OHio ~ Come on Buckeyes, let me know your out there!

[findlaychickens]

Is Roger a Border? I would wonder if he would try to herd them.

We aren't entirely sure what he is. The rescue only knew that his mom was a registered Aussie, but the rest is a mystery! Hard to believe this cute little face was returned to the shelter 3 times!

 

[Kelfeathers]

Roger looks, at least, part border to me.

The border we had when I was in high school tried to herd everything. I really wanted to get a border collie and a golden retriever when I moved to Ohio. I ended up with a red heeler/lab and a Bernese/lab.

 

[cabinchicky]

Well Roger is handsome anyhow! Hope he keeps a good watch over your flock. My Terra watches over the yard but she isn't as young as she use to be. She went to the vet just this week aND we found she has a cataract. Poor girl will be 11 in June and has been walking into things since December. And the terrier attitude had doubled! Nope I am not getting in the tub Mom!

 

[cabinchicky]

Our runs are just covered with chicken wire but for an inexpensive roof that can handle snow load and won't sag with heavy rain, I would probably go with metal panels and make sure they're installed on a slant. They are about $15 a piece in 3' X 8' sections and you can choose colors too.
Lol I understand! We started with 6 and now have many many more than that now

The general "rule" for space for standard size chickens is 1 foot of roost space per bird, 4 square feet floor space per bird inside the coop, and 10 sf per bird outside. You can never go wrong with too much room for the birds' well- being. Too little room and crowding can cause problems like aggression which usually results in injury to the more submissive birds in the flock.

For winter and summer comfort, all our coops are insulated. We've used standard R-13 insulation in some coops and then covered it with osb or plywood, and we've also experimented with layering feed bags in the walls and ceilings and sheeting it with plywood or osb. The feed bags work pretty well actually!!
You always want ventilation in your coops even in winter. It sounds weird to have something open when it's cold, but chickens produce a lot of moisture from breathing. When they're on the roost at night, this moisture wants to rise with the warm air but if there is no way to move that moist air away from the birds, it can hover over them causes frostbite on the combs. So the idea is to try to move air with ventilation. We use a variety of things like vent covers used in homes on your heat outlets like on our small coop:

We don't heat any of the coops and for adult birds we use heated dog bowls for winter waterers.
For chicks, we use brooder heat plates- love them! Much safer than heat lamps and the chicks do excellent with them. For little ones waterers, we made cookie tin heaters for about $8 each and set the chick waterers on them. They worked great!

I think summer heat is just as hard on the birds as extreme cold. Shade is important and if you have black or dark colored birds, they will need it for sure.

Brooder plate? Please tell me more! Still kicking ideas around on my new brooder.

 

[cabinchicky]

Quail pen/double brooder is almost done! Woooooohoooooo!

 

[Laurel Meadows]

Brooder plate? Please tell me more! Still kicking ideas around on my new brooder.

The ones I use are from Premier 1 supplies. They're awesome! Basically, they have a heated surface on the underside and have an internal thermostat and maintain a steady temp. You don't have to do anything other than raise the legs as the chicks grow! The chicks go under and come out as they like- it's very much like a broody mama and the babies are very happy and content using them. I believe premier offers several sizes. I use the small sizes which are only 22 watts. Much less power usage than a heat lamp bulb and the plates have auto shut off safety fuses: 1 for resistance, 1 for overheating. I don't have to worry about fire with these so it's great- they're very safe!

I've used mine with bantams and standard together and you can keep one side lower than the other so everyone can find a comfortable spot. They spend a lot of time outside the plates after the first couple of days and feather out faster too.

Here's a pic with my Marans I took last week:

And one with day old with self blue bantam Cochins:

I found the box!

 

[OHfarmerswife]

The ones I use are from Premier 1 supplies. They're awesome! Basically, they have a heated surface on the underside and have an internal thermostat and maintain a steady temp. You don't have to do anything other than raise the legs as the chicks grow! The chicks go under and come out as they like- it's very much like a broody mama and the babies are very happy and content using them. I believe premier offers several sizes. I use the small sizes which are only 22 watts. Much less power usage than a heat lamp bulb and the plates have auto shut off safety fuses: 1 for resistance, 1 for overheating. I don't have to worry about fire with these so it's great- they're very safe!

I've used mine with bantams and standard together and you can keep one side lower than the other so everyone can find a comfortable spot. They spend a lot of time outside the plates after the first couple of days and feather out faster too.

Here's a pic with my Marans I took last week:

And one with day old with self blue bantam Cochins:

I found the box!

I use these also snd love them. A lot cheaper than ones from Brinsea and the cord is stronger too.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Wondering what anyone can tell me about selling eggs. I'm in Geauga county. My questions are more about laws involved. I'm not thinking of a roadside stand or anything but if a coworker wants some....then what? What does anyone here charge per dozen?

 

[cabinchicky]

Thank you Laurel Meadows and OHfarmerswife! Time to check Amazon. Would rather use these than wire for a 60 watt or smaller light.

 

[henny1129]

Wondering what anyone can tell me about selling eggs. I'm in Geauga county. My questions are more about laws involved. I'm not thinking of a roadside stand or anything but if a coworker wants some....then what? What does anyone here charge per dozen?

Hello! We live in Wood County and sell our eggs for $2 a dozen. A lot of people sell them for more, but we don't really care how much money we get from selling them......just a way to get rid of how many eggs we have! It's important to clean the eggs off before you sell them though. Good luck!
henny1129