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

[chickenlover89]

I never really caught that whole "I want more chickens" thingy.

I'm not one of those people who feel addicted to chickens or getting more chickens. I really don't get that whole thing...maybe I'm just jaded? I like keeping chickens, I think it's smart to keep chickens, but I know how much the land and coop will hold so I don't long for more chickens than I can handle, so I guess I just recognize the limitations and work within them.

that's smart....I just had a ton of fun raising them! how many chickens do you have?

 

[Beekissed]

Right now I only have 13 but the coop will hold 20...I usually have a coop big enough for 30 birds and that is my usual number.

 

[Nomibear]

 Coop plans are often drawn up by people who have never owned a chicken. Measure your birds' wing span just for the heck of it, and leave enough room for the LAST bird to make it up to the roost with enough room for it's wingspread.

Now that I have full grown chickens I agree. 15 chickens even seems a stretch, for the coop I have, and if the person who designed the coop had owned any chickens, why would they have put the roosts so close to the floor?


Chickenlover, The yard they have is 45x50 feet. Total of 2,250 square feet. Not as large as I wish I could give them. But with 3 lg dogs that free range around our home, this is the safer way. When I have enough money for more fencing, their yard will grow.
I agree. Chickens are addicting! There are at least 3 more breeds I would like to get, so maybe another 12 birds? I've even been toying with the idea of getting a Rooster!

 

[armorfirelady]

I have 4-24" roost in my coop. All 4 hens choose to roost on the highest one that when they roost on it they have to duck their heads. I took the 5th roost out for winter since it was btw the 2 vents. There is one in front of the nesting boxes & the smallest hen is sometimes on there. The other 3 are about 18-22 inches from the ground in the shorter part of coop.
I am hoping as they grow they will move to other roosts to give them more room for sleeping. But as of now they can sleep 4 across. But thats only 12 inches per bird roosting space.


And Bee I hardboiled up about a dozen eggs today & mixed in a little greek yogurt I had and gave a spoonful to the hens this evening. They licked their bowl clean I do find it amusing when they eat soft foods and then wipe their beaks off on the straw or grass lol Now if I could just get them to clean up their chins from when they are done eating their FF.

Do they sell chicken bibs where you can buy chicken diapers from?

 

[chickiemomy]

w/respect to what I've learned here -- but first PLEASE don't judge me by my sn - I enjoy my chickies - & am not in any way into the diapering, etc behaviors you all (& I) abhor.

1) validation of do what you can - then let it go -- I've lived by this for a long time -- as that is what we do for all our animals (Hey & kids for that matter!). There are lots of predators here - you take care of & protect your animals as best you can - lock up cats, secure the chickens, etc at night. But if an individual refuses the protections - won't come in, say, - well you do what you can & if something happens - life is dangerous & there are no guarantees. Similarly-- the occasional mystery death discussed earlier in this thread. take care - be observant - if something happens - review your contribution to the issue/problem, then let it go.

2) not sure this was posted to this thread - but love Sweet PDZ (?) - had sand in the chick run - added a topping of PDZ - as much as I could afford for now - will increase it over time. Great stuff.

3) ACV - as all around preventative/ cheap health care.

4) coop design & chick space requirements in general! - spent hours all over this site gleaning info before designing & building our coop - in which we repurposed a dog run - built a roof/ secure cover over it & built a coop that fit into the narrow opening next to the gate outside the run - then expanded in size into a roughly 30 sq foot coop with all the accoutrements - unfortunately the chicks refuse to use the cadillac version of a roost, sigh - still waiting to see if they will grow into it - they are almost 5 months old.

5) don't worm - love this advice from bee! I know worming is extremely hard on cats & dogs - poison the little parasites w/o doing too much harm to the animal you're trying to save??? almost sounds like slash & burn chemo!

6) deep litter - chicks went out to the coop in July - now about 3 months later, I only recently shoveled out about 1/4 of the worst spoiled shavings - probably wouldn't have needed to do that IF those little buggers would roost & deposit in the loo!

7) chicken math! - 6 is plenty - but wouldn't a rooster & baby chicks be fun!

What I found elsewhere --

I was worried about loss of feathers - do I have a secret feather picker? -real molting doesn't happen until fall of the year following -- or about 18 mos old in my chickies case & here they are leaving feathers everywhere all summer long - nutrition? -aha discovered that yes younger chicks do molt! - not in the same dramatic sense as the full molt at 18 mos., but according to the science/ag -- paper/advice my brother found in an Aussie Ag website- after the first baby down molt, there are 2 more partial molts that occur - one at 12-15 weeks and the second at 18-22 weeks. This was a huge relief - as not having had chicks before, I did not know to expect so many feathers. And as we approach 5 months old - there are many fewer feathers scattered about.

