Tennessee

[Jenski]

Robo and CityGirl, glad your chicks have a nice warm brooder! I stress too much over heat issues to hatch any more chicks in winter. . . . and I do so love having my bathroom all to myself, LOL! After trying broody hens this last summer, I figure I'll probably do that from now on, and leave the brooder as a backup.

CityGirl, glad you made it to Nashville OK. The drivers here are generally worse than the roads, LOL! Just not enough practice on ice/snow.

It dipped down to 11 here, and now it's back up to 12 . . .

 

[TNBarnQueen]

We really got a lot more snow here in Talbott than I thought we would...mostly huge snow drifts. I dread the morning with the temps dropping so low tonight. I put up the 450 heat bulb...I noticed a few minutes everyone was snuggling up under it. I keep looking at my aquarium water heaters and thinking.....if I cut a piece of PVC pipe that it will fit in...would putting it in the chickens waterer keep it warm enough?? It is the kind that goes underwater and of course are thermostat controlled.
For those of you with horses or goats....last year I used large tubs for water. I took the manure I removed when cleaning the stalls and mounded it up around them. Since manure creates A LOT of heat it actually kept the water from freezing!! Sometimes you just have to let nature work for you.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Well, the brooder is in my dining room (ironic, no?). It does make it harder to do Christmas dinner when there are chicks cheeping around on the buffet table.

I don't usually hatch this late in the year. It makes it a lot harder to get them outside. I originally planned on stopping early enough to get them out while the temps were still decent. And then I killed off three hatches in a row. I had some serious humidity issues when the house switched from AC to nothing to heat. Plus I tried turning them in a styrofoam egg carton and I think that caused some problems too. Sigh. I really wanted to hatch out a few ameraucanas for my own stock and I threw in some silkies just for the heck of it. Now there are 5 AMs and 11 silkies zipping around in there. I am covered up in buff silkies right now! My plan is to get NPIP certified and then start selling off silkie culls come spring. There are a few really nice keepers out there and a number of them that already have made the cull list. I also have a healthy crop of silkie cockerels growing out in there.

Know anyone that wants a buff silkie cockerel?

 

[emvickrey]

Quote:
My birds did well yesterday. The only thing we can't button up completely is the big coop. They all did fine. I'm hoping they all survive this winter. It started with a vengence. My main silkie pen is kozy and there is a heated water bowl in there so they're the only ones I don't have to remove blocks of ice from. I have a white pair in one of the lower pens that is all buttoned up and a pair of Partridges in a cage in the shed and I put fruit trays that are made out of paper fiber all around the walls and top and bottom of their pen and cover it all up. The quails are done the same way and also in the shed. Everytime I go in the big coop to close the door to the run somebody runs out in it so it's been left open. Tomorrow, i'll make up some cooked rice and oatmeal for the ones in the coop since they have to tolerate more of the cold. They all can get up on the nesting shelf away from any winds.

I've lost a few eggs to freezing also. Since i'm not going to hatch out any more till February it's no big loss. I'll just finish up whats in the incubator and put them up.

I had 17 hatch in the past week, all silkies. I finally got the humidity back up to a safe %. It dropped yesterday and I ended up putting 2 sponges along with filling all the water wells in my LG, and a sponge and full wells in the Hovobator I use for hatching. I lost 1 chick and 1 didn't hatch. I suppose it's a quitter but it's still in there.

It was 15 degrees last time I checked the temp outside. It's gonna be a real cold one tonight. I hope my chickies outside don't suffer from it.

 

[mema2003]

I sure hope my chickens will be ok. The EE's just started laying and the older hens have completely quit I recon. I would love too get up on the hill and check on all of them but since the stents and other mishaps I can't do that so I have too rely on hubby too tell me the truth about if they are ok. I am freezing and now I am going too bed.

