BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[CanadianBuckeye]

Here's the damage a dozen chickens have done. You can see the difference in the growth of plants around the well compared to the rest. It's still winter here, so most things are still dormant- but this was all green last year. Unbelievable.

 

[hellbender]

Here's the damage a dozen chickens have done. You can see the difference in the growth of plants around the well compared to the rest. It's still winter here, so most things are still dormant- but this was all green last year. Unbelievable.

Were they confined there? Looks like they had help from a dozen or more goats.

 

[Beer can]

@CanadianBuckeye , what kind of chickens do you have? Pitbullukeye's? Mine only do that confined to runs or tractors.

 

[Mini Meat]

Here's the damage a dozen chickens have done. You can see the difference in the growth of plants around the well compared to the rest. It's still winter here, so most things are still dormant- but this was all green last year. Unbelievable.

The problem with running even a small amount of animals on the same ground is there is not recovery time for the plants. I am sure the ground you have them on was sufficient in the beginning so they felt no need to move further out. The same planst got picked over and shredded before the could make a full come back. I doubt if they ate all the plants they most likely killed it looking for bugs.

If it where me, I would put wood chips around the coop as far out as I can. Let them abuse the chips so the greenery of it can get a bit of rest.

But I am a fan of chickens on wood chips.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Were they confined there? Looks like they had help from a dozen or more goats.

No. they are free to go wherever they want. But everywhere they go they do this! :-/

@CanadianBuckeye , what kind of chickens do you have? Pitbullukeye's? Mine only do that confined to runs or tractors.

LOL no, just some Buckeyes, dark cornish, and 4 mystery red sex link crosses. But apparently there's goat in the mix ;-)

The problem with running even a small amount of animals on the same ground is there is not recovery time for the plants. I am sure the ground you have them on was sufficient in the beginning so they felt no need to move further out. The same planst got picked over and shredded before the could make a full come back. I doubt if they ate all the plants they most likely killed it looking for bugs.

If it where me, I would put wood chips around the coop as far out as I can. Let them abuse the chips so the greenery of it can get a bit of rest.

But I am a fan of chickens on wood chips.

The wood chip paths were the first things they destroyed !! chicken magnets. They have trashed every green plant that's even remotely edible, they did actually eat them- as far out from the coop as they care to venture.
At least the soil here is fairly light, so it's not going to be muddy for long. On the plus side my feed bill is small, it and seems like I'll have golf course short lawns without having to mow. I hope they got every last earwig and slug. But they have eaten all the hostas too ! Gah.

 

[hellbender]

And speaking of something phenomenal (they just were, on another thread), I'm convinced that something near 80% of the hens on this farm have gone into ''Mass-Brood-Syndrome". (Including my daughter, Ariel...I'm fearful of seeing the international phone charges on this month's bill).

It seems like just a few days ago, we were getting so many eggs, they were being cooked and fed to anything that would eat them from dogs to hogs, yet suddenly we seem to be straining to get 20 or 25 eggs from all operations/projects on this place.

Not only has my daughter, in cahoots with my son Jason, have stuffed eggs under every Dark Cornish I own with the exception of the new one from Georgia and one of the hatchery birds but I think her day will soon be upon us. This morning I was informed that 3 or 4 of my big ol' Chantecler hens were setting on convex piles of eggs and I KNOW in my heart that they have three big burly Buckeye gals that had been penned with a Chantecler cock-bird for the last several weeks have disappeared from sight.

At a family meeting, we had agreed that a total of 75 chicks plus or minus, would be plenty for us this year since we can use pullets as well as cockerels to sexually alter.

I think there just might be a bit of subterfuge afoot here. I know approximately how many hens make their homes on this farm and realize there is a prospect of being more than 300+ chicks chasing around after their mammies in short order and the blame will fall to NATURE.

Well, perhaps having the hens do the work will be less stressful but I'll believe that when I see it.

 

[angry rooster]

And speaking of something phenomenal (they just were, on another thread), I'm convinced that something near 80% of the hens on this farm have gone into ''Mass-Brood-Syndrome".  [COLOR=B22222]([/COLOR][COLOR=B22222]Including my daughter, Ariel...I'm fearful of seeing the international phone charges on this month's bill).[/COLOR]

It seems like just a few days ago, we were getting so many eggs, they were being cooked and fed to anything that would eat them from dogs to hogs, yet suddenly we seem to be straining to get 20 or 25 eggs from all operations/projects on this place.

Not only has my daughter, in cahoots with my son Jason, have stuffed eggs under every Dark Cornish I own with the exception of the new one from Georgia and one of the hatchery birds but I think her day will soon be upon us.  This morning I was informed that 3 or 4 of my big ol' Chantecler hens were setting on convex piles of eggs and I KNOW in my heart that they have three big burly Buckeye gals that had been penned with a Chantecler cock-bird for the last several weeks have disappeared from sight.  

