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

[Country Parson]

QUESTION: though I've had chickens for quite some time, I've rarely added to an existing flock. Usually I've kept the upcoming layers seperate and just culled the older flock all at once. This year I will be downsizing my coop housing and will need to ad new birds to an existing flock. Any OT tips for thev best way to do this?

 

[aoxa]

I have spent an hour or so reading this thread. Very good information. Though I do name my chickens for ease of ID - as Speckledhen mentioned.

I wanted to mention a documentary I watched called the natural history of chickens. It was so pathetic I laughed until I cried. Nothing natural about this documentary. It is worth watching for a good laugh though.

Thanks to all the OT's for helping out all us newbs on here. We appreciate advice, even if it is given gruffly

 

[Country Parson]

I went to YouTube and started watching "The Natural History of Chickens". I should have stopped after the first 15 seconds when the lady kisses her chicken "soulmate" on the head, but finally did stop after another old lady gave her chicken mouth-to-beak CPR...which she apparently did for 3 hours I might add.

Not sure about the rest of the video, but I agree there was nothing natural about it, not to mention zero actual history. Just a bunch of people personifying their "pets".

 

[OldGuy43]

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Thank you for that synopsis. I was about to go looking for the video. Won't have to waste my time now.

 

[galanie]

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I am always looking for anything in my flock daily
Just a few of my criteria for culling:
Any chicken that starts developing a crooked beak are culled
Any chicken that starts to display a bully attitude—reason why is once they start bullying and draw blood the whole flock starts picking on the one being bullied and next thing you know they have eaten the one picked on and they develop a taste for it, out they go before they infect the whole flock with a cannibalistic attitude.
Any chickens that have a failure to thrive are culled
Any chicken that starts to show signs of getting sick are culled before they infect the whole flock.

I never let anyone up around my chickens do not want to take chances of them bringing in diseases etc. and for a good reason.

Back several years ago in 2002- when several states had including us in California had Exotic Newcastle Disease --everyone around me were either having their flocks dying on them or being destroyed by the State -- my flock survived and was found clean.

I remember them coming in their yellow rain suits boots and masks on going out and inspecting my chickens, putting a sign on my gate under quarantine, as they did to everybody who owned any kind of bird, when they left they would spray themselves down remove their protective gear etc, It was something to see. They came out 2 or 3 times over the several months, and my flock survived all this. Finally the ban on importation of birds from ones property was lifted. You could not take or bring any bird from or to your property during this multi state Quarantine. Millions of birds were slaughtered.

You might have saved me here. I haven't been paying enough attention to disease control like this. I don't have a problem now but what a horror story! I'm for sure going to pay attention now! I don't remember that happening in 2002 but back then I was a postal worker and never watched the news.

Love all the OT posts!! And in the spirit of knowing who is an OT and who is not, I'm not so I put my years up there too lol.

 

[riane'smimi]

another reason for bio sercurity http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-204_162-601807.html. happened a few years back

 

[Duramaxgirl]

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Oh come on now... the natural history of chickens has one good point....

my Husband laughed so hard at the lady that kept that poor silky roo as a pet. She even swam with him in the pool with daily blow drying and car rides.
It was awesome! To hear him laugh that is...

 

[Beekissed]

Wow! This thread is taking on a life of its own! Love it.

I want to thank all those who are participating on such a level and sharing both your questions and answers. I came to this forum to learn, as I'm sure most are here for the same reason. Learning should never stop...so, do I think I have all the answers? Decidedly not.

Culling: Since I had a flock of 25-30 dual purpose layers and one roo, I cull primarily for laying. I cull during peak season when all the birds who will lay should have started to lay well...somewhere in Mar/Apr. By then all birds should have their full and new plumage, should have rosy red combs and be in top health and condition. Any birds that do not display all these characteristics, I scrutinize closely.

I check for current laying status...I've mentioned this before but, yes, I glove up and stick my finger right up in there. And, yes..it's just that important!

I consider the age of the hen, her current health status(feathering, comb color, general appearance and movement), and her level of lay...is she laying every day or has she moved into the every other day status? I will continue to support an older hen if she is laying at least every other day, as I am not into chickens for significant profit but merely need them to earn their keep and not put me in the red on feed purchases.

I can't see killing a perfectly beautiful hen, bursting with good health, just because she can't lay an egg each and every day...but hens that move into going days at a time without laying are generally in their last year and, pretty or not, it isn't any use to wait~she will only get worse from here on out. If she isn't at least laying every other day, she is canned into a jar.

Any hens who consistently have bald areas of skin, particularly from over-breeding, are culled. I have one roo to 29 hens and only THIS one has a bald back? So I observe for behaviors and find this hen squats every time the roo walks in eyesight. I check her for laying status, feed thriftiness and foraging skills...if she is good on all those, I'll keep her around awhile. But eventually this one is in the jug....chronically exposed skin is skin subject to possible damage, infection, fly activity, etc. This leads to health problems I will not deal with for the sake of one layer..she is replaceable.

I had a group of BOs that were spotty layers, though only a year old, fat as ticks, poor foragers and always sporting a bald back....even in early spring when feathers should be full and shiny. I culled each and every one and won't have another BO in my flocks. I was checking my other hen's eggs and finding some that weren't fertile...I could only conclude these blonde hussies were hogging all the roo action by falling down for it every time the old guy walked by. Why should he chase the others when these fatties were so willing? Maybe it was just the woman in me that resented these girls....but~OFF with their heads!

I cull a consistently, persistent broody...I've only had one that persistent in all these years~ and she was a very poor layer even when she wasn't broody. She was a mutt EE and I kept her a few seasons to see if I could use that broodiness to hatch many chicks. Then I found out she was a poor mother too, she was low on the pecking order and consequently slept in the nest boxes quite frequently, and she was a loner. NOT anything I want to keep in my flocks. OFF with her head.

Any hen suffering from an injury so severe that she may take a long time to recover, need to be in isolation, or may cause the other birds to attack her~OFF with her head.

Any roo that consistently injures hens with breeding...not just the usual feather loss at the back of the head...unless he is the mack daddy of all roos~OFF with his head.

I've never had any illness in my flocks but, if I did, that hen would be culled immediately and any other hens would as well. You can always start over and build up way cheaper and with less time involved, than you can by trying to treat a large flock of birds. No one needs that stress, work and worry to save birds whose genetics are susceptible to diseases. Start fresh and cull for hardy genetics, I say.

 

[darkmatter]

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Have a well built coop & run, shut the coop pop door in the evening and open in the morning. Trap and deal with persistent varmints.

 

[Fred's Hens]

If you don't or can't have a varmint rifle by the back door? You're probably not a farmer.