INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[bradselig]

@bradselig
 Using water from a hose will not work in this heat.  It takes quite a while for all the hot water to run out of our garden hoses and get to the cooler water before I can refill the chickens' waterers.

I'm a little surprised that people are having trouble to get their chickens to use nipple waterers.  You have to stick their beaks up to them to activate the water a number of times and watch for them to swallow.  Once one or two birds really get the idea, they teach the rest.  You have to provide the "normal" water source during the brief transition.  We even teach our young chicks how to use them by the time they are about 3-4 weeks old.

We use this large plastic cooler that has an extension of several feet with a number of nipples attached.  That extension is wrapped with insulation to help keep them running longer in the winter.  We have both a circulator and a bird bath heater in the cooler (the heater is obviously off now).  The water actually circulates down to the end of the extension and back thanks to the circulator and the way the extension is constructed.  If DH still has the link, I will post it later.  I understand it, but am not a whiz at explaining its construction.  All I know is we are happy with it.

We supplement the cooler/nipple waterer system with a tin can heater when it gets really cold.  Those are awesome.  We even used a 3-way bulb in ours so we could switch control how much heat we needed to keep the water from freezing.  The best waterers to use on top of the tin can heaters (really not tin cans--decorative tins about 10" across is more accurate) are the galvanized metal ones that come from 2 to about 8 gallons but are the same diameter.  They just vary in height.  We may have to get a taller one this year.  Last year we got by with refilling the 2 gallon metal waterer daily to every other day.  We do not recommend using plastic waterers with the tin can heaters--we melted the base of one a couple of years ago.

Thanks. As stated before, the hose does not lay out in the sun. It is in the shade majority of the day. If it doesn't work though, the worst case scenario will be I'll have to fill up the one bucket verses 10 waterers.

 

[ChickCrazed]

Thanks. As stated before, the hose does not lay out in the sun. It is in the shade majority of the day. If it doesn't work though, the worst case scenario will be I'll have to fill up the one bucket verses 10 waterers.

If it seems to get too hot you could always bury the hose too! If buried deeply enough I would think the ground would insulate against severe heat/cold for the most part. Plus then you wouldn't have to worry about mowing your hose (I HATE it when that happens lol).

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: Ive used a submersible aquarium heater with my plastic buckets. No problem. Not using this same kind of cup next winter (springs inside freeze) but here's what it looks like. Doesn't overheat...if it did it would kill fish!

I use the marbles as a weight to keep it submerged. If I used a larger bucket it would lay sideways flat in the bottom but this is only a 3 gal bucket.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

If it seems to get too hot you could always bury the hose too! If buried deeply enough I would think the ground would insulate against severe heat/cold for the most part. Plus then you wouldn't have to worry about mowing your hose (I HATE it when that happens lol).

You couldn't bury just any garden hose, I don't think. It would have to be PVC, and it would have to be below the frost line - I think it's 18 or 24 inches in Indiana.

 

[Mother2Hens]

@Mother2Hens LOL about your bantam roos! I was told by a lady who wanted me to take some of her Mille Fleur roos that they might not succeed at breeding LF, but they would sure as heck give it all they had trying! Can the hens stand/walk with their little suitors on their backs? If so, that would make a hilarious photo!!!!!

DH is commissioned to pick up some cinder blocks so we can hang a tarp temporarily from the coop roof. The two small bachelor pads just don't get squat for shade. We didn't really anticipate that. What little there is, they all crowd into. The girls in the big coop have much more (from a nearby tree, and now from having the bachelor pads blocking sunlight at the one end that used to get hot in there. It actually feels tolerable inside the main coop. I put a frozen 64 oz. water bottle in the 28 quart cooler we use as a waterer to chill their water a little. When I remember, I just take it out and keep refreezing it. I read somewhere "legit" sounding that keeping the hens' water cooler can boost egg production by up to 10%.

