Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

That's interesting feedback Trish. Maybe I will just go to Atwoods and look at what they have then. I love the pair I've been using the past two years and I got them from Atwoods, but they are wearing a little thin in places so its time to replace them. They are not waterproof like the glacier gloves but they have a water resistant outer and a very warm, cozy inner. I've stuck my hand in ice to break it and they didn't leak through but I think if I submerged my hand and left it there, they would leak fairly quickly because they aren't designed for that. They don't seem to hold onto sweat though as I don't remember every putting my hands in and feeling like they are damp.

 

[chicken danz]

So I'm not sure that infection that Maidenwolf's rooster has is fowl pox. I've never seen any pictures of it being yellow in color before. Also external fowl pox is spread by mosquitoes. If he got this like overnight there sure aren't mosquitoes out this time of year. I am thinking this could be something else. I have no idea what it is.
Maidenwolf, I think I would post on the disease forum and explain the color and how fast it occurred. I just think this is some other kind of infection from what you've said or I see.
22Qzoo, I use drop in heaters. Here's an example: You can find different types and less expensive products. They are safe to put in anything and don't use as much energy as a regular stock tank heater.
http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=FI-C-500
I use these in some of my bigger pans and also in big plastic snow sleds for the geese and ducks. I also have heated water buckets that I use a carribeaner and attach to a fence. Like this or smaller.
http://www.sstack.com/water-buckets...=scplp520697&gclid=CP2Zpv7-m7sCFbE-Mgodmj8Apw
Hechicken I used a pair of Medium yesterday and put a pair of glove liners in them. I've never done that before but my hands stayed toasty warm. I did get those 2 pair of smalls and they fit pretty good with just one finger a little long.
Yep they don't stay in pockets real well unless you can shove them down there. Do you ever recall those things they used to make (may still make) for kids? It's like two clasps on a long shoestring like thing that goes down the arms and across the back of a jacket, so your gloves stay with your coat.
My kids also had a couple that were just double clips and elastic that went on their sleeves. I've considered just making my own.
Normally if I'm out there though I keep my gloves on and then lay them on a heat vent when I go back inside to dry out. I've sure thought about buying one of those boot/ glove dryer things. My kids also had a couple that were just double clips and elastic that went on their sleeves.
I may have screwed up big time. I had switched out heated buckets so the geese would have a bigger one. The other one is kept on the back porch for the dogs to drink out of. I had forgotten to clean it out and fill it but had plugged it in. I remembered that while ago and stepped out to get it and noticed that the other cord plugged into that outlet was unplugged. That is the cord that goes to the sex link chicks. That means they were without heat and thawed water all night. I'm afraid to go look. I didn't have a heater in their water. I was just depending on the heat lamp keeping the far edge of the water thawed. There are some that should be plenty big enough they will be okay but there were a few young ones out there. I sure hope I didn't kill them!
I was only out there for seconds and thought I was going to freeze to death.
I've got to get another load of feed today. I think I am going to add cayenne pepper to the feed mix for a while. Hopefully it will help generate some more heat for the birds. I have plenty!
Trish I had that problem last year with my fermented feed and it wasn't a bad winter. I just quit feeding it for the time being. I really don't want to be out there chipping it out of pans. Maybe you could put out dry and top dress it with fermented. They will eat the fermented first and if they are still hungry then eat the dry stuff. Maybe it wouldn't be as likely to freeze. If this extreme cold ever ends then you could go back to normal.

 

[22qZoo]

Thanks danz, I had seen those de-icers before but haven't had any experience with them, I have one of the heated flat backed buckets but I don't think the duck can reach in there. I'll check that out this weekend .
Ooh, I hope you're babies are ok. Burrr.....

