Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

He's the best. When I took Misty in last fall with laying problems, he told me right up front that he doesn't do surgery on chickens (too high a mortality rate and too expensive for the client), but he was willing to gently euthanize her when it was clear there was no alternative. I like his straight forward attitude and his gentleness with the chickens. He is also my vet of choice with the dogs and my cat.

Sharol - Scout is a very pretty girl. I am glad there is hope for her. Having Dr. Mendoza as a vet is so great. Anyone close enough to Emporia to make the trip there should know ~ there is an avian vet in
Emporia. I hope he stays for a long time.

Oh, that "little" grandson is pretty great also. You are going to enjoy him so much.

 

[mommahen10]

Karen, do you post your layouts somewhere? I'd love to check them out. I hope that your dd is safe.

HEChicken, we totally quit trying to give them to the chickens. I want to try it again now. Maybe they had too much other stuff to eat at the time and snubbed the peppers, considering the time of year I normally throw out garden goodies to them.

 

[michelleml]

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.

What a cutie congrats

 

[mikeksfarmer]

for the record I believe that sex in birds is determind by the female. That would mean that the female has the xy complement. I know this is true in Cardnals so I think its the same for chickens.
On the good site thing, glad you all are sharing daily activities and both chanllanges and success. I was one of the trouble makers of the past. I guess I had a problem with some people saying things that were not true so they could sell. I know we all probably share things that may or may not be true thats why we are on a forum. I find this place a site for learning and happy to see the babies both human and animal. Thanks to you all for makeing this a site I enjoy again.
Mike

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Wow it was a wonderful day, Such a productive day and I still have lots to do. But tomorrow is another day.
Chickendanz I really enjoyed meeting you, your calm demeaner makes it easy to talk to you. Thank you for all you have done, you should have seen my daughters face lol, priceless. I look forward to our next visit maybe we will have alittle more time next time.
I hope everyone had a good day and evening.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Hey all!
I know it's been awhile, but it's been a rough couple weeks for me. More hospital stays and ER visits. I have my procedure on Friday to hopefully cut down on some of these symptoms. The dang nausea is what's getting me the worst lately.

Sorry, but I can't catch up on all 600+ posts I missed. LOL. I hope everyone is doing well. My birds are still doing fine. I never did catch that dang possum, but we think it might have gotten hit by a car because it's completely disappearded.

 

[JosieChick]

Yeah, I'm sick of the hawks and owls here. The hawks are especially bad here! They keep checking out my birds and it's making me nervous! Didn't know clay pigeons are toxic to pigs! I don't have any pigs, but had the thought in the back of my mind to keep one for butcher some time. That is too bad about your gloves. We use the tractor scoop-- I've never touched a coyote. When one dies, I just scoop it up in my bucket on the tractor and lift it over the fence line and release it into the tree line. They do smell!
Yuck. Good to know they are stinky before I ruin a pair of gloves too! May have to come up with something genius to move dead coyotes with, maybe the lawn mower....

Thanks, HeChicken! Yeah, I've contacted several people in the last few weeks trying to hunt down a pair of blacks. But no one had any that I'd want. They were bad culls, nothing nice and in one case--- VERY pricey-- more so than what I paid on these. And one lady nicely told me she never sells to the public... I wonder what she does with all her extra roosters and culls??? I'm not going to be like that. I'm not going to be one of those people you can't get birds from or charge an arm and a leg from. I know what I paid for my pair, but still, I don't see myself charging that much for someone else--- most people don't have a few hundred to drop on birds, and it makes it harder to obtain. My goal is to breed full black on black and never cross into any other color with them. But I want to make my culls accessible and affordable, too.
I think some breeders are reluctant to just pass off their hard work to someone who is just going to run around willy nilly and be irresponsible with it. I know in the cochin world it is like that. To get a good start in a color of bantam cochins you have to be trust worthy. I think a lot of cochin breeders kill their cull birds so they don't go on to be bred as inferior birds. I have culled a few cochin cockerels that were just not something I would ever get into the hands of someone who might let it reproduce. I feel badly but I can't feed birds that have major faults and I also don't ethically want to worry about people thinking just because the bird looks nice overall that they have the authority to decide to breed it. I hope I never get to the point where I am not willing to share but I don't intend to mass produce or market my cochins like that either. That is the other reason a lot of breeders in the cochin ring will not sell you eggs or chicks. If you are a newbie you get started birds that are of breeding or show quality. It takes a lot of trust to get eggs from a fellow cochin breeder that knows you will cull hard and breed responsibly.

