Congratulations MamaNini! You won a beautiful coop from Handcrafted Coops! - Page 11

PSYCHOLOGY OF THE LAYING HEN!

I have been raising show poultry in South Africa for about 16 years. The psychology of the various breeds I have had, has been a source of immense entertainment and frustration over the years!

So, i am now ready to set up my breeding pens and with much enthusiasm I pair up according to ring numbers the girls who will be lucky enough to be with VOLDEMORT the STUD of my Australorp breeders. Now Voldemort, you can guess by his name, is quite a handful. You go into his breed pen when he has girls and need a crash helmet, boots and a broom.

The broom is for finding your toes when you have finished and sweeping them all up into a pile so you know they are all in the same place.

The girls I have picked are not young, they know what is required of them and they eye me with that beady eye that says: "You really are funny if you think we are going to stay with that idiot."

Ok, so I leave them to it. They eye one another, and the STUD makes his move. Quick as a flash, the girls form into flying squad formation, face him head on and charge.

He looks confused, stops, checks his feet, " Did I leave something behind this morning?"

Round two: He finally corners one girl, tries to have his way but she is screaming blue murder, alerts the others who charge again.

Round three:

He retreats to the end of the run and pretends this is all part of his master plan, even if he does have a bloody comb.

After a week of this, no eggs to be seen anywhere, girls all busting to lay but with that stubborn "I wont" look on their face, I let them win and send in Gentleman Jack, whom the girls all adore.

Eggs galore, all girls lining up to lay with a sigh of relief, all filled and not a mark on any of the ladies. Sigh...

This is typical of Australorps.

They are choosy. No I dont like that tyre, I want a box to lay in...and be quick about it or Ill lay on the ground. No, not THAT box, whatever made you THINK I would consider a box like that, dont they teach you anything at chicken school? REALLY!

Please dont be stupid, you want me to lay my precious eggs in SHAVINGS? My dear how absolutely BOURGEOIS!

Give me top grade aerograstis hay. And I want it in that corner not this corner please, and be quick about it or I will lay it on the ground.

PLEASE you want me to have HIS babies? Forget it, I will lay no eggs or I will break every one I lay...so there!

This breed is not the only one. Watch your girls carefully and you will see they do have preferences and HOW!

So, my advice? Chickens are not as stupid as we make out. You may think they are laying an egg for your breakfast but to them it is vastly more important than that. It is the future of their breeding line, a precious baby. Listen to the needs of your birds. Forget the books, observe  the birds, they will tell you what they need at any given time. There is no substitute for observation.

The best chicken advice I can give? Hard question as I could fill the page but I will try to make it short.

         1. have a brooder ready for  your chicks BEFORE they come.Test out the light (if needed) to make sure you can regulate the heat.

          2. have you coop and run ready BEFORE they come, you will be so busy playing with them, and they grow so fast, you may not have time to build and they will be ready to move in.

                      A. run and coop should be big enough for 3x more then you are getting, (once you have them, you will want more)...

                     B. predator proof.As best you can!! 1/4 hardware cloth 12" under ground all the way around coop and run, another 18" or more up the side of the run. Strong welded wire fencing or 

                         1/4" hardware cloth all the way up should keep most digging, determined chicken eaters from getting your chooks. If at all possible cover top with strong netting or chicken wire to                              

                          keep out hawks,eagles,owls,ect.

         3. have feeders,wateres,and feed on hand. chick grit is a good idea also because you will want to give them treats    

         4. READ up on BYC ,,,,lots, and lots of good people with lots of help,,,The best place to find people as crazy about chickens a you will be or already are,and remember most of what you read is not set in cement. There are different opinions about every thing, pick what works best for you

          5. you may have losses for no reason, it happens with chickens, but they are worth all the ups and downs. 

          6. ENJOY YOUR CHICKENS, they are the best therapy in the world and SO MUCH FUN 

My best advise would be to keep things simple, affordable, and involve the entire family in the experience of raising chickens, especially the kids.  Most of all remember to enjoy having your chickens, even though sometimes they can be a lot of work, don't forget to take time to just enjoy having them, feeding them and talking to them.  I find it very therapeutic after a long day at work to come home and collect the eggs with my two boys and just sit and talk to the chickens.  Sometimes I almost think they understand what I am say :)  My children have loved having the chickens more than playing video games and watching TV.  I love how much it has taught my boys and how much time they spend outside with the chickens. It's the best thing my wife and I could have done for our kids.  With all the information and research available I would recommend to new owners to keep things like the coop simple and affordable and most off all just love having your chickens around.  Trust me they will reward you and your family with so much more than just fresh eggs.

