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

[Kassaundra]

Do you know, I read where Koreans use a sort of similar idea. But it's a cardboard box with a cloth fringe curtained section. The chicks can go in there to warm up and come out when they want.

They put IMO3 in the bottom to warm the chickens. It is basically a hot mulch idea.

 

[Beekissed]

I just wanted to thank all the OTC's for your honest, straightforward advice. You guys also gave me the courage to try new things with my minor carpenter skills. I made a pop door the other day with spare lumber & somehow it actually works !!


The handle was from the pop door on the doll house coop. I lost the screw that attached the handle & had a zip toe instead to hold it together. That didnt work either so string it is for now.

Girls tried the door out right away & I feel better with just a small door for them for entry into secure run when I am not home.

Keep the wisdom coming........I have learned a lot but have so much MORE to learn

Excellent repurposing! That's how it's done at my house too ....nothing too pretty but it sure is functional and didn't cost me much, if anything. And I did it myself, which is worth all the pretty little coops in the world.

 

[Beekissed]

Question for the OTs: When a chicken dies suddenly and without any symptoms to show cause of death, either prior to the death or after the death, how do you handle this~from a flock management aspect. What steps do you take to analyze the problem and what conclusions do you draw on the situation? Can you give examples of actual incidents in which you have had this happen?

 

[loanwizard]

I'm not a rabbit expert, but my old dog used to bring us baby bunnies in his mouth, gentle as could be. We took them to a wildlife rehabilitator who did a lot of rabbits.
She recommended looking for the nest and putting the baby back in it. Apparently the mama will park her babies almost any old place, where they just sit quietly waiting for her to come back. So if you come across a parked baby, her advice was to leave it be. If the dog has moved it, search for the nest first. Much easier to search for a nest than to raise a baby bunny, or to drive it two hours to the nearest rehabilitator. I don't think I would do that again . . .

I hear you. Unfortunately we have many many rabbits running around and finding that 1 nest is purty near impossible.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

The mama rabbit will search for the rabbit even if the nest is moved. Put it back near where you found it. Check it in the morning to see if its belly is full round and warm. Use kitten milk or goat milk no cow milk...feed it once a day--at night. Mark the nest so you know if mama uncovered it during the night, she'll cover it back up when she leaves. They do so much better in the wild. Good luck!

 

[Beekissed]

Get a cat, feed the bunnies to the cat. Takes care of the large amount of rabbits in the area and will cut down on dogs bringing them to you for nursing.

 

[thedragonlady]

I have had a rough week. I had to let an employee of 3 years go yesterday, of which I only have 4, which are all like family.

But... I am glad to come here, a home away from home, and relax with old friends.... operative word being old

I incubate most of mine and can honestly say that my old styrofoam incubators don't keep my chicks wet and bedraggled looking. After about an hour or so, they are fluffballs. That said, I also have humidity issues so that may be a reason why. I don't have issues with them in the brooder like that either. Rarely do I have them piled under the red heat lamp.

I had my very first broodies.... no longer a broody virgin, about 2 weeks ago and 1 week ago respectively. The first broody hatched 3 out of about 9 eggs. She has 2 left. The other hatched 1 of 7 and has zero left. I may try a broody again in the future and even have a broody box and pen ready. These were in general population.

Any advise in step by step to improve hatch rates of broodies and the safety of their offspring?

Incidentally, this guy, who normally is the cold hearted one that is left to do the killing when warranted, watched the dog bring up 2 baby bunnies up the driveway, and found another in amongst the chickens, is now feeding baby bunnies with a syringe and changing the hot water in a ziplock. Found them yesterday morning, and they still seem pretty strong this morning. I know it is a low percentage proposition raising baby bunnies, but anybody have any experience and tips for that?

From my understanding, mama bunny only feeds 1 time per day and has a lot of collostrum in her milk. I don't have that luxury so I am attempting to feed 3 times a day, 2% milk with water, nuked to warm temp, keeping them warm in a pet carrier in an old tshirt over the water bag.

I did a lot of re-hab for the GA. DNR for years, and I've probably raised over 100 bunnies on bottles. You need to get canned goat milk, or human ENFAMIL without iron. The Enfamil you feed straight from the can. The evaporated goat's milk you dilute by 1/4 with water. Feed TWICE a day. Mother bunny's milk is quite rich..You also need to treat baby bunnies from the wild with a coccidistat such as Sulmet, or amprolium pretty quickly.Are their eyes open?If you make them a warm nest they should need no extra heat if their eyes are open.You can start to teach them to use a water bottle now too. A good green leafy hay should be available too. They will start to nibble on it if some is in their nest. Absolutely NO iceberg lettuce for bunnies.It has Zero nutrient value.

Good luck! I have whole families of rabbits romping around my orchard, most are offspring of ones I've raised.

 

[galanie]

Get a cat, feed the bunnies to the cat.  Takes care of the large amount of rabbits in the area and will cut down on dogs bringing them to you for nursing.   

 

So true!

 

[Maven]

Maven, I gotta agree with Bee and Loanwizard. I'd let then out at least a little.

I raise mine different than most people, but here's what I do myself; When they hatch I leave them in the incubator for 24 hours to dry and get their legs, then they go into a small brooder with closed sides and a wire front for one week. At a week old they go into our big brooder with wire front, floor and sides. They stay there until the are five weeks old. At five weeks I open the brooder door and on the ground they go. Our brooders sit out behind our house under some big oaks and my grow out pen fence is about 50 0r 60 feet from the brooders all around. so basically the brooders sit in the center of the grow out pen.

You can see pictures of our brooders here. (The info is out of date, but it'll give you an idea.) I really need to update that darn page... maybe soon. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mississippifarmboys-chcken-blog

Anyway, at 9 weeks mine would already have been running loose on the ground for a month.

You have a beautiful family, MFB!

The girls have been free ranging daily since I posted last. We let them out around 10am each day and go close them up after they put themselves to bed each night. We spend a lot of time sitting and watching them do chicken things.

I had (HAD being the operative word here) a HUGE, beautiful Chicken of the Woods growing in the side yard of the house on the opposite side from their coop. Well, the little stinkers got brave and ventured all the way around there and discovered it before I had a chance to cut it and they have just about devoured it. They all gather around it like they are eating at a big family dinner table and have at it. heh.


Bee, I have diligently gone down each night and put them on their roost. Happily, night before last, when I went down I had to put only 9 up on the roost - the other 20 were already there, and last night I only had to put 4 up! They are finally starting to figure it out. YAY!

 

[normanack]

I hear you. Unfortunately we have many many rabbits running around and finding that 1 nest is purty near impossible.

The only way to reliably find the nest, in my experience, is to drive the bunny to the wildlife rehabilitator. The longer the drive, the more likely you are to find the nest after you return home.