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

[Zany Chick]

I know this isn't technically the right forum or thread, I should probably be on the gender/breed forum, but I really would rather post here to the OT, I hope no one minds. The last time I posted in that forum I got tons of responses, most of them from fairly new chicken owners. I should warn I tend to be a bit, er, verbose.

I have ten "chicks" all about 9 weeks old. 6 straight run Buff Orpingtons, 3 Rhode Island Red pullets and 1 Golden Comet pullet.

I like any new chick owner was checking on them constantly and made the observation that 2 of the BO chicks were feathering out in the same way as the 4 pullets, tailfeathers before the other 4 BO and got their feathers in faster, had the same body shape, etc. Because of that I was pretty sure I had 4 cockerals and 2 pullets in the BO group.

Two of the chicks started developing their combs and wattles about the same time and fairly red. The first was one I suspected of being a roo, the second one I thought was a pullet! (and their body types still looked distinctly different) Now at 9 weeks, 4 of the BO group have pretty developed wattles and combs, 2 redder and 2 more pink. 1 red and 1 pink that I thought looked like cockerals, 1 red and 1 pink that I thought were pullets. The other two's combs are just starting to develop and the birds are just overall smaller than the other 4. They are the other 2 that I thought were also cockerals, slow feathering different profile, etc.

My life is never simple so I shouldn't be surprised my birds are weird and not following some sort of set pattern.

Is comb development the most reliable way to sex birds at this age? In pictures I've noticed that BO hens also seem to have pretty large wattles and combs compared to some of the other breeds or do I have to wait until I catch each one either in the act of crowing or laying an egg (and then how will I know who has actually laid an egg)? I can have roosters and will probably keep one anyway so It's not like I need to make a decision on getting rid of any birds right away. I'm just confused. At what age would I expect to have trouble in the pen/coop with multiple roos? I do have someone who will take the extra boys from me and haven't ruled out making them my own dinner, but I don't want to get rid of or eat any hens either.

Thanks

 

[Kassaundra]

I'm going to weigh in on the mutts vs. old strains. I know I shouldn't, but I just can't sit by and watch my old girls get maligned. We have some old mutts that we got as old hens as our young son wanted chickens and I had been without for a couple of years due to an injury. We received 6 hens and 4 roosters of which we kept one lovely boy. The rooster is a Welli and the hens are who knows what. We named them, cuddled and petted them. Heck I would have put dolly cloths on them if I had a daughter with dolls, but alas I only have boys. I never quit outgrew that faize. My older son, who had just gotten home permanantely from his stint in the military had grown up with a few chickens around, so when we put those four roosters in the greenhouse just outside his bedroom window it was like sweet music to him. Those old hens started laying right away. Liturally I got the first egg right after I put her into the greenhouse. The surviving girls that we still have (we've lost four in the last year) are now almost 10 years old if we go by the hatch date we were given. Only one died from an illness of sorts. The rest were freak accidents. Of the two remaining I was getting 3 or 4 eggs a week from them until Ezmeralda decided she was going to be a momma again. She does this once a year and all our egg customers notice as the beautiful sky blue egg is missing from their lot. Her sister Big Bertha is still currently laying and has never gone broody. These mutts have awesome vigor and laying ability. They are also very pretty to look at as are their many many offspring. We have other breeds. I think my son now has 20 different breeds. I don't mind as they are very pretty yard art and helps attrack more egg customers for the large amounts of eggs we get. Which in turn pays for his chicken passion. We also have many hatchery stock birds. It must just be we are very lucky or it could be we have an exceptionally healthy environment. Yes, occasionally we do loose a bird to illness. Free ranged birds are introduced to everything that wild birds carry. On the rare occasion that we have more than one bird ill we have dealt with it as we saw fit. I have medicated or killed depending on the circumstances. A bird with a serious wound will get antibiotics to help ward off infection, broken legs can get set in some instances. A few months ago we had a hen with a broken leg due to a rampaging horse. She's totally fine now and back to laying faithfully every day as she was before. I don't however go to a vet. It takes surprisingly little knowledge to look up information online and figure things out, but if I didn't have time I would go to my chicken experts otherwise known as Mom and Dad. There is very little they don't know, and most of that knowledge has been passed on as we grew up but we didn't always listen.