The best advice I can give about raising backyard chickens is know what the cost is before getting involved. You need a Coop, Nesting Boxes. Feeders, Waterers, Bedding, Good Quality Feed, Storage for Supplies and Feed and CHICKENS . My go to for questions and answers is Back Yard Chickens. Many people don’t realize the commitment but very rewarding. I love raising chickens. it has taught me patience.

My best advice on raising chickens is to do your research.  As of right now, we do not have any chickens we are raising but are in the process of getting as much information as possible before starting this long term commitment.  We live in rural Maine and have several friends who are enjoying the tasks and benefits from raising chickens.  It's definitely a family affair for them as it will be for us too.  It seems to be a rewarding challenge and can provide a meager income on the side.  It is also a great way for young children to learn additional household responsibilities and for them to become little "business entrepeneurs".  In addition to the research of friends and families who are currently raising chickens, research the web.  This is a great tool.  I thank you to this site for the insight and plethora of information it has afforded us to make well informed decisions. With technology today and the abundance of information on raising chickens, it certainly has given us the edge in making our "vision" of self-reliance a reality. 

Currently, we are in the dilemma stage of building or buying our coop for the chickens.  Hence, why this posting.  As we have decided on getting the chickens, we do not have a house for the chickens yet.  While we surf the web in search of all the good ideas of raising chickens, we ask you to take us into serious consideration to help us start our chicken raising endeavor by awarding us this beautiful chicken coop.   Again, thank you for this site and the wealth of information you share with raising chickens and for considering us with this opportunity.  

THE RIGHT CHICKEN FOR YOU,  ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES & VARMINTS

THE RIGHT CHICKEN FOR YOU 

Chickens are one of life's true enjoyments. They are good for mans body; inside and out. The watching/caring and tending for the critters lowers ones blood pressure and makes us live longer. Fact is everyone should own a chicken or two, maybe even a dozen or more. Just observing their daily antics immediately lowers ones blood pressure so YES, they are good for the soul!

Take your time to find the right chicken breed for you. There are several reasons for this as not all chicken breeds are alike. Many folks talk about beauty and egg quality but another important aspect to different chicken breeds is temperament. I look for a breed that is docile, calm, works well in confinement and "plays" well with others. When reading breed descriptions key words I watch out for are: less tolerant of confinement, aggressive, very flighty, active. These key words when added to a flock may end up to being a heartbreak. Not always, as some folks look for these qualities, but for me these qualities did have the tendency to exhibit as bad chicken behavior such as feather picking. I learned the hard way. It was hard for me to face the fact that I owned a bunch of homely, featherless, egg laying ugly wonders.

Now if a breed strikes my fancy I do research and look for the key words that I know suit my operation such as docile, calm, works well in confinement. I now have a flock of docile, calm, beautiful fully feathered egg laying machines. Pure eye candy.

I should also note my original chickens were never crowded. The chickens I purchased did not have the genetic makeup to enable them to tolerate confinement and could not play well with others in the environment I provided them. Fact is I purchased first without thought and did not research.       

How does a person find the "Right Chicken For You". Of course research BYC, a wealth of knowledge is provided on BYC. I also find myself referring to Henderson's Handy-Dandy Chicken Chart. This site has everything you want to know about a certain chicken breed.

Website:  http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

Finding the "Right Chicken For You" is one of the most important steps or building blocks for the back yard flock owner.

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

I also changed my practices to enhance the lives of my chickens. I now have what I call chicken "Enrichment Activities" in their pen. I added more feed and water stations. Also added "Jungle Gym" activities such as poles serving as roosts set strategically apart to enhance jumping and flight activity. Some roosts were placed together at staggered heights, others solo. Also in their play area I added large rocks, sand for dusting and a pedestal bird bath for food or water.

