Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[hallerlake]

PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!! We finally got someone to talk to us. I won't go into the details but needless to say, today we got an email, with conditions, that we can have chickens as pets in the Yelm city limits. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

You'll be wanting some chicks!

 

[MidsummerNight]

Our first egg from the Hens we just got!!! ....I dropped it....while trying to take a picture of it.

Oh snap! Lol

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Long, long, long day, and it's not nearly over. Got the chicks into the second configuration, which isn't going to last long: ten Hamburgs in a 18X24 box is a tight fit even at three days old.

We have actually managed to get our son's 27th birthday present ready to get to Ellensburg before his birthday, even though the only gift sack I could find that was big enough and wasn't pink was a little boy's race car pattern, oh, well.

I need to go pick up eggs and make sure everyone has food and water- I'll have to deal with the terrible nest position in the Wyandotte run for another day, because I really need not to get soaked to the skin leaning over trying to build something- too likely to make a stupid mistake and create a raccoon entrance, or something.

And to think I was terribly worried about the dusty cow paths two weeks ago.

 

[BGMatt]

Another picture, and a small question:



I assume that if the chicks are running around the box, eating and drinking and occassionally wandering over to be closer to the IR lamp and nodding off for a nap, that's a sign they're at the right temperature?

Yup! Sounds like happy healthy chicks.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Yup! Sounds like happy healthy chicks.

Good, because the information on this site says 95F for the first week, and the air temp in the room is just under 90F but they've got the IR lamp to bask under like the slightly more advanced lizards they are

 

[BGMatt]

Good, because the information on this site says 95F for the first week, and the air temp in the room is just under 90F but they've got the IR lamp to bask under like the slightly more advanced lizards they are

There's a lot of misinformation out there. The bird's behavior is the best indicator. I have always used 75W bulbs in brooder (still the reflector usually or a very low socket) rather than heat lamps. My latest batch is trying out the Ecoglow from Brinsea as it is getting hard to find incandescent bulbs with the tree huggers wanting us all to switch to LED and fluorescent (which i love and use in house for savings, but no heat), it doesn't get hot (warm to the touch) and haven't taken a temp under it but they are thriving. It will pay for itself shortly from energy savings I'm sure too. I like that it lets you control the photoperiod for the chicks too. I have found the chicks grow better if they aren't exposed to light 24/7 asap in the past (One reason I suspect winter hatched chicks never grew as large as spring and summer hatches, so these newer type brooders will be good for that too. What shocked me was, that since it's directed heat, how much time OUTSIDE of it's influence the babies have been spending. I mean yes they are in house which is around 65* F but they will stay out from under the heat running and scratching for an hour or so then tuck themselves under heat source for a bit, it's really pretty amazing. Definitely reenforces that behavior of the birds is the best way to go...if you think about it, when a hen hatches chicks they don't spend ALL DAY snuggled up in the heat under her either,and many many old timers will tell you chicks raised by a broody are the healthiest.

Anyway, I've babbled enough on that but it's fascinating to me. I think the closer we can emulate the natural ways the better (it's the idea behind "dry" incubating too)

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Quote:
I go off behavior too. I usually have my chicks weaned off heat by 4 weeks unless outside, then only 75W bulb on at night. Not much different than a broody momma.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Good, because the information on this site says 95F for the first week, and the air temp in the room is just under 90F but they've got the IR lamp to bask under like the slightly more advanced lizards they are

