California - Northern

[zooweemama]

I've looked at hog/cattle fencing, even for a pen smaller than a hog would need, it would be beyond my finances. I'm still trying to figure out if I can afford all wood posts instead of t-posts. They would make for a stronger fence, even if I'm using lighter fencing. However, layering the fencing isn't something that's occurred to me before. In some ways it seems like a colossal waste, since I'd have to buy twice what I need. The hot wire is a good idea, but I'm not sure if it would be SAFE where I am, since we have lots of pine and oak trees and that means leaves and needles on the ground, and the weed grasses can get quite tall. Don't want to terrify my chickens by having to run the weed eater every few weeks near their pens!

And yes, we do have black bears. A black bear took 16 chickens and 2 turkeys from me this year. It was a mess.

Bears?? Yikes that is SO scary!!

 

[debs_flock]

Quote: No where did I say Welsh Harlequin are hybrid and I was only referring to the Metzer chart that you linked.

 

[zooweemama]

Ah but see, the chart you referenced, the only thing that beat the KC in egg laying, were the hybrids (I think, I only gave it a quick glance, busy vacuuming dog dust).

I was only talking about purebred ducks (don't forget, our primary purpose was for showing, the eggs were just a bonus). If you're primarily going for egg laying ability, hybrids are the way to go, much like with most chickens. It's hard to beat the sex-links and production (hatchery) quality birds for shear numbers.

Variety of breeds/colors is what makes things interesting, everyone can go with what they like. Just like I am able to put up with poor laying in some of my breeds of chickens, because I just want to work with that breed. Other than our egg flock of 12 feedstore birds (as purebred as a hatchery bird can be), the rest of our birds are all from exhibition lines. So far, I'd give egg laying in my chickens to my campine, almost every day a large-x-large egg without exception. But then, many of my breeds haven't started to lay yet for comparison.

And Holderreads is a great place to research. All of our show waterfowl came from them (20 years ago) and his books make a superior reference. Great people to work with.

Deb

I was simply referring to this comment. The WH's are a pure breed and they are heavy layers. No hybrid needed. That's all I meant. If a pure breed duck can lay 250-350 eggs a year- I mean that's as good as a hybrid chicken. This began with KC as what you recommended for heavy layers and I was merely trying to point out there were other ducks that lay just as well. This is starting to seem like an argument so I concede. I apologize if you are offended or upset.

 

[zooweemama]

Has anyone lived in Wa? I know someone who keeps chickens and she says she free ranges and does not feed them. She was puzzled why I feed my chickens. :| We have mostly dirt out here so I cannot imagine a chicken getting all it needed from my dirty rocky backyard. IN Wa is the ground and foilage naturally plentiful that they do not need to feed their chickens?

 

[debs_flock]

Has anyone lived in Wa? I know someone who keeps chickens and she says she free ranges and does not feed them. She was puzzled why I feed my chickens. :| We have mostly dirt out here so I cannot imagine a chicken getting all it needed from my dirty rocky backyard. IN Wa is the ground and foilage naturally plentiful that they do not need to feed their chickens?

It depends on where in the state. Western WA is green all year long. My dad was a WA native from the SW corner of the state (small Finnish community). He would always say that nature watered for free. I always pointed out that the cost was mildew!

Eastern WA is a different story.

Deb

 

[ronott1]

Has anyone lived in Wa? I know someone who keeps chickens and she says she free ranges and does not feed them. She was puzzled why I feed my chickens. :| We have mostly dirt out here so I cannot imagine a chicken getting all it needed from my dirty rocky backyard. IN Wa is the ground and foilage naturally plentiful that they do not need to feed their chickens?

If you put them out on a watered pasture, and you had the correct number of chickens per acre:
Quote
"Experts of the day estimated the sustainable level to be about fifty hens per acre (80 m² per hen), with one hundred hens per acre (40 m² per hen) as an absolute upper limit if special care was taken. These levels are sustainable in the sense that the turf can make use of the nutrients in the manure left behind by the chickens, and in the sense that, at this stocking density, the chickens will not completely destroy the turf through scratching." End Quote

You would still need to provide free choice calcium and I would scatter out same layer crumbles for them in the morning. If you tried free ranging and still gave them free choice layer feed, some would eat mostly the layer feed. Some breeds would eat more of their food from the free ranging. Other breeds, maybe because of breeding programs won't free range as much. Some chickens are just lazy and prefer to eat the layer feed and take dust baths....

