BYC Café

[pennyJo1960]

I think they learn from birth to cover the water was so bad with the ones in the big brooder have a antique dead drive I set the water on now little too your for nipples that was the hatch that you thread tell sex well big flop here have 5 left betting 4 are cockerel might be wrong about 1 but there was only suppose to be 2 of 7

 

[aart]

It's the same one. One of the kind that mates to a regular mouth canning jar. But they'll peck a little at it, then peck at anything that spills onto the floor. They prefer stuff down at foot level...? I guess...?

Yes, they like to eat off the ground/floor.
Is it on the ground or elevated?
I use 8 and 16oz sour cream containers filled with sand for ballast.

Here's away to reduce billing out, keeps the feed level lower inside the trough:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/mod-to-standard-chick-feeder.75657/

 

[pennyJo1960]

Those can be bought at most feed stores cheeper than my time to cut them sorry. We have a main feeder we bought plans for 3 years ago hold like 4, 40 lb bags..
We have small black feeders of PVC and wood cradles of my own mind.

 

[Sally PB]

Is it on the ground or elevated?

Elevated. I put the food and the waterer on a brick that is on a piece of plastic that keeps it above the level of the bedding (shavings). When it was just on the plastic piece, they scratched the feeder and waterer full of bedding. They can stand on the brick to eat; it's just raised above the "scratching level."

I also put a cone of cardboard on top of the jar so that they can't perch on it. That keeps the poop out of the water.

It's supposed to be in the low to mid 60s at night this week. At what age/temp can I get rid of the huddle box?

 

[pennyJo1960]

If they are feathered they can take that temp easy

 

[aart]

It's supposed to be in the low to mid 60s at night this week. At what age/temp can I get rid of the huddle box?

I'd leave it in there for a week or so, just for their 'comfort'.

 

[bruceha2000]

From what I understood they were broody but did not like being moved to the maternity ward. They prefer their previously chosen nesting place.

Anais was like that plus she wouldn't take littles at zero dark thirty so the was always the "auntie" instead of "Mom".
I let Nuit hog the favored side of the community box while I waited for chicks from Meyer. Put her out twice a day. I covered the entrance holes the evening I put the kids under her. In the morning I moved them all down to the brooder area inside the coop. She was fine with that.

They do not like pellets. They like crumble. The adult food they will be eating is crumble

Curious. My littles will be 4 weeks Monday and like pellets just fine.

Yes, they like to eat off the ground/floor.

Which is kind of the natural way

Elevated.

I have the food and water elevated in the brooder area for the same reason you do, less shavings in them. But they happily eat the same stuff as the big girls off the ground outside.

It's supposed to be in the low to mid 60s at night this week. At what age/temp can I get rid of the huddle box?

They are usually fully feathered at about 4 weeks. My Silver and Gold Wyandottes are being slow but the other 4 are fully feathered. This evening Nuit was on the roost with 3 chicks sitting to her right, 2 on her left and 1 under a wing.

 

[DobieLover]

Good morning Cafe. Coffee is ready.
We had torrential downpours last night and more rain has started today. The river shot up from 5.71 ft yesterday at 7:00 pm to 11.69 ft this morning at 7:00 am.

I'll have to keep the dogs away from the creek when I take them out to run today. It will be raging.

Bella found a ground nest of bees yesterday. I just heard her yelp and shoot out of the area where she was digging, stop and start frantically rubbing her face, run, stop and rub again. I saw more bees flying towards her and told her to RUN and we all took off for the field. I smashed one more bee that was stinging her left flank and we kept running until I couldn't see them any longer.
When we got home I gave her 75 mg of diphenhydramine and rubbed some AfterBite into her flank. I could only find one swelling directly under her left eye. I think she got lucky but it sure did rattle her cage.

 

[sourland]

Good morning, Cafe', and thanks, DL. Heavy rains here last night. 88% humidity this morning - it's already 'not fun' outside.

 

[aart]

I think she got lucky but it sure did rattle her cage.

Lotta 'cage rattling' going on over there...Floods and Pestilence!
Did you get your power back?
Hang in there.

Finding a ground nest happened to Rascal once, he brought many inside with him.
Was hard to get them out of his curly hair, we both got several stings.
After that, any time he heard any kind of bee/wasp he got nervous.
The carpenter bees especially bothered him,
and because they were no threat it was kind of funny.