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

[Beekissed]

We could always lop off a leg and count the rings....

 

[ladyride]

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[aoxa]

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I just mentioned on here that I started letting my 8 month old cat outdoors, and someone FLIPPED out on me. Like I am an awful person for allowing my cat to get wild animals (song birds and what not), but my cats take care of any unwanted rodents. Cats should be allowed outside if they so desperately want to be. If they are neutered, why get all upset about it?

I wonder why my three cats show no interest in the chickens at all? They will even sleep in the nesting boxes. I have yet to see any type of rodent around, so I am going to say thanks to my cats. Found just a squirrel tail not too long ago. Wonder why they left that part of the vermin?

Squirrels are a huge issue here. They chew up cords in attics and are just plain annoying.

 

[aoxa]

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I'm with Deerman, keep records! lol


Chickens have been in my family for generations. This is the poultry house my grandfather and mom raised chicken used back in the 40s. They hatched, grew them out, plus eggs and sold them to restaurants along the train line. So as I am an old hen I know alittle about chicken raising!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/Tuffoldhen/000_0269.jpg

Has this poultry house been passed down to you? It's so nice! Wish I had something like this!

 

[CarolJ]

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We have a cat that is now a little over two years old. He has never been inside. We got him as a kitten - and he grew up as an "outside pet." His job is to keep rodents out of our yard - and he takes his job very seriously. Even in very cold weather, he won't come inside.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I'll have to get a picture of my henhouse cat Buddy. He is 4 years old and he lives inside the henhouse with the chickens. He rarely comes out just long enough to eat at the cat dish. He sleeps in one of the nest boxes, drinks from the chicken water bowls and is content to stay inside thru the toughest winters with the girls and roo. They even cuddle with him. Needless to say I rarely see a mouse in there!

 

[Tuffoldhen]

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I'm with Deerman, keep records! lol


Chickens have been in my family for generations. This is the poultry house my grandfather and mom raised chicken used back in the 40s. They hatched, grew them out, plus eggs and sold them to restaurants along the train line. So as I am an old hen I know alittle about chicken raising!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/Tuffoldhen/000_0269.jpg

Has this poultry house been passed down to you? It's so nice! Wish I had something like this!

No sadly this poultry house was torn down this passed summer. I only wish it could have been saved. It had been built in the early 1930's and my family used it in the 40s to house their poultry.

 

[Tracydr]

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I use DE in the coop and all around the area under the trees where my chickens hang out. I also use it in the garden, a lot. I've actually gotten rid of nasty buggers such as squash bugs by being very diligent with the DE. It's not an instant poison but it really does work, slowly but effectively. It keeps the ants down, mites down and in the garden works very well on lots of bugs.
Just don't expect it to kill everything in two hours. It won't. But, in a week you'll notice the bug problem is gone. Better yet, it's great as a preventative. For instance, probably wouldn't have worked on thousands of adult squash bugs but when I noticed one juvenile, it kept anymore from maturing and turning into an epidemic.
Again, prevention is key, like in most of chicken husbandry and organic gardening. Chasing your tail with treatments almost always turns into a downward spiral with one disease following another.
Keeping everything dry, keeping the bugs down with DE, giving a varied diet with lots of greens, alfalfa, healthy fridge scraps ( including meats) , and avoiding crowding or overheating will go a long way towards healthy chickens.
When raising my little chicks:
1. I don't use a thermometer, I just watch their behavior, move the light further away or closer based on if they're acting too cold or or too hot. I prefer they be able to cool off and have an area to warm up, if the whole brooder is 95 degrees, you'll end up with pasty butt, I do keep the little ones inside the first week, just to keep a close eye on them and because I enjoy it but I try to get them out the second week because dirt and sun are good. I try to keep the brooder on the cool side, less bacterial build up and diseases it seems, so long as the chicks aren't acting chilled. Bedding is changed frequently.
2. I give sprouts and garlic chives right away, when chicks are only a few days old, along with a tiny bit of kefir and fine grit, a little organic ACV in the water
3. I don't use medicated feed and I've never had cocci
4. I like to give a bit of nutritional yeast and kelp to the chicks, I think sometimes chick starter can be lacking and chicks are growing so fast that nutritional deficiencies are not that uncommon

This has worked for me over the years. Raised peachicks, guinea keets, chicks, ducklings and quail. I've done some refinements through the years, of course.

 

[Tracydr]

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Crockpot.

 

[halo]

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Or check their teeth.