Nevadans? - Page 1058

I've seen a wire window screen used. It seemed to work nicely and the heat lamp sits on top

ron you coulld sell pure breed BO

if that was a breeding pen they could also swich off which roo is in

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2seth2 

ron you coulld sell pure breed BO

Oh you enablers are sooo helpful!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2seth2 

so i would buy a heat lamp and use a tall box covered with chicken wire

For the carboard box you could even use that black plastic mesh for gardening as a covering - looks kinda like chicken wire but made of plastic and much cheaper. Then what I do is suspend the heat lamp from a doubled up butcher's twine. That way you can raise or lower it depending on temperature needs. As they get older you will generally be raising it.

 LOL on the copetones Elizabeth!

 

Where are you located ng0176?

ETA: See, I've almost got myself talked into your roo (with the help of my enablers, of course )!

I am a bit stressed about having a big enough brooder for 27 chicks!  The goal is to get them outside in the (not yet built coop) at 5-6 weeks.  They already seem cramped in the 2 90qt rubbermaids  we have.  (14 and 13 in each).   Do I have reason to be concerned,  I seriously think I do.   We bought an old kitchen cabinet at Habitat today but still thinking we are not going to have enough room.  I feel so unprepared and I am too type A...  Maybe some chicks need new homes! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajlynco 

I have a small side yard (15X50) where my coop/run (6X20) are and I'd like to plant some forage for my 11 girls. I have 6 Black Stars and 5 California Whites. What could I plant as forage for them. I'm also considering a screened frame (don't know what they're called) to put down over some of the new growth so the chooks don't eat em down to the ground. The 2X6 frame w/screen will let the new shoots get a good start and the hens can eat what grows up through the screen. I'd like to plant the whole area, which doesn't seem like much. What have you fellow BYCers had good luck with in this Reno climate?

Containers are awesome!  I'm doing all of my greens in either containers or deep beds that I can put grates over.  That way I can put the containers up high, out of the chickens' reach, then bring it down low if I want them to eat it.  I'm doing lettuce, spinach, kale, and swiss chard this year, and the kale is mostly for the chickens.  It grows back so fast, and in harsh conditions.  Chard is also a "cut and come back" plant, and it grows very well here.  You can plant chard next month, if you wanted to.

Honestly, chickens will eat just about anything you plant in your garden, so I would go for fast-growing greens that can quickly replenish and take little space.  I'm planning my garden around my girls... cucumbers are going up front, where they don't even see them!  Tomatoes will be screened in until they get high enough that the majority of the fruit is out of reach.  They can have the lower ones... their treat.  Beans aren't even going where they can get near them, although they don't bother them once they're over 2 feet high.  Very tasty while young, though.

Toward the end of the season, I let them roam around the garden all they wanted.  Everything was too high for them, except for a few tomatoes, and the cucumbers.  They loved those cucumbers!  So I just didn't get cucumbers for the rest of the year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by horseshowmomnv 

I am a bit stressed about having a big enough brooder for 27 chicks!  The goal is to get them outside in the (not yet built coop) at 5-6 weeks.  They already seem cramped in the 2 90qt rubbermaids  we have.  (14 and 13 in each).   Do I have reason to be concerned,  I seriously think I do.   We bought an old kitchen cabinet at Habitat today but still thinking we are not going to have enough room.  I feel so unprepared and I am too type A...  Maybe some chicks need new homes! 

I had my chicks in a Rubbermaid container for 2 weeks, then they outgrew it.  Then I had a huge-sized dog crate, and by the time they were 6 weeks old they were more than ready for more space.  I had 5 of them.

I'm planning to use my daughter's bathroom as the extended brooder.  It's a half-bath, and I can duct tape the toilet closed and put a tarp on the floor, then bedding on the tarp.  A toddler gate would close off the door.  And not to speak ill of my daughter, but I really don't think the chicks can get it much dirtier than she does.