Consolidated Kansas

[ivyrash]

So is your chicken yard enclosed? If so, how do you enclose that much spaces without spending a fortune?

I know I can't put them in with the SFH, they are aggressive to the younger birds, I will have to see what I can do with my other pens.

 

[Trish44]

Tweety, congrats on the new chicks! Isn't it fun watching Mama Hens with their little ones?

I think I fixed our A/C!!! I got tired of waiting for the service tech to call me back so I went in and started looking and taking things apart and I found the pump filter was really clogged, so I cleaned it out really well and now its running without that awful electrical smell we were getting before. Keep fingers crossed that's all it was and if so I'll be really glad I saved the call out fee of the service tech.

Congrats on the A/C I hope it keeps working. You really are going to need it today. I came in at noon after being out there for a little over an hour letting all the birds & goats out & giving them all fresh water & I was just soaked already from the heat.

The two week old ones too? They chirp like crazy if they don't have a heat lamp at night still, it is just a 75 wt. bulb so it's not much. I need to get rid of some of my adult birds and then there will be some room I think. I have been leery of putting the younger ones out too much since I have had such a fox problem.

I let some of my birds out that are the age of your oldest ones with the main laying flock day before yesterday & they did fine. I just put them in the coop at night. My flock is used to different ages & they just don't seem to worry about it much. They might peck the younger ones on the head a time or two to put them in their place, but after that it's fine. Last night I had to go out & round up the 3 new ones because they don't know where home is yet. They were wandering around over by the hoop coop & about dark I had to go get them, they were all sleeping over by the side of the turkey pen. They were sleepy & I was able to just pick them up & carry them to the coop. I also have all of my chicks that have feathers out in a pen outside. As soon as they have feathers I put them out. They seem to do better outside than in the brooder.

Speaking of broody hens, I looked under my wheaten Ameraucana today & she has a tiny little chick in there. I left it, but I'll have to check later because both silly hens are trying to sit in the same nest in there & I'm kind of afraid they'll crush the chick. I have those plastic storage containers as nests in my outside pens & this is what they're sitting in. I took the lid off so they can get more air because yesterday they were both sitting in there panting. I did have someone contact me yesterday wanting some more chicks & I had just sold all I had for sale, so I told them if the broody hens hatch any I'll let them know. They sure did wait awfully late to decide to want chicks now. You can still order from the hatcheries, but they only have a few breeds at this point & all the local places aren't selling any more. I just didn't want to hatch too many more because it's getting so darned hot in the garage where my brooders are that I have to run a fan in there now. It gets like an oven in that building.

Well everyone try to stay cool today. I was almost tempted when I was out there earlier to spray myself down with the hose. I don't think it would have taken too long to dry off again.

 

[sharol]

Ivy,

Are those ten "month old chicks" or 10 month old chicks (nearly a year old). I think there is some misunderstanding. I put my little ones out last time at about 3 weeks in a secure coop and run and integrated them with the regular flock at about 3 months. If they are month old, it should be warm enough for them outside if you have a secure area for them so they won't become owl treats overnight.

 

[ivyrash]

Ivy,

Are those ten "month old chicks" or 10 month old chicks (nearly a year old). I think there is some misunderstanding. I put my little ones out last time at about 3 weeks in a secure coop and run and integrated them with the regular flock at about 3 months. If they are month old, it should be warm enough for them outside if you have a secure area for them so they won't become owl treats overnight.

Oops, that would make a difference! One group is 4 wks. old the other is 2 wks. old. Not worried about the owls as much as the fox. I don't leave any doors open at night. The fox was right outside my bedroom window with one of my chickens in her mouth while it was still daylight the last time. The chicken lived, unfortunately so did the fox. I have somebody that is supposed to be trapping the fox now but I don't think they have been over with the trap yet.

 

[chicken danz]

I read it the same way that HeChicken did. I thought they were all older birds. In this weather I would leave the Month old ones out unless the teemperatures dropped down at night. The two week olds I would keep in until they get feathers. Most of my birds stay in the brooder a lot longer than most people brood chicks but that is just because I have to have a place to put them first.
Well the hoop coop is done!!! I have barred rocks in one side and just got the second side completed. I have so many birds I need to separate it's hard to make decisions. I forgot to mention. I killed two snakes here yesterday. It was easier this time. I got them pinned- one with a shovel and one with a paver and called for DH. He managed to put a bullet in both their heads and made quick work of it. (He doesn't like doing it.)
And yes Rooster I was wearing flip flops again!

