Consolidated Kansas

[checoukan]

To all the newbies, I usually sit back and lurk. But, sometime I do post. If you have any questions, just ask someone will have an answer, or "Been there, Done That". Everybody stay warm BRRRR it's cold out side!

 

[chicken danz]

Thank you, David.
All I did was go in , delete all my cookies, sign back in to BYC and now I am getting notifications. So simple. I just didn't think of those old cookies working against me.

 

[Trish44]

Honeycreek & to the Consolidated Kansas thread! Also, feel free to join us on the Kansas Poultry Swap on Facebook, we have almost 250 members now on there. It should get pretty exciting come spring I think with all the hatching chicks & other poultry being offered.

KarenS, you'll have to keep us updated on how all of your chicks are doing. I've never had that many before at once.

checoukan, congrats on the new chicks!

Danz, yeah those cookies can cause some problems sometimes. You don't even think about them most of the time, that is until you have a problem come up. I've got my computer fixed now except it seems one of my case fans is kind of acting up now, but that's minor. I ordered a couple last night just so we would have them. It's not making as much noise this morning, so maybe it coughed out a piece of dirt or something. You would be surprised how much lint & stuff gathers on the inside of your computer. We blow ours out on a regular basis, but a lot of people don't know you're supposed to. It sure can eat up computer parts because it causes them to overheat. I hope your antibiotic will cover the sinus infection too & that you start feeling better soon.

Geez it's cold out today! Oh Danz, I tried out those gloves you said you had gotten this morning & they do help, but my hands still hurt, so I think I will have to get another light pair to put under them. With the Raynaud's if my hands get too cold they sure hurt bad. I went out & all of the rabbits water was frozen solid this morning in the garage so I had to pour some warmer water over it & hopefully they will have some water for awhile anyway. Even the clips for my gate in front of the chicken run were frozen shut today. I got one loose, but told DH to try to get the lower one to open on his way out to the garage. I couldn't latch the gate without being able to get that open. I guess they got wet & then that moisture froze on there. Not that it keeps the dogs out of there anyway, not right now anyway until they get big enough to not fit through there any more.

I'm making a trip to Hutchinson today to pick up my chinchilla rabbits finally. I have been trying to figure out when I could get up there & finally figured out a time when the guy is available & I can go. I got another cage put together last night & all I have to do now is move it out there & screw it together with the others. I will have a stack of 4 for the bucks now, so the top guy will have quite a view from up there. I have the does in the bigger cages so they will have room when they have litters. I just about froze my toes off last night trying to get the 3rd cage in the row hooked on & get the buck for that cage all moved in & set up. By the time I came in I couldn't really feel my toes any more. That cement floor really gets cold! I'm not going to try to hook the last one on until it's a little warmer day at least.

Everybody have a good day & try to stay warm!

 

[shotah]

Honeycreek,

Is there anyone in Central Kansas that's interested in going in on a mobile (shareable) chicken processing unit? I met a guy that's good at building the equipment for cheap!

 

[tntblake]

Welcome to all the new peeps!
I have a question. I was thinking about what I need to do to the shed for the new chicks. In a 4x6 shed, how many heat lamps do you think are needed and how many watts per bulb? There will be about 10 chicks. My meaties coop is about 3x5 and will have about 10 in there. The meat birds will have about a 10x6 area outside and the layers will have a 10x10 outside space until the meat birds go to butcher and then I will open up the meat area to the layers as well. I have never brooded outside before so it will be all new for me. I want to make sure they are warm enough and will do fine out there.

 

[Ivywoods]

Karen-So sorry I missed your post with your question. I think Danz did a pretty good job of addressing it, though. One thing I might add is that I try to put their water "up" just a little. You can do this with their feeders, too, as they grow. The chicks grow so fast, and so if you put the waterer up on a block or something to keep it just high enough for them to reach they don't poop in it near as much, and sometimes not at all. I usually have a number of different sized blocks that I can set them on. The blocks are just pieces of scrap lumber left over from various projects I've worked on. When they get older if you keep the feed and water about as high as their backs they do not poop in it near as much. I use the regular chick waterers, and as they grow and the numbers increase I switch to a bigger jar. I gradually move up to the gallon size, but with your numbers you could probably go to that already. I have several half gallon jars that I put on the small chick waterers, but you have to be careful with those because the jars are tall and you don't want them to accidently knock them over when they start getting frisky.

