Texas

[winteree]

I might cry.....I've been putting off getting my chocolate Orps until next spring...now I think the breeder isn't continuing them next year. They took them off the website

oh no have you tryed finding a breeder here?

 

[TherryChicken]

It was a simple fix. The gass station does not maintain their propery, I have to go back there every few months to clear my fence. I tried telling them that they were responsible if their negligence damaged my wooden privacy fence, they still didn't do squat, they let the grass get 3 feet tall before bothering to cut it. So I go back there and pull baby trees out, and cut the bigger stuff with my reciprocating saw to maintain my fence. Sux that I have to do their work for them though. It was all that build up that caused my back yard to flood into my laundry room. By clearing some of the weeds and grass out we got the water to drain, we plan on putting a pipe under the fence so that the water can drain out. I wish it would flood their back yard, lol. I am so mean.

lol

 

[Starfire669]

i don't use straw as bedding just as nesting box material. for the rest of the coop i use pine shaveings but in the run i use about a 6 inch layer of sand. but my grams used nothing but straw for bedding she only had one chicken that needing help with her crop over the years. i don't know if ducks etc would eat it it shouldn't be a problem if you break the bale apart and cut the straw in to bite sized peaces so they don't choke on it. one small bale runs me about $9-$14 depening on the season. But the thing about composting straw is that the pile has to be big and "going" in the middle to kill the wheat seeds etc or your compost pile will be full of wheat next season.

Awesome. I will get some straw soon then. My compost piles get going very well, so not worried about wheat growing. Even if wheat is growing, i can feed it to the geese. I sprout wheat and oat seeds as fodder for them.

 

[TherryChicken]

Brookshire there is someone here in ceeder creak that has chocolate orpingtons

 

[Starfire669]

Y'alls yard looks about like ours.  Rain had quit earlier so thought I'd let the gang out.  It last about 30 minutes and it all started again.  This time with plenty of lightening and thunder!  We went to check since the coop was open but everyone was inside.  It rained pretty hard so when it let up some we went out to check again and a few were out under the tree limbs.  They were wet but not soaked. 
We had to clear the ditch we dug in front of the coop...sand had filled it back in.  Plus we cleared alot of debris that was keeping the water from draining around the coop.  It looks like a little creek now! It's quit raining again...hopefully for a while but, I still hear rumbling..

I use real hay...we don't get straw around here.   Hay is mostly for nest boxes but does find it's way to the floor and I've used it in a pinch when it flooded the last time.  We are currently using a combination of pine bark and pine shavings.  We were using the shavings plus leaves but that all went out in the last flood.  The bark works ok for drainage and keep their feet off the dirt but have to use shavings because the bark isn't absorbent enough to dry the poo so it's no help with odor control.

Yeah we are getting some strange weather. Rain coming from clear, sunny skies. Intense 30 minute storms that blow stuff around. The drainage ditch around the goose coop is gone, and the coop itself is a muddy mess. I removed all the ruined bedding today and will leave it bare earth till this crazy weather passes. The geese and ducks will continue to sleep with the chickens till this is over. Which means I will have to change their bedding when the geese move back to their coop. oh well, at least everyone has a warm, dry place to sit out the storms.

And we haven't had lightning strike my parents tree or my house this time at least. That was terrifying.

 

[magpiesing]

It was a simple fix. The gass station does not maintain their propery, I have to go back there every few months to clear my fence. I tried telling them that they were responsible if their negligence damaged my wooden privacy fence, they still didn't do squat, they let the grass get 3 feet tall before bothering to cut it. So I go back there and pull baby trees out, and cut the bigger stuff with my reciprocating saw to maintain my fence. Sux that I have to do their work for them though. It was all that build up that caused my back yard to flood into my laundry room. By clearing some of the weeds and grass out we got the water to drain, we plan on putting a pipe under the fence so that the water can drain out. I wish it would flood their back yard, lol. I am so mean.

That's about par...outta sight outta mind...if they don't see it it's isn't there. Glad you were able to fix the problem.
The pipe is a good idea...and let it drain their way if you can...if you're uphil of them. You're not mean, just tired of dealing with someone elses responsibility.

 

[Brookshire11]

oh no have you tryed finding a breeder here?

