Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

sharol it sounds like you have a project there with re-glazing windows. Good for you though, I like to see people repurpose things. You will be glad to have the Orps, they're really nice birds, very calm & big fluffy butts. I have 4 colors of them now & hope to have another color soon as well for breeding. They are a popular breed.

danz I'm glad you're getting your water system in, that will be great when you're done. It makes me envious with having to use hoses or buckets in the winter to water with. It takes forever. Congrats on the new GP, I know you were apprehensive about it. Are you going to try to re-home the other female?

I was hoping to do more painting today but it has rained now so that's out for the day. It seems like I'm never going to get this project done. I also decided while I had the paint I would paint all of my rabbit hutches since they had not had any paint on them. I sure opened a can of worms there.

Ha sharol, I wonder the same thing at times when I see a really determined hen setting on eggs. I have one right now that is so fiercely determined & she only gets off the nest at feeding time in the evening & then only very briefly. She got off of it the other evening when I was out feeding & one of my cats happened to walk close to her nest. She flew at that cat like a cougar & that poor cat didn't know what hit her. I'll bet she won't walk that close to her nest again!

Poor kitty. My cat hunts mice in the run, but she stays out of the way of the chickens. One of them pecked her as a kitten, and she hasn't forgotten about that. Steve said when he went in to check the coop the evening I was late, both the broodies were swearing at him. Said they used awful grammar (Mark Twain).

I thought $10 each for the windows was a big improvement over $100 each (what they want to install windows). In addition, I want them hinged and on the outside of the coop so that I can leave them partially open in the rain, and these will work perfectly.

I've never reglazed windows before, but it wasn't an impossible task. They aren't particularly pretty, but it's a CHICKEN COOP not a fancy house. AND, now I have a new skill. YEA.

Danz's orps are gorgeous birds. The best yard art ever.

 

[chicken danz]

Lucky dog to be living with you.

I have 2 of the lav eggs still developing -- one was clear. One of the two has a tiny chip in the shell at the small end. I put a piece of tape over it and it is still developing (fingers crossed) and I have the one lavender pullet from the first hatch. Of the 4 jubilees from the first hatch, 2 are girls and 2 are boys. Mr question mark was trying to breed a hen yesterday and has started picking fights with the chocolate cockerel.

5 of the BBS eggs are still going strong, 4 jubilees (1 was clear at 1 week), and 1 of the mottles is still developing (but I'm not sure about it -- I'm going to take another look tomorrow when I kick the hens off the nest in the afternoon.)

I can see why the lavenders and the jubilees sell -- they are really beautiful.

I'll let you know after I candle tomorrow. I have to kick them off the nest. Really dedicated broodies, but they aren't eating and drinking without intervention. My DH says he can't imagine how chickens survived for thousands of years without my help. LOL

@TakenBackBre is coming this weekend to get some hatching eggs. She bought my chocolates so she will be the source for those now. I've had great fertility on the mottles. I wonder why you didn't have a lot more develop. I can't wait to see how the BBS turn out. I've hatched a couple and have a couple more due tomorrow I think. I would love to end up with a blue mottle. The chicks however didn't look like mottled chicks so I doubt I get that lucky. I'm only hatching because I wanted to see how this big boy did. He seems to be very fertile at this point.

Quote:

sharol it sounds like you have a project there with re-glazing windows. Good for you though, I like to see people repurpose things. You will be glad to have the Orps, they're really nice birds, very calm & big fluffy butts. I have 4 colors of them now & hope to have another color soon as well for breeding. They are a popular breed.

danz I'm glad you're getting your water system in, that will be great when you're done. It makes me envious with having to use hoses or buckets in the winter to water with. It takes forever. Congrats on the new GP, I know you were apprehensive about it. Are you going to try to re-home the other female?
I've got a long ways to go. It will sure be nice this winter. I do still have the peacock pens and the section of pens with the turkeys and pheasant to deal with. But it's going to be really nice just cutting out this many pens to deal with. Too bad I can't come up with an auto system that I don't have to worry about freezing. I really watnte dot run water liens to the pen area this summer but we didn't even get close to that. Maybe next year.
Nope I will keep Britt. She is an excellent dog and my only remaining link to Marshmallow. I was going to keep a female from her but I may keep a male now instead. If we have a litter I may have her spayed and just use the new dog, Precious for a breeder in the future. If I sell any of them, it would be Winston if I have a nice male pup from Britt. But we are looking at at least 18 months down the road to know; if I do have a pup I want to keep how it's going to turn out. Winston is and excellent LGD but is small because of his beginning. The vet says he still has the large size genes that will come out in his pups. Lots of people want a really big LGD so I'd prefer to have a larger breeder.
I was hoping to do more painting today but it has rained now so that's out for the day. It seems like I'm never going to get this project done. I also decided while I had the paint I would paint all of my rabbit hutches since they had not had any paint on them. I sure opened a can of worms there.

