My heart goes out to all those in the Boston bombings.
Completed coop!
Just put up some new feeders for my flock. Love them so far. Each holds ten pounds of feed, had a nice rolled lip, couple fins to keep them from flinging, and an adjustable feed level you can slide up and Dow to decide how much flow you want. They were baby pig feeders.
My fiance & kids did most of the work on the 1 we built last week. Once I got the frame up the way I wanted it I turned them loose on nailing on the old tongue & groove floor boards we used for the walls. 1 entire side was pretty much already together as we salvaged it from a wall of an old shed that had fallen down (this place is a disaster area, we moved in in dec & are still trying to repair 50 years of neglect & clean up a hoarder's mess). That side & part of another side are old wooden siding that came from the shed. We put an old bathroom trailer window in 1 side & covered it with hardware cloth. The other side has a piece of semi translucent corrugated fiberglass as a window, but doesn't open. The door was salvaged from remodeling & cut down to fit. The roof is old metal roofing that was laying around the yard. Everything in the coop is completely recycled from scrap except the nails, the wire for the run, staples to hold the feedbag insulation on the inside walls & a $5 screen door hinge kit from Lowes. The kit had a pair of spring hinges to close the door, a handle for the door & a hook & eye latch. Total cost $13 in nails (plenty left over for the next project), $5 screen door kit, $60 for chicken wire (150 ft, used 38 feet, plenty left for the next couple projects). My new coop cost less than $70 (with extra supplies left for the duck pens). It's 4x8 with 8x15 run.
Probably a bit early for that temperature, unless they have almost all of there feathers already. You could probably get away with a regular 40 to 60 watt bulb placed somewhat close overhead of them, to give them a place to get warm,,,, if they chirp alot, they are too cold, they will let you know, if they lay away from the lamp, they are too warm.I have freaking had it !!I have 7 leghorn chicks approx. 3 weeks old. They are insane. Any time I go to put food or water in the brooder they fly around screeching like I'm going to have them for dinner. At the moment I have 4 production red chicks and 4 ducklings (yes I know the ducklings need their own place, they will shortly) and these poor things all get trampled by the leghorns. They are all about the same size. Can I throw them in a brooder by themselves in the house (they are in the house now but with a heat lamp) without a heat lamp? Average temp inside is about 60* unless I would start up the wood stove next to them. Then they would be a snack!! I'm worried more about not being able to tame the others with these little a******s acting so crazy. I have half a mind to throw them out with the 6 week old chicks and ducks and let them teach them some manners.
Put a regular lamp over them. Or what I did when I had different sizes/ages lastyear is my main brooder is a wooden box chicken wire top. I put a plastic bin on top at an angle and put some in there. I hope that makes sense.I have freaking had it !!I have 7 leghorn chicks approx. 3 weeks old. They are insane. Any time I go to put food or water in the brooder they fly around screeching like I'm going to have them for dinner. At the moment I have 4 production red chicks and 4 ducklings (yes I know the ducklings need their own place, they will shortly) and these poor things all get trampled by the leghorns. They are all about the same size. Can I throw them in a brooder by themselves in the house (they are in the house now but with a heat lamp) without a heat lamp? Average temp inside is about 60* unless I would start up the wood stove next to them. Then they would be a snack!! I'm worried more about not being able to tame the others with these little a******s acting so crazy. I have half a mind to throw them out with the 6 week old chicks and ducks and let them teach them some manners.
I completely understand, I hardly buy leghorns any more for this reason. This year I got a California Grey instead of a leghorn to see if it was any better, and she seems to be much calmer and more collectedI have freaking had it !!I have 7 leghorn chicks approx. 3 weeks old. They are insane. Any time I go to put food or water in the brooder they fly around screeching like I'm going to have them for dinner. At the moment I have 4 production red chicks and 4 ducklings (yes I know the ducklings need their own place, they will shortly) and these poor things all get trampled by the leghorns. They are all about the same size. Can I throw them in a brooder by themselves in the house (they are in the house now but with a heat lamp) without a heat lamp? Average temp inside is about 60* unless I would start up the wood stove next to them. Then they would be a snack!! I'm worried more about not being able to tame the others with these little a******s acting so crazy. I have half a mind to throw them out with the 6 week old chicks and ducks and let them teach them some manners.
so far I love the breed! Looking forward to big white eggs! Only thing about her is that this little brat is very smart! She found out that if she jumps on the Broiler's backs, she can ride them around the brooder!!!
