Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

I picked a smaller rooster when I picked Bert. I want the CX body style in my future chicks. Bert made it 11 months. I think Bert Jr may be my answer. He has the large breast on a taller frame. Breeding him back to the CX hens could give me the meat birds I want on a larger frame and huge dark meat areas.

I am hoping I can keep 3 of the 6 hens alive to lay in the spring. I will be cutting back on feed even more next week. I will take them off the 15% grower. Not sure what I will use.

I am setting up for CX's in March next year now. I think I will buy all roosters and order a handful of hens only.

Have you considered cutting their feed with oats? You want something that is a filler but won't make them fat, so corn won't be the answer, although corn as part of their diet may be necessary. When we want to keep weight down on rabbits that have a tendency to get fat on us, we give them timothy hay, but I doubt your chickens want to eat hay. However, the hay cubes when wetted might be good. That can be more expensive and a hassle than it is worth to try though.

 

[duluthralphie]

Just learning about the get ready - winters coming chores. I love working outside but the inside needs to be taken care of at some time also. Then there is the DH business office work I MUST get done. I am looking forward to winter as I may have time to quilt. LOVE being home. So much to do! LOVE having chickens and dogs. My DH suggested that I ask if anyone out there has tried to cinder block heating method to keep water from freezing. Its putting a light bulb into a cinder block, topping it with the flat finisher and then putting the water on top. This is what I am planning to try over the cold months. Have you tried it?

I would just buy a fount heater or use a stock tank heater. Those non-URL lab listed home made heaters have a tendency to catch fire and burn the place down,

 

[Minniechickmama]

I will be visiting the feed stores to see what I can get.

The problem is when I get a low protein feed it means the carbs are at a higher ratio, I have to watch the carbs on them too. I keep my CX's separate from my layers. I am thinking of making a hoop coop/run for the CX's over the winter. I have learned you cannot free will feed a CX and get a long life from it. Even with the meaties I am only feeding a little over a half pound of feed per bird per day. BUT I do free range them so it is hard to tell what they really eat.


I have an insulated shed I can use heat lamps in and it does have a propane furnace in it, if need be. I am thinking around 20 -25 roosters earl and 5 hens. I suppose I will have to buy them from Runnings or TSC in March as that is too early to mail them.

Actually, Ralphie, March is when the big rush starts for shipping chicks, so you could get some shipped if you wanted enough at that time.

Klop - I have kept chicks in an unheated garage in January with a heat lamp on them and just adjusted it from day to night. They are tougher than you think

Here is a brooder design I used for a couple of years
I kept it in said garage. Something like this could easily be insulated from the outside and the hatch covered part way with plastic or a canvas to help hold heat in. I had two hooks for lights so I was able to have two of them running during the coldest times. This wasn't insulated though and they did quite well. I could even fit two plastic totes in there to have two separate groups. It was handy until I outgrew it I am thinking I will be setting something similar up in the brooder house this fall for the next season. With the changes I am making with how much I will be hatching, I won't need the current set up I have out there. I do recommend lining brooders with something easier to clean that plywood though. Menards has plastic 4X8 sheets in white that are used in bathrooms for around sinks and tubs that I started using and can be scrubbed when it gets poopy.

Even though it is cloudy today, it feels a bit warmer than the last few mornings! I had to run one of the scatterbrained teens to school this morning and there was no frost and not terribly uncomfortable.

Y'all have a fine day, I am trying to limit myself on how much time I fiddle around on my computer so I am not caught with too many project lingering when the snow flies. I know this goes against our goal of staying in the upper crust of groups, but I am willing to sacrifice it.

 

[duluthralphie]

Have you considered cutting their feed with oats? You want something that is a filler but won't make them fat, so corn won't be the answer, although corn as part of their diet may be necessary. When we want to keep weight down on rabbits that have a tendency to get fat on us, we give them timothy hay, but I doubt your chickens want to eat hay. However, the hay cubes when wetted might be good. That can be more expensive and a hassle than it is worth to try though.

Actually, I forgot to mention that. I use lots of oats on them because of the hulls and the fiber.

I never thought about the hay cubes, a good idea, thanks.

CX's are kind of a pain and hardly worth the effort I put into keeping them alive when chicks are so cheap. I just want to make a bigger legged, bigger thighed Bird that still has the CX breasts.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Okay, this is really my last post for today...

