NY chicken lover!!!!

[JLaw]

I'd love to move out of NY, better job opportunities anywhere else. Ohio is great right now, wife visited last yr when her aunt died. Her cousin said 'you can stay with us', she said her and her dad would feel more comfortable in a hotel. Cousin said there wasn't any available. Huh no hotels? "Plenty of them, all sold out to workers right now".
I've got a good job but will it stay? What are my kids opportunities?
Only thing keeping us here is my family has been here since the 1600s. And I hope to get back into our states bluestone industry again someday, I'm 7th generation on mom's side if I get back into it. Dad's still toughing it out into his 60s, but NY govt regs are getting harder for a man to make a living on his own.

I would guess it depends on which part and what is going on in the area. The area we are moving to is west side cincinnati. Green township. There are alot of jobs but the pay is what i'm worried about. Where we are moving we are about 20 min from downtown cincinnati and about 35 min from hebron ky where alot of jobs are also. The house we are buying is a 2 family 1 bedroom each unit, but we plan on living on the top floor and setting the upstairs as a 3 bedroom and renting the bottom floor if we can. Growing up we rented the top floor and lived in the bottom floor with me and my older brother in dinning room my sister in crib in living room and little bro in with parents room in crib.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Happy Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse Night!

It was beautiful ! I grabbed a chair and a blanket and sat outside ..
too bad the clouds came in on the 2nd half

 

[Gramma Chick]

I would guess it depends on which part and what is going on in the area. The area we are moving to is west side cincinnati. Green township. There are alot of jobs but the pay is what i'm worried about. Where we are moving we are about 20 min from downtown cincinnati and about 35 min from hebron ky where alot of jobs are also. The house we are buying is a 2 family 1 bedroom each unit, but we plan on living on the top floor and setting the upstairs as a 3 bedroom and renting the bottom floor if we can. Growing up we rented the top floor and lived in the bottom floor with me and my older brother in dinning room my sister in crib in living room and little bro in with parents room in crib.

Glad to hear from You ...Wish you luck in your move ..Hope all goes well

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

I know a lot of you bake and such so I wanted to ask here before I offer on Craigslist. I have several black walnut trees that are producing VERY well this year. If any of you are interested just let me know. They can be used in any recipe you would put English walnuts in.

Oh I would love some! How much are you charging for them and where are you located? I'm in the phoenix area but I travel to Auburn and Cortland occasionally. Thank you for offering them.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote:
I forgot about this post...I would like to try some too

 

[HISIRISHGEM]

Okay, I have some questions. I think I MUST be doing something wrong. 1. The pullets are 8 weeks old. I knew they wouldn't be laying for another few months but for some reason I figured they needed nests So I took two 18 gallon rubbermaid bins and we kept the top on them and cut a nice big square on the bottom. Added some thick pine shavings. The night they all got here, I just helped them up in it. (which I think was a bad move) I got in the next day and they pooped in their nests which I'm told they don't often do when they're laying. Given the fact that they weren't laying yet, should I not have put out the nests?

Second, I got a nice big tire and added sand in it along with DE. I saw on Youtube that it was used for a luxury dust bath. Um, yeah, they like it, but to poop in! It's like a litter box for chickens!!! They actually have their dust baths on the ground in the coop.

Then I go in to change their water and one had pooped on the water dish. My guess is that we should be hanging it up a little higher so they won't step on it or fight to get to it. Am I right?
They're starting to walk from the coop to the run by themselves though they got a bit spooked. Finally got in there on their own this morning.

Good news is we're almost done with the sliding door. We need to add better pull string to it and sand down the walk so their feet don't get slivers. The top of the run with the hardware wire seems to be holding thus far as well. Not bad for the first week.

Now, A few more questions I've thought of. 1. I can't remember, but I know someone in here feeds their chickens fermented feed. Can you ferment any of their feed? How long does it usually take? I'd like to try to give it to them.

They are not eating anything but the chick food, water and some scraps if they'll eat it.

One more question. Lighting in the winter without actual electricity. How do I get safe lighting out there? Are there any lights safer than others for chickes?

Thanks so much everyone! Pictures to come maybe on Tuesday night.

 

[Glasshen]

Hi Irish! I will try to answer some of your concerns. First though, chickens are not like dogs or cats. They seem to not be housebroken. They will poop anywhere. If they can get on it, they will poop on it...think waterer. If you put a surface you don't want them to get up on and spend time it needs to be about a 45 degree angle.