Ha sharol, I wonder the same thing at times when I see a really determined hen setting on eggs. I have one right now that is so fiercely determined & she only gets off the nest at feeding time in the evening & then only very briefly. She got off of it the other evening when I was out feeding & one of my cats happened to walk close to her nest. She flew at that cat like a cougar & that poor cat didn't know what hit her. I'll bet she won't walk that close to her nest again!

We have a litter of kittens somewhere. Out in the barn I think. Their mother came in finally after a few days to eat last night. The night before she brought a kitten up with her that was just starting to get it's eyes open. Somehow it ended up in the chicken pen and was pecked severely. I had DH cull it because it was really in bad shape. Made me feel awful but it was the right thing to do. I've got to find a cheap place to get cats neutered or we are going to be over run.

 

[ashncarson]

I just wanted to stop in and say HELLO. I seem to have trouble keeping up with this and miss a month or two at a time before I come back.

We have been busy with our yorkie puppy who is now 12 weeks old. My chicks are now 18 weeks old and are their mom helped them blend in well with the big girls! I kept 3 of the 11 and am so happy with the ones I did!



I hope everyone is doing well, as are the birds!

 

[chicken danz]

Ashncarson your birds are really pretty. It seems everyone is busy these days. You should stop in and say hi more often. If you don't have time to read that's okay. Sometimes I read and have no idea what I read because I have my mind working elsewhere.
I got the floor put on the framework for the building we are re-doing. Then since it was fresh and clean I decided to prime it with some Kilz. I guess if the weather holds out I'll slap some paint on it tomorrow. The flooring made the bottom framework so heavy that now we think we are going to move it first, then move the building on top to re-attach it.
Then I went to the new building and put all the fittings and pieces of down pipe on the lines for the water system. I could have stayed with it and fastened the pipes where they need to stay but using the crimper that much pretty well wore me out. I opened a new 100 foot roll of PEX for the down pipes and discovered that I am going to run out of pipe again. I don't have enough to run to each water bowl I plan to put in the brooder area. That's 400 feet of PEX I have used so far.
The new dog has been out running all day. She is still kind of nervous but is being very well behaved. I'll probably pen her up tonight and maybe the next few nights to make sure she knows she belongs here. Then I'll let her get out with the other dogs and train to be an LGD.
DH has been working on the new pea pen again. Not much progress but we'll get it done.

 

[ashncarson]

Ashncarson your birds are really pretty. It seems everyone is busy these days. You should stop in and say hi more often. If you don't have time to read that's okay. Sometimes I read and have no idea what I read because I have my mind working elsewhere.

Thank you! I will have to try to go back and read some! It sure sounds like you had a busy day, I know here in Hutchinson the weather was great, I hope it was for you as well!

 

[girlsnammo]

Well we had a busy day yesterday. I built a roosting ladder for the girls and we got most of the watering system in place. All that's left to do on that is to install the drinking cups when they get delivered. It sure is nice to have water in the run. I still ain't sure how dh will keep it from freezing up in the winter but I guess I will just have to wait and see. This whole week has been super busy. We got back from Nebraska Saturday night and Sunday I had to start a huge wedding cake.Worked on that all week and it got picked up on friday. Still have to make 2 birthday cakes and finish getting caught up on chores from going out of state. Didn't help that my two babies got shots on Wednesday.
So my dh and I have been talking and I think we have decided to buy land in Colorado for our farm. Found a nice place where the temps stay pretty even year round so we are judging each tract of land for which will suit our needs the best. I am excited but I don't think my family is. Not many of my siblings have ever gone very far from each other before.
So Bella, now Moses, is definitely a boy. He got bright firery orange saddle feathers while I was in Nebraska. He still hasn't crowed yet which is good but you can tell by looking at him now.

 

[squirtsmomma]

Just stopping in to say hi and introduce myself. I'm down in the SEK and we just hatched out 22 fluffy babies Friday. Neither my husband or I have had chickens since we were kids and we're getting back in just for eggs at home. Right now we are going through the process of trying to sort out what we all got. We got eggs from a farm that deals mostly in RIR and BR, but a few of ours have feathered feet and we've got 3 with very pronounced chipmunk strips. This is half the fun of it and hoping that quite a few are pullets.
Gotta go.

