Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder (Picture Heavy) - UPDATE

Blooie said:

Kendra has spent the last week walking though the house holding on to only one of our hands instead of two. Amazing how much more comfortable that little change has been on my back!

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A V Davidson said:

Okay...I don't want to get fined or go to jail so here is a photo. You cannot see much of what I discussed in my last post. The temp water bottle is hung on the kennel cage door. The heating pad is tucked under the 2x4 "roost" I constructed for just that and to give them their own selection of how much heat they want. Newest, littlest chick is in the foreground (adopted today).

We went to the feed store today and they had just acquired a big batch of week-old peepers. I could use a bit of help if any of you can see in the photo good enough to tell me...what is this breed I just brought home with me? The clunk at the store, I mean clerk, didn't know any of the five breeds he had in stock...I just reached in a grabbed one that didn't look like mine at home. What I'm hoping you'll say is RIR, Maran, or White Leghorn; or I'll find out when she grows a little bigger. Her wing feathers were a row of small and a final row of long...hopefully a hen. The older chicks (6 weeks) don't seem to care to bother her and at all for which I'm very fortunate.

The older chicks have been spending the sunny hours outside in the cage/hut I built for them. The hut rests above the run cage and they haven't yet discovered how to get from upper to lower levels on the ramp. I still have a little more work to do on it including the water nipples. So far everything has gone well and the girls appear to be in the best of health.

I'm not sure, but I think it's about time they should be transitioning from starter feed (powdery) to the next step. I have been grinding wheat grain, rolled oats, O.Reddenbacher popcorn, egg shells, pumpkin and squash seeds in my Bullet grinder. The grains crack down to about 1/4 their full size and there is some that gets powdered. I'm certainly no expert on chicken feed, but I have felt this to possibly be good for them. I haven't come upon any ideas for drying and grinding up carnivorous treats to add that type of protein to their feed. Maybe some of you can help me get educated with this. I'm growing alfalfa, oats, peas, barley, and a few other grains so they'll have some fresh sprouts to scratch through in a couple of months.

When we get to our Summer cabin there will be thousands of grasshoppers for them to digest, and other insects. Our German Shepherd already does a pretty decent job of protecting them when they are out of their cages, so random foraging should be abundant for them.

If there is anything you see or read here please let me know quickly so I can remedy the problem and keep them healthy. Thanks





Well, I just took this photo about 10 minutes ago. Hope it posts well.

frogstomper

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A V Davidson said:

Hello, Bruce

You're right on...the three larger chicks are Buff Orpington, Black Australorp, and Barred Plymouth Rock. As they grew bigger (and that was fast) I toyed with the idea of one more chick hoping for a RIR, Maran or Hampshire Red. The only clerk on duty at the feed store (Pet Club) knew nothing about the chicks he had in stock, especially their breed, so I just reached down and picked one that didn't look like the three I already have...then I got to wondering about temperament, laying productivity, and even if it was a hen or rooster. I checked out the wing feather lengths and have decided it is a hen but still no clue as to the breed. Then I got a reply from "Beekissed" who suggested that the new little one might be a Red Sex Link, and now I'm hoping for that because of the information I obtained from "Blooie." Her red sex links are beauties.

Location: Not far from the southern border in Arizona. This weather isn't even close to what you are experiencing already in Vermont. Highs are around 65 to 78 degrees, and the nightime lows range between 42 and 47 degrees. No snow! In this area the feed stores do not get any shipments of chicks before the last week of October...way too hot any earlier than that. The shipments come at that time from breeders in New Mexico and Texas. Wierd it may seem, but I still go outdoors in shorts and a T-shirt instead of a Ruskie fur cap and an Eskimo parka along with waterproofed boots.

No photo -- they look the same today as they did the other day when I posted several pictures.

Frogstomper

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bruceha2000 said:

You don't have your location in your signature or profile. This is a REALLY weird time of year for feed store chicks. Maybe you live somewhere that doesn't have winter or has winter during a different time of year than December?

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