Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

Oh, the question was asked, which do I use, Boss or sabre. I use which ever one I can buy, they are both kill lice and mites, so which ever you find will work.

Ack, Checoukan, I went to Atwoods today to buy the Sabre-- which is what I found, and it was $66 for a bottle!! LOL! I'm going to wait. We'll cross fingers that the Sevin dust will work okay. I did see a permethrin (sp??) and it was only $6, but it said for insects like ants, ticks, etc.. didn't mention lice and mites like the Sabre did. That or I might try to find it cheaper online. Usually I can find things for a good deal that way.

Hawkeye- How fun!! I really would like to get into showing my birds this fall. There is a guy here in KS that is encouraging me to show my Sebbies in November. I have never done it before so it is a bit intimidating. Such great pictures!

I have multiple breeds of ducks, but I would probably only enter my two pekin drakes as the others are either not full grown or are currently moulting. My goose is also not yet full grown.

If I enter, it would be the Sherman County fair. I went to look at the birds just briefly last year, but it was so hot that they'd sent all the poultry home directly after the judging. If I remember correctly, they have wire cages, though I'm not sure they use them for ducks (I know the wire is hard on the ducks' feet). The fair is July 28 - Aug. 4, but the poultry judging is on Monday, July 30th.

You should go for it! Sounds like you have plenty of time, to if it's July 30th. If it's anything like our fair, you must go pick up your cage tags a week in advance. But if you know who is running the fair or you can contact your extension office, they might have the tags there. We have to provide our own cups for water and food. Which means-- you will need a Solo cup and a hole punch and a twist tie to put it on the cage. Check the SOP (standard of perfection) for Pekins and see if yours fall into it. We have wire cages, but we were told in the rule book to bring pine chips-- they are not allowing straw or hay. The last show I went to, birds were not judged if they were hatchery quality-- meaning they didn't look anything like the breed they should -- but no one was dismissed. They simply were not judged.. well, that's not true, the judge told the kids what the difference was and pointed out the faults. He was really nice about it, I know there was a couple of MAD parents and crying kids. But it all ended well, because the judge went back to talk to them later after the judging. I think ducks would be easier since they are likely to breed truer.

Looks like I am going to be doing a lot of testing the next couple weeks for the fair. I really kind of enjoy it as long as I don't have to chase the chickens down. I guess I feel like I am doing something good for someone. So many people were unable to take their birds to town for testing on a week day when they had a test day.

Nice!! Good time to connect with people and see what projects they have going on. I think it would be really a lot of fun to be a tester.

Hawkeye, I wish you luck with the show & thanks for the photos of the testing, that was interesting. Good luck to everyone else who is doing shows also. I just don't have the energy to do that at this point. Just trying to keep my birds cooled down & alive right now is taking about all the energy I have.

Well someone asked me if we made any progress on the coop this weekend & the answer is not much. We had gotten the primer put on the floor & wood putty put in some cracks & moved some dirt. We were going to come back after doing the grocery shopping & put the first coat of paint on the floor, but it rained while we were gone, so the floor was wet. Oh well, that's the way it goes. We sure needed what little rain we got & it did cool things down a trifle. There is always another day I guess.

By the way, Danz, how many birds do you have to test out of a flock to be certified? I didn't think you had to test them all.

That was great info on the red fox! I didn't know any of that! Thank you for the luck! We're so excited to get the fair under way! I'll be sure to take lots of photos and get them posted. Sounds like you're moving as fast on that coop as I am on the little one I'm supposed to be working on. SHeesh!! I'm sooooo lame! It's too hot to get out there now. Bleah. I found this on the NPIP site--

Annually test at the following rates:

Flock size 1 - 30 .. test all
Flock size 31 - 300 . . . . .test 30
Flock size > 300. . .. test 10% up to 300 maximum​

When my DH came by, I told him about it. I also told him I'm afraid I may have lost a turkey hen and was thinking the eagle might be the culprit.. I hadn't seen 2 of them for 2 days, but knew one of them has been sitting on a nest. He came back in and told me the hens weren't lost, but they were both on nests and one of them has hatched a little poult! This will be the first turkey I've had hatched by the hen. I need to go out and get it and put it in a pen and give it some electrolytes, etc. DH said the hens were really hissing at him when he went out. I'm not too excited about trying to get this poult away from two BIG mean mommas. I'm generally not afraid of much, but the thought of getting flogged by two big turkey hens is not very appealing. Wish me luck on that!

I think it's just neat you have an eagle out there! I didn't even know that they didn't have white heads until they were older. Boy, right when you think you have an idea of what's going on.... NOPE! hehe! So exciting about the poult!! I'm glad you brought it in, who knows what the crazy turkey would do. As much as I love them, they get sidetracked so easily.

