NY chicken lover!!!!

[Henicillin]

Quote:

Have you tried putting a cookie sheet under the water bin? That helped when my duckies were little....kept the mess local so I didn't have to change ALL the shavings every day.

You could consider brooding them on old sheets/towels that can be thrown in the washer/dryer when soiled. (Shake poop outside first) Someone said they did that with their chicks and it worked well.

Ducklings raised apart from adult ducks are not waterproof until they are about 6 weeks old. They can get waterlogged if they are allowed to "swim" before that age. But they do love to swim, you just have to dry their fluff off (yes, I did that for 4 weeks, every day...

I also only used warm water for them to swim in...am I crazy or WHAT? ) Ducks raised by their mother are waterproof almost as soon as they are dry from hatching because their momma puts oil, from her oil gland, on their fluff. And they sit under her and get oil that way too, so my research said.

I love ducklings. Ducks? Not so much...messy, poopy things.

I have their waterer on a dish (OK - the top of a dollar-store storage container - I'm ghetto), which rests on several cheap microfiber shop towels, so they only manage to get the towels and the shavings immediately under them soaked. The rest of the brooder stays dry. The dish in the photo (another dollar store storage container) has a little bit of warm water in it to amuse them while I set their waterer and feeder to rights. They go crazy sticking their little bills in it and all trying to climb into it at once, but they don't have enough to swim by any stretch of the imagination. Gotta love 'em. I had a horrible day at work yesterday, so I came home and watched them for a while, and things were better. Hooray for poultry therapy!

I need to pick up a pack of bed protectors, since they're less expensive than puppy pads. I used them under the chicks' shavings, and they were great for full changes - I just rolled 'em up like a big, sort of icky burrito and tossed them.

 

[Cydney83]

I was going to order PR's from Paul Harter but he said this is the last year he'll be selling chicks due to lack of interest. I have Delaware chicks coming in April. My original 5 Delaware came from Alden , NY. I still have them of course.

Delawares in Alden?! Where?!

I don't care what you say, I want DERP eggs! I have derp on my fridge as a magnet.

 

[rancher hicks]

Delawares in Alden?! Where?!

When I first started with chickens and decided to keep Dels and have a Del rooster all I had were hens from Ideal. I went on CL after searching all over the internet to find someone in NY that bred Dels and was finally contacted by someone in Alden who had a roo for sale. When I got to the farm her DW said she was interested in selling the roo and the four hens that were with him. So I bought them all. She had got them from someone who kept Dels but I don't know the details.
I do know they looked different from the hatchery Dels.
Back then I read here that there was some suspicion that Dels were being crossed with Columbian Rocks. Dels were listed as Critical on the ALBC list and rare in Storeys. At least that was then.

The new list is out for the ALBC and they have since be upgraded to threatened. Seven or fewer primary breeding flocks.

The ALBC lists breeds according to "primary" flocks. (50 birds or more) Since myself and many don't keep flocks of 50 of a specific breed that leaves us out.

That may seem strange but when you consider that some folks have lost entire flocks to predators or disease it is a serious thing.

Even in the PP magazine I've read where some have had fox attacks that nearly wiped out entire flocks leaving just a few to start all over with.

One situation I know of the person lost more than 50 birds.

RIR and Leghorn are listed as "non industrial". Many hatchery birds do not have the "Dual" purpose that many breeds once did.

Also the ALBC lists these breeds in a Global sense. PP noted that Delaware are very rare in the UK.

 

[java girl 2]

ugh what a night!!!!! sorry i have not been on tonight. I was trying to get some stuff done in the basement and it has NOT been going well at all !!!!!!! first i had to fix the light fixture for the bater I'm making for the hatch-a-long " the screw was rusty and the wiring was bad, so I had to take the thing apart and find and put a new screw in the thing. well when I was all done and plugged in the light, can you guess what happened?? BOOM!!!!!!!!!!

