Colorado

[mynamesjenelle]

Next project is a dust bowl (or square as it may be). Do pullets take dust baths or just mature hens?

My girls started dustbathing as soon as I gave them a dirt clod to peck at! I think they were maybe a week or two old at that point. It's super cute at that age. They flop and fluff around, then just lay contentedly on their sides making happy little trill noises.

Honestly, with your setup I would probably just fill it in with dirt the the level of the 2x4s. The girls really enjoy scratching around in the dirt, looking for bugs and rocks, and mine haven't been very happy in the wire-bottomed tractor because it keeps them from doing those normal chicken behaviours. If you just give them a few inches of dirt they can get that satisfaction while still keeping them safe from burrowing predators. Then they can make their own little dustbathing areas as well. Just a thought.

These chicks are pigs and do not.stop.eating! They have food alllll over the floor but don't want to eat it off of there! I need a better feeding idea because I think most of the food is being wasted!

Such hungry little things! I always read to elevate their feeder to the same level as their backs. If they haven't already, soon they will also try to scratch at the food (it seems so weird, they are too little to act like adult chickens!) and knock even more out. I used bricks from the garden to elevate it in the brooder, but really anything will do.

 

[Minchi]

I use a old 6in cake pan on a 4 in high Tupperware container turn ed upside down. You might try a 3 in pie pan for the little ones and if you want to put it up some (to prevent bedding from getting in you might use a normal pie pan so they can hop up to it. As soon as they start perching you have top stabilize everything or they will knock it over because they will want to perch while they eat. I use masking tape and attach the bowls and water to a stable base and that seams to work. I only recommend smaller because for your chicks because of there size and the fact that they will poop in it much more if it is larger.

 

[mynamesjenelle]

I hope it's okay to post this here, but for anyone who's getting their first chicks this ( http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickHensBroodiesChicks.htm ) is one of the resources I used in raising mine this year. In fact, the lady who runs this website is one of the reasons I got them in the first place! She is a teacher and every spring she runs something called Chickam which is a live webcam feed of eggs in the incubator, then hatching, then the chicks growing up, and then finally transitioning to the outside. I got my chicks about a week after hers hatched so it was fun for me to watch them grow up "together" across the country.


This is what she has to say about raising chicks. I know it's a lot of reading but I bolded the parts I really used:

"Baby chicks need your help even if they have an adult hen for a mama. With no mama hen YOU are mom and need to protect and teach the little ones. Appropriate food such as chick starter or grow mash needs to be placed within easy reach, and waterers should have marbles placed in the trough so that accidental drownings do not occur--remember that Chicken Motto. Both food and water must be available to the chicks 24/7. Since I use shavings as litter in my brooder boxes, I've found that placed the food & water dispensers up on a couple of bricks keeps them MUCH cleaner--otherwise the chicks kick shavings into them in their normal scratching around. Don't make yourself crazy cleaning feeders out constantly, elevate those feeders a bit. Of course the chicks should be kept warm (95 to 100 degrees at first with no drafts) and placed in a brooder box or run that keeps them safe from predators. I use an old gooseneck desk lamp with a 75 watt bulb to provide heat & light for the chicks, it stays on 24 hours a day if there is no mama hen in with them. Gooseneck lamps are great because there is a low chance of chicks burning themselves on the light or knocking it over and starting a fire. Use a lamp with a nice, heavy base that can't be tipped over by the babies--thrift stores and yard sales are a great source for old lamps. It's going to get pooped on and dirty, so use one you don't care about! Don't use the modern eco-friendly curly light bulbs, they do not produce enough heat--use an old fashioned bulb or a heat lamp of some kind. You need to keep the area under the light at around 100 degrees. Too cold, and the peeps will cluster together underneath it and peep in distress, too warm and they will avoid it. What you want is a brooder box where the chicks roam around dispersed evenly throughout.