This won't work in the winter here, so if you free range you will have to provide all of their food then. Ideally, your feed bill would be lower in the summer.

Ron

Quote: Born and raised in this summer Desert. Not watering is foreign to me but I do understand that most of the country does not need to irrigate like we do.

My first Trader Joes chick just hatched!

Also, I am not getting notifications for my BYC subscriptions!

 

[zooweemama]

I'm not getting notifications either! Wow that must be cool not to have to water like we do here. It's soooo dry. Our monthly water bill is like $200 sometimes more. Just water. The water bill is worse in the summer of course. That pond gets filled weekly. :|

I bet it would be amazing to have such plentiful soil/land not to have to feed much! I would think winter would need some supplementing in most areas?

Are your chickens using the chicken fountain? Ours arent lol!

Yay for TJs chicks!! My husband is totally fascinated by the TJs hatching! Maybe if we get a broody hen we can slip some under her lol!


Excuse my typos. Sent from my iPhone.

 

[lawatt]

here's a random question -- my chicklets have been let out of their coop/run every afternoon for a few hours, which they love -- and then this weekend was a big bonanza, as i was home almost the entire time, so they got let out in the mornings and roamed around to their hearts' content. but alas, tuesday has come & i must head back to work, and there they all are, standing expectantly by the door of the run, hoping to be let out again.

is it "mean" to go back and forth between out all day vs. only a few hours? will they be discontent in their run now? (especially since thurs-sun this week i'll be in a huge four-day sailing regatta on the bay, & won't be home during the day much at all, so they'll probably be in jail for four days straight)

just curious as to how others manage this!

 

[capayvalleychick]

If you put them out on a watered pasture, and you had the correct number of chickens per acre:
Quote
"Experts of the day estimated the sustainable level to be about fifty hens per acre (80 m² per hen), with one hundred hens per acre (40 m² per hen) as an absolute upper limit if special care was taken. These levels are sustainable in the sense that the turf can make use of the nutrients in the manure left behind by the chickens, and in the sense that, at this stocking density, the chickens will not completely destroy the turf through scratching." End Quote

Is the writer of that quote saying that those chickens would need no additional feed, in that situation? Because in my experience, those numbers seem very high. They would be lacking what they need to be healthy enough to be productive. They might survive but they wouldn't be thriving.

I raise many of my chickens (layers) in a mobile coop out on grass pasture, irrigated during the dry months. I always provide them a measured amount of feed at the end of the day. Usually they eat all the feed. This past month, they tapered off and are no longer eating the Layena. They do gobble up any grains or Calf Manna that I put out. So they've become a little more picky. My pasture is not as lush as what they might have in WA or other non arid regions, but I have many less chickens than in that quote. That seems like it was written by someone who had never actually done it or didn't care about the health of their birds. JMO
Some of my breeding birds are up by the house. They free range on the lawns, etc. all day. They still eat quite a bit of feed every day.

Ron, congrats on the TJ hatch. You are now an official hatching addict! Corwin misses you very much.

 

[Miss Molly]

here's a random question -- my chicklets have been let out of their coop/run every afternoon for a few hours, which they love -- and then this weekend was a big bonanza, as i was home almost the entire time, so they got let out in the mornings and roamed around to their hearts' content.  but alas, tuesday has come & i must head back to work, and there they all are, standing expectantly by the door of the run, hoping to be let out again.

is it "mean" to go back and forth between out all day vs. only a few hours?  will they be discontent in their run now?  (especially since thurs-sun this week i'll be in a huge four-day sailing regatta on the bay, & won't be home during the day much at all, so they'll probably be in jail for four days straight)

just curious as to how others manage this!

My sister sails in lots of regattas. Do you know Mark and Tiffany Lewis?