Hello all.... here's a glimpse into our chicken world here in the great state of Missouri! I came here to get help with my Cornish X babies, but of course I should also offer an introduction. Looking forward to learning LOTS from you smart folks! (See my post on the Cornish X here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1120352/split-skin-on-meat-birds#post_18391139 )
Currently, we have 35 laying hens and 3 roosters - all from Cackle Hatchery 2 years ago. Three lost to hawks, one hen stepped on by a cow (squashed flat!), one bully roo gifted to a neighbor, and 14 to the stewpot, have reduced our adult flock from the original 57. Yes, friends, I started my very first chicken raising foray with not 3, not 10, not even 25 - but with 57 birds. I wanted about 25, and figured I'd lose half due to my inexperience, so I ordered 56 (got one extra). They all survived, except those events listed above. The remaining 38 birds are Rhode Island Reds and Barred Plymouth Rocks. The roos have suffered some frostbite, but otherwise the birds seem pretty happy and healthy. They gift us with about 2 dozen eggs a day.
But this is where it gets interesting....
We also have 4-week-old Jumbo Cornish Cross (26 of 'em - for meat, of course), Black Australorps (29 - including 2 roos, to augment our depleted flock), and Old English Game bantams (8 cuties - for fun and watchdogs). That's 100 total chickens for this newbie!!! One big coop and run for the big biddies, a brooder cage currently in use for the Aussies and Banties, and a separate smaller coop and run for the Cornish Cross. Seems like I spend all my time tending chickens! Whew.
We used an old camper trailer, about 12' long, for the big coop for the RIR's and BPR's. Gutted the inside, lined it with barn tin, added roosts and about a dozen plastic buckets for laying boxes, expanded metal over the windows, ran electric to it for heated waterer and winter heat lamp - and voila --- it's a perfect, snug, rodent-proof coop. It's placed in the center of a 40' x 50' run, with an upside-down satellite dish mounted on a pole for an 'umbrella' over the feeding station. Our biggest challenges with the big biddies are hawks. Plans include installing netting over the entire area soon. However, they are allowed to free-range once their morning chores (eggs!) are done - so the netting won't do much for that, eh?
The Cornish X are growing fast. Yesterday, we moved them from their brooder cage into a small coop all their own, about 4' x 10', built with leftover lumber from a demolished barn, a repurposed window and storm door, and bars from a demolished deck for roosts. It has a cement floor, electrical service, and an attached 200 sf run. No netting over that, either - so we're taking our chances. Hopefully, they'll be ready for butcher before the hawks realize they're there. I've given them a section of an old satellite dish to hide under if needed. hmmm..... of course, I understand this breed doesn't move fast, if at all, so the dish may be moot anyway. (I've been told that if the feeder and water dish are too close together, these lazy birds will simply sit between them and never move except to eat and drink... but I digress....)
Finally, I have the Aussies and Banties in a brooder cage all together. Despite being half the size of the 29 Aussies, the 8 little Banties seem to be holding their own. They will all move to a fenced enclosure inside the big chicken yard in a few weeks, to start the integration process with the big bird flock. I'm still working on plans for a small coop for them during this transition. Might use a discarded camper shell.....hmmm.
Besides all the chicken chaos, we also have three heifers (two VERY pregnant, due any day now), and one little 2-week old bully calf. Also three beagle dogs, two cats, and a 40' x 50' vegetable garden - which unwillingly feeds the abundant rabbits, raccoons, possums, ground hogs, and deer in the area. And we and the chickens get plenty, too
Any comments, suggestions, or advice is welcome!!!
Currently, we have 35 laying hens and 3 roosters - all from Cackle Hatchery 2 years ago. Three lost to hawks, one hen stepped on by a cow (squashed flat!), one bully roo gifted to a neighbor, and 14 to the stewpot, have reduced our adult flock from the original 57. Yes, friends, I started my very first chicken raising foray with not 3, not 10, not even 25 - but with 57 birds. I wanted about 25, and figured I'd lose half due to my inexperience, so I ordered 56 (got one extra). They all survived, except those events listed above. The remaining 38 birds are Rhode Island Reds and Barred Plymouth Rocks. The roos have suffered some frostbite, but otherwise the birds seem pretty happy and healthy. They gift us with about 2 dozen eggs a day.
But this is where it gets interesting....
We also have 4-week-old Jumbo Cornish Cross (26 of 'em - for meat, of course), Black Australorps (29 - including 2 roos, to augment our depleted flock), and Old English Game bantams (8 cuties - for fun and watchdogs). That's 100 total chickens for this newbie!!! One big coop and run for the big biddies, a brooder cage currently in use for the Aussies and Banties, and a separate smaller coop and run for the Cornish Cross. Seems like I spend all my time tending chickens! Whew.
We used an old camper trailer, about 12' long, for the big coop for the RIR's and BPR's. Gutted the inside, lined it with barn tin, added roosts and about a dozen plastic buckets for laying boxes, expanded metal over the windows, ran electric to it for heated waterer and winter heat lamp - and voila --- it's a perfect, snug, rodent-proof coop. It's placed in the center of a 40' x 50' run, with an upside-down satellite dish mounted on a pole for an 'umbrella' over the feeding station. Our biggest challenges with the big biddies are hawks. Plans include installing netting over the entire area soon. However, they are allowed to free-range once their morning chores (eggs!) are done - so the netting won't do much for that, eh?
The Cornish X are growing fast. Yesterday, we moved them from their brooder cage into a small coop all their own, about 4' x 10', built with leftover lumber from a demolished barn, a repurposed window and storm door, and bars from a demolished deck for roosts. It has a cement floor, electrical service, and an attached 200 sf run. No netting over that, either - so we're taking our chances. Hopefully, they'll be ready for butcher before the hawks realize they're there. I've given them a section of an old satellite dish to hide under if needed. hmmm..... of course, I understand this breed doesn't move fast, if at all, so the dish may be moot anyway. (I've been told that if the feeder and water dish are too close together, these lazy birds will simply sit between them and never move except to eat and drink... but I digress....)
Finally, I have the Aussies and Banties in a brooder cage all together. Despite being half the size of the 29 Aussies, the 8 little Banties seem to be holding their own. They will all move to a fenced enclosure inside the big chicken yard in a few weeks, to start the integration process with the big bird flock. I'm still working on plans for a small coop for them during this transition. Might use a discarded camper shell.....hmmm.
Besides all the chicken chaos, we also have three heifers (two VERY pregnant, due any day now), and one little 2-week old bully calf. Also three beagle dogs, two cats, and a 40' x 50' vegetable garden - which unwillingly feeds the abundant rabbits, raccoons, possums, ground hogs, and deer in the area. And we and the chickens get plenty, too
Any comments, suggestions, or advice is welcome!!!
