Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[armorfirelady]

In the process....takes a lot of time to compile all the questions and answers. Currently building a little webpage where folks can ask the questions they would like to know and I can answer using the OTs replies to the thread~paraphrasing, of course...can't use all the replies word for word. That will help people who have a hard time sorting through all the many pages here.

The book will be in much the same format....questions, answers...real life scenarios with real life people answering. Not just the author and not just the USDA/Vet approved answers.

I'm glad you like the thread...and I can't wait to offer the book! I'll post the webpage site link when I get it done.

I would also be interested in the book & the webpage. My mom is hen sitting for me this weekend and I was telling her about you using ACV in the water & the deep littler method. She fully agreed in raising chickens the natural way instead of chemicals. She said my Grandma had them when she was young & they survived just fine in the good old days. I am a newbie but read with interest the OT's replies to our endless questions & value their opinions.
I gave my girls watermelon yesterday. For the first few hours they ignored it but once they tasted it they wouldnt leave it alone !! I think they are hooked I plan on trying pumpkins once they come into season. I was curious Bee if gourds were ok for them and if they would have the same benefits as pumpkins? I through some gourds in the veggie garden last fall & they replanted themselves and are growing like weeds & I have a ton growing.

Also I know you said that the hens will stop eating when they are full. Or their crop is full. My girls scratch all day in their run & when I let them out to range (they found my grass seed lol) They have pellets but they only eat them on occasion. I am guessing they are finding enough to eat in their run from the weeds, grass and straw I have put in there. I am curious what a full crop looks like? They are young but seem to have grown bigger in the 5 days I have had them. I give them a handful cracked corn thrown in their run to encourage them to scratch in their run and turn the bedding for me.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

A few years ago I searched the internet for something poutry and found byc, after reading a bit I was a little concerned, all the diseases, bumblefoot, what the heck? Gotta feed them this or that, oh great, I HAVE to do this.? How could it have gotten so complicated over the years? So i just said forget it, and did none of it....I mean, how many people have said they took care of the chickens when they were kids? I did too. Did those parents back then think chickens were so complex a child couldn't do a good enough job? Food, water, eggs, latch the gate. There was no de, worming was never done. My rabbit and turkey lived in there too...no big discusssion if they can coexist. Other than this thread, the rest is mostly fluff, just for fun...after all, if a child could do it.

 

[loanwizard]

Hey Bee,

What are you using to build your web page, site?

I have used Weebly.com for about 3 years. I have my rental site and my farm site on there. It's free. I am not making anything off of it, just know for a non techy, It is extremely easy and the price is right.

Shawn

 

[Beekissed]

I'm using Weebly as well....love it compared to other free sites!

 

[loanwizard]

I finally pulled the trigger and upgraded to pro. Going to try to upload some video. Supposed to be good SEO.

 

[Beekissed]

I would also be interested in the book & the webpage. My mom is hen sitting for me this weekend and I was telling her about you using ACV in the water & the deep littler method. She fully agreed in raising chickens the natural way instead of chemicals. She said my Grandma had them when she was young & they survived just fine in the good old days. I am a newbie but read with interest the OT's replies to our endless questions & value their opinions.
I gave my girls watermelon yesterday. For the first few hours they ignored it but once they tasted it they wouldnt leave it alone !! I think they are hooked I plan on trying pumpkins once they come into season. I was curious Bee if gourds were ok for them and if they would have the same benefits as pumpkins? I through some gourds in the veggie garden last fall & they replanted themselves and are growing like weeds & I have a ton growing.

Also I know you said that the hens will stop eating when they are full. Or their crop is full. My girls scratch all day in their run & when I let them out to range (they found my grass seed lol) They have pellets but they only eat them on occasion. I am guessing they are finding enough to eat in their run from the weeds, grass and straw I have put in there. I am curious what a full crop looks like? They are young but seem to have grown bigger in the 5 days I have had them. I give them a handful cracked corn thrown in their run to encourage them to scratch in their run and turn the bedding for me.

A pumpkin is a in the same family as gourds...the Cucurbita family and the difference lies in the skin thicknesses, the sweetness and texture of the meat of the squash/gourd/pumpkin. A lot is published about the vermifuge effects of pumpkin seeds as they contain an amino acid, curcubitacin, I'm not sure if pumpkin seeds contain more or less than do gourds, but all the fruit of this family should have this same acid...I say should have because I've done no research on gourds or cukes to confirm this.

You'd probably have to just feed the seeds or considerably soften or ferment your gourds before the chickens could eat them. My chickens won't eat a fresh pumpkin much but if you let them freeze, then partially thaw and feed them in the months when fresh greens and such are not available, they will look like sharks at a feeding frenzy on that pumpkin!

