Hatch-Along - Setting eggs this weekend (Jan5/6) WHOS WITH ME!

[FeyRaine]

fisherlady

Those photos are GREAT

& your brooder is A CRIB, oh my oh my that is sooooo funny.
(poss. way more funny to me since we took in this pregnant couple, who caused me to move all my bators & brooders into my bathroom to give them a room,
& they now think I am a completely nutty crazy chicken lady, AND I've been searching night & day for a used baby crib for their baby due apl 9)

so I'm just laughing hysterically at those last two photos, kinda a crazy chicken lady sort of laughter & then some... ;>

 

[fisherlady]

fisherlady

Those photos are GREAT

& your brooder is A CRIB, oh my oh my that is sooooo funny.
(poss. way more funny to me since we took in this pregnant couple, who caused me to move all my bators & brooders into my bathroom to give them a room,
& they now think I am a completely nutty crazy chicken lady, AND I've been searching night & day for a used baby crib for their baby due apl 9)

so I'm just laughing hysterically at those last two photos, kinda a crazy chicken lady sort of laughter & then some... ;>

Yep, the brooder is a crib/playpen... probably from the late 60s or early 70s. We got 2 of them last fall for $5 each, I bought them for using as brooders. We just wrapped hardware cloth around them (we could have used cheaper chicken wire but we have cats and didn't want to take a chance on something paws could fit through) We are going to make a split frame for the roof tomorrow if we get a chance, for now we just have the wire over top and small bungy cords to hold it in place.
The nice thing is that these pens fold up flat when not in use... all the sides are hinged and the bottom board lifts up to let it fold for storage.

 

[Sally8]

I'm still hatching away myself. I have 11 chicks from the Februish hatch. Has anyone else forgot to write hatch dates down? Very frustrating. I'm up to 8-1/2 poults hatched. I have 1 that pipped last night but when I was turning and checking the eggs I noticed the little hole. Maybe he won't ever come out now. You'd think I'd notice the hatch dates on those eggs but I kept taking them from Rosie's nest and running them in the house to the incubator but not writing the dates. I didn't know how long she already had sat on them either. I have 4 that look like Royal Palms and 3 that are going to look like Royal Palm/Bronze cross. I don't know how this works but the chicks are actually 1/4 Bronze and 3/4 Royal Palm . Poults are so much softer than chicks.

I love the playpen brooder idea. I'll be checking out garage sales this summer.

I have an incubator full of mostly BCM eggs and a few sizzle and EE/Marans cross. I'd like some olive green eggs. By the end of next week I'm setting a doz Barred Rock eggs and more BCM. I know quite a few people that would like the BCM.

Finally, I moved that bunch out to the screen porch to that transition brooder that DH made for me. It got down to 20 degrees again last night but it has a heat lamp in it. We opened the door for them to go out I the run yesterday but only a couple peeked out. Plus, I'm not sure they like the cold. So far, even in the day time it doesn't get above freezing. I'M SICK OF THE COLD! I was told that Mon we were due another snow storm. (I'm not looking)

Fey = Out of that group of super blue layers, 2 had that yolky stuff all over. On one it created like a varnish and I had a terrible time loosening it up. The chick was stuck in the egg for 2 days before I intervened. It now has splayed legs. I taped them within 24 hours but are still splayed. Every other day DH and I change the vet wrap to make sure there aren't any sores. This little one over came so many complications, I hate to cull it. In the back of my mind I keep thinking, "watch, it'll be a rooster" lol sue

 

[fisherlady]

I'm still hatching away myself. I have 11 chicks from the Februish hatch. Has anyone else forgot to write hatch dates down? Very frustrating. I'm up to 8-1/2 poults hatched. I have 1 that pipped last night but when I was turning and checking the eggs I noticed the little hole. Maybe he won't ever come out now. You'd think I'd notice the hatch dates on those eggs but I kept taking them from Rosie's nest and running them in the house to the incubator but not writing the dates. I didn't know how long she already had sat on them either. I have 4 that look like Royal Palms and 3 that are going to look like Royal Palm/Bronze cross. I don't know how this works but the chicks are actually 1/4 Bronze and 3/4 Royal Palm . Poults are so much softer than chicks.

I love the playpen brooder idea. I'll be checking out garage sales this summer.

I have an incubator full of mostly BCM eggs and a few sizzle and EE/Marans cross. I'd like some olive green eggs. By the end of next week I'm setting a doz Barred Rock eggs and more BCM. I know quite a few people that would like the BCM.

Finally, I moved that bunch out to the screen porch to that transition brooder that DH made for me. It got down to 20 degrees again last night but it has a heat lamp in it. We opened the door for them to go out I the run yesterday but only a couple peeked out. Plus, I'm not sure they like the cold. So far, even in the day time it doesn't get above freezing. I'M SICK OF THE COLD! I was told that Mon we were due another snow storm. (I'm not looking)

Fey = Out of that group of super blue layers, 2 had that yolky stuff all over. On one it created like a varnish and I had a terrible time loosening it up. The chick was stuck in the egg for 2 days before I intervened. It now has splayed legs. I taped them within 24 hours but are still splayed. Every other day DH and I change the vet wrap to make sure there aren't any sores. This little one over came so many complications, I hate to cull it. In the back of my mind I keep thinking, "watch, it'll be a rooster" lol sue

You've been busy! We are due to have the snowstorm tonight also... so sick of this stuff! I work tomorrow, which means everyone who doesn't want to clear out their driveway to go to the doctor's office will suddenly decide they want to go to the ER instead so they can call an ambulance.