That's what I was looking at. Well not on BYC but the place in local: Farmersville, about 30 min east of me.
I could probably find some hatching eggs on here at least...ok I feel a little better

 

[tiedyemommy]

Well the storm and flooding yesterday caused poor Daisy to get injured. It was pouring rain and I was looking for her and Ivory to put them up. A loud crack of thunder sounded overhead and she screamed and ran out. The ducks, Daisy and Ivory were under some tree branches we had just cut as a safety precaution, they were dead and we didn't want them breaking. She somehow managed to cut the tip of middle toe on her left foot and has a small cut over her left eye. I think she cut it on the tree branches she was foraging in when the thunder scared her. She is doing fine, cleaned her foot and face and applied some Blu-kote, both to prevent infection and keep the chickens from pecking her. We are under flood watch so the waterfowl are bunking with the chickens this week. Daisy managed to smear the Blu-kote all over her face and on her left wing. She looks like she is wearing a purple mask, lol. She is doing fine, still "breeding" or dominating Ivory, foraging for food (my mom gave her some squash that she loved!), and she is not showing signs of pain. No limping or anything, the cuts themselves are small. My biggest concern is chicken pecking and her walking in poo. Her foot gets cleaned 2X a day to minimize the risk of infection and I have some antibiotic on hand just in case.

1 of the geese also got a minor injury from the craziness yesterday. When the thunder sounded all the geese took off zooming in fear, the smallest Chinese got trampled by its flock mates and has a pulled muscle. I really wish that the weather channels could tell us these things before it happens. Most of the time I get a bad feeling and take precautions before the alerts come through. Yesterday we were forecast cloudy but no rain till 4PM, so I let the flock out, intending to put everyone up at 3PM. We got hit hard at 11AM and parts of my yard were flooded in less than 30 minutes. I am very glad my house is on top of a small incline and is a post and beam foundation. I had also let the chickens out and Screwball led us a very long chase through the downpour and puddles. He was the very last bird to be put up, and he looked so pathetic soaked, like a drowned rat. Today only the waterfowl are allowed out, they are much easier to put away and can take a small wetting. Plus I want Daisy and Maybel (the injured goose) out of the chicken coop for a bit so they don't get pecked on. The coop is fine for overnighting everyone, but they can't all be shut in there for days on end, and we are supposed to get scattered storms all week, because of the storm in the Gulf. My poor chickens willbe shut up as long as we have storms rolling through.

My gosling, Gertrude, who has perosis is responding to the vitamins and minerals. Her foot isn't turning inwards anymore. She is still limping though, so I will continue to give her the supplement. I just don't know how much is correct for a young gosling. I am giving 2 cc a day of a poultry vitamin, the directions say 1-3cc for adult chickens. I give Gertrude 1cc in the morning and 1cc at night before bed. Also gave 1cc to Ebony, Daisy, and Maybel, hoping it will speed their healing.

Ebony is continuing to improve, she is feeling pretty good and really really wants to get out and forage. I would let her but for the rain. If I have to round everyone up in a downpour I don't want her getting trampled, Maybel is much bigger than Ebony and had no injured and still was trampled, so i wont risk it. When the storm in the Gulf stops sending bad weather this way I will let Ebony out to free range again. She still limps, but the limp is less sever and she has a strange limping run now when she sees her food coming! When she sees me come for swim therapy she smiles at me, lol. Very cute, spoiled duck!

The rain has nearly destroyed my garden, the corn that survived the last storm, is all flopped over. The squash is rotting on the vine, the tomatoes are being held up by their cages, but aren't looking good. The carrots are drowned. My roses have black spot, rust, and leaf blight from no sunlight for the past few days. About the only thing that's looking good is the grass, it's lush and green and the birds are loving it.

Sorry for not being on yesterday and for the really long post. Due to weather I may be off more than usual.

Wow, looks like The Quackers are having one heck of a time over there. I hope Daisy recovers quickly, and Ebony continues to recover as fast as she is.

These storms cause problems all around...even if we do need the rain. Our chickens haven't had any problems...they just hide in their coop & wait for the sky water to stop falling. No flooding in their yard...yet.

I hope the rest of this week's storms don't give you too much trouble. We've got rain chances all week, and I bet ya'll do to.

 

[magpiesing]

Well the extra cooking and freezing I did over the winter is paying off. With all this rain and dropping temps I thought something warm and filling would be really good. I Got a container of homemade veggie soup out and heated it up. It sure did hit the spot! Too bad the crackers went stale within 5 minutes of being out of the package...i shoulda made corn bread. But the soup was yummy and I didn't have to cook much! I have one more container for another rainy day.

 

[Starfire669]

That's about par...outta sight outta mind...if they don't see it it's isn't there. Glad you were able to fix the problem.
The pipe is a good idea...and let it drain their way if you can...if you're uphil of them.  You're not mean, just tired of dealing with someone elses responsibility.

The water will drain onto their property, they own the whole lot on the left side of my house. As my house is on the left fence, halfway between front and back yard, the only place to run a drain is onto their side. My back yard is the lowest point in my yard, I have brought in truckloads of dirt, but it isn't enough yet, plus the dogs love digging back there. Every other part of my yard drains towards the street, except the back because the house is in the way. That corner of my house is also sinking, because of the flooding. So a small PVC pipe with screen on both ends will be installed and run under the fence to help drainage. I will probably add some more dirt, but looking for a more mud like soil than regular topsoil this time.