She is so calm and gentle - I'm really impressed with her. She seemed to take to me right away - the owner said she likes women best. I'm

she will work out well. Anyway, here are some pics of her. These are the pics from the CL ad - not my photos.

She's gorgeous!!! She looks just like a GP-- but with short hair. So neat! I sure hope she works out beautifully for you. Wishing you much luck!

I had a miracle last night- I have a mostly blind Isabel Orp roo who is just a doll and can't mate the girls but is a good companion...well, one of my daughters didn't close a gate yesterday while we were out at the farm in the afternoon, and we got out there really late last night to close up. I noticed the open gate, but thought I saw everyone when I looked in on the Orp house. Turns out, Blindy slept out in the pasture last night under the giant sunflowers, and the trail of feathers we pulled up to this morning dropped my heart...but he's fine. I guess he got away despite his blindness! Dunno what he fought with, but I'm tickled he made it.

So glad that Blindy is okay! What a scare!! And don't be too hard on the girls, kids just do dumb things. I bet all the feathers nearly gave you a heart attack! I would still check him over for punctures tonight.

Good luck, Hawkeye! I've toyed with the idea of getting the kids involved in 4H and showing birds -- I don't know. Summer seems to just fly by as it is, I'm not sure I could squeeze all of that in there. We'll see next year.

I need to take a pic of Turkey. That is one silly turkey! He's decided that the lawn mower is a menace. He sees it when we scalp-mow the grass for the electric fence. Otherwise, with all this heat there is nothing to mow! Anyway, funny Turkey sounds the alarm everytime he spots the mower now. It doesn't have to be running. He's just taking good care of his chicken buddies, I guess.

4-H is on going thru the year, so they can get projects done long before the fair. If you manage your time well, you should be able to get photography, sewing, --those kinds of things done long before so there is no stress. Animals, foods... those are the things that can't be done too far in advance. Those are a bit more stressful! But all in all, what a great experience, and it's a whole family envolvement, and there are so many things to choose from, it's sure to make everyone happy. I think your turkey sounds awesome! A mower attack turkey! hehehe!

Well, I now have a royal palm turkey poult living in my dining room! My DH went outside (I didn't even know what he was going to do) and he retrieved that poult from the hen. He said she was really p*ss*d. Fortunately, one of the barn cats ambled by, the hen went after the cat, the poult crouched down and DH was able to get it.

I'm picturing the chaos!!

Your DH gets into the most trouble! hehehe!

Slippery floors!!!!

They will take on a pack of coyotes but those gosh darn linoleum, tile, wood floors will get a big dog everytime!! We have seen bob cats up the road from us a few times. They are remarkably large in comparison to a house cat, kind of scary.

Chooks- So glad Blindy is ok!! What a lucky boy!! Hey, I have a pic of a pullet that I hatched from you and am wondering what color she is? She is a lovely girl, this picture doesn't do her color any justice. I don't know if you can see it well but she has an almost cream colored lacing over the lavender color.



Oh folks it is rumbling out there!!! Why doesn't it just rain. Maybe I need to go back out and do my dance again!

Beautiful bird, Josie!! I can see the lacing you are talking about! That is stunning!

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:

Quote: I did lose a bird to a Golden Eagle a few years ago- it was bigger than a Bald Eagle and it scarcely felt the need to hop up into the tree when I was almost on top of it...it was a big enough bird that I got that little rush of adrenalin one gets when something big or wild surprises you- that BASE reaction because we're still hard-wired to respond to things that can hurt us. It's a BIG bird! *Sheesh!*

Danz- You very well could be right. I studied up on goldens and immature balds a few years ago because we had a bunch of them that were coming to a frozen deer carcass about 200 yards from our house. I couldn't tell for quite a while what they were. It's hard to tell them apart. It turned out those were all immature bald eagles. I only thought this might be a golden because I had never seen the balds here during the summer. I don't know if it is going to nest around here or not. I hope I can get a better look at it sometime.

HEChicken- I have no idea if they are good mothers or not. This is the first poult I've had hatched by a broody. I just know my birds tend to stay outdoors. This poult seems to be more than a day old, and I don't know how it survived all the rain yesterday. All of the turkeys were soaked. I don't have them penned up, so lord knows what might happen. They have a house they can go into, but they don't.

The last guinea I tried to let raise her young ended up loosing all of them.

I have a herd of turkeys right now...2 Red Bourbons and 6 Royal Palms. It looks like all of them are girls but 2 of the Palms. I'm going to keep some to breed, but I think I'll have to process the others...I found one with a hurt wing today and she's walking around completely freaked out because the bad wing is vet-wrapped to her body. I know she'll get used to it, but it's driving her nuts now. If anyone needs a poult or a pair, let me know...I'm already getting attached and would rather sell than process (I'm such a blubbering softy!!!).