We recently had a feral cat get into the coop and tear open a hen that took twenty some odd stitches to close. She got antibiotics as who knows what that darn cat exposed her too. A few days later the cat was treated to it's very own shot from a 22 and hasn't been seen since. Although I could smell it when the wind was just right. Which was as it should be since that stupid cat cost us a girl a few days earlier. A hungry cat can and will kill a large fowl hen if given the opportunity. Putting a timer on the lights also helped as the cat wouldn't have gone in the coop had it not been dark. From our original six hens we have many offspring. They are of course mutts in every way. There is no uniformity in color or size. Those mutts continue to be our healthiest and strongest birds. Well that is next to our hatchery stock Dark Cornish. Those are some tough birds. The weasel that was recently killed by someones cat would have found those birds of ours stalking it. Last week they killed and were dragging about a very large rabbit. It's funny watching them play keep away when what they have is bigger than them. They also decided they were going to come up the hill to the house and take on my Broad Breasted White toms that weigh well over 60lbs each. I don't think those boys felt a thing with their feathers all fluffed out. Can't wait to see what kind of mutts my son hatches out with them. I'm hoping for some meaty boys. I know he's been hoarding eggs as the incubator is open on Sunday, so more mutts are on their way. And for me the more the merrier. We've got the housing, the land, and they pretty much pay for themselves in eggs and are the best darn pest control ever. Today I sold 3 birds and a bag of livers for 55 bucks. Now that may not be what you could get for a "pure breed" but it's fine by me as they were only little buggers.

Be proud of what you got whether they be pure breeds or mutts. The biggest thing contributing to their health is your husbandry. Find a bird that fits your lifestyle and what you require out of them and go from there.

and for the last two sentences

 

[flocksalot]

I have a couple of questions for the OT's on here. I don't have chickens yet, but am going to get my coop built over the months until next spring. I also have a horse boarding stable.

My questions, and I'm sorry if they have already been answered on here but I'm only on page 100 right now !
1) Can I put the chicks out in the coop if I have a brooder set up out there right away? Yes, this is how I would do it also.
2) I'm going to have an enclosed run that the girls can go out in during the day, so what are some bushes and plants that are chicken safe that could go in there for cover, shade, etc..? Hope someone else chimes in here as I've never had an issue with any, but then all ours are free range and can find their own shade.
3) Can I put the horse manure where the girls can have access to it and let them break it up and eat the bugs and such?? I don't want to hurt the girls with this and I'm sure it won't do any harm, just asking!! Your girls will do an awesome job gleening bugs and will also take dirt baths in it. At least that is what we have experienced.
4) I live in Northwest Iowa, with hot and humid summers, sometimes over 100 *F and very cold winters, -30 * F sometimes, would Wyandottes be a good choice of breed for this area? All the research I've done on them says it would be so I'm just looking for what others have found to be true. I like them as they are supposed to have a fairly good egg production and I think they are very pretty birds. We have some up here in Wisconsin and they do just fine.
5) I am also wondering if I could run a few ducks in the same run as the chickens? I only want a few ducks, more for looks than anything else. I know some people keep chickens and ducks together. My advice would be to not. Ducks are very messy and will foul the water with food and muck. They also tend to get water in the food as they need the water to swallow. As much as I love the buggers in the garden eating bugs galore, I would hate them down in the chicken area.

Any and all reply's will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!

Hope these answers help you and good luck.

 

[Leahs Mom]

This is a great question as last week I got a personnel message from a beginner who has had three different breeds and seems to be going around in circles and does not seem to be satisfied with what she has. She has mutts as Ralph mentioned and I cant help that but you got to get a start some where. I did I had mutt Rhode Island Reds when I was Born and had them up till I was ten years old. My first Light Bahamas where mutts they lasted two years. Then at age twelve I saw the light I got me some pure breed Rhode Island Reds from a old strain out of Illinois. I kept them till I left home and joined the Air Force.

Now I have 27 years under my belt and I have only had two strains of chickens. I have Single Comb Rhode Island Reds that are 100 years old and I have a strain of your White Plymouth Rocks that are 50 years old. I dont baby them. Rule number one is Vigor. Rule number two is I use the Fit of the Fittest Principle when I breed. I may hatch 50 chicks out of four females. Only the Strong survive, I do not dope my chickens. Not vitamins, not worming, maybe some Adams flea spray to chase the mites away once in a while. I breed from females that lay eggs allot. Not your 275 egg production type birds but about 200 eggs per pullet year. My hens can live and I breed from them up to 8 years of age. I like to breed from hens and cock birds that have molted back the way I want them to look and act.

