Nevadans?

[NevadaRon]

Cardboard boxes make great brooders! That used to be all I used until I discovered WalMart plastic totes.

That's a cute kitty. Here's mine.

 

[eggxelent]

Cardboard boxes make great brooders! That used to be all I used until I discovered WalMart plastic totes.

That's a cute kitty. Here's mine.

That looks exactly like Keaton, only fluffed! Check out my profile, and the album that say Kitties!!!! to see a picture of him. By the way, CUTE!!!!!

 

[Rural Chic]

Hi there! I just moved to Fernley Nevada. I am still feeling out the laws and rules especially in a rental. There's a lady who has a coop and chickens with run for sale but since I don't know yet whether I'm allowed to have them I haven't jumped on them yet I'm newly married and really new to the state. Good to meet you all! ~~Jenn

Welcome TeaFaery,
I'm in Fernley too. I bought a house by the out of town park and figured it was OK, (I do have 9 chickens and 2 geese) and was told by animal control (when we had a cat problem recently) that we live in an area that does not allow for it but it was up to the home zoning people to push that one. He wouldn't get involved unless he was called for a noise issue.
So if you live in town (literally) I would start small and only with hens and see how your neighbors feel. If all goes well no one will say anything (since most people think since it's Fernley it's OK anyway) and you can have your birds. So far no one has said anything about my REALLY loud and obnoxious Geese.

 

[NevadaRon]

That looks exactly like Keaton, only fluffed! Check out my profile, and the album that say Kitties!!!! to see a picture of him. By the way, CUTE!!!!!

Thanks! Her name is Phoebe and she is half whatever Keaton is and half Persian (hence the fluff). She's not small, either, though I keep telling her she's not fat, it's all fur

Nice pics in your gallery! I like Sly, too. A long time ago we had a seal point Himalayan - I love that coloring!

 

[americanvalkyrie]

So if you live in town (literally) I would start small and only with hens and see how your neighbors feel. If all goes well no one will say anything (since most people think since it's Fernley it's OK anyway) and you can have your birds. So far no one has said anything about my REALLY loud and obnoxious Geese.

I think that's why I've gotten away with having so many here. In Reno, there are no restrictions as far as number or gender, as long as they're not a nuisance. "Nuisance" can be defined differently for different people. I try to stay really close to the people adjacent to me. Whenever I see them outside, I go up to them and ask if everything is alright regarding the "farm." So far, so good. There are so many urban micro-farms in my neighborhood that I think a lot of people have just figured it's all good to go, and it's just to be expected here. Or maybe I just have really good neighbors. It doesn't hurt that I knock on doors with a dozen eggs or a loaf of fresh bread now and then, either! (We also don't have a rooster, and have gotten rid of a couple others before anyone could come complain about their noisiness.)

P.S... one thing I do ask of my neighbors is to please let me know if there's a problem. I tell them, "It's easier to fix the problem if you tell me exactly what it is, then to have animal control just say there's an issue." It hasn't happened yet, but I do hope they'll all follow through with this request.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Update on Mommy and babies anyone???
Well they're almost as big as Dolly already! I believe Gregory peck is the father of all three and silkies/showgirls are the mothers. They're gonna be pretty cute I think!
The rooster has some really cool gold, white, and black barring and I can't wait to see how he looks as a big boy!

Mark named him Steve!

And this is Telulah, she's a dainty pretty girl!

And Daisy... Barred girl with beehive hair

Man! BYC made it so you can upload pics straight from your phone and its so easy! LOVE IT!!!

Sure cant wait for it to warm up a little this weekend so these little stinkers can go outside!!!

Me too! I can't wait to get these chickies out of the house! Cute pics.

Hi there! I just moved to Fernley Nevada. I am still feeling out the laws and rules especially in a rental. There's a lady who has a coop and chickens with run for sale but since I don't know yet whether I'm allowed to have them I haven't jumped on them yet I'm newly married and really new to the state. Good to meet you all! ~~Jenn

Welcome to the Nevada thread Jenn. Good luck with the chicken issue. I'll add your name to the member page now.

Sorry I haven't been on much.  I've been trying to tie up loose ends around here, wrapping up some projects so I can have a month or so of a break before it's time to start seedlings.  (Baby chicks?  I'm still thinking about that.  It's not nearly as appealing this year.)

So how is everyone surviving the cold?  Brrr!  

We've needed to replace the pop door on the coop for over a week, but things kept happening that took our attention.  So we nailed a piece of plywood to the open pop door, and allowed the chickens in/out the large door during the day.  When the temp dropped again, I couldn't let that much heat escape, so we replaced the door yesterday morning.  I had a dark quilt draped over the main door of the coop to reduce drafts and heat loss while the chickens used it, and after the new door got replaced I shut the main door and left the quilt on to attract more heat and insulate it.  At night I pulled the quilt off so I could use it to cover the rabbit cages, and there were HUGE chunks of ice where the air had escaped through the ventilation areas of the coop and trapped on the quilt.  It really made me think about the admonition to keep the coop well ventilated.  That blanket was only there for a few hours, and it was heavy with ice.