I lean towards the "rooster MUST have more say in gender" thought, too. I really can't imagine that all the sex genes are in the egg... no other species is like that... right? Perhaps I'm wrong, it just seems extreme, and if you have a rooster working out for you and throwing you more girls than boys, I don't think that is coincidence.

Sounds like you're having a great time hunting down diapers! So fun! I'm not a big fan of AIO's. Just because they take soooooo long to dry. I LOVE pocket diapers-- they are the BEST!! They dry in half the time. Plus, you can add extra inserts to double them for night time and naps or long car rides. I love older homes-- they have so much more charm than the new cookie-cutter homes. Listen to me... what am I living in?!?! LOL We built our own "cookie cutter home" in 2000. But we also put in hardwood floors through out the entire place. You can't have kids and carpet... that just does not mix! ick! I'm so excited for you, I hope you get the house! Get those comps from your realtor so you can figure out a fair price and have her go in to bat and TELL them why you picked your number and you are not trying to screw them, but play fair. A good realtor should be able to explain it and talk them into being more accepting of your offer.
I am! DH thinks I am nuts. He thinks we shouldn't worry about it until the baby gets here but that time is going to fly by and I don't want to be scrambling to find the things I really want or need. I should clarify most of the bum genius diapers I have looked at are the pocket diapers, sometimes they are listed as AIOs...not sure why. Thought we would start with a few AIOs to ease DH into cloth diapering which he is nervous about his ability to do well!
This house is super cool, very eclectic. It was built in 1896 I think. It has almost all original hardwood floors and is a beautiful location. It has a pretty wrap around porch and very sunny during the day which I love! Our realtor seems very capable and confident. He and DH are going tomorrow to look at it again and discuss the finer points of an offer. I wish I didn't have to work!

OH!! I almost forgot-- here is Josie, named after Josie! LOL And her coop card that says #1!

(pictures are clickable to enlarge them)

How cute! Guess its hard to say what they like until they come along and can really express their true feelings!!!

My wife became pregnant with our oldest daughter shortly after we moved to Kansas for graduate work at KU in the 1990s (both of us were working on doctoral music degrees in organ performance). The baby would kick ferociously whenever Liz played Bach. We thought she loved it. She would start crying anytime she heard liz practicing Bach after she was born. She still dislikes organ music to this day, and has only gone to recitals when there is a boy she likes attending.

Oh dear! No shower curtain diapers for me! We bought nice cotton terry cloth pre formed diapers. So they are a shape of a diaper with snaps and are adjustable. I have a few covers and will purchase a few more in different sizes. We are also buying the all in one and pocket diapers so DH can get good at baby diaper wrangling. He hasn't been around kids and I don't want to do ALL the diapering so we have to make it DH friendly.

My mom diapered us in flats and she was astounded that we would spend $14 or more on one diaper but if it keeps me from doing all the work it will be worth it. Plus if we need to use daycare someday a lot of them won't use cloth diapers if they are "too difficult" to put on and I would like to stick with cloth diapers until potty training. I read the other day that cloth diapered babies potty train earlier and easier than disposable diapered babies because they are more aware of when their diaper is wet. Another perk!!!

Chickies-duckies, our chickens won't eat any of the hot peppers. We lived in Emporia for a long time, which vet clinic is Dr. Mendoza with?

Josie, I'm not up on all of the diaper names, I've heard of the names but I don't know what's what. I used the flat diapers you have to fold, sometimes pre-folded and diaper pins. I changed how I folded it to fit the baby. Anyway, some of the diapers now are sold by certain name brands but different people make them, as a stay at home mom job kind of thing. I know one lady who makes cloth diapers and sells them on eBay, they're adorable and I love this lady, she's so sweet but I have to warn too. She and I were talking about sewing and we gathered supplies to make diapers for another lady, I got most of the stuff and she put them together. Anyway, she generally uses cheap shower curtain for her waterproof layer which I don't think will hold up to heavy use.

