NY chicken lover!!!!

[AQHAchick22]

It seems as though we may be getting some nasty weather tomorrow, with high winds and heavy rains - better batten down the hatches!  My biggest concern with high wind conditions is with the trees in the yard.  I have several mature pines on the property, some of which could easily come down on the coop or on my house.  Ugh.

I have the same problem...building the coop among trees has a lot of advantages but the storms are always scary. The girls won't be happy being locked up all day today...they hide under the coop when it's raining but I would rather keep them in judging how bad they are expecting the storms to be.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Morning all!

Well, I went out to the silkie boys coop this morning and the chick I put in there last night is still alive so thats a good sign. It is the lone chick I hatched out last and is 4 weeks old now. The boys, who are around 8 weeks old, seem to have accepted it. I think its a her, which is good, but with silkies one never knows. Anyways, I will keep checking on it periodically today. Oh...Frodo just crowed. He is so cute. He seems to accept whomever I place in his coop and is turning into a nice young cockeral.

Dh made a new tool last night for the terrorists. He calls it he cockeral correction tool, or cct for short. Guess it works pretty well as he said the perp he had to use it on ran off and hid for a while after being disciplined. The boys are finding out that challenging chicken daddy has consequences! Still deciding who stays and who is dinner.

Expecting storms today so I got everyone some cabbages to keep them occupied. Not to worried about the trees as the hurricane last year took down quite a few and then dh cut down quite a few to clear space for the big coop. I hope everyone here has no problems.

Be safe and well everyone. At least we are getting some blessed rain, which is sorely needed.

 

[ktblue3]

Thanks for all the advice and info about the "killers".I appreciated your straight forward responses and think that my husband is finally taking my concerns seriously. It's very frustrating to put all the time and effort into raising them, only to have something get them because of sloppy security measures. If I could handle the construction myself without his getting upset, I would (even though I don't know much about building). We've had other flocks before but never as much trouble as with these. They just hate being contained! even if it's for their own good.

 

[JayLyn07]

the 1st few dozen taste expensive

Your not kidding! Someone asked me how much I thought the first egg actually cost to make I said "proably more then I would actually want to add up!"

 

[featherz]

Thanks for all the advice and info about the "killers".I appreciated your straight forward responses and think that my husband is finally taking my concerns seriously. It's very frustrating to put all the time and effort into raising them, only to have something get them because of sloppy security measures. If I could handle the construction myself without his getting upset, I would (even though I don't know much about building). We've had other flocks before but never as much trouble as with these. They just hate being contained! even if it's for their own good.

Well, so far I really really like my poultry netting. I may change my tune at some point and if so, will post just so you'll know, but I've been able to let the chickens out every day and SO FAR have had no more attacks. And none have flown over the 4 foot fence, which surprised me. I do keep checking, however - I don't trust em not to try! We do have quite a heavy voltage on the netting, better yet today when everything is so wet.

Drawbacks - very pricey, but when I added up how much we were spending on alternative fencing, at about $1/foot it wasn't all that bad (assuming you buy the 164 foot sections). Also, as I wanted the extra long pieces we had to get the type with further away spaced posts, so it does sag in a few areas and is propped up by electric rated posts we picked up at TSC. Except in one spot where it's very sandy, we are getting maxed out voltages on our fence tester (over 7K, probably up to 14K). The sandy spot I added a ground wire so hopefully that will help if an animal steps on or near there.

 

[rancher hicks]

Well we got some rain finally, but no damage as far as I know. At least I won't have to water the garden today. Thank the Lord.

 

[armorfirelady]

Hello everyone,
I am a newbie. Just got my coop and I will be putting it together this evening. I am looking to get some Plymouth Rock pullets in a month or so. I am waiting for the town to pass the law its ok for us to have chickens which should be in a week or so.

In the reading I have done it says that the Plymouth Rocks are very friendly, good layers & tolerate the cold well. Since I live in an area where we get a lot of snow & wind I want to make sure that I get some girls that are very hardy & good layers.

