anyone like the hovabator? this is the one my feed store sells. we have a little giant and have used it once. had a 4 out of 11 egg hatch rate. i found it very difficult regulating the temp. a few mornings i woke up to temps off the charts.
thanks,
lisa
thanks for your reply!
we did move 2 months ago so maybe the coccidiosis would be possible then? every picture i find of a chick or hen w/ coccidiosis is puffed up like my hens, but maybe hens puff up regardless of what is making them sick?
but i also started to use more straw in their coop as...
hi all,
i had a 10 month old laying hen die about 3 weeks ago. my 23 hens are free ranged over 3 acres and only in the coop at night. for the past 2 months or so a lot of them have had runny poop sticking to their feathers. in the case of the hen who died, for about 2-3 weeks she was...
thanks, hadn't thought of a wall mount feeder.
any more ideas? can i use a regular chicken waterer? i know they need to get their bills completely in so those just don't seem to offer enough water?
hi all,
trying to come up for a design for a duck and goose pen. i will probably get 3 toulouse geese. can someone give me an idea of how much space i would need per bird in the pen and what size door i would need for them? also, i will be using this for them at night and they will free range...
so how do you best keep the floors clean if you are using wood flooring? cover w/ a pretty thick layer of straw and then do you do a deep litter method or clean out the pen regularly.
maybe i could keep 1/2 covered w/ plywood for sleeping and then another part w/ the the wire where i could keep...
so what do you think about using the wire if it's only for sleeping at night? and i would cover it w/ straw?
what are my other options for flooring in a duck pen? i plan on housing them in there in the evenings and they will free range during the day w/ my chickens. should i just use wood and...
i tried everything, too. i really didn't like putting those towels in my washing machine though. puddle pads seem so wasteful and i changed them several times per day. a farmer i know who raises lots and lots of ducks uses the pine shavings and doesn't have a problem. i think in the future i...
yes on hardware cloth. i know ducks don't roost like chickens so do you think this would be safe? if it's a tight mesh, could a predator still hurt them or get to them in any way from underneath through the mesh?
lisa
thanks for your responses everyone! yes, i will make the planks wider for sure. please chime in if you have any other ideas for modifications.
thanks!
lisa
by the way, nesting boxes are at the back. what kind of set up do ducks need for nesting boxes? similar to chickens? how many per bird?
dimensions on coop are 4' deep x 8' wide
thanks!
hi all,
wondering if you think this looks like a good duck pen? also would love to use it for geese if anyone knows about housing for geese. any things you would modify on it?
thanks so much. not sure how to post photo so hope this worked.
hi all,
i am wanting to build something that can be used for a brooder initially and then be used as the future coop and run for chicks until they are grown up enough to be introduced to my previous flocks and either kept w/ those previous flocks in their coop (my adult birds are in coop at...
hi again,
in thinking about housing for our ducks, i am wondering whether ducklings once out of the brooder and ready to be outside, can be kept w/ an older flock of ducks? i am trying to come up w/ a design for a pen and this is something i want to consider for when we inevitably get more...