At a family meeting, we had agreed that a total of 75 chicks plus or minus, would be plenty for us this year since we can use pullets as well as cockerels to sexually alter.

I think there just might be a bit of subterfuge afoot here. I know approximately how many hens make their homes on this farm and realize there is a prospect of being more than 300+ chicks chasing around after their mammies in short order and the blame will fall to [COLOR=00FF00]NATURE.[/COLOR]  

Well, perhaps having the hens do the work will be less stressful but I'll believe that when I see it.

Good luck on that one you may need to look at some sort of a cow catcher for chick's

 

[DesertChic]

And speaking of something phenomenal (they just were, on another thread), I'm convinced that something near 80% of the hens on this farm have gone into ''Mass-Brood-Syndrome". (Including my daughter, Ariel...I'm fearful of seeing the international phone charges on this month's bill).

It seems like just a few days ago, we were getting so many eggs, they were being cooked and fed to anything that would eat them from dogs to hogs, yet suddenly we seem to be straining to get 20 or 25 eggs from all operations/projects on this place.

Not only has my daughter, in cahoots with my son Jason, have stuffed eggs under every Dark Cornish I own with the exception of the new one from Georgia and one of the hatchery birds but I think her day will soon be upon us. This morning I was informed that 3 or 4 of my big ol' Chantecler hens were setting on convex piles of eggs and I KNOW in my heart that they have three big burly Buckeye gals that had been penned with a Chantecler cock-bird for the last several weeks have disappeared from sight.

At a family meeting, we had agreed that a total of 75 chicks plus or minus, would be plenty for us this year since we can use pullets as well as cockerels to sexually alter.

I think there just might be a bit of subterfuge afoot here. I know approximately how many hens make their homes on this farm and realize there is a prospect of being more than 300+ chicks chasing around after their mammies in short order and the blame will fall to NATURE.

Well, perhaps having the hens do the work will be less stressful but I'll believe that when I see it.

WOW! I'm exhausted just reading about all those broodies and possible vast quantities of chicks. (Including Ariel, LOL!)

 

[Mini Meat]

And speaking of something phenomenal (they just were, on another thread), I'm convinced that something near 80% of the hens on this farm have gone into ''Mass-Brood-Syndrome". (Including my daughter, Ariel...I'm fearful of seeing the international phone charges on this month's bill).

It seems like just a few days ago, we were getting so many eggs, they were being cooked and fed to anything that would eat them from dogs to hogs, yet suddenly we seem to be straining to get 20 or 25 eggs from all operations/projects on this place.

Not only has my daughter, in cahoots with my son Jason, have stuffed eggs under every Dark Cornish I own with the exception of the new one from Georgia and one of the hatchery birds but I think her day will soon be upon us. This morning I was informed that 3 or 4 of my big ol' Chantecler hens were setting on convex piles of eggs and I KNOW in my heart that they have three big burly Buckeye gals that had been penned with a Chantecler cock-bird for the last several weeks have disappeared from sight.

At a family meeting, we had agreed that a total of 75 chicks plus or minus, would be plenty for us this year since we can use pullets as well as cockerels to sexually alter.

I think there just might be a bit of subterfuge afoot here. I know approximately how many hens make their homes on this farm and realize there is a prospect of being more than 300+ chicks chasing around after their mammies in short order and the blame will fall to NATURE.

Well, perhaps having the hens do the work will be less stressful but I'll believe that when I see it.

Yup, sounds like someone may be projecting maternal instincts on to the chickens. I sense grand babies in the not to distant future lol

 

[Mini Meat]

So, here is my story of how I have tried to use my chickens to actually improve my ground. Sorry the pics could tell it better if I had thought to take them all from the same spot but here goes.

The chicken yard is 1/2 acre of flat ground that had been base rocked about 4" deep. Surrounding that is vast wooded areas. My focus was on the rocked part.

It all looked like this


I penned 75 three month old birds in one section of electro net for a total of 20 sf per. I left them confined for three months. I only let them out when cleaning the coop. I used pine shavings in the coop (horse trailer) and tossed the old bedding into the pen. I did not have any wood chips at the time. I did not attempt deep litter in the trailer. I did not till or otherwise turn the ground.The bits of green you see below is nothing but tar weed and small brush.

After three months the ground was very heavily impacted and had a residue of manure and shavings over the whole 1600 square feet.
About that time the wood chips arrived so I pulled down the fence and let them loose to manure the wood chips pile as it broke down some.
I seeded the whole flat, the area where the chickens had been as well as the rest of it so I could see the difference between where they had been confined and the rest of the flat. The coop was not moved and the chickens where not kept off the area. They preferred to stay on the chip piles.

This is how it looks now You can just see the front of the trailer in the upper right corner.

A view from above you can see where their impact stopped the seeds did not germinate.


Not the lushest pasture out there, but it is a very significant improvement.