Eastern Tennessee Thread

[tennesseeckn]

Good lord, what do you do? I have a whole rabbit barn (10 water bottles) and 4 pens of chickens and it takes me no more than 30 minutes! LOL
Unless you clean yours every single day..

I'm probably out there every day for an hour to an hour and a half. It seems like every day one of the big waterers are empty and my water hose has no pressure, so it... takes... forever... to... fill... up. I have a banty coop, three pens, and four bachelor pads to tend.

During the height of the herpes fiasco I was bleaching everyone's waterers, spraying everything with Oxine, AND giving antibiotics to stave off secondary infections. That's when they seemed to occupy every free minute I had.

I wouldn't change it, though. Now that nobody's laying everyone free ranges together every day while I putter around.

 

[tennesseeckn]

No, I knew it wouldn't.. never would eat or anything... I tried giving it a stuffed buddy and it died next to it... Good news is the seller refunded part of my money... just a portion though... so for $35 I have no chicks, a bag of feed (well that was extra $), and heartache.

I know you're sad, but it might be a blessing in disguise if they were harboring some sort of illness.

Is it just me, or am I starting to see germs EVERYWHERE, now? I'm going to turn all Howard Hughes.

I'm glad you got a partial refund, at least.

 

[tennesseeckn]

Glad to see you are back Stacy....I would say Craigslist but you have to be very careful because of idiots and spammers.

Anyone needing more space....HOOP COOP. Quick to build and very handy in a pinch.
he
OK....I need everyone here to do something for me please. My dearest friend of 26 years had breast cancer 5 years ago. Did surgery, chemo and radiation. She cared for her husband who was bed ridden with bladder cancer and Parkinsons. She is truly an amazing person. I wish you all could meet her. She has taught me more about animals....nature...plants and flowers..than 2 people would normally learn. She had been my confidant and the only person I could talk to when things where going so wrong in my world. 2 1/2 yrs. ago the cancer returned in her spine. Her husband had died a year before so she would only allow 10 radiation treatments. Last week she was feeling funny...went to the dr. and she had lost her perepheral vision. They thought they she had a small stroke. I had noticed that sometimes when talking she would forget what she was telling me..but I do that myself sometimes! They did a MRI last week and she found out yesterday that the cancer is in her head. My brothers GF's condition was a lot like my friends and I know the H*^# she went thru. Carolyn's is inoperable..but she is considering radiation. She is 73 and we have talked a lot about something like this happening. She feels she has lived her life and had much joy except for a daughter that treats her like trash. I could not tell you the things she and I have gotten into...we relive those fun times a lot. I am really having a hard time facing the fact that I may not have her very long..or at least with a clear mind. This is the type of friend you only find once in a lifetime we have never had the first cross word between us. If you have a friend like this...tell them how much they mean to you. I have always told Carolyn...we have shared a lot in the last 26 years. She was the one who introduced me to silkies 12 years ago. I hate seeing all the knowledge she possess lost.
Please keep her in your prayers and for me to have strength. I and 2 other friends will be taking her for some of her treatments so I don't know how often I will be on. I will need to spend more time with her right now. I am glad I'm almost finished with hatching for now.
It shows I am always online cause I never sign out...just can't remember passwords. Sorry for the post being so long.

Oh no!

I'm sorry to hear that. I know you two are close. I'll be praying.

 

[Talbott Poultry]

Twenty-one pens?!?!?! I have seven waterers and feeders and I feel like I spend half my life refilling them! I can't even imagine 21.

Believe it or not its not that bad.

Amen. It takes me an hour and a half just to feed and water. I have three coops and one rabbit run. If I had 150, I would have to hire someone. And God help me if they got sick.

I can feed and water 21 pens in about 30 minutes if I have help. An hour if I do it by my self. But I do spend about 2 hours on the weekends.

AJ I have been there... I'm coming back from it... I had about 24 pens and three brooders at one point. Now I'm down to 15 and it feels like a vacation! lol

Sometimes I would like to back it down, then I just add more.

Good lord, what do you do? I have a whole rabbit barn (10 water bottles) and 4 pens of chickens and it takes me no more than 30 minutes! LOL
Unless you clean yours every single day..

Sounds like someone is doing extra work.