I also identified the current broodies who are both hogging the popular next boxes and driving their "sisters" crazy. I know it sounds weird, but with these two nest boxes, I cannot SEE who is in them without becoming Gumby or some comic book hero. I annoyed them until they came out. One already wears a saddle, so I know which one she is, and I had exactly one saddle left to put on the other girl to identify her. They will be sharing a wire-bottom dog crate together for the next several days. I've had it with broodies this summer! We've never had broodies this late in the year before. I had three eggs counted and lined up to come back and pick up from the bottom of the rollaway area after I finished watering my older chicks, and when I came back, the eggs were gone. Even from a rollaway nest, these determined broodies pulled all three eggs up with their necks and beaks and re-hid them under their wings. God love 'em for wanting to be mommies, but I'd rather they not and just keep laying. We used to just let them "do it" when they got broody, but we have had way too many broodies this year and it has cost us a lot of eggs=feed money.

haha I don't think I could get a photo fast enough because the LF hens don't put up when a mini-roo on their backs! I wish I had a surveillance camera because I have missed a lot of funny photo ops.

Dealing with Heat
Seems like it would be terribly hot in those nesting boxes, but I know it's even hotter/more humid here "down south." I sent my DH out yesterday to buy more fans (they're on sale now), and to buy a few more liter coke bottles. The one I use to cool Bonbon's broody coop melts so quickly. The car windshield reflector that my DH put on her coop for morning sun was a great idea. My other chickens go under out deck and under bushes for shade. I point fans towards those areas. I put a large tray (from the bottom of a dog kennel) directly in front of the largest fan and put watermelon, etc. on it. The fan helps keep flies away. I hate flies!!! Garden lime has helped deter them although the main chicken area looks like it snowed!

 

[Mother2Hens]

I was considering using a float system with a hose but after I got thinking about it, I realized that the water in the hose would be very hot as it is sitting in the sun. When I fill my waterers, I run the hose until the water is cold and it takes awhile for the water coming from the well to totally clear out the hot water in the hose.

Do your hoses get hot like mine do? If so, they will always be re-filling with hot water that has sat in the hose for however long.

I happened to read something recently that humans shouldn't drink out of a garden hose since it typically sits in the sun, so it's warm, moist, and dark inside-- perfect for growing bacteria. I thought of all the times as a kid that I'd be hot outside, so I'd grab the hose. Guess I survived, more or less.

 

[ChickCrazed]

haha I don't think I could get a photo fast enough because the LF hens don't put up when a mini-roo on their backs! I wish I had a surveillance camera because I have missed a lot of funny photo ops.

Dealing with Heat
Seems like it would be terribly hot in those nesting boxes, but I know it's even hotter/more humid here "down south." I sent my DH out yesterday to buy more fans (they're on sale now), and to buy a few more liter coke bottles. The one I use to cool Bonbon's broody coop melts so quickly. The car windshield reflector that my DH put on her coop for morning sun was a great idea. My other chickens go under out deck and under bushes for shade. I point fans towards those areas. I put a large tray (from the bottom of a dog kennel) directly in front of the largest fan and put watermelon, etc. on it. The fan helps keep flies away. I hate flies!!! Garden lime has helped deter them although the main chicken area looks like it snowed!

I freeze milk jugs (or use jugs from distilled water). The circumfrence is bigger so they stay frozen longer. I put them in the waterers to keep the waters cooler. I have three broodies crammed in the next boxes currently. I can't believe they picked such weather to stubbornly sit on hot (unfertilized in 2/3 of the cases) eggs.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

@SallyinIndiana
Do you think those new waterers of yours would stay thawed if you put an aquarium heater inside them?