 

[chicken danz]

I also forgot to comment earlier of FF. Actually I am loving the effect of the heat on the fermented feed. It really bubbles and boils. The only caution I can see would be to be sure you stir it at least once a day and if possible wash down the sides of the container. You don't want mold to get started.

 

[ivyrash]

I read it the same way that HeChicken did. I thought they were all older birds. In this weather I would leave the Month old ones out unless the teemperatures dropped down at night. The two week olds I would keep in until they get feathers. Most of my birds stay in the brooder a lot longer than most people brood chicks but that is just because I have to have a place to put them first.
Well the hoop coop is done!!! I have barred rocks in one side and just got the second side completed. I have so many birds I need to separate it's hard to make decisions. I forgot to mention. I killed two snakes here yesterday. It was easier this time. I got them pinned- one with a shovel and one with a paver and called for DH. He managed to put a bullet in both their heads and made quick work of it. (He doesn't like doing it.)
And yes Rooster I was wearing flip flops again!

Since when do we ever have proper foot wear or gloves or anything we need on hand at those time!

I need to work on bigger pens for all of my chickens and maybe start working on a grow out pen of some sort.

 

[cherwill]

Not for us.....I leave windows open at night any time it is cooler out than in. When our A/C works, we usually set it around 85, and most nights it gets below that, so the windows get opened. Our A/C is inop right now so opening the windows was a no brainer. We're starting the day with the house at 80 so its all good.

I could do it, but DH would leave me if I kept it hotter than 80 in the house! I saw in a later post you fixed your AC yourself. Good work! You saved yourself a small fortune, I'm sure.

We got babies!!! They hatched between the night before and yesterday. I came home to 3 cute little babies next to mama. Apparently mama got a real good appetite and wolf'd down almost all the feeds I put in front of her quite a while a go when she was sitting. Then she decided her next door broody wasn't doing a good job so now she is sitting on her eggs and slowly pushing her out of the nest.

I tried to reach in to touch the little chicks and mama immediately pecked at me. I think she really meant business and gave me the "don't touch my babies" look. Those little chicks love to hide under mama's wings. I didn't get any photo opportunity but will try again today.

I am running out of room for chicks and I don't really have time to build anything right now so I am curious what people use for all the chicks they hatch. I currently have 10 month old chicks that we put in a little 4x4 pen outside in the afternoon and then bring into the screened porch at night in another pen and then I have 19 two week old chicks (5 of which are frizzled bantam cochins) that are in a big box we used as a brooder on the screened in porch, I think they will start going out to another pen like the first one today. Hauling them in and out is getting to be a pain fast especially because since I work all day I have to rely on my teenage daughter to make sure they are safe and not too hot and not too cold and have food and water and it is all very tiring. Can any body give me any ideas of ways to minimize all the moving around short of building a whole new coop? I am trying to sell the month old chicks since I have decided to go a different direction with my flock. They are Welsummer pullets and Speckled Sussex straight run.

Thanks for any ideas you have.

If they are fully feathered, they'll be fine outside. We still don't put babies in with the full grown birds until they're close to the same size. Last year, we just subdivided the pen with a length of chicken wire zip-tied to the outside fence and put a dog kennel in the non-coop section for the babies to roost at night. That way the birds were next to each other and could get used to each other, but the bigger ones couldn't pick on the smaller ones.

I went out to the garden this afternoon and hoed weeds and watered. I thought I was going to melt. I am definitely not acclimated to the heat yet. Neither are my birds. Yesterday I did get two eggs, sort of. One was broken. It looked like the hen dropped it while sitting on a roost. I suppose the other hen was in a nesting box at the time, but there are two others to choose from so there was no need to lay an egg while on a roost!

 

[chicken danz]

OH dear! I am just sick. I went out to check on chickens again. I lost 4 big lemon cuckoo orpington hens and my very largest lavender orpington hen. Plus two of my Swedish flower hens. Of course one of them was the prettiest and my favorite. I brought in a SFH that wasn't doing good but she is up and running now in the AC. I also brought in another exhibition orp and she has lost her brain I'm afraid. The eyes are moving but not the body.

 

[ivyrash]

OH dear! I am just sick. I went out to check on chickens again. I lost 4 big lemon cuckoo orpington hens and my very largest lavender orpington hen. Plus two of my Swedish flower hens. Of course one of them was the prettiest and my favorite. I brought in a SFH that wasn't doing good but she is up and running now in the AC. I also brought in another exhibition orp and she has lost her brain I'm afraid. The eyes are moving but not the body.

From the heat!? That's just awful! I'm so sorry.