The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[Beekissed]

The Gnarly Bunch are out in the pouring, cold rain foraging for clover....gotta love a geriatric flock that shows the youngsters how it's done.

Who's this Sandy and what does she know?

Good morning, folks! I hope everyone is tucked into warm places and are ready to sit out this storm. If it gets bad we will lose power, so those who will still be on the forum, keep it rolling and true for us, OK?

Those with deep litter systems, let us know how your runs and such reacted to the increased rains, how the fermented feed is doing in colder temps, how the recovery from molting is going, etc. Need to keep this thread going with outcomes of treatment options and methods described here~good or bad outcomes. Keep those before and after pics coming along, if you can.

 

[off-grid hen]

I'm off the grid and have enough staples to get by for about 2 weeks, so all I did was to make sure that I have...
1. Gas for the chainsaw in case trees get blown down.
2. Extra gas for the generator, and extra food for the chickens in case we can't cut the trees fast enough to get out for a few days. (Driveway/private road is nearly a mile long).
3. Tequila
4. Limes
5. Brownie mix

Good luck, everyone!

 

[galanie]

I'm off the grid and have enough staples to get by for about 2 weeks, so all I did was to make sure that I have...
1. Gas for the chainsaw in case trees get blown down.
2. Extra gas for the generator, and extra food for the chickens in case we can't cut the trees fast enough to get out for a few days. (Driveway/private road is nearly a mile long).
3. Tequila
4. Limes
5. Brownie mix

Good luck, everyone!

Finally, someone that knows how to prepare!

 

[Leahs Mom]

I got a bird bath heater and stuck it in my bucket. I won't come on until the temp. is close to 30 f in the water then it runs till about 40. I'm hoping that will keep it from freezing but I'm currently using the small cup waterers on a bucket. Similar to the nipples but it has a small cup below. ( http://www.cornerstone-farm.com/equipment/poultry-float-valve-226 ) So far I LOVE them after using since about June. No dripping and wet litter underneith like I was getting with the nipples. I put them on a bucket instead of pvc pipes and they work wonderfully.

Not sure if it will put out enough heat to keep the water in the cups thawed...we'll see. If not, I'll go back to the regular nipple bucket and try that. I think it was Al (?) who was using the nipple waterers with the bird bath heaters.

Right now I have an extension cord run out there from the barn but I'm wondering if I can find some kind of converter to run it off the solar fence charger.


Thanks for the tip ...& link ..I bought a bunch to try ..I wanted to by the other chicken nipples ..but 20.00 + is more than I want to spend on a chicken nipple ! LOL

Okay...Now I'm frustrated. I had to "trial and error" on which size drill bit to use and I thought I had it written down and was going to post it here. Can't find it.

Well...I'll keep trying to find it later today.

When I put the bird bath heater in the plastic bucket, I put one of the pyrex food storage containers (round) in the bottom of the bucket that the bird bath heater can sit on (or in). I just didn't want the heater sitting right on the plastic.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

The Gnarly Bunch are out in the pouring, cold rain foraging for clover....gotta love a geriatric flock that shows the youngsters how it's done.

Who's this Sandy and what does she know?

Good morning, folks! I hope everyone is tucked into warm places and are ready to sit out this storm. If it gets bad we will lose power, so those who will still be on the forum, keep it rolling and true for us, OK?

Those with deep litter systems, let us know how your runs and such reacted to the increased rains, how the fermented feed is doing in colder temps, how the recovery from molting is going, etc. Need to keep this thread going with outcomes of treatment options and methods described here~good or bad outcomes. Keep those before and after pics coming along, if you can.

You're getting the rain from the cold front that's pushing towards the east to meet Sandy, right? Sandy is still hanging out at sea but more southern areas near the coast of Virginia are feeling her with rain and increased wind. Starting to get spots of wind at our place as we run around making last minute preps.

I noticed my girls "hunkering down" - for lack of a better phrase - this morning. Usually they're out foraging and scratching and coming to meet me when I walk out the door even in the rain or cold. Not today. It's not cold or raining yet (Heck, I'm outside still in my nightgown with no jacket. I'm no slave to fashion, for sure!) but they're all snuggled together in a protected corner under the coop.

So, I'm wondering, do they know? Are they aware of what's coming up the pike? Maybe chicken-sense is the best sense?

 

[Beekissed]

Finally, someone that knows how to prepare!

Yes! We do it a little differently but much the same.....feed, food, wood, fuel and water are all in supply...as are coffee and hot chocolate.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote: Low barometric pressure seems to cause my flocks to coop up like that...just coop up and stand there waiting. I feel it too and do the same. But this morning they are out, rain wet slick, doing their chicken thing. You can learn a lot by watching chickens~when the rain is just a shower and won't last, they run for shelter. If it rains and they are out in it, I know it will rain most of the day...they know they are going to get wet anyway if they want to eat, so they just stay out in it.

 

[siroiszoo]

I'm off the grid and have enough staples to get by for about 2 weeks, so all I did was to make sure that I have...
1. Gas for the chainsaw in case trees get blown down.
2. Extra gas for the generator, and extra food for the chickens in case we can't cut the trees fast enough to get out for a few days. (Driveway/private road is nearly a mile long).
3. Tequila
4. Limes
5. Brownie mix
Good luck, everyone!

We always keep ready around here; mostly for hurricanes. I ALWAYS get caught without items 3-5. When will I ever learn!

 

[nbchickfarming]

Going to try healthier flooring changes my coop-run.

Any thoughts? Currently have sand two to three inches deep-(not using a litter scoop but i rake weekly), i wanted to try the Forrest floor thing . So do i put the leaves on top of the sand , or should i clean it out? the dirt underneath is hard clay...i could add dirt from our garden. Also going to add larger dog pen run, maybe it would be better to leave the sand under coop add wood ash for a small dusting spot ,and do the Forrest floor in the larger run so its more of a variety.

For DLM i currently use wood shaving on paneling/ wood floor. Do i add dirt? or just scratch to encourage the girls to turn it?

 

[Leahs Mom]

PHOTOS BELOW!
Quote: (Leah's Mom)
Quote: (Leah's Mom)

Here are some photos. Like I said originally, not sure if the mechanism will keep from freezing with the bird bath heater or not - that remains to be seen when the weather goes below 25 degrees.

They have 2 different cups. I originally bought 1 of each to compare them.



Here's what the bucket looks like. BE SURE NOT TO PUT A TIGHT FITTING LID ON TOP. Same for nipple waterers. If a lid is closed, it creates a vacuum and no water will be let down. KEEP YOUR LID AJAR.


You can see a strange chain up there. The only reason I have it is to keep the birds from jumping on top of the bucket and roosting. I was concerned that they'd jump up there and end up IN the bucket of water since the lid is always ajar.


Here's the bird bather heater looking down into the bucket. You can see the glass pyrex in there. When it gets colder, I'll turn the glass upside down and sit the bird bath heater on top of the upside-down glass. This will get it closer to the waterer mechanisms and, I think, give me a better shot of keeping them thawed.



Cup type A. (So far I like this one best. It is the less expensive at $1.70 ea.)



Cup type B ($3.00 ea. Mechanism is replaceable inside when the internal sealing ring goes bad.)



On both of these: As the chicken puts their beak in, it moves the nipple and releases more water down. The cups stay mostly empty - it's tripped when they beak in the cup.

Easy to clean out. When stuff gets in the bottom of the cups from their beaks, I either take a wadded up paper towel or an absorbent rag and sop up any water and wipe out the cup. You can also just turn them upside down to dump the water then wipe out. I don't do that because mine is inside the hen house and I don't want any water on the floor.