Plastic Tote Brooder

on the way home

Well I finally found me some buff orpington chicks. I couldn't believe it. I walked into my feed store and I saw a light on back where the chick pens are and a few people standing back there. I didn't hear them chirping but I asked if they had chicks and they said yes. "What kind?" I asked. "Banty's and buff orpington..." "that's what I want." I cut her off before she could finish. I finally got around to asking the price which surprisingly turned out to be cheaper than the hatcheries online and the other feed stores that had chicks. Good thing none of them had buffs or I would have wasted money I could have saved buying at my local feed store.  I just hope one of these babies turns out to be a rooster.  They are straight run, so who knows.  I may have all pullets or I may have all roosters.  I just hope I have at least one rooster, but it would be nice to have a couple of them be pullets.  We'll find out in about ten weeks.  Also, I would like you to notice the holes I drilled into the sides of my brooder.  This is new.  Last year I cut a big square hole out of the top of the lid and put a metal grate over it.  I didn't really like that too much, so I changed it up this year, partly because I have a big puppy, that still has some learning to do and I don't want her thinking the little babies are snacks for her.  I had an extra lid laying around for the tub, from an old one that I had before.  I didn't want there to be any holes in the lid in case of rain blowing in on the porch and things of that nature.  My first plastic brooder like this was clear and I had a hawk fly down and land on it trying to get to them.  Luckily it didn't succeed but I changed to the blue brooder the next year.  What I did was drill three rows of holes on each side of the plastic tub, then I cut out a hole for my heat lamp on one side.  I had it a little too high and the lamp touched the lid.  So I put the cord through the hole and used my lamp clamp by sticking the clamp end on the outside and the smaller end that holds the lamp, I put through the hole.  Then I had to attach the clamp to something to hold it in place.  It worked perfectly and better than my original idea.  I lined the bottom with news paper but am planning on getting some shavings for it this weekend or next week.  I didn't want to use my big waterer and I gave my small waterer's away, last year.  What I really want to do though is fix up a waterer and feeder that isn't sitting on the floor of the tub.  I am thinking about a rabbit feeder and maybe even a rabbit waterer.  One of the things I hate more than anything with raising chick's is how nasty their water and feed bowls get.  If I could get them up off the floor so they can't jump on them and poop on them, then I am on top of things.  I do have some rabbit feeders but they all have the wire mesh in the bottom and the chick starter falls right through.  I'll have to get a new one without the mesh.  As for the waterer, I have an extra rabbit waterer but I'm not sure if they can drink out of it.  I'll have to research this a little, maybe even experiment with it to see.  

Raising Baby Chicks

One of my hobby's as of late is raising chickens, particularly orpingtons.  I love these chickens.  By far they have been the sweetest, kindest chickens, I've ever owned, so you can see why I was so very excited when I finally found myself a buff orpington rooster to go with my buff orpington hens.  To my dismay though he didn't make it.  He broke his neck, I think or something got to him.  I have had the hardest time finding a buff rooster and blue orpington hens.  I have a blue rooster, you see and two buff hens.  So, I decided last season to take all the eggs from my buff hens and hatch them.  Up until that point, I'd failed every single time.  This time, I hatched fifteen of them.  I was so excited.  It was much like being an expectant mom, only without the uncomfortable feeling of having another little human inside you.  Okay so it really doesn't compare to having your own children, but its still very nerve racking and yet exciting at the same time.  I must have checked the thermometer a thousand times.  I was constantly making sure there was enough water in the incubator.  I even used two different incubators this time, one with an egg turner so I didn't forget to turn the eggs and one for the the final three days when they would be hatching.  Thankfully I managed to get five blue/buff pullets out of the batch.  The rest were either roosters or black.  Blues throw blacks sometimes, but I didn't want blacks I wanted blues, so I gave the black pullets to my mother and turned the roosters loose in the yard.  They're going to be butchered one of these days for the freezer but as of now they have not been because I just haven't wanted to do it.  I may do so this week since my daughters out for spring break.  She will be around to help me with her brother.  Anyway, I raised up the blue buff pullets and put them back in with their father.  Yes I know this is technically imbreeding but these are chickens and people do it all the time with all kinds of animals.  It's called linebreeding.  I hope the next batch will not have the buff color at all.  I built another pen for my two buffs and my mother, God Bless her she found me that Buff rooster.  I was planning on hatching out pure buff orpingtons this year, keep a few pullets and sell the rest, but as nature would have it, that's not going to happen as Mr. Buffy as my daughter called him, has gone to chicken heaven.  I've considered putting one of my blue/buff roosters in with my hens but I really wanted a buff rooster.  I really wanted to be able to sell some little buff chicks as they are really sought after around here.  I could say I have the worst luck as a few years ago my male goat broke my female goats neck when he got too rough.  My plan for her didn't go like I wanted either.  For some reason, I can't seem to keep anything alive.  I even lost one of my blue pullets after she got stuck in the fence during a down pour.  Oh, if only my hens would lay a few eggs in the next week, I could get them in the incubator and hatch them, before they are no longer fertile.  Hens can lay fertile eggs up to two weeks after being exposed to a rooster.  Just as my luck would have it though, they have decided to go on strike.  My blue pullets are not yet laying though I'm sure they will be soon, as their cones are getting red and the days are getting longer.  I've had chickens for a long time and I have learned many lessons over the years.  One you have to fence them in all around to keep predators out.  Two it's a good idea to have a guardian dog such as a heeler or a shepherd of some kind.  You do have to train them not to kill the chickens though, but once they learn that, their territorial instincts kick in and they run everything off that even comes near those birds.  Three, they die, just out of the blue they die.  Four they are stupid!  Yes that's right chickens are probably the stupidest animal I've ever owned but they are so worth it to me.  I love raising them.  I love watching them.  I don't even mind it when they peck me and they do, often.  Five, they will eat anything and crap on everything.  It's best to keep them off your porch.  When I raise mine, I like them close but not inside the house.  I keep a rubber tub on the porch to put them in with a metal grate on top and a heat lamp to keep them warm.  This has worked out better for me than anything else I have tried.  You have to make sure they have some kind of traction for their feet too, so I put those drawer mats that are textured in the bottom of mine and you should put shavings in it to soak up the manure and the urine.  If they don't have something for traction, they can get splayed legs.  One way to correct this is to take a rubber band, tie a knot in the middle of it then stick their legs through the loops on each end.  After about a day in this contraption, their legs should go back to normal.  I keep them in this rubber bin until they are six weeks old, then they go outside into another pen.  After this age, you no longer need a light to keep them warm although it can't hurt if the nights are too cold. You can usually tell what gender they are by the time they hit 11 weeks.  You look at their cones.  Roosters have larger cones that get red at about this time where as a pullets will not turn red until she's ready to lay.  You look at their tail feathers.  One gender has rounder feathers but at the moment I can't remember which.  You also want to look at the feathers on the back of their necks.  Roosters or cockerels, will have longer feathers that appear somewhat pointy.  Pullets do not have this.  In the picture of them at 11 weeks old, the one in the front is a cockerel.  Notice the larger cone that's already turning red and notice the weird tail feathers.  It takes some practice but eventually you will figure it out.  Sometimes I want to see a pullet but I know deep down it's a cockerel.  I just have to remind myself to look at these traits and when in doubt google it.  The Backyard Chickens forum has pretty much every answer to every question you have about chickens.

hatching out

Two or Three days old

Mr. Blue and my two buff hens

11 weeks old

RIP Mr. Buffy