude better? I mean, it sounds like my dh's dad would fit in there, he's an old farmer and the animals aren't for fun they're for food. Then old people, sometimes they just think a certain way and there's no telling them otherwise. I don't always agree with what they say, but I don't take offense to it either because I know it's just how they are.
Hey! I'm older people!!!!

But I think I'm pretty nice most of the time.
Hawkeye, I'm with you, welcoming and accepting, that's something to live by. We don't have to agree with each other to be accepting.
Many of us here have became awesome friends. I accept everyone regardless. If someone steps on my toes I just go cry a bit and come back for more!

Josie, I just wanted to mention incase you are buying used diapers. I've read something about if they're washed in bleach it breaks down the waterproof part, and if they're washed with fabric softener they don't absorb as they should. I could have this completely backwards so look it up but I wanted to point it out so you could research and ask the right questions. You probably already did, but I just wanted to be sure.

Josie and anyone considering using cloth diapers or any clothing for that matter. (Let's hope yo wear clothing!!!) My children had all kinds of allergies and could only wear cloth diapers (the old kind). But even so I couldn't use normal detergent or any fabric softener or they would break out. My doctor taught me to use vinegar. It not only softens the diapers, but it brightens them and disinfects them. The vinegar smell disappears as you dry them. I often use vinegar on my clothes when they start looking too dingy. I just buy the cheapest gallons of white vinegar I can find and do a glug glug in the rinse water.
I love this thread too and coming here is my 'break time' and it's my chance to catch my breath. It would hurt me if people here were cranky with each other and it wouldn't be a break to come. I'm thankful for each of you and all of the support and help regarding chickens or otherwise.

AWWWWW, Sharol, he's just precious. I can't wait until I can post a first grandbaby pic, my oldest dd is due in March.

Congrats on your upcoming grand child!!!
Quote:

Yup! That was what everyone recommended. The savage has a really nice scope, the .22 doesn't but it is just so I can get my self together and practice until I am better to practice with the .223. Coyotes are our main problem here and we have several day time loners that are hardly fearful of humans. The one the other day was the size of a small german shepherd, scared the daylights out of me so if he comes back he is going bye bye. The coyotes that hunt at night in packs don't scare me nearly as much as the ones that trot right through our backyard like a loose dog!!!

Geez, I hadn't gotten to the part of what to do with it....that would be a pretty big hole. I don't know if I am up for the task of burying dead coyotes. Will have to come up with a plan if I actually get one!

Josie, don't forget to protect your babies ears when shooting the .223. At least wear a heavy coat to muffle the sound.

Yeah...that would take a pretty big bucket

Sharol, that is a whopper baby, so cute too! That's so exciting you get to go see him! I don't have a grandson, just a granddaughter.
I can't imagine a baby that big. I never had any over 7 pounds! They sure grew big later though!!!
Josie, it sounds like you're ready for those coyotes now! I don't have anything to shoot them with here except a hand gun & I"m a terrible shot. I don't really need one now though with the dogs here, they have been on the job lately, of course except when Jasmine got freaked out by the fireworks & went two houses down.
Marshmallow runs to the house when she hears a gun or a boom. She is scared to death of them. The other two act like they don't hear them.
My male turkey has just been doing his showoff routine almost constantly lately for his two hens. I let them out this morning for awhile & boy were they full of it, they flew down the length of the yard & one of the hens flew up the hill & then flew back. They were stretching their wings today for sure, it makes me a little nervous to see them flying around like that. I'm always afraid they'll take off. I thought there for a few minutes that the one hen was going to take off up into the backyard by herself. We do have a lot of wild turkeys around here so I don't know if she heard some outside our fence line or what. The dogs won't let them in here any more. We used to have turkeys that came & roosted in the trees down on our front 5 acres, but now they can't come in. They're not part of the inventory here & the dogs know it, so they're just not allowed, even the deer aren't allowed in any more.
My dogs chase wild turkeys off if they see them a half mile away. But the trio I have here aren't paid attention to at all. Amazing dogs!

Update on Scout. She isn't able to balance on the leg, and it is still pretty limp. I'm going to take her in to my vet early this morning. I don't really have a lot of options with her. I have to leave Thursday a.m. early, and my DH (who is a saint) is not going to want to nurse her in the house (especially if there isn't much hope for the leg). I can't have a house chicken (not going to happen, even with a diaper, even Scout). I suppose if the vet says there is permanent damage, I'll have to have her euthanized. What a hard call. I was hoping I would wake up to improvement, but it just didn't happen. Maybe Dr. Mendoza will have a suggestion.

Sigh. It had to be Scout.

That's sad. She looks very healthy to me. I don't think I would cull her regardless.
House chickens aren't bad....short term. I don't think I want one running free around here though.

