Arizona Chickens

[cyborg]

Stopped at Post Feed on Avra Valley and Sandario Roads for some hi protein meatball feed this morning, noticed they had some NN chicks @DesertChic

 

[FeatherPugs]

Has anyone ever used sand in their brooder? I have chicks hatching today/tomorrow and was just curious if anyone had tried that.

I have never used sand in my brooder but I have used it in the coop. I'm sure it would be okay as long as the brooder wasn't in the sun. I'm hesitant to use it much in the little's yard or the hen's yard area. The sand get hot in the sun so I'm afraid to use it very much. Easy- peasy to clean too. I just have a mesh covered pitch fork to pick up the mess and its done. Now if my coop was three times larger I'd be ecstatic!!

 

[cyborg]

Has anyone ever used sand in their brooder? I have chicks hatching today/tomorrow and was just curious if anyone had tried that.

I have never used sand in my brooder but I have used it in the coop.  I'm sure it would be okay as long as the brooder wasn't in the sun.  I'm hesitant to use it much in the little's yard or the hen's yard area.  The sand get hot in the sun so I'm afraid to use it very much.  Easy- peasy to clean too.  I just have a mesh covered pitch fork to pick up the mess and its done.  Now if my coop was three times larger I'd be ecstatic!!  

X2! I am contemplating adding a 20 x 30 pen on the back of my existing pen, and adding Brahmas to the flock, but the cost will be about $800+. Might have to put that off for a week or three. I did just order some tools for caponizing roosters, and might cull a few this weekend for practice. The cull is long overdue, and I know the hens will appreciate it!

 

[DesertChic]

Stopped at Post Feed on Avra Valley and Sandario Roads for some hi protein meatball feed this morning, noticed they had some NN chicks @DesertChic

But....I think I'm over 85 chickens now with these last two hatches, so I will probably avoid checking them out. Maybe. Possibly. You know, that's only about an hour away.....

 

[DesertChic]

X2! I am contemplating adding a 20 x 30 pen on the back of my existing pen, and adding Brahmas to the flock, but the cost will be about $800+. Might have to put that off for a week or three. I did just order some tools for caponizing roosters, and might cull a few this weekend for practice. The cull is long overdue, and I know the hens will appreciate it!

I have to cull a few extra cockerels too, and I'm dreading it because I have reasons to like every single one of the remaining birds, but I have WAY too many boys running around here. One of my girls is beyond bare-backed and downright bald. Plus...I'm running out of meat to eat.

 

[cyborg]

Stopped at Post Feed on Avra Valley and Sandario Roads for some hi protein meatball feed this morning, noticed they had some NN chicks [@=/u/316369/DesertChic]@DesertChic[/@]

But....I think I'm over 85 chickens now with these last two hatches, so I will probably avoid checking them out. Maybe. Possibly. You know, that's only about an hour away.....

X2! I am contemplating adding a 20 x 30 pen on the back of my existing pen, and adding Brahmas to the flock, but the cost will be about $800+. Might have to put that off for a week or three. I did just order some tools for caponizing roosters, and might cull a few this weekend for practice. The cull is long overdue, and I know the hens will appreciate it!

I have to cull a few extra cockerels too, and I'm dreading it because I have reasons to like every single one of the remaining birds, but I have WAY too many boys running around here. One of my girls is beyond bare-backed and downright bald. Plus...I'm running out of meat to eat. 

SWIMMING POOL BROODER

I usually just use a large cardboard box to brood chicks, but after taking some pics yesterday of some 1 week old Cornish X, it hit home how fast they were outgrowing my normal box brooder. After a trip to the local Dollar store, and some creative cardboard and tape work, I ended up with this....

This is 5 foot diameter plastic pool ($20), with 36 inch cardboard walls. With the exception of the pool, everything else is shed scrounge.

Well, that didn't last long. Today, I am turning one end of the "common pen" into a grow out pen for the meatball chickens.

Well, the "SWIMMING POOL BROODER" wasn't a TOTAL waste, even though I only used it for a week before moving the meatballs out to the main pen. When I was at Post Feed this morning, the highest protein feed they was NatureWise 22% meatbird chow. So, I decided to check out TSC this afternoon and scored some Purina Game Bird starter at 30%. Also picked up some more heat lamps, feeders, and waterers, and, well, they had chicks, too..including 14 meatball chicks, at $1.99 per. Need I say more? I was weak, I admit it.

 

[tschmaltz722]

Sorry I don't post often, but I need help! Woke up to two of my 4 week old pullets dead in the brooder. I don't know what happened at all. Water and food. No trauma visible. We moved the two that were still alive out to a dog kennel in our lawn, and offered new water and food. They are eating and drinking but seem to extend their neck a lot when doing so. The americauna chick seems to be foaming a bit at the mouth.

We emptied the brooder. What do we do about the other chicks? What could have happened?

 

[raisingdaisies]

Sorry I don't post often, but I need help! Woke up to two of my 4 week old pullets dead in the brooder. I don't know what happened at all. Water and food. No trauma visible. We moved the two that were still alive out to a dog kennel in our lawn, and offered new water and food. They are eating and drinking but seem to extend their neck a lot when doing so. The americauna chick seems to be foaming a bit at the mouth.

We emptied the brooder. What do we do about the other chicks? What could have happened?

There is an emergency board and you should get more views and answers there. I hope it's something fixable

 

[tschmaltz722]

There is an emergency board and you should get more views and answers there.  I hope it's something fixable

Thank you!

 

[City farm]

Sorry I don't post often, but I need help! Woke up to two of my 4 week old pullets dead in the brooder. I don't know what happened at all. Water and food. No trauma visible. We moved the two that were still alive out to a dog kennel in our lawn, and offered new water and food. They are eating and drinking but seem to extend their neck a lot when doing so. The americauna chick seems to be foaming a bit at the mouth.

We emptied the brooder. What do we do about the other chicks? What could have happened?

Sounds like an upper respiratory. Get to the feed store and get some antibiotics in their water.