A bird with a full crop~granny and we always called this the craw~ will have a distention on the chest area, often it will be slightly off center..this is where the crop lies. The crop stores food until it can be processed by the gizzard. When chicks are little you can really see the crop distinctly due to their thin feathering and lack of breast muscle but it's harder to see it on some adult birds unless they are really full/distended.

Side note: I don't know that I've ever had a hen with "sour crop" and have never heard of it until joining this forum. Various things are said to cause it but it could be simply poor genetics/placement of the crop, poor digestive systems, dry and pelleted foods...I'm not sure. Just never had it with my birds, no matter the breed or the poor, hatchery-sprung genetics.

 

[Beekissed]

I finally pulled the trigger and upgraded to pro. Going to try to upload some video. Supposed to be good SEO.

I might get to that point as well as I have a few videos of meat chickens I'd love to share with the general public...for now I just post the link to YouTube. I don't want to make the site too busy because there are still many people who can only get dial-up service and I don't want the site to be a pain to load. The site is just a hold over until the book gets done....books are always better than websites if the book is about anything outdoors. If one wants to reference something, they don't want to have to run indoors to check the site or the downloaded version of an ebook.

 

[fowlman01]

I guess I need to clarify something here. A few posts back I said something about "watching" my birds. I thought most people would understand, but since a couple people have expanded on my comment, I will tell you what I mean by "watching". Every bird here and there are lots of them, has a permanent marking. A toe punch when they are born and a permanent band that has a number and date and is put on the bird when it barely fits. It can only be removed by cutting it off. That band stays with the bird for life. In addition the young have cable ties and a band (if old enough). I watch how these birds walk, how they interact and in general scrutinize some points that most people would not care about. As an example I am about ready to cull the two parents and all their offspring because I found something in them that I don't like. It amounts to about 30 birds. It has nothing to do with health, but it is a genetic trait I don't want in my flock. While watching the flock I can tell by colors and combinations of colors what I need to know about the bird and it's parents. I won't bore you with the rest of t he things I do while watching, but it is a pretty in depth scrutiny. I don't have a cold beverage while watching, but I do have a pen and notebook. I can tell you if I have a bird with a toenail missing........so that is what I do while watching my flock.

Walt

 

[Beekissed]

Walt's overall focus is different than mine but I'm sure it's similar in the scrutiny that he gives with an eye towards health. I don't look for conformation, color patterns or ID tags/markings or other things that a breeder may look for to identify and observe their birds.

I keep a flock of around 30...considerably smaller than most breeders. I have different breeds all running together and some mixes of those breeds, along with one or two roos. I look at plumage, heads and feet as my eyes cast over the flock. I observe individual birds at the same time I am watching the whole flock in movement..I can see a bird with a faulty gait or stance, discolored comb, or dull,unkempt feathering in a few seconds of casting my gaze over the flock. I can even see if a feather is out of location and in an odd way.

Like Walt says, once you are into it you can pretty much give a bird the once over and notice anything out of place or wrong and it doesn't take standing and staring(unless maybe you are a breeder looking for specific body traits) or picking them up. I can evaluate my flock as I am feeding, choring around, or just walking through the yard/range.

I know each bird's normal appearance, so any abnormalities stick out like a sore thumb. I know who flocks with a group (important when you see a groupie standing all alone for very long and isolated from her flock) and who likes to be alone, or who is likely to be jumping the garden fence or lay in the haystacks(if she's missing, I know where to look...or I don't look at all because I know where she's likely to be).

This level of familiarity helps me when it comes to gauging if changes are temporary or of a more serious nature. It takes awhile to know your flock and all their differences...at least it does for me. That is one reason I don't plan for just 2 years with my birds...I like longevity of lay so my hens are around for more than 2 seasons and I can judge how her offspring are performing. Same with the roo.

Sometimes I'll use leg bands to ID birds of a group of the same breed/looks that make it hard to pick out an individual at a glance. Mostly this is to ID a layer or broody of distinction who gets more consideration during culling time.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I put eyes on every bird, every day. I don't/won't pick one up unless there is a sobering reason to do so. Scrutinizing is the right word. Observing or watching doesn't quite imply the critical eye that experienced flock keepers seem to develop. I spend a lot more time watching the younger pullets. It is my job to get to know them by behavior, shape, feathering, personality etc. This extra time spent with the pullets pays dividends when they become layers, later on. Have to establish their individual baseline for normal.

I sometimes like to rattle a can of pellets and have them trot a few steps toward the sound. This enables me to quickly see if anyone is less than spry.

If I am gone for a few days on a trip, I'll spend a bit of time catching up. Always nice to check them and see everything is OK.