Anyway, we've been covering the rabbits at night.  During the day, I circulate 3 rabbit bottles per coop: one to drink, two to thaw.  In the morning I give them a new bottle, then go out an hour later to change it again.  I keep a gallon jug by the sink, to remind me to fill the chicken water anytime I wander past.  I have a fount heater, but the ducks can splash out a 2-gallon waterer in such a short time.  So I have one dog dish out there that I fill, then pour the rest in the fount... about 5 to 6 times a day.  And we're careful where else we put water, because I don't want to thaw out another duck.  Yard cleanup has been easy, though... a dog drops me a present and it freezes immediately for easy pickup.

In the house, we have the thermostat down to 55 and space heaters/blankets everywhere.  We wake up cold and rush into that hot shower and warm clothes.  I have the thermostat at the lowest possible point, especially considering this old house has a full metal frame and anything within a foot of the walls is COLD!  I had to move my massage lotion because I keep it on a wall shelf, and it wasn't warming up in my hands before I needed it for a client.  When my landlady texted me regarding the house heat and making sure the pipes don't freeze, I let her know what our last fuel fill cost us.  She freaked out.  She admitted that she had never paid for heat in this house, because her brother owns the fuel company and she just got her fills.  So I have her sympathy on this... as long as I'm not replacing busted pipes!

But we haven't lost anyone yet, and don't even think we've had frostbit combs.  Anyone else?

We lost one girl and 2 roos but that was due to Steve thinking everyone was inside when he shut the coop up at night but they weren't. . Now he is counting everyone before shutting them up at night.
55 should be fine to keep your indoor pipes from freezing. Insulating the outdoor spigots and any exposed pipes, under the house or in the ceiling, will take care of the rest.

Hi Jenn, I'm a little farther east of you in Fallon!

I have had temps here much colder than what you guys are experiencing in Reno.  I'm kind of surprised by that as you live at the base of the Sierra Nevada range.  We had -9* night before last and yes, I'm having issues with frostbite on combs/wattles!  Not happy at all!

I started to answer this but saw that Ron already had,

My waterers have heated bases, and I have a 250w heat lamp in my coop, so I haven't seen any issues related to cold, other than about 1/3rd of the eggs I've been getting have been frozen.

I think Fallon (and points east) have been colder because, if you look at the jet stream, we are right on the edge while further east you would definitely be in the region where cold air is coming down from Canada Lacey.

Frozen eggs are no surprise with these temps.

I think that's why I've gotten away with having so many here.  In Reno, there are no restrictions as far as number or gender, as long as they're not a nuisance.  "Nuisance" can be defined differently for different people.  I try to stay really close to the people adjacent to me.  Whenever I see them outside, I go up to them and ask if everything is alright regarding the "farm."  So far, so good.  There are so many urban micro-farms in my neighborhood that I think a lot of people have just figured it's all good to go, and it's just to be expected here.  Or maybe I just have really good neighbors.  It doesn't hurt that I knock on doors with a dozen eggs or a loaf of fresh bread now and then, either!  (We also don't have a rooster, and have gotten rid of a couple others before anyone could come complain about their noisiness.)

P.S... one thing I do ask of my neighbors is to please let me know if there's a problem.  I tell them, "It's easier to fix the problem if you tell me exactly what it is, then to have animal control just say there's an issue."  It hasn't happened yet, but I do hope they'll all follow through with this request.

Well there is that law saying if you have more than 10,000 chickens you must install a special waste system. Lol.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Oops. I can't access the member page from my phone. I'll have to wait to add you to the member page Jenn til I can get on my LT at home.

 

[2seth2]

add the second light last night and we changed our bulbs to red becuase it helped sooth the chickens, allow sleep, and increase production. And today i go 6 eggs i havent got this since early fall

 

[americanvalkyrie]

add the second light last night and we changed our bulbs to red becuase it helped sooth the chickens, allow sleep, and increase production. And today i go 6 eggs i havent got this since early fall

Awesome! We're averaging about 20 a day (as long as I gather them before they freeze.) We're so glad we put the lights in there! Heat lamp in on 24 hours now, daylight bulb is on until 9pm.

 

[BlueEyedDevil]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum. I live in Reno and have never had chickens before but just bought my first coop today - well two actually, it came with a free smaller coop. I'm going to look around this site but was wondering if anyone knew of any good resources for me to check out for me to get started.

I'm pretty excited...I love animals and am excited to add chickens to my mini farm, not to mention fresh eggs

Ive done a little google research and Ive read that Rhode Island Reds are pretty good for producing, so I'm leaning towards those at the moment (egg production is pretty important, my husband and I can go through 5 dozen a week). I also love silkie bantams because they look super cute and I heard they are affectionate so I'm sure I would get some of those as well. My big coop fits up to 24, and my smaller coop fits 6.