Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Terri O]

Good morning! Jim...that will not scare Lori in the least! She LIKES my place, calls it "heaven" or something like that! Well, I do think it is heaven...I just wish I had more time to spend here and more $$$ to spend on it!!! THat is always the problem...no time and no funds! Oh well.....it is what it is!
The buckeyes seem better today...maybe just getting used to the cold. (ha, it's not even cold in there yet!) Once I build the bigger inside place for the Blues I may put the Bucks in there too...then they will at least be able to go outside. Maybe they will be happier then?
THis morning I went to go and get some corn from my neighbor and I helped him move some steers around. Then went to town and got feed (again) and then traded the truck back for my car where DD25 works. I put the E-brake on on the truck and it STUCK ON! She drove it backwards and I think it popped off...great, another thing for DH to complain about! So I got home to feed and YES, the hose is frozen! The last 100' are OK but the first 100 is frozen. I am hoping htat it thaws today in the sun then I will water when I get home from work and start pulling it down into the pit every day. If the ground is frozen that isnt too bad to do but it it is muddy--forget it! After it snows it is the easiest of all! I have tried draining it but it is just too long and if there is even a tablespoon of water in it it plugs it up when it is really cold. The big PVC is an idea Jim...I guess if it did freeze it would only be along the bottom. So how did you make the connection on the ends? Reducers? Might be worth it...if only my frost-free still worked in the dooryard! DOnt want to dig that hole again and repair the bottom...DH didnt listen to me to put the pipe in a 4" pvc "just in case" it leaked..."It wont leak!!!" Yeah....thinking about flexible black plastic hose....hmmmm.

Ken the chicks are adorable! Looks like you had spaghetti for dinner (or breakfast?)

I love it!
Cind it was the buckeyes that were worrying me...no need to comment on EVERYTHING! Thanks though!
I wanted to make another statement here to have another line the same length at the two above---darn! *ha--there!*

OK I better go to work! Listening to a good CD story in the car...they just fell into a hole while skiing! Have a fantastic day everyone! Terri O

(PS) David--I dont heat any of my coops. THe body heat of the birds keeps the big one just above zero on the coldest days. The other coops are much colder. I put my waterers on cookie tin heaters to keep them thawed--works great!

 

[jvls1942]

hi all, am going to town in a minute.. always check in first so I don't have a ton of reading to do when I get back home..

the seb goose has been building her nest for about 2 hours under the turkey pen/bale shelter.. I should take pictures so that you know what I am talking about.. that shelter gets really used on these cold days when the sun shines..
In fact, early this morning before the sun came up, one of the peacocks was sleeping under there..

TerriO, I didn't hook the pvc to anything.. It was open on both ends,, .. when I needed to water, I just stuck the four foot hose into the end and turned the water on.. when the tub got full. I turned off the water and removed the 4 ft hose from the pvc and let it drain.. I wish watering the chickens was that easy..
It doesn't take much pitch to make it drain.. but he more pitch it has the faster it will drain.. you can catch the water in buckets and distribute if from there.. in the summer, you can get water to the garden with the same tubing..

I tried black plastic tubing.. it sags like garden hose does.. if you mounted it to strips of wood to keep it straight, it would work, I guess..

I think a ceramic heater is more efficient and less costly to run than a heat bulb.. it has it's own thermostat and runs only when needed.. I don't think mine has run yet.. the birds' body heat is still doing the job..

Dave, you can also get a thermo block from Menard's for less than $10.oo.. plug your heater or heat lamp into that and it will go on at 35F and turn off at 45F..

to answer your question: I am feeding only ground oats and corn from the feed mill at Marathon.. 50/50 % I might change that to 75% corn and 25% oats.. so far egg production is holding steady.. I just switched from crumbles a couple of weeks ago .. I figured corn would give them better fat accumulation and keep them warmer during the winter.. The were not all that excited to eat it at first, but now they dive right in.. It is noticably cheaper $$$ than crumbles.. when I am feeding just over 100 birds it is worth it..

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

 

[Celtic Chick]

Quote:
Honestly? Even if you used a thermo cube with the heat light? What is the wattage on that heater you got, Jim?
You gave me quite the chuckle when you told Lori about what she will wind up with after moving "out".
So true!

Cute peeps, Ken!

And welcome back, Dave!

 

[jvls1942]

I am back from Menards. with coffee, root beer and another heater..

