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

[deek]

A.T. Hagin writes on another thread:

... At the end of their second year the older birds would be culled unless the farmer was doing his own breeding. Then the best of the older birds would be retained for that purpose...
There are different ways to answer this, but the farmer in this case was not looking for peak reproductive years. He was choosing his best stock to reproduce so he could maintain or maybe improve his flock.
The "peak" productive years are usually pretty young. Those young roosters can a pain but they will keep a lot of hen's fertile once they are old enough for the hens to accept them. First year pullets and hens will lay a lot of eggs compared to later years, so you could consider those "peak" productive years. But you don't get to see their productivity to decide which ones you actually want to breed.

Thank you. So a rooster's reproductive peak is in his first year or two and possibly a hen's her first year? I realize that they would be older to judge type. I also read somewhere to evaluate progeny before any culling also. Is this still a common practice for some?

 

[Smarcebird]

Hey OT's! I'd like to first thank you all for answering all us newbie questions. Your advice is invaluable.

I've got flock issues - could use some feedback. Sorry for the long story.

We got our first pullets last spring. Coop is 40 sq ft, run is 140 sq ft. Got 8 birds. (two batches, had some issues) One turned out to be a rooster, which was fine. All was good last summer, except for a broody Buff Orp who was relentlessly tormented. Last fall, the Buff and a couple of others were showing rough rooster signs. I bought capes (I know, I know), went through the winter, and by spring we had a few more bare backs and raw "shoulders". Culled Rooster, culled Buff. Took off capes.

Last month got a new rooster. He was about the same age as everyone - but again too rough. Lots of biting and chasing. Culled roo #2. A week ago got 2 more birds from a friend. They are young and getting fairly tormented, but they eventually go up at night and find their spot on a roost. He just crowed for us this morning - so I'm hoping his roosterly duties will come soon.

But, I've still got red shoulders (not bloody, just red), bare backs, & not fluffy butts. Almost everyone looks bad. The only one who looks good is the most unsocial. Always on her own, finds a place away from everyone else in the coop. They get gamebird fermented feed (got Turkeys too) that has some whole grains & scratch. They hang out in about 2 acres of our property during the day. Some table scraps.

Just am hoping for advice. Not sure how to get my pretty ladies back, or reduce the new chicken tormenting. Love this thread - hardly read any others anymore. Thank you!

 

[thedragonlady]

Hey OT's! I'd like to first thank you all for answering all us newbie questions. Your advice is invaluable.

I've got flock issues - could use some feedback. Sorry for the long story.

We got our first pullets last spring. Coop is 40 sq ft, run is 140 sq ft. Got 8 birds. (two batches, had some issues) One turned out to be a rooster, which was fine. All was good last summer, except for a broody Buff Orp who was relentlessly tormented. Last fall, the Buff and a couple of others were showing rough rooster signs. I bought capes (I know, I know), went through the winter, and by spring we had a few more bare backs and raw "shoulders". Culled Rooster, culled Buff. Took off capes.

Last month got a new rooster. He was about the same age as everyone - but again too rough. Lots of biting and chasing. Culled roo #2. A week ago got 2 more birds from a friend. They are young and getting fairly tormented, but they eventually go up at night and find their spot on a roost. He just crowed for us this morning - so I'm hoping his roosterly duties will come soon.

But, I've still got red shoulders (not bloody, just red), bare backs, & not fluffy butts. Almost everyone looks bad. The only one who looks good is the most unsocial. Always on her own, finds a place away from everyone else in the coop. They get gamebird fermented feed (got Turkeys too) that has some whole grains & scratch. They hang out in about 2 acres of our property during the day. Some table scraps.

Just am hoping for advice. Not sure how to get my pretty ladies back, or reduce the new chicken tormenting. Love this thread - hardly read any others anymore. Thank you!

Have you checked these birds for lice and mites?Those critters could be the reason for your bare chickens, unless you have a feather picker.Some breeds are known for feather picking the less aggressive breeds. Feather picking can be caused by a dietary deficiency too. I'd get those birds on a good complete layer diet, and back off the scratch during the summer, after checking for mites and lice.

 

[bruceh]

i posted about raw meat. this turned out by observation an interesting experiment. i put a freezer burnt pork roast out in the coop. of course through the heat it spoiled. day 1 some chickens picked at it making a small dent to it. day 2 even fewer chickens picked at it . day 3 not one chicken even pecked at it. i removed it for fear of it may harm the chickens if they ate it. i put fresh chicken fat from processing in. the chickens ate that right up.
chickens are smart creatures they know exactly what to eat and not to. i never tried rotten meat before. they love chicken and fresh meat though.. .

 

[Smarcebird]

Checked for lice & mites, layer feed is always available, fermented feed in morning & evening. Not using much scratch, just a little in the fermented and whole oats. Got to be feather picking - since I see no feathers. Just can't figure out who!?