HEChicken...I haven't successfully hatched a pea chick yet, but I have a bunch due soon- still thinking of your barn fellow!

 

[lizzyGSR]

I forgot to mention:

HeChicken - Congrats on the dog! I hope she works out for you!

 

[Hawkeye95]

No, my DH doesn't enjoy the birds nearly as much as I do. He laughs at some of their antics, but I think he would rather just not have them. The lab is his dog, and we had the lab first, so I knew when I got the birds that if I wanted to keep them long-term that I had to get the dog to leave the birds alone without discouraging him from hunting. If it comes to the point where I have to choose between the dog and the birds, I know I'll have to choose the dog, which is why I've been so cautious and have been taking it so slowly with introducing the birds to the dog (I got my first ducks in March and am just now attempting to let my flock free-range). He's been doing well with my birds and seems to know which birds are mine and which are wild (he chases wild turkeys off the property when he sees them). I guess we'll see how successful I've been when turkey and/or pheasant season comes around this year.

I wouldn't think teaching the dog to be tolerant of your birds would interfere with his ability to retrieve and do his job while hunting. Hope you continue to have good luck with your free ranging.

 

[JosieChick]

Chooks- She is awesome! What should I do with her?? I have lavender orp chicks from another breeder in the brooder. Would you put a lavender orp over her and take the splits and breed back? Or is that going to dilute the color? I am assuming that an isabel orp roo would be too close in lineage. I have a big black orp boy from you in there right now and he is a horse! He is twice the size easily of those poor pullets. Fortunately they are a lot faster than he is and can get away swiftly if they don't want his clumsy loving!!! She really is very laced, it is such a cruddy picture, I think you would be thrilled with her color in person. I am not a good chicken photographer and it was such a hot day.

Hawkeye- Do you guys ever worry about your birds catching something when you are showing? Do you quarantine your show birds when they come back home? That is my biggest fear, it might seem silly but who knows what a bird in the cage next to them might be hiding and if they catch it and bring it home to your whole flock?

Makes me very nervous taking them out like that and then bringing them back....I really would love to get into it though. I have a handful of decent cochins and would love to see how they do in a show. Plus its always fun to meet friendly chicken folks! Oh, where is the NPIP site? I thought in Kansas you had to test all birds that were breeding age?? Danz?? Why not test ducks but test geese? So confused somedays!

Ivy- Your DH is awesome!! Did he get the turkey poult in his undies? Now that would be a feat. The poor cat probably never saw it coming!!

 

[mikeksfarmer]

Up front Cites and Cities has to do with bad spelling. (sorry) But hatcheries have to have certs associated with selling birds or animals across state borders, country borders or internationally. Government agencies require certain clean bills of health and provide inspections/ tests and other (mostly just costing money) But ideally to keep disease from going to vulnerable states or countries. If you can sell state to state or to other countries you have various permits which are collectively cities sp??. These permits should prove your birds are disease free and what you say they are. One example comes to mind here; I doubt any of you could take your flock of birds and dig up your favorite flowers and load them up in a U-Haul and drive to CA for a new start. I wouldn't want someone from Taiwan bringing their favorite chickens to KS as bird flu is a big issue there.
On an added note I personally feel that some of the swap meet, auction birds or people who purchase and sell there often have the baggage of disease that can do well in good weather or may suffer but not die. One example is Coryrisa sp? come 105 degrees little or no shade and other stresses and they start dropping like flies. Buy one bird from that auction and it carries every air born disease that is in that shed full of several hundred diseased birds. I work in a industry of medicine and science; if the average American only knew the disease that is pervasive in every home or office. But you know there are a lot of people with different opinions each has a right to share and each has the right to choose. I find it awesome that there are some very new people here that are willing to question the status Que! Continue please!

 

[ChooksChick]

Chooks- She is awesome! What should I do with her?? I have lavender orp chicks from another breeder in the brooder. Would you put a lavender orp over her and take the splits and breed back? Or is that going to dilute the color? I am assuming that an isabel orp roo would be too close in lineage. I have a big black orp boy from you in there right now and he is a horse! He is twice the size easily of those poor pullets. Fortunately they are a lot faster than he is and can get away swiftly if they don't want his clumsy loving!!! She really is very laced, it is such a cruddy picture, I think you would be thrilled with her color in person. I am not a good chicken photographer and it was such a hot day.

I think she looks great! You could put her with a Buff roo and then put her sons back to her- that would be a cursory way to preserve the buff. I have been working with over a dozen hens and 4 roos for this project and would be happy to give you a Split roo to put with her that would preserve the lacing and give you 50% Isabel Partridge offspring. I haven't any Isabel roos right now that are more than a week old....

