Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[notabitail]

Nope I have a cheaply old HP

I used to like tinkering but now I just would rather spend it playing with the horses and chickies.

But if I have to fix anything I will.


hahahaha never gets old

View attachment 3468156

I found a cheapy HP in the neighbor's trash. Said I could have it.
As of right now I use a Lenovo ThinkPad X260 running Fedora 37 hooked up via dock to a monitor and a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 running Android 10 Q.
Oh, and I'd better pay up.

 

[Ponypoor]

I used a heating pad with my chicks and it worked very well. Everyone was healthy and active, just using the cave for comfort and sleep. I raised them out in the unheated coop from day one and they used the heat cave for four weeks, then switched to sleeping in a pile on the floor until they were seven weeks old at which point that they started roosting.

I started with the heat turned to the highest level and turned it down one notch every week or so. I expect that our northern temperatures were cooler than what they would experience in your barn. I attached the heating pad to the inside of the top half of an old cat carrier, so that they could press their backs against the top. I raised it up as they got bigger. It worked very well and would use it again if I didn't have a broody.

Good to know, I was thinking of using it underneath them but yes overtop would be easy to do. And safer for them. If I can’t find a brooder plate I will use the heating pad.

Right now I have my kiddos in a large animal crate housed in The office/feed room it’s warm in here.

 

[Ponypoor]

View attachment 3468157View attachment 3468158View attachment 3468159
I found a cheapy HP in the neighbor's trash. Said I could have it.
As of right now I use a Lenovo ThinkPad X260 running Fedora 37 hooked up via dock to a monitor and a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 running Android 10 Q.
Oh, and I'd better pay up.
View attachment 3468160

Absolutely nothing wrong with older tech, I have a 6 yr old laptop I even loaded my old version of Office 2000 on it (win10) -
Gave me a bit of grief finding some operating system files but I tricked it hahaha.

Babies tax
One of the Bielefelders

 

[Ponypoor]

If you notice, after the reduced rate, there were no deaths in 2 of the groups. Maybe someone can rustle up a more recent study...but, unfortunately, it isn't in their interest of huge commercial operations, as they want as much production as possible, so there probably are very few people/institutions willing to fund such studies.

something that does help some is to reduce the amount of light they get. Are you able to let them out later (and if there is a window in their coop, cover it?) so that they have less day light per day? I've read 14 hours is key, but my girls started increasing production/coming back online at around 12 hours - but I truly believe that part of it is that the daylight is going in the right direction AND their breeding - to lay eggs more continuously.

That said, you have to do what you think is correct, and with what limited info we have.

If you do reduce light make it at the end of the day, there are studies with horses in estrus the increasing daylight in the evening was key.

So reducing it in evening would do the opposite, I am sure poultry will be not much different.

 

[notabitail]

Absolutely nothing wrong with older tech, I have a 6 yr old laptop I even loaded my old version of Office 2000 on it (win10) -
Gave me a bit of grief finding some operating system files but I tricked it hahaha.

Babies tax
One of the Bielefelders
View attachment 3468163

I love old tech. Usually tell people that if they don't want their old stuff I'll take it off their hands .
I use LibreOffice, as I do not care for Microsoft or their products.
My laptop is almost 7 but still works great. And my iPad Air 1 is nearing its tenth birthday.

 

[Ponypoor]

Babies

They are already hopping up onto the brooder plate

The wee poorly little girl drank some of the sugar water and again pecked half heartedly at the crumble. I used a hammer and crushed the bits smaller for them.

 

[notabitail]

Babies

They are already hopping up onto the brooder plate

The wee poorly little girl drank some of the sugar water and again pecked half heartedly at the crumble. I used a hammer and crushed the bits smaller for them.

Those little chickens are so cute!
(My chicks like to peck my hand)

 

[Ponypoor]

Those little chickens are so cute!
(My chicks like to peck my hand)

There is one they literally bits my fingers and hand! Ok back sleep for me. I am getting up every couple hrs to get fluids into that week poorly gal.

 

[notabitail]

There is one they literally bits my fingers and hand! Ok back sleep for me. I am getting up every couple hrs to get fluids into that week poorly gal.

I hope she gets well soon and that you get your sleep.
They eat the brown spots on my skin.
The big chickens bite my fingers when in a craze for mealworns.

 

[RoyalChick]

Goldie is home now. While we are confident that her leg will heal it will never be 100 percent. I thought it over and believe I will build a small chicken tractor for her and Itty-bitty. Probably 4 x 8 feet with about 30 inches closed in for a coop section. I'll put the top on hinges so in the evening we can help her get into the coop to be protected from the elements. Any ideas are appreciated. We know we can't put her with her flock but we want her to have a good quality of life.

Are you sure she couldn’t go back to the flock? Are you thinking she will get bullied? Might it be worth doing a supervised reintroduction?