Our Chicken Farm Updates

I was recently asked by a customer how to remove Blu-Kote (Blue Kote) stains from fabric, clothing, and skin.

First off, the easiest solution is to wear gloves, long sleeve shirts, clothing overalls, aprons, etc, that are dark blue, whenever you plan to use Blu-Kote. Don’t use Blu-Kote inside your home, and don’t use it on a windy day unless you are in a protected, windless area. If you wear glasses, you may want to use clear protective goggles over your glasses. Just Say’n.

Chickens have a habit of “shaking” themselves right after you apply Blu-Kote and spreading it everywhere!

Removing the Blue Dye from Skin is relatively easy. Cotton balls (or paper towels) saturated with 70% Rubbing Alcohol will usually get it off your skin. Another option is a small amount of bleach, like Clorox bleach. Allow either option to set on the skin for about a minute, then thoroughly rinse it off your skin to avoid irritations.

Fabric and clothing are a bit tougher. You can try the rubbing alcohol solution. Don’t use bleach unless the fabric is white. Test on an inconspicuous spot first to make sure it won’t damage the fabric. Be sure to dilute the bleach with water, about 1:1, water and bleach, add to a spray bottle to use for white items. Afterwards, be sure to saturate the clothing/fabric with cold water so that the bleach won’t deteriorate the fabric. On some items, you might try using an ink remover, like Carbona Stain Devils, or Goof Off. Personally, I have had luck using WD-40 spray and an old toothbrush. I let it soak into the fabric for a minute, scrub with the toothbrush, let it rest another 15 to 20 minutes, then wash with dish soap in cold water.

Best of Luck!

The summer has been pretty normal this year. Not too many excessive heat days, which were easily handled with frozen water bottles at the peak of the day, fans, and lots of shade. Reminder that on really hot days, just having “water” out in their run is not sufficient. They won’t drink enough “warm” water to help them stay hydrated. They will do much better having water that is about 50 to 60 degrees F. Water that is over 70 degrees will be less inviting to them and anything over 80 degrees just won’t be consumed. I have a new trick for keeping some cold drinking water available during really hot days.

I purchased several Little Giant Complete Plastic Poultry Founts, 1-gal size. I fill the plastic jars about half to 2/3rds with fresh water (upside down without the base attached) to freeze the water in the freezer. After frozen, attach the base to the jar, turn right side up and place in the run at an hour or two after noon. Don’t over fill the jar for freezing. The frozen water will distort the shape of the ring and not attach to the base. I keep extra jars in the freezer for consecutive days of expected heat. As the frozen water starts to warm, it fills the base with nice cool water. Prior to that, on the first day of an expected hot day, before the birds come down from roosting overnight, I will fill their main water fount with cold water and a dose of electrolytes to help them get an added boost before the hot days hit. I only do this on the first day, and if the heat lasts for more than a few days, I will do it again a couple times spread out over the week.

We have sold most of our one year old laying hens to families in the area that were wanting to raise backyard chickens, with the exception of a few hens that have had some health issues. One had a prolapse. Another was over preening herself and was being over preened by others. The third has a pendulous crop. She will gorge on fresh green grass, and considering we move them weekly, she encountered an impacted crop that turned into a drooping crop. She is healthy, but lower on the pecking order, so we will be keeping her around as one of our older girls. We have these three in their own coop environment to protect them until they heal better, or if they don’t heal, we will find ways to integrate them into one of our other flocks. These gals are molting as the daylight starts to get shorter each day, So, extra proteins, less calcium, and a few healthy treats to help them heal and molt at the same time.

We plan to brood about 50 chicks organically in February for people located in the Portland, Oregon area. Let us know if you have an interest.

I don’t consider myself an expert. I listen a lot and read a lot, willing to try ideas and keep them if it turns out the idea is useful.

