Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[father time]

what is scout out of we have one the same color which comes from our blacks. also have some beautiful solid blacks, blues, and solid whites that are beautiful birds.

 

[Miss Ameraucana]

Not sure of the size difference from your adults, but one thing I have done is to take a big dog kennel (what you've been using for them may work) and cover the door with cardboard.. Cut a hole just big enough for the smaller birds to fit but not the older ones. Then put whatever feed you want the younguns eating inside there. Then you can either raise your adult feed to where the babies can't reach, or leave it and they can have free choice. I've done both with no ill effects.

Hope that all makes sense. Good luck!

sounds perfect but my babies are bigger than most of my adult flock......what about the temp and immunity?

 

[carcar80]

sounds perfect but my babies are bigger than most of my adult flock......what about the temp and immunity?

Sorry, didn't cover those and didn't say why. Personally by that age (or when they are fully feathered) all of my birds are out without a light 24/7, but I am in GA and can't speak for anywhere else as I've not raised birds there.

I also never use medicated feed to begin with on any of my birds and don't take extra precautions against anything so I can't speak on that either. I've never had any sickness come up that I've had to treat. Maybe I've just been very, very lucky?

 

[carcar80]

As for the lack of size difference for feed control, best alternative I know is to just hang a feeder of each feed and let everyone have free choice. Not much else I can think of that you can do aside from giving them their own area altogether.

 

[bruceha2000]

RavynFallen; I have a question for you. My two EE PULLETS(yes they were supposed to be AMS) that I bought from Orscheln's are 3 months old now.They have been inside at night and out in a cage in the run with the flock during the day..I have had them on mediacted chick food to try to build up their immunity. I don't have a grow out pen so we have been wanting to get them out of the house but I am afraid that they will succumb to coccydiosis, or the temp changes. I have been waiting til it hits 40 to take them out each day. I just mixed in all flock feed for my layers for the Winter. Do u think they would do fine if I go ahead and let them live with the flock? As far as my other birds r concerned they have been in their little cage inside the run for so long they don't even look twice at them anymore. And should I just start feeding the medicated food to the whole flock mixed in so these guys can get more immunity built up? Any advice is very much apprechiated! We live in KS. Its flat..lol! And our property has no trees except for the woods that ecircle our 2 Acres so they can't free range or it would be feeding a chicken a day or more... to all the hawks.. any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated!

At 3 months old, they were ready to go outside 2 months ago. I think you will find that they migrate to the roosts with the older birds. BUT, expect there will be some "status pecking". The older birds will "remind" the younger ones that they are lower in the order. Probably not so much when they are young, and the little ones will learn who to run from and who isn't a drama queen.

My young ones are now 6 months old. They came from Meyer and were raised by a broody. I made a wire covered pen inside the coop and had her locked in there at night, opening their door to the run (barn alley) in the morning (the coop has an auto door on a light sensor so the older girls could come out at daybreak). She would take them back to eat and drink and at night before the older girls went to roost. Then at 2 weeks she decided (I guess) that she was tired of waiting to be let out of "jail" in the morning and took them up to a nest box (access perch 18" off the ground, nest 24").

She protected them against anything and everything inside and outside the barn (they free range all day) for 2 months then the "I'm brooding babies" switch went OFF. She is now as likely to give them a hard time as any of the other birds (even though 4 of the juves are a bit bigger than some of the adults and way bigger than the 2 Cubalayas). The birds have to fuss over who sleeps where EVERY night. And this was true before the new chicks arrived. The older birds hadn't seen another chicken since they were shoved in a box at Ideal in Texas June, 1012 until the new chicks arrived but they have ALWAYS ****** at each other at roost time. Now instead of 9 birds figuring out who is allowed to sleep where, there are 16. There is 28' of roost at 4' high and an 8' one at 2' (never used) so it isn't like they don't have enough roost space. Some of the older birds just seem to think they need to give others a tough time every night even if they don't want to sleep where that bird is.

Re medicated feed. I didn't use it with my 9 (originally 12) now 3.5 Y/Os and I didn't use it with the 7 new chicks. I started them on chick starter but in the end about half of it got mixed in with the regular layer pellets because they were eating from the community feeder anyway. My girls free range all day long. I think that, at best, medicated feed is potentially useful when they are young if they are in an area with a big coccidiosis problem. Leaving them on medicated feed isn't going to increase their immunity. They get that by having cocci and fighting it off with their own immune systems. If your older birds aren't on medicated feed now, there is no reason to start them on it. Medicated feed will NOT cure a coccidiosis infection.

http://scoopfromthecoop.nutrenaworld.com/medicated-chick-starter-facts/

 

[carcar80]

I agree. I think of medicated feed as being useful in "mass-breeding" situations.. overcrowded grow-out houses, etc. JMO

 

[Miss Ameraucana]