That just reminds me, Ralphie, that us Cornish breeders, while we seek a short-legged, stocky bird with them, it is true that the longer legged ones are the better breeders if you want them to do it naturally. The short, stumpy legged boys sometimes just can't get the job done. Makes no sense to me. I would like to see the ones who are so short and thick go away and a more sensible type recognized with the breed. But I am talking pure Cornish. It is probably easier to get a longer legged bird with the male CX and a good sized, longer legged female like you did with using Bert.

 

[KlopKlop]

Actually, Ralphie, March is when the big rush starts for shipping chicks, so you could get some shipped if you wanted enough at that time.

Klop - I have kept chicks in an unheated garage in January with a heat lamp on them and just adjusted it from day to night. They are tougher than you think

Here is a brooder design I used for a couple of years
I kept it in said garage. Something like this could easily be insulated from the outside and the hatch covered part way with plastic or a canvas to help hold heat in. I had two hooks for lights so I was able to have two of them running during the coldest times. This wasn't insulated though and they did quite well. I could even fit two plastic totes in there to have two separate groups. It was handy until I outgrew it I am thinking I will be setting something similar up in the brooder house this fall for the next season. With the changes I am making with how much I will be hatching, I won't need the current set up I have out there. I do recommend lining brooders with something easier to clean that plywood though. Menards has plastic 4X8 sheets in white that are used in bathrooms for around sinks and tubs that I started using and can be scrubbed when it gets poopy.

Even though it is cloudy today, it feels a bit warmer than the last few mornings! I had to run one of the scatterbrained teens to school this morning and there was no frost and not terribly uncomfortable.

Y'all have a fine day, I am trying to limit myself on how much time I fiddle around on my computer so I am not caught with too many project lingering when the snow flies. I know this goes against our goal of staying in the upper crust of groups, but I am willing to sacrifice it.

I was brooding 70 chicks in a hover/ohio brooder and we were swinging temps from low 40s at night to 70s during the day. I kept having issues with them smothering at night even when I adjusted lights. It was my first try with the hoover brooder and I am not sure if I will use it again. It is hard to make adjustments and get an accurate idea of the temps under it. The idea is that they are able to self regulate and move to the different temperature zones but I think I may not have had enough hot zones (hover was 4x4).

You cant really tell if the chicks are huddling under the heat or not like you would with a standard heat lamp so I was using indoor/outdoor remote thermometers and moving them about.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I was brooding 70 chicks in a hover/ohio brooder and we were swinging temps from low 40s at night to 70s during the day. I kept having issues with them smothering at night even when I adjusted lights. It was my first try with the hoover brooder and I am not sure if I will use it again. It is hard to make adjustments and get an accurate idea of the temps under it. The idea is that they are able to self regulate and move to the different temperature zones but I think I may not have had enough hot zones (hover was 4x4).

You cant really tell if the chicks are huddling under the heat or not like you would with a standard heat lamp so I was using indoor/outdoor remote thermometers and moving them about.

I never thought those were the best idea myself. One of those things where it looks good on paper, but doesn't cover all situations of brooding. With something like I had set up, you could also use a thermostat on the heat lamp so that it will turn on and off if it gets too hot. Something I may be doing when I brood the early chicks and use an enclosed unit for them.

 

[duluthralphie]

I used 2 heat lamps in my brooder. It was made of those sections I make. It was 16 ft long and 6 ft wide. I the heat lamps hanging a tad low, so that right under the bulb was around 102-105. The birds all spread out in a circle around it where they were happy. Very seldom was there one right under the bulb. I also used very little bedding/chips under them so the concrete would absorb the heat and buffer the cooler nights some. I never did have to start the furnace

 

[MinnesotaNice]

All right guys as much as I would like to keep them all having ten more dogs just isn't going to work

I have six puppies available (four are already spoken for). There are two female whites, 2 female blacks, and two male blacks. The father is half Great Pyrenees and half Newfoundland and the mother is a purebred German Shepherd. They have been well socialized around cats, dogs, chickens, and kids. PM me for more info and picture of the pups and there parents and I will try posting an ad on here and uploading pictures, I also have an ad up on hoobly under Newfoundlands. Thank You!

You have to show us pictures! Who doesn't love puppy pictures?

 

[lvie]

I would just buy a fount heater or use a stock tank heater. Those non-URL lab listed home made heaters have a tendency to catch fire and burn the place down,

Okay Ralphie - I will look at those options. Thanx