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

[OldGuy43]

A new question about predators. I have a lot of hawks in my area and yet have no problems with (knock on wood) them. About 50% or more of our hens run is open to aerial assault. I was wondering, do you suppose the color of my flock has anything to do with it? I have all Red Sex Links.

 

[mycalicogirls]

I don't mind straight talk: I'm a farmers daughter and can take it. In college animal science poultry class we had to slaughter chickens and de-beak chicks. Yucky. Now: My rooster has a "stuffy nose". It sounds just like a person breathing through a boogery nose. What should I do? He shows no other signs of illness. This started just a couple weeks ago. Thanks. Molly

 

[ajlynco]

Thanks Fred, I'm leaning that way, thinking if I screw up and lose some hens, the production birds will be more expendable than the heritage breeds. My first priority is egg production. I'll raise meat birds after I move. It's funny, I was raised on a Kansas farm with chickens but didn't pay attention to them much, just a few more chores for me to do. Now I'm 56 and the thought of being a little more self-reliant ( not to mention a new purpose in life), providing my family with fresh eggs and tablefare is going to be very gratifying. Looking forward to my daily readings of this thread.

Fred's Hens :

ajlynco,

Good question. If you have a small backyard, starter flock and just want to learn, and have eggs, it would be hard to beat a red sex link or black sex link. You'll get eggs, especially their pullet year. You'll get those eggs in 18 weeks, not two months later as you might if they were slower developing breeds. I know that can be frustrating to a beginner to wait and wait and then end up with only 3 eggs a week. With known, high producers, the frustration level is much lower.

Since you won't be breeding in the backyard anyhow, the breeding potential of the birds is irrelevant. Once you're out in the country, my guess would be you'd very likely gravitate to a different kind of flock, with different kinds of birds.​

 

[southerndesert]

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What ever was around the property when we built them.... We picked landscaping poles sort of round with 2 flat sides and made ladders. We are not real fancy, but have healthy happy chickens.

The 2 hen houses and pens this morning with the girls wanting out of the runs, there is a fenced run for night security all built from stuff around the homestead using the K.I.S.S. method. they also free range the property. Can't imaging spending hundreds or thousands on a coop....

This is our brooder/grow out/quarantine/new hen room/coop again not fancy, but works....

 

[southerndesert]

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We use it to keep bugs out of the food and hen houses, but it is very dry here in AZ and it works for us and may not be as effective in moist environments. We can get it free from a friend so we use it, always got by without it before that.

 

[kuntrygirl]

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What ever was around the property when we built them.... We picked landscaping poles sort of round with 2 flat sides and made ladders. We are not real fancy, but have healthy happy chickens.

The 2 hen houses and pens this morning with the girls wanting out of the runs, there is a fenced run for night security all built from stuff around the homestead using the K.I.S.S. method. they also free range the property. Can't imaging spending hundreds or thousands on a coop....

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd219/southerndesert/Chickens/2011-12-06_07-16-48_56.jpg

This is our brooder/grow out/quarantine/new hen room/coop again not fancy, but works....

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd219/southerndesert/Chickens/2011-12-06_07-16-56_936.jpg

Great setup! Thanks for sharing your pics.

 

[al6517]

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I would recommend starting with a few hatchery birds, get the feel and get your feet wet, learn as much as you can. That way you can make a better decision on what type of deal you may want to run once you get more room. Heritage birds are great so by the time you get some you will be a little smarter about your goals and breeds, I think your going about it the right way, good luck to you.

 

[Tracydr]

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Only on BYC can you get away with talking like this, Al. Other people might think you were talking about something entirely different, like, old hens and young chicks and they wouldn't think chickens..

 

[al6517]

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I think the way your doing it is fine, I do the same but only in moderation. Every Saturday my DW sorta cleans out the fridge and cupboards of leftovers, half filled tupperware bowls of this or that, old hamburger & hotdog bun's, chips and things like that. I put it in a huge pot take it out to the birds and split it between most of the bigger pen's, I just lay it on the ground and they clean it up, sure I do watch what goes in the pot of gold, nothing goes in they can't or won't eat which isn't much. They clean it up and go without any more treats till the following Saturday, they have their feed available and that as they say is that.

One issues I do have is the over encouragement in other populations of folks with chickens, they know who they are, to treat excessively and way to early, I have never ever been a fan of giving treats everyday or to young birds. An example many of you have seen is ................ When can I start to feed treats to my pet chicks ??, can I give my pet 3 day olds treats??, and on and on. Some people feed way to much junk food treats to the birds and some even cook and custom mix goofy treats for them daily. My chickens will go for 6-8 mo before they even get their first taste of some cracked corn, I want them to develop properly before they start to get spoiled with treats. IDK it's just not natural to do so, but most just shrug their shoulders and say SOOOooo I want to anyway, and then ask what to do or what's going on when their birds have irregular poops or some other issue associated with a poor diet laden with excessive people treats. Maybe it's just me or do other feel the same way.

 

[kuntrygirl]

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