Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[kristip]

Jim I wold love one of those smooshy faces...but the two dogs we already have are enough of a handful currently. they were barking in the backyard but coons dint seem to care... (maybe they knew it is not a killer corgi and shitzu poo)

 

[jvls1942]

Jim I wold love one of those smooshy faces...but the two dogs we already have are enough of a handful currently. they were barking in the backyard but coons dint seem to care... (maybe they knew it is not a killer corgi and shitzu poo)

you could always grind up the two dogs you have and feed them to a good LGD.. all problems solved..

 

[Firstchic]

Now would be a good time to set up your brooder,, as if chicks were coming tomorrow..
put a thrmometer under the heat source right on the floor..leave it there. check it in a few hours.
If you are in the 90*F range, good.. make sure your brooder is large enough so that there is a cooler spot the chicks can move to if it gets too warm,, somewhere in between the hot spot and cold spot is a spot that is just right..

If you have trouble getting the temp to rise, a cover over the brooder will hold the heat down,,
then you can regulate the heat by uncovering or covering the box as much as needed ..

Does it matter what kind of light bulb I use? And what do little chicks eat? Can I put electrolytes in their water?

 

[EggheadWI]

To everyone in this forum: I have been following this thread for a couple of months now and I'm a bit disappointed. Obviously most of you have been very practical in your breed selections, you work hard, you celebrate with friends and family. Where is the chicken enabling? The guilty confessions of dysfunctional behavior? Surely there are some here who want to confess to buying some silly kind of bird. Moreover, don't you want to list each frivolous breed (along with age, sex, number available, and price)? Anybody? Just let it all out, you'll feel better. And don't forget to mention your location or distance to major city.

@bigzio This was just supposed to be a humorous way of asking people to offer eggs and birds.

 

[cuties]

@bigzio This was just supposed to be a humorous way of asking people to offer eggs and birds.

Hi Egghead!
we have Olive Eggers and French Black Copper Marans chicks they will hatch on the 14th. We are near Brandon. They are straight run (unsexed ) and $10 each.
Feel. Free to pm if interested

 

[jvls1942]

hi and good afternoon,

I am just getting friendly with a Spotted Cow.. I think I earned it..

I installed the inner tube into the tire on the lawn mower,, 3 times !! If there is a way to cram a 15 minute job into 3 hours, I will find it..

first time I put it together, added air and the air leaked out almost as fast as I pumped it in,
took it apart.. called Annie and had her bring a tube repair kit home with her to patch the hole I poked into the tube with the screw driver..

patch on, put it together for the second time.. this time the air came out a little slower..
tear it all apart and find TWO holes about 2 inches apart.. two patches later I am putting it back together for the 3rd time,, only this time I found a very large screw driver.. took it to the grinder and rounded the end to resemble a tire tool.. no sharp edges..

No leaks this time.. I mowed the whole lawn.. last chance before the rain comes for the next few days..

beans and corn are up.. now that the mower is all fixed, maybe I can put more time in the garden. the potatoes need hilling..and it won't be long before I will have to run the tiller through the corn.. have to run the small tiller between the tomatoes and then mulch the heII out of them.

the cornish X are a month old.. there were none out of the fence today.. even the smaller ones do not fit through the cyclone fence any more..

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

 

[Celtic Chick]

Firstchic, you should do a lot of research prior to getting chicks to have the most successful & enjoyable experience. And Jim is correct that you need to get your brooder set up ASAP to make sure there are no issues prior to getting the chicks. Offsetting your heat lamp to one side of the brooder is very important so the chicks will have a smaller warmer side and a larger cooler side so they can get away from the heat if they wish. The latter is the side I put the food & water on. I like to have 1/3 of the brooder warmer & 2/3 of it cooler. You don't want to cook your chicks.

When using a heat lamp, make sure it is hanging extremely securely from whatever you hang it from. I have heard too many cases of the lamp falling into the brooder & potentially causing a fire. Maybe use wire to tie the base to whatever it is clamped to, and make sure the cord doesn't touch any part of the lamp either. Having a cage on the front of the heat lamp to keep the bulb from falling out is a good idea too.

Remember that the chicks will peep loudly in distress if they are uncomfortable in any way. Put an accurate thermometer on the floor in the brooder under the heat lamp so you know what the temp is in the hottest area. You will want it to be around 95*.

I like to use pine shavings in my brooder. The first few days, I keep the shavings covered with paper towels so they don't try to eat it. Do not use paper.

Your local feed mill or F&F/TSC will carry chick feed. I have found that a lot of the feeds aren't ground as small as it should be for the newly hatched chicks so I use a coffee grinder to grind it further for the first week or two. It helps cut down on the amount of feed the chicks waste because they dig all the food out of the feeder looking for small enough pieces that they can eat. The first link is a very small bag (5lbs) of feed, but it has the smallest size crumble I have found if you don't want to grind it yourself (Manna Pro). Also, some brands of feed have you start with a starter feed, then switch to a grower/finisher (Du-Mor), while others do not (Purina) just so you are aware. Chicks should be fed chick feed until they lay their first egg, then they can be switched to a layer feed. Adult layer feed will damage the kidneys of younger chickens. I personally do not care for Purina chicken feeds but I do use their medicated start & grow chick feed. It can be fed from hatch to laying age so I buy a 50lb bag & it is the perfect amount to get me through the 18-20 weeks.

