Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

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Hey I live in Zumbrota. I have an incubator I am looking to get rid of. It is a Brower Top Hatch. The auto turner stopped working last spring on it, but otherwise it still runs. It may be repairable, but I am not of the electrical inclination.
I have Blue Copper Marans, along with about 13 other LF breeds/varieties, plus a few bantams.

 

[zsooman]

Hello. Found this thread and figured I'd post. We live in near Park Rapids MN (Nevis specifically). Been raising chicken's Basically all my life with time off for the Corps and college. I know it goes back aways but after reading through the whole thread I thought the thing about where northern MN starts was kinda funny. I was born in Northfield. Grew up on a dairy farm near Kenyon until '91 when my Dad decided we were moving up north where there was snow but not ice. Ha. Went to college in Crookston. What's really funny about the whole thing is that my mom's parents lived in Glenwood south of Alexandria and I remember when that was going "Up North".

 

[Minniechickmama]

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I have some plastic feeders like this one and a larger five gallon version. You can adjust the height of the plastic fins that allow the feed to fall into the tray. I screw it down as far as it will go, otherwise they use their beaks to push the feed over the edge and all over the floor.

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-Plastic-Hanging-PHF11/dp/B000HHLGP4

Maybe I should ask for one of those for Christmas! I feel like I'm wasting so much money on food when i see it all over the coop floor.
Thanks for the help!

To some degree you will have spillage. Chickens are just that way. However, they will peck and scratch around and get some of the food off the ground too. Don't overfeed a lot and they will be more likely to pick up some of their mess. If you have room though, the long feeders tend to allow them less messing since they can't get it out as easily. I use those outside in the warmer weather. Now that it is colder and I keep them in more, I am using baby pig feeders in each of my pens. They mess a little but not to terrible since I have them right at a level that they can't really put their toes up toe pull it out.

Also, I had read your other posts. If you want your eggs to not freeze, then I suppose have a warmer coop is good if you can't go out when it is really cold an collect often, but otherwise, chickens really don't need the comforts of home that us people need. They do very well in the cold and it is NOT the cold that keeps them from laying. Trust me. My first flock STARTED laying when it was a stretch of -10 to -20 degrees. It is the light that gets them laying. Shorter days will slow or stop most of them for a while. And Next year when they are over a year old and will molt, they will stop laying sometime in the fall so they can drop and grow new feathers, then when they are ready to go again, you will start seeing eggs again after the holidays usually. Just a heads up. Utmost to you coop's construction is ventilation. If you get stale and/or moist air in there, you are asking for problems.
Good luck and welcome to the forum

 

[TinkyFeathers]

Quote:
Maybe I should ask for one of those for Christmas! I feel like I'm wasting so much money on food when i see it all over the coop floor.
Thanks for the help!

To some degree you will have spillage. Chickens are just that way. However, they will peck and scratch around and get some of the food off the ground too. Don't overfeed a lot and they will be more likely to pick up some of their mess. If you have room though, the long feeders tend to allow them less messing since they can't get it out as easily. I use those outside in the warmer weather. Now that it is colder and I keep them in more, I am using baby pig feeders in each of my pens. They mess a little but not to terrible since I have them right at a level that they can't really put their toes up toe pull it out.

Also, I had read your other posts. If you want your eggs to not freeze, then I suppose have a warmer coop is good if you can't go out when it is really cold an collect often, but otherwise, chickens really don't need the comforts of home that us people need. They do very well in the cold and it is NOT the cold that keeps them from laying. Trust me. My first flock STARTED laying when it was a stretch of -10 to -20 degrees. It is the light that gets them laying. Shorter days will slow or stop most of them for a while. And Next year when they are over a year old and will molt, they will stop laying sometime in the fall so they can drop and grow new feathers, then when they are
ready to go again, you will start seeing eggs again after the holidays usually. Just a heads up. Utmost to you coop's construction is ventilation. If you get stale and/or moist air in there, you are asking for problems.
Good luck and welcome to the forum

Thanks so much!!

I'll have to see what I can do

 

[MNShepherdess]

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Thank you! Definitely something to look into.

Did you ever get ahold of Duane? I'd love to get my hands on his updated list

Also: Anyone raising geese these days? I'd like to get a few hatching eggs sometime this spring/summer. Not SUPER picky on breeds, but if anyone had Sebe eggs, I'd be tickled

 

[bjorkchickens]

Greetings to all Minnesotans. I am bran new to the forum. Can't figure out how to put a photo by my address (the least of my problems). Hopefully I can figure out where the resonses will be. I am also in the Chisago/Forest lake area. The weather has been so great, I have been thinking about starting some chicks. I really want just a few new chicks from some very specific breeds. I've had such bad luck with chicks I've hatched from an incubator (hawks). I miss my broody hens. Anyone out there who has a frustratingly brood hen they need to find a home for? We have a small flock (about eight) and I only have one coop with an attached pen and no good way to divide the space. We let the girls out during the day and drop the door each night. Every time I tried a makeshift divider in my coop someone would escape. Introducing the youngsters to the flock has not gone well and the chicks are just too tasty. For the last two summers I have lost all my new chicks. I've had great luck when a broody hen hatches the eggs for me. The broody hen does what mamas are made for, and all the chicks survived.

Looking through my seed catalogs, thinking about green grass. Wishing the local animal swaps didn't get shut down because they were so much fun. I don't really need any more critters to take care of. I have two kids, eight chickens, one lazy American bulldog, two bearded dragons and a hedgehog named Miss Poppy.

Cheers,
Jodi

 

[MNShepherdess]

I heard the Forest Lake swap was no more, but hadn't heard why? Any idea why? We're still having *knock on wood* swaps up this way. They're getting more pushy about having flocks tested, but that's not really a bad thing, just means I need to become a tester again, lol.

I'm assuming by "picture by your address" means your avatar photo? If you go to the Profile link at the top of the page, and then on the left hand side go to Personality, you should be able to change it there.

 

[bjorkchickens]

The Forest Lake swap went on last year. There were about half as many people compared to prior years. Everyone had to have proper paperwork. I think it went ok and they will continue to have the swap. There use to be a great swap in Isanti and Chisago. The motto was if you could cage it, you could bring it. There were sheep, goats, kittens (of coarse), geese, chickens puppies, parakeets Ginny pigs and more. The kids and I had so much fun. I can't believe my husband let us go unsupervised. Thanks for responding so I know my post went through.

 

[AllChookUp]

Hi, bjorkchickens - Welcome!!

I am in the Forest Lake/Scandia area. I have a Red Star hen that is broody, but she seems to be intermittent that way. I wonder if the hen would be broody after switching environments and being low girl in the pecking order? We can talk about it if you'd like.

Take care,
Ron

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

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You are in the area of my Grandma's! Our family will be desending next weekend

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Sorry about your chicks. The hawks are hard on our chickens here as well and so the flock is on lock down although today was so nice I let everyone out for an hour while I watched. Good luck!