The Old Folks Home

[CSolis]

Thanks @bruceha2000.

@CSolis my worse encounter with my hot wire was the day I was moving a bird into my run. I had the poor bird in a wire kennel. Went to wrestle the kennel through the gate and wasn't watching the hot wire. corner of the cage hit the hot wire during a pulse. Chicken screamed, I screamed, cage with me hanging onto it bounced up about a foot. Let's just say I never made that mistake again.

Hate to laugh, but when I had horses, I accidentally backed into the hot wire fence.. Does give ya a jolt it does!

 

[ronott1]

Hubby picked out a car to replace his crushed one.View attachment 2538520

Nice!

 

[Sally PB]

A friend of mine thinks I've lost some altitude mentally, but I think it's just some turbulence in my flight path.

I love this! Mind if I use it?

 

[getaclue]

One group (the girls) is back. I wasn't expecting them back quite so soon, but they closed the zoo a little early today. The silence was shattered. Yes, they had a great time, and got lots of pictures. The girls got their faces painted too. I have a tiger, and a butterfly running around here. Today's ticket entitles them to unlimited admission the rest of the year, so they can go back.

 

[microchick]

It got up to 36 here again today. About half of the snow is gone but still a long way to go. Tuesday they say it will be 50. That will be nice after the past two weeks.

Meanwhile I'll be so glad when the feathered children can get outside. They are driving me and themselves nutz.

 

[NotAFarm]

Okay, the story of the momma heating pad. The Box and instructions said mine was an auto off model and would turn itself off in two hours. DH plugged it in and gave it 12 hours on each setting. It never shut off. He got on line and looked up the comments from buyers and hit on one that said that for some reason this model was rated as being auto off and it wasn't. There was another model that was similar to this one and it was an auto off model.

Thank you for the confusion Sunbeam!

Any of y'all use the heating pad in your brooder and how tall do you make your frame for it?

I used one of those wire shelf risers you can get at most stores. Like Bruce said, 4 inches front sloping down to 2 inches in back. Bend one set of the legs so the riser makes a “ramp”. Bungee the heating pad (I removed the blue cover) under the newly shaped frame (cord coming out the front/high side corner). Slide into a pillow case and tighten up the slack and secure in place (I used binder clips since I had them on hand). Chicks may climb into loose hanging folds so close it up good. When the chicks would start hanging out on the top, I tore up an old sheet into the right size to cover the top and clipped them on top. I could trade out the sheet and spray off the droppings, hang outside to reuse again. Still have to toss the pillowcase when they grow up
I had some fence wire on hand but felt it was too “bendable” if the chicks would climb on it. If you have some heavy gauge wire (like cattle panel piece) you could make a sturdy frame from that.
I like the mama heating pad when I don’t have a broody hen. It is more natural for chicks to get their heat from above like a hen would provide and to not have light throughout the night.

 

[CapricornFarm]

We thought about hanging some bacon over the wire but A) Stupid chicken would reach through and pull it off and get shocked in the process. Or B) Stupider dog would make a grab for the bacon and get shocked. A lot funnier than the chicken getting shocked but harder on your ears. Yeah I know that sounds terrible but you have to see it to believe it. What's funny is one of our young cattle dogs went galloping up to the fence and put their noses right on the hot wire. One yelped, jumped back, ran a few steps to put some distance between it and him and then stood and barked at the fence and the chickens like those chickens pulled Uzi's from under their wings and pepper him with bullets. They have all made contact with that hot wire and if avoid the run like the plague but if bacon was involved, all bets off!

Every time we walk the dogs past the run my husband tells them that those chickens are mean! Leave them alone!. They must remember because they give the run a wide berth.

Don't leave the bacon on the wire, just rub it on.

 

[getaclue]

The second group is here. Legoland was fun, but the big hit was their water park. The water is heated during the winter, so it's comfortable. Of course, the high today was 79 degrees. They LOVED the water park.

 

[microchick]

Thanks for the Momma Heating Pad measurements. I have pieces of cattle panel around. I also have 2x3 inch no climb goat fence most of which is waiting to be pulled out from under about 18 inches of ice and snow before I can trim out the good pieces from what was damaged by our roof avalanche so I'll have a lot to work with.

At this moment I'm only planning to hatch out one incubator worth of Fayoumi eggs this spring with plans to break whoever else goes broody.

I just hope the girls don't have other ideas....

 

[pennyJo1960]

I have one of my buds hens in broody jail may see how she us when we close coops at 9 been 3 days now she clucked like a regualr bird this afternoon. Had a heck of busy day baking, making apple sauce and apple fritters also Banana muffins