Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

My biggest question is what to do with the chicks once they outgrow the chicken tractor (32 square feet), which maxes out at 7 birds. The main coop (64 square feet) and the 2500 square foot run should hold them well enough, but I am worried about them eating layer rations. I could keep them in a separate run for a while, but it would not be covered.

I'm new to this so any advice would be appreciated.

Once last question. I have supplemental light in my coop and my hens have not stopped laying. Is this bad for their overall health? Should I let them stop laying for a portion of the year?

I'm not sure I understand your set up, but when you have a mixed age flock, the best thing to do is to feed a grower ration instead of layer feed, and provide oyster shell as a supplement on the side for the layers.

On the question of supplemental light there is really no right or wrong answer, just differing opinions. Myself, I don't add light because I like to do everything as naturally as possible. I figure if Mother Nature intended for them to have a break from laying to allow their bodies a time to recuperate from what is a pretty strenuous process, then who am I to mess with her? The commercial egg farmers do provide supplemental light but their focus is on maximizing the number of eggs they get from the hens - and once they are mostly spent, they are disposed of.

 

[ChooksChick]

Thanks everyone for the tips on the cold weather clothing. I hate being cold, so i'm going to be checking out everything mentioned! I was thinking about getting a set of insulated coverall's, but since I have to head to walmart today anyways - I might check out those insulated pants as well!  Where do ya'll get your muck boots?  We have both an orschleans and a tractor supply here in town that I was planning on checking out. 

I'm planning on staying in for the most part this weekend as well, other than the grocery shopping that I have to get done.  I have a quilt that I've been working on that needs my attention. I'm thinking I need to get that done before the chicks arrive, otherwise i won't have as much time on my hands! LOL 

Hope everyone has a great day!!

TSC has the good ones 25% off, but I don't know what sizes are left. They also have the womeen's. Coveralls cheaap. Sorry, my phone is acting üp.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

I know this is probably a dumb question but I'm going to ask it anyway. I was loaned a little giant incubator and it says in the directions that there are supposed to be some toggles for changing temperature which I cannot find (it is a 1588 "circulated air model" hova-bator). The incubator was at a good 99.5 pretty consistently for three days according to my manuel thermometer and then I got the eggs. I put the eggs in and added warm water and the temperature dropped. I took the water out and changed the egg cartons I'm using (they got wet) and the mechanical thermometer is back between 99 and 100 and is set close to the floor of the incubator. I purchased an electric thermometer/hygrometer yesterday that is reading at 97.3 and is close to the top of the incubator which seems very odd given the science of warm air. It is certainly possible that one of the thermometers is off but I don't know which one and I don't know how to fix that problem (is it more likely that the electric or mechanical thermometer is off?). If the temperature is actually at 97.3 then I imagine I won't get the eggs to hatch. I know this is a long explanation but I am looking for suggestions on what to do from here. I'm thinking the electronic thermometer may not be precise? Any thoughts?

If the incubator was holding the correct temperature for 3 days, it is probably working ok. When you put the eggs in. opening the bator let out warm air, and putting in the cooler eggs caused the temperature to go down and it would take time for the eggs to warm up and the temp to stabilize again.

The incubators I have used, the directions say to put the thermometer on top of the eggs, but if the fan is working it does not matter so much.

Either or both of the thermometers "could" be not working right. I have heard one way to check them is to put them both in a known temperature to see how they read out. I used the cheap medical thermometers and never had a problem with them. Are the two you are using in the same place in the bator?

The temps are controlled differently with the little giant and the hova bator. Once either is set, it is generally best to not mess with them. Use them in a room where there is not a lot of temperature changes, don't open them any more than you have to, and give them time to get back to temp if you do open, add water or eggs, etc. And, once the eggs are up to temp, they will not change temp as fast as the air in the incubator.

Hope that helps.

