***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Elbert Garrett]

I am curious. I see it has holes in the bottom and a partial lid, but it seems a little large for a nest box. What are you making?

It`s a nest box. The holes are for ventilation. It`s a cat litter container that I just cut the lid where it hinges and snapped it back on. I zipped a couple of small drywall screws through the container into a 1" X "4 for stability. A Jersey Giant or a Australorp would n`t be able to squeeze their fluffy butt in there but these are great for bantam hens up to small game hens.

 

[poultryand bees]

Quote: That makes sense. In the picture it looked larger than a cat litter container. The wood to stabilize it is a good idea.,

 

[BetsyOK]

Elbert, I don't think I've ever seen a shop as clean and neat as yours! And you have great ideas.

 

[Elbert Garrett]

Thanks Betsy!

P and B, those buckets come in 27 lbs and 35 lbs, so the 35 lb bucket is a little deeper and will accommodate a larger hen but the diameter is the same.

 

[NanaKat]

Nice nest box Elbert!
Betsy, glad the bite is better
Kass, I haven't fed creep to chickens, just to cattle so was glad to hear there is a smaller size for chickens. Will be interested in how your girls do.
JCat...I'll try the floating catfish food on the geese. They were never given treats where the lived before so they don't even try apples or melons. I keep trying.

Boys have taken a young bull and the neighbo'rs two ccull cows to the stockyards this morning so I've been cleaning house and doing laundry. When I shaved and dipped Gracie yesterday , she seemed just covered in fleas even after dipping. So, I bathed her and spent an hour picking off fleas with tweezers. Then I changed all the dog bed covers and laundered the old. She was actually snoring when I got done! But since the dogs are inside a lot of the time, I sure don't want an invasion of fleas. I have bug bombs in the pantry if I need them. Want to wait on the incubation....

Somehow the plug came loose in the outlet and my incubator was off for a few hours. I last checked it at 4 this morning. Set the eggs under a lamp to warm them while I exchanged the water for hot and brought the temp up. Hoping the eggs were not low for too long.

 

[jcatblum]

Nana the eggs should be fine. I have accidentally bought partially incubated eggs at auction before & they didn't get into my incubator until the day after I bought them. Eggs I bought @ poops 2 yrs ago gave me a staggered hatch. One a day hatched for a solid wk. imagine they were under a hen before they made the rd trip to poops & then into my incubator.
If you can get the geese to like the catfish feed then you could try throwing frozen peas in the water. Most report water fowl LOVE frozen peas. If my ducks have a full feeder they "hide" in the wildflowers when I enter their pen. When they run out of food they will circle around me & quack begging for food. Maybe let the geese empty their feeder for a few hours, they may be willing to try something new then.

 

[jcatblum]

Free chicken tractor on OKC Craigslist

Was listed 20min ago says Newcastle area. Hope a BYCer can snatch it up!!!!

 

[NanaKat]

Nana the eggs should be fine. I have accidentally bought partially incubated eggs at auction before & they didn't get into my incubator until the day after I bought them. Eggs I bought @ poops 2 yrs ago gave me a staggered hatch. One a day hatched for a solid wk. imagine they were under a hen before they made the rd trip to poops & then into my incubator.
If you can get the geese to like the catfish feed then you could try throwing frozen peas in the water. Most report water fowl LOVE frozen peas. If my ducks have a full feeder they "hide" in the wildflowers when I enter their pen. When they run out of food they will circle around me & quack begging for food. Maybe let the geese empty their feeder for a few hours, they may be willing to try something new then.

Thanks for the tips!
Geese can be pretty demanding...Charlie lets me know when the pool needs changing... loudly! Ninya is the one that lets me know she is hungry. Will try the grass substitutes then. They have to have other stuff besides grass on the diet by winter.

 

[NanaKat]

Speck & Gerard
What birds do you have and where in Oklahoma are you located?

 

[erinszoo]

Well, so much for the grain growing bed. My husband made a mess of it and refuses to listen or read anything about it. Going to have to rebuild the whole thing when my ankle finally heals. What a waste of time!!

He better not think he's going to help me on the clay oven at this point or there's going to be a war in northern oklahoma to end all wars. He's already insisting that we need to use the clay with 300% sand added and the blocks haven't even remotely dried. That one is so crumbly, I'm not using it and IT'S MY OVEN.

Sorry for the rant but some days ...

Ate breakfast outside it was so nice this morning. The chickens and cats all love french toast with maple syrup. Not sure how good it is for them but they only got little bits so it should be fine. Really tired of my ankle hurting. I can't do what I want to do and it's very frustrating.