 

[chicken danz]

Well we had a busy day yesterday. I built a roosting ladder for the girls and we got most of the watering system in place. All that's left to do on that is to install the drinking cups when they get delivered. It sure is nice to have water in the run. I still ain't sure how dh will keep it from freezing up in the winter but I guess I will just have to wait and see. This whole week has been super busy. We got back from Nebraska Saturday night and Sunday I had to start a huge wedding cake.Worked on that all week and it got picked up on friday. Still have to make 2 birthday cakes and finish getting caught up on chores from going out of state. Didn't help that my two babies got shots on Wednesday.
So my dh and I have been talking and I think we have decided to buy land in Colorado for our farm. Found a nice place where the temps stay pretty even year round so we are judging each tract of land for which will suit our needs the best. I am excited but I don't think my family is. Not many of my siblings have ever gone very far from each other before.
So Bella, now Moses, is definitely a boy. He got bright firery orange saddle feathers while I was in Nebraska. He still hasn't crowed yet which is good but you can tell by looking at him now.

Sounds like you have been busy as well as the rest of us. Every year it is a scramble in fall to get things done before winter.
Where in the world is a climate that is stable in Colorado? Unless it would be cooler climate? There is that for sure. I only think in terms of warm weather. I just can't wrap my head around colder areas. My daughter lives in Colorado and loves it. I hated it cause I just don't like cold weather at all.
Originally Posted by squirtsmomma
Welcome to our group. We have a couple people here that live down that direction. Looks like you had a nice big hatch. I definitely see some barred rock and RIR influence in there. It's always fun to see what lovely mixes you can come up with.
Be sure to keep us updated on your chicks and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

 

[Trish44]

Just stopping in to say hi and introduce myself. I'm down in the SEK and we just hatched out 22 fluffy babies Friday. Neither my husband or I have had chickens since we were kids and we're getting back in just for eggs at home. Right now we are going through the process of trying to sort out what we all got. We got eggs from a farm that deals mostly in RIR and BR, but a few of ours have feathered feet and we've got 3 with very pronounced chipmunk strips. This is half the fun of it and hoping that quite a few are pullets.
Gotta go.

Welcome to our thread! I live over your way sort of depending on where in SEK you are. I hatch chicks in the spring so if you need any more you can always ask about it. I had chickens years ago the first time when my son was young & then didn't have them till a few years ago again. Now I've got over 100 birds & hatch for people. Good luck with your babies, just be prepared to have quite a few extra roosters, it always happens. I do see the RIR & BR chicks in there & you either have Speckled Sussex or Welsummer it looks like.

Well we had a busy day yesterday. I built a roosting ladder for the girls and we got most of the watering system in place. All that's left to do on that is to install the drinking cups when they get delivered. It sure is nice to have water in the run. I still ain't sure how dh will keep it from freezing up in the winter but I guess I will just have to wait and see. This whole week has been super busy. We got back from Nebraska Saturday night and Sunday I had to start a huge wedding cake.Worked on that all week and it got picked up on friday. Still have to make 2 birthday cakes and finish getting caught up on chores from going out of state. Didn't help that my two babies got shots on Wednesday.
So my dh and I have been talking and I think we have decided to buy land in Colorado for our farm. Found a nice place where the temps stay pretty even year round so we are judging each tract of land for which will suit our needs the best. I am excited but I don't think my family is. Not many of my siblings have ever gone very far from each other before.
So Bella, now Moses, is definitely a boy. He got bright firery orange saddle feathers while I was in Nebraska. He still hasn't crowed yet which is good but you can tell by looking at him now.

Congrats on getting things done for your coop. That sounds exciting to buy land in Colorado, it's a beautiful state but I don't care for all of the snow. Even if you do move you can always come back to visit us here on the thread.

ashncarson welcome back, stop in & see us more often like danz said.

I hope to get some painting done today on my projects if it doesn't rain. That has been holding me up lately. I have someone coming to buy a couple of roosters today that I don't need. Any time I can get rid of roosters I jump on the chance because I sure don't need them.

 

[squirtsmomma]

Welcome to our thread! I live over your way sort of depending on where in SEK you are. I hatch chicks in the spring so if you need any more you can always ask about it. I had chickens years ago the first time when my son was young & then didn't have them till a few years ago again. Now I've got over 100 birds & hatch for people. Good luck with your babies, just be prepared to have quite a few extra roosters, it always happens. I do see the RIR & BR chicks in there & you either have Speckled Sussex or Welsummer it looks like.

Were sort of equal distance between Parsons, Coffeyville and Independence. We sat 28 eggs hoping that being our first time in years we'd get at least 50% hatch and at least 50% of those hens so we're well on our way. Husband already said when we start to know for sure, we are definitely going to put most of the extra roosters on ice unless someone we know wants some. Hate to think of that right now when they are so cute, but we know better and don't need to feed the extra birds later if we aren't getting eggs.

Welcome to our group. We have a couple people here that live down that direction. Looks like you had a nice big hatch. I definitely see some barred rock and RIR influence in there. It's always fun to see what lovely mixes you can come up with.
Be sure to keep us updated on your chicks and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Thanks for the welcome. Just enjoying our new arrivals.