***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[lonnyandrinda]

Is it normal for a bird to roost in a nesting box? My little EE pullet is sleeping in a nest box instead of on the roost bar. As long as it won't hurt anything I don't mind but was curious. I think the top hen was kind of picking on her so she tried to roost outside in the run the past two nights. I just put her on the roost bar away from my buff and she slept there all night. Tonight she was inside the coop but in the box. Just has me curious.

You guys have me wanting to run over to the county assessors office next week to ask about that tax exemption. I guess the worst they can say is no right?

SDS

My understanding (with my limited experience) is that they like to roost HIGH. Our coop is designed so two of the nest boxes are higher than the roost, and until I blocked them with cardboard boxes everyone slept in the nest boxes. Now that they are blocked they mostly sleep on the roost except for one or two stubborn ones.

I'm with you about the tax exemption, we were just told last week that under 5 acres would not qualify but I guess that's not true, Rogers County is who we are fighting. I wonder where we go from here, OTC?

 

[jcatblum]

Sleeping in nest boxes is something that most of my birds tried at first. I just move them to the roost every night & usually they decide they like the roost. Have noticed some that are low in the pecking order prefer not to roost with the big birds. I put a few roost in 2 other spaces in the main coop & that helped bunches.

Gary England is talking about things cooling down after August 6th!!! Hope he doesn't change his mind as it gets closer. My garden still looks pretty good, the greenbeans that I left have been stripped by the grasshoppers & squash plants eliminated by squash-- hopefully we will still have a nice fall garden. Been so busy only managed to plant corn & greenbeans for fall. Need to get orginized & see what else I am going to grow for fall. Think I am going to try some fall peas & greens just haven't decided. I think any greens I will grow in my hoop house, out in the yard they will become grasshopper chow quickly.

 

[mjgigax]

Hey Okiesawyers, I saw you were from Dover but actually had no idea where Dover was until today when we drove through on the way to take our daughter to church camp. I waved at ya even though I had no idea whereabouts you lived other than in the creek bottom.

Did you see me? Ha.

I've read so many different things about farm tax numbers that we didn't think we had enough land or birds to get one so we hadn't tried, but reading this latest batch of posts we're going to try at least on Wednesday to find out what we actually need in our county to get it done.

Got all the trees trimmed out of the fence line today to start the driveway move to the back of the property. So tired of dealing with the crazy neighbors who now say they are "watching" us. What the blip does that mean? Anyway, we got the chain link loose and ready to move, cut the top rail, and got the post pulled out to move in the morning to it's new location. Finally did a bunch of measuring too. We weren't sure how much space we would have for our car due to a tree and an electric pole in the alley but surprisingly we will have tons more room than we have now. I'm so happy. Tomorrow we will set the new post in concrete, move the banty pen and fence of the chicken yard to give us enough room to actually park the car back there tomorrow. Then, hopefully on Wednesday we can finish the garage conversion and move the birds in there so we can get the current chicken house taken apart and start laying gravel. If only we were about ten more people we could get it all done by Wednesday ... but my son hasn't figured out how to replicate us yet so.

Got the snot bit out of me by one of my banty roosters today. He literally grabbed the back of my hand and twisted while biting. It took a lot of control not to throw him into a wall. He's such a beautiful bird (mottled cochin) and we got him to be a show bird but he's gotten really bitey and aggressive. I just hate it because we don't know what to do with him now. Any ideas? And our other banty rooster, a golden sebright that is also just beautiful, crows all the time whenever anyone is around. Is that a breed trait or something? It's our first time with bantys and cochins and sebrights.

That is rare behavior for a Cochin. Most are sweet and friendly. Not sure how to deal with it. Maybe a squirt gun, a mini version lke Kass's hose treatment?

 

[BlanchardOK]

FYI on the tax exemption - your only fill the form out at your county it goes to the state and I spoke with the office that makes choices No Land at all needed!!!! so just ask the county to let ya till it out anyway. They send them off and you will get everything from the state.

 

[poultryand bees]

Just a quick post to say "hello" and let everyone know that EggCartons.com has free shipping until August 5 - with the code
SHIPPER

I need some replacement bulbs for my cool light egg tester and have been putting off ordering them, because of the postage every place that carries them. Guess what I am ordering today - with free shipping

 

[Kassaundra]

Hey Okiesawyers, I saw you were from Dover but actually had no idea where Dover was until today when we drove through on the way to take our daughter to church camp. I waved at ya even though I had no idea whereabouts you lived other than in the creek bottom.

Did you see me? Ha.

I've read so many different things about farm tax numbers that we didn't think we had enough land or birds to get one so we hadn't tried, but reading this latest batch of posts we're going to try at least on Wednesday to find out what we actually need in our county to get it done.

Got all the trees trimmed out of the fence line today to start the driveway move to the back of the property. So tired of dealing with the crazy neighbors who now say they are "watching" us. What the blip does that mean? Anyway, we got the chain link loose and ready to move, cut the top rail, and got the post pulled out to move in the morning to it's new location. Finally did a bunch of measuring too. We weren't sure how much space we would have for our car due to a tree and an electric pole in the alley but surprisingly we will have tons more room than we have now. I'm so happy. Tomorrow we will set the new post in concrete, move the banty pen and fence of the chicken yard to give us enough room to actually park the car back there tomorrow. Then, hopefully on Wednesday we can finish the garage conversion and move the birds in there so we can get the current chicken house taken apart and start laying gravel. If only we were about ten more people we could get it all done by Wednesday ... but my son hasn't figured out how to replicate us yet so.