 

[fowlman01]

Hey OT's! I'd like to first thank you all for answering all us newbie questions. Your advice is invaluable.

I've got flock issues - could use some feedback. Sorry for the long story.

We got our first pullets last spring. Coop is 40 sq ft, run is 140 sq ft. Got 8 birds. (two batches, had some issues) One turned out to be a rooster, which was fine. All was good last summer, except for a broody Buff Orp who was relentlessly tormented. Last fall, the Buff and a couple of others were showing rough rooster signs. I bought capes (I know, I know), went through the winter, and by spring we had a few more bare backs and raw "shoulders". Culled Rooster, culled Buff. Took off capes.

Last month got a new rooster. He was about the same age as everyone - but again too rough. Lots of biting and chasing. Culled roo #2. A week ago got 2 more birds from a friend. They are young and getting fairly tormented, but they eventually go up at night and find their spot on a roost. He just crowed for us this morning - so I'm hoping his roosterly duties will come soon.

But, I've still got red shoulders (not bloody, just red), bare backs, & not fluffy butts. Almost everyone looks bad. The only one who looks good is the most unsocial. Always on her own, finds a place away from everyone else in the coop. They get gamebird fermented feed (got Turkeys too) that has some whole grains & scratch. They hang out in about 2 acres of our property during the day. Some table scraps.

Just am hoping for advice. Not sure how to get my pretty ladies back, or reduce the new chicken tormenting. Love this thread - hardly read any others anymore. Thank you!

You will get your pretty ladies back after they molt. This is not the best time of year to find a pretty chicken. They are molting, have been bred heavily or there are too many in the enclosure.

Walt

 

[Minchi]

i posted about raw meat. this turned out by observation an interesting experiment. i put a freezer burnt pork roast out in the coop. of course through the heat it spoiled. day 1 some chickens picked at it making a small dent to it. day 2 even fewer chickens picked at it . day 3 not one chicken even pecked at it. i removed it for fear of it may harm the chickens if they ate it. i put fresh chicken fat from processing in. the chickens ate that right up.
chickens are smart creatures they know exactly what to eat and not to. i never tried rotten meat before. they love chicken and fresh meat though.. .

Mine won't touch burnt meat, in fact they really don't eat much cooked meat. I have tested them on a few things The only thing they gobble down is the mealworms maybe a small amount of fruit is next but they don't eat much of that either.

 

[qball53]

When ours start looking like that it usually mean not enough hens for the energy level of the rooster. We will usually put several of the yard hens in of a type that we can distinguish the eggs. Gives the rooster a little more to do and everyone gets a bit of a break.

Hey OT's! I'd like to first thank you all for answering all us newbie questions. Your advice is invaluable.

I've got flock issues - could use some feedback. Sorry for the long story.

We got our first pullets last spring. Coop is 40 sq ft, run is 140 sq ft. Got 8 birds. (two batches, had some issues) One turned out to be a rooster, which was fine. All was good last summer, except for a broody Buff Orp who was relentlessly tormented. Last fall, the Buff and a couple of others were showing rough rooster signs. I bought capes (I know, I know), went through the winter, and by spring we had a few more bare backs and raw "shoulders". Culled Rooster, culled Buff. Took off capes.

Last month got a new rooster. He was about the same age as everyone - but again too rough. Lots of biting and chasing. Culled roo #2. A week ago got 2 more birds from a friend. They are young and getting fairly tormented, but they eventually go up at night and find their spot on a roost. He just crowed for us this morning - so I'm hoping his roosterly duties will come soon.

But, I've still got red shoulders (not bloody, just red), bare backs, & not fluffy butts. Almost everyone looks bad. The only one who looks good is the most unsocial. Always on her own, finds a place away from everyone else in the coop. They get gamebird fermented feed (got Turkeys too) that has some whole grains & scratch. They hang out in about 2 acres of our property during the day. Some table scraps.

Just am hoping for advice. Not sure how to get my pretty ladies back, or reduce the new chicken tormenting. Love this thread - hardly read any others anymore. Thank you!

 

[thedragonlady]

Checked for lice & mites, layer feed is always available, fermented feed in morning & evening. Not using much scratch, just a little in the fermented and whole oats. Got to be feather picking - since I see no feathers. Just can't figure out who!?

What breeds have you got together???

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Has anyone here have a rooster die from old age?

We had a Cecil Moore Black Orpington male die this Spring. He was from the Superior Farms sell out and was hatched at Cecil's. We were told Cecil only sold birds to Superior about 5 or 6 years ago. That would have put this boy at 6 or 7 years old.

Years ago we had a hatchery Buff Orpington hen died at 13 years old. We acquired her at age 12 from Dr. Edgar Petty of OKC. She did not lay after age 11 I was told.