RavynFallen; I have a question for you. My two EE PULLETS(yes they were supposed to be AMS) that I bought from Orscheln's are 3 months old now.They have been inside at night and out in a cage in the run with the flock during the day..I have had them on mediacted chick food to try to build up their immunity. I don't have a grow out pen so we have been wanting to get them out of the house but I am afraid that they will succumb to coccydiosis, or the temp changes. I have been waiting til it hits 40 to take them out each day. I just mixed in all flock feed for my layers for the Winter. Do u think they would do fine if I go ahead and let them live with the flock? As far as my other birds r concerned they have been in their little cage inside the run for so long they don't even look twice at them anymore. And should I just start feeding the medicated food to the whole flock mixed in so these guys can get more immunity built up? Any advice is very much apprechiated! We live in KS. Its flat..lol! And our property has no trees except for the woods that ecircle our 2 Acres so they can't free range or it would be feeding a chicken a day or more... to all the hawks.. any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated!

sounds perfect but my babies are bigger than most of my adult flock......what about the temp and immunity?

Sorry, didn't cover those and didn't say why. Personally by that age (or when they are fully feathered) all of my birds are out without a light 24/7, but I am in GA and can't speak for anywhere else as I've not raised birds there.

I also never use medicated feed to begin with on any of my birds and don't take extra precautions against anything so I can't speak on that either. I've never had any sickness come up that I've had to treat. Maybe I've just been very, very lucky?

At 3 months old, they were ready to go outside 2 months ago. I think you will find that they migrate to the roosts with the older birds. BUT, expect there will be some "status pecking". The older birds will "remind" the younger ones that they are lower in the order. Probably not so much when they are young, and the little ones will learn who to run from and who isn't a drama queen.

My young ones are now 6 months old. They came from Meyer and were raised by a broody. I made a wire covered pen inside the coop and had her locked in there at night, opening their door to the run (barn alley) in the morning (the coop has an auto door on a light sensor so the older girls could come out at daybreak). She would take them back to eat and drink and at night before the older girls went to roost. Then at 2 weeks she decided (I guess) that she was tired of waiting to be let out of "jail" in the morning and took them up to a nest box (access perch 18" off the ground, nest 24"). 

She protected them against anything and everything inside and outside the barn (they free range all day) for 2 months then the "I'm brooding babies" switch went OFF. She is now as likely to give them a hard time as any of the other birds (even though 4 of the juves are a bit bigger than some of the adults and way bigger than the 2 Cubalayas). The birds have to fuss over who sleeps where EVERY night. And this was true before the new chicks arrived. The older birds hadn't seen another chicken since they were shoved in a box at Ideal in Texas June, 1012 until the new chicks arrived but they have ALWAYS ****** at each other at roost time. Now instead of 9 birds figuring out who is allowed to sleep where, there are 16. There is 28' of roost at 4' high and an 8' one at 2' (never used) so it isn't like they don't have enough roost space. Some of the older birds just seem to think they need to give others a tough time every night even if they don't want to sleep where that bird is.

Re medicated feed. I didn't use it with my 9 (originally 12) now 3.5 Y/Os and I didn't use it with the 7 new chicks. I started them on chick starter but in the end about half of it got mixed in with the regular layer pellets because they were eating from the community feeder anyway. My girls free range all day long. I think that, at best, medicated feed is potentially useful when they are young if they are in an area with a big coccidiosis problem. Leaving them on medicated feed isn't going to increase their immunity. They get that by having cocci and fighting it off with their own immune systems. If your older birds aren't on medicated feed now, there is no reason to start them on it. Medicated feed will NOT cure a coccidiosis infection.

http://scoopfromthecoop.nutrenaworld.com/medicated-chick-starter-facts/

Thanks everybody very much for your input, so I guessI will go ahead and let them stay outside 24/7. Like chickens r supposed to do!
I jwasn't sure if the temp changes and food changes would be ok or not.

 

[carcar80]

Thanks everybody very much for your input, so I guessI will go ahead and let them stay outside 24/7. Like chickens r supposed to do!
I jwasn't sure if the temp changes and food changes would be ok or not.

Always better to be a little over cautious but really they are far more tough than we realize. If you want, you can fix them a little corner with a wind block (if needed) to make you feel better, but in reality they'll probably pick a spot you don't like and pile up there and "purr" all night happily.

 

[carcar80]

Oh and I have also always found that when I first turn babies out into the "real world" with no light at night, they get fairly whiny/noisy as dusk falls, mostly just from confusion and looking for a place to get comfy. Now I just expect it.

 

[Miss Ameraucana]

Oh and I have also always found that when I first turn babies out into the "real world" with no light at night, they get fairly whiny/noisy as dusk falls, mostly just from confusion and looking for a place to get comfy. Now I just expect it.

carcar80 thanks so much! I just probably worry too much.