Roosters, predators, breeding set up...

[emorems0]

PICTURES! Because that makes every thread better

Turkeys... during the transition period, this fence separated the original run and the expanded run. This it the tree/bush that the new birds roost in every night.


My 4 year old with one of the dark Cornish. They are currently her favorite and she loves to catch them and carry them around, but they are getting FAST and much harder to catch these days. (also, she was dressed up as Fawn, the animal fairy from the Tinker Bell movies, haha).


Chicken tractor picture from when our meaties were small

Romeo

Picture of the coop from last summer before we put up the higher run fencing. It gets solid walls hung on the sides for winter. Clear roof = lots of winter sun; open sides (it has hardware mesh) for good summer ventilation.


Inside picture from last summer when our layers were small.



I don't have any good pictures of the run

 

[emorems0]

Sorry, double post

 

[centrarchid]

What about winter? I could potentially use my tractor as a bachelor pad for the meat project roosters and just keep Romeo and all the hens in the main coop unless I want to collect eggs... but it gets COLD here in PA. I was thinking I could use the future second coop as a breeding pen in the summer so I could divide the run if needed for chicks... but what to do with the meat project roosters in the winter?

In central Missouri our temperatures get every bit as cold as in PA.

Image above depicts how little cover provided, especially with respect to freezing rain and snow. We get 2 foot snow events and -10 F with serious wind once in a while. Key is to block direct wind. Your dual purpose are as tough as my American Dominiques. You can step up protection from wind but make so snow does does not collapse pens or drifts literally bury birds.

 

[emorems0]

Hmmm... Romeo got some frost bite on his comb last year despite having access to the coop. I felt terrible, but he's the one who chose to go outside on those frigid days. I would think that Dark Cornish could handle it better with their pea combs... but Delaware have a big single comb like the BAs. Definitely something to consider.

 

[centrarchid]

Frost bite is difficult to control as temperatures drop. Too much air flow is the direct method but can get it when birds are kept too tight causing moisture build up. Keeping ambient temperature up seems to be the most effective preventative of frost bite. In coming years I will be exploring use of a heated roost to see if birds resist frost bite better at extreme low temperatures. Normal approach for me is to dub or simply tolerate the damage. Latter is not good for show purposes.

Other heating methods might be worth exploring.

 

[emorems0]

So... I pinned Romeo down and picked him up to carry him around under my arm today as suggested and I notice these little white-ish bugs crawling around on his face! Poor guy, is this some type of mite? He is showing no outward signs of being sick/infested... poops are normal, feathers are full and beautiful like normal, skin and comb are bright and look fine. I never even would have noticed these bugs if I hadn't picked him up and held him so close to my face.

 

[centrarchid]

He looks a little lousy. Can you provide him a dust bathing station? Mine a re having more trouble with such this year because ground has been so wet making dust bating less effective. Birds near house with drier dust bathing area look much better.

 

[emorems0]

Makes sense since that's what the girls are dealing with... I thought lice looked more like fleas, but a quick google search corrected that assumption. I never actually saw any bugs crawling on the girls, just the more obvious evidence of infestation - runny poops, feather loss around the vent, eggs on the feather shaft, etc. They do have a nice dust bathing area under the raised coop, it always stays dry there, but I think I'll add a little more DE and maybe some lime in that area as well as in the coop bedding. From what I can tell the girls are doing much better after their treatment, I'm planning on giving them a few more days in the tractor before I put them back in the coop/run where it is harder to catch them.

 

[centrarchid]

In addition to the DE, try adding a little ash. Particle size and chemistry I think help in dislodging the lice. My birds do not choose just any location to dust bath. They like it to be in the sun and have the characteristics of a silt loam. My birds also do not hesitate to dust bath in a large ant mount, The ants attacking the dust bathing chickens might make for an even better louse control agent.

 

[donrae]

Keep a Dark Cornish rooster and put him over your Delaware hens. The offspring will be sex linked (males silver, females gold) which could lend itself to selling pullet chicks if you're so inclined. Plus, in my experience, the Dark Cornish hens aren't good layers at all, but Delawares lay well.