Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Mammahen you are such a busy person! I have lots of project but I sure don't seem to complete many.
I think your shelves are awesome for making brooders. In reality will you be using all those lights and outlets at the same time? I am just wondering how many amps you would actually be pulling. I am just guessing you are using a 15 amp breaker for all of this? I think you would be okay as long as you don't use large heat lamps. I like using the 75 or 85 wt red flood lamps instead of actual heat lamps. They pull so much less energy than a regular lamp. I also have some 25wt red party bulbs which I use in close quarters just to add a little heat when chicks get older. The cheapest place I have found the red flood lamp bulbs is http://www.atrlighting.com/IW_Products.m4p.pvx?;ITEM?ItemCode=30843OSI?company=ATR
The problem with them is they can't give you a shipping cost until it is packaged and ready to go. I bought like 3 cases of them and have used 2 cases all ready. Shipping was pretty high with a box that big. I think Trish was going to order some more last week so she could give you an idea of how high shipping was for however many she ordered.
Also Josie's DH just built her some awesome brooders. You might find out what they are using in those.
If the space is under 18 inches tall you probably don't need a high powered heat source. The problem is of course finding a colored bulb in a lower wattage.
Also is there any kind of heat in this building at all? Any windows to let in light = solar gain for heat?
I don't know for sure if that is what you were asking or not.
Karen I sure hope I saw it right. I will know more later. The one I think is female is definitely more shy and doesn't let me see her underside well. I understand that they nest in spring. I bought 3 big low plastic bins to put digging material in for them in the bottom of the cage. This cage has a huge stainless tray under it I could use for that but of course there is a screen wire above it. It's a shame that isn't removable.
I need to do some more studying as to what to use for what in there.

 

[mommahen10]

I hear you. Sometimes I just have to say we can't start anything new until we finish certain things. My back yard is a mess right now with all we have been pulling out of sheds and the barn making space for the chickens.

I was going to get dimmer switches for the bulbs, thinking they would run less power that way. Also, I was thinking it would be better to have them on all the time than off and on all the time. I'm going to look for a good source for the thermostatic plugs too, I found them in town for less than $20 so that's not really too bad considering can plug 3 into each one. I want to have enough power available but I seriously doubt it'll all be running at once. There is no heat in there at all, there are no windows. There is a huge double door, opens on the top half or the bottom half or both, I plan to leave that open during the day and close at night. The door isn't directly to the outside, but it's just barely inside the big barn door, the one that is about garage door size. It's open all the time except in bad weather. There is no insulation in there, we were going to shove some behind the metal. I figured I would have to run a small heater out there in the coldest months, I also thought that maybe I could put tarps up to block wind on the shelf area in really bad weater. We could put windows in if needed.

Do you have a per bulb price for what you bought including shipping? I'm going to check out your link, isn't it a pain when they do that. I don't like it when they can't tell me the shipping rate but it should be close to the same for both of us, we really aren't that far apart. I don't know what size breaker he's putting in, I'm pretty sure he laid it on top of the breaker box so I will go out and look. I think it's one we already had. I will also measure the height, it's not super tall but probably tall enough.

I don't know what I'm asking either, but I didn't want to do it and and then say oh nooooo, there's no way this is going to work. He's spending a lot of time making the shelves tight, and the front and doors tight so nothing can get in there. We have the wire already, we still need to get more light fixures and the switches.

It sounds like you have a lot to do still to get everything perfect for the chipmonks, they do sound fun.

Thanks so much for your help.

So.... Josie, you have any input to share?

 

[mommahen10]

Hi Mike. I didn't even realize there was still dial up out there. There isn't anything else available where you are? I'm not sure where Bonner Springs is. That's cool that the chicks made it. My incubator came unplugged last week and it looks like I'm still going to have some chicks, it got down to 78 degrees when I found it.

Danz, the top shelf is 20 inches high, the bottom is 25 inches. The breaker he laid on top of the breaker box, which I'm sure he intends to use says 30 right on it. It'll take up the rest of the space available in the breaker box.

 

[mommahen10]

Holy Cow Danz!!!! Those bulbs are cheap.

 

[chicken danz]

I don't remember how much the shipping was at this point. I ordered bulbs last year. I can empathize with Mikesfarmer. We have very few choices for Internet where we are and reception is always a problem. There are days I can't get a signal. We had Satellite once and it was the worst of the worse.
Wow! a 30 amp breaker is huge. I have no idea what his welder is running but that is an awful lot. You would be safer with a smaller breaker to prevent overheating. I hope you have a large gauge power line to the building. It's so hard to see what is going on without looking at the wire etc. I'm not an expert.
I have several things on one line and haven't had a problem. But I tend to worry just the same. I keep talking about putting in an underground line but it just isn't in my budget....but then neither are chipmonks!!

