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

[flagirl]

Newbie here, i've researched on the feeding thread, but am confused, so i need ot advice. i have quite a bit of whole wheat berries from when my grain mill was working. is it ok to just occasionally throw out the berries? seems if they free ranged in fields where wheat was grown, they would have eaten it whole-not sprouted cracked etc. i am looking for simplicity here.

 

[galanie]

Flagirl, it should be just fine to suppliment them with some of that wheat. Doesn't need to be ground or cracked or sprouted for them to eat it, just make sure it isn't a major part of their diet. The chicken food that is formulated for chickens should still be the major part of what they eat.

SpeckledHen, I had to laugh when picturing your BBS orps. My two part English blue girls (they're still young - maybe when they get closer to full sized they wont) sneak over the fence to enjoy my neighbors 1/2 acre every day. (there's no dogs and it's well fenced too) But all my orps scratch and search over my property busily all day and look longingly at my veggie gardens which I fenced off. If they see a fence come down for them to get in it, I'll be knocked over in the stampede if I don't move. The ones that jump the fence were broody raised but the rest were not. But they all were allowed out under supervision regularly to learn how starting from only a week or so of age.

 

[speckledhen]

Suede is such a homebody. I keep saying he just doesn't get the concept of free ranging so I just lock him back in the pen, silly thing. Now, my hatchery Buff Orp hen who is six and was raised roaming the property and my almost-four-year-old Buff Orp, Nugget, who is a regular broody, roam much, much further than the BBS group. Now that Nugget is in with Suede, maybe she'll teach him to expand his horizons, LOL.

 

[galanie]

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LOL I hope so! My regular broody is a hatchery buff orp and boy does she ever teach the free ranging part! But Suede is such a pretty guy, we all forgive him.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

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I make up my own scratch based on season and what's cheap. In general, in winter it's BOSS, wheat and corn - summer it's oats, millet, BOSS.
Mills mix whatever is available and cheapest. Notice the scratch label doesn't tell precisely what's in there.

 

[Tracydr]

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Bring your water to a boil

Add eggs with a spoon being careful not to crack

Boil desired time (we do 15 min)

Add cool water to pan until all hot water gone and let sit till water is warm from eggs

Drain and fill with ice water and let sit till eggs are cold

Put then in fridge for a couple hours and they will then peel like a dream....

I have a hard-boiled egg machine that my mother gave me. She got it from her first place of work, before she was married, in around 1961. To use the machine, you poke a hole in one end of the egg and place it on a tray. Add water and the machine steams the eggs for a set amount of time. I stick the eggs in cold water to quickly cool. Even the freshest eggs peel easily cooked with this gadget.
My parents bought a new electric egg cooker which works just as well. I think the key may be the little needle that pokes the hole in the shell so that the steam penetrates the egg.
Now, if I could find a foolproof and simple way to make poached eggs. My gadget used to have a glas poaching tray but it was somehow lost or broken in a move years ago.

 

[Tracydr]

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This is something I always wonder about when I read a thread titled something like Which Breeds Forage Well? - They all forage well. I don't really understand the question unless they mean they want a breed that can really rough it and make do totally on their own well. In which case, I'd hope they didn't get any at all.

Some birds really require a good portion of their food to come from that "complete ration" feeder, even if they enjoy scratching around in the yard. Others will hardly look at the feeder and continue to lay well, maintain body condition and stay healthy on the forage they are able to find. They are usually the birds with the ability to find bugs the best, range a little farther, have a better feed conversion ratio.
Compare the difference between a Cornish X and an OEGB for an extreme view. The Cornish X couldn't catch a tomato hornworm 4 feet in front of him and may not be able to utilize it well if he does. His genetics have literally programmed him to sit in front of the trough. Now, we can raise him a little different and he'll get up and act a little bit like a real chicken. But, he'd never be able to become a true foraging chicken such as the OEGB. My little OEGBs are always at the front when bugs are to be found and rarely hit the feeder during the warm months. Some of the slower chickens in my flock (usually some of the EEs) simply don't get the bug chasing game. I have a flock of mixed breeds that should all be good foragers as I'm trying to decide which breeds will be best when I move to a free-ranging environment but even in this pack some breeds are clearly more proficient at foraging than others.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I think all of mine have been pretty good foragers. I've had a lot of different breeds, but mostly heavy weight breeds the last 20 years. They range all over and will cover 5 acres, depending on which gates are open.

Mine seem to forage farther, sooner, if they have someone or something to follow, especially to new areas that they aren't sure are safe. I've had them follow sheep they were pastured with, other chickens or me when I've taken young ones out foraging to new areas where I want them. One year I had young pullets that followed one of my cats around when they first started foraging. They love to follow fence lines, buildings or hedges, too. The fence lines are really tempting here, because of the leaf litter along them, that has tasty insects and worms underneath. The sheep always loved browsing up in the woods and the chickens love the leaf litter there, of course.

They seem to prefer what they can forage over what's in the feeder. They still like the grass, pasture legumes, leafy greens and seeds in the fall and early winter, but really miss the insects, larvae and worms. They also love to forage on different berries and fruits in the growing season. They spend more time in different parts of the property, depending on what's available at any one time.

I think foraging is an instinct, but it's also a skill that chickens learn. They have to learn where it's safe to go, what is safe to eat and what is good to eat. Over time, as they mature, I see them get better at it. I see my more confident, bolder chickens are willing to take more risk and flocks that have at least one risk taker can follow their lead. I do think brooder chicks are at a disadvantage compared to broody/flock raised chicks, if they're left on their own.

 

[Dusty Chicken]

After several days parked in front of my computer I have finally read all 146 pages!

I have spent countless hours over the last couple of years reading a variety of threads on this site. You have all helped me build my first coop, purchase my first flock & helped me feed them & keep them safe. My flock is now just about 9 months old & I am more hooked on chickens then I ever thought possible.

I just wanted to tell you how wonderful this particular thread has been for me. It has encouraged me to trust my instincts, watch my birds & learn from them what they need.

Thank you!!!

Meaghan (newbie from San Juan Is, WA)

 

[perchie.girl]

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