 

[Trish44]

IVY, congrats on the chicks! I'm glad you finally got a good hatch, how exciting! I wish my Ameraucanas would start laying again, they're just holding out on me. Maybe when we start getting into the longer days again they will. There is no supplemental light in where they are. I had put tarp over almost all of the dog run because I was using that one in the beginning for the pups & was blocking the wind & such, now the 3 Ameraucanas are in there & pretty much the only light they get is from the front where the door is.

I'm enjoying reading the tips on the incubators, that will come in handy when I get ready to use mine. I'm sure I will have questions then too, but it never hurts to read as much as I can in the meantime.

Well my problem child GP Lily really did it today, she has me really upset & I'm not sure what to do. This dog is the hardest headed one I have about ever had to deal with. She doesn't listen & scolding her does no good. Jasmine, her sister is totally different in that regard. Anyway I was doing some chores with my rabbits & hadn't gathered all the eggs yet because there were still hens on the nests when I looked in the coop, so I didn't bother them. When I finished I went in to get eggs & who did I find in there but Lily & she was eating eggs, boy was I mad! I took her out scolding her all the way out & took her out to the tie out chain & tied her out there for awhile. I let her off after awhile & what did she do but go right back in the coop. I took her out again & scolded her again & she went up on the hill just until I went back in the house, then went right back in there. I again dragged her out of there & scolded her & went back in, she went right back in there again. So right now she is tied out in the yard for awhile. I don't know how long she has been eating eggs, I just caught her for the first time today. Anybody got any ideas about how to stop this? You can imagine with me trying to sell eggs & we eat them ourselves that I don't want her to do that.

 

[Ivywoods]

I have not used that hatchery, so I can't answer about that. I am not familiar with them. The RIR's are pretty good layers. The only problem I had with mine was that if any of my chickens were going to get mites, all I had to do was check the RIR's. They would be the first to get them. I don't know why that was. How many chickens are you thinking about ordering? Does egg color make a difference? I don't think anything can beat my white leghorns for egg production, and you can order pullets only. Mine came from Murray McMurray and they have a line developed specifically for egg production. For the amount of feed they eat and the number and size of eggs they lay, they can't be beat. Checoukan has some of my white leghorns and I think she will vouch for them, too.

In almost all cases (I can't speak specifically for Country Hatchery) hatcheries sell easter eggers and not pure ameraucanas. They call them ameraucanas, americanas, easter eggers, etc, but they are a mix. I don't know of a hatchery that sells pure ameraucanas. Perhaps there will be some this year. I raise ameraucanas. They seem to be very hardy and they lay a greenish or blue-green egg. None of mine have been broody. I don't think they make the best broilers, though, if you get extra roosters, and the rooster can be very dominant in the yard.

If you are wanting a colorful egg basket have you considered marans? I have black copper marans. They egg production is pretty good and they lay a very dark egg. Some are darker than others. They are pretty big chickens and the roosters are gorgeous. They are pretty calm birds. I don't know if you can get them at a hatchery, but there are quite a few breeders that raise them. There seems to be a good demand for them.

It's time to start think about ordering chicks.

Have any of y'all used Country Hatchery in Oklahoma?

I was thinking about going half and half Rhode Island Reds and Ameraucanas. Maybe 10 each? My thinking is thus. The Reds are a dual purpose heritage breed, are excellent egg layers, and any roosters I get will make good fryers. These are not setters. The Ameraucanas are pretty much the same except for the green eggs and they are much better looking than the Reds. According to the web site, the Ameraucanas are hardy and good setters too. I am open to breed and hatchery suggestions too.

My biggest question is what to do with the chicks once they outgrow the chicken tractor (32 square feet), which maxes out at 7 birds. The main coop (64 square feet) and the 2500 square foot run should hold them well enough, but I am worried about them eating layer rations. I could keep them in a separate run for a while, but it would not be covered.

I'm new to this so any advice would be appreciated.

Once last question. I have supplemental light in my coop and my hens have not stopped laying. Is this bad for their overall health? Should I let them stop laying for a portion of the year?

