The Front Porch Swing

[wyoDreamer]

The nice thing with the bags of peat is that the bags help to hold in the moisture, that's why you bury the whole bag.

 

[luvblues7]

I am so excited for you! Don't forget to take pictures!! What kind of turkeys?

Lisa

Bronze. Didn't think to ask if they were standard bronze or board chested. I hope they are standard that's what I prefer, but will take either. How are your babies doing?

 

[sarahsunshine]

O WOW!!! I love all the buildings and the trees. Lucky lucky you!!! When are you taking reservations????

Well, the plan is to fix up the play house and to rent it out as a "tiny house"... if the kids will let us. Then maybe the same for the barn (it only has one small stall that was used 20 years ago, and is sturdy construction. We could easily turn it into a residence.

And then build a couple tiny houses on trailers and rent them out over the summer...

So, I'll keep you posted. Firts... I need some good veggie gardens going, and to get some C-H-I-C-K-E-N-S! Remember? this IS a chicken forum!

(just in case you forgot!)

 

[sarahsunshine]

Turkeys!!! LOVE IT!!! I would love some too.. but this year it's chickens and gardens. Maybe next year I'll get to turkeys...

 

[TexasLisa]

Got a chicken question here. I could ask in the forums, but I know you guys would never laugh at me for asking a dumb one, on accounta you know I'd push ya off the railing or off your bucket. Most of the chicks are 4 weeks old. They're really well feathered. They are so cute....and I want them OUT OF MY HOUSE - YESTERDAY!

They don't smell - I clean the brooder every single day. They are so doggone dusty! We live in a 10 x 60 1976 mobile home so we only had one spot to put the brooder - in Ken's office. And I clean the brooder every day mostly because Kendra is here so much and although she's a tough little cookie she does have health issues that I don't want to aggravate. So here's my dilemma - I have the red heat lamp on them, but it's raised pretty high at this point. The coop isn't ready for them, but what I need to know is when can I turn off the brooder light and start acclimating them to a cooler living space so they are ready to go out to the coop? Now I do have the little girls in there - they are less than two weeks old - but when we raised the lamp they still did very well. If they get chilly they just kinda lay together or sneak under Matilda, who seems to be content to have them there. I'd hate to turn off the heat and lose them but the bigger girls just don't seem to need it much. They tend to snooze outside the reach of the heat. I do think they are probably passed the point of smothering or trampling each other if they do get a little chilly. HELP????

The next batch of chicks I will absolutely be using Bee's heating pad technique, but that doesn't do me any good right now.

Blooie, I am hurt!! No question is too dumb!

Besides, if we laugh at you, you won't tell us any more stories!

How are your babies doing?

Growing like a weed! I have them in a rectangle bin with a chicken wire lid on top in my small bathroom. When I go to clean, I move the lid so it is half way off. They have learned to fly onto their roost onto the top. They are hilarious to watch. They need to practice their landing skills. Taking off is fine, but they tend to land on another chick. I am suppose to pick up 3 Australorps on Thursday. I am hoping the older chicks will accept them.

Well, the plan is to fix up the play house and to rent it out as a "tiny house"... if the kids will let us. Then maybe the same for the barn (it only has one small stall that was used 20 years ago, and is sturdy construction. We could easily turn it into a residence.

And then build a couple tiny houses on trailers and rent them out over the summer...

So, I'll keep you posted. Firts... I need some good veggie gardens going, and to get some C-H-I-C-K-E-N-S! Remember? this IS a chicken forum!

(just in case you forgot!)

Chickens......chickens......oh yeah chickens!!!!

Lisa

 

[Blooie]

Forgive me, Lisa! I knew not what I said! <sigh> My brain is too full of dust to think clearly!

 

[sarahsunshine]

The next batch of chicks I will absolutely be using Bee's heating pad technique, but that doesn't do me any good right now.

Speaking of that... Did they hatch yet? Did I miss it? Where do I find out?

 

[lovingmyhens]

O WOW!!!  I love all the buildings and the trees.  Lucky lucky you!!!  When are you taking reservations????

