5th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2014 Hatch-A-Long

[chickengirl1193]

I wouldn't put them directly into it. Someone on here has built an outdoor brooder I remember seeing it. Some people have built a grow out pen in their garages or under their carports. Even with full feathers they still have small mass and heat dissipates from small bodies faster. I would see if I could find some free styrofoam or scrap left over insulation that you could use to insulate a dog house with. You could a plastic dog house for the inside and build and outside out of pallet wood putting the insulation in a layer between. Use some of the plastic or metal corrogated roofing to make a removable top if you dog house is the kind that the roof comes off. That way you can get in to clean it. Hang a thick piece of plastic like a curtain on the door with a couple of slices that allows easy passage. If you use styrofoam make sure it is covered. My crazy Olive Eggers like to eat it. So far they have come to no harm but really that can't be good for them.

I'd like more design info or more pictures of your sling. I love the idea. Very ingenious.
I've seen chicken chairs but yours looks like it may have enough mobility to keep it happy.

At those temperatures, you can probably turn off the eco-glow when they're 2 weeks old at those temps. I'll bet they don't hunker under it during the day.

Given time to acclimate, depending on the breeds, they can take it.
I've had chicks out with broody hens out through the winter and fall. One batch was only about 3 weeks old when it dropped into the teens and I took them inside for about 4 days.
It was amazing, when I took the cage back outside and set it down in the pen, the broody ran right up to the cage. It was like one of those videos of kids greeting parents returning from Afghanistan. Enough to make one cry.

Not at a month. Depending on breed and the conditions they lived under they could be ready at 8 weeks.
I have some 8 week olds sitting on the roost with adults and it has been well below zero the last 2 nights - but they've been out there all winter.
If they've been in temps above the 50s and then below zero, even adults would be quite stressed.
That's another good reason not to provide heat for your birds. What happens to them when there's a power outage?


Amazing how much time they eat up in winter as well as the number of times I go out in the middle of night year round.

Before people have chickens, they never knew how many predators patrol their grounds at night because they aren't out there.

The digital display controller can be inserted into a box or even the incubator case so you only have the display and buttons showing.
The one that's just a circuit board can't be in the incubator since it can't handle the humidity or heat. I have mine mounted in a 4" plastic electrical box attached to the side of the incubator with the sensor inside the incy.

 
Thanks for that. I love knowing keystrokes. I miss DOS.
Komfortable Kelvins to you.


Avian vets are a start but those that know anything about chickens are as rare as hens teeth.
We have about 6 avian vets around us and we have hundreds of vets in our big metro area but only 2 really know chickens and they own chickens.
There's a couple more that see chickens but their results are not good.

First of all there are very few poultry programs in vet schools any more. I think there are only 6 now.
First of all most avian vets take care of expensive parrots and some may consider a chicken a waste of skills and time.
Here is a good explanation of other reasons they are rare.

http://mikethechickenvet.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/why-arent-there-more-chicken-vets/

My quotes disappeared.

Someone was asking about an outdoor brooder. Here's mine. I use 2 lamps in winter in case a bulb blows & only 1 in warmer months. In the summer I turn the light off during the day & they bask in the sun instead. If they are feathered enough I just leave the light off. This is my grow out brooder for chicks too big for the baby brooder. I especially love it for waterfowl. This allows me to brood them with my non-water babies without them getting soaked. Everything drops through the wire bottom & we just hose it away.

okay thank you every one for the ideas! im going to put them in the coop in a few weeks but keep a heated spot and lower it 5 degrees a week and then I'll probably leave them with a low wattage heat lamp for the remainder of the winter. I just want them to have more room in the coop outside. and then next winter they won't use a heat lamp. this is my first time with chicks so I'm ironing out all the kinks.

 

[JDchicks]

Tetra Tints are pretty common around here, Tractor Supply Company, and my place The Mill carry them and buy from Mt.Healthy. I want to get some this year. My cousin had them last year and they laid a pretty brownish/red egg. She was just saying the other day she missed hers...after a recent hawk invasion!

I will have to post pics. My mother got me chicks from TSC during "ChickDays". And I have 3 hens that look similar. There were 6 from the pullet bin, and we ended up getting 1 dark red hen, 1 red with cream hen, 3 white with tinting on wings/tail and 1 golden with red roo. The girls lay light brown to dark reddish brown. Just always referred to them as my mixed flock.

 

[Gardeningmama]

I had to post this. Over on my Pa Facebook Group, a girl posted this picture saying these opossums (first 1 and now 2)have been sleeping every night in her coop, in the nesting box and haven't bothered the chickens, so she's allowing them to stay. I didn't say a word because the poor girl is already over there getting fileted, but WOWSER!