The talk about the baby hearing the noise is funny. When I was pg with my 8 yo I was doing uphostery work on some chairs and using an electric staple gun and it was so loud and right against me and every time I popped that thing she would jump. Well, this summer when we were using that staple gun she skipped through the kitchen and said I don't know why but I like that sound and just that fast she skipped right back out. I started cracking up. I'm sure your baby will do fine with the sounds.

When I was pregnant with our daughter in 1995, we went to a fourth of july celebration. (she was due in late October/early November) Everytime there was an explosion, she kicked so hard we had to leave. My DH thought it was hilarious, but he wasn't the one getting kicked in the bladder and diaphram. To this day she hates loud fireworks.

 

[chicken danz]

Wow Danz, which breed was that? I can't imagine paying that much for chicks because it would be too traumatic if something happened to them. Whoever bought those must just have money sitting around to burn, must be nice.
Lizzy, that's funny, I'll bet it was entertaining to watch!
Here you go: a link to the auction. I was wrong- they went for $1420 for the pair not $1250.
http://www.rarebreedauctions.com/au...ir-to-be-released-in-the-us&auction_id=108212

All of my multi-quotes didn't come through darn it. Danz, are you going to be raising those blue barred rocks? I can't wait to see what they look like. I want to get some more barred rock chicks next spring so I have some coming up for when my others stop laying, they're just my best layers. I wonder if the blues are as good as the regular barred rocks at laying? I'm sorry about your expensive eggs, I can empathize with you on that. I wasted quite a bit of money this year on eggs that I got nothing from also.
Yes I am raising the blues. It's work in progress. She is like 4 generations into this and I do have a couple of outstanding looking chicks. The problem with them is that you have to interject a regular barred rock rooster in there every now and then to keep the barring consistent. I think it is working really well.

oh no, I hope she does improve!


Yeah, I'm sick of the hawks and owls here. The hawks are especially bad here! They keep checking out my birds and it's making me nervous! Didn't know clay pigeons are toxic to pigs! I don't have any pigs, but had the thought in the back of my mind to keep one for butcher some time. That is too bad about your gloves. We use the tractor scoop-- I've never touched a coyote. When one dies, I just scoop it up in my bucket on the tractor and lift it over the fence line and release it into the tree line. They do smell!
I'm with ya sister! I don't like touching dead predators. Love my tractor.

I lean towards the "rooster MUST have more say in gender" thought, too. I really can't imagine that all the sex genes are in the egg... no other species is like that... right? Perhaps I'm wrong, it just seems extreme, and if you have a rooster working out for you and throwing you more girls than boys, I don't think that is coincidence.
I'm going to do some more research on this away from forums and see if I can get some information from one of the university studies.
LOL I'd be okay with chickens for xmas!! hehehe!
So would I! In fact my daughter whom I am hatching white orps for for Christmas called me and she has reserved a trio of Olandsk babies for me for Christmas.

I think that's neat that people are going back to heritage and rare breeds. They are the original birds we crossed into to begin with, they should not disappear. You should keep in contact with Jen (RevolutionMamaRanch) she is doing the same thing. I follow her on facebook. I enjoy reading about her heritage and rare pursuits. But my only question is.... because they are so rare, are people still breeding them to SOP (standard of perfection) or is the breed slipping on Type? When you have so few to work with, how hard do you cull to maintain standard???
Many of the heritage breeds aren't even listed in the the SOP. Lots of them are imports that have never been in the U.S. The Breda as I stated was never listed in the SOP because it went by so many different names depending on what country those particular birds originated from.
Quote: From Feathersite

Although usually considered a Dutch breed, the Breda may be French in origin. The Dutch call the breed Kraaikops, leading some English writers to confuse it with the Kraienkopp (Kraienkoppe for English speakers). The other names, including a few that I didn't mention, are based on the region of Holland where it was most common and where most experts believe it originated.​

Prior to the Civil War, the Breda was a fairly common breed in the U.S., where they were usually called Guelderlands or sometimes Guelders. As recently as 1867, Solon Robinson in the poultry section of his book, Wisdom of the Land, mentions them as a common breed.

