Just before Thanksgiving, I posted in a panic about the smell in my henhouse. After getting tons of great advice about ventilation, we did some serious work, and now our coop is ready for the winter. I didn't take pictures of the actual ventilation holes that we added, but I took some pictures...
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Two days ago, we re-did everything. The chickens spend a good part of the day outside now, and inside is all fresh and clean. It doesn't stink at all now. We have a dropping board (tonight will be the first time for them to have it), and there is decent ventilation. I have never...
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Tomorrow we'll do the dropping board. I didn't put linolium on the floor because the floor seemed damp after picking up the yuck fluff, and I thought if I covered it, it would mold underneath. I'm hoping that with the new, dry fluff, it will absorb that wetness, and maybe we can just...
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I think that sounds like an excellent arrangement for a normal coop situation (where the chickens have a run and are not excessively crowded). If you keep on with that many chickens in that little space with no run, it is probably not going to be nearly enough (although certainly better...
I hope they can survive one more day "as-is", then tomorrow we'll get the hole cut and buy some new pine shavings ( a bunch) and redo the whole thing, AND work on the outside run. That will be the most challenging. AND advertise the Banties on Craig's list. Whew! Lots to do! Happy...
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For wintertime that should be pretty good (this should be on the usually-downwind side of the coop not the upwind side, and you will probably want some sort of flap to close it down however much is necessary and maybe sometimes to prop horizontally to keep rain from blowing in if the...
Ok, I've read all the ventilation stuff that was suggested, and we can cut a 1 ft x 8 ft opening at the top of one of the walls of the coop, and cover it with hardware cloth pretty easily. Is that enough on just one wall? Kristy
I haven't been around here since last spring when I hatched out some chicks and bought some chicks. Now, I have a great flock of chickens, but not enough space. Typical quandry for chicken lovers, I know! I think I have about 13 banty chickens, and 24? regular sized chickens, so almost 40...
They are 2 months old, completely feathered out, and look almost like adult chickens--they are big. I guess they should be all right next to the nice warm fireplace. Thanks so much for your responses. We are new chicken owners this year, so are pretty much clueless about anything out of the...
Hi,
We had 2 chickens that were getting pecked by the others so we separated them into a different pen. Well, we forgot to cover them and they got totally rained on. We have brought them in the house in a dog crate lined with shredded paper and they are right next to the wood burning stove...
I don't think I'll use my house as the brooder area again. I can't believe the amount of dust this is creating. It's gross. The chicks are in a big box. I can't wait for them to be able to go outside. Kristy
Update
My two ugly chicks that I helped out of eggs are still alive and going on day 26. One is looking pretty normal and fluffy while the other one is still gangly, feather stuck to body, and just sort of standing around. They're both eating and drinking though, so we shall see what happens...
Ok, I had 3 that dried out in the shell after pipping and zipping and I helped them all out. Two of them are still alive, but ugly, sticky looking, and the first one is finally beginning to fluff up after 2 days out of the egg. I think they'll both make it, but I wonder if I would do any...
Just wondering what I should do with the 9 eggs in the bator that never hatched. Do you open them and look what's inside? That sounds so disgusting to me. Or, do you just toss them in the trash? I have unplugged the bator. I'm done. It stinks and I'm not waiting on these eggs any longer...
Day 24-Hatch Update
Started with 32 eggs
Day 7 candled and culled 1 egg-it was not fertile
Day 14 candled and culled 7 eggs-not fertile, or very little development, mostly just brown looking yolk, gross, made me have dry heaves
24 eggs left in the bator till hatch time.
12 chicks hatched...
Hatch Update
Remember me? My post got this whole post started! Well, my hatch is finished, thankfully, and these are the results.
Started with 32 eggs
Day 7 candled and culled 1 egg-it was not fertile
Day 14 candled and culled 7 eggs-not fergile, or very little development, mostly just...
I put hot water in the bator this time and the humidity went from 55% to 67% pretty quickly. For the first time, the little windows have condensation on them. I have decided to leave them in there and hope they will get out on their own. I don't want another scrawny chick like the one I...
OK, I wrapped a warm, wet 1/2 of a paper towell around each egg, and I put more water in the bator. How long is too long to let them struggle in the egg? Kristy