***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[muesky]

Morning Everyone!
Thought I would drop in and say Hi. My internet at home is messed up again.

I am not exactly sure why I am paying $45 monthly when I only get about a weeks worth of service a month.

Well for those of you who do not know my pup Harley is in rehab right now. After his bout with parvo he decided that dog food was not good enough for him so he started eating chickens. Of course he did not eat the extra roosters but the birds in my mille fleur project and my salmon favorelle chicks. He is doing really well put a chicken in there with him in the kennel and he went out of his way to avoid it. I am using the method my grandmother used and so far so good. I would hate to have to rehome him but can not have a chicken killer on the property.

Better get back to work. Have to mold minds and such.

Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[bfrancis]

Quote:
When we first moved out here to the country...my two dogs decided to kill 20 of the neighbor's chickens...fortunately they were not shot and we paid a restitution...but for rehab we did the same thing, divided the kennel in two and put 3 big roosters in with them. They had see, smell, and hear them all day and we could do automatic corrections when the dogs tried to rush the fence....seemed to work out. We still don't let the dogs out unsupervised but, at least they don't immediately try to chase down the free rangers we have. They also will just ignore the birds 9 out 10 times. Good Luck!

 

[Sooner]

Quote:
That will be the next step. I am trying to figure out if it is sinus related at the moment. I start out in the morning doing ok but sore by afternoon it is back & I can barely put two thoughts together.....(no comment from the peanut gallery)

 

[Sooner]

Quote:
That yote didn't show up this morning but I was there waiting. I didn't have chickens out so that may have been the difference. As they came through the yard going to the barn the yote was coming up from the garden area for the ambush......I shall get him sooner or later.

 

[upcdayz]

Hi all,

Yesterday I went to Atwoods in Kingfisher for a few things. They had chicks there - all straight runs, and some ducks and guineas. I looked at them several times, but somehow managed to leave the store without any (patting myself on the back.)


Sooner - Sorry about your headache. That can make life miserable.

 

[Sooner]

Thanks Dazy, so far so good for today at least.

Atwoods here had chicks too when we were there on Sat. I did get some good deals there on some boots for Lil'Sooner & a chair cushion set. I love that store.

 

[jcatblum]

Quote:
My 60+ guineas eat game food. I know some offer laying pellets during spring, but I think they lay very well with out the layerfeed. When they are out free ranging I call them in with a wild bird seed mix. I shake the container & they get excited & come running. If I am keeping them penned for more than a day or so, I clip grass for them. They gobble up the fresh green grass. But they don't eat table scraps like chickens. My guineas won't even touch any veggie scraps I give them. Also I don't use near as much feed with grown guineas as I do grown chickens.

Hope you are enjoying your guineas!

Thanks for the info. if you don't mind me asking what kind of game food do you feed or what % would you recommend?

I am actually in search of game pellets, but no luck yet. I have been using the game feed from atwoods or TSC. It is crumble, my guineas that are not yet adults & I dont let free range make a huge mess with the crumble. Not sure on the protien content off the top of my head. I am thinking it is about 18% but might be higher.

 

[Ksane]

Ready for some pictures?????

I did most of this covered run and pens myself. Might I add in the heat of this past summer at least 4 hrs a day. I got the lattice for $4 a sheet at Lowe's because they were discontinuing it. I used double peices of lattice and then lined it all with chicken wire on the inside and top. This is all inside of 2 other fences and is attached right to the house. I was trying to explain it to Robin but it's hard to explain. The most expensive part was actually the polycarbonate roof panels. It took me a long long time and us eating a lot of Mac & Cheese and hot dogs to save up the money to build it. We split the 10' x14' barn down the middle long-ways and cut a door in the side of it. The chickens are locked inside of it at night. The other 1/2 of the barn with its own fence is for the 6 sex link hens and my remaining sheep (his fence is almost done). Neighbor dogs killed our other 4 Barbado sheep a few wks ago, was heartbreaking. So this one (Matthew) gets his own chain link fence with a hot wire all around it, it's almost done. I'm going to cover it with knotted poultry netting and the sex link hens will be in there with Matthew. He's in the chicken's yard right now and they lay all over him. Matthew loves his chickens. They scratch all around his fur and he thinks they're petting him.
The covered run is 8'x32' and divided into 2 8'x8' secions and an 8'x16' section. My daughter has 1 of the 8'x8' sections, the 12 Silkie babies have an 8'x8' section until the boys go into a bachelor pen (to be built in the back yard by the turkey pen), then in the 8' x 16' section (with a 6'x 12' walkway leading into the coop) are my sacred Cochin babies, 4 of the white Silkies, the black Pullet I got from Carl & the Blue and Black Cochin bantams I got from Robin.

This is part of the front of it, I couldn't get all of it in the picture so I took 2 pictures of it.That's Matthew in front in the 1st one. And one of the Cochin girls I got from Carl in the 2nd picture of it.

This picture below is the east end of the run where my grown daughter has her chickens. She has to smoke in here also because we quit 3 yrs ago and don't allow smoking in the house-haha! So she has to smoke in her chicken pen. She moved back home last fall, nice to have her back here though.

This is my Silkie babies gathered at front of their pen door. They're just SURE I have treats for them!

One of my sweet white Silkies. 4 out of 5 white Silkies live with the baby Cochins. The whites are way nicer to my Cochins than the Buffs, not sure why.

I think I only have 2 or 3 cockerals out of the 8 LF Cochins I hatched 2 months ago. This is one of them, he's super dark blue, almost black.

This is in the Cochin babies pen. I made the feeder out of a 5 gal bucket and a new oil pan from Walmart, works great.

The 2 Partridge Cochins I got from Robin Saturday. Robin, these 2 and the 2 Blue LF Cochins I got from Carl get along great! They hang out together and eat together, actually seem to enjoy each other's company, I'm so glad. I just love these 4 Cochin girls. Thanks to both of you.

My 2 Doves that live in the Cochin's run. I've had them for years and they sure love being outside now that I have a covered area for them.

Here's the Blue and the Black Cochin Bantams I got from Robin practicing egg-laying!

Jan, if you're still here, here's the Dark Cornish I got from you. She says to say hi! I named her Valicia

I forgot to get a picture of the Red Cochin Bantam I got from Firefly, dang it. I'll get her next time. I think I got everyone else though.
So....are you tired of pictures yet????

 

[Cuban Longtails]

I have a new batch of asil babies!

I was sorely tempted by cochin chicks last time I was in Atwoods. They make such awesome incubators! I was strong for once & didn't get any, but might be weaker now since I have a mama hen to slip them under...

 

[upcdayz]

Quote:
Nice job on the pens! Love the birds. They all look healthy and happy.