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

[Beekissed]

I have had hens in the flock kill young birds.

Walt

Well, Walt...I don't know what to say. I guess chickens just take direction from their owners....

I stand corrected.

I've never had picking on each other in my flocks, never had roosters fighting each other beyond a brief "get off my hen, you youngster" type of action, never had any of my hens kill any other bird, let alone a chick

and never really had any of the pecking order type issues that others seem to have except for shuffling of roost positions at night.

I've integrated countless birds, broodies and chicks and just young birds of 1 mo. of age and up without a mama. Never even had a hen really peck any of them unless it was at the feed trough and that was just briefly enough to get them out of the way. Never even had any injuries, no matter how slight, inflicted on a bird from another bird.

Weird that I've never had any of these issues and there are entire threads devoted to this type of thing. Must be the vinegar in the water.....

 

[MagicChicken]

Well, Walt...I don't know what to say. I guess chickens just take direction from their owners....

I stand corrected.

I've never had picking on each other in my flocks, never had roosters fighting each other beyond a brief "get off my hen, you youngster" type of action, never had any of my hens kill any other bird, let alone a chick

and never really had any of the pecking order type issues that others seem to have except for shuffling of roost positions at night.

I've integrated countless birds, broodies and chicks and just young birds of 1 mo. of age and up without a mama. Never even had a hen really peck any of them unless it was at the feed trough and that was just briefly enough to get them out of the way. Never even had any injuries, no matter how slight, inflicted on a bird from another bird.

Weird that I've never had any of these issues and there are entire threads devoted to this type of thing. Must be the vinegar in the water.....

Bee, I wonder if it has something to do with the quality of your range? In prior posts you've described what seems to be a chicken paradise, with lots of range area and good forage. Other people (and chickens) are not so lucky. I wonder if chickens confined to pens or ranging on poorer quality forage might be more inclined to view the younger birds as competition or lunch?

Then again, it could be the vinegar in the water...

 

[Beekissed]

I think it has a great deal to do with the amount of range they have and the total space....easy to avoid birds if they need to do so. I only stock 30 birds to 1 acre and they are never confined to coop unless it's for training purposes or if the snow is too deep for them to want to range out. I don't have a run at all. The pop door is open 24/7 and I have multiple roosts set at different heights and angles. I have plenty of nesting boxes and outside nesting opportunities, multiple dusting areas, hay stacks and apple trees to get up into, etc.

My hens are much too busy shuffling for food in the orchard to give a second's thought to younger birds. The only time they come in contact with them is at the feeder or the roosts..and all my younger birds are smart enough to stay out of the older girls' way.

Maybe it is all about space, available food across a whole acre and hens/roos that are not bored, territorial, or stressed in any way. My chickens are quiet, my roosters don't crow a lot, I never see fighting amongst the hens or roos...I just don't seem to have the issues that others have. I don't have birds all jacked up on high pro feeds or fighting over "treats". I don't know what it is. Must have a Chic-topia, huh?

People have often laughed about my chickens after they drive by and see them roosting in the apple trees or on the swing in the orchard...and even on the sheep's back. I guess they've never seen chickens acting natural and relaxed before.

 

[normanack]

  no excuse for not knowing the law in your city before you get hens. As is the case with the petitioner 

Good point.

Mike the Chicken Vet has an interesting analysis of urban chickens and the problems they can cause -- in short arguing that knowledgeable chicken keepers aiming to get chickens allowed are opening up the way for careless chicken keepers to introduce diseases and other health problems.

[=http://mikethechickenvet.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/why-dont-cities-want-backyard-chickens/][/]

 

[normanack]

Now...I don't mean to sound mean or anything but, seriously?  Zombie apocalypse?    You do know that zombies are only on the movies, right?

If you are merely looking for ways to provide extra food for your family, then chickens are probably not your best option...so why have them if that is the express purpose? 

It's not "so bad"... but is it entirely necessary and the best option for your intentions? 

Well, "zombie apocalypse" was just my attempt to say "widespread economic and governmental breakdown," or "out-of-control global warming" without sounding too grim. I'm too worried about brown dwarf stars whizzing between the earth and the moon to worry about silly stories like zombies. ;-)

On a more serious note, you make some truly excellent points. Thank you.

