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

[Ridgerunner]

I am wondering if any of you OT'ers might have an idea of what is going on with my Roo.  He is 1 1/2 years old.  Hatched him out in January under a broody that would have sat on a rock then, crazy girl; but she hatched out three birds one hen and two roo's.  I culled the one roo as I only wanted one but as I look back at it that roo had similar symptoms.  Which at the time I thought to be bumble foot.  Later I noticed Rocky my rather big barred rock roo who, by the way, is a super roo no signs of aggression and just has been a great roo.  Sometime last winter I noticed he couldn't fly up to roost at night, that lasted a couple months, then when spring arrived I noticed he was back up on the roost for a short time maybe a couple of weeks or so.  He is steadily losing his ability to walk out of the coop the last couple of days and he is loosing his feathers now, I know the right thing to do would be to put him out of his misery but just can't seem to bring myself to get rid of him, he still calls his girls and tries to protect them the best he can under the circumstances, he still eats and drinks and crows.  Now he has fathered a few other roos, and I am noticing the same odd pinkish to red legs on them (no signs of lameness yet), the hens seem to show no signs of this ailment at all.  I haven't noticed his son Captain who is the biggest off spring he had to show any signs of this, but Henry and Freddie both do.  Henry and Captain both are approaching one year of age, Freddie a month younger.  Freddie is a much smaller bird part barred rock and Easter egger, his legs are more noticeable with the discolor, he free ranges and has never been in that coop with the other birds.  I have lost several hens to a strange paralysis some a slow death like his and others seem to meet their demise rather rapidly.  I must say I have lost a good number of birds in that coop with similar symptoms but they do seem to vary a bit, like the roo's that have this .  About a week ago I lost a Barred Rock hen that showed no signs of disease since last fall when she did seem to be paralized but recovered but I don't think ever layed an egg since then, when I picked her up she was nothing but feathers, skin and bones. Any thoughts?  

I agree with getting a necropsy. At least you would know what you are dealing with. Your county extension agent, in the phone book under county government, should be able to tell you how to go about it.

I can't argue with anything Bee said. It could be any of that. In some ways it sounds like Marek's, but I'd expect Marek's to show up at a younger age. I just don't know.

 

[galanie]

lol.  There are a few men on this site. It is mostly women. I'll say this then hide under the chair. I thought Beekissed was male mainly because she doesn't want to hold, coddle, pet, kiss and love on her chickens like 95% of women on the site. But then, now that I think about it they wouldn't read this thread anyway 

I'll have to you know that I do in fact want to hold, coddle, and kiss my birds but I don't. They're chickens, not teddy bears. Yes, I'm female too.

Beekissed said it Perfectly: "To me, that is the most pure form of love I can give my animals...just letting them BE what they want to be without too much of my interference. What more could any of us ask? Yeah, it would be easy to give into my need to mother things but is that love? Nope. That's just me trying to remake a chicken into something it really isn't. "

 

[stonykill]

I'll have to you know that I do in fact want to hold, coddle, and kiss my birds but I don't.

They're chickens, not teddy bears. Yes, I'm female too.
Beekissed said it Perfectly: "To me, that is the most pure form of love I can give my animals...just letting them BE what they want to be without too much of my interference. What more could any of us ask? Yeah, it would be easy to give into my need to mother things but is that love? Nope. That's just me trying to remake a chicken into something it really isn't. "

 

[Leahs Mom]

This answer to this question may seem obvious to you OTers that have been doing this for awhile so please forgive my ignorance as a newby

.....


I am concerned about hawk attacks so have kept the young'uns in a run covered w/chicken wire top when out during the day. I WANT TO LET THEM OUT IN THE LARGER LOT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

So the question: At what age/size are they large/old enough that they are hard for a hawk to pick up? [I know they'll not be totally safe at any age but I just don't want to rush it and give them the best chance.] At what age would you let yours out without top cover (during the day only)?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have a question if anyone has any feedback on it. I have four 10week pullets that had just started roosting reliably on the top roost of their coop at 8 weeks. Then, I brought in 3 new adult laying hens. Now the young ones are back to snuggling up in one or two nesting boxes together. Appears that when they try roosting they eventually get kicked off the roosts by the older birds. Should I be worried? Will this work itself out? Is there any reason to really even try to stop the pullets from roosting in the boxes at night? BTW, the coop is the Purina design for a suggested 8 adult large fowl birds. Thanks folks.

I don't care what Purina says. That coop is really tight for 7 or 8 adult chickens unless you give them access to more space outside. It looks like the useable space inside is 45" x 45". You should be OK as long as you don't leave them locked up in there too long when they're awake. That can work but you are going to have to watch them and manage them so they don't spend too much time in there without the option for them to go outside. The behaviors you want to avoid are feather-picking all the way to cannibalism. As long as the ones being picked on have room to get away, it's generally not a problem. But if they can't get away, it can turn ugly. You can manage it by not leaving them locked in there a lot when they are awake, but with space that tight, you could have problems if you don't give them access to outside.

The design shows it has a ladder type roost. Each rung is 3 feet long. The top rung on the ladder is higher than the nest box floor, but the bottom two rungs are below the nest box level. Chickens like to roost as high as they can. The dominant chickens will claim the preferred spots, which is usually the highest. The second highest spot is in the nests and it is away from pecking adult hens.

I get what you are describing pretty often with broody raised chicks. The broody teaches the chicks to roost on the roosts, but when she weans them and leaves them on their own, some other hens pick on them so bad they leave the roosts and go somewhere else. Usually that was on top of my nest boxes until I put in a roost away from the main roost and a little bit lower so they have a place to go to get away from the older chickens. It is usually the adult hens at the bottom of the pecking order that are the brutes on the roosts with mine.

