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

[stonykill]

I think I've seen you post a lot of no nonsense stuff on another thread I used to look at. I forget the exact title, but it's the old fashioned broody whatever....If it's your screen name I remember, I believe you've posted about a hundred times to leave the chicks alone, not to pick one up that young, not to handle them while they're pipping (whatever the term is) and on and on and on. Then, about ten posts down, somebody will post a picture of a chick that has "just hatched". They're so excited they just HAVE to go bother the broody, pick up the chick and take pics to post.

yup, I used to post there. But I got sick of people who tried for 4 years to have a successful hatch, then suddenly hatch 2 out of 6 eggs after trying for 4 years to get 1 to hatch suddenly become experts and give HORRIBLE advise. I called several of them out on it. Got verbally attacked by a "know it all" who knows nothing....... so I figure they don't need my advise. Sure I hatch around 100 broody chicks a year, and they hatch....2 every 4 years, but they know better than me. So....... ehhh, I'll bite my bottom lip and stop typing. Some people aren't worth it. They aren't as they already know it all......

 

[loanwizard]

I'll give it a shot...should be interesting to see how each OT sees this space and the potential therein!

How many do you think it could handle. I have more egg orders than I can handle, and wish to market meat birds, pork, beef etc... to these new customers understanding crystally clear that what I have currently isn't sufficient even though your modifications seem amazingly simple, cheap, in other words doable.

I thought that I would tear out the outside walls of the stalls and frame up 1 large room out into the barn to the main doorway. Your way is smaller yet simpler.


Quote: Good, simple inexpensive.


Quote: Thought about it, never got around to it. Figured I don't feed much to make them free range more, but have always fed in the morning. Feed is across the barn in old freezers. Same feed for the hogs, oyster shell out in main barn. Bucket you see hanging is unused 5 gallon bucket with nipples. Unused because both ends of barn outside are water runoff areas and to the left of barn approx 30-40 yards is 1/2 acre pond.


Quote:
Thought about that too but then if they didn't roost there it would be cramped Point taken.



Quote: Ummm.... might get myself in trouble here, but cleaning... I add more straw/hay. It is dry and there is no smell, even with the litter on the laying boxes. I actually would appreciate some for compost, but haven't seen anything needing cleaned. In the old coop, heck yes! Here, havent had the issue and they have been in there since about April if I remember correctly.

I can move the roosts and boxes with relative ease.

Last part has already been addressed, but I can change, especially with winter coming on.

Thanks so much and so far.

 

[thedragonlady]

Hold on a second.... my pens aren't filthy and they are not overcrowded. They have a 60' barn. The stalls are just feeding areas and roosting areas. Free ranged, they hardly suffer.

I was not referring necessarily to you, but to so many newbies who stuff too many birds into those cutsy coops. Having read your next post however, I think your 100 birds are crowded. What happens when bad weather comes? I keep no more than 6 very large Buff Orps in a 10 x 10 covered run. I have no disease, or pecking problems, and all birds are on free range during the day. After raising chickens and other animals for many years, I can tell you that overcrowding leads to disease from stress, if nothing else. I'm sure most Old Timers will agree.

 

[loanwizard]

I was not referring necessarily to you, but to so many newbies who stuff too many birds into those cutsy coops. Having read your next post however, I think your 100 birds are crowded. What happens when bad weather comes? I keep no more than 6 very large Buff Orps in a 10 x 10 covered run. I have no disease, or pecking problems, and all birds are on free range during the day. After raising chickens and other animals for many years, I can tell you that overcrowding leads to disease from stress, if nothing else. I'm sure most Old Timers will agree.

Point well taken, and taken, and taken. Way I figured it is they would use the entire barn throughout the winter.

 

[loanwizard]

Quote: Those are the remnants of my original flock. They have not adapted to my hatched flock well and keep mostly to themselves. There are 3 or 4 gals that have this issue and have had them through last winter and this summer. Originally I thought it was too much attention as they will squat on a dime. That said, my intent was to cull. These are the same ones that roost in the garage.

These 3 or 4 lay 3 eggs one day and 4 the next religiously. Their eggs are the biggest as well. So.... I have held on to them.

Thoughts? Anything I should look for? I told you I wouldn't recognize a scaly mite if it bit me!

 

[galanie]

Now here I was all happy cause I don't understand chicken math. How can anyone claim to "love" chickens and then overstuff their coops and runs? I never would!

But my coop is only 14x9 and I have 10 birds. They are only in it to sleep and lay, no other times, even in winter. The feeders aren't in there even. I know they have plenty of room to run because there's tons of grass out there even after 3 years. In winter, they stroll about the yard and discuss [who knows what] like it's a summer evening in a cold drizzle that has me chilled to the bone. But now I'm thinking it's not big enough. Dang!

I have been planning on building more coop space because I'm going to be adding some (hopefully) good birds soon but I guess I'll have to get out the hammer and a pencil now. Well pencil first, then hammer.