Chick feed:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/manna-proreg;-medicated-chick-starter-5-lb
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/pur-start-n-grow-25lb
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/dumorreg;-chick-starter-grower-20%-10-lb

Vitamins/electrolytes:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/sav-a-chicktrade;-electrolyte-and-vitamin-supplement

Brooder lamp:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/producers-pridereg;-brooder-lamp-with-6-ft-cord

Heat bulb:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/sto...scent-r40-red-heat-lamp-reflector?cm_vc=IOPDP
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Satco-Sat...ium-Base-Incand.-Infrared-light-bulb/38273635

I have a thermometer like this one that I took the metal hanger mount off of & lay on the floor in the brooder:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Accurite-5.25-Thermometer/16888911

Here are some links to help get you started:

http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyard-chickens/chicken-care/chapter-4-caring-for-baby-chicks.aspx
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/get-started-with-chickens.aspx
http://www.motherearthnews.com/home...c-guide-to-raising-chickens-zmaz08djzgoe.aspx
http://www.welphatchery.com/poultry_care

This is a short version of the basics from one of the hatchery web sites.

CARE AND BROODING OF BABY CHICKS


Start with:
Clean quarters. The environment should be draft and rodent free.

"This is extremely important!!!"
Chicks should be started at:
95 degrees for the first 10 days
decrease the temperature 5 degrees each week thereafter.
The ideal temperature for:
6 week old chicks is 70 degrees.
The most commonly used brooder is the 250 watt (red heat bulb) brooder lamp.
When decreasing the temperature consider the behavior of your chicks at all times.You will be able to tell on sight if the chicks are warm enough.
If chicks are cold they will pile up.
The chicks will be moving around, eating and drinking if they are comfortable.
Provide 2 to 4 inches of suitable litter: pine shavings, straw and other types of litter may be used. Litter must always be kept dry. Avoid slick surfaces such as newspaper, which can cause serious leg problems.
Chicks must have fresh feed and clean water at all times. Feed a good quality medicated starter feed for the first 6 to 8 weeks then change to a chick grower feed. It is a good idea to scatter fine grit on top of the feed for the first 2 to 3 days. This will assure a better start for the chicks digestive system. We recommend two 1 gallon water fountains and two 24 inch feeders for each 100 chicks. Use larger feeders and fountains as chicks get older.

 

[Celtic Chick]

It 11:40 and I just went out and checked on the little ones. Not a peep when I got out there, but the flashlight woke them up and now they are all out and eating and drinking! I put an instant read thermometer under the heating pad. It is sitting right about 100 degrees, but that is about 1 1/2" above them. The little guys were nice and warm to the touch when they came out from under the cave. They peep when they are cold, right? Because they seem perfectly happy in their cave. Hopefully, they are not too hot either. But they do not seem to be panting or over stressed at all.

Excellent job chickie momma!

I of course have met him when he has served us, but, we have never had a conversation. As long as we are chatting here, I have another chicken problem. One of my black hens came to me with all her hinny feathers out, I did not worry too much about that as she came from a big flock (apx 70) and figured she just got them plucked out by other chicks. Today I noticed that she has lost more feathers going around upon the side of the butt. I did notice that she was picking at that area. Does she have something going on or what?

She might be molting (happens every year) or she might have "bugs". Give her a good inspection under the wings, back of neck & around vent for mites, lice, etc. If you find some, give her a dusting of 5% Sevin. You could also sprinkle some of that in her dust bath along with some sand, wood ash and/or diatomacious earth.

Must be predator season...somehow a coon or few got in our coop and took 2 of our teenager pullets. Sure there is a cobbled together coop of little roosters ten feet away ( They got one of those last week) .. but to break into the big coop and take 2 babies drives me nuts. These were my sweet little olive eggers. We are not actually sure how they got in... best bet that we can find this morning is they popped the plastic roofing material off the wood beams of the roof to go in the top side. Morgan is pretty devastated this morning. need to borrow back the trap we loaned out and find another. there were at least 2 coons there last night. what is best thing to bait the trap with?

So sorry!

I had 2 coons break into my tractor & attacked one of my roos. As for baiting, how about chicken?

Sorry. What don't coons eat? Maybe try some dry dog food?

 

[jvls1942]

Quote: you can use any kind of light bulb.. 60Watt is usually enough for a small batch of chicks.

I am not a fan of heat bulbs.. they are expensive, and they burn out too soon in my opinion.

You are much farther ahead to buy a small heater with a fan and a thermostat for about $18.oo. about the cost of 3 heat bulbs.. but they last for a long time.. and they won't explode and burn your house down..

get yourself some starter crumbles for the baby chicks.. you can get it medicated or non-medicated. I am not so organically inclined, so I get the medicated ..

I do not do any electrolytes .. they just get fresh clean water every day..

and brace yourself, baby chicks die.. don't make yourself go crazy trying to figure out why. some just die ..

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

 

[jvls1942]

Wow! Talk about a Frenchie post!

Sorry!

Quote:
yean, but will they eat leftovers ?

I heard the coons like marshmallows..
I use peanut butter on mouse traps.. they have to really work to get it all licked off the trigger and that extra push is all it takes to snap them,,
maybe a little peanut butter in the box trap on the peddle will help lure them in from the yummy smell..