New Chicken Owner in the Desert

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TwoCrows said:
Chicks do a lot of sleeping at this age so they are probably fine. Check the temp directly under the heat lamp on the floor, this is where it should be about 88 to 90 degrees. Even a few degrees into the 90s can give them diarrhea. Too cold can cause intestinal issues as well. I like to put a screen over the top of the brooder like chicken wire or hardware cloth. It protects them in case the lamp does fall and pretty soon they will be flying out, so it keeps them in. They need places to cool off too so keep the heat off to one end.

Enjoy your babies!
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The temperatures ranges from 95 to 85. The giant heat lamp that came in the kit we bought is a 250 watt bulb situated over a standard sized guest bathroom bathtub. It's difficult to keep the temperature low enough because the bulb is so powerful. I have it hanging from the shower curtain rod to ensure it is high enough to keep the chicks from burning up and it helps prevent it from slipping and falling into the ensclosure. I had no idea they sold heat lamps with such giant bulbs! I have a 75w max heat lamp that I just had to go get from our shed for the ducklings I just purchased from TSC.

I believe they are Khaki Campbell ducklings. The others in the bin appeared to be Mallards. I don't want flying birds, so I have some work to do to try to keep the KC from flying over the fences. I'm not sure how I will accomplish it. Thankfully we have some time before they're feathered out. I hear a lot that KCs hop fences and end up wandering around or getting eaten by neighborhood dogs. Unfortunately I have two such dogs myself, though they have not had the opportunity to interact with purchased fowl, one of my dogs has caught a sparrow before, and tried to ingest it. Our neighbor dog has killed all of my neighbor's chickens before, so he quit raising chickens because he couldn't stop his dog from killing them. Though, he doesn't train his dogs to prevent or stop bad behavior. We share a fence (his fence). We have fence up on two sides, share a rear fence with a neighbor who no longer lives at that property, and then my other neighbor with the problematic dogs. We will be adding fencing specifically around our chickens and ducks separate from the fencing around our yard, creating their own little protected areas, with predator-proof coops. In their yards will be a lush garden growing for them to enjoy, along with all the bugs and worms that come along with having a wonderful garden. The ducks and chickens are currently separate, and will remain separate since ducks are so much more dirty than chickens. I already had to replace all the bedding in the duckling pen within 24 hours of bringing them home.

Side note: The chicken's waterer is sitting up on something to raise it off the shavings (floor) to prevent them from getting shavings in it but they are somehow - what seems like purposefully - putting shavings into the waterer, but only one on side. What the heck.
triciayoung said:
Welcome. Your chickens are really cute. What will your first degree be in?
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Thank you. My degree is a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with three focuses: Religion, Communications, and Medical Science. I anticipate to earn that degree at the end of Fall semester in December of this year.
 
NewJourney said:
The temperatures ranges from 95 to 85. The giant heat lamp that came in the kit we bought is a 250 watt bulb situated over a standard sized guest bathroom bathtub. It's difficult to keep the temperature low enough because the bulb is so powerful. I have it hanging from the shower curtain rod to ensure it is high enough to keep the chicks from burning up and it helps prevent it from slipping and falling into the ensclosure. I had no idea they sold heat lamps with such giant bulbs! I have a 75w max heat lamp that I just had to go get from our shed for the ducklings I just purchased from TSC.

I believe they are Khaki Campbell ducklings. The others in the bin appeared to be Mallards. I don't want flying birds, so I have some work to do to try to keep the KC from flying over the fences. I'm not sure how I will accomplish it. Thankfully we have some time before they're feathered out. I hear a lot that KCs hop fences and end up wandering around or getting eaten by neighborhood dogs. Unfortunately I have two such dogs myself, though they have not had the opportunity to interact with purchased fowl, one of my dogs has caught a sparrow before, and tried to ingest it. Our neighbor dog has killed all of my neighbor's chickens before, so he quit raising chickens because he couldn't stop his dog from killing them. Though, he doesn't train his dogs to prevent or stop bad behavior. We share a fence (his fence). We have fence up on two sides, share a rear fence with a neighbor who no longer lives at that property, and then my other neighbor with the problematic dogs. We will be adding fencing specifically around our chickens and ducks separate from the fencing around our yard, creating their own little protected areas, with predator-proof coops. In their yards will be a lush garden growing for them to enjoy, along with all the bugs and worms that come along with having a wonderful garden. The ducks and chickens are currently separate, and will remain separate since ducks are so much more dirty than chickens. I already had to replace all the bedding in the duckling pen within 24 hours of bringing them home.

Side note: The chicken's waterer is sitting up on something to raise it off the shavings (floor) to prevent them from getting shavings in it but they are somehow - what seems like purposefully - putting shavings into the waterer, but only one on side. What the heck.

Thank you. My degree is a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with three focuses: Religion, Communications, and Medical Science. I anticipate to earn that degree at the end of Fall semester in December of this year.
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That is a very cool and interesting degree. Mine is boring...I have an MBA in Healthcare Management
 
triciayoung said:
That is a very cool and interesting degree. Mine is boring...I have an MBA in Healthcare Management
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I think I would have better luck getting a steady job if I had an MBA in something like Healthcare Management. Though, honestly, since I've finally begun living my dream of having chickens and ducks, and gardening, that's all I want to do. I think I'm going to focus on building my garden and poultry skills and make a business out of it. I certainly have more passion for these than I do some corporate job somewhere that keeps me away from my home and animals most of every day.
 

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