NY chicken lover!!!!

[rancher hicks]

FROST tonight.

Hint I stumbled on. Use those clear plastic tubs for "mini greenhouses or cold frames. I had one in the yard that I use for a broody box. DW bought flowers. It was cold so in a hurry I just set the bin over the box of flowers. Take the lid off and turn it upside down over your plants.

 

[CluckerCottage]

Excellent tip and thank you! Can you believe this crazy weather we are having? It's soooo windy and cold today!
My hubby will have to cover the strawberry plants and tomato plants for sure.
Our 5 week old girls will be warm and happy in their heated coop; our big girls will be fine with each other's warmth in their coop.
The pigs will be fine in their custom-made "pigloos", too!
Best wishes from Rome!

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

Last batch of Giant are gone, but I hatched out 55 Blue black and splash if anyone is interested. Feel free to PM me.

Blue black and splash what? I may have missed it. I try to keep up, but it seems like a losing battle lately

 

[Beer can]

Blue black and splash what? I may have missed it. I try to keep up, but it seems like a losing battle lately

Framac breeds and shows Jersey Giant's. I'm pretty sure he has some really nice birds. Good stock from good breeders and has been working with them for awhile. I was tempted to get a couple to cross into my white giants and then breed back to white. I'm going to wait for now and see what these whites potential is first, hatching a bunch in a couple weeks. I really like the Jersey Giant's, I've just started with them last yr. Super calm, lay great so far, and huge birds.

 

[Gramma Chick]

FYI. I sent an email to a doctor at Cornell about the sneezing that my chickens occasionally get.
Based on symptoms I'm still guessing it's environmental:when the coop needs cleaning they sneeze moree chickens that are not in the main coop are not sneezing. I need to take everything out of the coop this week and hose it down.

Higher concentrations of Ammonia in the coop can cause Respiratory problems ..
Can cause Bronchitis..I learned the hard way ...i had a chicken that had to be treated twice with antibiotics ..
She had it so bad from the ammonia in the coop

 

[Gramma Chick]

my question: looking for the second hen, i found her on top of the nest right next to the broody hen. They are like sharing the nest. Has anyone ever seen anything like that?

I have had that happen too .. They Fought over the babies at first ..
then they both went in the same cage with all the babies & shared them

 

[tao chick]

Higher concentrations of Ammonia in the coop can cause Respiratory problems ..
Can cause Bronchitis..I learned the hard way ...i had a chicken that had to be treated twice with antibiotics ..
She had it so bad from the ammonia  in the coop

This is what I think is the problem. Other than cleaning and ventilation, is there a way to prevent the build up of ammonia? Am I missing something I should be doing differently?

 

[boskelli1571]

This is what I think is the problem. Other than cleaning and ventilation, is there a way to prevent the build up of ammonia? Am I missing something I should be doing differently?

I use old metal baking trays under the roosts. That way I can pick them up daily if needed, clean and hose down as needed.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

This is what I think is the problem. Other than cleaning and ventilation, is there a way to prevent the build up of ammonia? Am I missing something I should be doing differently?

add more pine shavings but under that dump a bag of pellet horse bedding. It absorbs A LOT of moisture and smell. In my 8×24 coop I have 2 bags of pellets and 1 bag od shavings plus hay. I spray the walls down lightly every other day with the hose just to control dust.

 

[tao chick]

Thank you! I need to clean and rework the main coop. It's great protection for the chickens, but also keeps smells and dust well too. I will fix this today, hopefully.