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

[gardendufus]

Thanks so much for your rapid response. Sounded kinda funny to me too, also unnatural. Ok, I'm back to the heat lamp (hehehe).

One more topic.

I live in Colorado. In Feb the weather will be really COLD, like anywhere from minus temps to 30's, but probably very little snow (that will come in March). My plan is to section off a portion of the coop (which will be new, uninsulated and otherwise uninhabited) and set up a brooder section in there). As long as they have a heat lamp, and enough room to move in and out of the heat area they should be ok in the outside coop regardless of the out of doors temps??????????????

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Is it possible? Anything's possible. Do you want to plan on it? No.
Broodiness is a hormonal change that can't be predicted or encouraged other than leaving a pile of eggs in the nest and hope she gets the urge.
Some breeds go broody very often but individuals of those breeds may never do so.
I've had leghorns, that aren't a broody breed, set, hatch and raise chicks. You just never know.
You can up the odds by going with silkies, bantams(of various breeds), cochins, games.
I like a broody for incubating because it's easy on me and no use of electricity but often take the chicks away after a few days so I can keep control of their diet.
Also, it's a little trickier to get a hen to accept chicks that she hasn't hatched.
If she's not broody she may kill them.

It is one of the simplest things to build a brooder. If a few chicks in a smallish container, you don't even need a heat lamp. A 75 or 100 watt bulb in a droplight will work.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Quote:
That's perfect. It's the way I do it and how I recommend.

Indoors with a few chicks

Outdoors

As long as they have one spot that is at the recommended temp where they can warm up.


If I have lots of chicks

 

[galanie]

And, just my opinion but, I can't think of a scientific reason chili seeds would boost production. Are they good for them? Yes, but boost production? I would have to compare 2 identical flocks fed identically except for 1 getting peppers and if there was a production boost, only then would I be convinced. Sounds more anecdotal than tried and true.

The problem with scientific reasons is that the science isn't always right. What I mean is, there's a flaw sometimes. Like Scientifically, I've been informed, there is no chemical difference in the lactose in raw milk vs homogenized milk. Therefore both should bother the lactose intolerant the same. But it doesn't. I'm lactose intolerant but can drink raw milk fine. Come to find out, the science was wrong. Later science has shown that there are enzymes in raw milk that help you digest the lactose that is destroyed in homogenization. This was studied after an amazing amount of anecdotal evidence seemed to prove that raw milk really was ok for the lactose intolerant. Now we know why that is, but only after science listened to people and started looking at other parts of the milk for a reason.

I can't think of a scientific reason for hot pepper or chili to boost production either, but maybe there is something in there that they need. Or maybe the capsicum itself has en effect we don't know about, like maybe mimicking or boosting a hormone. I very much doubt it's worming them due to this thread where the hen had been "wormed" with hot pepper plus DE and it's necropsy showed it to be infested with worms: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=576036&p=11

But as always I could be wrong, maybe it doesn't help at all. I've just heard so much anecdotal evidence that it does that I'm going to try it. I don't have a control group but I do have 3 layers that haven't laid an egg in a couple months.​

 

[babymakes6]

Quote:
As long as it isn't drafty, it should work fine. I keep mine in my basement until they are a couple of weeks old, just because it is easier for me to take care of them that way.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
That's perfect. It's the way I do it and how I recommend.

Indoors

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/72519_p1010068.jpg

Outdoors

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/72519_p1010091.jpg

You need to make sure a breeze is not blowing directly on them in weather like this. Keep one area warm and don't worry about how cold the rest gets. They will work it out. The first two or three days, you might want to use cardboard or something to keep them near the heat, but after that, quit worrying.

 

[gardendufus]

Perfect. There's a reason I have followed this thread since the day it started, and the help you guys give is it!

Nice to know that my original plan was right on the money. It's easy to start doubting yourself when someone else says they have a better plan. Canoe, your setup looks EXACTLY like what I have planned. I don't have a basement, or a spare room, but even if I did, my original plan would have been the same thing. Chickens in any part of my house are not what I am buying into. At least not at the moment.

Thanks so much.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Quote:
I've had 2 chicks in the basement for a few days but never in the house and never a large number. I just couldn't do the dust but it wouldn't have a chance to kill me because my wife would.
If they get used to warm ambient temps, it's just too hard on them to get them acclimated to the cold then.
Chicks with a broody aren't under her 24/7 - they go under, warm up and then run around the yard. So IMO, a brooder that has no cool zones is a bit unnatural.

 

[millefleur]

My chicken years began by standing next to my grandmother in the huge downtown Portland, Oregon indoor farmer's market in the early 1950s. Gram sold chicken and eggs. The bodies arrived in early morning dark packed in large boxes after the ice man had delivered ice for the display refrigerator cases. They had been killed and plucked. Gram cut off the heads and feet (I played with them on the wet wood counter), while she butchered them and placed them in containers on ice. A woman sold honey in the stall next to us, and across the isle was a produce stand and a coffee shop with three booths. I spent my summers with Gram, and my Aunt and Uncle and four cousins on a farm outside of town. I milked goats, collected eggs, rode horses and played with my cousins in idyllic summers.

I now have sixth generation silver spangled Hamburg crosses living in my barn in Montana. They have a little Egyptian faoumi and a little barred rock in their mix, but are mostly Hamburgs, the most hardy and delightful breed I have ever owned. The barn has no electricity, and no running water, thus the flock of seven does not have heat or light on dark winter days, and I carry warm water out every day to them. The flock has an outside run to use in warmer weather, and I collect kitchen waste for them in an old steel and enamel honey pot with a lid on my kitchen counter. Their run is next to my vegie garden, and they get all that waste also.

What I know about chickens:

1) If a raccoon, dog or other predator kills a chicken of mine, it is my fault. In Montana, bears (and a lot of other predators) are killed once they become used to being able to raid a chicken house. This should not happen. The chicken owners should bury the fencing wire underground; put a roof on the outside run; have a very secure place for the chickens at night; and run electric fencing around the whole. They should not allow the flock to free range in fox or coyote or strange dog territory and then blame the predator.

2) Never put up with an aggressive rooster. Beyond harming you, they could really hurt a grandchild. In 40 years with Hamburgs, I have never had an aggressive rooster.

3) Use diatomaceous earth to control mites.

4) Bring you chickens a treat every day and just sit down on an upturned bucket and watch them or talk to them. They will calm you when your home is a storm.

5) Use their litter like gold on your garden. I spread the straw and manure mix on my garden many inches deep every spring (without composting it first) and it gets tilled in. Huge vegie crops come after.

3) Give you flock as much room as you can. Mine has half a barn as their home and I do not need to clean up after them except once a year. They have open windows (even at 30 below) to control moisture, and heavy wire to control predators. This is much better than a small coop that I have housed chickens in -- that gets mucky and needs to be cleaned out very quickly.

 

[Hunter0704]

Mille Fleur...what great advice!!!! I totally agree with everything you said!!