- Sep 10, 2012
- 335
- 1
- 88
Thanks for the info Danz. My dh said I can go ahead and keep hatching since I was only planning on taking a short break. They've prepared more brooders in teh brooder room already. The only issue will be building outdoor pens as soon as the weather breaks so they can go outside. BTW, the little barred rocks are doing beautifully and are beautiful. I love their temperment, they're quiet and smart. The kids are loving the kitchen, it's a little bigger than the ones you buy and definitely sturdier. This cabinet we found was really perfect for the job, the top is formica. I'll be sure to get you back those faucets so you can make one too. I just told me dh to put them in his truck since he's going to Emporia today. I hope we can set up an exchange tomorrow late morning if you are available. I'm so sorry about all of the losses, it's just terrible. I'm reading and following along with what you're writing. I don't know what upside down birds are. In people, the b vitamins work together and one isn't good without the others so to speak. They need each other to work. Also, I'm pretty sure they are water soluable and if you give too much b vitamins they just flush through. I wouldn't be concerned with having the others too. Of course, food sources are always the best sources. Lentils are okay for chickens? I remember reading about soybeans need to be cooked because of some sort of toxin??? Are there others that are an absolute no for them? Talking about feeding chicks though. When we put the chicks into something smaller to clean their brooders and there is always tons of poop in the little tub but what I find interesting is that it comes out looking just like the feed when it went in. They're not digesting it and if it's coming straight through them like that they're eating more too. I had some grits that needed to be used and I was feeding that to the chicks in the house as treats to get rid of it. They gobbled it up but I also noticed that the amout of poop was greatly reduced. I don't know what to think but I can't help but think that the feed is not ideal and not providing what they need. What about grinding some of your feed mix for your older birds. They have food mills for grinding wheat and such. I have a huge bucket of corn meal that was given to us by someone who was storing food for emergencies. I'm sure it's fine to eat but it's a 5 gallon bucket. I'm giving that to the chicks now.
HEChicken, we were just talking about acclimation here. We were telling the kids to take their long johns off while in the house or else they will not feel warm when they wear them outside. We are going to try the hunting again in this brutally cold weather. If we wear coveralls and coats, insulated boots and gloves, hats, layered clothing we should be fine, right? I told my ds I thought we should bring the sleeping bags to get into while in the blind too. Is this doable?
Hawkeye, I can't believe you are cleaning like that and working so hard after being so sick. You're one tough cookie. UGH!!! I'm sorry it caught up with you. Rest up so you don't miss out on the New Years Eve fun. I'm not doing anything, we don't ever though.
medawinks, incubating is terribly addicting so look out! I always buy my essential oils online.
Maidenwolf, maybe the FF breaks it down enough that they can absorb more. I haven't had any trouble with the chickens eating it, I was afraid to give it to the chicks, I don't want to make them drunk or something. In the incubator, I have to keep 3 sponges soaked to keep the humidity where it needs to be. In the cooler incubator/hatcher I had a much harder time keeping it up. I had the temp balanced with the top cracked open so I could peek inside which I'm sure made it lose more humidity. Also, it's just a bigger area. In the incubator the right humidity shows a small amount of condensation on the window. I would add more water than you think in several places, I've been raising the humiditity gradually the few days before lockdown.
I had some 5ish weekers in the brooder room and a few days ago I turned off their heat lamp. They were way too crowded in there and my dh was determined that they could be moved outside. I didn't want to do it yet because of the cold but their pen was too small for them and it was seeming a bit mean so I let him do it. They are in the nugget pen, a small pen with a top and a little house. There is a light in the house and a heat lamp in the outside part. The plan is to leave both lights on for a week or so, then we will turn off just the ouside light first and in another week turn off the inside light if they seem well. Last night we went out and they were all laying under the outside light. We put them back into their house but they came right back out and went back under the light so we left them. They seem fine, they are fully feathered and they are as big as the ones that are a month older which has me confused. Maybe I'm off on their age, I get mixed up because there are so many. I just can't be that off though, all of the ones left in the brooder room now are the ones I hatched about 2 weeks ago and the ones Imafarmer hatched that should be about 3 weeks old. So we rotated all of the chicks. The 3 weekers moved into the pen that the 5 weekers were in with the same set up, same heat lamp and everything. The 5 weekers are a bigger group, but the 3 weekers there are only 6. Anyway, the 3 weekers were panting and acting too hot. I don't get it at all. How were the older ones not too hot in there? I checked them myself, they acted fine. I changed the bulb for them and they seem fine now but I was just really surprised. I don't know what could be different.
Another thing I wanted to ask about that is just a curious kind of thing. This morning I was watching the orpingtons through my window. There are the 5 pullets which should be ready to lay in about a month and the 1 lavender orp roo. A few days ago we put the EEs in there, there are 11 of them. They still have plenty of room and I figured I'd be able to tell the eggs apart anyway. I didn't want to do that either but it solved a space issue for now so we could rotate them all around. There is one buff orp pullet that is soooo bossy, she keep chasing them into the coop. It's comical to watch but I do wonder how long it will go on. This morning the grown up roosters let themselves out and were walking their direction and the pullet chased them all into the coop including the other buff orps and the lavender roo. She is so in charge in that coop.
