Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[BlackBrookPoultry]

We have these shirts at work now.

 

[chickendreams24]

CW87;

Unfortunately Cuties no longer has the BLW. She lost almost all to a predator one day.

Oh no!!! Does she know what kind of predator??? Oh I hope she gets more I was hoping to get in touch with her and get some this year. Bummer.

The blrw we got last year that brought illness to our property were second hand from her flock. If I'd have known she lost her whole flock I might have just sent a couple off to be necropsied instead of culling all seven of them. That was very hard to do. They were so beautiful.

what a shame. Her birds were absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for trying tho I really appreciate it.

Hope the predator that took them died of lead poisoning. That's such a shame.

May I just ask what breed of chicken everyone has. So new here just getting to know everyone. What they raise and where they are from.
Thanks

Would you mind repeating what you raise I'd like to hear again?

We have mixed flock that has grown hugely as we get close to completing our second full year with poultry. We have hatched and raised and even butchered our spare cockerals. If you've the stomach for it I highly recommend it. They get a much better life than commercial Cornish cross and taste much much better too.

We have English orps and are still looking for blue, black, splash, English of anyone has any? We also have American and English/Americans. Colors include black, chocolate, chocolate cuckoo, lavender, and buff.

We have a few cream legbars that we will be breeding this year we are also hoping/planning to add to them this year too.

We have a project breed we are working on. Pictured below.

SLW, silkies OEGB(I am also looking for blacks, self blues, and silver duckwings after losing one of my hens and one of my roos)

EEs, a few odds and ends also.
A Delaware, salmon favorelles, Brahmas, mixes, 4 guineas, speckled Sussex

We will also be adding heritage Buckeyes this spring which we are super excited about.

Sunny cold morning to everyone. Yep cw that sounds fair enough if it runs for another year, and like Jim said the plow is worth something, as well as scrap price of the truck if it dies on you.

Gurk, I have Buckeyes (25) and a few older hens, one black java, one blue Ameraucana, and a light brahma.

Fish Fry Friday tonight...store bought tilapia baked with Cajun fries and crab salad is the menu this time around.

  bigz

Let me know if you're still interested in adding more buckeye stock I can give you the name of the bycer we are ordering from. We may also have some extras later on idk.

How do you like your ameraucana? Does it lay a nice blue egg?

Hello from SE Wisconsin!  

Baby it's cold outside!   My first batch ever of chicks is coming next Wednesday and I'm all set for them!  I have been reading, and researching, building coop and preparing for ove a year.

The Brooder is all set up in the house for the 9 babies.  I also have ready, a large kiddie pool inside a metal pen with a mesh top on it, for when they get bigger, that will be out in the garage.  I have a EcoGlow chick heater in the smaller brooder, and have heat lamps and shields to add to that in the big brooder as needed.  My plan is to move the chicks to the larger brooder in the garage as soon as they have enough feathers, along with the heat sources as needed.  I do have heat in the garage I can run if needed also, but would rather not have to unless it drops -0. 

My questions are: 

How big should they be to move to the garage brooder? How many weeks old?  I'm thinking maybe 3 weeks?  I will be opening the overhead door in there every day, and will have the brooder as far from that as possible, with a wind blocking barrier on it.  But they will get a draft for a few minutes.

When can I start introducing them to the outdoor coop with heat in there?  I can acclimate them gradually to the coop, but how big should they be to handle the WI temps?  5 weeks maybe?

I have flexibility and space, and will not rush moving them before they are ready, so your input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Hi Fawn boy it sure is cold outside ick! Wish we had that spring like weather back. What a tease?! I'm in South Central WI in the Janesville area.

I usually play it by ear and let the ambient temps and the chicks decide when they're ready to be outside, or when you can't stand the dust anymore. Chicks in the house are very dusty. I do find that raised inside they tend to be handled more and become more tame. If the temps are still low like this though I probably wouldn't put them out even with heat until 4-6 weeks 4 being the earliest. Always hope for the best prepare for the worst. Back in December when we had all those wet days the extension cord being in water tripped the breaker and we had some just a few weeks old being brooded in a section in our coop. They were without heat all day. I thought we would have lost one for sure but thankfully they were in with some a couple weeks older including two silkies and I went out and found all the little babies tucked under the bigger chicks wings even though the older ones were a bit younger than I normally take them off they took care of the babies and they all huddled for warmth. For this reason we have learned always have learned always have a back up heat lamp bulb and a back up heat source. Thankfully our coop is well insulated. Also I want to commend you on taking your time and doing the research rather than an impulse buy.

Oh one other thing don't forget pebbles/marbles in the water trough for the first few days or they may fall in and drown. Also if they fall in the waterer(especially after being moved to the garage you will need to be sure they dry as they can become hypothermic very easily)
Make sure you double attach your heat lamps to something so they can't fall and start a fire. Even the safety ones can do this. Every year I've been reading on BYC even before I signed up someone loses a coop or garage to a fire BC of a heat lamp. We double or even triple attach ours sometimes more than that. Also be careful the heat tends to loosen the adhesive attaching the bulbs to the threads(we have had several come loose and have to be junked)
Sorry for the overload just a few things I wish people had told us.

