Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

Thanks! Do you have any suggested ones? May have to get one longer than 200ft or connect a 200+100ft together. I officially love those girls (and guy).

I didn't think I needed heat, but I saw a brooder heater in one of @BY Bob photos.

Not really, @rural mouse 's suggestions on cords and what to do were great. As far as waterers, I use a heated nipple waterer, got it from Premier I think. I also use a heated doggie bowl, but they evaporate quickly, so as @rural mouse ? said you might have to be filling it often if you get that.

Right, you don't need a brooder heater or a coop warmer for fully-feathered pullets or chickens, @BY Bob had that there for his young chicks when they weren't fully-feathered, and now it's handy for after-swim warmups.

I have one like he has but mine got quite hot, too hot to touch and so I didn't trust it in the close quarters of my coop. I used a heating pad they could stand and sit on instead, but only while they feathered out. I have that stand-up coop warmer now for horizontal use under the red worm bins in our very cold work room, for winter use for the worms.

But chickens do need to be out of direct drafts, yet have really well-ventilated coops. There are very good articles on ventilation design here on BYC.

 

[RockinFlock]

Ah gotcha, I thought it was for the older chickens. I am reading through the ventilation threads now. I have an idea. I plan to post my coop later just to make sure we are on the right track.

It's going to get old very fast. I believe I will check in on how he is doing around Christmas.

Overhand knot 2 extension cords ends together, then plug into each other. there are end covers that can go over that part for extra moisture barriers. Make sure to use cords for outside/industrial use, not indoor/outdoor. They'll last longer. The covers are usually with the Christmas lights and the GOOD cords are in hardware. (Wal-Mart, similar type store or hardware/farm supply stores will have the cords)

I missed these. Sorry about that! I can't keep up with the posts in this thread Thanks for the tips!

 

[RoyalChick]

It's going to get old very fast. I believe I will check in on how he is doing around Christmas.

Having done that one year it was clear that I could not do that every winter. At the coldest point it was a three times a day event! The heated waterer felt like such a luxury after that!

 

[featherhead007]

Maybe hang it near her for awhile before putting it on her, if at all, she might be afraid of it! Or is she an ex-racehorse? My aunt had a retired racehorse.

Nope, she’s not an X anything. Just a member of my family

 

[RoyalChick]

Overhand knot 2 extension cords ends together, then plug into each other. there are end covers that can go over that part for extra moisture barriers. Make sure to use cords for outside/industrial use, not indoor/outdoor. They'll last longer. The covers are usually with the Christmas lights and the GOOD cords are in hardware. (Wal-Mart, similar type store or hardware/farm supply stores will have the cords)

Totally agree - but I think the investment in a long cord will be worth it. I ended up burying conduit and pulling through wire and actually wiring the coop for electric. I didn't do it myself but it was much less of a difficult job than I expected. Mine is about 200 feet from the house too - maybe a little less.

 

[RoyalChick]

Thanks for looking. I had one of these. You can fall right through them and then they float over you.

That sounds frightening!

 

[RoyalChick]

It Must be Hawk Season

I found this from 5 years ago today. This was in the evening and the ladies were all locked in the complex. I believe that I shot this hawk off the fence with the nerf gun.

View attachment 2879803

I found the hawk because I saw this photo and could not figure out why I had taken it. I kept zooming around the photo until I found it on the fence.

This may be the time of the year that new hawks are looking for hunting grounds. I should search my photos some more. Perhaps I can make some seasonal adjustments to how everyone free ranges in advance.

This may be right. I have noticed a lot more hawk activity recently. I think predators get more visible to us in early winter as food supplies get more scarce so I suspect lots of foxes soon too.

 

[fuentemoon]

Also there is less tree cover...

 

[fuentemoon]

We always have prey birds here, fortunately they mostly just fly by or do lazy circles way up high, much easier hunting in the nearby wetlands/fields. Just part of living where we do. The last few weeks we have been dealing with some new neighborhood cats. Our cats usually run off interlopers, but with all the wind and rain have been mostly napping inside (to be fair they are also all getting up there,) except one. Shadow prefers to be out front so that's where the chickens hang out too, unfortunately there is less wind and rain protection for them there. Time to figure out cat deterrent.

 

[featherhead007]

Cat deterrent: Well, you could get a mean dog (Who hates cats) then to get rid of the dog, you’ll need a lion or tiger, and to remove either of those, you will need an elephant. After that, all you would need is a mouse to remove the elephant. But to remove the mouse…. Get a cat .
I know…. I’m not helping