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

[just me]

Freeze Update on the cup waterers.

I've only had a couple nights that got into the 20's so far so this is an "early report". Keep in mind that I have a bird bath heater in the bucket so the water in the bucket is between 40 - 60 degrees at any given time. My concern for freezing has been the water inside the little necks leading into the cup.


The nights that it got that cold, on cup B (see photo below), the mechanism froze. It's the one with the little metal spring in there and I'm thinking that metal spring is what was freezing up. I pushed on it and tried to get the water flow open and was eventually able to but I know that the chicken beak wouldn't have been able to get it flowing. Now that was after only a few hours at 25 degrees so I imagine if it gets down and stays in the 20's that one won't work very well.

Cup A did not freeze.

I had the same results on both freezing nights. Of course, if there is any water pooled in the cups that will freeze also, but these are designed to only let water down when the beak toggles the "nipple" and there is usually very little water in the cup at any given time.


Today I removed cup B and replaced it with another "cup A". I'll update again after we've had a longer cold-spell.

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Thanks for the update!! That's what I love about this, you just saved me a ton of time by sharing your experience!!

 

[delisha]

About the heat mat. It is pretty firm and not too flexible. It does not get hot. With a thermometer it gets to 100. That is just warm for us. Chicken temps are warmer than ours are.

 

[just me]

About the heat mat. It is pretty firm and not too flexible. It does not get hot. With a thermometer it gets to 100. That is just warm for us. Chicken temps are warmer than ours are.

Just curious...is the 100 directly on the mat?? If so, if you could get some bedding the little buggars didn't scratch down to the mat, the bedding temp probably wouldn't be "quite" that warm. Warm enough, but not the 100. (Just thinking out loud).

 

[rowerjen]

I can't even begin to say how impressed I am with Bulldogma's site!! I've been perusing it and am blown away at how full it already is! I'm so glad that I can now direct newbies to a site that has the info organized.

Fantastic job, Bulldogma!

 

[just me]

I am blown away by how much you've got done on that blog!!!!

Man, do I wish I could focus like that!! I'd have three books written by now! Unless I'm working with my hands, my mind can't settle down to one task for long and wanders off by itself into realms previously unexplored. I would love to have drive and focus like this...my hat is off to you, Bulldogma. Your screen name is quite apt...a bulldog determination to get a job done.

Just be sure to direct them back here for the "chit chat". It does me a world of good!!

 

[galefrances]

Thanks for the update! Good to know and I will definitely be investing in Type A. Can't wait to get these going in the coop.

x2

 

[delisha]

I covered the mat with wood chips, next year I am going to use sand. The wood chips dried quickly and the chicks were able to get them off in a few minutes. So poopy mat to clean all the time. Was awful. Using sand on top of the mat and around it should distribute the heat even more. A cat scoop to remove chicken poop and it should work great. However I do not see myself ever doing this again ..so late in the year. I lost too many chicks. I never loose chicks. Well I have culled chicks, but not lost them. I usually stop hatching in September. The tunnel idea is a great idea. It might work to have two mats. One for top and one for bottom. Maybe a cardboard tunnel made from old map tubes, or a designed one made from an old box. I will work on the idea in my head for next year.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

We were debating putting some Vagisil in this hen but I think I will do the same thing with the NuStock, since I have it on hand and I don't have the other. I know it's not as gentle as Vagisil/monostat but I have it on hand and NuStock doesn't have a menthol type irritation to the tissues, so I'm going to give it a try.

Yeast infections are tough to clear up if they are long standing and dug in there. Funny thing is, this hen looks the healthiest on her topside than all the other Australorp birds and mixes. She has a beautiful, healthy sheen to her feathers, is fully feathered except where I trimmed away from her vent and has a bright, inquisitive eye and manner. She's also laying on occasion, which is more than I can say for the rest of this flock.

I think this next treatment will be the turning point in this bird's recovery...just need to get the right application in the right place.

Bee if ever you want a substitute or Vagisil cream/monostat for your birds or whatever, and I do believe it's way cheaper, look at your no-name athlete's foot cream. I believe they are both miconazole as active ingredient...they'll do the same thing for fungal skin ailments. I'm still catching up on the thread..so maybe somebody has already made the suggestion too. ;-)

 

[just me]

I covered the mat with wood chips, next year I am going to use sand. The wood chips dried quickly and the chicks were able to get them off in a few minutes. So poopy mat to clean all the time. Was awful. Using sand on top of the mat and around it should distribute the heat even more. A cat scoop to remove chicken poop and it should work great. However I do not see myself ever doing this again ..so late in the year. I lost too many chicks. I never loose chicks. Well I have culled chicks, but not lost them. I usually stop hatching in September. The tunnel idea is a great idea. It might work to have two mats. One for top and one for bottom. Maybe a cardboard tunnel made from old map tubes, or a designed one made from an old box. I will work on the idea in my head for next year.

Sorry you lost chicks. These are the first chickens I've ever "raised". I got them at two days old. It was late June. With the July heat wave, I quit using any heat on them. They were in the coop, 26 of them. I would usually go and "huddle" them up at night. Well, I forgot one night, a storm came, cooled things down. The next morning, two of them had died. I still don't know whether it was from them getting too cold that night, or what. I don't think so, but I still don't know.

 

[Bulldogma]

Took me a few hours, but I edited and organized the entire first 31 days of the Gnarly Bunch.

Check it out here!

Over the next few days... weeks... ahem... possibly months... I'll be adding other pearls of Bee wisdom, so be sure to check back regularly!