Alas!

[3KillerBs]

I got a notice that Ideal was running a 1/26 Hatch special -- 15 chicks for 32.55 (plus small order fee). It included breeds I want and I could have easily recouped the cost selling started pullets in 6 weeks, but I am not set up for mid-winter brooding.

That's one of the things I hope to establish over time -- the ability to brood at any time I can take advantage of a hatchery sale. I don't have any ability to brood indoors. DH is absolutely against chickens in the house. He isn't even happy that the incubator has to be inside.

(I don't rule out getting a climate controlled shed at some point in the future because of this).

Not today, however.

 

[jher77]

What kind of brooder do you have?

 

[3KillerBs]

What kind of brooder do you have?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

It's currently housing two cull cockerels in my garden.

The Little Monitor Coop is empty, but needs a new roof because it sprang a leak so I couldn't put chicks into it. It's too small for 15 for more than a week or two anyway.

 

[jher77]

If the first one had a floor, I'd build an ohio brooder and stick it in there. They are easy and cheap to build and they work well in the cold but the earth will suck up the heat so it work good on dirt. It might work good enough on some concrete pavers from Lowes, not sure.

I've built a few of them and can brood in the dead of winter with new borns but I've also had to stick up some sideboards or put the brooder inside another big box with small holes so they can escape if it got too hot.

 

[3KillerBs]

What I did last spring was to put a pavement of flakes off a straw bale under the shavings as insulation. It worked very well, but I'm simply not set up for it right now.

If I'd had the use of the Little Monitor Coop I might have gone for it, but I don't until it's been repaired.

 

[Iluveggers]

I saw that sale too…wrong time of year for me also! Fingers crossed there will be a good one in June! Eventually hoping for the same winter setup, but my mudroom used for brooding also houses our patio furniture in the winter until the snow melts.

 

[3KillerBs]

I saw that sale too…wrong time of year for me also! Fingers crossed there will be a good one in June! Eventually hoping for the same winter setup, but my mudroom used for brooding also houses our patio furniture in the winter until the snow melts.

It's really frustrating that I know I'd have been able to sell them for $10 each in 6 weeks.

 

[chickennewb-E]

I got a notice that Ideal was running a 1/26 Hatch special -- 15 chicks for 32.55 (plus small order fee). It included breeds I want and I could have easily recouped the cost selling started pullets in 6 weeks, but I am not set up for mid-winter brooding.

That's one of the things I hope to establish over time -- the ability to brood at any time I can take advantage of a hatchery sale. I don't have any ability to brood indoors. DH is absolutely against chickens in the house. He isn't even happy that the incubator has to be inside.

(I don't rule out getting a climate controlled shed at some point in the future because of this).

Not today, however.

Is that Ideal in Cameron TX?

 

[3KillerBs]

Is that Ideal in Cameron TX?

Yes.

One of the reasons I like ordering from them is that since they're in Texas their breeding-flocks are pre-selected for the heat-tolerance I need.