I don't have pictures of my feeders or waterers, but they are just like the ones at the feed store that the feed drops down in as they eat it. I have several different ones, in fact I am modifying an old rabbit feeder to put in the brooder I am building. Too much feed drops down and so they tend to waste it from that type of feeder. I am taking a stiff ice cream bucket lid, trimming and gluing it to the front of the feeder and closing down the opening so just a little feed can drop down at a time as they eat it. This will be for my chicks that are a few weeks old, not my newly hatched chicks. We will see how it works.

HEY Checoukan-I was wondering where ya been. You KNOW what I've been up to. It sounds like you are getting some good numbers with your rosecombs. I wish my little hen would start laying again. AND I wish my little BBReds would start laying sometime.

I'll be sure to post this quietly so I don't wake Fred up. He needs his beauty sleep.

 

[Ivywoods]

Welcome to all the new peeps!
I have a question. I was thinking about what I need to do to the shed for the new chicks. In a 4x6 shed, how many heat lamps do you think are needed and how many watts per bulb? There will be about 10 chicks. My meaties coop is about 3x5 and will have about 10 in there. The meat birds will have about a 10x6 area outside and the layers will have a 10x10 outside space until the meat birds go to butcher and then I will open up the meat area to the layers as well. I have never brooded outside before so it will be all new for me. I want to make sure they are warm enough and will do fine out there.

There are so many different kinds of set ups for heating chicks it is kind of hard to make a call. With just 10 chicks one heat lamp should be plenty, especially if you have something they can go under to get under the light. It looks like your little shed is going to be pretty air tight and warm, so I don't think it would take more than that. I like to use a thermometer and check the temp. I like for the hottest temp where the chicks will stay warm to be right around 100 degrees. The temp drops as they move away from the light, or as they grow and need less heat or the outside temp rises you can gradually raise your light or switch to a smaller bulb. I keep several heat lamps around. 250 and 125. I like the red ones, but the red is really hard to find in the 125 watt. When my chicks are indoors in the basement I don't use a heat lamp, but a regular incandescent light bulb of different watts, depending usually on the size of the container and how cold the basement is.

 

[chicken danz]

tntblake, I think one heat lamp would be sufficient. I try not to use anything over 150 wts if I can simply because of fire safety. If you hang a bulb between 12-18 inches above the chicks, then watch the chicks to see how they group up around it that should give you all the answers. If they are are huddled in close in a pile they are too cold. If they are spread far out and apart they are too hot. If they are here and there but not crowding or spreading to the outside edges they are just right. They need to be able to choose their own comfort level by moving closer to or from the light. With only 10 chicks 1 light would be more than plenty. My only caution is with baby chicks always use a NEW light bulb. It's worth the extra insurance that it won't be as likely to burn out.
Another option is to hang a second lower wt bulb as a backup in case the first one burns out, then you at least have some sort emergency heat.
I'm not sure when you said you are getting your chicks but the weather makes a huge difference on how low you should hang it and what wt is best to use. I personally try to stay from 85 wt to 125Wt bulbs because I find they are easier to control heat with and a lot safer should they get knocked down or broken.

 

[chicken danz]

The puppies all ventured outside this afternoon, of all days to eat. I took several pictures while they were out there but now the battery on my camera is low so I have to get it charged before I can download them. That is the only time I've stuck my head out in days. Just to feed the pups. DH has been taking care of the chickens. The eggs haven't been gathered and I'm sure I have tons that are frozen and broken.
I slept most of the afternoon again. I haven't been this sick for a long time. I want to get well fast!

 

[WichitaKidd]

Thank you, David.
All I did was go in , delete all my cookies, sign back in to BYC and now I am getting notifications. So simple. I just didn't think of those old cookies working against me.

No problem. Glad I was able to help.