Chickens like to sleep on roosts. In our area it is good to have roosts wide enough that their feet can be flat and they can settle their feathery selves down and cover their feet to keep warm. A 2 by 4 positioned with the wide side up gives their feet a good position. It needs to be a bit more than a foot from the wall to make room for their tail feathers. I use a poop board beneath the roosts because chickens poop a lot when they sleep. The poop board is a shelf about 20 to 24 inches with a lip of a couple of inches. On this I put sand, bags from the hardware store, and Sweet PDZ which is a stall freshener that can be bought where equine supplies are sold. It absorbs ammonia and takes the smell out of the coop. I use a kitty litter scoop to pick up the poop every couple of days. This makes the deep litter last longer. Lots of people don't use the poop boards, but I find this works well for me. It's another one of those choices we all make at every step of taking care of our birds.

A perch is much better for the chickens to sleep on, and the nest boxes should be only for egg laying. Since you have a little time, I would get them used to the perches and make the nest boxes unavailable until they are very close to laying.

As for light, the safest thing I have found is the rope light. It is all encased in plastic, I put it up high at the junction of the wall and ceiling and I run a heavy duty exterior extension cord from the house to the coop.

Good luck. They really are sweet, and can't help the poop.

 

[Purpletie3]

It was beautiful ! I grabbed a chair and a blanket and sat outside ..
too bad the clouds came in on the 2nd half

My Orust was crowing at the moon at 3:30 am this morning.....It was amazing! I slept little and boy was it light!

 

[rancher hicks]

I'd love to move out of NY, better job opportunities anywhere else. Ohio is great right now, wife visited last yr when her aunt died. Her cousin said 'you can stay with us', she said her and her dad would feel more comfortable in a hotel. Cousin said there wasn't any available. Huh no hotels? "Plenty of them, all sold out to workers right now".
I've got a good job but will it stay? What are my kids opportunities?
Only thing keeping us here is my family has been here since the 1600s. And I hope to get back into our states bluestone industry again someday, I'm 7th generation on mom's side if I get back into it. Dad's still toughing it out into his 60s, but NY govt regs are getting harder for a man to make a living on his own.

Well now I kinda wish we'd taken the risk and moved south. The cold just kills me.

My DD researched other states and because there were no teaching jobs for her in NY is not in TX.

Successful people are risk takers. No sense staying on a sinking ship if you think that is what NYS is.

Make the move while you are young. Don't worry the kids will adjust they're much more resilient than we give them credit for.

If someone is in the medical field moving is much more easy.

Remember you ancestors were from "away", they took a risk and there you are. Things change. What do you think they would tell you to do? Stay in a place that won't feed the family or move on?
Have a look at the film, "Who Moved My Cheese". I think you might find it on the internet.

Make a list of what you want in a new place? You can do this. Think of it as an adventure.

I wish you well,

Rancher, still wants to move south but DW isn't as adventurous, Hicks.

 

[rancher hicks]

Okay, I have some questions. I think I MUST be doing something wrong. 1. The pullets are 8 weeks old. I knew they wouldn't be laying for another few months but for some reason I figured they needed nests So I took two 18 gallon rubbermaid bins and we kept the top on them and cut a nice big square on the bottom. Added some thick pine shavings. The night they all got here, I just helped them up in it. (which I think was a bad move) I got in the next day and they pooped in their nests which I'm told they don't often do when they're laying. Given the fact that they weren't laying yet, should I not have put out the nests?

Second, I got a nice big tire and added sand in it along with DE. I saw on Youtube that it was used for a luxury dust bath. Um, yeah, they like it, but to poop in! It's like a litter box for chickens!!! They actually have their dust baths on the ground in the coop.

Then I go in to change their water and one had pooped on the water dish. My guess is that we should be hanging it up a little higher so they won't step on it or fight to get to it. Am I right?
They're starting to walk from the coop to the run by themselves though they got a bit spooked. Finally got in there on their own this morning.

Good news is we're almost done with the sliding door. We need to add better pull string to it and sand down the walk so their feet don't get slivers. The top of the run with the hardware wire seems to be holding thus far as well. Not bad for the first week.

Now, A few more questions I've thought of. 1. I can't remember, but I know someone in here feeds their chickens fermented feed. Can you ferment any of their feed? How long does it usually take? I'd like to try to give it to them.

They are not eating anything but the chick food, water and some scraps if they'll eat it.

One more question. Lighting in the winter without actual electricity. How do I get safe lighting out there? Are there any lights safer than others for chickes?

Thanks so much everyone! Pictures to come maybe on Tuesday night.

Well now I don't as a rule light the coop, though there is a light in there.

I've run a heavy duty extension cord or cords from the garage, down the fence and to the coop.

I have circled the garden with cheap Christmas lights. Sold cheap after the holiday, I stock up. I do use white and some colored for aesthetics. They just look pretty when I go out at night to have a look around.

I also have lights inside the runs that are on all night.

But I don't keep a light on in the coops.

You will get different opinions on this but choose the one you want. If you're happy that's all that matters, imo.

I'm sure you'll be fine.

Rancher