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

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

What have ya'll old timers found to be the best bedding for the chickens? In the years I've had chickens, bedding is one thing I'm indecisive on. I'm debating on what to use for this winter. I'm thinking on putting pine shavings in the bantam house and silkie coop, hay in the nest boxes, and making a "sand box" to go under my laying flock's roost to catch the poop. But I can't make my mind up on what will go in the rest of the pens. The priority for me is that it needs to be easy to clean out and as sanitary as possible for the chickens. It gets down into the teens here at times and rains a lot.

 

[stonykill]

free to range wherever they want and come back to the coop at night. thats free range.

that is my definition of free range. I don't care what the govt says free range is.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Haha, very funny, and another good definition, unless free to wander sidewalks and other people yards! Glad I'm not there...my broodies started hatching them in march. Now there's four on large clutches, and people tend to bring orphan chicks to me all year, I don't count anymore..it gives me a headache..instead I look for this group or that..if one wants culled it will draw my attention pretty quick, most of my production layers don't have the best instincts so, when they wander too far, they get snacked on, once in awhile I'll thin them out, but i really prefer fresh rather than frozen. Right now I'm getting productions crossed with oagf and getting some nice looking flyers. I don't know when it started that the gov decided they know best...they are just people with their own opinion and one plan does not fit all...so yeah, who cares about their definition.

 

[Minchi]

On the fruit topic, I read that fruits high in citrus like oranges can hurt laying.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Who wrote the article? Minchi? And in what way did it harm them? I've read about people who live in tropical climates feeding citrus without problems..personally I haven't.

 

[therapydoglady]

Had a "varmit" last night of some sort. Ate a hole in the hail-screen door big enough to pitch a large cat through and killed every last one of the grand kids Banties. We buried the fence to keep them from digging under and all of the necessary precautions. The one "weak link" was the door (2X2 wood w/ 1/2" mesh hail screen). I had planned to go buy a chain link gate,, too, but hadn't got around to it yet, things have been so hectic lately. Don't think it was dogs, because all the chickens were eaten. Only heads & feet & feathers left. My Great Pyr. is all torn up as well, several wounds requiring stitches, even through her dense fur.. I could find no sign of a track anywhere, and the tracking dog (Bloodhound) spent 15 or 20 minutes just going in big circles. She had no idea what (or maybe which) to track. Coyotes have been running in packs out here during the drought. There are no rabbits to sustain them, and they're packing up like wolves and bringing down the ranchers' calves. That's all I can think of. Really tee's me off tho. The kids got their hard lesson after all.

I put everything planned for today on hold and went and bought that chain link walk through gate while the vet cleaned and stitched my dog. As we die hards always do, will start over with their chicks.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Am really sorry to hear about that...man! They sure know how to find the weak spots..I thought maybe coyotes but they'll eat the heads too, may have been coons, they're cousins to bears, and I've seen some hounds really torn up by them too. I've lost two hens this week, so the wolf is back, although eenie might be brooding...somewhere...time to go hunting again. Sorry to hear about your loss.

 

[RileyB]

Does anyone with lots of experience have suggestions/advice for raising chickens and ducks together? Some people say it can be done successfully, others say it can't...

I only have three ducks and eight chickens so far (hoping to add 1 or 2 chickens this weekend), so I'd like to keep them all together if possible. However, as I'm sure you all know, the ducks are wicked messy and I'm just wondering how this will work out in the long run (they are all still young and just moved to the coop together last week).

Thanks!

 

[Minchi]

It is listed at the very bottom of this page under the small section for things not to feed chickens.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

 

[therapydoglady]

My chickens and my ducks do fine together. I just keep the duck's "pool" (5' W X8' L X24" D) fiberglass container, well away from the coop. I drain it every Saturday nite and refill it every Sunday morning. That's just as long as I am willing to let it go - the ducks don't seem to care. Anyway, I just don't want that yucky duck-poopy water close to my henhouse, tho the hens act like it's a treat to scratch around in it as it is draining out. Otherwise, they go to roost with the chickens etc.. I have 2 igloo dog houses in the run(not inside the coop), and the ducks roost in those. That way, they are sequestered safely for the night, and return to their beloved pool 1st thing every morning for their baths.