OH!! I almost forgot-- here is Josie, named after Josie! LOL And her coop card that says #1!

(pictures are clickable to enlarge them)

She is beautiful! Quite the bird once she got all prettied up!

My wife became pregnant with our oldest daughter shortly after we moved to Kansas for graduate work at KU in the 1990s (both of us were working on doctoral music degrees in organ performance). The baby would kick ferociously whenever Liz played Bach. We thought she loved it. She would start crying anytime she heard liz practicing Bach after she was born. She still dislikes organ music to this day, and has only gone to recitals when there is a boy she likes attending.

The talk about the baby hearing the noise is funny. When I was pg with my 8 yo I was doing uphostery work on some chairs and using an electric staple gun and it was so loud and right against me and every time I popped that thing she would jump. Well, this summer when we were using that staple gun she skipped through the kitchen and said I don't know why but I like that sound and just that fast she skipped right back out. I started cracking up. I'm sure your baby will do fine with the sounds.

Love it! Yep! That is more along the lines of my experiences.

I'm sorry Danz. So now what? Now you're going to be on the lookout again for another predator, that STINKS!

Yeah I guess I'm back on predator alert. I looked again this evening and she is just gone. I know it sounds weird to be affectional toward a bird that is useless in terrns of eggs or meat or breeding. But she was the ultimate of sweethears!

Hi all! I'm 38 posts behind so thought I would say hey before I start reading. I've been crafting, doing some scrapbook layouts in preparation for selling (to help finance my chicken addiction). I'm probably going to be busy until Christmas but will stop in once a day to catch up. I miss you guys! Hope I finish my crafting sooner than I think.

I haven't heard from my "oldest daughter" who is a chiropractor in Connecticutt. She's a smart young woman so I know she's fine, I will just feel better once I've heard from her. She isn't really our daughter but lived with us for 2.5 years while she was doing pre-med at WSU. Oh! She's coming home for Thanksgiving -- so excited to see her!

I miss you! Wish I could help you!

for the record I believe that sex in birds is determind by the female. That would mean that the female has the xy complement. I know this is true in Cardnals so I think its the same for chickens.
On the good site thing, glad you all are sharing daily activities and both chanllanges and success. I was one of the trouble makers of the past. I guess I had a problem with some people saying things that were not true so they could sell. I know we all probably share things that may or may not be true thats why we are on a forum. I find this place a site for learning and happy to see the babies both human and animal. Thanks to you all for makeing this a site I enjoy again.
Mike

I'm glad you are taking another stab at it Mike. We are all good people here. I for one am waiting to hear some more of your recipes. Remember we are all here as friends and to share and help each other when we can.

Wow it was a wonderful day, Such a productive day and I still have lots to do. But tomorrow is another day.
Chickendanz I really enjoyed meeting you, your calm demeaner makes it easy to talk to you. Thank you for all you have done, you should have seen my daughters face lol, priceless. I look forward to our next visit maybe we will have alittle more time next time.
I hope everyone had a good day and evening.

It was very nice to meet you too. You are a very pretty young lady. You should be very proud of yourself. I do hope your kids are thrilled. ...and you too.

 

[Hawkeye95]

for the record I believe that sex in birds is determind by the female. That would mean that the female has the xy complement. I know this is true in Cardnals so I think its the same for chickens.
On the good site thing, glad you all are sharing daily activities and both chanllanges and success. I was one of the trouble makers of the past. I guess I had a problem with some people saying things that were not true so they could sell. I know we all probably share things that may or may not be true thats why we are on a forum. I find this place a site for learning and happy to see the babies both human and animal. Thanks to you all for makeing this a site I enjoy again.
Mike

I think this particular thread is running pretty smoothly with everyone respecting everyone else, so it is nice, I agree. There is something to be said about arguing your own point with tact and grace when you disagree with someone else. I see that happening here often-- if someone disagrees, it's done in a very calm and respectful way and usually backed up with supporting evidence of some kind. It's nice, because I don't think anyone wants to say something that is faulty or lie on purpose. It's great how this group has been getting along with each other and is very accepting of newbies and anyone else piping up. I'm glad you are finding it enjoyable and relaxing to be on the board.

