New journey; freshwater stingrays…

[brewmaster15]

Ah ..my Hens and roo are spoiled. We have a a light on in the coop to encourage year round laying and either run a heat lamp or heat pad under the water. I hate frozen water cans.

[danotaylor]

Yea, I built the hen house out on the side of our property away from the house so we didn’t have to deal with the chook poo aroma. Our chickens are still laying even in the cold but it’s early winter yet so I guess we’ll see. We do plan to hatch our own chicks in the late winter early spring and I have a separate hen house for nesting & hatching the chicks. Will run a cord for the heat lamp to that but we’re not quite there yet. I’m a newbie to chickens. We did have them once before in our suburban yard but the smell was so bad we killed them and made soup

[brewmaster15]

Yea, I built the hen house out on the side of our property away from the house so we didn’t have to deal with the chook poo aroma. Our chickens are still laying even in the cold but it’s early winter yet so I guess we’ll see. We do plan to hatch our own chicks in the late winter early spring and I have a separate hen house for nesting & hatching the chicks. Will run a cord for the heat lamp to that but we’re not quite there yet. I’m a newbie to chickens. We did have them once before in our suburban yard but the smell was so bad we killed them and made soup

Sorry I pulled this way off track lol.. one last note.. A solar panel, 12 v battery and dc Light is a good alternative to keep the daylight levels up..I can walk you through it if you ever want to put one in.

[jwcarlson]

Rays look awesome, they're such a drastic change from most standard fish in the hobby... very cool!

Regarding chickens and electricity. If I didn't have electric where my chickens winter, I would not have chickens... way too big of a pain.

[danotaylor]

Thanks Al. No worries about getting the thread off track. Speaking of rabbit trails, we breed meat rabbits too
I will reach back if I decide to do a solar installation. Appreciate your input mate.

Thank you Jacob. The rays are something very different for sure. I am developing a plan for a “ray safe” & tank safe aquascape to make the tanks look a little more appealing to sit in front of. They’re very strong and move decor around quite a bit I’m told, and can trap themselves or damage the tank.

What do mean by way too big of a pain not to have electricity? Watering or heating, or both?

[Second Hand Pat]

Will be interesting to see what you come up with for decor Danny. I would think you could add the green vine Al grows at the top of his tank (roots in the water). That could add some shady spots in the tank which the rays may enjoy.
Pat

[brewmaster15]

Danny, you mentioned odor control. What did you do to deal with that?

[danotaylor]

Danny, you mentioned odor control. What did you do to deal with that?

If you meant the chickens odor, its a rudimentary fix Al. The prevailing wind in our area is from the south, about 60-70% of the time. Our home is located on the southern boundary line of the property. I built the chicken coup on the most northern boundary line so the wind carry’s the chook aroma north into a vacant field. The only wind direction that blows the odor towards our home is due north which is a very small percentage of days/yr. Any west or east variation in the north wind and the aroma does not blow towards the house

If you meant the odor I was battling in our basement from the stingray poop and bioload, I switched them from hikari massivore pellets to northfin carnivore pellets and that pretty much solved the basement issue

A friend uses an absorbent pine scented bedding pellet that she buys from tractor supply in her hen house. It’s marketed for horses and smalll animals. I’ve attached a link & pic. She swears by it’s good effect for odor reduction

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tractor-supply-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb-2181006?store=450&cid=Google-Shopping-Sustain&utm_medium=Google&utm_source=Shopping&utm_ content=Sustain&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADnTm23AL VeR0kZIFRgGv6cLgKifZ&gclid=Cj0KCQiA0--6BhCBARIsADYqyL-KhKIx-LmHZXvK5P_zaVr7oqEJCvzi3-OHZ6Mea25fIRJsgzyqdl4aAkcPEALw_wcB

[jwcarlson]

What do mean by way too big of a pain not to have electricity? Watering or heating, or both?

Keeping the water from freezing. I don't heat them at all. Chickens don't need supplemental heat.

[danotaylor]

Keeping the water from freezing. I don't heat them at all. Chickens don't need supplemental heat.

Gotcha. Yea, when the weather is below freezing here I just give them a bowl with a gallon of water once a day. Easy enough

[jwcarlson]

Gotcha. Yea, when the weather is below freezing here I just give them a bowl with a gallon of water once a day. Easy enough

That would drive me nuts. Even if I'm feeding them daily, screwing around with water is just a pain. Maybe I have a phobia? I tried that for awhile but sometimes we have such cold that it's freezing so quick it doesn't feel like they get much of a chance to drink. I haven't lost a chicken in winter since I started wrapping their run in plastic. It keeps the wind/cold off of them and on sunny days it is downright balmy in there. Seems like they eat less food that way.

Al is right about supplemental lighting keeping them laying. I choose not to do that, but I am not worried about "production". Chickens are going to lay as many eggs are they're going to lay. I'm sure I have a couple free loaders. I have an old chicken flock now. The youngest are three, I think, and the oldest ones are going on seven years old. I think we'll get a handful of chicks this spring since we moved. I was breaking all sorts of chicken ordinance rules living in town. The kids seem interested in running an egg business, so we could probably use some fresh blood.

Sorry we are completely derailing your ray thread.

[brewmaster15]

LOl.. Yep Jacob and I side tracked it big time,

Ok, I will redirect...

f you meant the odor I was battling in our basement from the stingray poop and bioload, I switched them from hikari massivore pellets to northfin carnivore pellets and that pretty much solved the basement issue

Thats actually what I meant. I was going to see if you considered Ozone to deal with the odors? Seems it might be helpful for you.

al

[danotaylor]

Haha, thanks Al! Back to the rays….
We actually have an ozone generator. When the smell was really bad we ran it down in the basement with success, but it is expensive to run 24/7. The switch in food has definitely made the difference!

[jwcarlson]

Haha, thanks Al! Back to the rays….
We actually have an ozone generator. When the smell was really bad we ran it down in the basement with success, but it is expensive to run 24/7. The switch in food has definitely made the difference!

How big of a unit do you have? Isn't it... bad for you? I own one and I have used it in my cars that smelled like beekeeping smoke and occasionally in an unoccupied house or room. It gives me a big headache though even just going into the thing to shut it off so it can start airing out.

[danotaylor]

I see what you're doing Jacob, LOL, another non-ray side trail, LOL...

But to answer your question, our unit is about half teh size of a window ac unit. Yes, it is bad for you. You can't run the generator in a space occupied by humans. We would run it in the basement when no-one was down in the basement. In addition to odor elimination, Ozone also kills mold & fungus spores, which my wife is allergic too. We take it with us whenever we drive somewhere to stay in a hotel or air bnb. If we smell mold, dampness etc, we run the generator and go out for a few hours