Texas

[mandaleigh1981]

Yep! That's partly way I love Texas. Yes, we could possibly hatch chicks in December. When I first got a small flock on baby chicks in May, I didn't know that they were supposed to be kept very warm. Nobody told them either. I kept them in a coop for about a week, then let them be free-range like our neighbor girls. They didn't seem to get cold, but they did tend to wander off.

I didn't know either the first time. It was February so we had a heat lamp on em. I would just adjust it in height according to how close they were to it. I think people do tend to overthink things sometimes. I have babies right now; someone on another site was amazed I wasn't keeping a thermometer in the brooder. Ummmmm no. If they are hot they will move back, if they are cold they will get closer. I check on em every so often just to make sure the heat lamp doesn't need to be adjusted. I guess its like feeding them. I know some people say only commercial feeder, don't take any chances. Well commercial feed hasn't exactly been around as long as chickens have. There are people who will vary things more with their own children but they are afraid to do so with their birds. Chickens are pretty hardy animals!

 

[Teri Metcalf]

I didn't know either the first time. It was February so we had a heat lamp on em. I would just adjust it in height according to how close they were to it. I think people do tend to overthink things sometimes. I have babies right now; someone on another site was amazed I wasn't keeping a thermometer in the brooder. Ummmmm are no. If they are hot they will move back, if they are cold they will get closer. I check on em every so often just to make sure the heat lamp doesn't need to be adjusted. I guess its like feeding them. I know some people say only commercial feeder, don't take any chances. Well commercial feed hasn't exactly been around as long as chickens have. There are people who will vary things more with their own children but they are afraid to do so with their birds. Chickens are pretty hardy animals!

I agree. Chickens are pretty hardy, and given the space and opportunity they do pretty well at foraging on their own.

 

[wlhtx]

I didn't know either the first time.  It was February so we had a heat lamp on em.  I would just adjust it in height according to how close they were to it.  I think people do tend to overthink things sometimes.  I have babies right now; someone on another site was amazed I wasn't keeping a thermometer in the brooder.  Ummmmm  no.  If they are hot they will move back, if they are cold they will get closer.  I check on em every so often just to make sure the heat lamp doesn't need to be adjusted.  I guess its like feeding them.  I know some people say only commercial feeder, don't take any chances.  Well commercial feed hasn't exactly been around as long as chickens have.  There are people who will vary things more with their own children but they are afraid to do so with their birds.  Chickens are pretty hardy animals!

Thermometer in the brooder - ha! DH built our first brooder (and all subsequent upgrades) before I did much "research" on here. It was a wooden frame with all 4 walls and the top made out of hardware cloth. Only much later did I read that they aren't supposed to have any drafts.... That hardware cloth brooder was probably pretty airy, but they all did just fine.

 

[TammyTX]

I think that one of my two Brown Leghorns is a male. Dang it!! It is developing a comb and wattles faster than the other one....time will tell. I'll get a photo tomorrow night and see what you all think.

Oh Mandy, when I had my JG's did I tell you the cockerel took so long to develop and crow that I thought it was a pullet for the longest time! I guess growing so large they develop slower? By the time he was a year old his legs were HUGE! He was a very pleasant roo and never tried to come after us. They are pretty birds!

Y'all talking about your first flocks...I was afraid to put the birds in the coop so I kept mine in a box for a long time until they pecked the feathers off of each others backs! With my (current) third set of birds, I couldn't wait until they turned a month old a couple of weeks ago , so we could put them outside in the hoopty. I did worry about them last night when I saw them trying to sleep in the exposed portion of the coop. Tonight, I ushered them inside and they stayed.

Italia - is Chick Weed and Horseherb the same thing? We have a BUNCH of horseherb around the yard...the horse eats it.

Tomorrow is my Monday! I'd better go play my Angry Birds/Star Wars to relax before I go to bed! But, at least house is almost clean and laundry is almost done...good enough for me.

Good Night.

 

[LBejaran]

Uh OH!!!!!! Somebody has been hit with chicken math!!! Quick, get her some chicks!!

Lisa

I have three broody hens. Suddenly, getting those muscovy hatching eggs seems like a really good idea. Now, just to find the eggs.

 

[showbarnmom]

Just a horse and his chicken

I love my rooster. I need a broody soon so I can see how his chicks hatch out!

 

[Italia]

Italia - is Chick Weed and Horseherb the same thing? We have a BUNCH of horseherb around the yard...the horse eats it.

Tomorrow is my Monday! I'd better go play my Angry Birds/Star Wars to relax before I go to bed! But, at least house is almost clean and laundry is almost done...good enough for me.

Good Night.

Horseherb is one of those funny plants that some people spend years pulling this out of the garden, while other people pay money for it and plant it as a ground cover.
http://www.nativesoftexas.com/horse_herb.htm

This is Chick weed http://www.ediblewildfood.com/chickweed.aspx

It grows in the winter time and fizzels out when it gets hot. Always seems to like to grow in the same areas that bed straw likes. Grrrr do not like bed straw weeds.

 

[LBejaran]

It still hasn't set in yet that I will have 25 13 lbs chickens running around in about 9 mos.......I am sure once they outgrow the brooder I will start to understand. Though at least DH has the stuff to build the third run for the JGs. The NNs already have a run built (its a mite smaller than the one we are planning for the Jerseys.)

That's how I felt when I got my standard bronze turkeys. You have these tiny little poults that are so cute and fuzzy. Then they grow and grow, getting bigger right before your eyes. Suddenly, you have a 3-month old, ten-or-more pound turkey still trying to jump up on your lap. Realization only truly comes when you have to carry that weight around because they sometimes go to the wrong coop to eat, haha!

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Good Night all. I leave you with a smile.


Here is my wild cat Taco, just chilling out in the sun.



And here is one a took after the rain. You don't see a full one of these everyday here in Texas.

 

[LBejaran]

Yep! That's partly way I love Texas. Yes, we could possibly hatch chicks in December. When I first got a small flock on baby chicks in May, I didn't know that they were supposed to be kept very warm. Nobody told them either. I kept them in a coop for about a week, then let them be free-range like our neighbor girls. They didn't seem to get cold, but they did tend to wander off.

I remember the first time we got chicks. It was 42 degrees Fahrenheit outdoors. It had been raining for hours and we were kept warm by our thin jackets. It had been 80 degrees that morning, so the temperature was unexpected. We went into this big warehouse where they were distributing the chicks in boxes of 50 for the FFA students. We were the first people there and a few others showed up as we waited.

We walked on up to the table and were told to sign forms. Then the FFA instructor opened up our box and we saw these tiny, adorable little yellow chicks that were absolutely shocked by the cold air in the warehouse. As soon as we signed for the chicks, we high-tailed it to the car with a squeal of delight and held them in the front seat next to the heater. We drove home and set up a higher-wattage light bulb. We hadn't been planning to pick up the chicks so soon (the instructor hadn't informed us until the day we received them), so we made a makeshift brooder and used pine shaving and hay to make up some decent bedding.

I just remember how surreal it was at the time to see these little chicks just hop around inside the brooder, just happy to have some warmth. How, we plan more for these things, but that day was amazing. It kind of reminds me that we had to start somewhere. Even though those chicks were never mine and we don't have any of the original flock, I'm happy we did it.