***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Poco Pollo]

Hope everyone is safe this evening. We listed to the news earlier, and DH is following the progress of the fire fighters on his phone. We were able to see a murky haze to the northwest before sundown. There's bound to be a lot of wildlife displaced by the fires. I imagine a lot of poultry predators will be hungry and on the move.

Had a wonderful visit with Robin and her husband today. Now that I've seen their mister, I'm considering getting one. Our chickens would stand in front of it all day. So might the cats, though, since all they do now is lie around like melted pudding pops. I don't think they've caught a mouse in weeks! Maybe the mice are laying around like melted bon bons.

 

[artsyrobin]

i have silkie babies hatching in the bator- only i set up the brooder and you guessed it, the bulb is out- what alternative is there to those bulbs? will a regular bulb work in a pinch?

 

[michaeldaugherty]

Kimbro we injoyd the video an are so thankful for you guy's that you all are ok an still have your house to come home to ...

 

[Poco Pollo]

i have silkie babies hatching in the bator- only i set up the brooder and you guessed it, the bulb is out- what alternative is there to those bulbs? will a regular bulb work in a pinch?

I had the same thing happen to me before. I put a piece of hardware cloth across the top of the brooder and put a 65 watt bulb into the metal clamp lamp. I set the lamp on the hardware cloth and tied the clamp to a nearby shelf so that it couldn't fall into the brooder if it got bumped. The babies huddled together, but they were okay for a day. I replaced my burnt out brooder lamp the next day. Hope all your silkie babies hatch : )

 

[Kassaundra]

Hope everyone is safe this evening. We listed to the news earlier, and DH is following the progress of the fire fighters on his phone. We were able to see a murky haze to the northwest before sundown. There's bound to be a lot of wildlife displaced by the fires. I imagine a lot of poultry predators will be hungry and on the move.

Had a wonderful visit with Robin and her husband today. Now that I've seen their mister, I'm considering getting one. Our chickens would stand in front of it all day. So might the cats, though, since all they do now is lie around like melted pudding pops. I don't think they've caught a mouse in weeks! Maybe the mice are laying around like melted bon bons.

So far my chickens are better mousers then my cats. I was moving some wood the other day and they found a nest of mostly grown ones, it was over in seconds, all 8 were turned into eggs.

The chick I thought that had been got by a preditor yesterday must have been playing hide and seek b/c she was back today. Woo Hoo.

 

[Ksane]

OMG Kimbroe! How scary!!!

Kass, I'm so glad your little one is back )

 

[nnbreeder]

Kimbroe I'm glad to see the house was spared. Fire is scary stuff and seems at times to have a mind of it's own.

 

[Kimbroe1981]

It's crazy! My husband and I are taking turns waking up every hour to check and make sure non of these hot spots go back up. But it seems the wind has died down, so hopefully we're in the clear.

My neighbors to the east were not so lucky. Total loss to 2 of them that I know of so far. Your prayers are greatly appreciated over this way!

Hope everyone has a great evening! Night!

 

[nnbreeder]

nearly 2am and I just came in from outside. The breeze is almost cold and put goosebumps on my arms with the added humidity in the air. Big lightning off to the NE and I hope there is a lot of good moisture coming out of those clouds.

Kimbroe once things calm down I think that I would look into getting rid of everthing under about 3 or 4 inches in diameter. There is a do-dad called a Kansas Clipper that is basically a shear that mounts to the three point on a tractor or a skid steer. It will make short work of that brush. If nothing else rent a small back hoe and pop them out one by one. Cedars would be the first to go. A wooded area is pretty but it is also a very real danger. As I told Buster they make small equipment for 4 wheelers up to and including front loaders which would work really well in the trees.

By clearing out the brush and undergrowth it will help to grow grass and be a pretty nice pasture. Come about Sept. 1st you can go in and overseed with wheat and in about 45-60 days have good graze out. Graze before that and instead of pulling the leaves off it will pull the plant out.

The older horse drawn equipment should be small enough to use behind a 4 wheeler. Before I got a grain drill I used a broadcast spreader and then followed that up with a light discing and whatever I planted came up in nice pretty rows.

I forgot to add. Grass seed is tiny so if you run it through a broadcast spreader an old trick is to mix it well with fine sand. That way the sand will help to regulate it as it flows through the spreader.

 

[Elbert Garrett]

Good Morning friends and neighbors!

It`s a beautiful 77°F and the predicted high will be under 100°F....A lot of folks out here lost power last nite, that made for a few miserable hours but in the grand scheme of things it was a humbling experience.....My heart felt condolences go out to those who have lost everything to these devastating wildfires...Remember to wear smile and count your blessings!