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  1. sksmass

    Parking the tractor, should I build a raised floor for the winter?

    I have parked the tractor (~8x8) and am winterizing it. Question: Should I put palletts down inside the tractor with planks on top to kind of raise the flooor off the cold ground, then cover that with shavings? Or would that actually make things colder? is it actually better to have the...
  2. sksmass

    The math behind “straight-run” (RESULTS)

    A couple weeks ago I posted and asked fellow BYC'ers to tell me the male/female ratios they experienced in their “straight-run” hatchery orders. My intent was to gather data to better understand what “straight-run” really means. I received a lot of data and present below the findings of my...
  3. sksmass

    Post your straight-run M/F ratio, let's see if hatcheries are honest

    If you got straight-run meat birds please post how many females and males you had, the type of bird, and the hatchery. If enough people give me data, I will be able to statistically prove* whether or not "straight-run" is really what we think it is. In general, we'd expect our straight-ruin...
  4. sksmass

    Just finished processing my first birds EVER!

    I took the day off, steeled my nerves, and processed my first birds ever today. Three male CXs were 8 weeks old and weighed 9lbs live so their time had come. They dressed out at 6.5lbs. They seemed too big to fit in a bleach bottle cone so I cut a hole in the bottom of a 3 gallon peanut oil...
  5. sksmass

    Help me ID our chick breeds

    We got an assorted batch of chicks four weeks ago and most of them I can ID. But I am not 100% positive about these ones below and have been holding off naming them until I figure out what they are! Can any of you experts help me out by positively identifying the chicks in these pictures below...
  6. sksmass

    Should coop door swing in or swing out?

    That's pretty much the question. I could see advantages to both. Note: talking about the HUMAN door, not the chicken "pop" door.
  7. sksmass

    2 chicks missing from order, but which ones? (edited, now with PIC)

    I got my order from MM today and all survived! Yay! The only problem is that there were 26 chicks in the box and there were supposed to be 28 (according to the packing list). Hmmm. How do I tell which ones are missing? The birds are a mixture of layers and CX meaties. I can identify some...
  8. sksmass

    Brooding CX alongside layers, what are the potential issues?

    I am getting an order of 25 chicks soon, 15 layers and 10 CX meaties. I had intended to put them all in the same brooder. What are the potential issues and what advice do you experienced keepers have? 1) I know the meaties are supposed to have higher protein feed than the layers. If I brood...
  9. sksmass

    Using photovoltaics to generate and "dump" heat into a distant coop

    I have been thinking about doing a fun chicken-related experiment with solar but am having trouble believing my calculations are right! The idea is to tap solar energy to heat a bucket of water in the coop which would act as a “heat dump” to provide passive winter-time heat to a distant coop...
  10. sksmass

    Brooder warming, any less incendiary options than light bulbs?

    I am getting my chicks in a month and starting to build their brooder. I know the standard advice is to leave light bulbs, either special heating ones or just normal household ones, on pretty much 24/7 for the first several weeks. But frankly, the thought of leaving a white-hot bulb poised...
  11. sksmass

    Tempted to offer some of my chicks to my child's classroom

    I just placed an order for 25 chicks from MM hatchery. I know my child's first grade classroom would love to "raise" some chicks (I think that probably means brood no more than five of them for a couple of weeks max). I am tempted to offer to separate some of my CornishX chicks when I get them...
  12. sksmass

    Fulfilling my ckicken dream this spring, advice needed

    Hello everyone, I plan on fulfilling my dream of owning chickens this spring but am in dire need of some advice. I'd like to raise ~15 Cornish X for meat and ~15 egg layers. I plan to build a "Plamondon-style" 8'x8' (64sf) hoop coop/tractor and move it daily. Advice from experienced...
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