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

[dirtsaver]

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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.

Bee talking about scratch,when I was a kid I remember going to the mill with a pickup load of corn for grinding. There was always a bag or two of corn held out to be cracked and mixed with crimped oats for the chickens. Nana took out a coffee can of that "scratch" every morning to scatter for the layers. The broilers,as we called the meat birds did not get scratch.

 

[Moonlight Piano]

Ah yes, I love the straight talk on this thread, you all remind me of my grandparents ( no insult on age intended

) . I was wondering though, how can you tell if a hens is ready to lay or not? I know some of the indicating signs like a sudden growth spurt in comb color and size, but are there others? I'm noit trying to get my chickens to lay, I'm just going to let them start when they get good and ready. For now I am just going to let them be chickens. But I do have people that are wanting some eggs for eating, and it would be great to know if they were about to start. So far the only signs of laying on the horrizon would be the growth in comb

. My chickens are blue wyandottes and there about seven months old. I would like to here from some of the old vets on this subject.

 

[Fred's Hens]

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Apologies. I should have been more specific. One square foot of vent is a substantial opening. Usually made by having two vents of 6"x12" Properly installed, between roof rafter or trusses will cause sufficient air movement up through and out the corresponding one square foot of exit vents. (is that a total of 2 sq ft?

) Properly baffled, a ridge vent is superior, of course, because these are centered atop a gable style roof and can draw the air from both eaves. This would be decent, minimal ventilation for a 10'x10' shed. Properly designed and installed, it will move a lot of air through the shed. For 100F summer days, however, it would likely be wholly insufficient.

In all honesty, my eaves, on my barn, are wide open the entire run of the lower eave and wide open the entire run of the upper eave. I have facia boards, but no soffits at all. Wide open. The rafters are 2x8's on 24 center. I have maximum air flow. You can test your ventilation using smoke, of course. Hold the smoker at the lower eave opening and it should travel up, under the roof sheeting and should exit out the upper vent. But to answer your question specifically, I'd use the 1 to 10 formula, if practical to do so. Nothing less than 1 foot of vent (in and out) to 10 square feet of floor. Run a smoke test and assure yourself that what you have is adequate. Hope I didn't just muddy the waters.

 

[Laingcroft]

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+1

I don't consider myself an OT (though the gray hairs would give lie to that LOL) since I haven't bred or raised my own hatched birds. Our family did have ducks when I was a child but our eating eggs came from Puglisi's farm. Old Mr. Puglisi was always nice enough to take me to watch the candling/cleaning work which for some reason I found fascinating as a 5 year old. No one would do that today for liability issues. We also purchased our milk from the local dairy and meats from the local butcher. That was a time when small subdivisions/neighborhoods/developments were cheek to jowl with working farms in the Northeast.

As a side note, I always laugh when I hear/see ads for something that smells "country fresh" as that has always meant manures and new mown hay to me.

Anyway, I finally got "back to the country" 12 years ago, where I've been raising chickens for their eggs. Like the OTs here, I raise them for utility but I also enjoy my chickens in an aesthetic sense so I pick breeds that look purty. Until now, I replace them every two years to maintain p remium egg production. Through years of trial and error I've selected varieties that fulfill my needs for egg quality/quantity, maintain survivability under my husbandry practices as well as being a pleasure to work with and look at. Now it's time to start breeding those birds on my own for better type without sacrificing the utility they were developed for --- which is why I'm here on BYC. Still so much to learn. [While I've learned that fuzzybutts and tophats don't do well in a free range environment, I still like them enough that I'm setting up special pens just for the simple pleasure of having these varieties.]

Our chickens are free-ranged all day and we do lose a couple to predators (fox) each year. Now that the sheep are gone, the LGD will have free range too so that problem should disappear. I don't fuss with my birds and they all do just fine except for the few stupid enough to tangle with the baby copperheads. Nature still does the best job of culling the flock. That said, I like to observe my chickens in much the same way I like to walk through the gardens -- to observe, learn and fix what I can. On the other hand, I don't go "overboard" on fixes that cost too much in money, time/effort or environmental impact for the return. No heat or light in the coop outside the first few weeks of brooder lamp for the peeps in Feb/March - though I would like to rig up a light for human convenience in the winter. And yes, my coop is painted to match my barn, which compliments the house color

And yes, if the girls take abuse from the roos (missing feathers or torn up backs) they'll be wearing saddles too.

Edited because I forget to use the preview button to check for errors!

 

[Attila the Hen]

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I agree with this and I think an important point to make. Biosecurity~which is a term I never heard back in the day~has been the watchword for the commercial growers and the advice issued by the USDuh to homegrown flocks as well. Some of the information I see states that free ranged flocks are more prone to parasite loads and disease transmission from wild birds...and this simply isn't true. At least...not IME.

I have a question on worming. I saw roundworms but do not know who has them. With only 4 hens I do not want to cull. I have given Wazine and read I need to give another application of a wormer in 10 to 14 days using a broader wormerr. My question is: is it really necessary to give the second round of treatment with the broader wormer.
Thank you.

 

[loanwizard]

I want to thank you for your answers. A new brooder/utility trailer is in order. Love the clean up method. Unfortunately, my entire 4 acres is a valley. I plan to set up the barn next year for all the animals. At one time it was a horse barn with electric, water and everything.


Thank you old ones for your wisdom.

Shawn

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I just wanted to say that whether or not you agree with everything here, it's nice to be talking plain. When i started i would've loved to have been able to start here. City folks don't always have the option of free range, and chicken shacks, but at least you are being honest about what works! It took me months of reading and picture-looking before the lightbulb clicked on and i figured out that yes, an egg came out of the pooper! It would have been soooo much easier to have ya'll spell it out in plain english! And the farm stores capitalize big time on our newness. They will be glad to steer you to the biggest, most expensive item you never really needed!

While i myself still love my favorite lapbuddies, i acknowledge and respect the real farmers. Without you we'd probably be buying $20 chickens out of the supermarket!

Thank you oldtimers who contribute all your knowledge! Thank you Bekissed for having the forsight to preserve this knowledge. Yay to fresh "real" local food and the people that bring it!

 

[GreenGoddess]

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I had to laugh when I read this.. I am still only on page 9 and loving every minute of it!! Tonight as my husband was playing on his HF rig and I was reading posts on this site, we heard over the scanner something to the tune of, "Respond with Animal control... Neighbor called in someone holding a chicken upside down... Rooster is still alive!"

Minutes later, I went outside to "rip the caps off my roosters legs" (couldn't resist imagining THAT 911 call! LOL) to despur him... Glad they didn't "report" me as being cruel...

Goddess

 

[Beekissed]

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I'm going to bump this a little...I think it got a little lost in the shuffle. I have no working knowledge of chemical dewormers and I'm hoping those of you that do could give her an answer.

 

[GreenGoddess]

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Ok... The roost bars can't look like they came from Fred Sanford's yard but... What about the whole coop? LOL

all 5 coops/runs came from stuff on freecycle and the freebie section of CraigsList.. This includes my "privacy fence" coop.. The sides are privacy fence boards and the top is nothing more than two pieces of metal roofing that is screwed and nailed down and screwed together...

Goddess