The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[gevshiba]

Finally! Speckled Sussex. These are the before FF pictures. Little guy by himself has glued shut eyes, but I've got them treated and open a slit.

A little heat.

After the FF. Messy little buggers.

 

[subhanalah]

Finally! Speckled Sussex. These are the before FF pictures. Little guy by himself has glued shut eyes, but I've got them treated and open a slit. A little heat. After the FF. Messy little buggers.

is that a radiant heat panel? Where did you get it?

 

[armorfirelady]

Another beautiful sunny day. The girls have the wet garden so scratched up its a mud pit so I took one roll of electric netting and put it up. Girls are eating grass as fast as they can lol. I have no hawk house protection out so hopefully they keep an eye to the sky. Netting is not electrified but figured better than nothing. Of course Sophie was eating the hay around the coop. I Haven't picked her up to check her crop but from a visual aspect it seems smaller than yesterday. I also put more grit in a pan in their breezeway outside the coop door so hopefully she sees it.

We are suppose to get snow again Monday

 

[Leahs Mom]

Please tell us how you like your heater. If I brood without a broody again I want to either use one of those or one of the heat plates. I've never seen anyone that uses one so please give us a review!

 

[ki4got]

Quote: Against the rules here to EVER let any forage be grazed closer than 4". That's the #1 rule for all my livestock

LOL well, my property is wooded mountainside that was pasture some 30 years ago, but then trees grew up and the grass died away. then we bought it, built on it, and the only grass we have is to the side of the house. the rest has always been dirt with a few weeds. never could get grass to start, and then trees destroyed my fence, so the horses have been free ranging since. the little bit of grass we DID get established doesn't get too short, but pasture has never existed since I bought the property... it's too vertical and too many trees.

 

[hellbender]

LOL well, my property is wooded mountainside that was pasture some 30 years ago, but then trees grew up and the grass died away. then we bought it, built on it, and the only grass we have is to the side of the house. the rest has always been dirt with a few weeds. never could get grass to start, and then trees destroyed my fence, so the horses have been free ranging since. the little bit of grass we DID get established doesn't get too short, but pasture has never existed since I bought the property... it's too vertical and too many trees.

I shall forever more, go to bed at night and count my many blessings. Like me, I suppose you are lucky to live where a horse can 'free-range' without getting you into court! Everything in life is a trade off.

 

[gevshiba]

is that a radiant heat panel? Where did you get it?

Please tell us how you like your heater. If I brood without a broody again I want to either use one of those or one of the heat plates. I've never seen anyone that uses one so please give us a review!

It's a Sweeter Heater. I used it with my last 2 chicks also. I like it a lot. I always worried about the heat lamp last year. I don't worry at all with this. You can see the chicks are right against it. It had only been on about 15 minutes and I had just picked them up from the PO, so they needed a bit of heat. The only thing I don't like is, I can't see them under there and I need to push it out of the way to clean under it. But that seems a small thing compared to peace of mind. I believe the web site is www.sweeterheater.com

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Premier 1 sells heat plates too. I've read good things about them. Less expensive than the Brinsea ones too.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Premier 1 sells heat plates too. I've read good things about them. Less expensive than the Brinsea ones too.

Thanks.... I know about both of the heat plates....

Just wanted to hear from someone that has used these
http://sweeterheater.com/

Used as a water heater:

 

[Child of Noah]

Please tell us how you like your heater. If I brood without a broody again I want to either use one of those or one of the heat plates. I've never seen anyone that uses one so please give us a review!

In lo these two years that I have had day old babies I have used the cheapest set up ever, but took the expensive way to get there. I started out with a heat lamp, used a radiant heater, but my husband (who was not really on-board with My Chicken Thing when this started) would not abide these devices being left plugged in unattended. I wound up putting them in a tote bin next to the electric fireplace (which he DOES allow to run unattended). Both years so far nothing but happy, healthy, hardy birds.