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

[bobbi-j]

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When I first got chicks, I was very careful to do everything "by the book", including having the temperature just right for them. DH - who grew up here on the farm and who's mother raised meaties every year - said, "Don't worry about the thermometer. They'll tell you if they're too hot cold, just watch them!" Some of the best advice I've ever gotten...

Not everything is going to work for everyone. We have to go about raising chickens as we do raising children. Listen to all the advice you get, think about it, and sort out what works for you. There is no one cut and dried way of doing it. I'm loving this thread and reaing all the practical suggestions on here. I do some of the things that are talked about, and realize that other things just don't fit my way of raising my birds.

 

[Gypsi]

When I find myself coveting those 40 chicks, and I realize how little chicken space I've allowed myself, I'm thinking I might be getting the dreaded "chicken Math" attack.

And so far, not another cockadoodle doo sound out of the greenhouse. I MIGHT have a roo. Or not.

 

[bobbi-j]

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Put down the hatchery catalog, and slowly back away...

 

[wyododge]

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You also aren't sending it "to freezer camp". I don't know why, but that phrase irritates me. You're butchering or processing your chicken. Period. It might sound nicer, but you're still killing the bird, plucking and gutting it and putting it in the freezer.

Actually that is correct. Culling is removing (not always killing) an undesirable animal from a flock or herd. There are many ways to remove the animal, one of which is killing. Culling a flock (herd) is a process, killing may be one of the steps in the process, but not always. We cull old cows every couple of years, they go to auction where they either are utilized to accent an existing herd, create a new one or taken to slaughter.

Killing has a connotation through society that indicates malice or lack of respect towards the 'victim'. I suppose technically I am killing chickens by the most strict definition of the word, but I believe butcher or slaughter is a more appropriate term(s), as it's use more closely resembles the action, AND intent, of the process. Now we could all go to the dictionary and point out different uses of each word, and the derivatives, but slaughter originally came from butcher's vernacular, which is why I use those terms in particular.

Words do mean things, we should strive to use them properly as bobbi-j has pointed out, it really does make a difference.

As far as the cannon fodder poster, come on down (or up) to the ranch. I will be happy to show you what that word really means. But FWIW, people who utilize phrases like that are generally those who are pointing their fingers at EVERYONE else for their failures instead of looking at the mirror and placing blame directly upon the one who really deserves it. Strong words I suppose, but truth hurts, and be kissed warned everyone at the beginning, and besides, I did not fire the first shot.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm not sure about the cannon fodder reference either~not so sure that poster did either...and I'd dearly LOVE to see the flock of 35 year old chickens.

That would certainly be an accomplishment...who had these 35 yr. old birds? Please stand up...and post a pic.

 

[oshun55555]

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Now your talking, rosemary and chicken, is heaven

 

[wyododge]

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Well you asked for it.... and this bird is healthy vibrant, and has an amazing vocabulary...

 

[bobbi-j]

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Well you asked for it.... and this bird is healthy vibrant, and has an amazing vocabulary...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/108101_big_bird.jpg

 

[Ridgerunner]

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When I first got chicks, I was very careful to do everything "by the book", including having the temperature just right for them. DH - who grew up here on the farm and who's mother raised meaties every year - said, "Don't worry about the thermometer. They'll tell you if they're too hot cold, just watch them!" Some of the best advice I've ever gotten...

Not everything is going to work for everyone. We have to go about raising chickens as we do raising children. Listen to all the advice you get, think about it, and sort out what works for you. There is no one cut and dried way of doing it. I'm loving this thread and reaing all the practical suggestions on here. I do some of the things that are talked about, and realize that other things just don't fit my way of raising my birds.

Like most other things, "by the book" is generally over-the-top information. I know it is when I respond on other threads. But there is a reason for that. There are usually a lot of different things that affect something. For baby chicks, it is not just pure temperature. How many do you have? Enough to help keep each other warm? How drafty is it? How old are they? What are they used to? A chick that is acclimated can handle temperatures a lot cooler than one that is not. How and what are you feeding them? Breed and heredity within the breed may factor in. There are a whole lot of things I don't know about your set-up and circumstances so I'll give you safe advice that will work for practically everyone in any circumstances.

Does that mean I do it that way? Nope, it does not. You find out what works for you and go from there. But lot of the people reading this forum have to have numbers to work with, temperatures, square feet, height, somewhere to start. They can't handle the concept of "let you chicks tell you if they are cold". In some ways I know it is patronizing, but a whole lot of people need numbers to start from. So, since I don't know their conditions, I give them safe advice. I try to tailor my answers to the people asking the question, but I also realize that a lot of people will read the answer and totally ignore the "ifs" or other conditions. The over-the-top advice is to try to keep most of the people that can't understand the concept of "if" out of trouble. Don't forget a lot of the people starting out think a rooster is necessary for a hen to lay eggs or that a rooster will immediately kill any chick he did not father. How do you keep these people from killing their chicks? They don't know any better, so you give very safe information.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Since we are getting technical and precise on definitions, Big Bird is not 35. He's 42. And still looking quite spry.