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

[Beekissed]

Wow! Those suckers are really mean when cornered, so your cat must walk tall and carry a really big stick!!!

Should clone him and give us all one..... Can you post a pic of your cat? I think those Maine Coon cats are really pretty!

 

[stonykill]

Wow! Those suckers are really mean when cornered, so your cat must walk tall and carry a really big stick!!!

Should clone him and give us all one..... Can you post a pic of your cat? I think those Maine Coon cats are really pretty!

I'll get a pic of William. He is an orange short hair Maine coon. Not as good looking as our indoor Maine coon female.

William is a tough guy. I once watched him tree a bear cub 3 times! In front of me he once pounced on a ruffed grouse. After his 1st broody hen encounter, he leave the chickens alone. He wasn't up for that fight

 

[qball53]

Well I am one of those few men someone spoke of ....... I wanna chance at that book as well !

Who says I don't like to hold, coddle or pet my chickens?

Of course I like to!!! All girls like soft, pretty things and my chickens are certainly pretty and their feathers just feel like silk. They also follow me around sometimes like moochy puppies and that appeals to a woman's heart. But you know what? I love the fact that they are animals in all their natural being and I really hate to inflict my human neediness for love onto their lives and change their natural instincts.

My husbandry style is geared towards these birds developing natural health and living a more normal chicken life out on the pasture...that, to me, is the reason they were placed on this Earth. Not to be contained in a box or cage, not to be primped, fluffed, coddled into something other than what they truly are and to live a great life,have a quick death and to be purposed for food, as is their destiny. It would be easy to let my girly side kick in and snuggle a chicken when the need hits me but that's why God made my kids and family, the dogs, the cat....for all those love expressions.

I need my chickens to be a little wild, a little rough and a little independent in order to allow them freedom out on range...they need to have that jumpy attitude that keeps them wary of preds in order to free range successfully...they will not develop that if they are lap chickens~this I know without a doubt. So, to fulfill their purpose, to live a great life, to be all the chicken they can be~they simply must stay off my lap and out of my arms. When gentleness and care are actually needed, it's there. When they need calm leadership and dependable care, it's there. When they need to feel safe, it's there. When they don't need any of those things~which is most of the time because they are pretty self-sustaining(by their natural design and by my intentions)~they are free to just BE.

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.

When I walk out into that yard, do you know who follows my every step? ALL the livestock and pets...they walk behind and around me, sit when I sit, stand when I stand and await to see what I will do next. I like to imagine they appreciate my leadership and stewardship for them, but who knows? Could be they are just wanting to BE right along side me while I am simply being.

Trust me...girly is something I have in spades when it really counts! I cry at movies, mother everything in a 10 mile radius and tell everyone how much I love them each and every time I have the opportunity. I'm a nurse, a massage therapist, a mother, a gardener, an artist and a lover of all things/people....I am a natural born nurturer. But I put it where it's most needed and chickens just do not need that kind of nurturing.

Sorry...feeling very verbose today and kind of...well..girly and emotional.

 

[Arielle]

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.

This reminds me of my mother's Maine Coon. It brought home everything, from baby bunnies to flying squirrels. A champion hunter--lived to be 23 years old.

My current cats get harassed by the chickens--they his and spit to hold their ground, then the young roosters quit harassing the cats. No fun in a cat that doesn't run. My cats don't bother the chicks in the brooders, just take a peek once in a while.

My pimary focus is on deterents, making getting one of my birds, or lambs, etc, harder to get than hunting on it's own turf. I encourage the crow to sit in a dead tree left for them, to keep the hawks away. Only lost one white pullet to a young hawk. DH says young raptors who have just left the nest will try for any possilbe food as they are hungry and mom is not feeding them any more. SO fledglings can be a problem for some people too.

 

[ChickiesInUtah]

I love Main Coons. I was hoping the kitten we rescued from a tree last year was one. He had huge paws and some of the markings but we don't think so any longer.

(We're so lucky to still have him. After an exhaustive search for his owner he's now in his forever home)



On a different topic, I've managed to make my way through most of this thread and have gleaned some valuable knowledge. I appreciate everyone taking the time to share their advice & wisdom. I'm one of those people who in their 30s decided a few chickens would be fun to have around for eggs and meat. I don't believe even as a child I was ever around one. It's been a steep learning curve and a really fun project.

 

[stonykill]

this pic doesn't do much for Williams image. He weighs 15 lbs, has the M on his head, and is a mix with Maine coon.

 

[Robert Blosl]

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!

er

In regards to when a female starts to lay her first eggs when she is ready her comb will get real red and she will start singing and going into the nests and jumping down on the floor. You can place glass eggs or I have plastic eggs left over from Easter painted white or even golf balls in the nest to let the m know this is where they need to lay. I also, like to have a hen or two in the pen who is laying so they can see the older females do their thing and they will then do the same. I think if they see these eggs in the nest the can go out and run in on free range and the will not try to hide their next on you. Again I only had Rhode Island Reds and White Plymouth Rocks but over the 20 plus years they always lay ed where their mothers laid be for them. They normally start laying about six months of age for hatchery chickens mine about seven months of age. Hope this helps you out. bob

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Originally Posted by Wishing4Wings


Quote:

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.

Thank you! We'll keep an eye out for fat butts and swollen red combs next month. (Earlier for that Leghorn.) My sons named ours as well. Georgia the Delaware was even renamed Biscuit when she turned out to be a White Leghorn (although she seems part Roadrunner too!). Names are fine, because we don't plan on eating them

since there are so few. After laying stops, they'll earn their keep by the enjoyment we get from having them around - same as the parakeets and the cockatiel and the bunny and the... Wait. I better stop before I change my own mind!

 

[Hamstery]

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.

Curious....was this thing out in the daytime hours? It's a weasel, right?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

In regards to when a female starts to lay her first eggs when she is ready her comb will get real red and she will start singing and going into the nests and jumping down on the floor. You can place glass eggs or I have plastic eggs left over from Easter painted white or even golf balls in the nest to let the m know this is where they need to lay. I also, like to have a hen or two in the pen who is laying so they can see the older females do their thing and they will then do the same. I think if they see these eggs in the nest the can go out and run in on free range and the will not try to hide their next on you. Again I only had Rhode Island Reds and White Plymouth Rocks but over the 20 plus years they always lay ed where their mothers laid be for them. They normally start laying about six months of age for hatchery chickens mine about seven months of age. Hope this helps you out. bob

Thank you very much indeed. The tip about decoy eggs will definitely be used, as my pullets are all the same age and there are no mature hens to show them the ropes. I certainly have noticed how much they learn from each other. One decides to see what it's like up in the apple tree, so three more try it too. I never thought much about these things before because the chickens we had when I was young took care of their own business, including hatching and raising young. Once in while, a broody hen would hide a nest in the blackberries. We always tried to find and put her some place safe from the raccoons and dogs. Not that the dogs would ever bother the chickens, but fluffy chicks were irresistible to them! Just one little tasty mouthful.