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

[Beekissed]

I think my flocks don't bother chicks partly due to their free range area is so large, thus allowing smaller units, different ages, etc., to separate and move off on their own without direct competition for food. The other part, I believe, is that I raise my chickens as much as possible without much social interference from me and very little from their environment, causing them to revert to a more natural, wild existence. When chickens are allowed to form their own social structure that isn't impaired by space, uniform roost levels, limited feeding sources(one or two feeders per flock), or human intervention(coddling, handling, hand feeding), I sincerely believe they live a more gentle, peaceful existence no matter what the breed.

My flocks consists of several different breeds but I have no infighting, very few squabbles at roost time, feeding time or nesting times, no chick predation from any member of the flock, etc. Heck, my roosters rarely even crow! They crow a few times in the morning, will call a warning call to the hens when aerial preds are flying over, but seldom do they crow all day like the descriptions I hear told on this forum.

Each of my separate flocks over the years have enjoyed the same level of peace and quiet existence. The only disruption I've had was the addition of a 6 mo. old roo given to me that fought and won dominance over the old RIR roo I had and then tried once to flog my egg basket as I walked to the coop. He also was too heavy and rough with the hens....he didn't last long and peace was restored once again.

I like quiet, so this type of husbandry appeals to me greatly. I've never had feather picking, no picking on an outsider that was introduced into the flock, no picking on a weaker or injured flock member...nothing like that that I can recall.

 

[galanie]

I think my flocks don't bother chicks partly due to their free range area is so large, thus allowing smaller units, different ages, etc., to separate and move off on their own without direct competition for food.  The other part, I believe, is that I raise my chickens as much as possible without much social interference from me and very little from their environment, causing them to revert to a more natural, wild existence.  When chickens are allowed to form their own social structure that isn't impaired by space, uniform roost levels, limited feeding sources(one or two feeders per flock), or human intervention(coddling, handling, hand feeding), I sincerely believe they live a more gentle, peaceful existence no matter what the breed.

My flocks consists of several different breeds but I have no infighting, very few squabbles at roost time, feeding time or nesting times, no chick predation from any member of the flock, etc.  Heck, my roosters rarely even crow!  They crow a few times in the morning, will call a warning call to the hens when aerial preds are flying over, but seldom do they crow all day like the descriptions I hear told on this forum. 

Each of my separate flocks over the years have enjoyed the same level of peace and quiet existence.  The only disruption I've had was the addition of a 6 mo. old roo given to me that fought and won dominance over the old RIR roo I had and then tried once to flog my egg basket as I walked to the coop.  He also was too heavy and rough with the hens....he didn't last long and peace was restored once again. 

I like quiet, so this type of husbandry appeals to me greatly.  I've never had feather picking, no picking on an outsider that was introduced into the flock, no picking on a weaker or injured flock member...nothing like that that I can recall. 

Thank you! My own way is very similar but they only have just over 1/4 acre to run in. The only potential problem I see is before I let them out in the morning. Or if one decides he's going to be snot. Still, they are for the most part peaceful and there are lots of places for them to go if they start to get picked on.

I have had disruptive birds but my solution to that is the same as yours. Even a hen once. Good to know I'm on the right track here.

 

[ejb3810]

If you have a hen hatch chicks in a mixed chicken environment then it is likely that she will protect them from the other chickens. Even an aggressive rooster. There can be exceptions.
Incubator hatched chicks in a non secure brooder pen is another matter. In my experience if a young aggressive cockerel were to get in with chicks even as old as 4 to 6 weeks you could have problems. Many of the cross breeds are particularly predatory.

