I have been using a bird bath deicer like this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-Aluminum-C-50-150-Watt/dp/B0002DHBDY
This year we have had some temps around 0-F and it has worked perfect.
I have a 3-gallon bucket with poultry nipples on the bottom. I cut a small hole in the lid to...
With the short days I often cannot gather eggs until I return home at night. I am out there with a small flashlight they always hop off roost and start eating/drinking like they have been starving. Never seen anything unusual except that they always seem so famished (despite having access to...
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Even for small flocks, I would recommend having a minimum of two nipples just in case 1 fails you have 1 as back up.
Currently I have 3 nipples and 4 hens, but from my observations 3 nipples is a lot more than 4 hens need. Never have I seen 3 drinking at once but rarely I have seen two...
I have not seen much discussion regarding using bird-bath de-icers to keep the chicken water unfrozen.
I am planning to use the Farm Innovators C-50 150-watt model in a 3-gallon nipple waterer bucket. The instructions say it is safe for all bird-baths including plastic and that to save power it...
I am planning to build a hanging heated nipple waterer. Planning to use a 2 or 3 gallon bucket with 4 or 5 nipples on the bottom and running a heating element through a hole in the top.
It seems like when I remove it to refill that the nipples would be on the ground, maybe damaging them and...
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At the meeting last night the Mayor once again left the room. I am not sure why. Maybe so that he does not appear to be strong arming the board, or maybe so that he is not seen on the record as hearing his chickens are illegal???
Update from the meeting:
Last night the planning board...
Changing the backyard chicken ordinance is going to be topic #1 at tonights Planning Board meeting.
It will start at 8-PM in the town hall #39 Academy St Califon, NJ.
My understanding is that chickens are currently NOT allowed, but they have unofficially been permitted until Mr. and Mrs...
I have heard of people asking $2 to $20 with $2 being for day old and $20 being almost ready to lay. Honestly if I thought they were healthy, well tempered, and gonna start laying any day now, I might shell out $20 just to save the time and effort of raising peeps.
I am trying to understand what difference there are in the saddle feathers of a hens from roos. I would greatly appreciate if is someone could post photos of saddle feathers that illustrate the differences between the sexes.
I am mostly interested in RIR and Araucanas.
What ages do the...
Even if I heat the reservoir, I am afraid the nipples will freeze up. Any ideas for keeping the nipples flowing?
Maybe I could design it so that the nipple is right on the reservoir so the heat from the reservoir will not have to travel far down a pipe to the nipples?
As I was running out of the 20% grower/raiser feed I went to TSC to buy more and discovered it was out of stock. My only choices were 24% for turkey chicks or 15% for layer hens. I went ahead and bought the 24%.
Should there be any harm in feeding the 24% Durmor to my 5-week old chicks (RIR...
My regular waterer keeps getting soiled with shavings and poop so I was thinking about a nipple watering system. We are in northern NJ and I do not plan to heat the coop, so the waterer must be heated.
Can nipple systems be heated to function in winters where it might occasionally get below 0...
My chicks are about the same age and I have the same problem. They have been in the coop over a week but do not readily exit the coop and enter the run.
My run does not yet have a top, so I have only been opening the hen-door when I can supervise. Each of the three times they have been out, I...
I am feeding day old chicks the medicated starter feed from tractor supply. Should I also be offering them grit, or is grit not recommended until they are older?
THANKS!