If they get sick they die. I dont need them I may put a male bird in a cardboard box during the winter when its cold to keep from freezing his comb but he is back during the day in the cold to do his job. My females have their nest, with their dummy eggs in them and I tried to breed them to lay be for 8 am. I don't put eggs in the incubator after eight am and in five years the off spring do the same. They go out and enjoy the free range eat bugs, come in and get their game bird pellets and fresh running water and out to roam the two acres and then they come back to roost I hope late and then i shut the door and the lights go off at 9 pm and we do it all over again the next day.

No sick chickens, they are tuff, they are gallant in the males, yet DOCILE in nature.

Like I was saying most of your problems is in what you have and they are not breed for only one thing and that is to hatch and sell chicks.Old farts like me are died in the wool breeders just like the old farmers where in the old days. We dont go to Vets to take our sick chickens to find out whats wrong with them. They are very much like the Marines we breed them tuff and they live long lives and their off spring have these traits.

Hope this helps you guys as this is what I was trying to tell this lady who was frustrated. She likes Rhode Island Reds. So get a good stain like I have I told her your money ahead in the long run. . I plan to get her ten started chicks next spring and will teach her how to breed them like I do and the man be for me and the lady be for him going back to 1912.

I have a fellow with the same problem. He likes Buff Orpingtons and I plan to get him some good blood lines of Buff Orpingtons that are tough like my birdsnest spring. He wont have any more problems with sickness and dieing birds next spring. Its easy you just got to know your blood lines and the strain history of the birds you raise to have extreme success.

If I have offended anyone I cant help it I am a poultry snob and a old time breeder. bob

Helpful and good advice for me - a newby.

 

[Arielle]

@countrygirl jess--sorry if I already wrote this, I may habe just thought it--the birds will eat everything,. Every blade of gras and destroy the bushes. THey need a lot more room if you want to keep pens green. Shade can be provided in otherways. I often put coops under a tree, my coops have floors, otherwise the poo will kill the trees. I'm sorry it's not the answer you were looking for. I have horses and my chickens scratch in their hay and visit in the stalls with most horses, just not the grumpy old mare who is the queen. LOL

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'm going to weigh in on the mutts vs. old strains. I know I shouldn't, but I just can't sit by and watch my old girls get maligned. We have some old mutts that we got as old hens as our young son wanted chickens and I had been without for a couple of years due to an injury. We received 6 hens and 4 roosters of which we kept one lovely boy. The rooster is a Welli and the hens are who knows what. We named them, cuddled and petted them. Heck I would have put dolly cloths on them if I had a daughter with dolls, but alas I only have boys. I never quit outgrew that faize. My older son, who had just gotten home permanantely from his stint in the military had grown up with a few chickens around, so when we put those four roosters in the greenhouse just outside his bedroom window it was like sweet music to him. Those old hens started laying right away. Liturally I got the first egg right after I put her into the greenhouse. The surviving girls that we still have (we've lost four in the last year) are now almost 10 years old if we go by the hatch date we were given. Only one died from an illness of sorts. The rest were freak accidents. Of the two remaining I was getting 3 or 4 eggs a week from them until Ezmeralda decided she was going to be a momma again. She does this once a year and all our egg customers notice as the beautiful sky blue egg is missing from their lot. Her sister Big Bertha is still currently laying and has never gone broody. These mutts have awesome vigor and laying ability. They are also very pretty to look at as are their many many offspring. We have other breeds. I think my son now has 20 different breeds. I don't mind as they are very pretty yard art and helps attrack more egg customers for the large amounts of eggs we get. Which in turn pays for his chicken passion. We also have many hatchery stock birds. It must just be we are very lucky or it could be we have an exceptionally healthy environment. Yes, occasionally we do loose a bird to illness. Free ranged birds are introduced to everything that wild birds carry. On the rare occasion that we have more than one bird ill we have dealt with it as we saw fit. I have medicated or killed depending on the circumstances. A bird with a serious wound will get antibiotics to help ward off infection, broken legs can get set in some instances. A few months ago we had a hen with a broken leg due to a rampaging horse. She's totally fine now and back to laying faithfully every day as she was before. I don't however go to a vet. It takes surprisingly little knowledge to look up information online and figure things out, but if I didn't have time I would go to my chicken experts otherwise known as Mom and Dad. There is very little they don't know, and most of that knowledge has been passed on as we grew up but we didn't always listen.

