INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[SallyinIndiana]

Who was it on here that had to put down their entire flock?
Heirloom Orpingtons is offering a special on their chicks for people who put down an entire flock and posted publicly about it.
https://www.facebook.com/heirloomorpingtons?fref=nf

 

[kittydoc]

Why are you selling them?  I would love to use alternative power in my shed/coop for the water heaters and overhead lights after dark.  Is that what you used the system for?  What did you think? 

We used it to heat their water. It worked fine when we didn't have long stretches of overcast days. We now have so many electrical devices out in the coop that we had a line installed underground to the coop. We do still have a stand alone solar light that works fine, too, though we rarely use it unless we have a power outage.

 

[kittydoc]

I hope it is okay to post this here.

I have a 4 month old Jubilee Orpington cockerel for sale. 100% Greenfire. I bought 5 straight run chicks, and got 3 boys. I really don't need three! He is bigger than all my hens as of a month ago. He is NPIP certified, but too big to ship.

Even if you aren't particularly interested in breeding them, they make handsome additions to any flock.

I can't part with any of my pullets, but could produce chicks that could be bred to him sometime next spring. I have 4 pullets from another source that include the Sacre line.

I'd like $25 for him. PM me if you are interested. I would consider a trade, but pullets/hens only. I'm going to have 4 or 5 boys for the two colors of Orps I work with. However, we have a separate mixed layer flock, too!

 

[teach1rusl]

Wanting to pick everyone brains... lol I have a special needs house and a Silkie house that I want enough heat in this winter to keep it around 40deg. everything I have read tells me that Silkies aint very cold hardy and don't want to bring them in if I can keep from it. Then there's the special need girls, just don't think they would do very well either, especially if we get another winter like we had last year.
So heres the thing... I don't want to use heat lights, does anyone know of another way to do this.

I am guilty of providing a little heat on bitter nights (using a variety of sources, depending on the coop). That being said, I've found that my silkies are hardier than some of my big girls. I would consider a boot warmer pad/mat - it will give them a place to huddle on if they get too cold, but doesn't radiate heat, so is very safe. I used one in a sandbox (under the sand) in my serama coop, and the sandbox was like a mini-spa...lol. Amazon and other places sell them...

 

[Minminme]

I

Hubby sells our eggs to coworkers and neighbors for $3 a dozen (brown eggs, large to extra large). They're $4 a dozen or more at grocery stores. It helps with the feed bill.

I sell my girls eggs for 2.75 dzn and hav a waiting list of buyers! Th duck eggs go for $4.00 dzn. I have two regular buyers of them.

 

[Minminme]

We buy a new roll of heavy transparent (more like translucent) every winter. DH uses a power stapler to attach it to 2x4s around the coop about 3' off the grounf, and we use large branched to hold the bottom down. I believe it's a 4' wide roll. It could certainly be used to nearly cover a coop, but you do need to allow for ventilation of course. We just tear it off in the spring. Our coop is in a corner, so we only have to be super careful about watching to be sure there are no loose or fallen staples on those sides.

We need to put siding on the henhouse portion. We added insulation, 1/2" thick (all that we could attach easily), and covered it with Tyvek. It has that West Virginia shack look, but we will put up siding before this winter.

Lmbo...West Virginia shack look huh. I usually purchase clear plastic shower curtains from Walmart or Kmart and use a staple gun with strips of cardboard to tack it up with. The entire run is covered with it and the girls can still see out as well as my being able to see inside. The snow doesn't gettin and the heavy plastic holds up very well to the winds, sleet and ice.

 

[ChickCrazed]

Lmbo...West Virginia shack look huh. I usually purchase clear plastic shower curtains from Walmart or Kmart and use a staple gun with strips of cardboard to tack it up with. The entire run is covered with it and the girls can still see out as well as my being able to see inside. The snow doesn't gettin and the heavy plastic holds up very well to the winds, sleet and ice.

I didn't have any luck with plastic shower curtains last year, they cracked and fell apart in the cold. maybe I bought the wrong brand though. I also get so much wind that regular tarps ripped after a week. I need to find a more heavy duty tarp that won't break the bank.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

RE: Heating. You know I have to get in on this.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/421122/think-its-too-cold-for-your-chickens-think-again

My coop is unheated and uninsulated. We reached around -15 at the beginning of the year and the girls were just fine.

I think it's been said before, but adding heat is a big risk. First off, if the power goes out, your birds are not acclimated to the cold and will suffer more in that scenario than they would if you just let them get used to the cold.

Second off, the huge fire risk is repellant enough, at least for me. Especially when it comes to those rickety clamp lamps and huge 250 watt bulbs. Those are overkill, and no manner of justification will get past the fact. 250 watt bulbs should not be used with poultry for any reason. They can ignite bedding if they fall. They can ignite dust if it lands on them. They can even shatter and leave glass shards all over your coop and open wires in the dusty air. They are just asking for trouble.