I guess I shouldn't say 'everyone'... but we do get them more often than we should.

We upgraded our brooder area today, since the little ones are going like crazy I decided to connect the 2 playpens together and put just a doorway between them, one is a sleeping area with waterer, the other has a large pan of sand/ashes to scratch and play in and the feeder. Since they are meaties I seperated the food and water to make them keep moving, otherwise I think the little buggers would never stray more than a foot from the food! They are having a blast in the new digs, I have pics but will have to post them later because I have another coop yet to clean today.

 

[SilkieSensation]

UGGHHHHH!!! We have pens to build next weekend too. I have to get these meaties out of my basement, a new pen for the Muscovies, & a grow-out pen for the juveniles we are keeping. The layers could use some coop improvements as well since we just threw up a temporary pen in a hurry for them.

 

[fisherlady]

Well, we decided the brooder needed to expand since these meaties and giants grow pretty fast... so we pulled out the second $5 playpen and went to work. We planned to keep the original playpen as a 'sleeping/drinking' area, and use the second one for scratching and eating. We kept the food and water on oposite ends to make sure the birds couldn't eat/drink and sleep without moving more than a foot! LOL. These little buggers will do that if given a chance.

So first we laid out our plan, finally settled on making a false floor to set the pan down into, and used a plastic mud runner from WalMart to act as a surround to prevent everything from getting flung out onto the floor.

2x6s on edge to act as false floor support
Rubber tub 18"x24"x 6" deep, found at Lowes, supposed to be a cement bin... cost $6
Plywood in place, with cutout for tub to drop into
Tub in place
Runner cut to size and stapled in place, note where we cut out one rung to allow for 'doorway' to other playpen
Simple frame for cover, held down with the always helpful bungy cord
Feed/scratch pan pen under window, 'bedroom' pen in front, note doorway now framed with cardboard to make sure little claws don't get caught.
Overhead view of set up area, they have been taking turns scratching in the tub, 2x4 chunk placed to allow an easier
step out for some of the heavier and shorter legged chicks.
Simple frame lid on second playpen finished, we did drape the flannel sheet over the back side of the pens, chicks seem to like it better when sheet is up, it also prevents Mindy from trying to squeeze in behind to get closer to the chicks when they move to that side.
Sorry so long... but pics show the progress better than trying to describe them.

Edited by fisherlady - Today at 9:29 pm

 

[SilkieSensation]

Well, we decided the brooder needed to expand since these meaties and giants grow pretty fast... so we pulled out the second $5 playpen and went to work. We planned to keep the original playpen as a 'sleeping/drinking' area, and use the second one for scratching and eating. We kept the food and water on oposite ends to make sure the birds couldn't eat/drink and sleep without moving more than a foot! LOL. These little buggers will do that if given a chance.

So first we laid out our plan, finally settled on making a false floor to set the pan down into, and used a plastic mud runner from WalMart to act as a surround to prevent everything from getting flung out onto the floor.

2x6s on edge to act as false floor support
Rubber tub 18"x24"x 6" deep, found at Lowes, supposed to be a cement bin... cost $6
Plywood in place, with cutout for tub to drop into
Tub in place
Runner cut to size and stapled in place, note where we cut out one rung to allow for 'doorway' to other playpen
Simple frame for cover, held down with the always helpful bungy cord
Feed/scratch pan pen under window, 'bedroom' pen in front, note doorway now framed with cardboard to make sure little claws don't get caught.
Overhead view of set up area, they have been taking turns scratching in the tub, 2x4 chunk placed to allow an easier
step out for some of the heavier and shorter legged chicks.
Simple frame lid on second playpen finished, we did drape the flannel sheet over the back side of the pens, chicks seem to like it better when sheet is up, it also prevents Mindy from trying to squeeze in behind to get closer to the chicks when they move to that side.
Sorry so long... but pics show the progress better than trying to describe them.

Edited by fisherlady - Today at 9:29 pm

Nice set-up. Wonder if I can talk JJ into building me another brooder. I have 9 brooders/cages full of babies under 8 weeks old now since I picked up another 35+ chicks yesterday.

Quickly running out of room. Anyone need/want Black Copper or Blue Copper Marans

Most of them have very lightly feathered legs but some are clean legged.

 

[Outrun Acres]

Wow that is a pretty cool setup. Well thought out too. At what age do you move your meaties outside, and in what type of structure do you house them in?

 

[Outrun Acres]

Started incubating my first set of purchased eggs yesterday. I figured I was ready to risk hatching a breeders eggs. The are all blue/black/splash Ameraucanas. My other two hatches have all hatched late. Would this be due to a low temperature. I have a still air LG with a turner and their seems to be a 10 degree difference from the bottom of incubator to the top. I am going by the top temperature being 102. Does anyone rotate their eggs around the incubator in a still air?

 

[fisherlady]

Wow that is a pretty cool setup. Well thought out too. At what age do you move your meaties outside, and in what type of structure do you house them in?

Thanks, We will be moving them out to the regular coop area in about 2 wks, it is a secure/draft free area, sand/sawdust for flooring and will have a heat lamp area available for when they need it. They already are avoiding the warmer area of the brooder, temp is 74 degrees and they are spread out away from it, I lifted it twice before they seemed to find a happy spot. Seems like these little guys must produce a lot of their own heat!

Depending on outside temps they will have the chance to get out into a secure run area for daylight time, and hopefully the weather will allow us to get them outside onto grass an hour or two a day once the snow goes away!