Chicks (and chickens in general) are drawn to the color of red. So when I first start out with a new brood of chicks, I use red feeders, and water bases, and most of all, red lights at night. Chicks will huddle under a red light to sleep, which is perfect IF one is using a heat lamp because it is red, and it does not harm their eyes. However, there is no need for a heat lamp if brooder warmers are being used. On the other hand, newly hatched chicks are not instinctively drawn to a warmer at the end of the day for sleeping and if the room is still relatively warm, some will get “lost” in a corner, cheeping in fear, but refusing to leave that corner. I have found that the color of lighting can be a huge advantage for training chicks, especially if raising more than a few.

During the day, I use all spectrum LED aquarium lights to simulate extra daylight which I place over the feeder/water and that encourages the chicks to leave the safety of the warmer to eat and drink throughout the day. (I keep the space where I start brooding the chicks at a warm 76° F during the day [not the 90° F recommended when using heat lamps, day and night.])

At night, after I change their pads… I call them “chick sheets,” I turn down the space heat to about 70° F, turn off the light over their feeders, and place a red LED light directly over their brooder warmer, for approximately 15 minutes, before turning out all the the lights for the night. About 10 to 15 minutes worth seems to be enough time for the chicks to finish up any eating they want to do, as they are gradually drawn towards the red light for huddling/sleeping purposes. After I turn off the red light, they will reposition themselves under the warmer and sleep until the sun comes up the next day. I always make certain that the chicks have access to natural light, in conjunction to the artificial lighting. The artificial lighting tends to act more like a “spring/summer” type of lighting that we don’t yet have during the last of the winter months, which is when I do all my brooding.

This lighting process becomes their first routine until, gradually, I no longer need to use the red light to draw them to the warmth of the brooder warmer when it is bedtime. Chicks do not need to eat at night if they have a full crop before sleeping. During the first week of brooding, eight hours of “night” is enough to allow for healthy digestion, and sets them on a healthy feeding structure. I use no Shavings in their brooder also helps during the first week. They don’t confuse shavings for food. They are quick learners. By the second week, they can go up to 10 to 12 hours without food at night, and you can then, gradually, train them to their instinctual day time eating/drinking to create a full crop before sleeping at night huddled with their buddies.

I have learned, through my own experiences, that there are more disadvantages to red heat lamps than advantages. I’ll you you do your own research. But I will share that the chicks having lighting all night long so that they can eat when ever, tends to contribute to pasty butt and other health issues. Of course, when raised by their momma hen, there is no “red light” and they only eat during the day when momma hen encourages them to eat. While I can’t totally replicate the momma hen effect, I can get them started to eat in the most healthy way possible so that they have a close to normal eating routine.

Check the chicks for full crops ( bubble chests ) at the end of each day. If certain chicks seem to be a bit too flat chested at the end of the day, you might isolate them for an hour with their own food and water, and then reintegrate them back into the flock before bedtime so that they too develop healthy eating habits and can keep up with the other chicks.

PS, I do not use “green” lights. {that was just for fun}

This year, we factored in some special orders on the chicks. Those chicks are scheduled to arrive next Wednesday. The main brood of chicks arrived this morning, all loudly chirping. Got them into the warmed up space, checked them over for any defects that might need immediate attention, and started them promptly on some fresh warm water with probiotics to get them a good healthy start. After we knew that they were mostly rehydrated, we let them start eating and yes, they were hungry!

You might notice that we don’t have any shavings in their space. While it is a time honored practice to raise chicks on wood shavings (we use hemp shavings), we want your (and our) chicks to have a healthy food start so that we don’t need to deal with any pica issues. Yes, chicks can develop pica and it can cause digestive problems. So we use Chucks pads or sterilized cloth sheets for the first week.

We never use a heat lamp. During the first week, we keep the brooding area warmed to +76° F. This encourages them to roam for food and water. We use brooding warmers that we check under frequently to ensure that we don’t have any chicks that are missing out on the food and water. While the brooding instructions are much different when using a heat lamp, we have learned, through the years, that chicks develop healthier eating habits when the broody hen factor is replicated as much as possible. So we make mother hen noises, and replicate some of the tapping that the hen will do to encourage the chicks to move about more freely and seek warmth and comfort when feeling sleepy or chilled. This helps the chicks bond and socialize in a healthier way.

