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

[Mountain Momma]

Well, I brought the FF down to the hens today. OMGoodness! They dove right in! I just left it in the dishpan at first, but they seemed to be enjoying it so much, I put some on the ground for them, and put the rest in their trough feeder in the coop. We'll see if they're still interested in the morning. (I got home too late to give it to them early enough for them to finish it before bedtime)It's supposed to get down to the low 20's tonight, but we'll see. I'm leaving early in the morning and gone through Sunday. We'll see what's left of it when I get home. Funny story: I told DH how much the hens loved the FF. He said, "Is THAT what that is? I saw that stuff in the laundry sink and wondered WHY you were wetting down the cat litter! I thought you'd lost your pea-pickin' mind!"

Now that we have the FF report out of the way, does anyone have any thoughts on what I think is low egg production for 25 or so pullets? (I mentioned it in my earlier post.) I think I'm going to start charting how many of what color eggs I get each day. That would be a good indication of whether or not I have several that aren't laying every day, or a few that are. I get several different colors, so it will give me a vague idea, anyway.

I have 25 hens too. We have been on ff for almost a week and a half. I got 20 eggs once and average about 10 to 13 daily. My EES are not all laying and it is already cold here.

 

[Pozees]

Hmmmm... Maybe I'm paying for GMOs in my supposedly non-GMO scratch. I can't think of any other reason they wouldn't eat it...

LOL on the steel cut oats! I make myself steel cut oats in the morning...and *sometimes* I just make a little extra for the girls. But, before I get roasted for doing it...lol...I never cook it for them if I'm not making it for myself!

Oh I only cook extra for them when making for myself too, I guess I left that part out - I used to just make the s/c oats, then one time in a hurry grabbed cracked wheat by accident when I still had some s/c oats left, so I mixed them - one of those lucky accidents, for my taste anyway. I am not one for much sweet food, so I eat with added veggies like peas, corn, lima beans, broccoli, etc. instead of sugar or honey, milk, anything like that. I know it's so completely upside down, but to me it makes a yummy savory breakfast that keeps me warm and full for a long time. The girls seem to agree

 

[Kansas Prairie]

And this setup and owner is why "chicken mommies" shouldn't be raising chickens...this is just sad, even before you know a raccoon got into it. How can anyone even think about raising chickens in this pen?

A six year old country kid would know that fence would not keep a raccoon out! When I saw that poor wounded chicken hobbling around my heart sank.

That's wrong! Common senseless!

 

[Beekissed]

Funny video.

So what is it with chickens and the RUNNING? Don't they know they have wings and can fly?? When mine decide to go somewhere fast, they clamp their wings to their sides and run as fast as their little legs can go. Even the Cubalaya "flyers". I HAVE seen them fly but it surely isn't the preferred method of transportation.

Bruce

Mine fly as they run. Wings flapping, a little loft but mostly running....like a duck on a take off.

 

[Pozees]

look for an 8 at the beginning or the end or the upc. Thats a GMO. Every kind of feed at my local feed stores, there are 3, except organic is GMO.

That is a great tip, thanks!!!

 

[Gargoyle]

This article ( www.i-sis.org.uk/US_drought_destroys_GM_Crops.php ) says the latest drought destroyed GMO crops, but non-GMO crops flourished. More food for thought...

Makes sense. It's similar to what we do with controlled burns. Our county advises to do controlled burns to wipe out invasive plants, and help native plants thrive. The natives are acclimated to burns, droughts, and everything else.

I learned to raise chickens from my grandma. She died in 1958.

Welcome to BYC!

 

[Mountain Momma]

A six year old country kid would know that fence would not keep a raccoon out! When I saw that poor wounded chicken hobbling around my heart sank.

That's wrong! Common senseless!

The thing you need to know about common sense is.....its not actually that common. I'm glad she posted it though because educationally it is very informative. I would never have thought a hawk would go in a pop door. And be that crafty in general. I would have expected them to be flying overhead and swoop but not laying in wait, getting impatient, hiding on the roof and then right in the coop.

Made me think of my situation. At night nothing can get in the coop except perhaps a genious sasquatch or a rabid 1000 pound bear or a bulldozer.

But during the day the galvanized gate is open, the insulated reinforced door is open and the interior coop door is open. The reinforced door has a dog door in it that I have kept closed...How hard would it be to train the chickens to walk through it and what about the flaps? Could they do that? Its a big enough dog door that 110 pound dogs used to go in and out....Daisy couldnt but she topped off at 170 before she died. I gues to simplify this question....does anyone have any idea if chickens can handle flaps on their pop door.

Sorry to be so unable to communicate this evening. Finding a kill site, dosposing of the carcas myself and then 2 classroom holloween parties, friday folders, a costume parade and setting up and attending trunk or treat followed by tired kids with millions of aches and pains and sugar packets, I forgot to eat and made the kids raman noodles for dinner, DH out of town- it has all has kicked my bussle.

The chickens are safe. The maint area is a poop fest. I honked the horn for ten minutes before I let the kids out of the car when we got home and 5 hunters at the trunk or treat offered to spend the night waiting for the cat. Everything from bows to glocks. LOL. Dh is half cracked he's not here and the kids are sleeping with me tonight.

Calgon take me away! I'm glad you guys are around to help me get my head around this. The sheriff did say, when I asked him just exactly when we could kill the cat "you dont have to convince me, its DOW you have to convince it was to protect life or limb" Interesting, huh.

 

[Beekissed]

SSS.....always, SSS.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

Mountain Momma, Did you watch the other video, the "chicken mommie" city girl fence where the raccoon got in and ate the chickens?

 

[Justahannah]

Well, I brought the FF down to the hens today. OMGoodness! They dove right in! I just left it in the dishpan at first, but they seemed to be enjoying it so much, I put some on the ground for them, and put the rest in their trough feeder in the coop. We'll see if they're still interested in the morning. (I got home too late to give it to them early enough for them to finish it before bedtime)It's supposed to get down to the low 20's tonight, but we'll see. I'm leaving early in the morning and gone through Sunday. We'll see what's left of it when I get home. Funny story: I told DH how much the hens loved the FF. He said, "Is THAT what that is? I saw that stuff in the laundry sink and wondered WHY you were wetting down the cat litter! I thought you'd lost your pea-pickin' mind!"

Now that we have the FF report out of the way, does anyone have any thoughts on what I think is low egg production for 25 or so pullets? (I mentioned it in my earlier post.) I think I'm going to start charting how many of what color eggs I get each day. That would be a good indication of whether or not I have several that aren't laying every day, or a few that are. I get several different colors, so it will give me a vague idea, anyway.

I'll admit, I use layer crumbles for cat litter so that could be a legitimate question from my husband

. The dust from the clay kind makes me sick, and crumbles clump and control smell just as good as the alternative grain-based litters except instead of paying $30 for a 40 lb bag at a big pet store for a brand name, I'm paying $13 for 50 lbs at the local mill and can just take some from the girl's stash as needed.