So, since my first post in 2020, the truth of chickens, chicken math and more have been hard lessons learned...be forewarned, there is a bit of reading to follow:
Our first flock as described in 2020 was amazing! I didn't know it until later but our rooster had a rose comb and always looked like a 1920's New Yorker to me, haha! Sadly, while away in 2022 and having a family member tend the flock, we came back to the entire flock having been killed by varmints. Undeterred we started getting more birds and found out about a traveling chicken flock salesman that comes from northern chicken houses with a 24' cattle trailer laden with chicken transport cages to sell them at about $5 a production red hen. That transpired to meaning we could get ourselves a flock, get one for my mother in law, my mother and even sister...eventually connecting my uncle to him to become a distributor for him...at one point my uncle had over 500 chicken hens from them.
2023 saw some strain of an avian sickness come with some of the hens, likely an outlet for a chicken house that wanted some compensation of some sort. I don't recall the name of the strain we believe they had but in ended up meaning we had to cull every bird we had, including the non-production reds we had, as well as my sister's flock of tons of different breeds she had carefully raised, such a sad day. Then to add insult we had to let the coop and run lay empty for at least 6 months with no chickens. Around month 4 we got chicks from local places, ensured they had immunizations and raised them in a different area for a few months until over 6 months had passed and they inherited the coop and run of our first and second flock.
We also got two black bellied whistling ducklings from my mom for the 3rd flock, bought a South African goose (turned out to be a drake), eventually added a Pied Guineafowl that had joined a friends flock and now have added a couple of chicken tractors with 25 production red hens in a different area of the farm to add some separation from our backyard flock. Of course we know biosecurity relies on us being the vector between the flocks but since getting this latest set of production reds, no signs of such diseases have appeared so with any luck none will. They are currently in their first molt so egg production is down but we'll see how it goes!
Current disposition of the backyard flock includes the following:
1 South African Goose
1 Black Bellied Whistling Duck
1 African Pied Guineafowl
1 estranged White Leghorn Rooster (hangs out with the goats during the day, roosts on the edge of the chicken yard every night)
1 Auracauna Rooster
7 Black Australorp Hens
5 Easter Egger Hens
2 Lavender Orpington Hens
3 various bantams
1 Silkie rooster
1 Production Red Hen
The two chicken tractors have 25 Production Red Hens in them each for a total of 50 between them. I continue to update the chicken tractors with personalization, flare and test chicken watering/feeding systems with them, something I never deviated from with the backyard flock before.
About a month ago I cut the chicken yard down to 1/3rd of its original size and hand tilled the ground, sowed forage seed and added some good nutrient rich soil on top then began watering it twice a day. Finally the forage grasses are up to 3" and we've been letting the flock into their oasis for a few hours every few evenings, they absolutely love the grass and even the dirt to wallow/bathe in (despite having the same dirt in their yard).
So, what did I mean at the start when I said "the truth of chickens, chicken math and more have been hard lessons learned"?
1. Chickens are lunch for everything.
2. Chicken math, popular thought is you get some chickens then get more and more because you love them. In reality, if you want 10 chickens, you need to have 20+ because of rule #1 that Chickens are lunch for everything.
3. Having to destroy your flock is a sad reminder of diseases affecting poultry and why you must stay vigilant with the health of your flock.
4. Hens from big production barns...essentially don't know how to be a chicken.
Our first flock as described in 2020 was amazing! I didn't know it until later but our rooster had a rose comb and always looked like a 1920's New Yorker to me, haha! Sadly, while away in 2022 and having a family member tend the flock, we came back to the entire flock having been killed by varmints. Undeterred we started getting more birds and found out about a traveling chicken flock salesman that comes from northern chicken houses with a 24' cattle trailer laden with chicken transport cages to sell them at about $5 a production red hen. That transpired to meaning we could get ourselves a flock, get one for my mother in law, my mother and even sister...eventually connecting my uncle to him to become a distributor for him...at one point my uncle had over 500 chicken hens from them.
2023 saw some strain of an avian sickness come with some of the hens, likely an outlet for a chicken house that wanted some compensation of some sort. I don't recall the name of the strain we believe they had but in ended up meaning we had to cull every bird we had, including the non-production reds we had, as well as my sister's flock of tons of different breeds she had carefully raised, such a sad day. Then to add insult we had to let the coop and run lay empty for at least 6 months with no chickens. Around month 4 we got chicks from local places, ensured they had immunizations and raised them in a different area for a few months until over 6 months had passed and they inherited the coop and run of our first and second flock.
We also got two black bellied whistling ducklings from my mom for the 3rd flock, bought a South African goose (turned out to be a drake), eventually added a Pied Guineafowl that had joined a friends flock and now have added a couple of chicken tractors with 25 production red hens in a different area of the farm to add some separation from our backyard flock. Of course we know biosecurity relies on us being the vector between the flocks but since getting this latest set of production reds, no signs of such diseases have appeared so with any luck none will. They are currently in their first molt so egg production is down but we'll see how it goes!
Current disposition of the backyard flock includes the following:
1 South African Goose
1 Black Bellied Whistling Duck
1 African Pied Guineafowl
1 estranged White Leghorn Rooster (hangs out with the goats during the day, roosts on the edge of the chicken yard every night)
1 Auracauna Rooster
7 Black Australorp Hens
5 Easter Egger Hens
2 Lavender Orpington Hens
3 various bantams
1 Silkie rooster
1 Production Red Hen
The two chicken tractors have 25 Production Red Hens in them each for a total of 50 between them. I continue to update the chicken tractors with personalization, flare and test chicken watering/feeding systems with them, something I never deviated from with the backyard flock before.
About a month ago I cut the chicken yard down to 1/3rd of its original size and hand tilled the ground, sowed forage seed and added some good nutrient rich soil on top then began watering it twice a day. Finally the forage grasses are up to 3" and we've been letting the flock into their oasis for a few hours every few evenings, they absolutely love the grass and even the dirt to wallow/bathe in (despite having the same dirt in their yard).
So, what did I mean at the start when I said "the truth of chickens, chicken math and more have been hard lessons learned"?
1. Chickens are lunch for everything.
2. Chicken math, popular thought is you get some chickens then get more and more because you love them. In reality, if you want 10 chickens, you need to have 20+ because of rule #1 that Chickens are lunch for everything.
3. Having to destroy your flock is a sad reminder of diseases affecting poultry and why you must stay vigilant with the health of your flock.
4. Hens from big production barns...essentially don't know how to be a chicken.
, and thought I would pop over and say hi! I've actually been debating returning to BYC for some time now, and this (among other things), seem to have been a friendly little nudge to rejoin to the flock, so to speak.
), who suffered from nerve damage early on. You can read more about her story here: 