We recently had a feral cat get into the coop and tear open a hen that took twenty some odd stitches to close. She got antibiotics as who knows what that darn cat exposed her too. A few days later the cat was treated to it's very own shot from a 22 and hasn't been seen since. Although I could smell it when the wind was just right. Which was as it should be since that stupid cat cost us a girl a few days earlier. A hungry cat can and will kill a large fowl hen if given the opportunity. Putting a timer on the lights also helped as the cat wouldn't have gone in the coop had it not been dark. From our original six hens we have many offspring. They are of course mutts in every way. There is no uniformity in color or size. Those mutts continue to be our healthiest and strongest birds. Well that is next to our hatchery stock Dark Cornish. Those are some tough birds. The weasel that was recently killed by someones cat would have found those birds of ours stalking it. Last week they killed and were dragging about a very large rabbit. It's funny watching them play keep away when what they have is bigger than them. They also decided they were going to come up the hill to the house and take on my Broad Breasted White toms that weigh well over 60lbs each. I don't think those boys felt a thing with their feathers all fluffed out. Can't wait to see what kind of mutts my son hatches out with them. I'm hoping for some meaty boys. I know he's been hoarding eggs as the incubator is open on Sunday, so more mutts are on their way. And for me the more the merrier. We've got the housing, the land, and they pretty much pay for themselves in eggs and are the best darn pest control ever. Today I sold 3 birds and a bag of livers for 55 bucks. Now that may not be what you could get for a "pure breed" but it's fine by me as they were only little buggers.

Be proud of what you got whether they be pure breeds or mutts. The biggest thing contributing to their health is your husbandry. Find a bird that fits your lifestyle and what you require out of them and go from there.

I also give this a "good post" and thumbs up as well as Bob's. I agree that husbandry is key in both situations. Thanks to both of you for your experience and expertise. There's much to apply in each of these scenarios for me!

 

[chickencowranch]

newby with a few questions: 1. Are potatoes poisonious to chickens? I read in the Storey book that they are. 2. How do you feed yogurt to chickens? 3. Has anyone ever crossed a silkie with another breed and what did the offspring look like?

 

[flocksalot]

I know this isn't technically the right forum or thread, I should probably be on the gender/breed forum, but I really would rather post here to the OT, I hope no one minds. The last time I posted in that forum I got tons of responses, most of them from fairly new chicken owners. I should warn I tend to be a bit, er, verbose.

I have ten "chicks" all about 9 weeks old. 6 straight run Buff Orpingtons, 3 Rhode Island Red pullets and 1 Golden Comet pullet.

I like any new chick owner was checking on them constantly and made the observation that 2 of the BO chicks were feathering out in the same way as the 4 pullets, tailfeathers before the other 4 BO and got their feathers in faster, had the same body shape, etc. Because of that I was pretty sure I had 4 cockerals and 2 pullets in the BO group.

Two of the chicks started developing their combs and wattles about the same time and fairly red. The first was one I suspected of being a roo, the second one I thought was a pullet! (and their body types still looked distinctly different) Now at 9 weeks, 4 of the BO group have pretty developed wattles and combs, 2 redder and 2 more pink. 1 red and 1 pink that I thought looked like cockerals, 1 red and 1 pink that I thought were pullets. The other two's combs are just starting to develop and the birds are just overall smaller than the other 4. They are the other 2 that I thought were also cockerals, slow feathering different profile, etc.

My life is never simple so I shouldn't be surprised my birds are weird and not following some sort of set pattern.

Is comb development the most reliable way to sex birds at this age? In pictures I've noticed that BO hens also seem to have pretty large wattles and combs compared to some of the other breeds or do I have to wait until I catch each one either in the act of crowing or laying an egg (and then how will I know who has actually laid an egg)? I can have roosters and will probably keep one anyway so It's not like I need to make a decision on getting rid of any birds right away. I'm just confused. At what age would I expect to have trouble in the pen/coop with multiple roos? I do have someone who will take the extra boys from me and haven't ruled out making them my own dinner, but I don't want to get rid of or eat any hens either.

Thanks

OK Zanny I got lost and confused somewhere in there, but I'll try to provide an answer of sorts.