Other enrichment activities revolved around their food. Each morning they get a flake of alfalfa with scratch grain sprinkled around the ground and on the alfalfa. They really think this is neat. All chickens love to play the game "scratch and find". The alfalfa works great as they can scratch and find nibblets of green leaves and the true find is the corn or oat disbursed within the alfalfa. I have several feeders each with different varieties of feed. The feed variety consists of layer pellets, crumbles, corn and scratch. In the mornings I feed day old bread from the bread store and on winter mornings make a warm mash with the bread, beat pulp, scratch, cat food, table scraps and sunflower seeds. In summer I provide cold morning mashes coupled with feeding fresh garden veggies, harvested weed greens, table scraps and bread year round.

Each evening and on weekends they run loose to roam. This is their "ultimate" enrichment activity!

 Incorporating activities into your flock, even if you have 1 bird or 100 and no matter the size of your coop truly enriches the life of your birds. Just adding a mash to their diet always seems like a "great chicken adventure". There is always amusement in observing them find the treasures located within the mash. I find it also enriches my life as I watch them interact with their activities.

VARMINTS!

A good varmint proof hen house is self explanatory.

Our varmint deterrents consists of small solar yard lights strategically placed around outside of the chicken pen and two excellent night watchmen; a Redbone Coonhound and Bloodhound......when not sleeping 

I do not know if this helps but I also have a couple of wind chimes around the coop area. Is noise a deterrent to the varmint? Unknown, but it provides a good calming and egg enhancing atmosphere for my feathered friends. 

What most folk are not prepared for is finding the varmint in the chicken house. What do you do? Myself, I always find adventure in the catching of a varmint in my coop. Easy to catch are possum by the tail, snakes by the back of the neck and even a prairie hawk by the back when the Redbone had him cornered. But for most flock owners I would recommend a catch pole. A catch pole can easily be made. It consists of a pole with a rope on the end to acting as a lariat. They do sell commercial catch poles. Other equipment would be a live animal trap and a small cage such as a dog crate.

Most varmints can be caught with the catch pole and transported in the crate. Live animal traps are set when you know you have a problem. If you ever catch a skunk, well "beware". I find the best way to transport that critter is to sneak up on them slowly holding a large bed sheet up in front of you. If you see the skunk pounce the ground; STOP! This is a warning. Then slowly walk up again when he starts rooting around. As you come up to his trap then slowly drape the bed sheet over the trap. Lift him into a pickup bed and transport him as "far" away as possible; next state!. Also, you may not want to have guests over for the next few evenings, but remember the chickens and dogs will ALWAYS love you

Good luck and may your flock bring you great happiness and totally enrich "your" lives

My advice is pretty simple. Fulfill a dream own a chicken! This is the one the best hobbies that anyone can be a part of old,young , social butterfly or socially awkward. To me a hen is gold. It's a pet that gives back so remember to feed them well!! Lot's of scraps and keeping their coop clean is the most important thing in my eyes. A HAPPY CHICKEN IS A GOOD CHICKEN!! Be a hero help make an egg! :)

The best advice on raising chickens that I have is too insure your coop is predator proof. That means do whatever you deem necessary in your area. You got raccoons, foxes, bobcats, bears, or even cougars, there is always a way to protect your birds. Do your research, find out whats legally protected in your state and get to work! I find dogs to be the best way to keep my birds safe. This would work very well in a suburban setting. Many newcomers don't realize that raccoons and foxes can inhabit highly populated areas and wreck havoc on your flock over night. Be wise and use your head. I bought a LGD (live stock guardian dog) and picked a Great Pyrenees. I use these on all my proprieties and they defend the birds exceptionally well. 

Hmm, they do sound picky. I was considering black  Australorps because one hatchery listed them as "good summer layers". So how hot does your climate get? I don't personally know anyone who has any around here in Virginia.

The best advice I can give to anyone considering raising backyard chickens is READ!, read, read! I bought my chickens on a whim and did all my learning after the fact. I recommend reading as many blogs and website materials as you can find. The more you know before you buy your birds and make or buy your coop, the more enjoyment and success you will have. Also watching youtube video's are extremely helpful. You can find a video on almost any chicken related topic and watch step by step instructions on anything you need to know (how to trim primary flight feathers, how to dust your birds with DE, etc..). Knowledge is power! Enjoy!