 

[fowlman01]

It all depends on the individual. I believe barnyard breeds are much more prone to man aggression than gamefowl. When Walt said that oriental breeds are less trustworthy than other breeds, I'm sure he was reffering to their aggression toward each other and not toward humans. Oriental games are probably the most easy to handle and man friendly breeds anywhere. If your experience is different, please say so. In my years, I have only had 2 manfighters out of thousands of gamefowl, most of them orientals and more than half of them roosters. I also believe that the aggression toward humans that most people experience, is hereditary and probably the result of being bred too closely.
On the subject of chicks being in danger from older chickens, my experience is that, other than their mother, chicks are in grave danger from any chicken, except a mature cock. Most any mature cock will nurture chicks almost like a mother hen. My practice of penning all my weened chicks in a large pen with a mature cock to police them, is the basis for most of this opinion. I've never had a mature cock that was aggressive to chicks. Obviously there are breeds that are so docile that nobody is aggressive to any younger individual, but I wouldn't trust most of them. It's just a chickens nature to resent strangers and younger birds in their space.
I don't believe anyone should try to make a pet out of a rooster. Keep him aloof and respectfull of the caregiver. If he flogs you, eat him. Gamefowl breeders have practiced this forever. No manfighters are tolerated...........Pop

Yes, Pop...I should have wrote that differently. Orientals are very good with people......probably better than other chickens. They just have issues with each other and other chickens. I also believe the aggression to humans is hereditary trait in some chickens. I have seen it in offspring for many years, so I am a believer.

Walt

 

[Ridgerunner]

The only time I've ever lost a chick with a broody was when a chick got into a grow-out pen with a bunch of 7 week olds. They killed it. The broody could not get in there to protect it. I honestly don't know if it was pullets or cockerels that killed it. I suspect both but I was not around to watch.

The only place I see any real aggression when a chicken goes out of its way to pick on other chickens is on the roost. This can be chicks that a broody has weaned and were used to sleeping on the roosts with the broody or it can be brooder raised chicks that have started to roost. It is never the dominant rooster or the dominant hens, but I've seen mature hens low in the pecking order and cockerels low in the pecking order leave their normal roosting places to go pick on the younger ones. On more than one occasion, the chicks that had been roosting on the roosts move to a different safer place. Before I put up an extra lower roost, that was usually on top of the nest boxes, but in a couple of occasions, that was totally outside the coop.

During the day when they are ranging and roaming, if an immature chicken invades the personal space around a more mature chicken, that younger one will sometimes get pecked. I've never seen my dominant rooster do this, but I have seen hens and not dominant (usually adolescent because they are not yet eaten) cockerels do this. They don't really go out of their way to be aggressive, just protect their personal space.

Something I've seen several times. A two week old chick leaves its mother's protection and stands next to the other mature hens in the flock, eating from the feeder. Sometimes they will ignore the chick, but usually one of the older hens will eventually peck the chick to remind it that it is bad chicken etiquette for one to eat with its social betters. The chick runs flapping and loudly protesting back to Mama as fast as it can get there. Mama totally ignores this. That chick has to learn how to behave. But if a hen or young rooster goes after the chick, Mama takes great offense.

I keep trying to say dominate rooster and not worry too much about the rooster's actual age. I've had dominant flock masters at 20 weeks of age. I've had non-dominant roosters in the flock as old as 27 weeks before they were eaten. My flock is so small I keep only one breeding rooster. I find whether they are dominant or not dominant determines how they act more than pure age. The non-dominant roosters will mate with the hens, if the hens will let them. And non-dominant roosters do sometimes help protect the flock. But basically they have to establish their own position in the pecking order. In spite of their greater size, this is often pretty low in the order.

 

[ThePigeonKid]

****A suggestion has been made by a newbie that we all place our relative years of chicken husbandry next to our location on our profile....I think this is a good idea and will sort the wheat from the tares, so to speak. Get yer years up there and show yer ages in doing so....we won't laugh...much. ********

 

[fowlman01]

46 years raising poultry 73 yo. Not counting a couple years on a commercial chicken farm.

Walt

 

[Lollipop]

54 years with fowl. I'll be 65 in March. It's in my sig, but it seems not many folks read sigs..........Pop

 

[fowlman01]

Seems as if a few people online don't even read what they respond to Pop. I'm still learning too...wish I could be an expert like most of the folks here.

FYI cuz I know you care.....a Shamo was reserve of show out here in CA this last weekend in a 2400+ bird show. The AOSB class had 154 birds. It was a beauty! Raised and shown by the Dragon Lady.....Suzann Chung.

Walt

 

[Beekissed]

That's a lot of combined years of poultry.... 100 years of accumulative knowledge in just you fellas alone!

Thanks for showing up!