BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[bnjrob]

Quote:
Originally Posted by angry rooster


Where did you find a picture of me???

 

[GabrielBane]

Where did you find a picture of me???

 

[angry rooster]

Good everyone's having a good laugh but seriously
Any advice on brooding during the winter I'm trying a chantsler australorp mix but I'm worried that they will be in the small brooder that I have to long because of the cold how big do you let them out side to grow out and not have to worry about temperature drops as low as 10° Celsius that is about as cold as it gets by us

 

[Molpet]

Good everyone's having a good laugh but seriously

Any advice on brooding during the winter I'm trying a chantsler australorp mix but I'm worried that they will be in the small brooder that I have to long because of the cold how big do you let them out side to grow out and not have to worry about temperature drops as low as 10° Celsius that is about as cold as it gets by us

people in Wyoming raise them in the coop using a heating pad.. inside a wire frame (I used 1/2" hardware cloth) attached w/ bungees... with it inside a zipper pillow case so chicks don't commit suicide by getting stuck between the pad and frame.. have it low enough so their backs touch the pad and raise as they grow... need a pad that doesn't turn off every 2 hrs.. the area can be very cold and they run under the pad to warm up like under a hen... they feather out quicker being exposed to the cold area...
I raise a mix of chicks and turkeys 3 times last spring in my unheated basement.

it has evolved since the first post in this thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

 

[dfr1973]

Good everyone's having a good laugh but seriously

Any advice on brooding during the winter I'm trying a chantsler australorp mix but I'm worried that they will be in the small brooder that I have to long because of the cold how big do you let them out side to grow out and not have to worry about temperature drops as low as 10° Celsius that is about as cold as it gets by us

Have a rectangular style brooder pen, with heat lamp only on one side. Food and water on the cold side (second set in middle if enough chicks). With a cold end and a warm end, the chicks can go back and forth as needed.

 

[angry rooster]

I'm more wondering how many feathers they should have or do I wait till they start to roost
I have never try ed to hatch this late in the session and I'm up to it I am also wondering is the any sings that I can look out for be for things go wrong

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Good everyone's having a good laugh but seriously

Any advice on brooding during the winter I'm trying a chantsler australorp mix but I'm worried that they will be in the small brooder that I have to long because of the cold how big do you let them out side to grow out and not have to worry about temperature drops as low as 10° Celsius that is about as cold as it gets by us

Check out this Ohio brooder. You are supposed to put bedding on the top. too, for insulation.
http://morningjoyfarm.blogspot.ca/2012/04/how-to-build-ohio-brooder.html

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

In case anyone was still thinking that chickens are vegetarians - found this in the chicken run this morning. Went away, came back 10 minutes later, all gone...



- Ant Farm

 

[bnjrob]

I'm more wondering how many feathers they should have or do I wait till they start to roost
I have never try ed to hatch this late in the session and I'm up to it I am also wondering is the any sings that I can look out for be for things go wrong

I don't go by feathering as indicators of when to put birds outside. They go outside when it is convenient for me and/or when I need the space. Because I use radiant warmers, like the ones sold by Brinsea, Sweeter Heater, and Premier 1 Supplies, my birds tend to get off heat faster than when I used to use heat lamps, which warm up the ambient air but the radiant warmers do not. Things that I look at are the size of the housing compared to the number of birds, and whether or not they seem to like to huddle, or if most of them prefer to be separate from each other at bedtime. Each hatch tends to be different on how they like to sleep. I watch them to see what they need. Sometimes the housing is too big for the number of birds and they need to be swapped to a different pen. Other times they just need something placed around or on top of the roosting area to make the space smaller, to heat up easier with their body heat, or to keep heat from escaping upwards. All poultry housing have wind barriers put up during winter, on the west and north sides where our prevailing cold winds come from. Here in Texas, we get colder than the temp you said that you normally have during winter. They also have overhead cover so that the cold rain is not falling on them. But otherwise they are open to the air whether it is out in a pen in the pasture, or in my unheated garage, that faces north, and does not have a door on it.

If you watch them closely, you can get a feel for whether or not they need different housing, or just an adjustment to the housing. If a momma hen is raising chicks, she doesn't have a weather-controlled environment for those chicks. All she has is herself. They run to her when they are cold and need a warm-up, but otherwise, those chicks are out in the same environment as their momma. If you know what to look for in them, signs of stress and such, you can do what works for you and then let the chicks guide you as to whether they need something else.

 

[NanaKat]

In case anyone was still thinking that chickens are vegetarians - found this in the chicken run this morning. Went away, came back 10 minutes later, all gone... - Ant Farm

I toss pinkie mice to the flock when I find a mouse nest. Also run a hose into any mouse hole and let the flock chase and catch the escaping mice. I have deep litter in the hen house and mice like it too. Good source of protein. Note: when I put out poison for rats and mice in the barn, I only toss pinkies.