Michigan

[KrisRose]

Grandma-Dont know if this will work but several different options for heat:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=67728

 

[RaZ]

Quote:
Had to go back and think about this for a bit...
Conventional thinking has us keeping chicks at 95 degrees for the first week and dropping the temp 5 degrees a week until about 65 degrees before we turn them loose.
So at 5 weeks, I would think that your chicks need to be at 70 degrees (give or take). I would think that your heat lamp would be all that you need. The little girls can self-regulate with that, I think.

FWIW, I have a red heat lamp lit in the big coop but it is mainly for a soft light for the hens to find a roosting place as they get used to the new coop. But I think it is more for my benefit in considering the happiness of the hens.

Overall, I think that your pullets are probably doing fine with the temperatures.

 

[Huston's Happy Hens]

Frankenstein update - she has been successfully integrated back with her Mom - head looks great - these chicks are 9 weeks old and Henrietta is still content to be with them as well as lay eggs for us almost daily! Henrietta walks the hall of fame here at the Huston household!

 

[taprock]

1muttsfan - So sorry, it always ends up being the sweetest ones.

M.sue - you were up my way, not a big fan of m119 ... have to drive to slow, but the Good Hart store has the very best frozen chicken pot pies!

Raz - My flock has grown in stages. Those that they grew up with are the ones they tend to hang with. Some of it is by breed but I have a bantam salmon faverolle who was an only hatchling that ended up at a month old being put in with 3 baby Partridge rocks. They still tend to hang out together. Last week I combined my 12 - 5 month olds in with my older birds. I have two coops that I open up during the day but I want them all in the big coop at night for warmth. I still have to move about 6 of them to the big coop at night. The rest have taken to the big coop. I notice they don't always roost in groups but they all do have their favorite spot in the coop where you can usually find them. During the day they free range and split off into about 4 different groups. I can tell you who hangs out with who because it does stay pretty consistent.

Huston's - I'm so glad Frankenstein is back to normal and mom.

Does anyone know of a place in northern Michigan to get button quail? After our bad hatch, I'm scared to try again but our only baby is in need of a companion.

 

[chicken grandma]

KrisRose - thank you so much for the link!
RaZ - I think the chicks are doing o.k. They sleep under the heat lamp.
I tried to keep them in the brooder but they were just desperate to perch on something in the evenings. Also in the mornings they were crazy to get out. So they have been very delighted to perch in the coop under the heat lamp and in the morning when I go to the coop, they are up and running around!
I have a friend who says that her chickens devide up by breed so I am sure that is natural. I have always had such an odd mix of hens that they made friends of all kinds. Last time I had five hens, I had one silkie mix, one RIR, one leghorn, one d'uccle ( still have her) and one seabright. What an odd collection. The Silkie mix just loved the white Leghorn......

Taprock - have you tried Craigslist or petfinder.com or rescueme.org to find button quail? There are usually some in 'bird rescues' needing homes! Good luck!

 

[Opa]

Raz, I have one flock of assorted breeds and I have observed that they do tend to buddy up first by breed and then by color. The old adage "birds of a feather flock together" must have derived from someone raising chickens.

Got the run adjacent to the large fowl coop covered today and added the Welsummer hens to the rainbow flock for the winter. Put the two Welsummer roosters in the wall cages which made them rather unhappy but I'm trying to consolidate for winter as much as possible. Tomorrow the bantam roosters will go into the wall cages as well and the hens will all go into the A-frame coop. I've got to enclose the sides of it and run power cords to the light in its run area as well as the light in the rainbow flock run. With the runs enclosed not enough light comes in so having a flood light in them entices the birds to leave the coop during the day.

 

[KrisRose]

Quote:
Got the back of my run done!! Now the top and then the turkey coop. I was lucky enough to find white tarps that are pretty tough. They let in alot of light.
Love tarping the run. My ladies get out all winter. Just need to find bags of dry leaves for some winter fun.

 

[Chickmate]

Good morning everyone. My DD and awesome SIL and his 11-year-old son who is also awesome have come over for the weekend to help me get some stuff done around here before the snow flies. They brought me a brand new leaf sweeper that you pull behind the tractor and we had all my leaves picked up and burned by the end of yesterday. Also cut down some trees and brush and burned that. My daughter is great with a chainsaw and when she and her hubby get togther, both cutting, they get lots done! They heat with one of those huge wood burners so he's constantly cutting and chopping wood. They brought the trailer with them to take some back home in.

Also want to transplant two Rose of Sharon bushes, pull four bushes out by the front fence, prune the wisteria that's growing over the top of my house, and put tarps on the chicken run. I have regular blue and green tarps but as Opa said, that makes it dark in the run, so I looked online for some clear ones and found these: http://www.tarpaflex.com/acatalog/clear-poly-tarps.html. Can't really afford them right now and need to get them up, so I'll put the green ones up and buy these clear ones later for next winter. I may have to add a light in the run as well if it's too dark.

Don't know what I'd do without such a great kid and her very cool husband. They've just been married a year in August and my new grandson, Tyler, called me GRANDMA for the first time yesterday! Melted my heart, he did. Oh, and I have to tell you this. He told me a chicken joke and I totally fell for it! I was concentrating so hard on impressing him and getting the answer right that I totally made a fool of myself. "If a rooster lays an egg on the roof, which way will it roll?" I KNOW! I said "down?" He cracked up and loved that he got me. He says "even someone who doesn't have chickens knows roosters don't lay eggs!" Never live that one down.

1Mutt - So sorry about your loss, especially your project birds. I love having chickens and know the losses are part of it, but I hate when it happens.

 

[Olive Hill]

Chickmate -- if you have any surplus stores in the area you might check there for white tarps before spending a bunch on the clear ones. The ones up this way have some heavy duty tarps in all different colors for not a whole lot of money.

 

[1muttsfan]

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts. It was simply human error, I don't have any hard feelings against the killer. It was just trying to get by just like all the rest of us. The weasels, foxes, coyotes, bobcat, hawks etc. all do a lot to keep varmints like mice, rats, voles and other little critters that can do a lot more serious damage than kill an occasional chicken. One of the reasons I like living here is that I can look out and see a bobcat or bald eagle. You just have to be smarter than them!