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

[pcappy2]

Exactly what I needed to hear..............thank you.

Read all I could find before I brought just a couple chicks home and everything said....indoors or they will die. never again,,,,my laundry room may not ever be the same.

 

[thedragonlady]

I've seen posts about Calf Manna before but completely forgot about this. I've been giving my pullets BOSS, a small handful every other day. I thought this was good to increase their protein. Especially since they're losing feathers. (I'm guessing a juvenille molt) Which do you recommend?

BOTH!!! My birds get both mixed in their Flockraiser crumbles every day. I feed a cup per 10 birds of Boss and a big handful of Calf Manna, mixed in their feed. Some scratch in the summer, but more in the winter too. I overseed their large paddocks with clover, rye, wheat, oats, rape, and kale, over the centipede and Bermuda grasses.. This gives them year round greens. They lay jumbo hard shelled eggs with orange yolks year round. The laying birds get free choice oyster shell also. You have to really whack their eggs to break them!

 

[fowlman01]

I am a show person and I don't feed my birds anything other than what comes in the sack. My birds stand up well against all the fancy fed birds .......... I believe it is more in the breeding than in the diet....and it is a lot easier and cheaper. All the birds here get the same thing and I have waterfowl and chickens...lots of both.

Walt

 

[armorfirelady]

Ok I have a newbie question.

I knew the hens needed grit for their diet since where they range doesnt give them access to it.

When I went to the feed store to get supplies & asked for it they asked what kind I wanted. They had chick, grower, layer & another kind I cant remember. I got the layer grit since the hens are 22 weeks old & should be laying in the next few weeks.

When I got home I looked at the bag & saw that the grit is made up of broken pieces of marble stone. So why do they have so many different kinds? I assume it has to do with the size of the pieces?

And I have just been putting it in the floor of the coop & run. They peck at it so I know they are eating it but they leave the bigger pieces. I figure I will just leave them in there and when they grow bigger they will eat it as needed. How much should I give them?

Thanks for your help

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

I am a show person and I don't feed my birds anything other than what comes in the sack. My birds stand up well against all the fancy fed birds .......... I believe it is more in the breeding than in the diet....and it is a lot easier and cheaper. All the birds here get the same thing and I have waterfowl and chickens...lots of both.

Walt

We like using the push mower and bagging green grass clippings. We then dump it in the wheel barrow and give a handful to every coop. More grass clippings in the large fowl coops than the bantams. For winter we plant winter pastures. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/554575/winter-pasture-for-poultry

 

[huckleberry acres]

"]Ok I have a newbie question. 

I knew the hens needed grit for their diet since where they range doesnt give them access to it.

When I went to the feed store to get supplies & asked for it they asked what kind I wanted. They had chick, grower, layer & another kind I cant remember.  I got the layer grit since the hens are 22 weeks old & should be laying in the next few weeks. 

When I got home I looked at the bag & saw that the grit is made up of broken pieces of marble stone.  So why do they have so many different kinds?  I assume it has to do with the size of the pieces?

And I have just been putting it in the floor of the coop & run. They peck at it so I know they are eating it but they leave the bigger pieces. I figure I will just leave them in there and when they grow bigger they will eat it as needed. How much should I give them?

Thanks for your help





I put grit in one of those aluminum feeders with the holes for their heads and let them eat what they want when they want. They always have it and if they do not eat the bigger pieces, it stays in there until.

 

[Beekissed]

You can save yourself the money and the trouble of figuring out what size of grit to buy if you have access to any rivers or streams nearby. You can find suitable sized pebbles, sand and rock fragments on the river bank...just get a shovel full or two in a bucket and dump it out in the corner of their range/run. They will pick and choose, it will stay there for their convenience and won't get lost in the bedding or in the coop clean out. That takes all the guess work out of it and gives them a more natural grit source than is provided by crushed and bagged stone. Saves you money too.

 

[Missa Chickabee]

When chickens first start laying it seems like their systems sort of sputter a little...you may see soft shells, no shells, small eggs, small eggs without any yolk, etc. This is normal and natural and will clear up in time.

With older chickens going into molt, it can be the same way, so be aware that not every egg mishap or deformity is a cause for concern. If you are following good management practices and if your chickens aren't overly fat, they should be able to lay a normal egg in a normal manner 98% of the time.

Time takes care of a lot of these issues...just watch and wait. I know it's hard for folks who only have a few chickens not to notice every little thing that happens and get alarmed but it's the same as with a larger flock~let nature happen. After keeping chickens for awhile you will get a feel of what is real or Memorex when it comes to things that should worry you.

Thanks for the reality check, BeeK. Was a nurse so was trained to watch for any all deviation from the 'norm' but this not NICU. It does feel like CICU these days, though, between one thing or another.(C for Chickens)
You have relieved my mind. They all look fine. I'm not J**ish but I'd make a really good Yiddisha Mama.

worry-warting.

 

[armorfirelady]

Unfortunately I dont have access to a stream nearby to get some shovelfuls. Does sand have the same effect? I could down to the lake and get a few shovel fulls in a bucket

 

[Beekissed]

Could be your lake would have the same type of small rocks in the sand along it's edges....would be worth a try.

There are NO rivers or streams where you live?!!!