The Front Porch Swing

[LindaB220]

Hey everyone, hope your day is shaping up to be good. Weather in Shreveport is hot, a little cloudy and it's says rain for the next few days. Dont' know about bad weather. Ours comes from texas. I'm having a little health problems right now so won't be on much. Going to the dr next week and will have more answers. It seems a sad day on the porch today and I'll not add to it. Stay safe.

 

[Beekissed]

Hey everyone, hope your day is shaping up to be good. Weather in Shreveport is hot, a little cloudy and it's says rain for the next few days. Dont' know about bad weather. Ours comes from texas. I'm having a little health problems right now so won't be on much. Going to the dr next week and will have more answers. It seems a sad day on the porch today and I'll not add to it. Stay safe.

And for you, my friend. I hope you find all is well and you will be restored to good health soon. Let us know if we can help or pray for you, dear Linda.

 

[Blooie]

Thank you for your prayers. And Happy, I'm adding your family to mine. No news yet. As Ken says, that's probably good. We are looking at maybe leaving early Monday morning. The kids did a great job this morning. Evan came with Katie, and they had it all figured out in no time. Evan wouldn't clean the PDZ in the poop tray though, so Katie did that while he got all the feed and stuff set out and ready to use. I've put the feeder back into the coop and told them I'd fill it completely to the top just before we left. That way they don't have to worry about emptying and cleaning the feeder if we get a rainstorm or two.

Got a question, though. The one thing they both struggled with was watering the chickens. The container is heavy and with the nipples on the bottom they can't just set it on the ground, fill it, then hang it back up. And it was also heavy for Katie to rehang. She got it done, but pinched her fingers hard between the handle and the hanger. Evan is even smaller than she is. I know there's no set answer to how much water 22 birds will need, but an approximation would be great. Right now I'm using a 2 gallon container for water. I usually only top it off, unless it looks kinda nasty. Then I dump it completely, clean it up, and refill it completely. If I were to hang a 5 gallon bucket in there, would it be unreasonable to assume that they could top it off every other day? If that's the case, and I fill it completely with clean water, would having them just top it off on that schedule be okay? I don't anticipate being back in Sioux Falls any longer than about Friday or Saturday.

I'm trying to make it as easy as I can for them. Jenny won't go near the chickens - I didn't realize until today that she's scared to death of them, and that's okay. They aren't for everyone. Tam works all night from 6 pm until 7 am, and sleeps while Evan is in school, so it's kinda unfair to expect her to give up one minute of her recovery time to take care of the birds. Evan and Katie get home from school around 5 on Monday - Wednesday. So Evan and Katie are the logical choice. But I have to remember that they are just children, so the fewer things they have to remember the easier it will be for them. I did write them a Step 1, Step 2 type chart and they followed it exactly, right down to tying plastic bags over their shoes and washing well when they were done with the chores. It's just the watering that has me stumped, and we just don't have time to build a different system right now. I showed them how to toss a little scratch in the run or the coop to get the chickens' attention away from the doors when they are open. They were surprised and very relieved to see how well that worked and how much time it gave them to get in, get done what they have to, and get back out with no escapees.

Can you think of anything I've forgotten? I just can't seem to think right now.

Edited to add: Linda, you're in my prayers right now too. I guess I didn't realize I'd be a Dotty Downer here on the porch, and that's not fair when so many of us come here for a relief from stress and some friendly smiles. So party up, you party animals with your lemonades and teas and Diet Cokes......chow down on those goodies too! Life goes on - and it's always better to smile than to be down in the dumps. What will happen with my sister will happen. I can't change it or prevent it - if I could I'd have already switched places with her. Hugs!!!

 

[Beekissed]

No such thing on this thread, Blooie....we can share anything here about our family without bringing a cloud over the Porch...it's a covered porch.

You didn't bring us down at all because we are trying to help hold you up and that makes us feel good to be helping from a distance.

Thank you for trusting us with your troubles and cares as it makes us feel included in your life and we love that!

If 5 gal. of water doesn't hold off 22 layers I'll eat my hat..if I had a hat. No worries about topping it off, just fill it, hang it and trust in God...unless your nipples leak, then you can top it off now and again as needed. I'd leave 5 gals of water to 50 meat birds for that long without worrying.

 

[TexasLisa]

Hey everyone, hope your day is shaping up to be good. Weather in Shreveport is hot, a little cloudy and it's says rain for the next few days. Dont' know about bad weather. Ours comes from texas. I'm having a little health problems right now so won't be on much. Going to the dr next week and will have more answers. It seems a sad day on the porch today and I'll not add to it. Stay safe.

Linda, you are in my prayers. Let us know if we can help.

Blooie, please don't apologize. We have some mighty fine people on this porch who want to help and give comfort in some way. Hang in there my friend!

Lisa

 

[Blooie]

Thanks,Bee....I feel much better now, about both things! Better scoot and get some laundry finished. I'll keep in touch kinda catch as catch can.

 

[lindz8504]

Its getting interesting around here!

 

[Regin]

I originally put a drip system in my first coop. But, couldn't use it in the winter. I ended up taking it out.

A one liter bottle will actually last eight chickens more than two days. So now I have one liter plastic bottles with the drip emitter in the bottom.

I made a loop from a wire tie and attached it to the bottle neck with another wire tie. One of these hangs from a screw in each coop.

I just swap them out. Clean, refill swap. One liter bottles should be easy to handle even for the little ones. I think the fermented feed is part of the reason they don't need much water.

 

[Triple Willow]

Great Lindz! One of mine has gone broody too. I love how they grumble at you when they're broody. LOL

 

[Triple Willow]

Blooie, LindaB - saying a prayer for you guys.