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

[bobbi-j]

Ok, I am gonna be a stupid newb
and ask when I can feed my chicks kitchen scraps, like lettuce. They went outside today to! They are 6 days old.

I don't think lettuce would hurt them, in small amounts. I'd introduce new foods and scraps a little at a time when they're so young. I really don't know if it would affect them adversely or not if you didn't. Mine don't get to go outside when they're that little. We live on a farm and have barn cats that hunt for a living and wouldn't think twice about taking a chick. Now that I have a run it probably would be OK, but before that there was no way it would happen.

 

[gussie398]

I don't think lettuce would hurt them, in small amounts. I'd introduce new foods and scraps a little at a time when they're so young. I really don't know if it would affect them adversely or not if you didn't. Mine don't get to go outside when they're that little. We live on a farm and have barn cats that hunt for a living and wouldn't think twice about taking a chick. Now that I have a run it probably would be OK, but before that there was no way it would happen.

Thanks, that's what I thought. No more "treats" for you, chickies.
They didn't really go outside, just on the grass and me and my brother were right there watching them. If they even looked like they were going to run away we would set them down closer to us. They sure do poop a lot though!

 

[runsw/scissors]

Oh yes gussie398 they are little pooping factories! Which is why I am so surprised that people choose to have them in their homes for so long... Here they are outside once they get feathered at about a month old! The dust otherwise is incredible..

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Have a question for you OT's. My 6 hens (which I think range in age from about 1-2 years, at least that's what i was told by previous owners) are starting to get back in the egg-laying swing of things after moulting, winter, etc. I have 4 (3 RIR's & 1 Red Star) that are confirmed as almost every day layers.

Two of them I'm not sure if laying at all. One is a small Black Star that I really was almost sure was less than a year old. I look at her vent and it seems moist and loose, but the skin around it is kind of yellowish. The bones feel at least several fingers apart in both directions. The other is a Black Australorp, and I can barely even find her vent. The pubic bones feel bony and tight together, which I gather is a sign she's not laying.

I've been trying the last couple of days to keep a close eye on who's laying what egg. Judging by the appearance of the eggs, I think the 2 that I have questions about laid in the fairly recent past (maybe 2 weeks ago?).

Big question is, do you think either of these birds will ever lay again? Does the tight bones thing mean that they'll NEVER lay again, or just that they are not laying at present? I'd be most appreciative if someone could help me sort this out. BTW, I do not light my birds up (no artificial light) and they are confined to a pen, no free-range (I'm a city slicker). Thanks for any enlightenment on this!

 

[Beekissed]

Have a question for you OT's. My 6 hens (which I think range in age from about 1-2 years, at least that's what i was told by previous owners) are starting to get back in the egg-laying swing of things after moulting, winter, etc. I have 4 (3 RIR's & 1 Red Star) that are confirmed as almost every day layers.

Two of them I'm not sure if laying at all. One is a small Black Star that I really was almost sure was less than a year old. I look at her vent and it seems moist and loose, but the skin around it is kind of yellowish. The bones feel at least several fingers apart in both directions. The other is a Black Australorp, and I can barely even find her vent. The pubic bones feel bony and tight together, which I gather is a sign she's not laying.

I've been trying the last couple of days to keep a close eye on who's laying what egg. Judging by the appearance of the eggs, I think the 2 that I have questions about laid in the fairly recent past (maybe 2 weeks ago?).

Big question is, do you think either of these birds will ever lay again? Does the tight bones thing mean that they'll NEVER lay again, or just that they are not laying at present? I'd be most appreciative if someone could help me sort this out. BTW, I do not light my birds up (no artificial light) and they are confined to a pen, no free-range (I'm a city slicker). Thanks for any enlightenment on this!

Q#1: Maybe.
Q#2: IMO, it could mean they are just not laying at the present time.

I'd wait until March and all your birds are laying at peak performance and then I'd do a culling. Now, I don't think any of the other OTs do what I do, but I don't go by vent color or pelvic width as the definitive signs of nonlaying. Somewhere near the front of this thread will be a description and method I use...its not for everyone but, since using it, I haven't made anymore mistakes by killing a bird that is really laying but still had a narrow pelvic and a dry vent.

I tried to find that post but just don't have the time tonight.

Maybe another OT can weigh in on this?

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Thanks, Beekissed, I'm gonna try and find that earlier post you mentioned.


EDITED TO ADD: thanks to google, i found the conversation in about the pages 20-30.

 

[galanie]

20-30 narrows it a little. Only a little. Everyone but Platinum members are restricted to the same page length. Post number would be more helpful

 

[ChickChickChicky]

20-30 narrows it a little. Only a little. Everyone but Platinum members are restricted to the same page length. Post number would be more helpful

Sorry, I didn't know that about the page numbers. The discussion seems to run from post #246 to #300 (of course there are plenty of other subjects interspersed). And just to make it easy, Beekissed says she uses a gloved finger inserted in the vent to see if she can feel an egg internally. I don't think that method would work on the Austrralorp; like I said, I really can't even FIND her vent (as my husband woud say, "that thing is puckered up so tight you couldn't get a BB up there").

BTW, I did take a combined fecal sample in to the vet's to check for worms (cost me $13). Turns out they do have cecal worms (which I'm not concerned about) and also small roundworms (Capillaria), which it seems can cause major problems. So I am going to have to worm them (will be studying up on that the next couple of days) and will make no decisions on anybody's egg-laying capabilities until that is taken care of. Just judging them by appearance they look fantastic; bright red combs and wattles, shiny full feathering, clear bright eyes, fine appetites (although my Gold Star does seem to eat constantly), they look like the picture of health except for some occasional runny poops (worms???)

 

[rarely bored]

20-30 narrows it a little. Only a little. Everyone but Platinum members are restricted to the same page length. Post number would be more helpful

post #258 has BeeKissed culling standards... worded in a manner which makes one chuckle.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

So I'm working my way through a very informative thread on worms and worming https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ts-is-not-coryza-or-crd-parasites-are-rampant
Looks like oral dosing of Valbazen is the way to go. It makes me sad that I'll have to compost their eggs for 24 days, but I do want them to be healthy. I want to thank Dawg and the others who help us all out with products and dosages, he even tells how to get the chicken to open it's mouth to make dosing easier (pull down on it's wattles).

I would still like to get an answer/opinion from folks about whether the tight bones are a permanent thing or only present during various times when the hen isn't laying.


ALOT of what Beekissed says is comical, what a fantastic sense of humor! I'm really looking forward to her book.