Well I am having another hatch day. I have blue barred rocks, blue copper marans, and creme legbar chicks hatching. Looks like it is going to be a really good hatch. Except the creme legbars. I had at least 7 eggs out of a dozen that didn't develop at all. Very disappointing. I have a couple more that are questionable. I don't think they are alive. I think I know for sure 3 of them will hatch. At $8 an egg that really hurts!! I think I can get a few replacements later. I'd almost be better off buying chicks at $50 a pair. All the nice pretty eggs and the auto sexing isn't helpful if they don't lay fertile eggs. (These were not shipped. I got all the eggs in person at the same time so again it isn't a shipping problem.)
I've got tons on my agenda again today. I have got to do something for my DH's birthday. I may be lazy and buy a cake. I've never done that before.
I spent a few hours yesterday making stuff out of another winter melon. I am trying to make some candied winter melon. I cooked a couple of young chickens and am making winter melon and chicken soup from them. This melon was huge. I got it from my Chinese customers. I saved the seeds I could plant some next year. It's amazing stuff. It looks like a watermelon,except it is white, but when you cook it it becomes firm like a potato. It takes on whatever flavor it is cooked with. The candied winter melon is used on trays with nuts and other things, in drinks, or to make several sweet Asian recipes. Medawinks told me how to cook it and what to make. I used pork the last time I cooked it but decided to try chicken with it this time.
I am still waiting to see a picture of Sera's peacock costume too!!! Where are you besides busy Medawinks!

 

[mommahen10]

You don't act like 'old people' Danz. You don't have that just becuase that's how it is attitude. I don't think you're old and you are nice, I've never seen you be stinky to anyone. $8 per egg?!?!....coughing... choking... that's so high.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

The turkeys are still at it, first thing out of the coop and it is attack on my head tom,, geesh..
It is going to be a super busy day today but I am feeling good and am so ready to get it done. It is a great day, enjoy it everybody

 

[HEChicken]

I have a pullet shut door, have the photo sensor to open and close it, or I can set the timer with a magnet. I have a magnet out by the door so I can close it anytime.. I love my automatic door. I wish my turkeys would use it but no luck with that.

I had the opposite problem, I couldn't get any of my hens to go broody for me, I have RIRs, BAs, and PRs. Maybe you have a more motherly friendly atmosphere than I do.

I also have the pullet shut door. I have it on the photo sensor but keep the magnet at the coop so I can close the door if I need to for any reason. It has worked flawlessly so far. I don't have any advice to offer re the timers since I've never used one....sorry Trish.

Kansas Prairie, that could be me talking on the broodies. When I started, I got Buff Orpingtons because they have a reputation for going broody often. Later I got a Speckled Sussex, based on the breeds database saying they brood frequently too. Well, I have a BO who is 3 1/2 years old and never had a broody day in her life. The other BO and the SS are both now passed but neither of them brooded either. Instead, my first broody was a Black Sexlink - a breed I got to produce eggs. So you never can tell. I have my third broody now and her eggs are due to hatch this weekend but I have to say, she hasn't impressed me with her broodiness so far and she will be lucky if anything hatches. She is young - the equivalent of a teenage mom - and it shows in her maturity for the job. She gets off for hours at a time, leaving the eggs to get cold. Yesterday I discovered an egg missing and started searching through the straw for it. I eventually found it stone cold a little ways from the nest. I brought it in to warm it up and candle it and amazingly, I think I saw movement. I say "think" because it could have just been the fetus moving as a result of the egg being moved, rather than deliberate movement from the fetus. I'll find out in a few days time.

I really need to do the Ivermectin worming. Going to get that done this week, I hope. Was there an egg withdrawal on that treatment????

According to the article I read that got me started with trying it, there is no egg or meat withdrawal with the Ivermectin.

Update on Scout. She isn't able to balance on the leg, and it is still pretty limp. I'm going to take her in to my vet early this morning. I don't really have a lot of options with her. I have to leave Thursday a.m. early, and my DH (who is a saint) is not going to want to nurse her in the house (especially if there isn't much hope for the leg). I can't have a house chicken (not going to happen, even with a diaper, even Scout). I suppose if the vet says there is permanent damage, I'll have to have her euthanized. What a hard call. I was hoping I would wake up to improvement, but it just didn't happen. Maybe Dr. Mendoza will have a suggestion.

Sigh. It had to be Scout.

Sorry about Scout - I hope the vet is able to help her.

We don't bury coyotes, we also drag them off, they stink something terrible, dead or alive. I ruined a nice pair of leather gloves dragging one, could never get the smell out.

Thank you for the tip - I will try to remember this if I'm ever in this situation.

Hawkeye, congrats on the blacks - I know how much you've been wanting true blacks so glad you were finally able to acquire a top-notch pair.

Not much is going on around here - I feel very boring at the moment. My ducks have really taken to the air lately, enjoying quite long flights in circles around the property. This morning we were drinking coffee and three huge birds buzzed past our kitchen window on their way to altitude. Their accuracy is improving though and after a high, long flight, they can land on the top rail of the fence, or even the peak of the coop. They enjoy lording it over everyone for awhile before flying down into the yard to resume foraging with everyone else. Kind of fun that they could leave any time they want to now, but choose to stay in the chicken yard 99% of the time.

