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

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galefrances said:
Newbie since June,2012.

Hmm, what I've learned on this thread; I'd need a few pages to give all the credit due, but here are the main highlights:

1. They are not pets, they're chickens. If you let your chickens sit on your shoulder you'll probably get your eye poked out. Most problems concerning aggressive chickens are caused by people trying to make pets out of them instead of just letting them be chickens. Let them do what chickens do.

2. Prevent illness, don't treat it. If you provide a clean environment, fresh air and sunshine, proper diet, protection from predators you'll have healthy productive chickens.

3. Fermented feed. (haven't started this yet) Chickens will not need as much feed, it will help the natural flora in their gut improving resistance to disease, normalize their poop and chickens tend to prefer it over the dry feed.

4. ACV improves the general health of the chicken. About a tablespoon or so in their water. I've been using this for a few weeks now and the chickens seem to prefer the taste to the plain water.

5. Coop size. Can never be too big. Bee's analogy of a bathroom. Think of being confined to your bathroom for 4-5 months of the year only going into the other rooms for a couple hours a day. How would you feel being cooped up? So don't include the run in how much space you have.

6.Ventilation: think up and out. Fred's coop design with eave and roof vents...picture worth a thousand words.

7.Coop insulation, heat, running water, electricity for artificial light, etc......NONE of that needed. After all birds in nature don't have any of that and they manage to survive rain, snow, wind, etc. Don't interfere with the natural order of things.

8. Watch your flock. Look at their feathers, feet, vents, eyes....keep an eye on their behavior. Know them and then when something is off, you'll recognize it right away. Take a wait and see approach. Most things will correct itself.

9.Cull when you have to. If you can't, then you shouldn't own chickens. ( I haven't had to experience this yet. I've been trying to prepare myself mentally each day when I look at my chickens.) (ugh)

10. Most of all, I've learned that I can ask the OT's just about anything and know I'm getting the right answers.


Well, like I said these are the highlights. I'm sure there is more I'm not thinking of right now, but these are the ones foremost in my mind. I can't thank the OT's enough. I'm certainly more confident now than when I started and I feel my chickens are pretty healthy looking. They're calm birds. They may not jump up in my lap, but they trust me.
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yep i agree.
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Maven said:
I don't think I can add anything but a big fat YES to what the other 'newbies' have posted already as far as what they have learned. I've implemented every pearl of wisdom I've gleened from this thread, the FF thread, and the 'Got Flogged by a Rooster' thread.
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Thanks again to (I think it was) galanie or erin who posted it!!

I did want to say that because of that thread, even though my rooster is now only 11 weeks old and a perfect little loving gentleman, I have distanced myself from him (he loved to sit on my foot when my leg was crossed up), I pinned him 3-4 times in front of the hens when he came to jump up on my foot, and I've 'pecked' him GOOD when he pecks at a hen within reach of me and 'feathered' out my wings into the chicken dance as I grabbed his comb and pinned his head down. I felt horrible doing it because you could see the wounded confusion on his face but I knew that I'd made a BIG mistake and had to correct it immediately. He now looks the other way when he sees me coming and if I pick a hen up - something I make a point of doing in front of him regularly - he runs his butt up into the coop and stays there until I am done with her. We have definitely established who is top roo in this chicken shack now.
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Oh, and in honor of our wonderful gal who started this whole thread and also had some excellent advice in the other ones I mentioned, I wanted to let her know this: There is now an old modified broom handle waiting in one corner of the coop under a little sign that says 'Rooster School is now in session' - I call it my 'Rooster Be-Kissed Stick'
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We should market the Rooster Stick....would make a bundle on them!

Thank you all for the feedback! I really just wanted to see if anyone was seeing results after using what they learned and apparently you have...and this is worth more than all the books on the shelf at the local TSC. That you've tried these old methods and found them to be effective even in your backyard. If so many people are going to raise the chicken, then they really need to know that chickens haven't changed much since they were created....yeah, we managed to breed the good stuff out of them in many ways but they are still..in the end...just chickens.

All the newfangled info out there about this old animal is just that...new stuff that doesn't work half as well as just treating them like everyone used to do~feed, water, space, air and sunlight. Kill the poor doers for supper, keep the good ones~repeat and rinse if desired.
 
i think i am going to apply for a job at tsc. i may the only person who won't kill livestock. could you see me at chick days in the spring. well at least people would not be buying the cornish x for a pet. just think of all the information i could give. i would probably get fired for not selling stuff people would not need. i can see it now. their new circular would read 1 week special apple cider vinegar w/ mother only $ xx.xx chicken raising by beekissed $ xx.xx, all about chickens by walt, fred and al $ xx.xx. , and last but not least famous quotes from byc $xx.xx
 
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i for got the novel section. "roosters and the hens that love them" ,"chickens that shine " "the happy chicken "

i am working on day time tv shows


help help i need medicine.
 
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Newbie since 2012:

using sand in my coop. sand has really worked for me! my chickens eat the sand when they want as grit, and it's easy to scoop out poop so that i don't have to change it very often! also, my chickens like to dust bathe in the sand better than anything else...and... IT DOESN'T SMELL!!!!
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We ONLY have sand in our runs (that's all that's out there!) and I agree. It's super easy to clean. We made a "scoop" out of a piece of 1/4" hardware cloth wired to a defunct (several tines missing) horse manure fork. It has a long handle, so you don't have to bend over, and it easily sifts out the poop. We only scoop underneath the outside roosts so far. We put straw down inside the coop, but haven't had chickens in there long enough to necessitate cleaning yet. Samantha can clean her banties in about 5 minutes because the sand is over a foot deep in that pen. Very easy for her.

I finally made my own account you guys! 'Bout time, huh?

Brie
 
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