Crossing my Red Ranger Hens.

[BlueBaby]

I get the feeling one of the CX girls is going to die soon, she was lethargic and not eager to get food. Her comb was pale too. I expect her to be dead by morning but hopefully she was just Temp sick this evening. She didn't put up a fight at all when I picked her up and gave her a hug. Thats why I got 3 of them (actually I got six but I ate the males) ... As long as one of them makes it to reproduction age I can carry on with my goals.

I hope that she pull's through for you.

 

[Morrigan]

Power has finally been restored to most of my area and I have internet again. Things are returning to normal.

So, the hatch is now complete. I had 4 strong, healthy Moyer broilers hatch and the 1 NN/BO cross. A 5th Moyer broiler hatched, but unfortunately it hatched with yolk and a large bloody mass outside it's body and I had to cull it. I think it must have something to do with the damage done to the eggs and air sac during shipping. This is the second time I've had to cull a chick like this, and both times they were from shipped eggs that came looking half scrambled.

The 5 chicks have been moved to my converted rabbit hutch/outdoor brooder. This is the first time I have brooded outside from day 1. I've got a Brinsea eco-glow brooder set up for them, as I wanted to get away from heat lamps. It got down into the 40s last night, and I was up at 3 and 6 checking on them, but did fine. Brinsea says their brooder was not for outdoor use and should used in rooms where temperatures don't drop below 50, so I was little worried. I did add a heating plate on the side of the brooder, wedged between the wire cage and outside insulation and it did keep the temperature inside of the brooder about 15 degrees warmer than the outside.

Here are pictures of my set up and the chicks. The NN/BO cross as a fairly well feathered neck, although their is a bit more pink showing through than normal, which you can kinda see on the last shot. Interested to see how it feathers out.

 

[Compost King]

I love how you kept the brooder with insulation to retain heat as the power was out, great job.

 

[BlueBaby]

@Compost King How is your flock doing today? Mine are enjoying this cooler weather that we are having over here now.

 

[Compost King]

@Compost King How is your flock doing today? Mine are enjoying this cooler weather that we are having over here now.

We are actually kinda warm today, 82 degrees which is somewhat warm here in October but it happens from time to time. I forgot to mention but one of the CX died, I mentioned she was sick and I expected her to be dead by morning. She was also the one that ventured into some netting I put up to keep them out of a part of the compost pile because some rotted food was in there. I guess she ate something that made her sick and she died.the other 2 didn't get into that netting. When you ration feed chickens can get desperate and I suspect that was the cause. Due to lack of space I really have no where else to put composting materials to where chickens can not get to it so I need to work on better netting. The Naked Neck crossing pens are slowing down production but I am still in the ballpark for reaching my Sunday goal on egg collection, but if they get any slower it might be Monday.

 

[BlueBaby]

We are actually kinda warm today, 82 degrees which is somewhat warm here in October but it happens from time to time. I forgot to mention but one of the CX died, I mentioned she was sick and I expected her to be dead by morning. She was also the one that ventured into some netting I put up to keep them out of a part of the compost pile because some rotted food was in there. I guess she ate something that made her sick and she died.the other 2 didn't get into that netting. When you ration feed chickens can get desperate and I suspect that was the cause. Due to lack of space I really have no where else to put composting materials to where chickens can not get to it so I need to work on better netting. The Naked Neck crossing pens are slowing down production but I am still in the ballpark for reaching my Sunday goal on egg collection, but if they get any slower it might be Monday.

It's only 76 degrees here right now at 11:44 AM.

Well, you should be busy enough soon with that new hatch that is due.

 

[BlueBaby]

@Morrigan I had heard on the new's yesterday that many places in N. CA. were without power.

 

[Compost King]

It's only 76 degrees here right now at 11:44 AM.

Well, you should be busy enough soon with that new hatch that is due.

I am actually busier before the hatches because I have to move all the previous hatches to the next stage Brooders and clean them. Although some I clean ever 5 rotations, others every 3 rotations, and the first one I clean every 3 weeks. the others they either do not spend long in them or its so big and the bottom so deep I can add layers of straw. the first Outdoor brooder is 3 x 6 with half of the chicks usually already sold by then they have so much room. I took out the heat lamps when I realized how much heat was coming up from the bottom and replaced it with a 2 liter bottle of water right by the south facing sliding glass door. The combination of a compost heated floor and solar heating seems to be enough to keep chicks warm from weeks 3 to 6. I might have to keep them in indoor brooders through week 6 for December and January because things do freeze here at night in those 2 months. Hopefully I will have the CX laying by then and half CX chicks will bring a lot of heat to any young flock in winter.

 

[BlueBaby]

I am actually busier before the hatches because I have to move all the previous hatches to the next stage Brooders and clean them. Although some I clean ever 5 rotations, others every 3 rotations, and the first one I clean every 3 weeks. the others they either do not spend long in them or its so big and the bottom so deep I can add layers of straw. the first Outdoor brooder is 3 x 6 with half of the chicks usually already sold by then they have so much room. I took out the heat lamps when I realized how much heat was coming up from the bottom and replaced it with a 2 liter bottle of water right by the south facing sliding glass door. The combination of a compost heated floor and solar heating seems to be enough to keep chicks warm from weeks 3 to 6. I might have to keep them in indoor brooders through week 6 for December and January because things do freeze here at night in those 2 months. Hopefully I will have the CX laying by then and half CX chicks will bring a lot of heat to any young flock in winter.

I only have one more hatch that hasn't started yet to do for this year, and then I'll be giving my incubator a rest until towards spring.

 

[Morrigan]

I was out painting the outside of the new coop and had the pleasure of seeing my Red Ranger hen lay her first egg. She's 20 weeks old. It was a decently sized egg. It was funny watching her. She suddenly sprinted in from the yard into the coop and then stood pondering the nest boxes for a while. She got it figured out and then she, my rooster and one of the 18 week old pullets had a good egg song together.

I just cleaned up and put away my incubator. I'll have 10 or so to butcher this fall and winter, and we still have some chicken in the freezer from last year. I'm hoping that will get us through the winter. I'm not confident enough in my rabbit hutch brooder to put chicks out there when it drops into the teens at night, and I am not a fan of brooding in the house.

I would like the next batch I set to be eggs from by NN and Red Ranger, so I hope she keeps on laying through the Spring.