The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

Aoxa I'm going to ship Stella to you so she learns some manners

I also like the barred rocks. Their personality is wonderful even tho Stella drives me bonkers some days. Her egg is a jumbo that makes closing the egg cartons hard to close.

Aoxa have the feathers on your BR every turned a brown color? Stella's are still brown in areas & I upped their meat protein thinking that may help, she has some bare spots on her bottom we saw yesterday but while one area is pink it looks like new pin feathers are coming in. Her feathers have that disheveled look which makes me think she may be starting to molt?

Nope and if they did, I'd cull them (sell them as pets). That sounds weird and un-Barred Rock like.

My girls are quiet and tame. Very docile. I think the loud girls come from hatcheries. My avatar was a loud mouth, and started my obsession. She was hatchery, and the sweetest bird.

@lalaland @aoxa

Lala - I have the premier (comfort chicks) heat plate so I don't know for sure on the Brinsea but..
The Comfort chick says to give it an hour to come up to heat. Not sure on the Brinsea. But that comfort chicks was hot to touch so I actually put it on a lamp dimmer and ran it at less heat. I can also put the back lower than the front so I set it lower on one end than the other thinking that if it was too hot on the shorter end they could go to the taller.


Did you set it low enough to the ground? They're supposed to touch up against it. It's not supposed to radiate heat so putting a thermometer under it isn't a good measure. Pressing up against it to warm is how they're supposed to work so it needs to be relatively low.

It comes up to heat really fast. 10 minutes and I put newly hatched chicks under it.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@aoxa

Lala is having trouble with hers (her post above).

 

[aoxa]

very stressful day yesterday.

one of the 3 week old chicks was limping badly, couldn't figure anything out by examing her. she lookes better this morning.

drove two hours to pick up day old cream legbar chicks - was hoping for 4 but there was a problem hatching and only one pullet hatched (you can id sex at hatch), one possible pullet and one cockeral. So I went home with the pullet, the possible, and a 10 day old pullet. The return 2 hour trip wasn't too bad - I used a polar fleece hoodie as a liner in the carrier, and stuffed water bottles filled with hot tap water in there. The chicks crawled into the hoodie next to the water bottles and slept.

Got back and popped them in the brooder with the brinsea brooder I won in a byc contest last fall. babies not too happy. brooder was on its bottom rung (closest to the floor). showed babies how to drink, the 10 day old was miserable and cheeping loudly.

This morning, found one baby in the far far corner from the heat. I stuck her back under the brooder, checked the temp. It is a rainy dark dark dark morning, and the chicks were not content and acted cold. Gave up and put up a heat lamp at the other end of the brooder. babies and 10 day old pullet were immediately happer - stopped frantic chirping, starting relaxing and stretching and falling asleep. Could be that is was pretty dark in the coop because of the rain storm. I am really disappointed in the brinsea - aoxa and others had such good things to say about it.

Really don't want to use the heat lamp. I might try to rearrange things and use a regular lamp to give them light and see if I can get them back to the brinsea.

How cold is it outside at night? It needs to be around 10 degrees to run properly. I use it 5 degrees and up in my garage. Otherwise they won't work out in the coop this time of year here..

ie; 10 degrees is 50 F

 

[Leahs Mom]

And, honestly, I don't know why the cc says to let it heat for an hour. It was way more than ready w/in 5 mins or less.

 

[lalaland]

thanks Sue and Justine.

It started warming up minutes after I plugged it in, and last night it was probably 60F - It was warm but barely to the touch underneath.

It could have been the darkness that was upsetting the chicks too. THe day olds came out of a brightly lit brooder, the 10 day old was with a foster mom.

I didn't know that the 10 day old was out in her barn with all of her chickens, so I am a bit nervous about not quarantining the chick. This woman shows cochins and is breeding legbars....her set up was good and all birds appeared healthy, although she was having some disatrous hatch results (3 out of 17 hatching).

I don't like the poop in these chicks. I've gotten the dirt and sod plug out for them, and am chopping some liver up. gonna dose them with cod liver oil too.

the difference between these chicks and the ones my broody hatched are amazing. these seem tottery and jittery, although they are eating and drinking.

 

[aoxa]

thanks Sue and Justine.

It started warming up minutes after I plugged it in, and last night it was probably 60F - It was warm but barely to the touch underneath.

It could have been the darkness that was upsetting the chicks too. THe day olds came out of a brightly lit brooder, the 10 day old was with a foster mom.

I didn't know that the 10 day old was out in her barn with all of her chickens, so I am a bit nervous about not quarantining the chick. This woman shows cochins and is breeding legbars....her set up was good and all birds appeared healthy, although she was having some disatrous hatch results (3 out of 17 hatching).

I don't like the poop in these chicks. I've gotten the dirt and sod plug out for them, and am chopping some liver up. gonna dose them with cod liver oil too.

the difference between these chicks and the ones my broody hatched are amazing. these seem tottery and jittery, although they are eating and drinking.

Brinsea guarantees their EcoGlows. If you are having problems with it, contact them. They will send you a new one. It could be a faulty unit.

never had any issue at all with mine other than the goats ate the cord to one..

 

[lalaland]

I went on the brinsea site and saw that they are recommending putting a draft barrier right next to the brinsea to hold in the heat in the area. I'll put up a cardboard edge around the brooder at the end with the brinsea. see if that helps.

 

[aoxa]

I went on the brinsea site and saw that they are recommending putting a draft barrier right next to the brinsea to hold in the heat in the area. I'll put up a cardboard edge around the brooder at the end with the brinsea. see if that helps.

Yeah you'd need to keep them draft free for sure.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Lala - I'm thinking that your issue is the dark at night since the kids are used to having light 24 hours a day. That makes a lot of sense.

 

[lalaland]

justine, glad you are keeping your barred rocks - they are gorgeous.
how are the goats?