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

[Beekissed]

No way in you know what I am taking a chicken to a vet!

I have a relationship of mutual respect with the local vet...wouldn't want him to think I'd lost a screw down in my engine by bringing him a chicken to fix.

 

[Marthab1953]

Quote:
I free range mine.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I have a relationship of mutual respect with the local vet...wouldn't want him to think I'd lost a screw down in my engine by bringing him a chicken to fix. wink big_smile

This thread is fabulous.
I have read a lot of your posts in threads & appreciated them.
Nice to have so much good sense in one place. One stop shopping on BYC.

How about hatching?
I felt like it was easy when we did it in elementary school science.* What happened?
I read threads here & it has made me just want to wait til someone goes broody & get eggs.

*ETA, this could just be the romanticized memory I have of using these round, popcorn maker looking things & taking turns turning the eggs from "X" to "Y". Then, when you had just about given up, BOOM, chicks!​

 

[Beekissed]

I never had that school experience, nor did any of my ancestors fool with incubators. We had simple laying flocks and let them produce and brood their own replacements and, on occasion, we would buy some breeds we wanted to incorporate into our flock genetics.

When I want to make a change in breeds or add breeds now, I just order chicks when I know I'll have a broody or two, shove them under her one dark night and go about my merry way.

I never really had the desire to mess with the perfection that is Chicken...they can do it so much better and I don't have to worry about electric outages, temps and humidities, etc.

I understand those who need higher production of chicks need a more efficient way to produce the same....but I never needed it.

 

[Beekissed]

What do you OTs do about predators? Seems to be a hot topic on the board at all times.

 

[Marthab1953]

Quote:
I agree with you on the point that I never did when I was younger. And I did order chicks and raise them as the years went on. But the last 17-20 years with my kids and Grandkids are in other states, I have enjoyed incubating eggs and being a momma to the chicks that I hatch! Probably just a woman thing, but I enjoy it. I agree the chicken is perfection as a momma but I think I am a pretty good substitute momma Hen so to speak.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Quote:
For years we did the same, just let the broodies hatch them or buy chicks. Now in the last 10 years I've started incubating. Working with some of the breeds we have that never go broody and raising so many to sell, I've had to adjust.

I'm no expert at incubating, but what I've learned the hard way it to;

A). buy a quality incubator and set it up weeks before you add eggs. I currently use a Sportsman.

B). once you set the eggs - leave them alone. They don't need candled 300 times. I candle at 11 and 18 days. When I remember to.

C). do not open the incubator until 24 hours after they hatch, them take them all out at once.

 

[al6517]

Just an OT's take on handling and carrying birds for one reason or another from one to place to another.
I don't like to chase them nor do I play little smootchy games to get them to come. In most of my pens I can just reach down and grab them after a minor fuss on their part, if after the first miss I grab anything on that chicken to catch them. I have carried 3 or 4 chickens in each hand upside down more times than I care to mention, all without a fuss from the chicken or me. I know the chicken will be just fine and none the worst for wear, so whatever the bird is thinking and what it's FEELINGS !!! are make no never mind. They get handled for a reason and that is to get them from one place to another or to perform a task on it, so handling needs to be quick, easy and without fanfare. If by chance a few feathers come off........Oh well........... yes they will squawk like all get out..... OK ... soooo, they are fine they will be fine and the job get's done. You will never have a problem if you handle the more firmly with purpose so they don't flail about as opposed to a more gentle approach where they feel that if they struggle they can escape and start the fiasco again.

Some of my pen's are bigger.... allot bigger with more birds, here the tool of choice is either a long handled fishing net or my favorite the chickens catching hook stick. The whole flock is flying around making all kinds of racket, it's what they do and it's natural, the easier on me the better, Go in catch 5 or 6 birds while holding the others upside down by their leg's cause they are calmer and I can carry more at a time that way. They have never had to visit a therapist because they felt upset over the P.C. offensive handling, once you puy them back in their new spot they forget about it in about 45 miliseconds. I have on many occasions at auctions or any place where handling allot of birds quickly is a must, have been approached by some lady who say's she thinks it's so mean to handle birds that way, or why aren't you more gentle with them. Sometimes I will say something that will tame her down, but mostly I just roll my eyes into the back of my head and move on, they allways understand the eye roll thing, they invented it LOL.

Transport cage space................. There is absolutely nothing wrong with putting more than one bird in a cage, give it some space but don't over do it there is no need to have a huge big bulky cage or carrier with just one or two birds in it. Sometimes it may get a little cramped depending but hey.......... they will be fine. All I am trying to say here is there isn't a need to be overly sensitive to the chickens mental state when trying to do your chores with them, if you do it right everybody win's no fuss no muss.

AL

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Just found this. How great to have you all in one spot! No hiding now - we'll all know where to find you when we think we need you.

 

[Newwell]

Fred's Hens :

OK..... I just dip my toe in the water.... and see how this goes.

Brood chicks out in the garage, in a shed, or in the barn, or least in your mud room or back porch for goodness sakes. Chicks do not have to be brooded indoors, giving everyone cast iron lungs, sinus allergies and rooms that must look like someone shook out a flour sack.

The entire brooder does not need to be 95F. Stop putting so much sugary crap in the water and cooking chicks in little suffocating plastic totes where the temps are 95-100 degrees and 99% of the posts of "Oh No!! My chick has poop butt, what should I do?" would go away.


Now, Bee, if I've already been too plain spoken, I'll bow out. No problem.

Gosh, why didn't I read this first before I put up with 5 weeks of chick babies in the house. And I dusted EVERY DAY. After 2 days, the chicks ran away from everywhere it was 95F in the brooder box. So I had to keep mind of the temp & keep it at 85-90F.
Keep it up you OTer's. I love this topic.