As for being chastised, Walt has let me know exactly what he thinks before too LOL. And I honestly appreciate it!

 

[Beekissed]

Those are the remnants of my original flock. They have not adapted to my hatched flock well and keep mostly to themselves. There are 3 or 4 gals that have this issue and have had them through last winter and this summer. Originally I thought it was too much attention as they will squat on a dime. That said, my intent was to cull. These are the same ones that roost in the garage.

These 3 or 4 lay 3 eggs one day and 4 the next religiously. Their eggs are the biggest as well. So.... I have held on to them.

Thoughts? Anything I should look for? I told you I wouldn't recognize a scaly mite if it bit me!

Without getting a close look at them, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I can understand why you don't want to cull if they are your steady layers~but I'd still do it if I had plenty of other layer birds. If they have been that way all year, something is wrong there....could be you need to eliminate a rooster or two or three. Just don't know..could probably give a good guess if I walked your barnyard/coop and watched the birds, got to examine them, see the feed, etc.


Quote:
Looking at that big, open barn area, I'd say your coops could hold more than average because the birds have expansion capabilities that are out of the weather. All you really have to worry about are days when they really need to be "cooped up" for training, catching, etc., and having available roosting/nesting/feeding areas for all those birds.

Heck with all that dust in the coop, I wouldn't even bother putting straw down...you really don't need it. The poop will just get shuffled into the dust and you can use that on your compost...like tan gold, that is.

As far as stocking your coops, I'd err on the side of caution. Cut back to about 65-75 birds and see how things go. If it looks like they live and thrive well in the space, think about adding on to your coop size to increase your flock potential and add birds then. Now, that's just me...others may not be as cautious as I am about overstocking the space and soils.

The kind of roosts you have don't maximize space, so you might want to change those into something that does and allows all birds to roost in the one stall...instead of on the nest boxes. If all they do is roost in that area, then pretty much most of the space along the walls can be devoted to roosts. This gives you an open area into which to walk in and take a bird off the roost if needed.

 

[loanwizard]

Quote: Heading home for the evening but this has me stymied. All I have ever seen was ladder type roosts. They actually prefer the rafters under what I assume is a hayloft. I am all for maximizing space.

 

[Beekissed]

I HATE ladder type roosts! Try getting the bird off the middle of the top of that without leaning against and disturbing all the birds below....grrr! Maybe it's because I'm short....

I like box style roosts or wall to wall posts/roosts. These have supports on either end and, if needed and are long enough to warrant it, a T support in the middle parts, are about 3 roosts/poles wide and as long as you would like. They leave the floor below the roosts accessible for raking out or catching up a bird that dropped off the roost in all the kerfuffle and needs to be caught.

I've even seen folks slant a piece of plywood out from the back of these types of roosts to keep the poop falling towards the front so that one doesn't have to bend over to rake it out from underneath. Depending on your ingenuity, these roosts can be designed to be easily removable and/or height adjustable from bracket mounts so you can change up the design/formation of your roosts to suit your needs.

It's just me...I like things to be versatile and easy to access.

We need to have a show...Pimp My Roost or This Old Coop or some such. Would be sooooo much fun!!!

 

[bruceh]

speaking of space. look i am the type of guy that never would allow any type of livestock in my home no where for any reason. with that said i have 32 meat birds in my basement as we speak. why? that is where i had the room. i keep my birds (12 layers) in a 14x8 pen and coop with the gate open to free range. yes it is closed at night. the meat birds (17 )are kept in a 14x8 pen with a metal roof 1/2 way on top with free range as well.. i am also converting a wooden garage that is 15 or 20X6 for the new meat birds. i have maybe 2 1/2 weeks to do this. yes chickens are addicting however the care to properly care for them is what is most important. over crowding causes illness, crankyness. parasites, etc. which leads to people wanting to dump their no longer wanted chickens.. proper management is the most important element in keeping any animal. it is not that you have to do it perfect but it is a whole lot it easier to correct with a few birds than it is to correct with a ton of birds.

i was reading on my local thread about all these people having issues with there flocks. i even gave some suggestions. i also said if you have a problem p.m. me. if i don't know the answer i ask someone who does. well with that said not one person wrote me yet. let me correct that one person did .that person is now on this thread.
yes some people take suggestions, most will not. it is a ego thing. all i can say about that is they do such much diservice to the birds and all it would take is simple management some common sence, and take some darn advice without getting the underware in a bunch.. it would give them a much better expirence than what they have now.

i may not be able to spell but i can raise a healthy happy chicken that produces well and tastes great. if i can raise those horrible cornish x ( just kidding ,i love to raise them) and they are healthy, diarea free , running and jumping to the day of slaughter. anyone can.

i just want to thank all of you on this thread and the men at the markets when i was a kid for all the advise. omg i think i am softening up.

bruce