California - Northern

[lawatt]

you can see the polycarb panels a bit better in this picture:

 

[zooweemama]

We will need more coops in the future and will have more time to be resourceful. Unfortunately the coop is so bad that if I wait 2 more weeks or a month- I'm gonna have a bunch of sick chickens. Since the rains are going to keep coming there will be no chance for it to dry out. It will get wetter and wetter and its already wet. Half the floor is wet. Only where they sleep (literally) is dry right now. Reusing the old coop has been a nightmare for us. Lol.

We need to get this operational by the end of this next weekend. I want healthy chickens. I def want more coops in the future tho so I will have to start gathering useful materials even now.


Excuse my typos. Sent from my iPhone.

 

[Miss Molly]

King David is a STUD! Beautiful....

 

[CALI CHICK]

Particularily if you consider the make-up of "chick dust".

"Poultry dust is a mixture of bird feed, bedding material (eg wood shavings/shreds or straw), bird droppings, feathers and dander (dead skin), dust mites and storage mites, and micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi (molds) and endotoxins (cell wall components of bacteria)."

Ick

Deb

OK, now I'm convinced that the chicks need to go out to the garage.

And, to stop cuddling them so close to my face!

What I'm not sure of is: Are 5 and 6 week old silkies feathered out enough to go outside? The garage temp is about the same as outdoors, without drafts and they would still have a heat lamp......

I just don't want to find them dead in the morning.

 

[ronott1]

Quote:
6 weeks is usually ok for most breeds. Silkies I am not sure of. The ones I hatched stopped going under the eco glow at 4 week but they are in the garage. I might be putting them outside soon though.

I hatch them in the Master Bedroom closet. It is very convenient but I did not get much sleep the past two nights. Oh the Cheeping!....

 

[CALI CHICK]

I keep chicks in my garage in the winter. it is not insulated. I wait till they are about 1 to 2 weeks old and put them in the grow up pen with a red heat lamp. Have not had any freeze yet. At 5 weeks they go out in the small coop with the grow up run. I have a smaller full spectrum plant light I use which is better for the smaller closed coop.

I just saw this post and it answers my question from my last post. (Sorry I was trying to catch up from yesterday and hadn't gotten this far yet)
Anyway, I will move the silkies into the garage tomorrow.

And, I'll get started with their coop too. I have most of the materials (for the frame). Since it is only 5' by 2' I draft and design the building myself. I'm hoping to keep the entire project under $50.

 

[CALI CHICK]

6 weeks is usually ok for most breeds. Silkies I am not sure of. The ones I hatched stopped going under the eco glow at 4 week but they are in the garage. I might be putting them outside soon though.

I hatch them in the Master Bedroom closet. It is very convenient but I did not get much sleep the past two nights. Oh the Cheeping!....

Thank you, Ron! I'll probably wrap their cage in cardboard and they should be OK. (I'll be up checking on them several times probably)
Ha Ha-that reminds me of the first time we hatched chicks. We put the brooder on top of the dogs' crate. Our poor Shih-Tzu didn't get any sleep for 7 weeks at night!

By the way, I've noticed that by using the $5 purple reptile bulb (Walmart) the chicks actually sleep when it's dark and don't stay up all night. I used to use a regular light and they were up all day and night it seemed.

 

[zooweemama]

Wow all you guys with your chicks!! So cute!


Excuse my typos. Sent from my iPhone.

 

[ronott1]

Just a quick report on the meat left over from rendering the Leaf Lard.

The Chickens love it!

They were trying to pull the bag out of my hands and ate it before they ate their half a head of cabbage today. I am using the leaf lard to make rolls today.

Yum!

 

[PetRock]

King David is a STUD! Beautiful....

Thank you! I hope that he fills in and that tail doesn't end up being a squirrel tail so he can be part of our breeding program. Please don't tell me that I'm in denial, Walt!