The only bird I have lost to the cold was weak to start with. She had lost almost all of her feathers in her molt and was already shaky. That is the only time I would ever think to give a bird some help with the cold, and I definitely would not add heat to my entire flock for one individual. What I would recommend if you're worried about your birds is to observe them. If they start looking weak or shaky, THEN act. Most birds will huddle, and that's perfectly normal for them to do. If they are not walking straight or are having trouble standing, that's when you worry.

I should add as well that common sense is necessary in deciding when to intervene. Chicks and some exotic species do need heat. Adult chickens do not.

That super cold weather I mentioned before? My birds were running around outside in the paths I shoveled in the snow like nothing was wrong. A few stayed inside for the very coldest temps, but most of them were fine running around like usual in the negative temps. This includes my supposedly cold-intolerant breeds like my Silkie, my Sebright bantams, my Mediterranian breeds (Leghorn, Ancona, etc.). They were perfectly happy. If you heat your coop, your birds will huddle inside all day and be miserable because it's too cold for them to go outside and get fresh air. This has been my opinion for a few years now and I've never seen anything to prove otherwise.

P.S. I don't say this because I don't love my birds. I adore them. I say this because I know this is what is better for them. That's all there is to it.






And sorry if I sound grumpy, but my widdle Wibbles may or may not be sick so I'm not in a very humorous mood at the moment.

 

[chick rookie]

Who was it on here that had to put down their entire flock?
Heirloom Orpingtons is offering a special on their chicks for people who put down an entire flock and posted publicly about it.
https://www.facebook.com/heirloomorpingtons?fref=nf

I had to cull all my girls, but I have already replaces them.

I am guilty of providing a little heat on bitter nights (using a variety of sources, depending on the coop). That being said, I've found that my silkies are hardier than some of my big girls. I would consider a boot warmer pad/mat - it will give them a place to huddle on if they get too cold, but doesn't radiate heat, so is very safe. I used one in a sandbox (under the sand) in my serama coop, and the sandbox was like a mini-spa...lol. Amazon and other places sell them...

could it be put under pine shavings safely? That sounds like a better ideal, then they can just use it when THEY want it?

Lmbo...West Virginia shack look huh. I usually purchase clear plastic shower curtains from Walmart or Kmart and use a staple gun with strips of cardboard to tack it up with. The entire run is covered with it and the girls can still see out as well as my being able to see inside. The snow doesn't gettin and the heavy plastic holds up very well to the winds, sleet and ice.

sorry I'm not understanding how you would get a shower curtain over the top of your run??? would you have a pic maybe?

 

[chick rookie]

RE: Heating. You know I have to get in on this.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/421122/think-its-too-cold-for-your-chickens-think-again

My coop is unheated and uninsulated. We reached around -15 at the beginning of the year and the girls were just fine.

I think it's been said before, but adding heat is a big risk. First off, if the power goes out, your birds are not acclimated to the cold and will suffer more in that scenario than they would if you just let them get used to the cold.

Second off, the huge fire risk is repellant enough, at least for me. Especially when it comes to those rickety clamp lamps and huge 250 watt bulbs. Those are overkill, and no manner of justification will get past the fact. 250 watt bulbs should not be used with poultry for any reason. They can ignite bedding if they fall. They can ignite dust if it lands on them. They can even shatter and leave glass shards all over your coop and open wires in the dusty air. They are just asking for trouble.

The only bird I have lost to the cold was weak to start with. She had lost almost all of her feathers in her molt and was already shaky. That is the only time I would ever think to give a bird some help with the cold, and I definitely would not add heat to my entire flock for one individual. What I would recommend if you're worried about your birds is to observe them. If they start looking weak or shaky, THEN act. Most birds will huddle, and that's perfectly normal for them to do. If they are not walking straight or are having trouble standing, that's when you worry.

I should add as well that common sense is necessary in deciding when to intervene. Chicks and some exotic species do need heat. Adult chickens do not.

That super cold weather I mentioned before? My birds were running around outside in the paths I shoveled in the snow like nothing was wrong. A few stayed inside for the very coldest temps, but most of them were fine running around like usual in the negative temps. This includes my supposedly cold-intolerant breeds like my Silkie, my Sebright bantams, my Mediterranian breeds (Leghorn, Ancona, etc.). They were perfectly happy. If you heat your coop, your birds will huddle inside all day and be miserable because it's too cold for them to go outside and get fresh air. This has been my opinion for a few years now and I've never seen anything to prove otherwise.

P.S. I don't say this because I don't love my birds. I adore them. I say this because I know this is what is better for them. That's all there is to it.






And sorry if I sound grumpy, but my widdle Wibbles may or may not be sick so I'm not in a very humorous mood at the moment.

no grump heard. Hope Wibbles is ok.