 

[emvickrey]

Quote:
I plan to do the same thing with the ones i'm hatching now. I have 17 that hatched this week and have 2 doaen more to go in staggard hatches till the 29th. Then, i'm stopping till February. I wanted to have some hopefully ready to lay in the spring to sell the eggs and sell the ones I don't keep. It looks like I may have gotten 3 lavender's. There are several Partridges and some I have no idea what they will turn out to be. They are yellow with the chipmunk markings on their backs. One the markings is very light on.

There are some blues and blacks too. I'll have plenty to choose from and I want to show 2 of the hens I have now. I wish I could show the roo but his toes on one foot aren't separated right.

 

[Robo]

All of my birds are okay this morning.

My hanging nest boxes worked too. They are like little swings. I made them for my bannys because the big ones took up all of the nest boxes. So I took some milk crates and boarded them in, and then I hung them from the top of the coop. I expected to see the bannys in them but to my surprise I had my big Buff Orpington hen in there laying.

 

[Jenski]

Robo, glad to hear your birds are OK this morning. How cold did it get over your way?

CityGirl, you already have a palace compared to my little cottage - - just an eat-in kitchen here, and no room on this little table for a laptop AND a brooder, LOL! Guess it's a good thing, as I seriously do not have any more room for grown birds right now. If I did I would snap up your beautiful buffs in a heartbeat. They are some of the nicest, clearest buffs I have seen! It makes me want a whole pen of the little fuzzies. *sigh*

TNBarnQueen, your warming-manure idea is ingenious. Doesn't require a bit of electricity. Farmers have all the best ideas - - necessity is the mother of invention, eh!

emvickrey, I would love to know more about your partridges. . . do you have pics?



We had 3 F near the back door this morning, probably a bit colder out in the yard. Never thought I would be glad to hear the sound of those banty roos in the morning! All birds well, all combs and little toes looking good. As long as they are hollering for breakfast all is well, I guess.

I waited until the sun was just coming up to head outside, and as I walked across the yard, flocks of birds flying overhead disturbed tiny ice crystals off the tree branches, sending down a shiver of glitter in the clear sunrise. It was so beautiful and ethereal I suddenly felt very lucky to be standing out there at 6:45 in the freezing cold. I love surprises like that.

 

[georgialee]

Hey Everyone! I'm going to GIVE away a bunch of my chickens ... they need to be gone by Christmas. We're going on vacation over New Years and we're building a house... I just can't keep up with them right now. I have A LOT... and a lot of them I would normall sell for a decent amt. if I had the time/inclination to keep up with emails.

I will not take any pictures and I will not hold any of them. I'll meet this saturday at 10am and this Sunday at 4pm - just pm me if you'll be there. I am in South Knoxville.

This is what I have to GIVE away (Merry Christmas!):

The following are hatchery quality and all 7 week old pullets:
polish - 3 buff laced, 1 blue, 1 black
standard cochins - 1 blue, 1 white, 3 partridge
2 silver spangled hamburgs
3 exchequer leghorns
2 gold campines


The following are breeder/show quality:
2 bantam mille fleur cochin roos - color but no pattern
2 bantam mille fleur cochin pullets - color but no pattern
2 standard black cochin pullets
1 bantam salmon faverolle rooster
3 show quality (from cochincoop.com) black mottled bantam cochin roos


not breeder/show quality:
2 black split to lavender bantam cochin roos
1 splash cochin pullet (pea comb, hardly any feathers on feet)

 

[HBuehler]

City Girl tempt me into one of those buff roos

then convince the weather to allow me to pick it up

my silkie pen is a mixed color right now..mostly blue/splash and white now but we need other colors-just here for the kids amusement mostly. I did manage to turn most of my birds out today..if they don't get out today it could be awhile with the ice moving in.
We are hatching Jen's eggs again now...so far 2 blue bantam Ameraucana's Sam should finally have a lady or two from all of these chicks..I have 3 bators going in my bedroom now the tree is taking up my entire living room but I refuse to hatch them in there so 2 more going in the hall way.I'm free ranging way too many chicks in my basement right now so when the weather breaks need to get more rabbit cages down there and lock those little buggers up