Feel free to check on the photos in the photo section of the site under the dropdown Chick Day page. If you want to reserve any of the remaining chicks, email me. 2024chicks [] ourchicken.farm (remove the spaces and add the “at” symbol) or comment on my facebook page https://facebook.com/ourchicken.farm

Here in the Pacific NW, we seem to be experiencing some really crazy Hot Summer spells and Cold Winter moments. This can make for some difficult backyard farming with poultry since we are not always prepared for these extremes. While not every winter day has been freezing cold, this week, we are experiencing a rather brutal weekend in mid-January, 2024. The temperature in our neighborhood has been in the low teens during the days, about 12 degrees Fahrenheit with severe wind chill. We are not far from the Columbia River Gorge, and the winds started blowing strong enough to tear through plastic tarps, knock over large containers, and even blow over trees. The winds here were clocked at 30 mph sustained, with gusts up to 55 mph. The problem with raising chickens or other poultry in these types of conditions is ensuring that they are protected from these winds and extremely cold temps. Frostbite is a big problem for their feet and combs.

Some preparation tips. When wind-chill or air temps, in general will be consistently dropping below 20F, take extra precautions to protect your birds. We put up wind shields. Ensure that the walls of the coop/house are protected from the extreme winds. We use plastic tarps and bungee tie downs to add extra protection prior to the winds blowing through, on the sides of the poultry shelters. We add extra shavings and/or straw to the floors or ground. We add extra straw on the base of the walls that will be facing the winds. Some people will fill small holes or vents facing into the winds, with paper or even plastic paper using their old feed bags to minimize drafts inside the structures. Some people use a staple gun to secure tar paper on the outside or inside of the structure, especially on sides where the winds will be coming in, to create an added layer of insulation to the structure. These are some easy ways to save money while protecting your birds. (Note - not all vents should be covered!)

We don’t let our birds out of their coops/housing into their runs/pens when the freezing is extreme (below 20F) and/or the winds are above 15mph when outdoor temps are below freezing, even when the pens are protected with wind shields, because the winds tend to whip around or under the shields, making the ground that much colder. We have lost a few birds in the past when we did not anticipate sudden weather changes and the wind-chill can be deadly!

We run an outdoor extension cord out to our bird structures, taking extra precautions to protect from electrical harm to the animals. When using electrical devices to prevent freezing water is not possible, be certain to change out water frequently throughout the day for your birds as hydration is critical for their well-being. We check every two hours during daylight hours.

We use a water fount heat plate under their waterers in the winter months whenever the temperatures are below 35F to ensure that the water won’t freeze over night. When conditions become extreme, we place the water heat plate inside of their coop/house along with their waterer, which will add warmth to the inside of their space and keeps their water from freezing. However, if bringing water inside of the house/coop, ensure that there is plenty of ventilation on the sides of the space that are not getting battered from the winds, and that the bedding/shavings don’t get wet because this can cause other serious health issues.

We tend to switch up their protein feed to 20% when possible. But if that’s not possible, adding a little extra cracked corn, or scratch, along with some grit to their feeders at this time, really won’t hurt. It helps them stay warm in the digestion process. Adding extra nutrients/vitamins to their feed or water for a few days, during these extreme conditions, will help your birds deal with the cold extremes more effectively.

We add a small LED yellow light on a timer so that they have some sense of light exposure normalcy. If your hens are laying, check their space frequently for eggs, as the eggs tend to freeze shortly after being laid.

If you can’t insulate the coop or provide some heat for their space when temps are dropping into the low 20s, you should consider putting a dab of Vaseline on their combs. Watch their toes for frostbite as well. Prevention is much better than treatment! If your birds ARE experiencing frostbite or a little frost nip, it is definitely time to bring your flock into an area that can be safely warmed, to at least above freezing, and protected from the extreme cold environment! Poultry DMV Frostbite Prevention and Treatments Some More Great Winterizing Poultry Tips from Grubbly Farms