Nevadans?

[ng0176]

I've seen a wire window screen used. It seemed to work nicely and the heat lamp sits on top

 

[2seth2]

ron you coulld sell pure breed BO

 

[2seth2]

if that was a breeding pen they could also swich off which roo is in

 

[NevadaRon]

ron you coulld sell pure breed BO

Oh you enablers are sooo helpful!

so i would buy a heat lamp and use a tall box covered with chicken wire

For the carboard box you could even use that black plastic mesh for gardening as a covering - looks kinda like chicken wire but made of plastic and much cheaper. Then what I do is suspend the heat lamp from a doubled up butcher's twine. That way you can raise or lower it depending on temperature needs. As they get older you will generally be raising it.

LOL on the copetones Elizabeth!

 

[NevadaRon]

Where are you located ng0176?

ETA: See, I've almost got myself talked into your roo (with the help of my enablers, of course

)!

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Where are you located ng0176?

ETA: See, I've almost got myself talked into your roo (with the help of my enablers, of course

)!

 

[horseshowmomnv]

I am a bit stressed about having a big enough brooder for 27 chicks! The goal is to get them outside in the (not yet built coop) at 5-6 weeks. They already seem cramped in the 2 90qt rubbermaids we have. (14 and 13 in each). Do I have reason to be concerned, I seriously think I do. We bought an old kitchen cabinet at Habitat today but still thinking we are not going to have enough room. I feel so unprepared and I am too type A... Maybe some chicks need new homes!

 

[americanvalkyrie]

I have a small side yard (15X50) where my coop/run (6X20) are and I'd like to plant some forage for my 11 girls. I have 6 Black Stars and 5 California Whites. What could I plant as forage for them. I'm also considering a screened frame (don't know what they're called) to put down over some of the new growth so the chooks don't eat em down to the ground. The 2X6 frame w/screen will let the new shoots get a good start and the hens can eat what grows up through the screen. I'd like to plant the whole area, which doesn't seem like much. What have you fellow BYCers had good luck with in this Reno climate?

Containers are awesome! I'm doing all of my greens in either containers or deep beds that I can put grates over. That way I can put the containers up high, out of the chickens' reach, then bring it down low if I want them to eat it. I'm doing lettuce, spinach, kale, and swiss chard this year, and the kale is mostly for the chickens. It grows back so fast, and in harsh conditions. Chard is also a "cut and come back" plant, and it grows very well here. You can plant chard next month, if you wanted to.

Honestly, chickens will eat just about anything you plant in your garden, so I would go for fast-growing greens that can quickly replenish and take little space. I'm planning my garden around my girls... cucumbers are going up front, where they don't even see them! Tomatoes will be screened in until they get high enough that the majority of the fruit is out of reach. They can have the lower ones... their treat. Beans aren't even going where they can get near them, although they don't bother them once they're over 2 feet high. Very tasty while young, though.

Toward the end of the season, I let them roam around the garden all they wanted. Everything was too high for them, except for a few tomatoes, and the cucumbers. They loved those cucumbers! So I just didn't get cucumbers for the rest of the year.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

I am a bit stressed about having a big enough brooder for 27 chicks! The goal is to get them outside in the (not yet built coop) at 5-6 weeks. They already seem cramped in the 2 90qt rubbermaids we have. (14 and 13 in each). Do I have reason to be concerned, I seriously think I do. We bought an old kitchen cabinet at Habitat today but still thinking we are not going to have enough room. I feel so unprepared and I am too type A... Maybe some chicks need new homes!

I had my chicks in a Rubbermaid container for 2 weeks, then they outgrew it. Then I had a huge-sized dog crate, and by the time they were 6 weeks old they were more than ready for more space. I had 5 of them.

I'm planning to use my daughter's bathroom as the extended brooder. It's a half-bath, and I can duct tape the toilet closed and put a tarp on the floor, then bedding on the tarp. A toddler gate would close off the door. And not to speak ill of my daughter, but I really don't think the chicks can get it much dirtier than she does.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
Yep. That's why I'd like to share the labor. Actually you can't miss fifteen minutes without causing the cow a lot of discomfort. A cow needs to be milked every 12 hours on the dot. Not sure how it would work but maybe I could hire someone close to me for milking chores and others could chip in for the cow and labor? IDK just brainstorming at this stage and not sure what other options there are. I think no matter how I would do it it would mean a lot of labor for Steve and I since any bad weather would probably prevent help from making it over that day.