Got the snot bit out of me by one of my banty roosters today. He literally grabbed the back of my hand and twisted while biting. It took a lot of control not to throw him into a wall. He's such a beautiful bird (mottled cochin) and we got him to be a show bird but he's gotten really bitey and aggressive. I just hate it because we don't know what to do with him now. Any ideas? And our other banty rooster, a golden sebright that is also just beautiful, crows all the time whenever anyone is around. Is that a breed trait or something? It's our first time with bantys and cochins and sebrights.

I know what that would mean to me, getting a big gaurd dog and a couple of cameras in stratigic places.


For the roo, water boarding him, worked like a charm on my boy that was getting too aggressive. One lesson is all it has taken so far and that has been a couple of weeks now. I took the water hose on the strongest level it had (jet) and everytime he looked at me I sprayed him until he was out of spray range. (I was aiming for the head b/c I was soooooo angry b/c of the throbbing hole in my leg at the time) I sprayed him all that day, I was out most of the day anyway working on the garden.

 

[NanaKat]

I've read so many different things about farm tax numbers that we didn't think we had enough land or birds to get one so we hadn't tried, but reading this latest batch of posts we're going to try at least on Wednesday to find out what we actually need in our county to get it done.


Got the snot bit out of me by one of my banty roosters today. He literally grabbed the back of my hand and twisted while biting. It took a lot of control not to throw him into a wall. He's such a beautiful bird (mottled cochin) and we got him to be a show bird but he's gotten really bitey and aggressive. I just hate it because we don't know what to do with him now. Any ideas? And our other banty rooster, a golden sebright that is also just beautiful, crows all the time whenever anyone is around. Is that a breed trait or something? It's our first time with bantys and cochins and sebrights.

This worked for me and LilGuy: Put him in a cage by himself with water available. Feed him in the morning and evening by hand. Food in a cup you hold will work. Hold him while he eats. If he bites, put him back in the cage with no feed. Try 15 minutes later again. If he bites, back in the cage for another 15 minutes. If he bites again, it's back in the cagewith only water until the next morning or evening feeding. He won't starve. They eat less in the heat of the day now anyway. He will soon associate you with food and will not be so mean. (Thank you to Stephanie Jarvis for the advice)

Sleeping in nest boxes is something that most of my birds tried at first. I just move them to the roost every night & usually they decide they like the roost. Have noticed some that are low in the pecking order prefer not to roost with the big birds. I put a few roost in 2 other spaces in the main coop & that helped bunches.

Gary England is talking about things cooling down after August 6th!!! Hope he doesn't change his mind as it gets closer. My garden still looks pretty good, the greenbeans that I left have been stripped by the grasshoppers & squash plants eliminated by squash-- hopefully we will still have a nice fall garden. Been so busy only managed to plant corn & greenbeans for fall. Need to get orginized & see what else I am going to grow for fall. Think I am going to try some fall peas & greens just haven't decided. I think any greens I will grow in my hoop house, out in the yard they will become grasshopper chow quickly.

Channel 4 predicts 40% chance of rain on Thursday and 20% on Friday....

I have several older girls that sleep in the nest boxes just cause they don't want to be hustled out of their favorite spots.

Quote: I'd say your crazy neighbors are trying to intimidate you so you will leave their lab alone. I agree with Kass...I'd set up a few hidden cameras and get a big guard dog. If they are running a lab, do they have frequent visitors?
When we lived in OKC back in the 1980s, we had a neighbor that always had a yellow car parked in his driveway one week out of the month. The first day of the week he would take the wheels off and the two front seats out and take them to the back yard. Then he would have many vehicles arriving all evening and into the night for several days. Hubby's contacts with the police department netted us an overnight visitor in the guest bedroom in the front of the house for several days. They closed the neighbor's operation down.

 

[NanaKat]

Also for those interested in the rising cost of feed:
We buy bulk super 20% range cubes in 3/4 inch diameter
Prices went up this week to $323 per ton. Our bulk trailer hold 2.5 tons
Here is this year's history on prices...
Jan to March $305 per ton
April $300
May $280
June $291
now $332 an increase of $41 this month and $52 since May 21

Because of our Farm tax number we save on sales tax....
We filled the trailer 2 times in both Jan and Feb and once each month so far. If we have to start feeding hay early agin this year because of grass drying up, we will be back to filling twice a month. Cattle need cubes to warm their stomachs so they will eat the hay and dry grasses.

I'll go back and look at the chicken feed prices now and see how tht has been rising.

 

[mjgigax]

I have several older girls that sleep in the nest boxes just cause they don't want to be hustled out of their favorite spots.

They are so funny. I like to go out after dark and just marvel at where they choose to sleep and wonder why the chose where thet do. So of mine lite to sleep on the top of their coop in the pens, rain or shine. I tried to break them in case of bad weather. A couple of Partridge Cochin hens just refused but when it snowed they went in on their own. It must be genetic because their daughters do it too.

 

[Naphiri]

My Polish died last night. I also had a fan, a mister and a foot bath for the chickens. My other birds are fine but she began to act like she had a stroke or something. She just became "silly," later lost her balance and then could not support her own body weight. Her poo smelled foul as well. Not very nice. I don't know what role the heat played but it couldn't have helped. Sorry for your loss.