BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[DesertChic]

Congrats! Sometimes I think it would be pretty nice to have that kind of set up here... afraid it's not very feasible for me due to the time/work/climate(too hot/too cold for everything it seems.. sigh)

That's actually why I'm hoping it will work for me. The water temperature helps dictate what I can plant, so I'm able to start spring plantings now instead of waiting another month or two. We have ours in a building so there's a certain degree of climate control as well. I was afraid of putting it outside lest the fish boil in the summer and get flash frozen during out colder winter nights.

 

[DesertChic]

I'm so jealous! Congrats! I swore I was going to at least have tomato seeds started by New Year's. Now it's nearly Feb and still nothing started. But we are still drowning in mud here and the pond is draining through the garden every time it rains, 1 to 2 times a week.

Yikes! That's a lot of rain!

 

[Kev]

That's actually why I'm hoping it will work for me. The water temperature helps dictate what I can plant, so I'm able to start spring plantings now instead of waiting another month or two. We have ours in a building so there's a certain degree of climate control as well. I was afraid of putting it outside lest the fish boil in the summer and get flash frozen during out colder winter nights.

You're really lucky. I would love to raise tilapia but the winter time is too cold for them and am not interested in supplemental heating or wintering them indoors etc. Plus the severe CA drought....

I thought they had pretty good heat tolerance? I've seen in a documentary or??? where they were raised in concrete troughs in blazing full sun and they were stocked extremely high.

I discovered an Asian grocery store out close to a friend I visit regularly.. they have live tilapia, catfish and another fish I'm blanking on right now. Liking the idea of a source of super fresh fish but then they generally look pretty stressed..... should I try them out? Any precautions or...?

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

putting a thin layer of lube on their combs and wattles would likely take care of the problem.

Thin? I thought you had to pack it on?

 

[angry rooster]

Thankfully I don't seem to see water flinging but it's possible they get their wattles wet.  I remove the water from the coop when the chickens go to bed at night since it would freeze anyway.
I'm not even sure when the chickens got the frostbite- it might not have even been in the coop, they do like to go outside unless it's dreadful out. We really have not had what I'd consider cold weather this year but it certainly has  been unusually damp. They have covered shelters with straw so their feet don't freeze. A bit of frostbite on the comb is not good, but if their feet freeze that's unacceptable.

Has it been very windy by you and is there any other animals in the barn you might be getting a breeze through there and if you have other livestock they can swet a lot and make it humid enough to see mist and you may try to pack some hay bales around there shelters the hay will breath and it will stop any wind here in newfoundland I have had to make a zigzag entry way so the wind can't blow straight through and that has seemed to help me some

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Has it been very windy by you and is there any other animals in the barn you might be getting a breeze through there and if you have other livestock they can swet a lot and make it humid enough to see mist and you may try to pack some hay bales around there shelters the hay will breath and it will stop any wind here in newfoundland I have had to make a zigzag entry way so the wind can't blow straight through and that has seemed to help me some

It's just the chickens in the barn, but it's an old one , post and beam with stone foundation. It's not really windy here (not like The Rock!!!) The chickens are in the bottom of the barn. I know that the ventilation needs drastic improvement. I'm not sure how to accomplish that with this barn. I leave all the doors open all day to let it air, but at night everything is closed to keep out predators- except for one 10 sq ft. window on the south side that I removed the other day and replaced with hardware cloth (the glass can go back in if it does get super cold). It's not an air tight barn by any means, I hope I didn't make it drafty now, that's all they need!
I've often thought the chickens might even do better in the hay mow but up there the wood boards have big gaps and it is really drafty. I don't have horses any more, so we don't have any hay.

 

[hellbender]

It's just the chickens in the barn, but it's an old one , post and beam with stone foundation. It's not really windy here (not like The Rock!!!) The chickens are in the bottom of the barn. I know that the ventilation needs drastic improvement. I'm not sure how to accomplish that with this barn. I leave all the doors open all day to let it air, but at night everything is closed to keep out predators- except for one 10 sq ft. window on the south side that I removed the other day and replaced with hardware cloth (the glass can go back in if it does get super cold). It's not an air tight barn by any means, I hope I didn't make it drafty now, that's all they need!
I've often thought the chickens might even do better in the hay mow but up there the wood boards have big gaps and it is really drafty. I don't have horses any more, so we don't have any hay.

You should have plenty of ventilation. From the way it's described, you could do no more...except perhaps put that window back in. You may have created a draft.

Vaseline is cheap...just go ahead and slather them up when drastic temp drops are called for...that (and the window) seem like the easiest way to fix tings for this winter.

 

[hellbender]

Here are a couple pics of 'SHORTY' at about 3 months of age. I'm told he will NOT stand still for anything....most of us understand that!

 

[bnjrob]

Here are a couple pics of 'SHORTY' at about 3 months of age. I'm told he will NOT stand still for anything....most of us understand that!

Looks like some good sized shanks.

 

[hellbender]

Looks like some good sized shanks.

I'm told he's been moving like a whirlwind...might have better pics over the weekend. He should vastly improve on my gals.