 

[JosieChick]

Glad you are feeling better Trish. The chipmonks are adorable. A whole nother kind of animal for sure but very very busy little creatures. They play all day and sleep all night unlike some of those exotic critters. They actually eat about the same as birds do. Hampster food is recommended as a place to start. But they eat grains and fruit and veggies and nuts and whatever. You just have to limit their nuts, corn, and sunflower seed intake to special treats now and then, or they put on too much fat. I am really enjoying them so far. I could actually keep them outside but I want to be able to just watch them play. They are clean animals. They hide food for bad times so they bury it like a squirrel would. They always poop in the same corner so they can be litter box trained as well. DH didn't even ask me what I was paying for the cage. What a great guy!

We had tons of wild chipmunks in Maine when I was growing up. My nana used to feed them on her back steps and when we were kids we would go out with her and sit on the stairs and she would call "Here chippy, chippy." And they would come running and come right up to our hands for sunflower seeds. A couple even used to come into her house on occasion!

OKay, I better write quick before 20 more posts show up! I've been soooo busy! Every time I sit down to read-- and get thru all the posts, then it's time to get going again. I had hit multi so many times, I give up. The kids are out of school today and they were out last Friday as well. Parent/Teacher conferences. Both boys did very well. My middle is the best behaved in his class and my oldest is doing so well, they are considering doing something else with him. We have had a lot of church things going on, my oldest is in Choir and my middle is taking soccer, and Wed nights we go separate ways to get those accomplished and I'm taking a class while choir is going on. Piano and 4-H are taking up the rest of the time. (we've had the 4-H Carnival, and upcoming is a BBQ this weekend, and then banquet in a couple more weeks.)

I had a new boy shipped to me. I'm sort of on the fence about what plan to form for him. He wasn't quite what I was thinking. He has extremely nice wings and feet and color. But I do believe our wires got crossed and he is a non-bearded. If I breed him, I will weaken the bearded/muff gene. But if I use him, it will take a few generations to bring that back strong again and then of course, he will give me the wings, size and toe feathering I was after. Things to think about. It will be a project.

Seems like we've had a lot of stuff going on-- my parents are packing up their house and getting ready to move to Seattle. We are trying to spend as much time with them as we can before they leave in another week. Not much time left.


My silkies HATED the rain. I loved it! We needed the rain, for sure. But I did have to bring in all the wimpy silkies and put them in the garage during the rain storms. The big girls (layers) were out there happy and did great in the weather. Nothing seems to bother them too much. I have my new boy in quarantine. He's not real thrilled and he's doing fine, but I do see him yawning from time to time. He came in later than he was supposed to, and he was pretty stressed out. I'm giving him VetRX and probiotics and electrolytes in his water. I think he'll be fine. He's MEAN! He goes after me every time I reach in there! He's never been handled-- this breeder has tons of coops set up with all one color to each coop, and has hundreds of silkies. So he hates me. Especially when I rub the VetRX all over his comb, then he's really ticked off for a while. He's a little guy-- only 4 months old and on the little side. He's tiny and I sure hope he stays small. I need to breed down in size/weight.

I was wondering where you were! You are usually on here fairly often. Sorry about your boy, hope he is still useful. Did you see a pic before he was shipped?

I went to get everyone sorted out this morning and while letting broody hen out for her morning reprieve, I heard a squeaky little growl from the brooder containing 1-month-old chicks. I thought it strange but was too busy to see who did it. Then I heard it again, and again and again. Yup - a 1-month-old silchin is crowing! I even saw who did it. Josie it was the smaller blue. The larger blue - is that one older than the rest by chance? So far it is not showing any signs of being a boy but is so much bigger than the others, so I am hoping it is just older and that's why it is so much bigger. Anyway, I've been suspecting the small blue of being a boy for a few days and he confirmed it this morning. OMG what a tiny little sound - I didn't even recognize it as a crow at first. DS laughed really hard when I told him and suggested I try to get a video of it. It will probably have to wait until tomorrow morning because now they're out in the chick pen and he probably won't do it all day long.

They are little pistols those small blue cockerels! They shouldn't be too far apart in age but it was a staggered hatch so it could be about a week older? It might just depend on who mom and dad were too.

Josie, what does LGD mean? Did you get Lucie's staples out? What do they do when they perform a necropsy? Just check for germs?

LGD means Livestock Guardian Dog. I didn't feel very good yesterday so I didn't get Lucie over for her staples but the new antibiotics seem to be helping and the wound isn't oozing as badly today. If you send a bird to K State for necropsy (or any animal for that matter) first they do gross necropsy where they just open the bird up and look for something totally obvious that could have caused death. For example a bowel obstruction would be something they could find on gross necropsy. If they don't find anything they can order more tests based on what is looking suspicious or on what the birds symptoms were before death. They can culture tissue to see if something bacterial grows and recommend medication for any other sick birds in the flock or in my case with my last death even birds that were asymptomatic since the first symptom of fowl cholera is usually sudden death. They are fine one minute and gone the next and it is contagious so everyone got treated to prevent losing anymore really expensive birds.