 

[Trish44]

Yeah I thought yesterday I may have to feed dry feed for a bit, but I'm sure I'll run out of feed doing that. I can't buy feed till the 18th. Yesterday it was freezing before they even got it eaten it was so cold. I wish there was something to put in there to keep it from freezing, but I don't know what it would be that wouldn't hurt them. I don't remember having that issue last year, but we had a pretty mild winter overall other than the snow we had. HEChicken, I'm pretty happy so far with the Carhart gloves I bought. The only thing about them I had to change was the microfiber cuff they had on them to make them longer was really a pain. When I got outside & had to take one off for something & try to get it back on with cold hands I couldn't hardly get it on. I ended up cutting those off so I could get the gloves on & off easier & now they're fine. I know why they put that on there & you're probably not supposed to be taking them on & off but sometimes i can't get hooks on my pop doors opened or on the people doors to hoop coops with the gloves on, so I take one off temporarily & then put it back on when I get it open. Other than that the gloves are really warm & keep my hands toasty. I'm really picky about gloves because of the Raynaud's I have & my fingers really hurt due to that & the arthritis in the cold, so I have to have really warm gloves when it's like it is now. I even got these wet yesterday & they kept my hands warm. I wouldn't stick them under water, but I splashed some on them getting water & it didn't soak through. I don't see how you get by with one waterer at your place HEChicken with all of those birds of all kinds there. I have to have a heated waterer base & a at least a two gallon if not bigger metal waterer at my main coop. I also have a two gallon one on a base in the peafowl/guinea pen. The rest of them that have a heated waterer have the heated dog bowls, those things are great as far as I'm concerned. I got two extras on sale so I could replace if I have to any that fail. I have had some of these for a couple of years.

Stay warm everyone, it looks like it's not going to be above freezing till at least next Weds. or Thurs. Brrrrr!

 

[ashncarson]

I forgot to say that my Ice Bay Glacier Gloves arrived yesterday. I like them and think they would be very warm but unfortunately I think I'll have to regift them to DS for Christmas because the medium is just way too big. The small was out of stock so I hoped for the best, but they are so big they won't stay on very well. I have a Carhartt jacket and I tried putting the gloves on and then the jacket but the neoprene got hung up in the jacket and I couldn't pull the sleeve on. But, if I put the jacket on first, I can't get the glove far enough under the sleeve of the jacket that it will help hold the glove on. So I end up with them half hanging off my fingers, making it really hard to do anything that requires finger finesse. The other problem is that the neoprene also makes them fight being put into my pocket after I'm done with them. What I've typically done is keep my gloves in the pocket of my jacket and that way I always have them when I need them. But because these fight going in, I'm afraid they'll fall out of the pocket too easily and if I'm carrying the jacket somewhere, I'll lose them altogether.

I ordered a pair as well and got m ine a few days ago. Medium as well, since small was out! A bit big, could be snugger, but not horribe...getting ready to put them on again to go out! I have not had a chance to use them to much yet !

 

[HEChicken]

I don't see how you get by with one waterer at your place HEChicken with all of those birds of all kinds there. I have to have a heated waterer base & a at least a two gallon if not bigger metal waterer at my main coop. I also have a two gallon one on a base in the peafowl/guinea pen. The rest of them that have a heated waterer have the heated dog bowls, those things are great as far as I'm concerned. I got two extras on sale so I could replace if I have to any that fail. I have had some of these for a couple of years.

I fill the bowl when I do the final lockup at night so I know they will have water first thing. I then go down to let the dogs out and feed the sheep and goats first thing in the morning and at that time they still have plenty of water. Then I go back down mid to late morning, early to mid afternoon, and a final check when it starts to get dark. So far there has always been just a little water left in it each time I've checked, so they've never run out completely, and I think if the ducks didn't play in it, I could probably get by with only refilling twice a day. I keep some milk gallon containers up at the house and just fill one from the kitchen sink before going out. Then I can dump in the whole container (or as much of it as it takes to fill it) and bring it back up with me to the house to fill for next time. So far its working fine, but I am looking forward to the days being above freezing so I don't have to check on them 4 times a day. I heard there is another cold front moving in after this one moves out - I fear it is going to be a very long, very cold winter. Danz, you were right too about it being an expensive winter. Hearing the heat cycle on and off all day I can practically hear the propane tank emptying….