It should be easy to move forward into your own flock of these if you put a Split roo over your Lavender hens, too- you might have to select for the better markings, but the roo should pass the lacing even with your pure Lavs. I just sent some to live with KarenS and Trish- perhaps they can post pics of the babies...I'll get more pics of my Isabels so you can see what they look like as adults.

 

[chicken danz]

Hawkeye, I'm not disagreeing with you on your information. Not sure which site you got it from. However, I do know that in order to be certified NPIP clean for breeding, all birds of breeding age have to be tested. I tend to follow the national rules that are specified for hatcheries and breeders since most people who want their flock verified clean are planning to sell their birds,chicks or eggs and often ship those birds across state lines. I admit I might have missed something in my studies and you might save me a lot of testing if you can point me in the right direction.
It is apparent though if you had 40 chickens and got them from different breeders unless they were all certified clean, and you only tested 30 of those birds you could miss infected birds in your flock. Not all chicks with pullorum die and grow into adults which spread it to their offspring. You could potentially spread it to every bird on the place. You can test select birds for the fair and your fine but if you want to be sure your flock is clean I do believe all birds should be tested. Most of us don't get our birds from a single source.
Josie I think the duck thing is in the Kansas rules for exhibition and swap meets. I have no idea why they chose not to test ducks for these things. It doesn't make sense. I don't think geese are necessarily considered water fowl where ducks typically are. There is so much gray area in there. I have made several calls to Dr. Grosdidier who is in charge of administering the NPIP program in Kansas trying to get full answers to many of those questions. And with each state setting up it's own rules to administer the program it becomes more and more confusing.
Each year they make changes to the provisions and the rules and a person almost has to attend the national meeting in order to know what is current and what is not. I just kind of go with what I believe is the safe and best.

 

[Trish44]

Chooks, is that what the chicks I just got from you will look like when they get older? If so that is awesome! I'm not planning to breed those, I just like the color & I wanted a few for layers. I have enough projects already without adding another one. Your Ameraucana chicks are doing well, they're growing but they're still little. I'm looking forward to meeting you soon & getting them to you.

Josie, that is some clinic your DH works at, wow I was impressed! I made it home fine with the chicks & what I have now is two cockerels & three pullets, so it must have been a cockerel that got smashed. That was awesome of that lady to send me two extras! I will have to send her a PM in a bit. For those of you that don't know I just got Cream Legbar chicks thanks to Josie & her DH, I'm so excited! It's a good thing I went ahead & got the chicks too because I candled the eggs today that went all the way to Dodge City & only one even shows any sign of developing. Two just showed nothing & one had a blood ring, so once again shipping did the eggs in.

HeChicken, that's a beautiful dog, I hope she works out for you, that's a pretty good mix too, although she looks more like a GP than Akbash I think other than the shorter fur.

I about had heart failure earlier when I went out to leave. On my way to the garage I looked over at the run & there trying to get around the door that was propped open was one of the Swedish Flower Hen chicks, it had escaped the grow-out pen & not only was outside of it's pen, but outside the run too. I had to drop everything & go catch it fast while it was trying to figure out the door. It turned out they had dug a hole under the pen & fortunately it was the only one out, so I put it back in & put bricks there. Whew, that scared, me those are some precious chicks besides the Cream Legbars that are my other expensive ones.

KarenS, I just put my other set of Swedish Flower Hen eggs into the hatcher today. I candled them before putting them in there & there were 13 that looked promising so we'll see what happens in a few days. Maybe I will get some more with crests in this batch. Let me know how your eggs do.

Well it's time to go back out & take care of animals & birds again. We just got a little rain shower wow, two days in a row! My little inside dogs were barking at the rain, I don't think they knew what it was it's been so long since they heard it.

Oh BTW, Danz, if you decide to come down to the Wichita area in the fall let me know so I can have you come test my birds too. I might as well do that since I'm selling chicks now. I'm not planning to ship at present, but who knows what next year will bring.

 

[JosieChick]

Chooks-Thank you for the offer on the roo! Is it a black split to isabel or another color? I will PM you in a few days about it. I have a bunch of roos I need to butcher this weekend so I can move my turkeys and make some room in pens and I will see where I am at for space! I really am enamored with her color. And she is a sweetie to boot.

Danz- That is strange. I figured ducks would need testing too. I know one of the ladies over on the Sebastopol thread was saying she doesn't have to have her geese tested in her state and can ship?!? I would think they would make it standard throughout the country so birds being shipped (or eggs) across state lines would be all meeting the same criteria. Oh well, glad my birdie turds are done for now!

Trish- SO glad you got your babies ok. I hope they do well for you. I was so sad about the one that got smooshed and kind of shocked that they did that! They are so little still.

Tweety- Forgot to say I LOVE your misting patio!!! Come to my house and build one for me!!