There's a lot of misinformation out there.  The bird's behavior is the best indicator.  I have always used 75W bulbs in brooder (still the reflector usually or a very low socket) rather than heat lamps.  My latest batch is trying out the Ecoglow from Brinsea as it is getting hard to find incandescent bulbs with the tree huggers wanting us all to switch to LED and fluorescent (which i love and use in house for savings, but no heat), it doesn't get hot (warm to the touch) and haven't taken a temp under it but they are thriving.  It will pay for itself shortly from energy savings I'm sure too.  I like that it lets you control the photoperiod for the chicks too.  I have found the chicks grow better if they aren't exposed to light 24/7 asap in the past (One reason I suspect winter hatched chicks never grew as large as spring and summer hatches, so these newer type brooders will be good for that too.  What shocked me was, that since it's directed heat, how much time OUTSIDE of it's influence the babies have been spending.  I mean yes they are in house which is around 65* F but they will stay out from under the heat running and scratching for an hour or so then tuck themselves under heat source for a bit, it's really pretty amazing.  Definitely reenforces that behavior of the birds is the best way to go...if you think about it, when a hen hatches chicks they don't spend ALL DAY snuggled up in the heat under her either,and many many old timers will tell you chicks raised by a broody are the healthiest.  

Anyway, I've babbled enough on that but it's fascinating to me.  I think the closer we can emulate the natural ways the better (it's the idea behind "dry" incubating too)

Thing is, I had the first set of chicks in a seven gallon fish tank with a 60 watt bulb and they were doing fine but they were also going 24 hrs a day which means, more than anything, that they were making a mess for that long- there's a science fiction story around somewhere about a planet where nobody sleeps, and how low the birth rate is because nobody can handle toddlers who never sleep, and that's sort of what I was feeling like. I got a 150 watt IR (low visible light) bulb in the Herps section at Petsmart and looked longingly at the aquatic turtle set-ups, which look better for chickens than the lizard ones because they're water-proof. Not cheap, but less than the Ecoglo. The first bunch of chicks I incubated had a Reptile Rock and a flat-panel under desk heater, and grew out fine, but I didn't know what to worry about then.

Looking back on the photos I took of the broody-raised Hamburg chicks from this time last year, I'm astonished at how very little time they stayed under the hen after they were a couple of days old- and far from being at 80F at four weeks, they were on a 2X2 perch next to their mother by that time, with overnight lows around 60F, in a double plastic over wire run.

I'd be running a Brinsea Octogon like Sadie Sue's and an Ecoglo except for the whole "they're not free" part- I feel like it would work better for me to have more, smaller incubator batches right now. I'm itching to hatch the green eggs from the Ameraucana rooster/Ameraucana Australorp hen before I stick the other two hens -silver EEs- in with them, so I can pay my cousin back for swiping his hen, but I HATE the idea of running the Little Giant again because of the heat and humidity problems. I've got moments when I think I should just keep all the bantam pullets and go for natural small-batch hatching, but that's possibly just the "nonsleeping toddlers" effect talking.

 

[BGMatt]

I somehow misread the IR part and assumed just normal heat bulb. But yeah it wasn't a commercial for the ecoglow, just using it as an example of lower heat and doing great. Used regular light bulbs for 15+ years just fine (haven't had any chicks for the last five or so) and used bulbs the first batch of chicks this year, just started turning them off as soon as I could for daytime. Main reason I used the 75 and 60 watt bulbs was cost. Those heat lamps are a lot to run. Even running 75 watt bulbs at the cost of power and replacements I will save enough to pay for one of the ecoglows, maybe a second over the course of 6 weeks or so.

I agree with their incubators being costly though. Can buy a sportsman 1502 for the cost of the octagons, less if you get one used. They're just as good for small batches as big batches. . If you don't want to use styrofoam again and are anywhere close to me I'd be happy to hatch eggs for you if the need ever arises, I keep my incubators working almost year round. That doesn't help with the brooder issue though!

 

[Stumpfarmer]

I wouldn't be running either the lamp or the heater during the day if the weather was the way it was last week- the hall bathroom has a bubble skylight and gets up to 20+ degrees over outside temps in sunny weather (April-early September, anyway, it faces NE). My ideal brooder would be passive solar with solar electric back-up, and someday I will have it, I hope.

I'm mostly concerned about the possibility of my cats getting nutso and taking a styrofoam incubator apart, although the fact I loathe touching the stuff comes into it, too.