I hatched several batches of chicks this Fall with some trepidation because I've heard from Danz and also read elsewhere, that they tend to hatch more cockerels in the Fall. I really don't need more boys and wanted to hatch some girls to raise over the winter so by Spring they'd be ready to join the laying flock. My first hatch, 9 out of 10 eggs hatched, so I hoped that the 50/50 rule would give me 5 girls, 4 boys, but figured the opposite would be true. There were several who seemed to pink up early and I thought I had a bunch of little cockerels on my hands. But one by one, as they've grown bigger, the "boys" started looking more girly. They are now 10 weeks old and I can't hardly believe my luck. I have 1 cockerel and 8 pullets!!!

My second hatch was 100% but after DH made a comment that I was going to run out of roost space once all the chicks were full-grown, I realized he was right and I was gathering quite the motley collection so I sold a few chicks straight run on Craiglist, from that second hatch, keeping back just two chicks. I wanted to keep one that should be an Olive Egger (because the only OE from the first hatch is the cockerel) and one that is out of a Speckled Sussex, just because she is so pretty. Now that they are getting older, it is clear the two I kept are both pullets too.

So....remember the discussion several weeks ago about whether it is the rooster or the hen that determines gender? If it is the rooster, I have another reason to want to keep Cyrus - he seems to throw a lot more girls than boys.

 

[sharol]

She has always been very healthy. Threw off bumblefoot last year and lays pretty regularly.

The vet said that she doesn't have much chance of regaining full mobility, but that she may get enough to get around OK. My DH says he will look after her while I'm gone (bless him), so she is back home in the dog carrier in the "inner" garage (odd house, "inner" garage is a storage area that is really part of the original house that was at one time used as a garage - sort of heated).

I gave her a vitamin e capsule (just the liquid dripped on her beak) and all her favorite food (which she isn't eating). She is a bit more mobile but her leg is pretty limp. We will see. She will get all the chance she needs to heal.

Sharol

That's sad. She looks very healthy to me. I don't think I would cull her regardless.
House chickens aren't bad....short term. I don't think I want one running free around here though.

 

[HEChicken]

My doctor taught me to use vinegar. It not only softens the diapers, but it brightens them and disinfects them. The vinegar smell disappears as you dry them. I often use vinegar on my clothes when they start looking too dingy. I just buy the cheapest gallons of white vinegar I can find and do a glug glug in the rinse water.

Well I am having another hatch day. I have blue barred rocks, blue copper marans, and creme legbar chicks hatching. Looks like it is going to be a really good hatch. Except the creme legbars. I had at least 7 eggs out of a dozen that didn't develop at all. Very disappointing. I have a couple more that are questionable. I don't think they are alive. I think I know for sure 3 of them will hatch. At $8 an egg that really hurts!! I think I can get a few replacements later. I'd almost be better off buying chicks at $50 a pair. All the nice pretty eggs and the auto sexing isn't helpful if they don't lay fertile eggs. (These were not shipped. I got all the eggs in person at the same time so again it isn't a shipping problem.)

Where are you besides busy Medawinks!

Oh, good tip on the vinegar - I used to use that on diapers too and it works awesome. Also Danz, I took your suggestion of buying vinegar at Sam's Club and was pleased to finally find something that is cheaper at SC than at Dillons! I bought several gallons and am so glad to have it on hand. I like to pour it down sinks and into toilets for cleaning as it dissolves hard water deposits and leaves them smelling fresh. I also use it for all kinds of other cleaning (my window cleaner is just vinegar and water), and use quite a bit when I'm pickling eggs too.

That is frustrating about the low hatch rate on those expensive eggs. Hopefully you will get some good breeders out of these and then not need to buy eggs again in the future.

Yeah, there are a few people who haven't been on in awhile....Medawinks, Prairie, Pikeman and I'm sure a few others as well. Hope to hear from some of them soon....

She has always been very healthy. Threw off bumblefoot last year and lays pretty regularly.

The vet said that she doesn't have much chance of regaining full mobility, but that she may get enough to get around OK. My DH says he will look after her while I'm gone (bless him), so she is back home in the dog carrier in the "inner" garage (odd house, "inner" garage is a storage area that is really part of the original house that was at one time used as a garage - sort of heated).

I gave her a vitamin e capsule (just the liquid dripped on her beak) and all her favorite food (which she isn't eating). She is a bit more mobile but her leg is pretty limp. We will see. She will get all the chance she needs to heal.

Your DH is a keeper - that is so nice that he is willing to provide chicken care while you are gone. You might try feeding her an egg - either raw or cooked - mine seem to relish them either way. When my Cuckoo Marans was recovering from her fox attack, it was a raw egg that got her eating again, after 3 days with no food and only drinking when I dipped her beak.