 

[Trish44]

I fill the bowl when I do the final lockup at night so I know they will have water first thing. I then go down to let the dogs out and feed the sheep and goats first thing in the morning and at that time they still have plenty of water. Then I go back down mid to late morning, early to mid afternoon, and a final check when it starts to get dark. So far there has always been just a little water left in it each time I've checked, so they've never run out completely, and I think if the ducks didn't play in it, I could probably get by with only refilling twice a day. I keep some milk gallon containers up at the house and just fill one from the kitchen sink before going out. Then I can dump in the whole container (or as much of it as it takes to fill it) and bring it back up with me to the house to fill for next time. So far its working fine, but I am looking forward to the days being above freezing so I don't have to check on them 4 times a day. I heard there is another cold front moving in after this one moves out - I fear it is going to be a very long, very cold winter. Danz, you were right too about it being an expensive winter. Hearing the heat cycle on and off all day I can practically hear the propane tank emptying….

I went out earlier today to empty rubber pans that were frozen & put fresh water in & there were a couple I really had to stomp on to get the ice to release. I was beginning to think I was going to have to go get hot water, but finally it came out. Ugh, I hope this whole winter isn't like this, it's indeed going to be a long, long winter. Speaking about the heat turning off & on, that's why we have a woodstove for supplemental heat because our heat pump can't keep up under about the 30-35 degree range, so we burn wood when it hits that temp outside. We don't have the heat come on when the woodstove is going well. That's why I guess the people that built this weird house put sliding windows in the walls upstairs so you could get heat when the stove is burning. It's hard to describe our house without you seeing it, but the front half is open to the 2nd floor ceiling downstairs, then the back half has a normal ceiling above what we use as a den or livingroom, the bathroom & kitchen & the bottom is built into the hill so that part is all cement walls outside underground. On our bedroom above the livingroom & bathroom there are windows that slide on the room that we use for a walk in closet & our bedroom has a big one the size of a picture window. The woodstove is right below our room so it gets cozy up there when the fire is going well, in fact some nights after burning wood all evening the coals are so hot that I have to throw off the blanket for awhile because I'm too warm & we have to run the ceiling fan. There is also a window out in the hallway that opens the same way. It's a strange house, but they were trying to make it energy efficient & in a lot of ways it is. When there is sun during the day it heats the cement walls in the sunroom & it doesn't get cold till dark. There were some things they did that were strange & some things they just plain messed up building this house, but is is unique for sure. I know at one time they had tried to do a solar water heater, but it didn't work out so it wasn't hooked up when I came here & we dismantled it. I don't know why they didn't put solar panels on the house, but maybe cost was a factor. In Europe they use a lot more solar than we do here, we saw quite a bit of it in Italy.

 

[Trish44]

Here is a link for a picture book of chicken diseases, some of it is kind of gross, but it has some good pics to look at to see if this is what you're dealing with: http://www.fao-ectad-gaborone.org/en/IMG/pdf/Picture_Book-2.pdf

BTW Danz, I know it is often transmitted by mosquitos, but I also read it can be spread by wild birds. so that is another source. One more thing we have to watch out for with the wild birds.