"If the chicks will be kept indoors, say in a large cardboard box, they will need some diversion. In the brooder box picture you'll notice that I've cut a window for the chicks to see out of and covered it with a piece of hardware cloth, which was placed on the OUTSIDE of the cut-out area and hot glued into place--on the outside so there are no sharp wire ends for the chicks to hurt themselves on. Having a window to look out of is vital--would YOU want to live in a room with no windows? It also makes for tamer chicks, since they can easily see people moving around and get used to it. I place the window before the chicks are in the box, of course. I also make SURE I place it about 5 inches from the bottom of the box--place it too low and the chicks will constantly be kicking shavings out through it, making a huge mess for you to clean up. As the chicks grow and develop their wings, you'll also want to fashion a wire cover for the TOP of the brooder box--otherwise after a couple of weeks the chicks are going to start jumping/flying out of the box! Also, if you have small chidren it's a good idea to have a wire cover (I use chickenwire for the cover, it's perfect) from the outset so the kids don't accidentally drop toys on the chicks or climb in with them. You can also use an old fishtank for a brooder box or a large Rubbermaid tub--but realize that the chicks are going to outgrow them pretty darned fast! I prefer the huge cardboard box, that way the chicks can live in it for the first two months until they ae ready to go outside with the adult chickens, and when I'm done with the brooder box, I just remove the hardware cloth 'window' to save for next time and throw the box away--the cardboard box gets pretty nasty by the end of two months and isn't worth keeping. Boredom, overheating and overcrowding can cause chicks to peck each other. I give my chicks a great big, nasty, grassy dirt clod--dirt, grass, roots, bugs and all. It provides several things: A toy to jump and climb on, green matter (grass) to eat, dirt to peck and scratch at and dustbathe in, grit in the form of dirt for their little crops so they can digest their food, protein from the bugs they find, etc. So far it's the best thing I've found for chicks to keep them busy and happy for days. They'll spend hours pecking and scratching away at it, discovering new goodies to eat--sprinkle some chick food on it, 'peck' at it with your finger and call excitedly when you first put it in. They love to climb on it and play "King of the Hill", jumping on each other. Just make sure your grass is pesticide-free and is not so long as to be a choking hazard--trim it with scissors if needed. The roosts you provide them are also great for play time."


I highly suggest the dirt clod method - my little chickies loved it and it prevented them from gorging on grass the first time we took them outside

 

[wsmith]

So today was productive. I took the week off, as i will be doing the revolutionary War encampment at Rock Ledge Ranch over the 4th, so today was a "free" day. Tomorrow is the get ready and set up day at rock Ledge. So i got up early (5:00AM) to see which cockerels were crowing. All of the show Dominique cockerels were crowing, though their attempts were pretty lame, two of the EE cockerels, and two of the hatchery Doms were crowing., or at least attempting to. Very entertaining.
I turned the compost, added dirt to the barrel potatoes, Cleaned the waterers, added feed and toped of the water for both pens; and then started working on the hen house. Here is how it looks now:



Here are a couple of Narragansett turkey shots as well. Everybody is growing and doing great.

 

[ONSTAD1]

My girls started dustbathing as soon as I gave them a dirt clod to peck at! I think they were maybe a week or two old at that point. It's super cute at that age. They flop and fluff around, then just lay contentedly on their sides making happy little trill noises.
Honestly, with your setup I would probably just fill it in with dirt the the level of the 2x4s. The girls really enjoy scratching around in the dirt, looking for bugs and rocks, and mine haven't been very happy in the wire-bottomed tractor because it keeps them from doing those normal chicken behaviours. If you just give them a few inches of dirt they can get that satisfaction while still keeping them safe from burrowing predators. Then they can make their own little dustbathing areas as well. Just a thought.
Such hungry little things! I always read to elevate their feeder to the same level as their backs. If they haven't already, soon they will also try to scratch at the food (it seems so weird, they are too little to act like adult chickens!) and knock even more out. I used bricks from the garden to elevate it in the brooder, but really anything will do.

good idea.

: )

 

[gardendufus]

Ya'll are doing great jobs finishing your coop and run projects. Mo, I think your coop is quite good looking, I still haven't managed to put trim on my coop, and I finished the rest of the coop/run in APRIL.

I did manage to put that orange barricade stuff up yesterday. Not a lot of shade, even tho it's 2 layers over the entire thing and 3 layers in one 4' wide swath down the middle. The stuff I got at Home Depot is a very flimsy plastic, not much heavier Gage than a really heavy plastic package wrap, and if anyone else is thinking of using it, I highly recommend looking for another source for a better quality. I'm going to go out tomorrow and string some baling wire under it, zigzag across the run, to provide some additional support as I think the heat will tend to make it sag.

Been spending some quality time out with the chickens (usually I just sit outside the run and observe). Sitting IN the run (cuz Wendell and Beth made me jealous that my birds weren't friendlier), watching all that goes on. It's funny, my Welsummers are the most inquisitive, and the bravest. One of them is flying up and perching on my legs, they are the most aggressive when it comes to pecking around me in case my clothes suddenly became edible. But it's my Black Australorp who is campaigning for the 'Head Hen' position. 4 of the others, the 2 Barred Rocks (17 weeks) and the 2 Welsummers (14 weeks) have given up the fight and defer to her in all squabbles. However my little Golden Laced Wyandotte (12 weeks) seems to think that she may have assumed that position too early. I think when she (?? I'm still not sure) gets a little older she may ask for a recount of the votes in that race.

Haven't heard from Wendell, hope his hen house project is progressing.