THE STUPID LIGHT BLOWED OUT THE BREAKER and I could not find the switch to turn the outlets back on, meanwhile my poor chicks that live in the basement are screaming there heads off because they are cold!!!!

so my poor dad who is NOT to go up or down the stairs,

had to come down and help me find the breaker switch on the main breaker box. he looks at it and tell me " this is not the right box "

and had to show me where the other box is!!!!!!

then when we fix it, I can still here my chicks screaming in the other room. so I go to look and see what the problem is............ the heat lamp is out!!!!!!!

so I had to get the last used heat lamp bulb out and put it in for them.

and I don't know how long it will last !!!!! I then had to clean out the basement from bunch of stuff to make room to make a brooder room for the chicks i have now and for the ones to hatch in the hatch-a-long. 3 words............ live/dead mice, trash and mold!!!!!!!!!! and I still have more to do!!!! well I have a to buy list for tomorrow.....a light fixer, heat bulb shavings and feed.

 

[Tab's chicken obsession]

my daughter woke up wanting a ba ba at midnight, then at 1:30 my dog woke me up to go outside, and now the darn cat wants attention!

I'm beginning to think that a good night sleep is a figment of my imagination.

Heni- sorry work was crappy

Java Girl- good luck

 

[java girl 2]

THANK YOU TAB'S!!!!!!!!!! I GOING TO NEED IT!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[java girl 2]

my daughter woke up wanting a ba ba at midnight, then at 1:30 my dog woke me up to go outside, and now the darn cat wants attention!

I'm beginning to think that a good night sleep is a figment of my imagination.

for the last two weeks and counting it has for me!!!!!

SORRY!!! Sleep deprived does that to me!!!

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Poor Java! Look at it this way...since everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, you can only go up from here! With luck you will get everything done today and be able to relax tormorrow and might even get a nap in! Okay, maybe not but I am trying to be optomistic for you. I have had those days as well.

I think maybe my girls have crow on their minds for lunch. Yesterday I looked out my window before leaving for work and I see all my hens on full alert staring at something. I move to see what they are looking at and there is a crow walking around in front of their run. They were at the back by the coop but the intensity in which they were looking at said crow was not one of fear. I swear they looked like they were hunting it. Anyways, the crow walked around for a bit and then walked close to the end of the run. That was it. Mean Marge led the charge and it was one with the definate intent of killing said crow. If the wire hadnt been there, I am pretty sure my hens would have had it. Crow didnt even flinch until they were almost there. Definate raptor behavior! My girls hate any birds in the yard and will often chase off the little wild birds, also with the intent to kill. And to think that I see them as my sweet girls!

Nice weather coming up starting this weekend so I am hoping to finish with the wood and get busy on the coop. Finally got the truck fixed so we can haul stuff again. Spring fever is here in full force so the coops will get a good cleanout. Going to buy a little block of hay for the silkie nest box and see if that works to get them to lay in there. Off to the pharm for a while today. Hope its not crazy. Everyone have a nice day!

 

[vmdanielsen]

Quote:

I have their waterer on a dish (OK - the top of a dollar-store storage container - I'm ghetto), which rests on several cheap microfiber shop towels, so they only manage to get the towels and the shavings immediately under them soaked. The rest of the brooder stays dry. The dish in the photo (another dollar store storage container) has a little bit of warm water in it to amuse them while I set their waterer and feeder to rights. They go crazy sticking their little bills in it and all trying to climb into it at once, but they don't have enough to swim by any stretch of the imagination. Gotta love 'em. I had a horrible day at work yesterday, so I came home and watched them for a while, and things were better. Hooray for poultry therapy!

I need to pick up a pack of bed protectors, since they're less expensive than puppy pads. I used them under the chicks' shavings, and they were great for full changes - I just rolled 'em up like a big, sort of icky burrito and tossed them.

I WAS going to have burritos for supper....

 

[vmdanielsen]

my daughter woke up wanting a ba ba at midnight, then at 1:30 my dog woke me up to go outside, and now the darn cat wants attention!

I'm beginning to think that a good night sleep is a figment of my imagination.

Heni- sorry work was crappy

Java Girl- good luck

I hope a good night's sleep will come tonight