Welcome to the cheeseheads fawn. It sounds like you are off to a good start with the preparation. Depending on the breed will determine how fast they feather out before they are moved to where they could become chilled. Once you have a few weeks invested in the program will help with your decision.....I always take the safer side of things...but that's me. Good Luck with your newbies, they are addicting and 9 is just a start for you, if you do indeed enjoy the poultry passion we all have here!

  bigz

Absolutely they are so addicting!! And then come the guineas turkeys quail and ducks lol

 

[chickendreams24]

@Jim odd that should have all been bold. Anyone else's bold not working?

 

[jvls1942]

good saturday before superbowl morning,
chkdrm24 . not a problem on the bold. it just takes me a while longer to read, is all..

IMHO.
after a few days, chicks stink in the house.
If you are going to use that plastic container in the garage,
I would set in on some boards and put a blanket over the boards.. the concrete could. suck the heat right out of the chicks.

as long as you can keep the chicks warm and dry, you can put them out anytime.

once, I raised 80 chicks in a lean-to under a brooder hood when it was -20F. I wouldn't recommend that, but I did not lose any . I don't remember the circumstances why I had that many chicks at that time of year.

We keep chicks in the house for no more than 2 or 3 days.

Most people on chzhds know that I do not like heat bulbs.
they are expensive and just don't seem to last very long.
and they are a fire hazard ..
In the long run, a small ceramic type heater that you can buy at Menards, F&F or TSC works very well and they last for years. one of them costs about what 3 heat lamps would.

If you ever get near Wausau, contact me and I will show you my set-up that has evolved over many years.

A couple of times I was to F&F to buy another round pan to make into a chicken feeder. they are sold out.
they are a rigid plastic . cost a little over $5.oo.
Once I finally get one, I will do a tutorial on how to build a feeder that really works.
I feed from 20 to 25 pounds of feed each day. If I fill the feeder and keep it filled each day, they don't over eat. and there is no rush to the feeder when I fill it because they aren't hungry .

i think this post is long enough.

.........jiminwisc.......

 

[jvls1942]

good superbowl sunday morning,

no snow to speak of here, kinda cold yet.

waiting for the coffee to brew.

got the oven fixed yesterday, I just had to repair the end of the oven element where the wire connects. at least we didn't have to buy another new element. only cost a nickle to fix it this time.

..........jiminwisc.......

 

[corewassen87]

good superbowl sunday morning,

no snow to speak of here,  kinda cold yet.

waiting for the coffee to brew.

got the oven fixed yesterday,  I just had to repair the end of the oven element where the wire connects. at least we didn't have to buy another new element.  only cost a nickle to fix it this time.

..........jiminwisc....... 

i love when I can fix instead of replace. I put a 1.75 fuse in my dryer a while back. It took a bit if trouble shooting and time but it beat spending 400+ on a new dryer. Definitely a bit chilly out yet. Boy it's sure staying lighter out later tho. Spring is definitely on it's way!

 

[bigzio]

Nice day out there today...get out and enjoy it! I'm almost out the door for some chores that I've let slide to nicer weather.
Suzie is making a big kettle of split pea and ham soup with lots of carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery ...fresh ho-made bread sticks to enjoy with the soup. I enjoy soup all winter long, even if it is nice out.

bigz

 

[jvls1942]

we had pea soup last week. the two of us can't finish off a whole kettle of it. and there is no way to make just two servings of soup. Annie froze what we couldn't eat.
then she made a kettle of chicken dumpling soup.
more frozen soup..

It would have cost us $80.oo for a repairman from Grebe's just to visit us,, then they charge by the quarter hour for labor and then parts on top of that.
and you know the repairman would have just replaced the $70.oo element instead of fixing the end of the old one.
FYI , if you ever have to replace a burner thermostat;
don't rely on just switching the wires to match the new stat.. there are numbers or letters on the wires. go by those. ie w2 wire to w2 terminal on the stat. etc.

I spread a nice thick layer of straw in the chicken coop. cleaned out all the laying nests and put fresh straw in all 10 of them. filled the feeder and both waterers .
opened up the pop door so the chickens can get some fresh air.
fed the geese and filled their water dish.
did all this without getting a bit chilled.
funny how 20+F can feel warm, eh ?.

watered all of my plants in the sun room.
no sign of any asparagus yet, but it is still early.

.......jiminwisc.........

 

[Kildare49]

Sunny day and the chickens are dusting in the ash pile & enjoying the sun & temps.

 

[jvls1942]

quite the super bowl game, eh?
I almost turned it off after the first half.
The Brady bunch could do nothing right. the only yardage they got was by Falcons' penalties.

I put the last puppy on Wausau, Green Bay and La Crosse Craigs List . $550.oo.. he is 8 weeks old on Feb 8..

.........jiminwisc.......