Freedom Rangers in Georgia - Spring 2012

[wsmoak]

For the record... at eight days old they will survive a day without the brooder lamp in this setup. The room was about 70 degrees.

I had to be away all day and I am just *too* paranoid to leave that lamp on without someone home. I tossed a blanket over most of the top to keep the heat in, but left enough open for fresh air and enough light they could see their food and water.

-Wendy

 

[bauers chicks]

I used the white lamp when I needed less heat. The red light was 250 Watts & got up to the 95 degrees well. When raising the bulb was no longer doable & I still needed some heat (approx 80 degrees & lower) the white bulb was 125 Watts. I would have preferred a 125 Watt red light bulb, but they don't seem to make them. I raised 25 Freedom Rangers about 2 years ago and they all did well.

 

[wsmoak]

Wednesday is picture day! Two weeks old:



I am definitely not doing this again without a nipple waterer. I've tried upside down pie plates and now a deep baking dish to keep the waterer up high enough that they don't get it dirty _right_ after I clean it. Everything is covered in dust and tiny feathers. I'm trying to hold out for "fully feathered" but I don't think they're going to make it another week inside!

-Wendy

 

[halo]

I use the black rubber water tanks for my brooders. It was a bit cheaper than the metal one you have there, but the same idea.

 

[loanwizard]

I have 125 Freedom Rangers coming from there too. They should arrive in 6 days. My brooder is a 4X8 trailer with a tarp over plywood sides. Got my nipple buckets ready. I have a grow light and a 500 watt halogen for heat but will probably buy a couple of heat lamps for my peace of mind. I am excited.

 

[bluere11e]

Please keep us informed with pictures and observations.. I'm thinking about doing Rangers in the fall They look like they have good strong thick legs!

 

[KBlue]

They are looking good so far!

 

[wsmoak]

I have 125 Freedom Rangers coming from there too. They should arrive in 6 days. My brooder is a 4X8 trailer with a tarp over plywood sides. Got my nipple buckets ready. I have a grow light and a 500 watt halogen for heat but will probably buy a couple of heat lamps for my peace of mind. I am excited.

I entertained thoughts of putting mine in the horse trailer, but I figured that would tempt Murphy too much and the horse would promptly try to die and I'd need the trailer to take him to the vet clinic.

Still, I can't imagine dealing with over a HUNDRED of them at one time!

-Wendy

 

[wsmoak]

It's been an eventful week! On Sunday I couldn't stand it anymore and evicted them from the stock tank brooder in the sun room out to the old 4x8 foot chicken tractor. This was our first tractor construction attempt and DH is of the opinion that when in doubt, you should add more wood. It's made of 2x4's, hardware cloth, lots of plywood *and* has cedar trim (!!) and weighs a ton. And it doesn't have wheels. (This will become important later.)

Three weeks old:


Monday I moved the tractor (you have to shove a dolly under the back end, push it down, and wiggle it underneath so the handle will stay horizontal then pull from the front) and a few of them came out, but they went back in with their friends. Tuesday I did the same thing, and *more* of them came out, then more, then they made a break for the porch and hid underneath it! It looked like about *half* of them were gone. The porch is 12 feet deep and too short to crawl under so there was no way I could get them out. Later I noticed that they had moved just behind the stairs and gone to sleep and I was able to get half of the miscreants back with a fish net, but the rest went back under where I couldn't get them. I set up a cage with food and water and the brooder light and hoped they would go to it overnight, but no luck, they were still way under there this morning.

I moved the cage closer to where they were huddled up (and closer to the stairs they were behind earlier) but still no luck. Then I got another cage and put two chickens from the tractor in it, and placed it close to the cage with the food and water. THAT worked. In an hour I checked and the escapees were in the cage. I dropped the door shut and dumped everybody back in the tractor. Success!

Really, that was more excitement than I needed. I have all the materials to make a couple of 5x10 foot tractors out of 2x2 so it will be lighter (and have wheels!) so that is on the project list for this weekend. Of course those were _supposed_ to have been built _before_ the chicks arrived, but you know how that works... the project list is endless.

-Wendy

 

[Life is Good!]

That chick looks great! Sorry about the troubles with the tractor - I know I've got to revamp ours before our FR's arrive on Good Friday. Because yes, they'll grow so fast it'll seem like no time at all before they've got to go out into it from the brooder!

Thanks for the pcitures - keeps me anxiously awaiting ours!