Nevadans?

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:

Since it will go in the garage I don't think the fancy carpentry is neccesary! BTW I am the furniture maker in the family. DH handles the big stuff though because this horrible back of mine won't do any lifting over 10 lbs. I am still the architect and designer on all projects big and small though.

How much will it kill my budget to have you build one for me? DH wanted to tackle it but he's working 50 hours a week right now (not including the hour long commute each way) and if the price isn't too bad, it sure would be nice to take that off his plate. I built a very successful one years ago but he still has nightmares about the pain I was in after I finally finished it.

It is also a bit frustrating for me to try and explain how to build it without just jumping in and doing it!!! DH is not a very abstract or auditory learner so lots of drawings and explanations are always involved. Love his concern and willingness to try anything though! Not too many Hubbys are so involved with wife's hobbies as mine is!

VegasChick I agree with Peep_Show! You have to submit that last pic! SOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!!! Thank you!!! That will hold me for a little while.

Love the dark background for those fluffy , light colored balls of fluff! I'm going to steal that idea!

 

[Penturner]

Sunny, without a 12 volt power supply the materials are about $30.00
Light kit
Thermostat
Picture frame for a window
digital thermometer from Wal Mart
Liquid thermometer (I use the digital for a quick check and read the liquid every now and then just to make sure the digital is staying accurate).
I have extra fans but they are all 12v dc and require some sort of 12v dc power. the ones I found at Radio shack cost about $25.00 or so. I am using a power source from an old computer to run fans in both of my incubators at the same time right now. Not sure if i can come up with another one of those but maybe.
The Styrofoam box i got out of the trash at UNR so it is free.
If you would like to test drive it first just let me know. i have eggs in mine right now but they only have 10 or 11 days to go then I expect it will be going into idle mode for a while.
If I still want to try and hatch more eggs I always have a second incubator.

 

[SunnyDawn]

I won't be hatching anything until next spring so I'm definitely not in any hurry.

I do want something up and running by next February though.

 

[vegaschick]

Quote:
That so made me laugh! My dad likes EVERYTHING white! You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get some colors on the walls at our house! We jokingly say that his tombstone will say ... "What's wrong with white?"

I want to go on the coop tour too. I haven't yet paid anything but I'm gonna grab a friend and see if we can check out a few.

Thanks all for the nice comments on my chicks. They are growing soooo fast!

 

[Penturner]

Quote:
Just let me know it does not take long to get one of these up and running. you do want to have 2 or three days to let them "Run in" they seem to not settle on a temp for a few days. but when they do they stay there. I think it has something to do with the thermostat wearing in. anyway you want to have your incubator running for about 5 days to a week before you actually get your eggs so just keep that in mind. I had to throw my second one together as the eggs set on my kitchen counter. I put the eggs in the same day the incubator was made and about had a heart attack for the first 24 hours. it wavered by one degree for the first couple of days but never outside acceptable. now it sets right at 99.6 to 100 degrees depending on the time of day and has not failed for 11 days straight so far. humidity is in the low 40s with just a little water cup in it and it is easy to reach into since the entire top comes off. I am not sure if I can fit an auto turner in it because I have not sprung for the $60 one they have at greens feed.

On another note. I got a feeder and waterer from green's but I got the galvanized in both. I then read a comment here not to use the galvanized waterer because it might poison the chicks. if that is so i will go back and get the plastic one. both are the 1 quart style with the white plastic bottle attached to them. I like metal better because it put up with being sterilized better in my opinion. and plastic is almost impossible to get really clean if it starts getting scratches in it.

 

[briteday]

Quote:
On the other hand...the plastic one can be bleached and you can use ACV in the water if you want. The metal one will rust from this and the weather.

 

[Peep_Show]

VegasChick wrote:
"I want to go on the coop tour too. I haven't yet paid anything but I'm gonna grab a friend and see if we can check out a few. "

You can pay for the $3 ticket at any one of the five coops on tour when you get there and they are good all over the valley at the other locations. They're showing coops from 10:00 to 3:00 today at:

804 San Gabriel Ave, Henderson
10325 W. Regena Ave, Las Vegas (north)
7357 Jelson Falls, Las Vegas (north)
5910 Sheila Ave, Las Vegas
1824 Leonard Ave, Las Vegas

More info at www.clucktour.blogspot.com or (702) 658-7585

 

[Peep_Show]

Later in the day and back from the Las Vegas Valley Urban Chicken Keepers coop tour....