All your chicks are doing is finding a place they can sleep without getting picked on. It's perfectly logical. When they mature enough to create their own place in the pecking order, they will sort it out. But with your limited space, I don't have any good suggestions for how to keep them from roosting in the nest boxes unless you block them off every night and unblock them before they want to lay in the morning.

I often say I like to give the chickens lots of room because I don't have to work as hard and I have more options to deal with problems. I'm not pampering the chickens. I'm pampering me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This answer to this question may seem obvious to you OTers that have been doing this for awhile so please forgive my ignorance as a newby .....


I am concerned about hawk attacks so have kept the young'uns in a run covered w/chicken wire top when out during the day.  I WANT TO LET THEM OUT IN THE LARGER LOT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. 

So the question:  [COLOR=008000]At what age/size are they large/old enough that they are hard for a hawk to pick up?  [I know they'll not be totally safe at any age but I just don't want to rush it and give them the best chance.]  At what age would you let yours out without top cover (during the day only)?[/COLOR]

Thanks for your help! 

They are never going to be safe from a hawk. You are right about that. I've had a broody wean her chicks as early as 3-1/2 weeks. Those chicks roamed on their own. I never lost one to a hawk. I hardly ever lose one to a hawk at any age and we have plenty of hawks. Dogs and foxes are a different story.

I usually let my brooder-raised chicks out 8 weeks. That's not specifically for hawk or predator protection. That's because I use a grow-out pen after I take them out of the brooder (mainly to make integration easier) and it usually works out that 8 weeks is when they have learned to go to bed properly in that grow-out pen. Then I just open the gate and let them integrate.

I doubt you will get agreement on any specific "safe" age. I think you will get answers for whatever works out for our specific situation. It will all be different.

 

[stonykill]

This answer to this question may seem obvious to you OTers that have been doing this for awhile so please forgive my ignorance as a newby

.....


I am concerned about hawk attacks so have kept the young'uns in a run covered w/chicken wire top when out during the day. I WANT TO LET THEM OUT IN THE LARGER LOT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

So the question: At what age/size are they large/old enough that they are hard for a hawk to pick up? [I know they'll not be totally safe at any age but I just don't want to rush it and give them the best chance.] At what age would you let yours out without top cover (during the day only)?

Thanks for your help!

I think the biggest problem with the thought process is you are assuming a hawk will pick up the chicken and fly off with it. The few hawk kills I have had, the hawk killed the chicken and ate it right on the spot. I've never had one fly off with a chick. My biggest problem with hawk attacks is during the winter and early spring. After that they seem to find easier food than my chickens. Honestly I have lost very few to hawks. Foxes and racoons are another story. And coons WILL come out to eat 2 hours before sunset. Foxes whenever they are hungry.

 

[flocksalot]

Originally Posted by Wishing4Wings


I have just finished reading the first 50 pages of this post. Only 280 more pages to go!!??

By the time I finish reading to look for an answer to my question, it will be too late! (Sorry if this is a repeat.) Is there a way to tell when a pullet is about to start laying? I'm asking because some of "the girls" wanted to sleep in the nest boxes instead of roosting, so I blocked the boxes off, but want to have them available when egg time comes. Also, should I keep the chickens locked up longer so they don't start laying elsewhere? (They are usually let out of the closed run to free range and run amok in the "chicken yard.")

This is a small backyard flock of 9 pullets, each a different dual purpose breed, except for one changeling leghorn. There is one cockerel that I will probably not keep (unless he stays freakishly quiet!). They are all 12-13 weeks old. I got them as chicks for the eggs and because I enjoy having them around. They have a coop for roosting with a few nest boxes and no litter on the floor because in our mild climate, they spend every day outside in the enclosed run, or preferably, free ranging.

I have to thank all the OTs for sharing their experiences. Until I found this thread, I was getting worried that I was a neglectful owner because I pretty much let the chickens do their own chicken-y thing. (Seems like a bit of overindulgence goes on with some of us chicken enthusiasts!

) Most of my decisions have been based on how my folks cared for our barnyard flock for over 20 years, and what I remember is that the chickens mostly took care of themselves!

Thank you!

I'll be wating to hear too.

Well from my experience when a pullet is coming into lay her comb with get red and swollen or puffy if you will. Her rear will begin to get a bit wider in the berth too, as her pelvis will spread so she can lay those eggs. Just last night my son came all excited because two of his 18 week olds are developing as such. Since they are barnyard blends, but look Ameraucana he will be watching for their eggs to see what color they are. His comment to me was "Ginger Snap and Liberty are getting fat butts and their combs are swollen!" "I wonder what color eggs they will lay?"

You should see them start to change bodily anytime after they are at least 16 weeks. Unless they are White Leghorns and then they can start laying as early as 14 weeks the little devils. That scrawny leggy look will change to "fat hen" and their demener will also change some. They may even begin squatting near you when you are feeding or watering them.

My son has 300+ chickens that he cares for with 139 of them currently laying with the rest in development. And yes he names most of them, he is after all only eight.

 

[Seslar]

Thank you, RidgeRunner and BeeKissed! I will get creative with additional roosting space in there that gives the younger birds more options. You're so right that it's a tight fit. They do have lots of outside run space though.

 

[stonykill]

thankfully we have a 15 lb Maine Coon mix who likes to hunt. This was stalking a small blue Sumatra hen this morning. William the Maine coon mix took care of it for me!

outdoor cats are a must if your chickens free range.