Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[smyers32]

It is a matter of opinion on looks and vigor. Showgirls make just as good foo-foo loofas as regualr silkies and are just as cold hardy and in-fact see better.

I have NN chcikens, which have 1/3 less feathers, lay large eggs, are LARGE AND HARDY and taste just fine. Some do not like their looks, other think that they are just dandy including any type of foo-foo creations. In fact they look just like the muppets and big bird. Take a look all of life is a cartoon !

Yeah, I think silkies look kinda ridiculous and naked necks look completely disgusting, but you are right...just a matter of opinion. I like chickens that look like chickens.

 

[galanie]

I'm actually considering getting a silkie just for comic relief. I kept trying to have a polish for the same reason but they kept dying on me or ending up in a critters stomach. I'm sure a silkie will too but eh, I might anyway.

 

[Pozees]

I'm actually considering getting a silkie just for comic relief. I kept trying to have a polish for the same reason but they kept dying on me or ending up in a critters stomach. I'm sure a silkie will too but eh, I might anyway.

LOL I have been considering a silkie hen purely for their inclination for brooding

 

[Mountain Momma]

Eh, I was being dramatic, truth is I haven't had a social life in years.

this is a social life. This is like a party with like minded people who are hilarious, knowledgeable and talkative. lol.

Okay, I I did something that would have disagreed with "WWBD" . I traded one of my happy peaceful plym rocks for my friends b****y smallish plym rock. She could not bring herself to cull it. Her DH needs a plym rock for the valuable tail feathers. He makes fly fish hooks with them. So anyway, I was curious to see what would happen in a much larger flock with two roos that like it peaceful. We did the switch Sat about 6:30. The new chicken roosted on the second tier and all seemed fine. Another of my plym rocks whined at the door. In humanizing her I believe she missed her friend.

This morning the new chicken had been pecked on her comb and there was some blood. Otherwise she is fine and she stayed in the coop until everyone went out and then she went out. Im watching closely to see if she gets the hint to be peaceful or if she will be chicken soup most likely this evening. I will medicate her after breakfast if she looks like she will try ti fit in. Almost all of my chickens are similar in age to her but much larger than her. All of my friends chickens are smallish. She bought 3 Americaunas yesterday as well. We decided to do it since her whole flock dynamic was already changing as of yesterday with the other addition. She bought the three from an older gent as his RIR were pecking them to peices. He did not want to keep them and watch the torture or cull.

Will let you Know.
L

 

[Gargoyle]

He did not want to keep them and watch the torture or cull.

That caused a thought to germinate in my brain.

If you have a problem Roo that you might need to get rid of, do you name it Jethro Cull?

 

[zyzzyx]

Howdy all--
I am in the situation/state of affairs of building and preparing everything (as per instruction)

. All will be prepared in a few weeks including making my own ACV with mother--because I couldn't find any here in Panama. I will also be feeding ff ---no one here has ever heard of it. Strange world we live in. I have a friend who has two horses and uses wood shavings from a hardwood mill to bed his animals stalls. I go to his house every three weeks and bring a pickup truck load of "horse feathers" to my compost pile (mountain now). My question is would it hurt to re-use the "horse feathers" in my coop/tractor as bedding for the chickens (not the little ones) after they have grown large enough to go out to play in the yard??

Any comment or suggestion will be appreciated

 

[Fred's Hens]

Horse manure bedding has been used for ages under chickens. The top drawer show folks know all about this for conditioning.

 

[smyers32]

Another pondering...I have a hen that I'm pretty sure is trying to go broody, she was on the nest almost all day yesterday and looks like she was there all night. I'm not interested in hatching any eggs right now, but I was just wondering if I did want to and I bought eggs for her to hatch, how do I know for sure that she is officially broody and will set the eggs all the way through and not get bored after a week and leave them. Or is it just one of those things you have to learn about a hen through trial and error?
Also, I mentioned this before, but I'm still kinda curious...is it possible that hearing the chicks peeping across the barn triggered some mothering instinct in her, or is it just coincidence that she's acting broody a few days after bringing home chicks?

 

[Mountain Momma]

That caused a thought to germinate in my brain.

If you have a problem Roo that you might need to get rid of, do you name it Jethro Cull?

very humorous. We plan to sing thick as a brick when we cull a roo.

Thick As A Brick
Really don't mind if you sit this one out.
My words but a whisper - your deafness a SHOUT.
I may make you feel but I can't make you think.
Your sperm's in the gutter - your love's in the sink.
So you ride yourselves over the fields and
you make all your animal deals and
your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick.

Of course, one of the most incredible things I've seen at a concert was Ian Anderson doing the splits in the air, his crotch about a foot above the micriphone, while playing the penny flute at some age -most likely over 50-it was in the late 80's I think in Ohio. Now if a roo can do that I'll save him.
L

 

[zyzzyx]

Many thanks Fred---

I am glad to hear that it wasn't a silly question after all. The "horse feathers" are not wet or sloppy because my friend uses a lot of shavings and cleans the stalls every day. the stuff hasn't had time to begin to heat up before I get it. Thanks again