CC. maybe it is not more economical to run a ceramic heater vs a heat light.. but in the overall scheme of things, I think you sould come out better with the ceramic heater.. How long does a heat light last? how many of them will you have to replace,, say in the next 4 years ? the ceramic heater does not waste any energy producing light.. it is 1000/1500 Watts.. however , it will spend less time getting the temp up than a light will.. I never lost any chicks to a ceramic heater burning out.. I lost LOTS of chicks because of lights failing..

how many fires has heat lights caused ?

I am not trying to convince anybody to use either heat source.. these are just my opinions why I prefer one over the other..

remember , you asked..

the seb goose has a really nice nest made out there.. but she didnt lay an egg.. I did find one chicken egg in it, though..

I still wonder where the other seb goose is laying her eggs. IF she is laying...

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

correction............the seb goose did lay an egg.. I did not know that Annie collected it before I got home..

I will be firing up an incubator on Saturday.. by then I hope to have 3 eggs to put in.. maybe 4 ???? come on goose !!!! (geese)

Dave, I built a shelf for mine.. I made a slanted roof over it so the chickens won't roost above it.. I made it so that the heater cannot tip in any direction and fall over, or out..

 

[otonoh]

I agree jim. My light is a temporary thing. I have to build a shelf for mine and then i will install my heater

 

[Linn Bee]

This morning was our coldest yet. Started at 18 degrees (F) and never got above 30. No ice at all in the coop. Still, we've got a lot of cold yet to come. It was actually rather warm in the coop. DH decided we'd move in there if the power goes off this winter. Gonna be cramped quarters though.

I've read about cookie tin heaters. My fear is fire with all those pine chips around. The day I got electricity run, I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about how I didn't strap the light wires. Went out and stuck a few up just to be safe.

What do all of you use for waterers? I have a very old metal and a new plastic waterer. Both are heavy for an old lady to tote back and forth from the house. I'm wondering if the plastic one will work with a heater?

Wausau -- I have a cousin living (or lived) in rural Wausau. Can't remember her last married name, but she is Sally and her hubby was Jim.

Love, Linn B (aka Smart Red) Gardening zone 5a - 4b in south-est, central-est Wisconsin

 

[jvls1942]

one more post and then I am going up for supper..

Linn, try to figure out how much water your chickens drink, and then don't fill the waterers completely full..

I know a couple of "sally's" one's DH is Richard, I don't know what the other one's last name or DH's name.. she was old 30 years ago. prolly 100 years old by now..

find out the last name of your cousin, I prolly know the family..

ETA: I edited my last post..


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

 

[KNAndrs]

Spent the morning cleaning up the yard for snow, now it will be on to the house. For some reason I just accumulate "stuff". I am going to be cleaning and sorting all winter long to get rid of said stuff come spring at the church garage sale. The bikes are put away, we have snow on the ground, the toys are in the garage with the paving stones and tarps. The coolers will go on the front porch and everything tiddied up.

My timer in the coop is acting up and the light isn't coming on. It could be dust or whatever causing me problems. I will be getting a new timer and setting it for 3am...

Hope the heater work for everyone, I have put in an oil filled heater that sits like a radiator in the coop on a thermostatic wire.

OK I gotta run.

Talk to you tonight,
KEN

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

http://greenbay.craigslist.org/grd/2698192562.html

check this out, $20 each for EE's, $50 for a BC Maran, $30 for a Brama and $30 for an olive egger, all I can say you got to be kidding

 

[Celtic Chick]

I completely see your point, Jim. You have way more experience with poultry & housing, so I am sure the ceramic heater is a better method of heating that a heat lamp. The purchasing price over the lifetime of said unit is definitely cheaper with the ceramic heater, also. I was just curious as to which one would be less costly to run. I would think either one has a decent chance of causing a fire, given the right, or wrong, circumstances. Like Linn Bee, with all the wood chips around, I feel better, for my own personal setup, to have a heat lamp hanging from the ceiling in my coop. But everyone's coops are different, so there is no right or wrong answer, just each person's own personal preferences in what will work best for them. I appreciate your insights always, Jim. That is why I asked. I am always on the lookout to learn new things.

Linn Bee, I think the heat will conduct through metal waterers much better than with plastic ones.
I leave the waterers out by the coop & haul the water in milk jugs, that way I don't spill any in transit. I have a brush hanging out there so I can scrub them out before refilling them. Not much fun when it's cold out, but it beats getting wet on the way.

HTH