Michigan

[Opa]

Its only 50 degrees out & kind of windy, partly cloudy...think its too cold to take my 3 wk olds out for an hour or 2?

This is replying after the fact but the recommended temperature for maintaining healthy chicks is to have them in a brooder with a temperature of 95 degrees. You then reduce the temperature by 5 degrees per week until they are fully feathered at about 6 weeks. So the recommended temperature for 3 week old birds would be 80 degrees. That being said I have always started at 90 and reduced by 10 degrees per week and have never lost a chick.

While you might have been rushing it a little having them out today you probably won't have any problem for no longer than you had them out. When you take partially feathered birds outside you need to be aware that wind (chill factor) will still be a factor on a day like today.

 

[RIRJen]

I hear you...Im not sure if it frosted last night here or not, but I covered my tulips and hyacinth, woke up to the covers blown across the yard so who knows when that happened. The tulips look ok but the hyacinth is a little shriveled...too bad. At least they're not a very long-lived flower anyway. If it weren't for the wind here, it probably wouldn't be too bad out.

Sarah, I noticed in your name thing that you live in Eaton Rapids...I work in Eaton Rapids and used to live there. (but now live in Holt) Hello Neighbor!

 

[Stacykins]

UHG! I feel like a horrible person! I stood up a veterinarian that I'd never worked with before! You see, I live on the border of two timezones, literally. Less than a mile away is central time in Menonminee County, and I am in Delta County, which runs on Eastern time. The vet is located in a town just inside the central time border, so I ASSUMED (bad Stacy, bad!) she practiced on Central time. NOPE! Eastern! So I arrived an hour late, to find she'd left on a farm call. Her husband told me it happened quite often, but I still feel bad!

 

[sarah92480]

Sarah, I noticed in your name thing that you live in Eaton Rapids...I work in Eaton Rapids and used to live there. (but now live in Holt) Hello Neighbor!

Hello to you too! Im actually closer to Charlotte but it's technically Eaton Rapids. But that's cool, I wondered how many people on here were close by.

This is replying after the fact but the recommended temperature for maintaining healthy chicks is to have them in a brooder with a temperature of 95 degrees. You then reduce the temperature by 5 degrees per week until they are fully feathered at about 6 weeks. So the recommended temperature for 3 week old birds would be 80 degrees. That being said I have always started at 90 and reduced by 10 degrees per week and have never lost a chick.

While you might have been rushing it a little having them out today you probably won't have any problem for no longer than you had them out. When you take partially feathered birds outside you need to be aware that wind (chill factor) will still be a factor on a day like today.

Thanks for the info. I did know that about the temperature thing, But honestly I havent had a light on them in a week in their brooder in the house and they've seemed to be fine, and it's only about 65 in the house. (By all means if I'm killing them by doing this, let me know! lol) They are mostly feathered, only still fluff on their heads and butts that I can see. I pay pretty close attention to their body language and sounds so I can try and pick up on when they are cold or whatever. Maybe I'm going about it the wrong way, but I think they are doing alright. Didnt stay out long today, less than an hour. I appreciate any input though !

 

[Farmerboy16]

Well, I see that peolpe have been asking for me. Sigh, I feel loved!

Congrats on all the new chicks!
Sorry for the loss of your birds.
Sorry for all of your kids and your self's going through pains.
Cute bunnies! I use to have a pet lop ear rabbit when I was a kid, I miss him.
It has been a long, busy, off week starting last Thursday.

Thursday- Got my order of chicks at the feedmill- 5 ISA Brown pullets, 5 ISA Brown cockerels, but came home with 2 more ISA pullets and a meat chick, as I want to try raising meat chickens as a extra income. so, that one meat chick will be experiment to see how I raise it until its ready to be processed. I am so not looking forward processing a chicken for the first time, but I need to do it. Who want to help me process my chickens? I may go to Family Farm & Home to pick up about 25 meat chicks or so. They have them for $1.49 EACH!!!
Also got the pasture mix seed, so I can seed the field that I had tilled up before it rains. It took me over an hour to seed the field, and it was getting dark, and one of the 5 months old steers was trying to help me, by trying to eat the seeds from the seeder. He was chasing me while I was dragging the seeder behind me for it is impossible to push the seeder in a freshly tilled field, so just for fun, I stopped quickly, and he ran into the seeder. It was so funny!

Anyway, when I got home from picking up my chicks, my Mom was running around trying to get things ready for the family emergency, and needed me to do a few things for her, so she can go to Ann Arbor with her sister and my oldest sister for our Aunt's health was failing fast and was on complete life support . Let me go back a bit here-
My Aunt, one of my mom's 6 sisters was getting blood clots in her lungs, so her doctor made her to go to Spectrum Health Hospital, but they could not help her, so they transported her to Ann Arbor. But, as they were treating her, so they can do a surgery on her lungs to stop the blood clots, her heart failed, followed by her lungs and kidneys. The doctors called my mom as she is in charge of her, so my mom had to take her other odd sister, and my oldest sister drove both of them to a 3 hour trip to Ann Arbor to see what needs to be done with her. At that point, there was nothing to save her, so the doctors took her off life support, after my mom arrived there and talked to them. She died 3 hours after the life support was turned off. It was very sad for my mom and her sister there. The funeral is this Thursday, and its going to be a closed casket, for she was in a very bad shape. One of my mom's sister is coming tonight by train from New Mexico, and her other sister is coming tomorrow night by plane from Florida. So, its really busy here trying to get ready for the Aunts and the funeral. The Aunt that died, never married and did not have any kids. I will miss getting birthday cards from her, for she was the only one that would send birthday cards to everyone on my mom's side. I still have all of the birthday cards from her.


So, that is why I have not been posting much.

And I am 700 post behind in the Easter-Hatch-A-Long thread!

 

[chicken grandma]

Very very sorry Farmerboy for the loss of your Aunt. God bless your family.

 

[b737drvr]

Sorry for your family's loss Farmerboy. Glad to know that you are OK though!

We were beginning to wonder.

 

[teeville5]

Farmerboy- sorry for the loss of your aunt.

 

[NovaAman]

Sorry for your families loss Daron. If you were closer to me, I'd drop a food basket off to take up some of the stress of feeding a bunch of people. BIG pans of pastas and stuff... It was such a nice thing that some one did for me when my dad passed away. It made things easier. One less thing to take care of.

 

[snowflake]

sorry about your Aunt Farmboy, So sorry for your Mom and her family,,, It is very hard to lose a sibling