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

[wsmith]

Combine 1/2 C. Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 qt of water. Stir in 2-4 T. raw honey, add ice and enjoy!

My Granny used to add 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, sometimes, and it was delightful. We always carried this concotion while we were on the tractor, cutting, raking, baling hay, because the hay fields were too far away from the house to just drop what we were doin' and come in for refreshment. This may be what you're thinkin' about unless it was a commercially prepared drink...

Called "Switchel" in the 18th century, Works really good!

 

[MoonAngel12]

I have seen un-pasteurized ACV recommended multiple times, but I can't say I've read where to actually find it. Is it in stores? Online only? I'm assuming the stuff int he pantry isn't the same.

I'm intrigued by the ACV/honey drink. I have drank ACV and water for reflux in the past (2 AM, 6 months pregnant, snow and ice outside, and totally out of meds and desperate for relief... found it on the internet) - I'm sure the honey would help the flavor tremendously!

 

[Beekissed]

It's in stores...the usual brand is Bragg's and around these parts you can only find it at the health food stores~but you can buy one jug and split it off into regular ACV to make more so you don't have to worry anymore about availability.

 

[stonykill]

this Sumatra hatched 4 of 5 eggs in a nest in the dirt in a fenced off area in 3 foot tall weeds. I could not find her until I heard lil ones peeping yesterday afternoon.

note the feet under her in the 1st pic. She brought them up to the RIR's coop to eat.

 

[MoonAngel12]

It's in stores...the usual brand is Bragg's and around these parts you can only find it at the health food stores~but you can buy one jug and split it off into regular ACV to make more so you don't have to worry anymore about availability.

Possibly a dumb question, but what do you mean by "make more" - is it like making yogurt in a way? A continual growth process sort of?

 

[ldutch123]

Last night my neighbors flock was wiped out by seething that came in the coop and just broke all their necks basically. Didn't look like much of a struggle and just jumped the fence to get in the run. Only one hen was drug into the field. Now my neighbor is 95 years old and I am just a newbie so I have no right to tell him ya know if you closed the coop door at night this may not happen so often. Poor guy. To out all his layers and he did like those girls.

So while I'm a newbie here....there is one thing I can say for sure and that's CLOSE THE COOP DOOR AT NIGHT.

Or guy was looking over my yard to see if I had lost any and I'm like nope all 80 chickens are still here. Except my lil five toe who kicked the bucket for no reason :/.

Oh and I would like to report 95 degree day and my chickens seemed pretty dArn fine out there. There is so much shade and a pond and they just roam and hang out all day. Must be nice. So tomorrow it's gonna be 104 and I feel a little better knowing they won't just fall over from the heat lol.

Oh and they love the mud puddles. I found a bunch of girls standing in the puddles from the hose lmao

 

[ldutch123]

Hannaransom, could you post some good pics of these chickens? 



The space you describe in your coop and run may sound adequate for the number of birds you have now, but will be pretty cramped when your other young ones get bigger....even with free ranging.  Unless your coop has really great ventilation(like two whole walls of it) and multiple places of their being, it's going to be hot and crowded at night and the total area is going to be too small if the birds have to be confined to run and coop for any length of time for some reason....just something to consider here.

As for integration, I'd rig a place where the younger ones can escape the older ones if they are to remain confined to the run and coop....a pallet of some kind up on blocks is helpful or even placing a temporary wire fence with a gap at the bottom just high enough for the little ones to go under while out in the run.  Having their own small feeder and waterer in that area will help keep them from getting the worst of community living.

If free ranging at the time of integration, they should be able to escape any trouble from the older hens and should be able to fend for themselves at the feeder after the older hens are done eating. 

They really don't need to be wet down if they have adequate shade, plenty of water and plenty of open ventilation.

Some good pics of your yard, coop and run may help folks give you more or better advice on this matter.  

Anyone else have anything they want to add to this?  My experience with flock integration of different aged birds is limited to free ranging and not geared towards smaller confined areas, so others with more experience in that area may have much better ideas..   

 

Amazing advice. I didn't realize HOW IMPORTANT ventilation was until we cut 2 walls out of the shed/coop and covered them with 1/4 hardware cloth. Also hardware cloth doors. We also have roosts everywhere. Each side and some of the silly birds roost in the rafters but their coop is the size of a one car garage and there is about 45 birds in there. When we cut the walls out the smell was gone and it felt cool in there even on a miserable day. The birds main roost spot is at one of those windows so they get to have a nice breeze while they sleep lol!!

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

So I Dutch, basically, something just killed all those chickens, no one knows what. Interesting. I think you'd best beware.

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

It sounds like a predator of the two legged variety. Any of the neighbors not like his chickens or maybe him??? I can't think of any animal that would do something like that.

 

[ldutch123]

Well thats what concerns me. he checked on them before bed and first thing in the morning he found them stiff as a board with broken necks. Only one was drug off. What the heck would do that? 15 birds dead in the coop! Also you're long does it take for a bird to dry out like that? Thats how five toe was when I found her but I saw no signs that anything had been in the yard.