Three rabbit bottles and one extra for the run, three feeders for rabbits, guinea water and feed, Brahma water and feed, Two coops with four waterers and two feeders, one chicken tractor with waterer and feeder, and ten nesting boxes. I clean at least five waterers a day. And we are training the guineas. So I have to walk them around the property. They are learning where they can go and where they shouldn't. So far they haven't gotten near the driveway. And all this doesn't include the dogs. Tommy takes care of them. This is all by choice. I want to keep my breeds separated.

It's all in the setup and procedures.

First, every pen has 2 feeders that hold a gallon of feed each. I feed free style (they eat all they want).
Second, all pens with bantams have a 2-1/2 gallon water pan.
Third, all pens with large frame have a 5 gallon water pan.

I only feed every three days and spot check every day when collecting eggs, just to make sure no one runs out.
Once every 10 to 14 days I pick up what they don't eat, mix with whole corn, cracked corn, and 4 grain scratch. This gets fed back to the roosters.

With the size of the water pans I use, I only have to fill them up twice a week, Never on a feed day, unless its the weekend.
The pans are all located in the end of the pens. A 4 foot piece of plastic pipe means I never enter the pen to water.
On the weekend I swap out the water pans and wash the dirty ones. During the hot months I add ACV to prevent algae.
If I have some that think the water pan is a bird bath, and I do have some that would stand in the middle if I would let them, I install a 4x4 welded wire cage over the top.

Now I will say that the past couple of winters it has been more difficult with freezing water.
This year with Rodney's advice, I will be using 5 gallon buckets with nipples (to hold 2 gallons of water) and a low wattage bulb in the top top prevent freezing.

Believe it or not, when the end of the week comes around and the pans are starting to get dirty, they actually drink more than when the pans are clean.

Have you ever dumped the water and watch what happens when it runs across the ground. They go NUTS trying to drink it before soaks into the ground.

See, like I said setup and procedure.

 

[Talbott Poultry]

Beth,
How is UNO doing? Have not seen anymore post about him or her.

 

[Lunar]

Beth,
How is UNO doing? Have not seen anymore post about him or her.

He is AWESOME! lol I got him a buddy from Terry and they are BFF's. I am most sure he is a he. His personality is terrific. He is a bit jealous of me, but that's ok and will probably change if I find him some ladies later on. Here is his one week picture. I think he is coloring up nicely. When I reach into the brooder to do anything...he runs and sits in my hand. He is so adorable.

UNO Scarlet --likes to be held too, if Uno allows. After only 3 days, she is almost bigger than him already. He will chest-butt her, if she's out of line.

Have you had any hatch or are yours laying? My little Sarge, I got from you, has been doing his best to get my girls laying.

I may need some hens if Uno turns out to be a roo for sure. They tell me by 2 weeks I may be able to tell for sure. I think I am in the market for a black hen for this little guy.


@stang -- sorry you lost your chick and had a bad hatch all the way around. Better luck next time.

 

[Talbott Poultry]

I know it's a little early, but yesterday I started collecting eggs for the NYD hatch along.
I am collecting RIR's, Dominique, White Faced Spanish, BY Bantams, FBC Marans, and the Seramas.
I will also use the Lav Orps and the Welsummers IF they decide to lay before the 11th.

I have never kept eggs for 15 days, 10 days is the most I have ever tried.
But with laying so sporadic this year, I need all the eggs that stand a decent chance.
Besides when hens collect eggs they will sometimes collect till they get 20 to 25 eggs.

I tried to find some eggs to buy but have not found anything I wanted.
I would like some eggs from Daph's Orpingtons, if anyone has some of her chicks that are laying.
If you have some please PM me.

At this point that is all that I would actually spend money on.

 

[Talbott Poultry]

Beth
They are completely adorable.

So glad Terry hatched something you could use.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

Good luck with that.

I have been trying to get enough pens for all my breeds.

Right now I have 21 pens, 1 chick house and 2 brooders. ALL FULL.

I need to build about 5 more pens and then start working on the 8 bay grow off pen.

Seems like the more I build the more I need.

Yeah! there is always a new chicken that I want.. I always get them before I am ready

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

Good lord, what do you do? I have a whole rabbit barn (10 water bottles) and 4 pens of chickens and it takes me no more than 30 minutes! LOL
Unless you clean yours every single day..

It took me a long time when we first got started. Now it takes me 30 minutes or less but, if my kids do it, it takes them 1 hr or more! of course they feed and water a little and then play with the chickens a little and so on.