 

[Ivywoods]

Boy, I don't know. Runt will eat eggs if I leave them around, but for the most part I do not have hens laying where he can get to them. He took one right out of my egg basket right behind my back one time. He was FAST! I turned around and wondered where the heck that egg went and then I saw him a few yards away enjoying his prize. I took it away from him and scolded him. I have not had a problem with it for a while, but then all of my layers are in cages where he can't get to them. I suppose if the guineas start laying around the yard they will be susecptible to being dinner for Runt. You might have to put up some kind of a divider or fence that the hens can hop through to get to the nest but the dogs can't fit through. I don't know how you can break them of eating it. It sounds like she is pretty determined.

IVY, congrats on the chicks! I'm glad you finally got a good hatch, how exciting! I wish my Ameraucanas would start laying again, they're just holding out on me. Maybe when we start getting into the longer days again they will. There is no supplemental light in where they are. I had put tarp over almost all of the dog run because I was using that one in the beginning for the pups & was blocking the wind & such, now the 3 Ameraucanas are in there & pretty much the only light they get is from the front where the door is.

I'm enjoying reading the tips on the incubators, that will come in handy when I get ready to use mine. I'm sure I will have questions then too, but it never hurts to read as much as I can in the meantime.

Well my problem child GP Lily really did it today, she has me really upset & I'm not sure what to do. This dog is the hardest headed one I have about ever had to deal with. She doesn't listen & scolding her does no good. Jasmine, her sister is totally different in that regard. Anyway I was doing some chores with my rabbits & hadn't gathered all the eggs yet because there were still hens on the nests when I looked in the coop, so I didn't bother them. When I finished I went in to get eggs & who did I find in there but Lily & she was eating eggs, boy was I mad! I took her out scolding her all the way out & took her out to the tie out chain & tied her out there for awhile. I let her off after awhile & what did she do but go right back in the coop. I took her out again & scolded her again & she went up on the hill just until I went back in the house, then went right back in there. I again dragged her out of there & scolded her & went back in, she went right back in there again. So right now she is tied out in the yard for awhile. I don't know how long she has been eating eggs, I just caught her for the first time today. Anybody got any ideas about how to stop this? You can imagine with me trying to sell eggs & we eat them ourselves that I don't want her to do that.

 

[chicken danz]

notiones, it won't hurt the chicks to eat layer rations. It's a basically just added calcium and less fat than grower feed. I would separate the chicks for a while when you put them in the big pen just so all the birds get used to each other. Then monitor them when they join the others. Otherwise the bigger ones will beat them up. If you have a yard you can let all of them into outside of the pen after a couple days, when it's time to go back in for the night they will accept each other.
Hechicken, When I add water to the incubator I make sure it is slightly warmer than 99.5 so it will help make up for the heat loss when the lid was open. I usually wait until the water feels pretty warm to my touch. Even if it is warmer it will regulate fairly quickly. It puts less stress on the eggs and keeps the incubator from working so hard. Plus the warmer water releases more humidity which makes up for lost humidity when the bator is opened.

 

[rlwt]

Yes, I realized the mistake with the incubator it definitely is a hova-bater, I'm obviously a newbie and a little confused. One of the thermometers was off, I tested them both with ice water. I returned the one that was off and kept the other one and then just got a hygrometer so I could keep an eye on humidity. The temp looks like it's gone back up at this point and now that I know that that thermometer is working I'm not so concerned. Thanks for the help!

 

[Trish44]

notiones, when I had raised some little chicks from day old & then wanted to add them to the flock I made a temporary pen inside the coop to house them for a couple weeks until they all got used to each other. They could see each other, but the bigger ones couldn't get to the young ones. When I let them out to be with the rest of the flock there was no picking on them since they had been together & they were already essentially integrated. It worked really well & I would do it that way again if I need to.

 

[Candace69]

HI! I started a thread for input on a new breed. Can you guys help with it and give your input:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/622487/need-help-with-new-selection-of-breed#post_8288889
Thanks!!!!!