Okay, so I had NO clue that Cardinals were like that-- that the eggs held the sex genes. VERY interesting! I find that kind of crazy! Not that I don't believe it, but goes to show how much relational distance they have from us. I hope it averages out pretty evenly (gender 50/50), but I still wonder if temperature or any outside influences can possibly change the gender? Or is it like humans where the DNA is pretty much set from the beginning.

Hey all!
I know it's been awhile, but it's been a rough couple weeks for me. More hospital stays and ER visits. I have my procedure on Friday to hopefully cut down on some of these symptoms. The dang nausea is what's getting me the worst lately.

Sorry, but I can't catch up on all 600+ posts I missed. LOL. I hope everyone is doing well. My birds are still doing fine. I never did catch that dang possum, but we think it might have gotten hit by a car because it's completely disappearded.

OMGosh, I was totally thinking about you today! I was going to send you a PM to see if you were okay! I have been worried about you and keep thinking about you. I sure hope your procedure will help you feel better. Especially over the holidays! This is such an awful thing to have been dealt. I hope it clears up after Friday!

How cute! Guess its hard to say what they like until they come along and can really express their true feelings!!!
Oh dear! No shower curtain diapers for me! We bought nice cotton terry cloth pre formed diapers. So they are a shape of a diaper with snaps and are adjustable. I have a few covers and will purchase a few more in different sizes. We are also buying the all in one and pocket diapers so DH can get good at baby diaper wrangling. He hasn't been around kids and I don't want to do ALL the diapering so we have to make it DH friendly.

My mom diapered us in flats and she was astounded that we would spend $14 or more on one diaper but if it keeps me from doing all the work it will be worth it. Plus if we need to use daycare someday a lot of them won't use cloth diapers if they are "too difficult" to put on and I would like to stick with cloth diapers until potty training. I read the other day that cloth diapered babies potty train earlier and easier than disposable diapered babies because they are more aware of when their diaper is wet. Another perk!!!

My favorite cover is the Thirsties covers. You can not go wrong on those! I'm not a huge fan of the other covers. I have a Thristies cover... in PINK! If you have a girl, I have a newborn set of organic Bamboo fitteds (by BlueBerries with the umbelical fold down snap) with the Thirsties cover. (I got rid of all of my other covers) Sounds like an awesome house! Can't wait to hear how it goes!

Josie isn't laying yet. But when she does, I have a really pretty blue boy waiting for her!

I think the cross will give me a darker splash and he has a nice big crest. Hoping her chicks will be A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!

She is beautiful! Quite the bird once she got all prettied up!

Yeah I guess I'm back on predator alert. I looked again this evening and she is just gone. I know it sounds weird to be affectional toward a bird that is useless in terrns of eggs or meat or breeding. But she was the ultimate of sweethears!
I miss you! Wish I could help you!
I'm glad you are taking another stab at it Mike. We are all good people here. I for one am waiting to hear some more of your recipes. Remember we are all here as friends and to share and help each other when we can.
It was very nice to meet you too. You are a very pretty young lady. You should be very proud of yourself. I do hope your kids are thrilled. ...and you too.

oh shoot!! I sure hope it's not ANOTHER feathered predator getting your birds again. UGH!!!

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Hey all!
I know it's been awhile, but it's been a rough couple weeks for me. More hospital stays and ER visits. I have my procedure on Friday to hopefully cut down on some of these symptoms. The dang nausea is what's getting me the worst lately.

Sorry, but I can't catch up on all 600+ posts I missed. LOL. I hope everyone is doing well. My birds are still doing fine. I never did catch that dang possum, but we think it might have gotten hit by a car because it's completely disappearded.

I have been thinking about you , I am so glad you are doing good. I am glad your birds are all ok. I wish you lots of luck on friday and a speady recovery.

Danz- I am sorry to hear about your missing cochin. It is always the sweetest ones. Thank you for the compliments. We are all very lucky to have you as a friend, and these new arrivals have made me so happy, they are all very special little ones and all are doing great and settling in. The cochins are in their pen snuggled up, they are both so sweet, when I got them home and took them out one at a time and held them and they just snuggled up to me and layed in my arms. We named them Beauty and Beast. I am a cochin fan now.