Deb, I wish I could have caught you before you left.  Here in Texas they have an agency that will give Senior Citizens free hearing aids and glasses.  You might want to look into your state and see what they have available.  Also, do you have caption on your television?  It really helps me out.  (I have a cochlear implant on the left side and a hearing aid on the right)

I am so excited for you!  Don't forget to take pictures!!  What kind of turkeys?

Lisa

I don't have a hearing issue, so says I, but I use the closed captioning so I don't have the tv very loud!

 

[LBejaran]

Got a chicken question here. I could ask in the forums, but I know you guys would never laugh at me for asking a dumb one, on accounta you know I'd push ya off the railing or off your bucket. Most of the chicks are 4 weeks old. They're really well feathered. They are so cute....and I want them OUT OF MY HOUSE - YESTERDAY!

They don't smell - I clean the brooder every single day. They are so doggone dusty! We live in a 10 x 60 1976 mobile home so we only had one spot to put the brooder - in Ken's office. And I clean the brooder every day mostly because Kendra is here so much and although she's a tough little cookie she does have health issues that I don't want to aggravate. So here's my dilemma - I have the red heat lamp on them, but it's raised pretty high at this point. The coop isn't ready for them, but what I need to know is when can I turn off the brooder light and start acclimating them to a cooler living space so they are ready to go out to the coop? Now I do have the little girls in there - they are less than two weeks old - but when we raised the lamp they still did very well. If they get chilly they just kinda lay together or sneak under Matilda, who seems to be content to have them there. I'd hate to turn off the heat and lose them but the bigger girls just don't seem to need it much. They tend to snooze outside the reach of the heat. I do think they are probably passed the point of smothering or trampling each other if they do get a little chilly. HELP????

The next batch of chicks I will absolutely be using Bee's heating pad technique, but that doesn't do me any good right now.

I had mine in a brooder box before I gave in and moved them into the small coop we have out back. I was worried about the temps, too, because it had been drizzling on and off with a slightly chilly breeze. I just moved them out there, hung two heat lamps, and have since been raising the bulbs up slightly once a week. Soon, they won't need them and I will be able to put those lamps away for the next set of chicks.....if I get more chicks.

However, I also unintentionally staggered my chick purchases. I first had Salazar, then the Wyandottes, then the EEs and then a couple more EEs and guinea keets. As it turns out, staggering them like that helped by creating a hierarchy. Salazar kept the Wyandottes warm, the Wyandottes kept the EEs warm and the keets just hid under all of them. They've all been doing really well like that.

That being said, moving them out to the coop now wouldn't be a bad idea. I'd just insulate where they are with plenty of hay/shavings/leaves/etc and give them plenty of cover from the elements. Keeping a couple heat lamps on them will help them acclimate and eventually, they'll move out of the light on their own.

 

[Blooie]

I had mine in a brooder box before I gave in and moved them into the small coop we have out back. I was worried about the temps, too, because it had been drizzling on and off with a slightly chilly breeze. I just moved them out there, hung two heat lamps, and have since been raising the bulbs up slightly once a week. Soon, they won't need them and I will be able to put those lamps away for the next set of chicks.....if I get more chicks.

However, I also unintentionally staggered my chick purchases. I first had Salazar, then the Wyandottes, then the EEs and then a couple more EEs and guinea keets. As it turns out, staggering them like that helped by creating a hierarchy. Salazar kept the Wyandottes warm, the Wyandottes kept the EEs warm and the keets just hid under all of them. They've all been doing really well like that.

That being said, moving them out to the coop now wouldn't be a bad idea. I'd just insulate where they are with plenty of hay/shavings/leaves/etc and give them plenty of cover from the elements. Keeping a couple heat lamps on them will help them acclimate and eventually, they'll move out of the light on their own.

Thanks! The coop isn't built yet, or they'd have been brooded out there from the get-go. Our nighttime temps are still down into the teens, low 20's. So you think that I could go ahead and start weening them off the heat here in the house?