What I've been pleasantly surprised by -

My main purpose for getting chicks was a few eggs & manure for the garden - what I've found is that they are extremely entertaining. They each have such a personality -I never imagined. They make me laugh every day. And really they are not demanding - except for the mealworm begging! LOL -

and how FAST they grow! - I have 2 buckeyes, 2 australorps & 2 gold sex-linked. The buckeyes are big girls - one is named Trouble - as she was the only chick who managed to escape the brooder and still leads the flock into new territory every day. The australorps are very loud in alarm mode - while they were out foraging this afternoon, I went out to see what the commotion was about & discovered 12-14 hawks & eagles circling directly overhead.- everyone was under cover without incident, and after the dog & I'd been out for a short time, the big birds moved on & I eventually coaxed the chicks back to the coop. The GSL - well they are just both really ditsy-type blonds - what can you say.

and that this website is about as addicting as keeping backyard chickens - I spent the entire day reading the rest of this thread! - shame on me!

anyway - thanks to all the OT who share their experiences with all us newbie chicken keepers - I'll keep reading & learning!

thx from rural western WA

 

[bruceh]

my goal is 20 laying hens. meat birds i really don;t count as part of the main flock. my new coop is 30' long and 10' wide this does not include the pen that will be semi covered.around 30' wide by 10' long )that's the covered part. the whole pen is 30'x20 they also will have free range on 1/2 acre fenced w/ trees for cover.
i have hatchery birds at the moment . so they are on the small side. i have coming some nice welsummers and marans. i keep one rooster because he is just to good to butcher.

so what i have learned.

1. apple cider vinegar

.2. don't over stock

3. watch your birds often.

4. keep them clean

5. let chickens be chickens

6. use good fresh feed

7. don't do more than you can handle make goals do not use chicken math.

8. the old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pond of cure

9. if you can't kill a bird do not get them

10. if you don't know the answer ask.

11. chickens are to be enjoyed .

12. lots of great people on this thread and will tell you straight.

just a tid bit of funny stuff here. i held over some rangers for layers. well today everybody was sitting in the nest boxes taking their sweet time. like a 1/2 hour each to lay. well this poor ranger, her first egg, could not wait. she laid that egg right on the ground beside a dog house in the pen. some of the birds starting to use the dog house i put in the pen. she just could not wait for her turn any longer.

by the way rangers lay a pretty light brown egg with speckles. i was going to butcher these birds because they started to gimp. however they stopped gimping. so they will stay as long as they are healthy.

 

[Briezeechicks]

Hi all! One of BJ's Doms has "stolen" eggs (for lack of a better word) and has rolled them under the nest boxes in a hollowed out place. I think she has 7 eggs and she fluffs up and screaches at us when we go in there. Is this what y'all call being broody? And if it is, is it too late to let her hatch the eggs?
BJ picked her up and made her go outside, but she acted like she's been sitting there so long her legs didn't work, and she was back inside in about 5 minutes. If she hatches the eggs it will be mid-October. We don't get really cold weather until around mid to late November. Will that give the chicks time, if we leave them with the mother, or should we take them and put them in the brooder? I thought they did this stuff in the spring!

Brie

 

[bobbi-j]

Hi all! One of BJ's Doms has "stolen" eggs (for lack of a better word) and has rolled them under the nest boxes in a hollowed out place. I think she has 7 eggs and she fluffs up and screaches at us when we go in there. Is this what y'all call being broody? And if it is, is it too late to let her hatch the eggs?
BJ picked her up and made her go outside, but she acted like she's been sitting there so long her legs didn't work, and she was back inside in about 5 minutes. If she hatches the eggs it will be mid-October. We don't get really cold weather until around mid to late November. Will that give the chicks time, if we leave them with the mother, or should we take them and put them in the brooder? I thought they did this stuff in the spring!

Brie

Sounds broody to me. How cold is "really cold"? (You're in Texas, right? Here in MN it can get below zero by that time of year, so I'm just looking for a reference point) If it were me, and I let them hatch, I'd leave them with the mother and let her keep them warm. I'm so looking forward to having a broody to raise chicks for me! No worrying about turning eggs, temperature in the incubator, setting up the brooder... And it's just so darn cute to see them peeking out from under momma - heads sticking out from under wings, in the wings, under her tail. My vote is, go for it!

 

[mbmess2003]

Yep that's one trying to be broody..... It's up to you to let her try and hatch (some give up after a bit) or you can try and break her. I'm sure some of the OTs can shed more light on it

 

[Beekissed]

Hi all! One of BJ's Doms has "stolen" eggs (for lack of a better word) and has rolled them under the nest boxes in a hollowed out place. I think she has 7 eggs and she fluffs up and screaches at us when we go in there. Is this what y'all call being broody? And if it is, is it too late to let her hatch the eggs?
BJ picked her up and made her go outside, but she acted like she's been sitting there so long her legs didn't work, and she was back inside in about 5 minutes. If she hatches the eggs it will be mid-October. We don't get really cold weather until around mid to late November. Will that give the chicks time, if we leave them with the mother, or should we take them and put them in the brooder? I thought they did this stuff in the spring!

Brie

Brie, it sounds like she's a broody...and a good one. Persistent. I'd let her go ahead and sit. It really doesn't matter how cold it is to raise chicks when you have a broody doing it for you. I wouldn't take them from her if you really want good, healthy chicks. Should be really fun to get your first broody and chicks! Have at it.