A wool hen - creating one today

[Folly's place]

Following! Mary

 

[bobbi-j]

I'm following, too!

 

[Mrs. K]

This is working so well. I have them in a small tote, (of course, it is 19 degrees, cloudy and light snow) in the garage. I have been using a heat lamp during the day, just so they get light. The lamp is not real warm, I will check with a thermometer today, but it is no where near, 100 degrees. The chicks are active, eating, drinking and pooping, all good signs. They peep very often.

The first day, it was a family night at school, I was gone all day. DH kept the water up, and when he left for a couple of hours, he turned out the heat lamp to prevent a possible fire. When he got back, he said that they had crawled under the wooly hen.

They are nearly silent just an occasional peep, under the wooly hen. I have stuck them under there, and almost immediately they relax, quiet, and are asleep. I think the dark is good for them. Many worried that they would get tangled in the wool yarn strands, but that has not been a problem.

Going out to try and attach photos.

 

[Mrs. K]

 

[Mrs. K]

 

[Mrs. K]

I am not too good with the pictures yet - so let me explain here:

The first picture is the wooly hen upside down. I took a rectangular bucket and cut it in half. Cut the bottom out, but left an edge. It is about 5 inches high. I do a lot of knitting, and had left over wool yarn. So I made 'pom-poms' by wrapping the yarn around a stiff piece of cardboard, about 4 1/2 inches wide. then slipping another yarn under the wind, and pulling it tight, tying a knot. then cut the bottom edge, these I hot glued to the inside of the bucket.

The chicks can go in by themselves, they are warm, and the sleep. The garage is not heated, and it is quite cool out there. I am anxious to get them down to the hen house, but may wait a little bit for the weather to improve, it is suppose to be nice on Tuesday. My garden is enclosed, so the girls and I will take them outside today, just to run around in a bigger area. I will set up the wooly hen, and see if they use it if it is in a big space on their own.

Mrs K

 

[Mrs. K]

I put the thermometer in there, when the chicks were napping, and it is about 84 degrees. They hatched on Monday, and are getting feathers.

 

[donrae]

I'm encouraged by your results so far!


I'm thinking to try this again. I'll probably wait until I have sex links hatch, and use it on the males. I'm thinking more of a transition type thing to the grow out pens? I have enough brooder space and am pretty okay with the heat lamp there, but with rolling hatches I need to move them outside at a few weeks. I'm not thrilled about running heat lamps out to the grow out pens. So, maybe use these like a huddle box type thing for 4 week old chicks? Ideas?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ll post so I follow.

Mrs. K, how many chicks do you have? Do you think the number of chicks would make a difference in heating it up?

Rachel, you know when you do something you become the expert. I don’t know what your temps will be when you try this, but where you are and at 4 weeks, I’d think you’d do OK. Even without the wool hen they’d have a chance. I’d think dry and out of the wind would be important criteria for you.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have 13 chicks. I think up to 20 would fit. And while I know they do huddle together, when I lift it off of them, they are stretched out flat, and they are quiet, so I don't think they are distressed and freezing under there. They are not piling on top of each other desperate to keep warm. I think their own body heat is being trapped, and keeping them warm.

To Donrae: I think it would be of help, before you make the transition, to do like I am doing. Turn off the heat lamp and stick them under the wooly hen at night. That way they would get used to sleeping under it, then make the transition to the grow out coop.

For it to work, I think it needs to be pretty thick above them, but also, it needs to be insulated under them. I took the lid of the container, put more pom-poms on it. Then I covered that with a sheet, as I didn't want the poop getting into the wool. Since I set this up, I put them on hay bedding, so that they stay drier.

If I could get sunshine, I would have them in the coop, but the heat lamp is really for light.... and a little warmth while they are out of the wooly mamma.

Mrs K