FLORIDA!!!!!ALWAYS SUNNY SIDE UP!!!

[gardenermark]

I am in Palm Valley. About 45 minutes north of you. I just picked up some Red Stars. From what i have read they do well in all of our seasons. This is my first batch too. Only 3 days in and i am already hooked! I lost 3 of 10 the first night and all of the rest seem good to go. There is a guy in Middleburg i found on Craigslist and he has a bunch of them.

I know Palm Valley well. The area has really changed in recent years. Sorry to hear about the lose of three chicks...Good luck with the rest of your flock!

 

[tysonphotos]

Ok down in south Florida where cold is RARE. So in saying that, I have three hens, three muscovy and three quail. It will go down to 30's tonight. Should I do anything to keep them from freezing to death ...if they are going to in the first place?

 

[cmom]

Ok down in south Florida where cold is RARE. So in saying that, I have three hens, three muscovy and three quail. It will go down to 30's tonight. Should I do anything to keep them from freezing to death ...if they are going to in the first place?

I don't have any kind of heat in my coops. Here in North Central Florida it is supposed to get down into the mid 20's tonight. My coops are all closed up so there is no draft going through them.

 

[getaclue]

Ok down in south Florida where cold is RARE. So in saying that, I have three hens, three muscovy and three quail. It will go down to 30's tonight. Should I do anything to keep them from freezing to death ...if they are going to in the first place?

Are they free range, or cooped at night? If cooped, cover the sides to protect from wind. You might want to coat their combs, wattles, and earlobes with Vaseline, or A&D to prevent frostbite.

 

[dawg53]

Official temp here in Jax this morning was 24. It was 29 in my chicken pen at about 6am....brrrr, it's still too cold!
70 tomorrow and around 75 Sunday!

 

[cmom]

Official temp here in Jax this morning was 24. It was 29 in my chicken pen at about 6am....brrrr, it's still too cold!
70 tomorrow and around 75 Sunday!

It was 23 over here near Ocala this morning. Covered all of the gardens but the potatoes still got hit. We should have doubled the cover. The forecast here was 28 for the low. Alieda

 

[Brookhavens]

I hatched chicks 2 weeks and 5 days ago I had them inside for a week put them in a small above ground run then had to bring them in because it was so cold what should the temperature be

With the weather being as crazy as it has been I would let them stay inside under a heat lamp until they are fully feathered. Even being fully feathered I would be cautious about putting them outside without some source of heat.

 

[FL Crowing Hen]

It was 23 over here  near Ocala this morning. Covered all of the gardens but the potatoes still got hit. We should have doubled the cover. The forecast here was 28 for the low.   Alieda

I think our low was 30 this morning in Babson Park/Lake Wales.

 

[Shawneegyrl]

Hello hello hello! Jupiter checking in (SE coast). A rare and elusive native Floridian. Retired litigation paralegal. Avid gardener. Photographer. Crafter. Jeeper. And novice backyard chicken farmer. Looking to expand my laying flock, never search through egg cartons for unsmashed crappy white eggs from Publix ever again, and sell eggs to my friends and neighbors. Also would like to try my hand at breeding a few interesting breeds with pretty eggs that others locally may be interestes in adding to their flock as well.


Current flock:

1 black austrolorp hen
3 buff orpington laying pullets
1 lavender orpington laying pullet
1 ameraucana based mutt EE laying pullet
1 white silkie cock
1 lavender orpington cock
1 silkie 2 months old, unknown gender; possibly paint or splash - IDK the difference between the two.
Bought at a local swap meet, told it was a sizzle; it's not a sizzle. Oh well!
Hopefully will be a girlfriend to the male silkie who can't seem to get anywhere with my big boned girls.

(1 EE pullet - RIP Goldilocks - be dammed raccoons!)


Incubators hot with:

+ due 2/13/15
- black copper marans (for eggs)
- OE (my EE pull x Lav orp cock - she's his favorite girl and since the eggs are fertile - let's see what they are!)

+ due 2/15/15
- white leghorn (for eggs, possible breeding with lav orp for cream eggers)

+ due 2/18/15
- welsummer (bantam.... don't ask, I screwed up)
- blue isbars (eggs/breeding/they're pretty to look at)
- salmon faverolles (eggs/breeding/they're pretty to look at)

+ due 2/20/15
- crested cream legbars (eggs/breeding/they're pretty to look at)


next incubating batch will include:

- blue splash wheaten ameraucana (for EE/OE project)
- german bielefelders (eggs/breeding/they're pretty to look at)


April will bring a load of croad langshans chicks for eggs if they are actually plum colored, and breeding purposes. And I'm stealing a cockerel from a local acquaintance to widen the gene pool.


So that's my story. And I'm stickin to it.


Chris "SwampChicks"

How was the hatch?

 

[getaclue]