NY chicken lover!!!!

[vmdanielsen]

Quote:
When do you hatch? Fall? What do you do with chicks in the winter? At what age do you stop the heat? I have a breed I would love to have and if I got them now they would start laying early.

A while back, I posted pics of my brooder & how it is in the winter. I hatch from October to June. I only use a regular light bulb for heat for the youngest chicks.

Here is a pic of my 3 tier brooder
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/22072_condo_resized.jpg

I use a canvas tarp to wrap aroung the shelf unit & keep closed with plastic large clamps. They stay nice & warm out in my unheated barn. I use 2 lamps in each area in case one bulb goes out, the other one keeps the chicks warm.
I put the waterer near the lights so it doesn't freeze.
I have also used a large bin or water trough, with a piece of wood or dowl, holding up the light without anything else around it. They do fine as long as they can get under the light when they need to warm up.

Great idea! I thinking of doing a January hatch but was concerned about heat(or lack thereof). HHmmmm.......processing.....

 

[featherz]

I did both a January and a february hatch this year - had to brood them in the house, but I put them outside at about 6 weeks and they did fine in my barn with one of those ginormous premier 'safety' heat lamps (this is before I had my ecoglows). I don't think I'll hatch this winter, but you never know if .. I see some blue layer eggs I might crack.

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
Well that looks real nice and of course the more land the better I always say. I haven't forgotten my promise of freebies so no worries there.

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
When do you hatch? Fall? What do you do with chicks in the winter? At what age do you stop the heat? I have a breed I would love to have and if I got them now they would start laying early.

A while back, I posted pics of my brooder & how it is in the winter. I hatch from October to June. I only use a regular light bulb for heat for the youngest chicks.

Here is a pic of my 3 tier brooder
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/22072_condo_resized.jpg

I use a canvas tarp to wrap aroung the shelf unit & keep closed with plastic large clamps. They stay nice & warm out in my unheated barn. I use 2 lamps in each area in case one bulb goes out, the other one keeps the chicks warm.
I put the waterer near the lights so it doesn't freeze.
I have also used a large bin or water trough, with a piece of wood or dowl, holding up the light without anything else around it. They do fine as long as they can get under the light when they need to warm up.

That is nice but I have to ask. How much time do you get out of it before the next move. My Dels mature fast and I might get 3 or 4 weeks at best. I like the design and would probably make sure everything is chest high to me for easy cleaning. Of course that bottom could be used for storing feeders and stuff.

I like it,

Rancher

 

[rancher hicks]

Hi folks,

Now as far as the raspberry hedge? If you run a row of chicken wire ( 2-3 ft. high) first and then plant a thorny prickly plant in front and behind and let it grow thick it will one be useful and two make it hard for preds to get through. Kinda like in the Lion King where the jackals wouldn't go after Simba. With raspberries you could even lay it down on the ground a bit. They would just send shoots up through it. Plus if you hit CM late in the summer you can get plants real cheap. I got mine for $2 each.

As for hatching in the winter or late winter. They new PP mag. said that hens hatched that late don't lay as big an egg as and have more prolapse problems. I hatched my Del in Dec. last year and I'm not so sure that holds true. They started laying earlier of course and are laying large sized eggs. IMO, large is good enough. It's those double yolker and xtra large that cause prolapse and problems like that, but I could be wrong.

For those who do hatch that late, keep a record and let us know what happens. Lord knows the ones I hatched in Apr and May aren't laying so good right now. Some I'm not sure have even started.

I do like to sing when I'm out there working and while the neighbors haven't complained it might be the reason they haven't been laying yet. They have been seen walking around the yard with their little wings over their ears.

Well take care,

Rancher

 

[vmdanielsen]

Quote:
Thanks for the info on the raspberries! Will think about that one till spring........
Ginny

 

[greymane]

Great looking pics, ziL. Rancher, say it isn't so! You can't leave us!

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
A while back, I posted pics of my brooder & how it is in the winter. I hatch from October to June. I only use a regular light bulb for heat for the youngest chicks.

Here is a pic of my 3 tier brooder
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/22072_condo_resized.jpg

I use a canvas tarp to wrap aroung the shelf unit & keep closed with plastic large clamps. They stay nice & warm out in my unheated barn. I use 2 lamps in each area in case one bulb goes out, the other one keeps the chicks warm.
I put the waterer near the lights so it doesn't freeze.
I have also used a large bin or water trough, with a piece of wood or dowl, holding up the light without anything else around it. They do fine as long as they can get under the light when they need to warm up.

That is nice but I have to ask. How much time do you get out of it before the next move. My Dels mature fast and I might get 3 or 4 weeks at best. I like the design and would probably make sure everything is chest high to me for easy cleaning. Of course that bottom could be used for storing feeders and stuff.

I like it,

Rancher

I have Marans so they are tall. They can stay in the shelves for about 3 -4 weeks of age. Longer, but by then I have them on the floor with another big lamp. I use a baby corral to keep them contained until they are big enough to go without heat. Usually 7 weeks or so. I then rotate them into another area without heat, then progress on to the adult pens when they are big enough. I have a horse barn, so I can move them around as I wish from stall to stall, ect. but once they are feathered out, they don't need more heat. They say that is how the big chicken breeders breed, so their chicks eat more in the cold so they grow faster & are more showable by spring & fall. Anyhow, that is what I do.

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
I hate to go and may not if I can't afford to, but the cold is killing me. I just wish my son had bought a place with more land. He's young and not as ambitious as me in that area. I'm wrestling with giving up chickens but Lord have mercy three good months is not enough. Springs are cold and wet, falls are cold and wet. I need some dry for a longer period of time.

"ain't nothin can keep a body prisoner like old age".


Rancher

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
I hate to go and may not if I can't afford to, but the cold is killing me. I just wish my son had bought a place with more land. He's young and not as ambitious as me in that area. I'm wrestling with giving up chickens but Lord have mercy three good months is not enough. Springs are cold and wet, falls are cold and wet. I need some dry for a longer period of time.

"ain't nothin can keep a body prisoner like old age".


Rancher

I lived in a "warm" climate for 5 years....I missed the changing seasons, and hated the heat....
If the cold is really a problem, giving up the chickens is not so bad...just think...no more frozen water, below zero winds when you're trying to go from pen to pen...need I go further? LOL
You could have another hobby that doesn't involve live things that you have to feed & take care of...like painting...or pottery.

That is my goal...I alread do jewelry, and I realize that I will not always want to have chicks to care for...but I"m grooming my grandchildren...