 

[armorfirelady]

1. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/70/deep-litter-method

2. Yes, these can be used as well.

3. I keep a lid on it to keep out debris.

4. I never keep food outside because my dog would eat it...not to mention all the birds in the area. I keep water inside as well unless I'm raising meaties, at which time I keep it both inside and out. In the winter it's always inside.

5. My broody and chicks join my big flock at 2 wks...sometimes I've changed to all flock for a little while for the chick's sake but finally just stopped doing that and left everyone on layer rations. It worked out just fine and didn't compromise the chick's health because they were getting their primary feed from forage at that point and only eating the layer ration as a supplemental feed.

In the winter I still give layer ration but will mix in some whole grains to cut the cost of feeding chickens on a slow down.

6. Yes...their food/water is always in the coop. I don't use runs so they pretty much come back in the coop when they want some feed...but mostly they are foraging for their feed out on pasture. I only feed once a day, each evening.

Chickens are normally on the roosts all night and cannot see to eat or drink unless you are keeping a light on all night...which I do not recommend. No need to remove their feed or water at night. They usually leave the roosts before we get up in the morning, so access to fresh water and whatever feed may be left in the feeder sets them up for heading out to forage for the day.

Thank you Bee for your response

. I will def check out the link.

My girls are in a 8x4 run most of the day for now until the dogs lose interest in them then I would like to free range them when I am home. The food & water is in the smaller run that came with the hen house I purchased which is right outside the pop door when I let them out in the morning. But they spend most of the day in the big run scratching thru all the grass, hay & whatever weeds or grass clippings I have thrown in there for the day looking for bugs.

I figured that I didnt need to keep it food/water in the house since they are on the roost all night (well the pullets are currently in the nesting boxes at night. I dont think they figured out what roosts are yet. I dont know if they had them at the previous owners where they free ranged all the time. But I put a stick in their big run & I have seen one jump up on it a few times already.

I will keep them on the layer pellets then. I did buy some oyster shells but more to give them something to scratch for now & then. I want them to forage for food mostly since thats how they were raised. Hence why I keepy putting grass.weeds etc in their for them. Yesterday I tossed in a ripe tomato since I was working in the veggie garden & one of the girls ran right over to it & started pecking at it. The garden will be theirs to explore in the fall when all the veggies are harvested. I figure they will find lots of tasty things in there.

I am still working on the bucket with the nipples in it. Still leaking a little around the one nipple so I put some silicone them and left them to dry. I will put some water in it when I get home from work. (& some ACV ...I am all for natural/preventive care for the birds) It didnt come with a lid but its in the small run and high enough I dont think debrs will be a problem.


THANK YOU TO ALL THE OT'S for your wealth of knowledge & starting this thread. I have read thru it all.....taken a LOT of notes for my chicken binder and have gotten my pullets. Cant wait till they start laying. And I have decided how peaceful it is to be working in the yard listening to them chatter

 

[galanie]

Well, "zombie apocalypse" was just my attempt to say "widespread economic and governmental breakdown," or "out-of-control global warming" without sounding too grim. I'm too worried about brown dwarf stars whizzing between the earth and the moon to worry about silly stories like zombies. ;-)
On a more serious note, you make some truly excellent points. Thank you.

I think the whole thing boils down to the attitude that "It's my land and I should be able to do what I darn well please on it" which is a very American thing.

But like you, I also think Bee made excellent points about not having them in the city. Anyway, three? Really? Might as well diaper them and keep them in the house.

 

[thedragonlady]

You could try keeping them in sight of the other chickens but with a barrier in between to keep them from physical contact for week, then put the rooster in that area and switch the new birds to the flock. This keeps the rooster away from them until they have properly integrated into the flock. After a week on time out in the "sight but not touch" pen, the rooster can then be re-integrated into the new flock matrix.

If that doesn't work, I'd kill him.

I free range, so I don't have to use this method...I just throw them out in the range area and by the time they all go to the coop that night, they've all become a united flock.

I agree with Bee, but want to add that I leave a creep feeder door open to the young birds or chicks in that same pen. The youngsters know there is food and water there since they've lived in it for a week or two, and know they can run in to escape any meanies. Works for me. Problems with the older ones picking on the young usually start around the feeders from my observation.

 

[cubalaya]

free range is the cure for many chicken problems.

 

[galanie]

I don't have problems either usually. If I do, the problem maker meets his maker or gets sold. They are only on a little more than a quarter acre but I keep the numbers under 15. They have lots of cover and places to run to. Trying to sell and get a place in the country but that will take time.