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

[jvls1942]

I put small electric heaters in both of my enclosed coops.. they are on thermostat cubes that turn the heater on of it gets down to 35F and it turns off when it ges up to 45F.. I turn the heaters off during the day because I open the doors for all the birds to go out,. I mainly only want the water to not freeze.. last winter i kept 10 extra roosters in a pen outside.. None of them froze their combs.. we get to minus 20F quite often during Jan/Feb..
I think the dampness combined with the cold in the coop is what causes frozen combs.

the farmers around here put young calves out into igloo type shelters now.. they have fewer loses from respiratory diseases with the calves outside..

I had a guinea rooster who refused to be chased into a coop.. One very cold night he did freeze to death..

I have roosts that span 14 feet.. turkeys and chickens roost on them ,, they are 2 by 6 red pine turned on edge for strength..

 

[Ridgerunner]

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That reminds me... I'm curious what any of the OT think of the "FEED AS SOLE RATION" mentality. They give you bag of... stuff containing no animal protein and no green stuff, and tell you not to feed your chickens anything else.

Then they hand you a bag of scratch and tell you to feed it in addition to the first bag of stuff. Am I missing something here?



footnote: I am an OT in regard to human nutrition, and get a little cynical when people start wanting to calculate ratios and percentages too strictly. That might need to be another thread, though.

I believe a varied diet is important. My chickens get as much from the kitchen and garden, as well as alfafalfa as they do in feed. Doesn't seem to hurt laying much. I'm sure my meat chickens gain a little slower but I spend less feeding them so who cares if I butcher them a week or two later and they develop more flavor? I like processing one or two at a time when I need them and growing them slower allows me the ability to do that.

My opinion on this. I think the commercial feed is specially formulated to provide the nutrition they need to efficiently produce sellable eggs if that is all they eat and they are fed under commercial conditions and they are a laying flock. If they are meat chickens, they get fed meat rations. If they are a breeding flock, they are fed breeding rations, different rations for roosters and hens. By commercial conditions I'm talking about how they are fed, how lights are handled, and general management issues. For example, they control how much each hen eats in a flock of thousands by only feeding a set amount at a time. That way they all rush to the feeders and eat until it is gone instead of free feeding all day and some bullying others. If all ours eat is commercial feed available 24/7 they will probably get a little fat but should do OK. Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, health is also important to commercial operators. They may need to take additional steps because of the crowded conditions, but the chickens can stay healthy on commercial feed if that is all they get.

A whole lot of what we have learned is due to the research performed by the commercial operations striving for efficiency. A lot of that research they pay for is done by grad students at land grant colleges. If you have a half dozen flocks of laying hens, each with 5,000 hens, efficiency is real important. In our flocks efficiency is not nearly as important, especially if we can cut our feed costs by letting them forage for some of their own feed. You have to be able to take those studies and translate them into how we manage our chickens. And many many of us overthink it and get hung up about things we should not.

By the way, fat chickens are more susceptible to health problems, but most still do OK. By making them find a lot of their own food, they get lots of exercise. Maybe something to think about. Not everyone can let their chickens free range, so just do the best you can and don't worry about it too much. You are doing the best you can and they will be OK.. Giving them some low calorie, high vitamin and high mineral green stuff can cut down how much of that feed they eat. But don't overthink it.

If you cannot let them forage for their own food, then a variety can help. Use some commom sense. If your variety goes between cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli leaves, maybe it is not all that varied. But don't get too hung up about it. When I make saurkraut they get a lot of cabbage leaves. It doesn't hurt them. But I don't feed a massive amount of cabbage leaves for weeks on end. A few every day is not bad, but not massive amounts. Mine normally free range so it is usually not an issue, but when I have a predator problem I have not yet solved, like now, they are stuck in a run and they get supplements from the garden and kitchen scraps.

I know I said don't overhink it then make it complicated. I think a relatively balanced diet is important in the long term, but unless you are in a position where the utmost efficiency is important to you, don't overstress about it. They will do fine with a very wide range of feeds and supplements as long as you don't get ridiculous. When they forage for all their food, they roughly balance their nutritional needs, but if they see a juicy grub, they don't think, "I've already had my protein requirements for the day so I'll pass". They don't think that at all.

 

[Beekissed]

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It it's just to keep your water from freezing, you will get off cheaper and do a better job with a heated water bowl or similar item. The temp fluctuations of heat and then no heat can lead to health complications with your birds. Just like plants need hardening off when first out from under the grow lights, birds need a slow build and hardening off to withstand cold temps. This allows them to develop the undergrowth of down that is needed to withstand colder temps.

Same concept with dogs...I've always pitied the poor house dogs who have to go outside in very cold temps to do their business. Shiver, pee, shiver, poo...hurry! Back to the warm house!!!!

 

[jvls1942]

I tried that heated water dish program ,, I also tried the un-heated program.. I have to have large volume of water.. If I put it into a pan, the geese and ducks splash it all out in no time flat.. If I put it into a waterer, it get full of litter from just being on the floor.. If I hang the waterer, it stays clean and the webbed footed birds can't empty it as easily because it swings away when the put a foot on it.. Hence, I have heat blowing directly onto the waterer and it is working better for me..

My birds have the choice to go out or not all day from first light to dark.. they stay out until I have to lock them up for the night, so I think they have their down feathers well established..

we have foxes,coyotes and owls in abundance and even an occasional wolf or bear.. I have to keep everything locked up at night..

 

[Beekissed]

Sounds like you have it covered!

 

[jvls1942]

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I wish,, always experimenting and learning..

 

[Beekissed]

As all we are....when you stop learning, you might as well roll over and give up the ghost!

 

[NYREDS]

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I could not have said it better............. and these folks will vehemently rebuke advice from anybody who is older than 20 something. And that's what I find difficult to understand, our flocks are well cared for not pampered, they have adequate housing and PROPER common sense approach to feeding, Not to mention are flocks are healthier and stay that way for long periods of time without incident and drama. I Have to constantly correct my DW & DD when they look in the viewing window on the incubator and proudly announce that we have babies hatching, and I say NO!!!!! we have chickens hatching............... and quit making that AAAWWWWWWWWWWWW sound LOL. I feel this allows them to enjoy my birds better both in the coops and on the table JMHO.

Also boys & girls are young humans. Young chickens are cockerels & pullets.

 

[NYREDS]

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See? There is knowledge here that not available ANYWHERE ELSE!!

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Let's call it "Veterinary Munchausen's by Proxy".

I'm in the same boat. I have, of course, heard of these various conditions but never in 50+ years & thousands of birds experienced any of them.
That said, I do have a sure cure for any chicken health problem: an axe & a block of wood.

 

[Beekissed]

Same here....never had any of those maladies after all this time. Could it be that we circumvent those situations by actually managing our flocks? By culling birds who are older, who overeat(impacted crop, sour crop, etc) and who are not naturally thriving, I feel we are just using common sense to avoid these issues in our flocks.

By limiting feed to what is needed instead of how we think a bird may feel, we could be~possibly, don't you think?~avoiding some of these issues altogether?

In the wild, those birds would be culled through natural selection, we are just doing it ourselves. In the wild a bird does not have a continuous feeder...they have to forage constantly for their food. Walking ten feet to casually pick food out of a feeder may not provide the level of activity that a bird needs to stay fit. Who knows?

Either way, the methods incorporated that yield flocks that do not have continual health issues are probably some pretty darn good methods, IMO.