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Hi Chairboy. I also keeps bees and chickens, in MN, just a little colder than you. I wrote a previous post on homemade waterers and got some great ideas. I have not tried the crock pot, but it sounds like it would work well, probably safer than the metal tin heater, especially if you use the...

Thank you all for the posts. Watering the flock is a project, especially in winter. Great ideas, I need to rethink the whole process. The galvanized waterer is loosing heat, the tin heater is loosing heat, I keep the water right outside the coop. Man, I did not think I would need to rethink...

Thanks for the replies. Thaokou in WI, sounds like you have a nice amount of space. I tried keeping the water in the coop, but it was such a mess, and the coop is about one third your size. Thanks for the ideas on different bases. I currently have it on concrete blocks, but they are not...

Thanks for the feedback. I don't fill the container to the full, usually 1-2 gallons. I have about 40 birds.

Hi everyone, I enjoy reading the posts. I recently made a water heater for the birds similar to the cookie tin idea that was posted here earlier. The problem is, I used a tin pan placed upside down with a light bulb inside, and it is not doing the job. The tin is 5" deep and about 15"...

3 Cravns and Turkeyrangler. It is fun to connect with people in the same area. To respond a little late to your question. I leave the chicken door open during the day to their run. I think your idea to put in the metal soffits with vent holes is the way to go. I think it gives you the best...

Hi Neil. Last year I did not have electricity and just put out water in the morning and evening. You may want to buy another waterer, but paying extra for insulation won't give you that much more time. My chickens did fine having a drink in the morning and a drink in the evening. Good luck...

Hi 3cravns. I live in Duluth MN. Winters are cold, especially with winds off Lake Superior. I have kept chickens over one winter now. I have two coops, yours looks great by the way, one of mine is unisulated, 4'x8', and about a dozen birds stay there. I don't heat it and the birds do fine...

Hi Johnny and all. I live in Duluth MN. Not quite as cold, but close. Lake Superior can bring some winds and cold. I overwintered 40 chickens last year, some in an attached garage where temps were always above zero F, ventilation was my problem there, build up of amonia smell. I also had...

Maybe like a little chick balcony. I have a roost in front of the nest boxes, so a balcony would be easy to do. the things we do for chicks.

I have had a broody hen sitting on eggs for awhile now, 21 days I suppose, and yesterday I found a chick dead on the coop floor and another one this morning. She is in a nest box about 12 inches off the coop floor. Is there anything I can do to keep the other eggs/chicks from the same fate? I...

Hi Sammi. I have an electric fence around my beeyard, 5 wires, the lowest one is 6 inches off the ground and every 6" - 8" up from there. I have chickens that free range on weekends when I am home, and they walk right over and under the wire. One got shocked once, scampered away real quick...

HI Celtic Moon. I have the same question. I was glad to see you describe it so well. I candled at day 10 and some were clearly developing, but when I put a light on the bottom of some, the egg is clear half way up the egg, and when I put the light on the top, it is clear down part way of the...

I have a 4'x8' coop on a 3'x7' garden trailer. The trailler is 21" off the ground. The 8' length front of the coop is 40" high and the back is 48" high, I have an angled roof. I made it using 2x2's and 15/32" plywoood. The roof is metal roofing supported by a 2x2 frame. The roof is hinged...

Thank you for the encouragement. I woke at 12:30 am to the sound of chirping. Beautiful sound. Six of nine have hatched and they look great.

Thank you for the quick reply. This is more nerve racking than I expected.

Thank you all for all the info I have gained from BYC. I am incubating 9 eggs, two have hatched (one this morning a day ahead of time), exciting, truly a miracle, and three more have cracked through the shell. So my question is, when do I move the chicks to a brooder after they have hatched...

Hi Jim 41. I have the same problem. I was just about to post and saw yours. I did a search on BYC and found three threads that were good. Like has been stated, darken the nesting boxes, give them eggs with hot stuff in it, and cull if needed. I have tried the first two and the problem is...

Hi BarredBuff. I noticed no one else has responded. I don't feed my chickens Purina Flock Raiser with Oyster shell. The oyster shell helps with calcium which they need for stong eggshells. With Oyster Shells in the name of the feed, I would expect Purina has the other ingredients necessary...

Thanks for the input. I am probably more sensitive to stuff on the eggs, it is not alot, but small dark streeks of poop is not uncommon. Out of 4 dozen eggs, I probably have a dozen that I want to clean. They lay in the nesting boxes and the boxes are clean. I do scrape off anything that...