Chicks tomorrow MO? You guys must be so excited. The only thing I hated about using my coop as a brooder was that eventually, every day I had to leave the chicks and not watch their antic anymore. But the trade off for not having chicks (especially as they grew) in the house.

ETA: Look at that Wendell snuck in and posted pics while I was composing.

 

[ONSTAD1]

I have mixed feelings on Agri-Feed. They have good prices and are very polite, but when I asked what they had to worm my girls they sold me pig swig. I found out after I got home that that stuff is only good for 'large round worms'. So, polite, but not too understanding of small flock owners wanting superior care. It was more of a "they're just chickens" attitude.
Ryan- LOVE the feeders. Wish I could modify them into my coop. *envious look*

Might not have been horrible advice. I've read in several places (this being one) of people using horse de-wormer for their flocks. I have no Idea though...I'm way too new at this.

mo

 

[ONSTAD1]

Ya'll are doing great jobs finishing your coop and run projects. Mo, I think your coop is quite good looking, I still haven't managed to put trim on my coop, and I finished the rest of the coop/run in APRIL.

I did manage to put that orange barricade stuff up yesterday. Not a lot of shade, even tho it's 2 layers over the entire thing and 3 layers in one 4' wide swath down the middle. The stuff I got at Home Depot is a very flimsy plastic, not much heavier Gage than a really heavy plastic package wrap, and if anyone else is thinking of using it, I highly recommend looking for another source for a better quality. I'm going to go out tomorrow and string some baling wire under it, zigzag across the run, to provide some additional support as I think the heat will tend to make it sag.

Been spending some quality time out with the chickens (usually I just sit outside the run and observe). Sitting IN the run (cuz Wendell and Beth made me jealous that my birds weren't friendlier), watching all that goes on. It's funny, my Welsummers are the most inquisitive, and the bravest. One of them is flying up and perching on my legs, they are the most aggressive when it comes to pecking around me in case my clothes suddenly became edible. But it's my Black Australorp who is campaigning for the 'Head Hen' position. 4 of the others, the 2 Barred Rocks (17 weeks) and the 2 Welsummers (14 weeks) have given up the fight and defer to her in all squabbles. However my little Golden Laced Wyandotte (12 weeks) seems to think that she may have assumed that position too early. I think when she (?? I'm still not sure) gets a little older she may ask for a recount of the votes in that race.

Haven't heard from Wendell, hope his hen house project is progressing.

Chicks tomorrow MO? You guys must be so excited. The only thing I hated about using my coop as a brooder was that eventually, every day I had to leave the chicks and not watch their antic anymore. But the trade off for not having chicks (especially as they grew) in the house.

ETA: Look at that Wendell snuck in and posted pics while I was composing.

Thanks for the kind words....I've named it Taj Macoop in honor of my dear wife .


and yes, chicks tomorrow. 3 EEs (one white one) and one australorp

 

[gardendufus]

OK guys, I'm on my soapbox again, promoting THIS thread. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...l-up-a-rockin-chair-and-lay-some-wisdom-on-us

Current discussion seems to be on the care and feeding of chickens. Here's a few quotes worth passing on:

By Al6517:

'Over treating LOL...................... the curse of the BYCer, chickens are finicky eaters because their owners choose for them to be that way. My birds eat what they are given to eat and love it, and like Walt they don't get more until it's all cleaned up. Our birds without treats also tend to be much more healthy internaly and externaly than finicky table scrap treated chickens. It's like when you have young children and it's dinner time, they should be fed well balanced meals rich in vitamins and protiens etc etc, but like most kids they often don't like that sort of food and get finicky. Now some parents (OT's) tell them to eat it or no desert, and they will grow up big and strong ever hear that. Then you have parents who because their children won't eat the good for them healthy foods they feed them junk food way to often and let them snack/treats also too often. the result of that is apparent in our society now.................. very large Obese children who are unhealthy and unable to excersie and then leave themselfs open to other health problems down the road.

'Same thing applys to most animals, it's the owners and care givers who risk their overall long term health by treating to often and over exccessively.

'Moral of the story................ feed chickens chicken feed or other outdoor goodies that are natural to them, if your concerned for your chickens as much as you would like others to believe this should be sound advice, but more often looked upon with distain because it's cruel to not spoil you chickens with human food that's realy not good for them.'

And one by Fowlman01 which said exactly what I think (and it translates to children and other pets also as far as I'm concerned:

'You will never find a starved chicken next to a bowl of food they don't like.'

 

[gardendufus]

I find it amusing that people here come on the Old Timers thread, apparently spend no time reading ANY of the early part of the thread, and then proceed to tell the Old Timers that they don't have much experience, only a few months, but they have found that the methods promoted there won't work for THEIR birds. LMAO