Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

Oh my, Dani! Let us know what you find out at the vet's!

Danz - digging lilacs after planting all of that! wow! i'm impressed!


I got some horizontal nipples in for the chickens on Monday. I drilled some holes in a gallon milk jug ( 2 nipples) and a half-gallon milk jug )1 niple) on Tuesday and put them in for my chicks. The chicks are using them nicely, and the water is staying so much cleaner! I've been dealing wiht leaks though... not with the nipples themselves but on the jug. Apparently, the gallon milk jug I chose wasn't the best choice. It's got a pinhole leak on the bottom and a split near the handle. I've been filling it only halfway because of the split near the handle and discovered the pinhole leak this morning. GRRR! Apparently, I need to upgrade to a 5 gallon bucket sooner than I thought. At least the horizontal nipples are working well, even if the milk jugs are proving to be flimsy. I might have to see if I can swap out the milk jug for another one to get me through 'till I can pick up a 5 gallon bucket I can use... Oddly enough, the 1/2 gallon jug is working splendidly.

Did you get the screw in type or the push in type nipples? They recommend the push in type with the rubber grommet for plastic waterers. That's what I got & only one out of 48 nipples leaked so I had to replace that one. You can also get 3.5 gallon buckets if you don't need a 5 gallon one. I didn't like the ones they had at Lowe's, they were too flimsy & cracked when I tried to drill holes in them, so I had to order them online since I needed so many & couldn't find them locally. 5 gallon buckets are awfully heavy when you try to hang them with water in them.

I tend to freak when I hear a chicken start sneezing unless I have just fed them. Many of them sneeze when they dive into their food. Understandable for sure. So I'm questioning myself what might be the safest option for absorbent bedding that doesn't tend to mold and would still be budget friendly.
Funny thing is I am very allergic to pine and almost any kind of evergreen tree. Both the pollens and the sap. I've noticed when using shavings that some brands are much drier than others. Perhaps those would be safer to use. Just thinking out loud here.
I think I did too much yesterday. Today I tried to work but it was cold and windy and I hurt all over. I just didn't seem to get much done.

I wonder if it also makes a difference in how fine the pine is ground? I buy the bigger chips of it, not the fine ground so I think there is less dust. I know TSC carries both types.

Well I finally found a used dog run to use for a growout pen so that posed another big project since the spot I had chosen for it had a big brush pile there. I ended up burning it last evening which turned into a much bigger project than I had planned. While I had it burning I decided I might as well clean up all of the brush piles in the orchard right there so it took much longer & was much more work than I had originally planned for. But the upside is the pile is gone & now I can rake that area free of rocks & debris & put up my pen. I had a really sore knee after all of that work last night so I'm not sure the pen will go up till this weekend. At least I have one now & a place to put it!

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Trish,
My vet saids that Sand or Kiln Dried Aspen is the best which is what Meyers ship their chicks out in.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Did you get the screw in type or the push in type nipples? They recommend the push in type with the rubber grommet for plastic waterers. That's what I got & only one out of 48 nipples leaked so I had to replace that one. You can also get 3.5 gallon buckets if you don't need a 5 gallon one. I didn't like the ones they had at Lowe's, they were too flimsy & cracked when I tried to drill holes in them, so I had to order them online since I needed so many & couldn't find them locally. 5 gallon buckets are awfully heavy when you try to hang them with water in them.

I am using the milk jugs as a proof-of-concept only. I didn't want to buy the buckets until I knew that the nipples would fit what I needed. So far, so good! The leaks I'm dealing with aren't related to the nipples. Instead, they're related to the fact that my jug was frozen when it had milk in it, and it didn't handle the freezing well. I really need to replace the jug with a different one but haven't emptied another one out yet. I'm not planning on hanging the buckets, just resting them on a rock or something to get them tall enough.

I bought the Soloway brand Horizontal Nipples from someone here on BYc (through his ebay account). They're the ones that screw in. I found a thread on here where a bunch of BYCers were discussing the pros and cons. The common consensus on that thread was that they liked these nipples. So far, I agree with them. I just need to find a decent jug to use - one that doesn't have pre-existing leaks would be helpful. The local hardware store sells clear five gallon buckets. I'm really hoping that these will be sturdy enough to use. Not having to open the lid just to check the water level would be nice (one nice thing about the milk jugs). If they're not sturdy enough, I'll go with the heavy duty buckets the local hardware store carries.

 

[Trish44]

Trish,
My vet saids that Kiln Dried Aspen id the best which is what Meyers ship their chicks out in.

I don't know where you get aspen chips, did the Vet tell you where you could buy them? I've never had a problem thus far with pine chips, I use them in my coop & for chicks as well.

Well from what I just saw online, they cost at least twice if not more than pine shavings, so for those of us with a lot of chickens it would not be feasible.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

No he didn't but I know petstores TS/F/os all have carried it as well as walmart/Lows/Kmart hope this helps.

 

[HEChicken]

I don't know where you get aspen chips, did the Vet tell you where you could buy them?

You can get Aspen at the big box pet stores like Petsmart and Petco. I used to use them for my snakes, but yes they are expensive. I want to say I also found some at a Walmart once but don't quote me on it. It is recommended not to put snakes on pine but one time their habitats needed cleaned and I didn't have Aspen so I tried a few on Pine and have never had any issues so now they are all on pine. They're 13 years old now and this breed only lives an average of 15 years so I figure if they've done fine on Pine the last 4-5 years, they'll probably live the rest of their lives on it now.

I also use pine for my coop and brooder and have never had any issues. I prefer the really fine shavings over the big chips. The ones I get are called Swift Pick shavings and the only place I've found them is Ace Hardware where they are sold as horse stall bedding. I like the small size as it breaks down faster and is easier to clean out. My chicks start out on a cloth towel for about the first three days until they know how to find food in the feeder. Then I take out the towel and replace it with the swift pick shavings and from then on, that's what they're on since that's also what I use in my main coop.

 

[girlsnammo]

Enjoying my new fluffy babies!! Thank you Trish44!!

 

[Trish44]

Enjoying my new fluffy babies!! Thank you Trish44!!

You're very welcome, I'm glad you're enjoying them!

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Girlsnammo too cute what breed do you have there?

 

[chicken danz]

Got most of the chicks moved out to the brooder house while ago. I am sick. Not sure if it is the flu or if it's just these major allergies right now. I cut down some 55 gallon barrels and made some nests for the peafowl. Their old ones were in pretty bad shape. They of course got all upset that I was bringing something into the pens though. I'm hoping to encourage them to lay. I have only had one egg so far and it is developing. Not that I want to hatch much more than I am right now but these guys need to pay for themselves.
I walked down the fence line with DH earlier and finally agreed to reduce the amount of land the dogs would have free to roam if I put up electric wire. It was going to cost me about $5000 just in wire alone not to mention insulators etc to fence the entire property with just two strands. I am going to need a lot of chain saw work out there too. And have to have at least two large gates for the farmer to get his equipment through. But maybe since he walked it down with me, he will help get it all done.