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

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Once a hen goes broody, she stops laying. A good idea is to mark the eggs under a broody in order to see if other hens are adding to her nest. There is a limit to the amount of eggs a hen is capable of sitting on. Which is the reason to move a broody to a separate area from the others, or remove the extra eggs, other wise she will wind up sitting on more eggs than she can keep warm. Her natural tendency is to push them under when she does this then others pop out on the other side. I had one broody try to sit on about twenty eggs once. I didn't find her till they started hatching. Only six hatched. There is a whole broody thread to check out.... lots of OTs there, as well https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=457488

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:
First off are the birds you currently have Hatchery stock ??.

IMHO I would start with breeder birds, they need not be super duper SQ or very expensive but as long as they have the build and are real typey, that is a great start. Here's why............ Hatcheries Have beat this phrase Dual purpose to death and they are in no way breeding to produce any amount of flesh/meat on their birds, as egg's and egg production is the ONLY thing the strive for Period end of discussion. If your looking for stock that will truely be good table fair of decent size and keep you in egg's a heritage breed is the way to go and you can't buy heritage at any hatchery ever. You want a bird to come to the table that is at least well proportioned and not look like a rubber prop chicken the stand up comdians use LOL. And I don't mean the bird should look like a Cornish X either but somewhere in between, Heritage birds are fantastic for this and as far as their laying ability, sure they do lay for a longer period over the years but you will get just a few less egg's, but their shape and size and color will be exceptional. I am not one of those type folks who freak the hell out if their ( GIRLS) !!! don't lay for a day. Hatchery buyers will tell you all about compassion and cutsey-tutsey fluffy whatever's................. but god forbid one takes a break from laying and these same folks are ready for chicken war and then their Doctor jeckel side realy comes out if from the huggers if they under lay for one day LOL.

Heritage breeds will truely provide the best of both worlds and they look 400 bazillion times better than the hatchery mutt. they will be healthier, more robust, and be better foragers, and You need not drop the kids college fund for these either thats just another thing the cheap hatchery folks want you to believe, if it cost more than $2.00 it's way over priced balony, just look around localy and take your time .......... you will find some good heritage LF in no time. Please don't just buy a good heritage rooster and throw him in with the ugly betty's or you will just ruin the whole flock, get rid of your junk in the trunk and buy a few of the real chickens, you will truely be amazed. The best part of real heritage birds is you can hatch better birds as well and when they do hatch......... guess what.... you won't have to make a post saying....... what are these chicks ?? LOL cause they will be good pure birds not a box of chocolates when they emerge from the shell.

Now I am sure the hatchery die hards will certainly chime in to the contrary, and that's fine but you asked and IMHO experience has taught me, shoot I even bought Hatchery stock from some retail feed store bin before for like $1.20 ea. Rest assured I won't do that again, but it taught me the difference first hand. If you don't believe me go take a quick look at some real chickens at a real farm or breeders place, and you will be floored in 2 mila-seconds by looking at them. Ok so I think that about covers it pretty well.

AL

Al, thank you SO MUCH for your input! You're right - I asked, and you have given me much to think about. I have no idea where the roo is from - got him from a neighbor, but he's pretty good sized, which is why I kept him (bought 7 of them for butchering purposes, only to find that they were practically starved to death - did them a favor, brought them home and fattened them up for 5 months before processing - kept the biggest one for my flock). I know that all but 3 of my hens are hatchery stock - bought them at the local farm supply store. The others were given to me by my friend who can't butcher her own layers (she gets another friend's layers for that

). I know for sure that the youngest birds in my flock will be 2 in April. I was hoping to get some pullets of some sort in the spring, and that these will lay at least until the pullets get started. I don't freak out if I don't get an egg every single day from every single bird. (At this point I'd be happy to get ANY eggs!) So, next question - any breeds in particular that you would recommend? I'd like to keep my rooster. I'm not attached, but he's got a very calm temperament and would like to keep that trait. I don't need showbirds, either. I'd be happy to buy some that would be culled just because they're not show quality. I also need to find a breeder somewhere within a reasonable distance... Oh my.

Sigh, I was gone for the evening and came back to find THREE more pages to catch up on! I only got to page 41 before I left. This thread is awesome!

 

[al6517]

Quote:
First off are the birds you currently have Hatchery stock ??.

