***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[NanaKat]

Thanks Okladoodle, we really do stry busy around here. Calving season has started early and we won't get a long breath until mid May.

Brought home 40 chicks from Carl that hatched last week from eggs from my 4 breeding pens. Then finished getting all the new birds situated....love the Splash and Blue Rosecomb cockerels. The girls will be ready for new men in their pen soon.
Then I got ready to move eggs in the incubator to the hatcher and heard peeping...one chick had already hatched two days early and four were already pipped! Hatch date is the 11th.
It's been pretty damp here all day...two cows in beginning stages of labor..hope they birth before the rains hit.

 

[Okla-doodle-doo]

The roo is a red pyle except that the white has a bluish tint,one hen is blue splash and one hen is solid blue. No none of the have any tuffs.I don't know if that means they are poor quality or not pure or means nothing. I need to read up on this breed I guess!

 

[mjgigax]

Shelby I keep my main pen pretty open, during the cold months we staple heavy duty plastic over the largest 2-3 opening. It is still pretty vented since the other wall is privacy fence boards. The plastic drastically warms the coop though. And leaving it open keeps a breeze going most days. A couple times spring storms have wet a large portion of the coop, and that is with 16ft between the opening & back wall. If you are doing a small coop my only concerned is the birds getting soaked when it rains.
As spring storms approach, everyone keep an eye out for privacy fence pannels. We seem to always find a new trailer load of pannels just before the last load runs out. They don't have to be broken apart & make easy quick walls. Defiantly our favorite building material here. If you can find pannels you will fall in love with using them for all you pens.

I have little coops inside pens covered with shade cloth. in the winter I have visqueen covering the North and West sides. That keeps the inside of the pens quite nice inside. Cochins can tollerate alot of cold if they are out of the wind.

 

[mjgigax]

Evening all my Okie friends!
Nana you have got to be the busyiest woman I have ever heard tell of,well except for maybe Kass!lol You all sure do stay busy. Allways enjoy the farm and garden reports from both of you!

Got ot go to the auction today. It was a huge turn out. Nice day spent visiting with new and old friends. Lots of interesting birds and animals to look at. Goats are going really high here. As are sheep,mostly the hair sheep. Hogs are way down. Saw several 300-500 pounders sell for $50! Of course they were boars so the meat would have been bad till they were cut. But even young "thin" sows as we used call them were under $50 . I guess the grain prices are haveing an effect.
I came home with apair of silver spangled hamburg bantams a nd a trio of rumpless aracyna bantams. The roo is cute but not as classy as yours Kass! Also bought a what was listed as a "red pyle" o e bantam roo. He is totally mismarked, being mostly reddish all over but he is so tiny and cute I couldn't resist him. I have a little wheaton o e hen I will put him with. He is no bigger than a serama! Weather was nice here but rain moveing in tonight. I did get some radishes planted this week.
Everyone have a great weekend.

Eight years ago, the first Summer we were in OK, I planted French radishes. They grew so crisp and sweet. I later discovered that it was a very mild Summer for OK and I have never had such a nice garden since. It was sure fun to get to plant a garden after 8 years in a San Diego apartment and 6 years in a tiny japanese apartment before that.

 

[artsyrobin]

after doing some research i think Captain has canker in his mouth- i have heard to use Metronidazole for 5-7 days- is there anywhere local to get it or do i need to order it online, also called fish zole...? Also, is there any other treatment that might work, thinking maybe oxine?

 

[Okla-doodle-doo]

Robin check " FOY'S" on line. Its a pigeon supply catalog company but they carry a lot of good meds for canker.

 

[jcatblum]

I think a hinged opening on the pallet coop is a good idea. Just be careful it isn't too heavy to be easily lifted. DH is the worse about making doors only he can open or shut!
MJ do you birds stay good & dry being so open in their coop. In southwest Oklahoma keep birds dry really is low on the list of requirements. Mother Nature seems to always take care of that part for me. We saw a few sprinkles today, but seriously feeling left out when it comes to rain.

 

[Kassaundra]

The roo is a red pyle except that the white has a bluish tint,one hen is blue splash and one hen is solid blue. No none of the have any tuffs.I don't know if that means they are poor quality or not pure or means nothing. I need to read up on this breed I guess!

Means nothing they can come either way, everyone prefers tufted, but if you breed tufted to tufted 25% of the chick will die in the shell from a fatal gene. I believe even if you breed tufted to tufted you still get a certain percent that are not tufted.

 

[mjgigax]

I think a hinged opening on the pallet coop is a good idea. Just be careful it isn't too heavy to be easily lifted. DH is the worse about making doors only he can open or shut!
MJ do you birds stay good & dry being so open in their coop. In southwest Oklahoma keep birds dry really is low on the list of requirements. Mother Nature seems to always take care of that part for me. We saw a few sprinkles today, but seriously feeling left out when it comes to rain.

They go in their little coops. There are a few that insist on roosting outside of them and they seem to do fine. All of the coops have doors and I close them up in them over night if if gets really nasty.

 

[Oakieridge]

We found out this week that the people we are buying this home from are in legal trouble. They are needing cash fast so are requesting we pay this place off or move in 60 days. So we are moving. We have 58 days to find a place and move. We will be selling birds in case we don't find a place and have to move back to our home in town. We need around 5-10 acres with at least a 3 bedroom home. Mobiles are fine. The kids are heartbroken to give up their pets and we have told them we will find a way to keep what birds we can. Please let me know if you know of a place. Prefer owner finance but will rent if we have to. School dist doesn't mater since we homeschool. Thanks.