I have insulated my coop to protect them from the cold winter winds. I dont want to use a heat lamp if I dont have to. I plan on covering the run with heavy duty plastic for the winter months to keep the snow from the run & protect them while they are out in the runs.

I think with winter so close and having 4 indoor cats trying to raise chicks would be hard esp since they would have to be in the house to stay warm and keep them safe.

Does anyone know where I can get pullets in my area? I was thinking of going to Springville auction since they always have hens for auction except I dont know how old they are, the breed, etc since I am a newbie.

Any help/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you !!

 

[stonykill]

Hello everyone,
I am a newbie. Just got my coop and I will be putting it together this evening. I am looking to get some Plymouth Rock pullets in a month or so. I am waiting for the town to pass the law its ok for us to have chickens which should be in a week or so.

In the reading I have done it says that the Plymouth Rocks are very friendly, good layers & tolerate the cold well. Since I live in an area where we get a lot of snow & wind I want to make sure that I get some girls that are very hardy & good layers.

I have insulated my coop to protect them from the cold winter winds. I dont want to use a heat lamp if I dont have to. I plan on covering the run with heavy duty plastic for the winter months to keep the snow from the run & protect them while they are out in the runs.

I think with winter so close and having 4 indoor cats trying to raise chicks would be hard esp since they would have to be in the house to stay warm and keep them safe.

Does anyone know where I can get pullets in my area? I was thinking of going to Springville auction since they always have hens for auction except I dont know how old they are, the breed, etc since I am a newbie.

Any help/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you !!

Maybe I'm just missing it, but I don't see where you say your area is

 

[stonykill]

Hello everyone,
I am a newbie. Just got my coop and I will be putting it together this evening. I am looking to get some Plymouth Rock pullets in a month or so. I am waiting for the town to pass the law its ok for us to have chickens which should be in a week or so.

In the reading I have done it says that the Plymouth Rocks are very friendly, good layers & tolerate the cold well. Since I live in an area where we get a lot of snow & wind I want to make sure that I get some girls that are very hardy & good layers.

I have insulated my coop to protect them from the cold winter winds. I dont want to use a heat lamp if I dont have to. I plan on covering the run with heavy duty plastic for the winter months to keep the snow from the run & protect them while they are out in the runs.

I think with winter so close and having 4 indoor cats trying to raise chicks would be hard esp since they would have to be in the house to stay warm and keep them safe.

Does anyone know where I can get pullets in my area? I was thinking of going to Springville auction since they always have hens for auction except I dont know how old they are, the breed, etc since I am a newbie.

Any help/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you !!

I'll take them one at a time.
1) insulation not only not needed in NYS, but can add to ventilation problems. Not only do I not recomend it, but I think it is just a bad idea.
2) heat lamp, BAD! Very bad! Not only a fire hazzard, but what is going to happen to your chickens if they get used to living in a heated coop and there is a terrible storm tht knocks out power for a week. They will probably get sick or die as they aren't prepared for the cold.
3) it is warm out. If you get chicks that are 3 to 4 weeks old they won't need a heat lamp to survive outside. Chicks don't require the heat the internet leads you to beleive they do.
4) read this from beginning to end before you buy chickens :https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...l-up-a-rockin-chair-and-lay-some-wisdom-on-us

 

[featherz]

Agree with all of the above. My chickens have lived through three winters in uninsulated coops, no plastic, no heat lamps. I do use heated water bowls because it saves ME from having to break ice and lug out fresh water several times a day. I've had skinny chickens like leghorns and d'uccles in plywood coops with the windows wide open - I only close them in a 'storm' to avoid snow getting in, but there are vents everywhere in the coops as well.

Down with heat lamps for adult chickens! Oh, and if the chicks are fully feathered, they will be fine. If you got chicks now, they'd be ready for pretty much anything in 5 or 6 weeks. My broodies take chicks out into the snow!

There's another thread that will get busy soon started by peeps in Alaska. They don't use heat lamps either. I think one mentioned a lamp when it got under 60 below (-60F!!), just to take the edge off, but it's unlikely to get that cold here.