The Old Folks Home

[Cynthia12]

Denaguard is an antibiotic wheras Vetracyn is a "snake oil" all purpose fix everything. I am sceptical. A good diet will do the same.

I would not even use Denagard unless the birds had symptoms. No good comes from prophylactic antibiotic use. All it does is create resistance. And its very expensive

The antibiotic question came up yesterday in the socal thread, This was my reply

Sounds like I won't be trying the other stuff..but, will keep using my Denagard. Have been doing this for years, and haven't had an upper respiratory infection for about 2 and a half years. )

 

[insanity]

Okay does anyone have any caging ideas for housing 12 2month old chicks in the garage for the winter? They have outgrown the 100 gal fish tank and I have no ideas. Lots of room but having a mental block.

 

[ronott1]

Okay does anyone have any caging ideas for housing 12 2month old chicks in the garage for the winter? They have outgrown the 100 gal fish tank and I have no ideas. Lots of room but having a mental block.

SCG posted some pictures of home made Brooders.

What about stacking Brooders made out of 2x2s and chicken wire?\

I am using a Ware chicken hutch but it is not big enough for 12 chickens. Each one will hold 3 to 5 depending on how large they are. The are pricey though.

 

[insanity]

I have a bunch of outdoor rabbit hutches but without trays there is the mess issue. I should probably start with those. Now I know why people don't usually order chicks in the fall. Even after culling the roos I am looking at at least 6 in the sunroom untill March or April. They will be 6 -7 months by then. Lol

 

[ronott1]

I have a bunch of outdoor rabbit hutches but without trays there is the mess issue. I should probably start with those. Now I know why people don't usually order chicks in the fall. Even after culling the roos I am looking at at least 6 in the sunroom untill March or April. They will be 6 -7 months by then. Lol

There is a place that sells replacement pans for hutches, metal and plastic. I ordered one for my hutch.

http://www.bassequipment.com/Kennels/Plastic+Pans/default.aspx

 

[insanity]

Thanks looks like a good site.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I bought 3 little pigs just yesterday! My 2 year old is mastering his Android tablet but loves animals and the outdoors. Butterflys landing on him freak him though. lol

Do tell! What kind?

SCG posted some pictures of home made Brooders.

What about stacking Brooders made out of 2x2s and chicken wire?\

I am using a Ware chicken hutch but it is not big enough for 12 chickens. Each one will hold 3 to 5 depending on how large they are. The are pricey though.

I have a bunch of outdoor rabbit hutches but without trays there is the mess issue. I should probably start with those. Now I know why people don't usually order chicks in the fall. Even after culling the roos I am looking at at least 6 in the sunroom untill March or April. They will be 6 -7 months by then. Lol

Why will they be inside until then? No outdoor space? If you're concerned about weather, don't be.

This is what I use for indoor brooders, not sure I'd want to house 12 chicks in there for 6 months...

1. 4x4 brooder. Most excellent for almost anything, except getting it through the door without difficulty.



2. A couple of 2x4 brooders. Most excellent for starting chicks and separating anything sick, even broodies with babies.



3. 2x3(ish) cage, mostly used in the coop to introduce newbies in a controlled environment, separate out sick/hurt/broodies for a short period of time without removing them from the flock.


I can post more pictures if you need to see how any of these were built. It's not a lot of material, most of them were built with scraps or just one plywood board. You need basic tools.


This picture was taken 02.04.2011 - I usually hatch on or around new years, so these chicks were about 4 weeks old. They are out in the coop. No heat. No broody. Granted, they are in a cage inside the coop, so protected from the harsh winter winds, but they are feathered enough to be outdoors. They're both naked necks so they have even less feathers than usual.

 

[insanity]

I was worried about temps and introducing little ones to the big girls. My hens are pretty good about new birds....but. Also my spare outside pen will be empty in February or March.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I was worried about temps and introducing little ones to the big girls. My hens are pretty good about new birds....but. Also my spare outside pen will be empty in February or March.

I really wouldn't be too worried about temps. Make sure they're mostly feathered, that's all. I turn their heat lamp off indoors after about a week (temp in basement stays about 60 to 70) - when they start to get neck/back feathers. Not fully feathered, just the wings are mostly feathered and the pin feathers are coming out of the neck/chest/back. I feed 22% protein to get them off to a good start growing feathers. They go outdoors by 6 weeks, no matter the temps here. If it's possible for you, you could move them somewhere cooler for a week or so - I have a partially heated garage - we only keep it around 45 to keep the pipes above it from freezing. I've never moved them there first, they just go out to the coop, but you could do that to make it a smaller temp drop.

If you can separate them out for a few days in a cage in the coop (like my above pictures) and get everyone "used" to each other, that will also help. I also open the coop up every single day, unless it's actively snowing or will be before I get home. I shovel paths for the chickens to wander around outdoors (and under the coop), so they can get away from each other if necessary. That really helps keep peace.

I know not everyone has as large of a coop as me, so some of the above won't be possible - but that's what I do and it works really well for me. I don't like having chicks in the house if I don't have to.

I prefer to hatch in the winter - that way I have POL pullets when everyone else at the swaps has chicks or older birds. I'm also doing less in the winter than spring/summer/fall and can devote time to chick rearing indoors. It works out well for me. And I stagger hatches so I have meat birds ready at different times of the year for butchering.

 

[Highcotton]

I am reminded of the dismissive "Oh, that's chicken feed!" reference to or about something inexpensive. When one has a huge flock, a breeding program, or want "only the best" food for one's birds, feed costs CAN be expensive, but if *I* could feed myself all the time for less than 25 bucks per fifty pounds of food, I would be ecstatic. $19.00 a bag (give or take) is...well.... Chicken feed. I prefer pellets because there is less scatter waste, and I also spring for BOSS because daily hand-feeding treats makes ME happy. Dog and cat food costs more than chicken feed and those critters don't lay eggs for me. Yes, I do understand life circumstances can change; I've been short funds a few times when the flock needs feed so I have to make do with alternate food stuffs. But to try to avoid buying chicken feed as a regular practice? SCG's neighbor would make me wanna smack her and steal her chickens.

I am very much the same. I keep the layer pellets in the feeder to make sure they are fed anf have a balanced diet. The chickens are standing by the gate waiting to get out and free range and I enjoy hand feeding them and watching them. I also think variety of foods help them. If nothing else it gives them variety in their environment. Mine meet me when I come home and beat me to the coop in the evening to see what I have for them. I always have something BOSS, oats, greens from the garden, or vegetable trimmings.