OHio ~ Come on Buckeyes, let me know your out there!

[South OH Chicks]

I switched from pine shavings to sand for the coop floor. I am hoping it will be easier to manage.

 

[katamsie]

Woot, woot! Wood County member here too! Where are you in Wood, if you don't mind me asking? We're a couple minutes outside of Tontogony, but have a BG address.
Hello and ! Love seeing so many Ohio members!
Hello! Don't we all keep adding to our flock. Glad you joined us on the thread!
Hello and welcome to the thread! Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to your question, but thought I'd say hi!

I live in Rudolph. My husband used to live in Tontogany

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I switched from pine shavings to sand for the coop floor. I am hoping it will be easier to manage.

I love using sand in the summer! I'm worried it gets to cold in the snow belt to use it throughout the winter. I leave what sand there is and add pine shaving. I add through the winter and try to pick what I can and turn it when it gets trampled down. Come spring I'll clean all the pine shavings out and add sand again.

I want to make a giant kitty litter scoop out of a stall rake and some welded wire. But for now I use a shovel and a hand garden trowel.

 

[mamatink7]

Hello fellow Buckeyes, I am Amy near Cincinnati, and I have had chickens for about 3.5 years, I keep adding to my flock slowly! I currently have 10 hens and 4 new babies, about 5-6 weeks old. The new babies I didn't "mean" to get, just went to visit a friend who had hatched a bunch of chicks and she gave me some babies. LOL you know how that goes. My first batches were all hatchery bought and sexed, so this is my first time with unsexed chicks. I think I should've gotten more, because I am worried that I have 3/4 roosters! This is also my first time getting chicks in the colder weather, so not exactly sure how/when to move chickens outdoors when it is so cold. I finally turned the heat lamp off the babies and they are ok in my 60 degree basement, so maybe I will wait another week or two and when we have a warmish day move them out. Or move them outside but resupply the heat lamp. Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself in this thread!

welcome and congratulations for the new surprise additions!!
You wait to officially move then out into coop when they are fully feathered-between 5 and 8 wks old depending on growth and breed. You can start taking them out for short times at 2 wks (so you should be good with this but not necessarily full time yet). Could you possibly get several more from your friend? Do you have pics to share yet?

 

[mamatink7]

I switched from pine shavings to sand for the coop floor. I am hoping it will be easier to manage.

we're still doing the split shavings/ straw. Decided against sand as when we walk into coop and have wet boots, it'LL be a disaster:/ let us know how you like it!

 

[Spartan22]

We got combo sand and pine shavings in the coop and no problem with it, we have all sand on there poop boards makes it easy to scoop up the droppings every morning. Now we have combo straw, pine shavings and sand in the run, not sure if I really like the straws since I have to pull out a few long straws out of the chickens beaks a few times when I noticed couple hens were struggling to get it off.

 

[minihorse927]

I posted on the what gender is this thread too, and got some feedback there. I think the consensus is that I have 3 cockerels :-(
At least the one white pullet is very sweet. Now I just have to decide if I want to begin keeping a rooster or two... definitely do not need three! I guess I will see how nice they are once they are full grown and then make my decision. I am tempted to keep the frizzle anyway, then I could make some pretty frizzle mix babies later on!
Thanks all for the warm welcome.

let them grow up and see how their personalities are and then make your decisions from there. Sometimes the rooster makes the hard decision for us because he is nasty tempered.

Trying to learn how to tell. Took mine to 20 weeks about to be sure. I was holding out hope for the second rooster. He didn't crow for the longest time. LOL

the main thing we watch for here is early comb development and personality. By 12 weeks they should be developing saddle & Hackle feathers if they are a rooster then the comb should be much larger than any pullets. I'm going to help out anytime now I can if you guys ever have questions on pullet versus rooster

 

[minihorse927]

I got butterball out of the breeding pen today and took some pictures of her roaming around the yard. Trying to brighten such a dismal day here at the farm. I absolutely love this little hen!

 

[minihorse927]

@ShayBaby, how have you been???

 

[henny1129]

I live in Rudolph. My husband used to live in Tontogany

Very cool!