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

[OldGuy43]

Wow, who would have guessed that a professed non-PC thread would/could have become so popular. Way to go Beekissed!

 

[Beekissed]

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Hey...I just started it. I have very little wisdom compared to the collective years of experience of these other people! I just stand back and learn....

One just needs to have all that info on one place and a group of people of whom you can ask questions and be fairly sure they know what they are talking about because they have been putting their knowledge into practice for many a long year and STILL have large and healthy flocks of birds to prove it.

The sad thing about it all is the few who spurn that hard won knowledge and call these fine farmers "know it alls" when not a one of these people stand up and state they know all of anything....they just know what they DO know and it took many years to learn it. You can't really get that kind of first hand, practical knowledge out of a book or from a website.

Sigh...pearls before swine and all that...

The good news is that many of the more intelligent people who are new to chickens can recognize worth when they see it and are taking advantage of the information. I expect there will be many more once they find the thread.

I know I am learning a world of things on here that I didn't know!

 

[navasima]

Scratch, feed: I see people going great lengths to "create " their own. What do chickens really need to eat to be healthy and productive?

 

[Tracydr]

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Our neighbor has 10 cat's that run the property (not all that thrilled) and they do eat some of them, but there are so many out here you wouldn't believe it. I tried years ago to eliminate the problem, but gave up and now just practice prevention and fence them out of things green.

During the winter we can eat them, but not in warmer months.

We have a huge feral cat population in our neighborhood. In fact, I recently adopted a feral kitten who was drinking out of the chicken waterer in the back yard. We still have a huge problem with a feral bunny population. Someone in the neighborhood must have let loose some bunnies back a few years ago and they mixed with the cottontails and bred like rabbits.

unfortunately, not enough other natural predators like coyotes and hawks in town to keep the population down. I can walk around the neighborhood and some yards will have 5-10 bunnies sitting out in the front yard in the evenings. All colors.

 

[ontimeborzoi]

Does the management of a bachelors pen/coop differ from that of a hen coop? For instance, do roosters rooming together need more space per bird, or not?

 

[Cpprpnny19]

Having only had chickens since April 2011, I am reading more than posting..........the knowledge is invaluable here!





But, I do have 15 yrs of rabbit experience.......breeding, showing and a 4-H Leader

>>Tracydr wrote:
We still have a huge problem with a feral bunny population. Someone in the neighborhood must have let loose some bunnies back a few years ago and they mixed with the cottontails and bred like rabbits.>>

Domesticated rabbits cannot breed with U.S. wild rabbits. Domesticated rabbits were "man created" from European Wild Rabbits so they are not genetically compatible to our wild ones.

Lynne

 

[Beekissed]

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To be quite honest, I never had heard of "scratch" before I visited this forum. I still don't think I've ever seen a bag of it for sale in the feed store I frequent. I mix some whole grains and just a dab of cracked corn in my layer mash each winter to cut expenses when the birds are laying low, but I don't feed this mix all by itself nor feed it as "treats".

I had also never heard of table scraps and such referred to as "treats" until entering BYC. What a strange concept! We always called that "garbage" and threw it to the birds when the garbage container/colander was full and couldn't hold anymore, or when something stunk so badly that it had to go out of the house NOW.

That is why I had to laugh when people were wetting their pants over feeding moldy foods and leftovers to the chickens....my chickens wouldn't know what fresh human food WAS if it weren't for the garden I grow.

All that food that grows green fuzz in my fridge? Chickens eat it. And they live...who knew?

Grandma fed her flocks shelled corn she grew right there on the farm. I feed mine layer mash from my local feed mill and I buy my grains in bulk to mix in with it when cold weather hits. I also use BOSS to keep my litter fluffed...just throw it in there and let the chickens have something to do on a rainy or snowy day. Saves me time and work.

 

[Smarcebird]

Whew - took me awhile but I read 'em all. Such great information ya'all!

My question is about these bare-backed hens. I have 8 hens with 1 roo, of course he has his favorite girl. She is not quite all bare, but getting there. Do I cut his spurs or make her a saddle? Or just let her be bare? What do YOU do?

 

[Attila the Hen]

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Oh thank goodness. I was feeling guilty for not giving them enough attention. You mean they haven't missed me?

 

[Fred's Hens]

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Each experienced keeper here will have their own take, based on their own experience. A chicken can survive, feral, on dung digging, bugs, weeds, grasses, scraps, found dead animals, you name it. They have for 4000 years. Scratch surely isn't going to kill them and as long as they can range about, they'd likely survive just fine, even better than just fine.

But here's the thing. I don't want survival, I want healthy, robust, productive hens. That's my niche in the chicken thing. Hens. Eggs. To accomplish that, I must feed the best layer mash I can. Truth? My feed's ingredients is essentially scratch, in the beginning. Think about it. Wheat, oats, corn, milo, soybeans and such. Nothing worth paying a buck or two more than I can buy scratch, right? Hold the phone. Actually, to those base grains, my old fashioned, local, mill adds 5 lbs per 50 of a mineral/vitamin/nutrient rich package. Worth every penny of that additional $2. I know my feed represents the very best of agri-science and nutrition. Old timer? Yup. Old fashioned? Yes indeed. Stupid? nope. If I divided my flock in half and fed half of them scratch and ranging, I'd get far less eggs. Simple reality and simple economic reality. My feed IS essentially a high quality scratch, just with the added package. There is very little to be gained in feeding the scratch alone, absent the added nutrition.