Chickens, and things related

[firefighter9208]

I haven't checked here in months, but glad I did! It's nice to see a whole new generation of chicken folks.

A little update on what I'm up to. Still got four girls and a rooster in the tractor I built last spring. The tractor is holding up well.

I got the rooster several months ago with the intention of letting the girls hatch out some chicks. So this spring I stopped pulling eggs for a few weeks. We had a real suspicion that we weren't getting anywhere...the hens weren't sitting at all, and we wondered if the roo was even fertilizing. So yesterday we pulled all the eggs out and started cracking them. Not a single one showed any signs that a chick was growing.

So do the hens sometimes not know how to sit on eggs? Do roos sometimes not know how to fertilize? Whatever the case, I think we're done for awhile. Having the rooster around has been a hassle and not worth the benifits in my opinion. He's protective enough that I can't let the dogs out when the chickens are out and I've got to manage things more closely. I'm tired of it and will probably put him in the paper to see if I get a few bucks for him.

Anyway, glad to hear everyone enjoying there chickens!

Tony,

I think the problem with your hens "sitting" is that you usually have to wait for them to go "broody" and then they will either lay a clutch of eggs or you can place fertile eggs under them.

If you have more than one hen laying I recommend you mark her eggs with a sharpie so you know which are hers, since they usually all like to try and lay in the same nest box. It's even a good idea to remove the broody hen to an area by herself so she won't be harrassed.

 

[PineRidge]

Chris thanks for the quick reply. Well that saves me one worry as I really didn't want to add heat to the coop.

I had heard about the light stimulation thing. How does a CFL work for you in the cold? Most fluorescents that I have used weren't wort beans in the cold.

I'm assuming the heated waterer just keeps the water above freezing so it must be on some type of internal thermostat, is that correct?

 

[firefighter9208]

Mike,

The CFL works out fine here (Alabama). I have the ones that I bought at SAM's club. After they warm up they are as bright as a regular bulb and only use a fraction of the electricity. If you look on the package the bulb comes in there is a temperature range that they work within. It never gets colder than the minimum temp. here. It might in Ohio though.

The heated waterer comes on and off as needed. The good thing is it's only 125 watts so it doesn't use that much electricity.

 

[Ford850]

Mike,
Firefighter has some good suggestions. I use CFLs in my unheated pole barn. They take a little longer to warm up in the cold, but they worked fine down to 10 below zero. I also suggest a heated waterer. Growing up with chickens and having to bust ice daily was no treat, and the chickens stop laying without a constant supply of water. I plan to use both in my new coop.

 

[Tororider]

PineRidge,
I used a cfl up here in MI with no problems. I also have a heated waterer as after a couple weeks of busting ice got old in a hurry. I didn't add extra heat, but I have a smaller coop and I have it mostly insulated. To be safe, I would make sure that you won't have any drafts. If you have enough chickens in the right sized area you shouldn't need extra heat. You may have to watch their combs depending on how cold it gets, otherwise it will get frostbitten. I think they suggest putting vasoline on it to prevent frostbite, but if they have a sufficiently draft-less cozy coop they should be ok. I took some thick lining paper, cut it into strips, and hung it over the chicken door to keep drafts out. I did several layers of that to be sure that the cold air wasn't just flowing in. After a couple days the chickens didn't even act like it was there, the first couple days were pretty funny watching them decide to go through the door and then trying to get through as fast as they could because they didn't know what to think of the draft guard.

 

[PineRidge]

Thanks guys for all the info and suggestions, I really appreciate it. I'm sure I'll be asking lots more questions as we get nearer to finishing the coop.

 

[PineRidge]

Got all the truss finished up today, they all look good, and the air nailer really saved me a bunch of time.

I'm a big fan of CraigsList, especially the free section.
Someones always giving something away that they just want to "go away quick". I found a guy that was doing some major remodeling that gave me a set of steel insulated French doors complete with mullions between the glass panels.

I took the worst door, which was badly bent, apart for the glass (going to make a window for the coop out of it). The other door needs a frame so I got busy today and cut a set of hinges into a 2 X 4 that will later be cut down to size.

My wife laughs at me when I cart this stuff home (the pole barn is filling up with it) but when she sees me put it to good use she hums another tune.

 

[TBDonnelly]

I don't know how much heat a bird requires in the wintertime.

(Pause for a momemt of humor........)

325 degrees for 90 minutes. About the same in the summer.....

Nice work on the trusses!

(Back to the regular scheduled programming)

Don

 

[PineRidge]

(Pause for a momemt of humor........)

325 degrees for 90 minutes. About the same in the summer.....

Nice work on the trusses!

(Back to the regular scheduled programming)

Don

Don I like mine barbecued

Thanks for the compliment

 

[nmu98]

Got all the truss finished up today, they all look good, and the air nailer really saved me a bunch of time.

I'm a big fan of CraigsList, especially the free section.
Someones always giving something away that they just want to "go away quick". I found a guy that was doing some major remodeling that gave me a set of steel insulated French doors complete with mullions between the glass panels.

I took the worst door, which was badly bent, apart for the glass (going to make a window for the coop out of it). The other door needs a frame so I got busy today and cut a set of hinges into a 2 X 4 that will later be cut down to size.

My wife laughs at me when I cart this stuff home (the pole barn is filling up with it) but when she sees me put it to good use she hums another tune.

Looks great! I too watch the free stuff on craigslist. But I do not have that much luck.....