I was going to get dimmer switches for the bulbs, thinking they would run less power that way. Also, I was thinking it would be better to have them on all the time than off and on all the time. I'm going to look for a good source for the thermostatic plugs too, I found them in town for less than $20 so that's not really too bad considering can plug 3 into each one. I want to have enough power available but I seriously doubt it'll all be running at once. There is no heat in there at all, there are no windows. There is a huge double door, opens on the top half or the bottom half or both, I plan to leave that open during the day and close at night. The door isn't directly to the outside, but it's just barely inside the big barn door, the one that is about garage door size. It's open all the time except in bad weather. There is no insulation in there, we were going to shove some behind the metal. I figured I would have to run a small heater out there in the coldest months, I also thought that maybe I could put tarps up to block wind on the shelf area in really bad weater. We could put windows in if needed.

Do you have a per bulb price for what you bought including shipping? I'm going to check out your link, isn't it a pain when they do that. I don't like it when they can't tell me the shipping rate but it should be close to the same for both of us, we really aren't that far apart. I don't know what size breaker he's putting in, I'm pretty sure he laid it on top of the breaker box so I will go out and look. I think it's one we already had. I will also measure the height, it's not super tall but probably tall enough.


So.... Josie, you have any input to share?

I have four brooders and DH build a bar that goes across the top so each brooder has its own heat lamp and bulb. I just bought heat lamps and red bulbs at the feed store. There are two outlets on each end of the brooder and each outlet has its own rheostat to turn the lamp up and down depending on the temp in the garage and age of the chicks in each brooder.


Well I am wiped today and was yesterday too. My little jelly bean is wearing me out and I have to go to work tomorrow. I am going to haul Lucie up with me so I can care for her so that is going to be a chore getting her in and out of the jeep. I found a used crib (not that old and barely used) that I love so I am going to message them about that. We are going to try to buy some of the big furniture used to it doesn't sink us as much. Plus there are lots of nice things out there that are barely used and just sitting in peoples garages. I have read several do and don't lists on buying baby furniture and what to look for so I think we should be in good shape. I need to get outside and take care of critters, don't know why I feel so drained today already.

 

[HEChicken]

Danz, I know you are super busy but I was hoping to see if you have any brilliant ideas with our brooder room before we get things all done and more permanent. Here's the space that will become our brooder room, we are going to divide the shelving and wire the front, with doors of course. Planning to put in 1 plug per brooder, so a total of 4 outlets(8 plugs) along these shelves. The top shelving will be divided into 4, the bottom into 2 to give some different size pens. I will have a couple more outlets around this room, the breaker box can handle it but it'll max it and my son won't be able to get a welder and we will have to do something about that later. I need one for the incubator, another for a lamp for a bigger pen, and one to work with chicks with special circumstances. We will kitty proof, of course.

You have an awesome start for your brooder room already - I'm envious! Relatively speaking, it doesn't look like it will be that much work to add doors and outlets and you'll be good to go.

I'm not sure what you mean about crossing different colors. I wouldn't breed the ones I have together, I worry about inbreeding. They're supposed to be all pullets anyway. That's what got me thinking, how are there so many color variations in one breed, they must not be one breed, right? What am I looking for in leg colors? I'm not at all worried about what kind of birds they are, I don't care, I just love learning and understanding so I'm curious.

I think what she meant is that in order to be a true Ameraucana you would have to have a male and female of the same color and they would have to breed "true" - the offspring could be predicted to be the same colors as the parents. If you are showing or selling the chicks as Ameraucanas, it is important, but if you just want a backyard flock that produces rainbow eggs, I don't think it makes much difference at all. Shhh...don't let them hear me say that on an Ameraucana thread - they have very heated debates on this over there.

So cute! I love their little puffy cheeks. I have just a handful of chicks that are EE's crossed with my Speckled Sussex roo with little puffy cheeks. They are colored like little chipmunks except their beard and muffs are cream colored. So darn cute!

I bet they are gorgeous. I just have one chick from this combo, though mine is the other way around with the roo being the EE and the hen being SS. She is such a pretty little thing and has the personality of the SS. Although she hasn't been handled as much as my previous batch of chicks, when I went out to sit with them yesterday, she was the first to jump up and sit on my lap and stayed there the whole time I was outside.

I just wanted to update that I got the egg taped, I got it shaped to fit and applied easily but it's the other crafting things that came in to play with that. I've done vinyl work too. I cut the shape with my super pointed scissors, then held it with the tip and applied. I thought I didn't overlap enough on one side so I added another tiny strip probably less than a mm wide. If I didn't add to it I was afraid that if it curled at all it would be unsealed. It was fun to do actually but I really hope the chick makes it.