Pretty good, except we could not find the last house on Leonard and really didn't want to after one pass through the street as it was a real "hood" (very old houses, project-like, lots of chain link and iron grill windows and most likely the location for several "Cops" shows).

The "Cluck Mistress" who put on this tour is brand new to chickens. Her forte is tomato growing and she has somewhat of an authoritarian demeanor, possibly due to her educator background. She has been in chickens for only three months and has built a 4x4 coop for her hens out of PVC fencing material.... Very innovative, but it has no windows or ventilation in it. It is basically a solid plastic box with a floor hatch! "Wood rots and is full of bacteria," she told me. I queried as to how hot it might get inside out in the sun and was reprimanded with a "Oh, it is very well insulated. It stays refrigerator cold." Yeah.... Right.... We'll see....

She lost most of her flock to some critter and has placed the box out in a very sunny, non-shaded section of her yard. Guess her Tomato Test Garden will also be a PVC Test Coop area as well. I also inquired as to the PVC sun rating she had as I had had a horrendous experience with PVC fencing which became very brittle in the cold and cracked in the heat...and our conversation ended shortly thereafter. I doubt the box will remain as cool as she envisions in its present location. But far be it from me to educate the already all-knowing...

Surprisingly, her coop tour stop which I anticipated to be the most educational turned out to be the least informative. She comes across as a "Do it my way or don't bother" type of person. Maybe she was having a bad day or something. All the other stops were very upbeat and full of chicken tidbits and a nice assortment of birds and very friendly people full of fun conversation. I hope I'll have my coop up and running and be a part of next year's tour....

p.s.
Husby liked the tour and liked the red hens the best!
(I plan on hatching out both red and black sex-links when it is time to fill the coop)

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
Just let me know it does not take long to get one of these up and running. you do want to have 2 or three days to let them "Run in" they seem to not settle on a temp for a few days. but when they do they stay there. I think it has something to do with the thermostat wearing in. anyway you want to have your incubator running for about 5 days to a week before you actually get your eggs so just keep that in mind. I had to throw my second one together as the eggs set on my kitchen counter. I put the eggs in the same day the incubator was made and about had a heart attack for the first 24 hours. it wavered by one degree for the first couple of days but never outside acceptable. now it sets right at 99.6 to 100 degrees depending on the time of day and has not failed for 11 days straight so far. humidity is in the low 40s with just a little water cup in it and it is easy to reach into since the entire top comes off. I am not sure if I can fit an auto turner in it because I have not sprung for the $60 one they have at greens feed.

On another note. I got a feeder and waterer from green's but I got the galvanized in both. I then read a comment here not to use the galvanized waterer because it might poison the chicks. if that is so i will go back and get the plastic one. both are the 1 quart style with the white plastic bottle attached to them. I like metal better because it put up with being sterilized better in my opinion. and plastic is almost impossible to get really clean if it starts getting scratches in it.

I don't care about a turner. As few as I'm hatching I can turn them myself a few times a day for the 3 weeks. That's the way I've always done it and it's worked well for me (except when I've tried shipped eggs). And yes I use the plastic feeders and waterers also since they don't corrode.
My large feeder for the full grown hens is just a plastic bucket from Home Depot with a very large plant saucer bolted to the bottom and 4 large holes drilled in the sides of the bucket. Works for us. DH fills it up and then puts the lid back on to keep out dirt and moisture. A plastic cone on top keeps them from using it as a roost. I want to build a wall mounted feeder though that can be filled from outside the coop so I will need a large neck that extends through the wall to the outside that can be sealed shut (to stop freeloaders and rain from getting to the feed) but can be opened up easily when filling. I will probably use a large funnel to make filling it easier.
DH wants me to write up a design so he can plumb the coop for easier watering but I haven't decided how I want to work this yet. I don't like too much humidity in the coop so I may have him plumb to an outside waterer only and just refill the large inside waterer once a week as is.

 

[laceynoelle]

Quote:
That so made me laugh! My dad likes EVERYTHING white! You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get some colors on the walls at our house! We jokingly say that his tombstone will say ... "What's wrong with white?"

I want to go on the coop tour too. I haven't yet paid anything but I'm gonna grab a friend and see if we can check out a few.

Thanks all for the nice comments on my chicks. They are growing soooo fast!

My dad is huge on white too. We added on to the house a little while back, and sure enough, white walls, white ceiling. Ugg.