Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

LOL - sounds like ChooksChick is as direction challenged as I am!

 

[averytds]

I grew up in Western KS, spent 20 yrs in South Central and now I'm trying to adjust to SE. It's amazing the drastic differences for the overall. Even the bugs here are different.

 

[LizShaughnessy]

Ok I have a question for all you Kansas chick mommas,

When do you put your chicks out in the "big" coop if you live in the Wichita area. I have 3 chicks that are about 2 wks old and 2 that look to be 4 weeks and the other 3 maybe 3 weeks old.

I've read they can go out when they have feathers but I can't remember about when that is.

Thanks everyone
Liz

 

[Katy]

I'm an hour NW of Wichita. It depends on the time of year. In the hot summer they go out at about 1 week to one of my outdoor brooders with a heat lamp at night. In the winter they stay in a bit longer and then go out to a brooder pen in one of my coops that has heat lamps on 24/7 until they're probably 6 or 7 weeks.....just depends on how cold it is.

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
Last year I brooded two batches. The first I got in mid-August and they were a mix of ages. 3 were 1-month-old and 4 were 1-week-old when I got them. The month-olds were pretty well feathered already but I kept them in with the younger ones for about a week, then they all went out full-time at the same time.

The second batch hatched Sept 21st. I kept them indoors in the brooder for four weeks. By then it was mid-October but we had some nice warm days and they were virtually fully feathered so I took advantage and put them outside. They never looked back.

I am currently brooding a couple more that are about a week and a half old. I'm hoping by the time they are 4-weeks-old or so, that outside temps will be mild enough they can go out....

 

[averytds]

What she said. Same here. Depends on the weather, the birds in question and your particular set-up.




I'll hopefully be a certified poultry tester in KS in a few weeks. Anyone else? Hints, tips, info??????

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I'm a tester, but I got certified so I could do my own birds.....I'm not planning on doing it for anyone else.

 

[averytds]

I'm doing it primarily for us, but I plan to do it for our 4-H club as well. Too many problems last year and I don't want the hassle.

How long approx is the serum good for? So far no one has been able to answer that. Is 1000 tests the smallest you've found to order? Maybe I'll go through it faster than I think, but I just can't picture it.

 

[Katy]

The last bottle I got has it's good until November 2010... It's a 100 dose size. I think I got it from Smith Poultry supply. I got a couple of bottles of it about a year ago.

 

[averytds]

TY, Katy.

Maybe they are just out of the smaller size, I only see the 1000 dose right now. They're all basically the same price. I guess I'll just go with whoever has the latest expiration date when I'm ready to buy.