 

[chicken danz]

When I lived in Oklahoma City we had solar panels put in and a big 600 gallon crock type tank held the water. We had to add cold water to it all the time to keep it from being way too hot. (We didn't have to physically do it. There was an automatic valve that opened at a certain temperature. It was big enough we could have put hot water heat in the house as well but that was a fortune more. We had a back up water heater for the house that the water ran though before going through the normal pipes. The only time it ever turned on was when it was cold and cloudy for days on end. If I had the big old tank again I think I could recreate the whole system myself. And with a pump you could even have in floor heating.
We do have a wood burning fire place in the basement but all the heat just goes up the chimney. It's pretty much worthless. And neither one of us has any desire to go cut wood. Although it would be nice to have an outside wood stove to add heat. We used to burn wood for the shop at my old house all winter but we've never done that here.
Trish your house sounds really neat. It's hard to imagine but I love the idea of using more energy efficient methods. I certainly need to make some changes here to make this place more efficient.
it was really cold out there today and my stupid pirit hose was still frozen. So much for having a guaranteed frost free hose. I think I need to bring it in and get the ends thawed out and the rest should be fine.
All the chicks that had gone without heat were just fine. I think I worry too much. The water pan was frozen solid so they were pretty thirsty. I guess it helps they've been acclimated to the cold some with just one place to run in to get warm.

 

[Trish44]

When I lived in Oklahoma City we had solar panels put in and a big 600 gallon crock type tank held the water. We had to add cold water to it all the time to keep it from being way too hot. (We didn't have to physically do it. There was an automatic valve that opened at a certain temperature. It was big enough we could have put hot water heat in the house as well but that was a fortune more. We had a back up water heater for the house that the water ran though before going through the normal pipes. The only time it ever turned on was when it was cold and cloudy for days on end. If I had the big old tank again I think I could recreate the whole system myself. And with a pump you could even have in floor heating.
We do have a wood burning fire place in the basement but all the heat just goes up the chimney. It's pretty much worthless. And neither one of us has any desire to go cut wood. Although it would be nice to have an outside wood stove to add heat. We used to burn wood for the shop at my old house all winter but we've never done that here.
Trish your house sounds really neat. It's hard to imagine but I love the idea of using more energy efficient methods. I certainly need to make some changes here to make this place more efficient.
it was really cold out there today and my stupid pirit hose was still frozen. So much for having a guaranteed frost free hose. I think I need to bring it in and get the ends thawed out and the rest should be fine.
All the chicks that had gone without heat were just fine. I think I worry too much. The water pan was frozen solid so they were pretty thirsty. I guess it helps they've been acclimated to the cold some with just one place to run in to get warm.

I really don't know how the system was supposed to work that was here originally to heat the water, but it looked like some kind of kit maybe that they had gotten & then couldn't get it to work right or something because they had a water heater installed by the time I got here. There is a lot of difference between a fireplace & a closed woodburning stove. We had an old fashioned fireplace at my other house & it just let most of the heat out the chimney, but this stove we just bought new a couple of years ago to replace the old one that was in the house is great. It has glass doors on the front so you can see the fire, but it's a totally closed system so we can burn hedge in there & it burns really hot. I love the system for cleaning it out too, so much better than the old stove. On the old one we had to dig the ashes all out the front door & it was a total mess. This new one you just scrape all of the ashes into the metal bin underneath the stove & there is a little door you open & pull out the tray to go empty it. We keep an ash bucket on the front porch where we empty hot ashes & then when it's all full we empty it.

I'm so glad your chicks were OK, I'm sure you were holding your breath. I lost another lavender Orp chick last night, I knew it wasn't doing well. I'll be lucky if I have any chicks left in that growout pen by the time this winter is over. I have a heat lamp in there, but I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I noticed the older, bigger ones were laying clear across the pen from it today but the smaller ones were over by it. It makes me question my decision to hatch chicks this time of year for sure. I have never done that before & now I'm thinking I may have been smarter to not hatch any in the fall at all. I have these 13 chicks in the house in the brooder & I'm wondering now when or if I'm going to be able to move them outside. I really want all of these to make it, they're crucial to my breeding program, so I just don't know what to do. I hated to wait till spring to get them because I need them to be old enough to lay. I probably will be starting over with some breeds in the spring. There are some that just aren't very hardy & trying to keep them alive when it's so cold is just impossible.