Consolidated Kansas

[Dani4Hedgies]

Danz,
Yep that is why i love this group too how do i know if my clamp lamp is made from tenol? I got it a few years ago for doing photos and then added blue and red lights to it when we had a box turtle.

 

[chicken danz]

It isn't required by law for bulb packages to say if they have teflon or not. Most U S made light bulbs do state it, but not China or Mexico made ones. And most you buy are foreign produced. It is just best to avoid the ones marked heavy service to be safe.
Your lamp housing itself will either be plastic or porcelain. Those are obvious. The porcelain ones just are safer because they won't get too hot and melt or catch fire. Many plastic ones may be marked not to exceed 60 or 75 wts.
I used to use small round 40 wt bulbs in a brooder thing I had and kept loosing chicks. Come to find out I was using oven lights and they were teflon coated and that was what was killing my chicks.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

It isn't required by law for bulb packages to say if they have teflon or not. Most U S made light bulbs do state it, but not China or Mexico made ones. And most you buy are foreign produced. It is just best to avoid the ones marked heavy service to be safe.
Your lamp housing itself will either be plastic or porcelain. Those are obvious. The porcelain ones just are safer because they won't get too hot and melt or catch fire. Many plastic ones may be marked not to exceed 60 or 75 wts.
I used to use small round 40 wt bulbs in a brooder thing I had and kept loosing chicks. Come to find out I was using oven lights and they were teflon coated and that was what was killing my chicks.

Danz, the lamps you mentioned are classed as "Rough Service" or "shatter Resistant" on the package and Sylvania does have Teflon coating on their labels.

 

[spree56]

I enjoy reading your discussions so much. So nice that everybody has such a good attitude about it all and how other people do things. Lots of good lessons here.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Ok so am looking at all the different plans for coops and Im confused on what is the suggested coop size in a chicken yard for 16 hens? I know and expect to have 5 nest boxes but am having a hard time figuring how big and how tall it needs to be? Thank you

 

[chicken danz]

Ok so am looking at all the different plans for coops and Im confused on what is the suggested coop size in a chicken yard for 16 hens? I know and expect to have 5 nest boxes but am having a hard time figuring how big and how tall it needs to be? Thank you

I would make the coop tall enough you can walk in it. In the long run, you'll be much happier because all coops need maintenance from time to time and it's much easier to walk in and do it than reach in. The standard for coops is 4 square foot for the coop, and 10 square feet for the run per chicken if they are going to be confined there. If your birds will be free ranging you won't need as much space. For 16 birds you would need 64 square feet or in other words about an 8' X 8' coop. There's a lot of factors that enter in here. How much outdoor space they have. How much roost space you have, etc etc. And this is just a standard to start with. The size of your birds makes some difference as well.
The roof line etc doesn't make much difference. Just be sure to plan for plenty of ventilation. I like to make a "screen door" with hardware cloth for summer and a wooden door for winter so I can allow more or less air in depending on the season. Things like a screen door can be added later though if you don't want to take on too much at once. Windows and or vents are pretty important. It's also wise to set the coop so the north is protected against winter winds. I like windows on the south also so you can get some solar gain from the sun in winter and be able to ventilate in the summer.

 

[Trish44]

I agree with danz, it depends on whether you plan to free range or not as to how much room you need but even then you will need to plan for snowy days when the birds don't want to go out. If they're only in there to sleep then you can get by with less space for the most part but will need plenty of roost space. Be sure to make the roosts wide enough for the birds to sit on their feet & keep them warm in winter. You need one nest box for 4-5 birds because they share. It's never a bad thing to have a few extras though in case you add on to your flock later. You might plan for that as well with building your coop. We all planned on having "only a few chickens" & then added more later. Like danz said make sure you have plenty of ventilation, that's on the top of the list in importance. If you don't have that you will have respiratory problems & deaths from the ammonia generated from the droppings.

I got a couple of things done yesterday towards winterizing but I have a lot more to work on today with my outside pens, I've got to get on it.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Thank you ladies so much that really helps. Currently my chicken yard is 6X10 but Im trying to get my hands on a couple more fenced panels which will then then it into 10X10 or 12x10 depending on what panels I go with. Im thinking Im going to try something completely out there and make a transformer brooder box that can then turn into a indoor coop for my birds to use until they move outside full time in late spring. Am thinking 4x6 should work for the indoor coop and then their permanent outdoor coop will be 8x8 i will post pics of my transformer brooder/coop box if it works out in the building how it is in my head.

 

[JaneAusthen]

I emailed everyone on the directory and left a message on all of the FB groups. Out of them all, I had two responses, and next spring, I'll be able to have a young pullet sent to me via USPS ("depending on availability"), since the breeder is over eight hours away. I've seen a few people advertise bantam Ameraucana roosters here and there, but when contacted, no one wants to part with the hens, chicks, or pullets. I was hoping maybe there were more BA breeders, though, that simply weren't listed on the directories. It won't be too much longer, though, and spring will be here, I guess. *huge sigh* LOL

 

[chicken danz]

I emailed everyone on the directory and left a message on all of the FB groups. Out of them all, I had two responses, and next spring, I'll be able to have a young pullet sent to me via USPS ("depending on availability"), since the breeder is over eight hours away. I've seen a few people advertise bantam Ameraucana roosters here and there, but when contacted, no one wants to part with the hens, chicks, or pullets. I was hoping maybe there were more BA breeders, though, that simply weren't listed on the directories. It won't be too much longer, though, and spring will be here, I guess. *huge sigh* LOL

Have you considered it is much cheaper to buy a group of chicks than just one and much safer for the chick to arrive in good shape? Shipping is expensive. You can always sell or rehome cockerels either for meat or another breeder. And of course pullets will always sell if you don't want as many.
I personally use the small breed cockerels that aren't going to produce much for meat into dog and cat food and for making broth. You could also put out feelers ahead of time wanting to know if someone would like to split a group of chicks with you if it's some where fairly close to you.