My FF hasn't been overly messy either but I'm not pouring it out of the bucket inside either. We are making it runny when we mix it but the feed swells and soaks up the water and it ends up pasty and thick and we could easily scoop it. I'm only using one bucket and we take it outside to feed and bring it back in. We aren't feeding the fermented every day though either. Also I'm fermenting with extra bread starter not ACV. I make the chicks a mash and the first few times I give it to them they're always reluctant but then once they figure out it's yummy they learn quickly, now they run for it. Maybe it just takes a little bit of time for the chicks to realize it's good stuff. Danz, do you think that the FF is acidic enough to eat through the galvanized? I didn't think about that, but we aren't putting it in galvanized. It's a good think that you had that moment though, you must have somehow known that the breaker had tripped. The expenses are never ending aren't they. There is always something. Hey, the boys and I have been toying with the idea of making one of my kitchen cabinets into a proofer for my bread. It's always all over the counters in one stage or another and it would be so nice to have some place warmer to let it rise in perfect condiitons. Of course making the cooler incubator/hatcher really showed us how easy it is. We were joking that it could be a proofer/incubator/yogurt maker all in one. Anyway, we can't beause we would have to remove the middle part of the cabinet between the doors and that board is necessary for support. But would you have a cabinet outside that you could run another light bulb or heat lamp in? It doesn't take much to heat a smallish space.
HEChicken, we were just talking about acclimation here. We were telling the kids to take their long johns off while in the house or else they will not feel warm when they wear them outside. We are going to try the hunting again in this brutally cold weather. If we wear coveralls and coats, insulated boots and gloves, hats, layered clothing we should be fine, right? I told my ds I thought we should bring the sleeping bags to get into while in the blind too. Is this doable?
Hawkeye, I can't believe you are cleaning like that and working so hard after being so sick. You're one tough cookie. UGH!!! I'm sorry it caught up with you. Rest up so you don't miss out on the New Years Eve fun. I'm not doing anything, we don't ever though.
medawinks, incubating is terribly addicting so look out! I always buy my essential oils online.
Maidenwolf, maybe the FF breaks it down enough that they can absorb more. I haven't had any trouble with the chickens eating it, I was afraid to give it to the chicks, I don't want to make them drunk or something. In the incubator, I have to keep 3 sponges soaked to keep the humidity where it needs to be. In the cooler incubator/hatcher I had a much harder time keeping it up. I had the temp balanced with the top cracked open so I could peek inside which I'm sure made it lose more humidity. Also, it's just a bigger area. In the incubator the right humidity shows a small amount of condensation on the window. I would add more water than you think in several places, I've been raising the humiditity gradually the few days before lockdown.
I had some 5ish weekers in the brooder room and a few days ago I turned off their heat lamp. They were way too crowded in there and my dh was determined that they could be moved outside. I didn't want to do it yet because of the cold but their pen was too small for them and it was seeming a bit mean so I let him do it. They are in the nugget pen, a small pen with a top and a little house. There is a light in the house and a heat lamp in the outside part. The plan is to leave both lights on for a week or so, then we will turn off just the ouside light first and in another week turn off the inside light if they seem well. Last night we went out and they were all laying under the outside light. We put them back into their house but they came right back out and went back under the light so we left them. They seem fine, they are fully feathered and they are as big as the ones that are a month older which has me confused. Maybe I'm off on their age, I get mixed up because there are so many. I just can't be that off though, all of the ones left in the brooder room now are the ones I hatched about 2 weeks ago and the ones Imafarmer hatched that should be about 3 weeks old. So we rotated all of the chicks. The 3 weekers moved into the pen that the 5 weekers were in with the same set up, same heat lamp and everything. The 5 weekers are a bigger group, but the 3 weekers there are only 6. Anyway, the 3 weekers were panting and acting too hot. I don't get it at all. How were the older ones not too hot in there? I checked them myself, they acted fine. I changed the bulb for them and they seem fine now but I was just really surprised. I don't know what could be different.
Another thing I wanted to ask about that is just a curious kind of thing. This morning I was watching the orpingtons through my window. There are the 5 pullets which should be ready to lay in about a month and the 1 lavender orp roo. A few days ago we put the EEs in there, there are 11 of them. They still have plenty of room and I figured I'd be able to tell the eggs apart anyway. I didn't want to do that either but it solved a space issue for now so we could rotate them all around. There is one buff orp pullet that is soooo bossy, she keep chasing them into the coop. It's comical to watch but I do wonder how long it will go on. This morning the grown up roosters let themselves out and were walking their direction and the pullet chased them all into the coop including the other buff orps and the lavender roo. She is so in charge in that coop.
My FF hasn't been overly messy either but I'm not pouring it out of the bucket inside either. We are making it runny when we mix it but the feed swells and soaks up the water and it ends up pasty and thick and we could easily scoop it. I'm only using one bucket and we take it outside to feed and bring it back in. We aren't feeding the fermented every day though either. Also I'm fermenting with extra bread starter not ACV. I make the chicks a mash and the first few times I give it to them they're always reluctant but then once they figure out it's yummy they learn quickly, now they run for it. Maybe it just takes a little bit of time for the chicks to realize it's good stuff. Danz, do you think that the FF is acidic enough to eat through the galvanized? I didn't think about that, but we aren't putting it in galvanized. It's a good think that you had that moment though, you must have somehow known that the breaker had tripped. The expenses are never ending aren't they. There is always something. Hey, the boys and I have been toying with the idea of making one of my kitchen cabinets into a proofer for my bread. It's always all over the counters in one stage or another and it would be so nice to have some place warmer to let it rise in perfect condiitons. Of course making the cooler incubator/hatcher really showed us how easy it is. We were joking that it could be a proofer/incubator/yogurt maker all in one. Anyway, we can't beause we would have to remove the middle part of the cabinet between the doors and that board is necessary for support. But would you have a cabinet outside that you could run another light bulb or heat lamp in? It doesn't take much to heat a smallish space.
