***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Sooner Magnolia]

Oops! I thought my first response was deleted. Not trying to "hog" the thread with pig stuff.

I'm starting some eggs in a borrowed LG deluxe with fan and egg turner tomorrow in my classroom. I may buy it if it works well. Some barnyard mixes this time. I'll be back talking chicken soon. Any insight on this brand/model would be welcomed.

 

[therarebreed]

Oops! I thought my first response was deleted. Not trying to "hog" the thread with pig stuff.

I'm starting some eggs in a borrowed LG deluxe with fan and egg turner tomorrow in my classroom. I may buy it if it works well. Some barnyard mixes this time. I'll be back talking chicken soon. Any insight on this brand/model would be welcomed.

Good luck with the pigs! Can't help you on that model incubator, but hatching is so much fun!

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

I haven't had pigs before. My husband has. I'm sure others on here can give more info. We are starting with young ones and built a small pen so we can get them used to being handled. The pen will grow with them. I expect them to be sweet and destructive.

I'd welcome any great ideas on watering systems. I'm thinking big plastic barrel with a hog nipple.

I made a waterer for my pigs like that the nipple was cheap at TSC and the barrel was free, I sold it years later, those things last forever and so easy to make
I would wrap the barrel in pipe heat tape plugged into a thermostat cube so it only comes on when it is about to freeze

 

[Matt in Okla]

I haven't had pigs before. My husband has. Ours are young, so we built a small pen so the kids can get in and get them handled easily. The pen will expand as they do (quickly) I would appreciate any good watering system ideas. I'm thinking a big plastic water barrel with a hog nipple.

We used old hot water heater tanks cut in half as a trough style waterer growing up. Wired them to the fence cause hogs love to route under n flip stuff just cause they are honery

 

[NanaKat]

Pictures of Ansel and his family. Pansy and the five chicks...you can really see the Sebright influence in the feathering.
A little windy today, but the photo sure shows off his tail.


Pansy is a d'Anver hen. I think the chick in the back is a cockerel.

 

[Kassaundra]

Pictures of Ansel and his family. Pansy and the five chicks...you can really see the Sebright influence in the feathering.
A little windy today, but the photo sure shows off his tail.


Pansy is a d'Anver hen. I think the chick in the back is a cockerel.

Adorable!!!

Seems like the "force" is strong, genetically, w/ Ansel! lol

 

[NanaKat]

We dodged a bullet last night...no hail....my garden looks decent. We got a 1/2 inch rain but minimal additional rain today. We worked in the garden clearing weeds from th two asparagus beds and added aged compost mulch.

 

[CLSranch]

Basically we'll dig a trench under our raised bed area. In it we will lay out a thick plastic sheeting as a lining in order to make a reservoir. The reservoir will be filled with river Rock and /or course sand and corrugated irrigation tubing. A tube will feed into the reservoir from a bucket that has a toilet float valve in it. The toilet float valve will be fed by a rainwater collection system. The reservoir will be covered by water permeable fabric and then soil. The soil won't fall through the fabric but will wick water upwards, essentially creating self watering for the plants, promoting deeper root systems and eliminating water waste via evaporation. There will be an overflow pipe that leads into the next raised bed with the same setup. In theory, if all of the beds are level and the tops of the reservoirs are level with the float valve, they'll keep filled automatically. The last bed will have an overflow pipe that just leads out from the ground. This will prevent flooding the soil and plants during rainy seasons.

That's just the basic concept behind it. It's a process and going to cost a bit of time and money up front. But in the long run, it will be fantastic and a huge time saver.

For more information, Google wicking garden bed. Adding the float valve and rainwater collection feed is just taking it one step further.

A lot of work. But I like it and think it'll pay off in the long run.

And hay everybody I haven't been on in a while. Got 2 chicks yesterday 2 so far this morning and one on the way.

 

[Tony O]

We put our chicks in the chicken tractor over the weekend to get them onto grass and bugs. It is so windy here today that I'm thankful the tractor is enclosed for fear their little bodies would blow away! Sheesh! I'm still new to OK and I'm going to have a serious talk with my neighbors who told me that the worst of the wind is over in march! Lol!

Your neighbor might have meant "May".

After all, they both start with "M"

I don't think the wind ever actually stops here in north east Okla.

 

[therarebreed]

Your neighbor might have meant "May".   After all, they both start with "M"
 I don't think the wind ever actually stops here in north east Okla.

You might be right! I keep thinking I'll get used to the wind! It's growing on me.