The town of Ellicott has 2 major zones, from what the code enforcement officer said. Residential and then residential/agricultural. We are the LAST street of residential! We back up to the woods and have an acre. The neighbors across the street have 35 acres! And no chickens. It is silly. The minute you get past our street, the zoning is residential/agricultural and you can have chickens.
I am so sad! I had looked up the regulations and thought chickens were approved, but I guess we are ONE STREET too far for the Town of Ellicott (West Ellicott) to allow chickens! So I have to cancel our chick order! My husband called the code officer today to verify and he said "no livestock" because we are the last road in the residential district. I am so disheartened!! If anyone is in the Lakewood/Jamestown area and would like some free brooder supplies, I have bought a lamp/grit, etc. So very sad.
I"m back...here is the pic of the tote brooder that keeps dust down.
I cut a hole in the lid, big enough for the metal holder to fit on. Then I cut a piece of hardware cloth to fit on top & use duct tape to secure it. I have to replace the tape once a year or so. Actually, this one is a little small.
Then I put the lamp with a 60 watt incandescent bulb sitting on it.
I never close the lid completely, I leave it open a couple of inches otherwise the humidity builds up too much.
The chicks stay warm, there is no detectable dust or dander, and I can keep them inside longer than I use to. I use shavings in the bottom. The shavings keep it from smelling bad, of course you have to change it occasionally.
This particular tote has a gosling & ducklings in it and is out in the barn, but its the same idea as the one I keep inside. The one I use for newly hatched chicks is not as tall, maybe 8 inches or so. That is why a 60 watt bulb works. In this one I have a 100 watt bulb because its higher up. The chicks usually stay right under the light when they are sleeping.
Because the light is outside the box, there is no danger of it falling & causing a fire.
I too use a plastic bin at first with a 75 watt light attached when they are little .All are cute my Favorite is
Lady Buffy
Sure.
Would you all mind posting pics of your brood box setups? I'm curious to see how everyone is doing it. I like Marquisella's idea, but would like to see some others.
Here's ours. The big downside to ours, of course, is cleaning it (can't hose down plywood), and the sheer size of it. The top door is propped open like that, to raise up the heat lamp, to lower the temp inside the box. When they're newly hatched, the door is all the way down.
Edited because I forgot to attach pictures...lol. And yes, those chickens are in my dining room right now. *sigh*.
Oh that's too bad. I wish (strongly) that you would at least write a letter to your planning commission talking about how they are great for human health when kept in low numbers - eating bugs, ticks and mosquitoes and add any other positive things you can think of - just start the idea in their minds - don't ask for anything - just say that many towns are updating to allow 4-7 hens and it is something that should be considered in the future.
You would be doing it not just for you - but for many other people and even your children will benefit when sane people let their position be known. PLEASE ... (I am on a planning commission and let me assure you - we read and pay attention and think when things are presented in a calm manner) Good people have to stop .... stopping.We have to speak up. I get the time to actually fight it to a point of changing it - just a letter .... pretty please ?