IMHO I would start with breeder birds, they need not be super duper SQ or very expensive but as long as they have the build and are real typey, that is a great start. Here's why............ Hatcheries Have beat this phrase Dual purpose to death and they are in no way breeding to produce any amount of flesh/meat on their birds, as egg's and egg production is the ONLY thing the strive for Period end of discussion. If your looking for stock that will truely be good table fair of decent size and keep you in egg's a heritage breed is the way to go and you can't buy heritage at any hatchery ever. You want a bird to come to the table that is at least well proportioned and not look like a rubber prop chicken the stand up comdians use LOL. And I don't mean the bird should look like a Cornish X either but somewhere in between, Heritage birds are fantastic for this and as far as their laying ability, sure they do lay for a longer period over the years but you will get just a few less egg's, but their shape and size and color will be exceptional. I am not one of those type folks who freak the hell out if their ( GIRLS) !!! don't lay for a day. Hatchery buyers will tell you all about compassion and cutsey-tutsey fluffy whatever's................. but god forbid one takes a break from laying and these same folks are ready for chicken war and then their Doctor jeckel side realy comes out if from the huggers if they under lay for one day LOL.

Heritage breeds will truely provide the best of both worlds and they look 400 bazillion times better than the hatchery mutt. they will be healthier, more robust, and be better foragers, and You need not drop the kids college fund for these either thats just another thing the cheap hatchery folks want you to believe, if it cost more than $2.00 it's way over priced balony, just look around localy and take your time .......... you will find some good heritage LF in no time. Please don't just buy a good heritage rooster and throw him in with the ugly betty's or you will just ruin the whole flock, get rid of your junk in the trunk and buy a few of the real chickens, you will truely be amazed. The best part of real heritage birds is you can hatch better birds as well and when they do hatch......... guess what.... you won't have to make a post saying....... what are these chicks ?? LOL cause they will be good pure birds not a box of chocolates when they emerge from the shell.

Now I am sure the hatchery die hards will certainly chime in to the contrary, and that's fine but you asked and IMHO experience has taught me, shoot I even bought Hatchery stock from some retail feed store bin before for like $1.20 ea. Rest assured I won't do that again, but it taught me the difference first hand. If you don't believe me go take a quick look at some real chickens at a real farm or breeders place, and you will be floored in 2 mila-seconds by looking at them. Ok so I think that about covers it pretty well.

AL

Al, thank you SO MUCH for your input! You're right - I asked, and you have given me much to think about. I have no idea where the roo is from - got him from a neighbor, but he's pretty good sized, which is why I kept him (bought 7 of them for butchering purposes, only to find that they were practically starved to death - did them a favor, brought them home and fattened them up for 5 months before processing - kept the biggest one for my flock). I know that all but 3 of my hens are hatchery stock - bought them at the local farm supply store. The others were given to me by my friend who can't butcher her own layers (she gets another friend's layers for that

). I know for sure that the youngest birds in my flock will be 2 in April. I was hoping to get some pullets of some sort in the spring, and that these will lay at least until the pullets get started. I don't freak out if I don't get an egg every single day from every single bird. (At this point I'd be happy to get ANY eggs!) So, next question - any breeds in particular that you would recommend? I'd like to keep my rooster. I'm not attached, but he's got a very calm temperament and would like to keep that trait. I don't need showbirds, either. I'd be happy to buy some that would be culled just because they're not show quality. I also need to find a breeder somewhere within a reasonable distance... Oh my.

Sigh, I was gone for the evening and came back to find THREE more pages to catch up on! I only got to page 41 before I left. This thread is awesome!

Those Brahmas are great birds, I use to raise Brahmas and to this day they are one of my all time best birds to have, they are calm and very striking to look at. They make decent table fair but take just a little longer to mature. Just a tip............ go back through your BYC menu and have your page option changed to 75, it makes a huge difference in how fast you can go through post. I think you can't go wrong by getting more of them, as a hint when judging size you have to handle them, get your hands through all that fluff to the flesh to really get an idea of threir true size.

 

[ECBW]

Hi to OTs,

When I started my chicken hobby 2 years ago, I thought some of the ideas were somewhat off. Luckily, I am at the edge of suburbia. So I made acquaintances with nearby farmers. Everyone was very friendly and took the time to show me their operations. I came away with fresh eggs, chickens and some real gem of knowledge, many are in this thread. I applied what were practical to my small backyard flock. I am enjoying the fruit of the wisdom of these generous and hard working farmers. So newbies, years are just numbers. Your knowledge, enjoyment and success can be attained without the growing pain.