Hens develop the red puffy combs when they come into lay. That's what you are seeing in the pictures of adult BOs. That being said there have been a few instances that I was sure I had a young roo on the chopping block when I changed my mind at the last minute. The teenage stage if you will is where many times it becomes confusing. Some girls will get a bit bigger and slightly redder comb than the norm, and that's where I get turned around. I still expect all our birds to be normal and average, when not one of them is anywheres within a normal range most of the time. I was sure Bug, a Partridge Rock, was a roo. Late feather development, a bit different body shape, and large reddish comb. She lays such wonderful large brown eggs for a roo! When she began to become sexually mature her comb barely grew and the redness changed just slightly. It did however, get much puffier. She would have been the type to cull if I was a breeder for show as her body type isn't perfect. And that's the rub. Unless you have really good show lines the body type is not what is bred for. Most are bred for egg laying ability. Bug lays wonderfully and so we have many of her offspring also that were a bit difficult to distinguish sex. Not that it really matters to me as I sell them just the same and let my son keep the ones he wants. Speedy our other PR was the total opposite. Tiny comb, quick to feather, perfect body shape. It's ones like her that make the iffy ones that much more iffy.

You can also look at hackle and saddle feathering. On the boys the feathers will be coming in much narrower and pointier. Also at nine weeks the roosters will be starting to get some of their beautiful tail plumage. Usually the first sign of iridescence and they get separated into the rooster pen for sale. That is unless we have already decided to keep another roo and then we will decide from there if they are a keeper or for sale. White birds are the hardest for me to distinquish. We have a white Ameraucana that had a red comb from day of hatch literally, but was built more like a pullet. Had I of been sure he was a roo I could have sold him at least 10 times, but I just couldn't be sure. He's 17 weeks now, still doesn't crow, but has taken to chasing the older girls. He still body wise looks like a hen. I am now sure he is a rooster.

Unless it is imperative that you know their sex now I would wait a bit. In a few more weeks you will know for sure. Then you can decide who stays and who goes. Just remember they all develop at their own rate of time. Same as some hens will begin laying early and some in their own sweet time.

Your young roos won't be out for blood for quite some time from my experience. In the 17 week old pen we still have 5 roos that hang out together along with the pullets that have been raised with them. There have been no issues with fighting beyond the normal sparring for flock position that occurs in both sexes. We usually don't have problems until the young ones decide to make inroads onto an older roos flock. The old girls run squacking and the old roo comes a running. Young roos tend to back off and wander back to their own areas then. But ours are totally free ranged so they have that option of getting away.

 

[flocksalot]

newby with a few questions: 1. Are potatoes poisonious to chickens? I read in the Storey book that they are. 2. How do you feed yogurt to chickens? 3. Has anyone ever crossed a silkie with another breed and what did the offspring look like?

Cooked potatoes are fine. Raw have a bit too much selenium in them. Storey's is only half right. I pour the water that I cooked the potaoes in over the peelings. Presto they are cooked by the time they are cooled.

Never actually fed a chicken yogurt. If your looking for probiotics try Apple cider vinegar. My son has feed some of his girls cottage cheese. He was eating they were begging so he offered the heaped spoon. Rosie quickly grabbed the spoon and ran off. Only to bring it back empty. It was pretty amusing, but I wouldn't have done it on purpose. In my opinion chickens should eat a more natural diet. Treats should be found in that bug they just dug up or that fresh blade of grass. I do however buy meal worms for my turkeys, so what do I know.

As for Silkies well I never saw one outside of pictures. My son thinks they look like a cross between and cat and a funky chicken and has no interest in them. The froofiest birds he has are Silver Spangled Hamburgs that he likes to have as he gives the tiny eggs to our customers that have small children or grandchildren. The kids love them and the parents think he is such a sweetie. It's an awesome extra we can provide to our customers.

 

[Zany Chick]

Unless it is imperative that you know their sex now I would wait a bit. In a few more weeks you will know for sure. Then you can decide who stays and who goes. Just remember they all develop at their own rate of time. Same as some hens will begin laying early and some in their own sweet time.

Your young roos won't be out for blood for quite some time from my experience. In the 17 week old pen we still have 5 roos that hang out together along with the pullets that have been raised with them. There have been no issues with fighting beyond the normal sparring for flock position that occurs in both sexes.

Thank you, that was helpful. I guess I will just have to be patient and try to enjoy them while I wait to see who is what.