It is possible that the inside would stay thawed but the ring of water might freeze at least I'm thinking the surface would freeze even with the bit of warmer water trying to get out. Then anything put inside them to keep the water warm means making a new lid or cover to keep the water clean. For me I plan to use the heated water bowls this winter from the first prediction of a freeze to at least March, May if winter is like last year. They are easy enough to clean with no pump or valve parts. They have been tested with dogs. Just about every dog I have seen is a messy drinker so I'm not worried about water splashing or the plastic melting like the tin heaters. Even the heaters sold at RK for setting a waterer on get really really hot. We returned ours last year after i tried it out inside the house and it felt like a stove burner. If a red light can start a fire those metal warmers are almost as hot.
The dog bowls do not keep up so overnight we have to empty them. For us it means during any arctic blasts we empty the bowl at night and the next morning we clean it out with warm water and refill. The warm water does cause a bit of steam but we only carry out warm water. One could take out warm water to clean and them cool water to refill the bowls. Less chance of frostbite.

Quote: Unless you are raising chicks, I recommend the waterer with the legs. They are both Quick Clean. And during the summer they are extremely easy to clean. But there are small parts, and groves. Strange things happened last winter at the coldest temps. Even our dog bowls got frozen not broken just not warm enough. Any bumps, groves, or small parts are too much to be dealing with outside at that point for me.

I first saw these kind of waterers at Racin's place. He got his locally. I needed enough I was able to avoid shipping charges. Otherwise these are bulky and maybe a group order could be put together with a pickup at the Lebanon show in Oct. The company is great to work with and ships quite fast too.

 

[atrueb00]

(I hope I haven't already posted this one- I don't believe I have. )

This is Flo next to our Pekins and runner.

I can't believe how tiny your micro pigs are!

Your killing me with the piglet. Ur such an enabler

Agreed. DH doesn't agree with the whole pig thing, but he hasn't seen these photos yet...

Enabling?
I would never!!

Ahh too much!

CUTENESS ALERT!!!

Very cute! Love watching lil peeps.

My daughters internet is really bad, keeps going in and out, I have some pic's from yesterday feed time but don't know if I can get them to load... here goes






ok thats it for awhile unless DH sends me some while I'm here, hope he does, I already miss my critters.

Love seeing all your birds! Glad your SIL is recovering well!!

Oh My Gosh, Oh my Gosh

I got hit hard by the chicken math this weekend.

I had been wanting some Cochin's really bad, and I finally found me some. Got 6chicks, plus 5 frizzle chicks, plus a pair of black cochin bantams that are 1 year old.

I also got 11 silver seabright chicks and 4 golden polish chicks, and I have 8 that just hatched in the incubator yesterday and this morning ( these are feather-legged mixes) with another 5 or 6 still to hatch,

. Gotta go clean some coops and do a little change a roo to make everyone more comfy. I will post pics of the newbies a little later.

You got hit hard this weekend. Wow!! Congrats on all the new additions, when can we see photos?

Hiding... You're doing it wrong...



Just thought I would show this cutness from the other day when I evicted the 2 month olds out of a grow out pen into the main coop. This pair of Cochins was hiding from the big bully birds.

LOL that is so cute!

 

[Thriftymom6]

my chickens would not use the nipples either.  Now we use waterers that have easy to remove lids and just poor more water in each night.   We do have to clean them about once a month on the inside and the drinking area daily.    I would think the small amount of water that stays in the cup would evaporate quick enough to avoid getting extremely hot.  I know our water in the pool evaporates without getting hot.  I'm thinking the same thing happens in my chicken waterers as the water in the red trays is warm but never as warm as my child's bath.


If you see the heated dog water bowls on sale, let me know I need about 10 more to be able to put one in each area with the breader trios or sets.

 
Next question for those of you that use lighting to increase winter production, how bright of a light do you use and what kind of a fixture.    I have Christmas rope lighting in 2 coops but i need to come up with a bit brighter lighting for the breeding pens I think.

We used 40 watt light in a hanging fixer like u use to work on a car. And our chicken laid all winter and our turkey hen did as well. Be careful how close it is to the water cause it can cause algae to grow quickly. I clean mine a lot. Any light is hard. The whole watering thing is always an issue. There seems to be no easy way to approach it.