Isn't that insane?? I really hope this story doesn't have a bad ending.

Notice the chicken roosting on the box?

 

[chicken pickin]

I had to post this. Over on my Pa Facebook Group, a girl posted this picture saying these opossums (first 1 and now 2)have been sleeping every night in her coop, in the nesting box and haven't bothered the chickens, so she's allowing them to stay. I didn't say a word because the poor girl is already over there getting fileted, but WOWSER!

Isn't that insane?? I really hope this story doesn't have a bad ending.

Notice the chicken roosting on the box?

OH MY!!!! I would never allow that to be happening in my coops. NO WAY!!!

 

[GerbilsOnToast]

I had to post this. Over on my Pa Facebook Group, a girl posted this picture saying these opossums (first 1 and now 2)have been sleeping every night in her coop, in the nesting box and haven't bothered the chickens, so she's allowing them to stay. I didn't say a word because the poor girl is already over there getting fileted, but WOWSER!

Isn't that insane?? I really hope this story doesn't have a bad ending.

Notice the chicken roosting on the box?

O....M...G...

 

[msladyhawke]

O....M...G...

X2 !!!! Holy cow!

 

[LearningChicken]

I still only have 1 baby from my hatch. I have candled the remaining eggs and there are some I am really not sure about. How long do I let mama sit? She is still on the eggs (although she takes very good care of baby Jasmine!)

 

[Cynthia12]

Well it is 2:45 above Nashville TN and 4˚ with one more degree to drop. (BTW if anyone is wondering how to make the degree symbol: Press the Alt button and then the K button. I remember which one it is because the science world uses a third temperature scale called Kelvin to measure extremely cold temperatures.)

So trying this out now..lol

Didn't work for me?

 

[Aphrael]

It is time for winners!

Best Hatch Rate: First Place @Wisher1000 94% Set hatch rate.
Second Place: @draye 81% Set hatch rate

Worst hatch rate: @Pennyhen with 0 with 26 set.

I will contact you with prize information.

I will announce the two winners for the Cutest Chick hatched after I eat dinner! It is a Pot Pie and the stock was made from home made Rabbit and Turkey.

Congrats to all the winners!

That sounds like a really yummy dinner Ron. Made my mouth water for homemade pot pie!

Well, my one little lonely egg baby didn't make it.

It was sure going to be pretty, pure white. Tetra Tint. Very interesting. Would really like getting some of these. Haven't seen them until now.

Awww. I am so sorry you lost it.

Thank you very much. I especially like the one from Hong Kong. It has a nice case around it. Harder for me to damage if I am having a "3 Stooges Day"!

Hmmm. Every day is one of those for me.

My kids tell me I could trip on a speck of dirt.

Well it is 2:45 above Nashville TN and 4˚ with one more degree to drop. (BTW if anyone is wondering how to make the degree symbol: Press the Alt button and then the K button. I remember which one it is because the science world uses a third temperature scale called Kelvin to measure extremely cold temperatures.)

Awww. It doesn't work on my keyboard.

Phooey!

My quotes disappeared.

Someone was asking about an outdoor brooder. Here's mine. I use 2 lamps in winter in case a bulb blows & only 1 in warmer months. In the summer I turn the light off during the day & they bask in the sun instead. If they are feathered enough I just leave the light off. This is my grow out brooder for chicks too big for the baby brooder. I especially love it for waterfowl. This allows me to brood them with my non-water babies without them getting soaked. Everything drops through the wire bottom & we just hose it away.

That is a nice brooder! I may have to steal the idea for it. Ducklings are hard to deal with in a traditional brooder. They are SO messy.

I had to post this. Over on my Pa Facebook Group, a girl posted this picture saying these opossums (first 1 and now 2)have been sleeping every night in her coop, in the nesting box and haven't bothered the chickens, so she's allowing them to stay. I didn't say a word because the poor girl is already over there getting fileted, but WOWSER!

Isn't that insane?? I really hope this story doesn't have a bad ending.

Notice the chicken roosting on the box?

Wow.... That is a disaster in the making. Even if by some miracle they never hurt the chickens, they are notorious egg eaters. No way would this ever be allowed in my coops either.

 

[Cynthia12]

It is time for winners!

Best Hatch Rate: First Place @Wisher1000 94% Set hatch rate.
Second Place: @draye 81% Set hatch rate

Worst hatch rate: @Pennyhen with 0 with 26 set.

I will contact you with prize information.

I will announce the two winners for the Cutest Chick hatched after I eat dinner! It is a Pot Pie and the stock was made from home made Rabbit and Turkey.