I was going to get dimmer switches for the bulbs, thinking they would run less power that way.

Definitely good thinking. I've always had my heat lamps on a dimmer switch and I love how easy it makes it to turn the heat down as the chicks get older. I agree that it probably uses less power this way too.

Another gorgeous day, only this time I did spend a couple of hours this morning getting some of the painting projects done. Yeah - the end is in sight (I hate painting!) Yesterday I bought a bunch of red-tape bananas so now I need to go and prepare some for the freezer and turn some into banana bread. It seems a pity to run the oven on such a warm day when cooler weather is coming but that's the way it goes.

 

[mommahen10]

Thanks HEChicken. *wink*, I gottcha.
Quote:
I do just want fun colored eggs, but if I do a little breeding that would be fun too. But that's just it, it would just be for fun.

I just got a call, and a lady is coming out to buy 6-7 pullets. YAY!!! That's going to help to move some out. I already told her upfront, we are asking $2 per month of age as a general guide. That covers the cost of feeding(I hope) and gives me a little more for expansion too.

Danz, I don't know about the electric stuff. I could take pics, I'm guessing that the wiring going in is probably fine as my dad had some input on that and he's an electrician, he does QC at Wolf Creek, he's been there since they started. If you think my dh may be about to blow up the place I may have to gently ask if my dad can come help. The wiring in the barn is all new, even though the barn is ancient. We hired an electrician to put it in when we put in the house. It was about 12 years ago. I just can't see my dad letting them do anything not safe or not adequate, it's very picky and thorough.

We planted 2 of the garden areas to wheat this week, I hope to supplement the chicken feed with that. The kids found spilled wheat that had been there so long it was starting to grow along the edges. I was thinking about planting sunflowers for the chickens too, any other ideas.

OH, one more thing. I'm debating on painting the shelves/brooders. Should I? Should I not? I'm going to have one of the big kids hunt for those dimmer switches online for me now.

 

[chicken danz]

We had tons of wild chipmunks in Maine when I was growing up. My nana used to feed them on her back steps and when we were kids we would go out with her and sit on the stairs and she would call "Here chippy, chippy." And they would come running and come right up to our hands for sunflower seeds. A couple even used to come into her house on occasion!
I understand these are Siberian chipmonks however I have no idea what the difference is. I've been out trying to figure out how to set it up and what changes I need to make to make it escape proof. There are just a couple areas that are iffy at the bottom.
Well I am wiped today and was yesterday too. My little jelly bean is wearing me out and I have to go to work tomorrow. I am going to haul Lucie up with me so I can care for her so that is going to be a chore getting her in and out of the jeep. I found a used crib (not that old and barely used) that I love so I am going to message them about that. We are going to try to buy some of the big furniture used to it doesn't sink us as much. Plus there are lots of nice things out there that are barely used and just sitting in peoples garages. I have read several do and don't lists on buying baby furniture and what to look for so I think we should be in good shape. I need to get outside and take care of critters, don't know why I feel so drained today already.

You're so funny. Your little jelly bean!!

 

[chicken danz]

Thanks HEChicken. *wink*, I gottcha.
Quote:
I do just want fun colored eggs, but if I do a little breeding that would be fun too. But that's just it, it would just be for fun.

I just got a call, and a lady is coming out to buy 6-7 pullets. YAY!!! That's going to help to move some out. I already told her upfront, we are asking $2 per month of age as a general guide. That covers the cost of feeding(I hope) and gives me a little more for expansion too.

Danz, I don't know about the electric stuff. I could take pics, I'm guessing that the wiring going in is probably fine as my dad had some input on that and he's an electrician, he does QC at Wolf Creek, he's been there since they started. If you think my dh may be about to blow up the place I may have to gently ask if my dad can come help. The wiring in the barn is all new, even though the barn is ancient. We hired an electrician to put it in when we put in the house. It was about 12 years ago. I just can't see my dad letting them do anything not safe or not adequate, it's very picky and thorough.
Who is your Dad? I worked at Wolf Creek for 24 years. I'll bet I know him! That is exciting. I am sure if it was done by an electrician it will be fine.
We planted 2 of the garden areas to wheat this week, I hope to supplement the chicken feed with that. The kids found spilled wheat that had been there so long it was starting to grow along the edges. I was thinking about planting sunflowers for the chickens too, any other ideas.

OH, one more thing. I'm debating on painting the shelves/brooders. Should I? Should I not? I'm going to have one of the big kids hunt for those dimmer switches online for me now.

I paint a lot of my stuff with barn paint that includes primer. It helps keep moisture from destroying it.