Incubator? Talk me down...

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
Girl, if i had all that land, i would have SO many chickens!

Wait, that's not helping, is it?

Sorry. Stepping away from the computer myself now.

 

[salunra]

:ghs:: Well, half of it is wooded.... but we have a five acre hay field on the other side of us, and behind us and around the hay field are 35 acres of completely empty old pasture. My husbands aunt owns it and she dosn't do much with it. Sometimes she will ride her horses out here, but mostly she sticks to the 100 acres she has across the street from us.

So yeah.... space is not an issue. I am just attempting to be reasonable and responsible. I am handling the responsible part well..... not doing so well with the reasonable thing though

I would love to get some chicks now. But...
1) DH is building the boy a pirate ship bed right now. And until that is finished he can't build the coop. I do not want to get any chickens (especially in the winter) until I know they can be safely housed.
2) If I were to get chicks now, they would be ready to be moved outside in the middle of January-beginning of December which is my area would not be the best. Feb is our worst month for snow and nasty cold weather. So no chicks until AT LEAST the first of the year.

As for brooding them. I am thinking about asking DH to build a brooder. I could put it in the garage and just park my car in the drive. I doubt they will generate any more dust than him using his half of the garage as a woodworking shop. Or if it gets warmer we could put the brooder on the back porch right outside the kitchen where they would be easy to get to to check on.

See.... I have been thinking about this too much. I think I need a 12 step program and I don't even have chickens yet.

 

[Judy]

Sounds like you will make a great chicken keeper! And have great space for them, too!

The trouble with brooders is they need heat lamps, and heat lamps burn things down. All it takes is the lamp and dust. Better the fire not take the garage and/or house with it.

But then we had a house fire here earlier this year, so I am a bit conscious of fire. On the other hand, a lot of coops do burn every year. The old-timey way of doing it is to have the brooder in the coop. If I ever need a brooder again, that is where mine will be.

 

[salunra]

That seems sensible.

We were not planning on running electric to the coop as I do not want it right up against the house and are not ready to invest in having lines run all the way out there.

But once it is not frigid outside we can certainly use the back porch. Lord knows the kids run in and out enough already.

I really am trying to do this right. We have had an iguana for 10 yrs. He is 5 ft long. So we are already used to dealing with heat lights and animals that take a little bit of care. We took in a rescue sugar glider at one point and did everything we could to make him comfortable, to the point of buying a second glider so that the poor boy would not be alone. When we rehomed him I found a nice retired lady that was experienced with those little critters and knew the time and commitment it takes to care for a nocturnal pet.

Thanks for everyone's input. You folks are wonderful and so very helpful.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I think you sound like a very sensible and wise woman. How rare in chicken addiction!

I wanted to mention one idea you might find valuable in the future. If you become as addicted to chickens as you have acreage for them to run, you will probably end up brooding a lot of chicks. And if you want to keep your garage free, you might enjoy an outdoor brooder as much as i do. We just run an extension cord from the house to the brooder (it's only a few feet away) and put a heat lamp in there. My husband used a wooden shipping crate, modified it, and put it on stilts so it was easy for me to access. It was almost free this way, and it is priceless. When i'm not brooding chicks in it, i use it for sick bay or quarantining new birds (which i really don't do anymore btw - adopt adult birds, that is) or broody hens. It's a wonderful all-purpose extra enclosure, and i would be lost without it. I haven't completely sworn off the presence of a chick inside my house, but after about two days of peepers in a rubbermaid in my living room, i'm really thankful that i can move them outside.

 

[salunra]

Beth, it is already on my woodworking list. My DH is a carpenter by trade and after looking at pictures I am sure that he could whip out a decent brooder in a couple hours. I mean, it doesn't need to be much more than a box with a legs, a hinged lid and a post to attach the lights too. Might talk to him about putting pexiglass on one side. That way the chicks can get more used to seeing us and the kids can peek in at them without making me insane all day.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Something like this would be easy

 

[salunra]

Yup. Something pretty much exactly like that.

Except that my husband is such a perfectionist that he would have to trim it out and paint it. The man is insane.

But I adore him

 

[PunkinPeep]

Yep.

I had my husband put windows in mine -- up high. But i can block off the windows if it's too cold or windy or rainy or whatever. Most of the year here, it's fine to have the windows open up high. It helps with ventilation, and they can hide under the light for warmth - which they often don't do.

 

[salunra]

Hmmm.... Maybe I will use this as motivation to the the cloth diapers my boys have outgrown. That looks like a good deal on the brinsea eco. If I can get enough stuff sold to cover the price before the sale is over then I will get the Eco for a Christmas present to myself and I won't have to use any of my house hold budget.