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

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

Quote:
Could you please put that into an equation I can better understand. I have close to 100 chickens. In 8 different pens. Thanks. I have used Calf Manna for my horses.

 

[featherz]

Could you please put that into an equation I can better understand. I have close to 100 chickens. In 8 different pens. Thanks. I have used Calf Manna for my horses.

The bag says no more than 10% of feed or a tablespoon per bird per day. I just chuck out a couple of handfuls depending on the pen (one coop has 40 birds, others have fewer) now that I know it's a good thing.

 

[Clay Mudd]

"this is what works for me" is key........what works for me may not work for you because of location, management, climate. feed, type of chicken etc, etc......you name it.

That particular bit of wisdom can't be repeated often enough!

Along the same lines -- sometimes there's more than one way to do it.

 

[therapydoglady]

I am not a newbie, having kept chickens for 50+ years. And, I have read this thread from page one, and I have learned a LOT! If I were a newbie, and really wanted to learn something, you can bet your britches I'd grab something cold and read every post. As far as I'm concerned, it would be(and has been) worth every minute. My biggest regret, if there is one, is that I didn't find this site AGES ago!

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Whenever I get a new chicken, it or them get to be by themselves until I think they are disease free, then they go to a designated coop spot for a couple of days, then otd (out the door) to find their place in the flock...it's good to know I don't have to have a plethera of medicines to fix em up with. I think I will get some calf manna for the winter....oh, and just a thought...I wouldn't go overboard with rich feeds on a chicken that might have been nearly starving...just normal food it takes time to put on healthy muscle and you don't want them fat instead....my chicks this time of year are kinda lean from running around and wouldn't make much of a meal.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Had a thought and wondered what you may think..about roos ...over the years I wondered if maybe the ability to breed many hens has inadvertently been breed into them....if you had alot of chickens, and could get by with fewer roos to feed, wouldn't you keep the ones that fertilized the most hens? So then, you'd keep those to replace.', and so on..200 years later we have roos that need ten or more hens to be happy....I just wonder what the normal wild chicken hen to rooster ratio would be...haven't found that info yet, but with most of my hens either broody, or with chicks, they must be pretty sad.

 

[aveca]

gee, i thought she was just trying to offer advise..it seemed well meaning to me..

Identify years of experience? Please?

This is a non-alarmist, don't scare the newbie type thread so we usually don't post how they MUST do anything ASAP!!!!!!! Chickens are chickens and time isn't really of the essence....a slow, deliberate approach is more advisable with some rational thought and action which usually yields a more satisfactory and long term result.

 

[omaeve]

I think mine are afraid of my large shiny ax.

Walt

Large shiny pie pans scare some crows from corn patch I an sure the chchickens might be afraid try mounting your mirror to the side of coop and see what they think. this is one of hen cams chickens

 

[omaeve]

hen cam said her chicken thought the chicken's in the mirror were very beautiful

 

[fowlman01]

Had a thought and wondered what you may think..about roos ...over the years I wondered if maybe the ability to breed many hens has inadvertently been breed into them....if you had alot of chickens, and could get by with fewer roos to feed, wouldn't you keep the ones that fertilized the most hens? So then, you'd keep those to replace.', and so on..200 years later we have roos that need ten or more hens to be happy....I just wonder what the normal wild chicken hen to rooster ratio would be...haven't found that info yet, but with most of my hens either broody, or with chicks, they must be pretty sad.

Even wild roosters seem to have favorites......you can tell them by looking at them, they are the ones with the bald heads and bare backs that people complain about....and some of the hens are not that into it or maybe have headaches on occasion. That has been my observations. Not all my chcikens hang out together when they are free ranging.

I would keep the roosters that fertilize the most hens. it is the reverse of egg laying.You don't keep hens that don't lay (unless they are called Dominique) If the rooster doesn't do his job unload him.

Walt