I looked but cant find in this thread about washing eggs or not. My guess is when you get them in large number, you don’t?

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Sort of a good guess, ECBW. If your eggs are clean, no need to wash. If they are dirty, wam water is fine, just rub them with your hand under running water........Pop

 

[southerndesert]

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To be quite honest, I never had heard of "scratch" before I visited this forum. I still don't think I've ever seen a bag of it for sale in the feed store I frequent. I mix some whole grains and just a dab of cracked corn in my layer mash each winter to cut expenses when the birds are laying low, but I don't feed this mix all by itself nor feed it as "treats".

I had also never heard of table scraps and such referred to as "treats" until entering BYC. What a strange concept! We always called that "garbage" and threw it to the birds when the garbage container/colander was full and couldn't hold anymore, or when something stunk so badly that it had to go out of the house NOW.

That is why I had to laugh when people were wetting their pants over feeding moldy foods and leftovers to the chickens....my chickens wouldn't know what fresh human food WAS if it weren't for the garden I grow.

All that food that grows green fuzz in my fridge? Chickens eat it. And they live...who knew?

Grandma fed her flocks shelled corn she grew right there on the farm. I feed mine layer mash from my local feed mill and I buy my grains in bulk to mix in with it when cold weather hits. I also use BOSS to keep my litter fluffed...just throw it in there and let the chickens have something to do on a rainy or snowy day. Saves me time and work.

My chickens love fridge clean out day. I must admit there are a few science experiments that end up in that huge pail on fridge clean out days.
In the everyday pail, which is huge, I can't believe how many produce and edible scraps two people can make, most things aren't stinky or nasty but I don't consider them treats, either. I consider it stuff the dogs can't eat but still edible, so better than compost pile garbage. When your food doesn't come from neat little cans and boxes, it's really amazing how many skins, peels, seeds and so on collect which would otherwise go to the trash can in a non-composting or non-chicken house. I also consider it a pretty important part of their overall nutrition. All those tomato peels, melon seeds and squash guts are loaded with nutrients.

Ditto and ours get all our scraps....

 

[flowerchild59]

Fred's Hens :

An Old Timer isn't likely to ever take a chicken to a vet and spend $150. That chicken would be culled and if the Old Timer had an extra $150, he/she would just get 25 chicks and have enough money to feed them out to replace the one sick bird, and still have enough to buy their spouse a pizza and a beer. Easy chicken math that.

Best thing I have read on here in a long time.​

 

[al6517]

Quote:
Best thing I have read on here in a long time.

The main reason more people don't do that is it makes to much sense to do the logical thing

 

[galanie]

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[bobbi-j]

Despite my confusion about heritage and hatchery chickens, I've been dabbling with chickens on and off for well over 20 years. So, after reading another "A dog killed my chicken!" post, I'm going to try to scrape up 5 points of wisdom. Or at least things that make sense to me. Sorry if I'm repeating what others have posted, and if anyone feels I need correction, I am open to that.

1. Your chickens are at the bottom of the food chain. Even bugs (lice, mites, worms) use them as a food source. Do what you can to protect them when you know there is a problem. Fence in your property if you have neighbors close enough for their dogs to be a problem.

2. When you free range, loss is going to happen sooner or later. It helps to have cover for them to hide under, but it will still happen.

3. It's OK to use electric fence around your runs if you have kids. They learn REAL FAST not to touch it! If you're worried about it anyway, unplug it during the day. My boys grew up with electric fences keeping my horses in. They were told from the time they were little, "If you touch it, it will hurt." Well, you know kids - they hit 11 or 12, and the parents' brains fall out and we all turn into idiots and they have to learn things for themselves. Then they bring their town friends out and teach them about electric fences....

4. If you have a mean rooster and you're afraid of it, or just don't want the hassle of carrying your broom, stick, or whatever with you every time you do chores, get rid of it. Especially get rid of it if you have children that will be going near the chickens.

5. Know that someday you WILL have to kill/cull one of your birds. Something will happen - illness or injury - and putting it down will be the kindest thing you can do. It's more cruel to let them suffer unnecessarily while you try to "fix" them. (I've been guilty of that one. Chickens, cats, horse, dog... I've come to realize I was doing them no favors.)