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

[Beekissed]

gosh, this was tough to read. And I thought I was getting a little more matter of fact about the difficulties in raising chickens. I respect many of the livestock/old timer's opinions, but I regret to say that after this post - I will read your future posts with reservations and that is a shame.

I would have to agree with that. There is survival of the fittest and there is just not providing for a chance to survive...feed, water, shelter seems to me to be essential for any animal.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

but what ya'll are missing, is that obvously they do find moisture. they learn to range, and get tough. there is dew, there is spillage from the waterer, there is drain lines from the gutters. if they want to drink they will find it. if there is any weakness at all they are culled naturally. what your left with is the strongest of the strong. which is necessary for game fowl, and i tend to believe its needed in now adays in many show types. i no longer breed and raise for this b/c i became disgusted with the weakness of these. breeding for looks and standards over a period of time will eventually create weakness in other areas.

it also shows that chickens dont HAVE to be babied. we choose at times to do so, where as some chose to do so all the time. which is doing them and you no favors. i like to take more natural look at things. the wild chicken doesnt have all the things we give it. and they get by just fine. yes i have in the past treated with medication, i feed mine twice a day, they have water at all times. but they dont need this to get by and even to thrive. if you want to be technical,,,,a free ranged chicken should never need to be fed or watered except in height of winter. they should be able to fend for themselves most of the yr.

as for the yard hatch, when raised this way, i lose very few, except to hawks. they are the ones I dont want, but the mortality rate is the lowest.............imagine that.

read my posts or not. my methods are defineitly outside the proverbial box.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

I would have to agree with that. There is survival of the fittest and there is just not providing for a chance to survive...feed, water, shelter seems to me to be essential for any animal.

since you are feeding soaked feed. you dont NEED to ever give them any more water. some conditioning methods for game fowl require water to be taken from them for a couple of days. and they do just fine. you cant place human values or even other mammelian requirements on fowl. apples to oranges.

 

[Beekissed]

since you are feeding soaked feed. you dont NEED to ever give them any more water. some conditioning methods for game fowl require water to be taken from them for a couple of days. and they do just fine. you cant place human values or even other mammelian requirements on fowl. apples to oranges.

Sure you can...they are comprised of the same organs and physical systems as are any warm blooded animal and require hydration for proper cell function, digestion, cardiovascular health, etc. They have a vascular system that requires a full volume in order for the heart to work at a normal pace, extremeties that need oxygenation from that vascular system and they really can't adapt to constant dehydration.
Any creature that is in a chronic state of dehydration can also go into renal failure. Placing any animal in conditions of that nature is asking for animals that are in a weakened state, no matter what genetics or immunities they start with and it's stacking the deck against them.

Feeding soaked feeds doesn't mean that the chicken still isn't thirsty...if thirsty, it's body is signaling that it needs hydration. I can tell you that these chicks are still drinking though they are eating soaked grains. Food I can take away when I see that they have a full crop and don't need anymore, but water cannot be monitored and gauged in the same way...how much is too much and why in the world wouldn't I provide enough, as it is free?

There is natural selection and then there is deprivation and they are two different things....sort of like those apples and oranges. Any animal in my care will be provided with fresh water, enough feed, and adequate shelter and that is just common sense~be it for human or bird.

 

[galanie]

DeadRabbit, I have to go with Bee on this one. You very much sound like you are not providing or even checking to see if there is any water. I think that is over the line. But no need to argue your case, I have read all you said, I 'caught' the "there is water somewhere" part, I just don't agree. You have said yourself that you don't care if they die and obviously you don't.

Oh, we don't have to baby them or anything, just make sure they can get warm enough somewhere and that they have food and water. It's not really that hard to do. Mine get soil contact as well, and I make sure it's soil that other chickens have been on. The water is in something that might have algae all in it, but they're getting water and they don't get sick. I often marvel that they will drink literally out of the sewer yet folks are so persnickety about making sure the waterer is spotless. Mine aren't. And they probably never will be.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

i cant do nothing but tell you.

it all goes back to my post on pre conceived notions, or making assumptions, if you will. if you choose not to prove/disprove something for your self then dont slam the next man, for doing something that has been proven not only by myself for decades but by others for 100's of yrs. if your decision is "this method is not for me",that does not prove that its wrong. b/c its not wrong. just not right for you. but by slamming it without trying it makes one speak out of ignorance b/c of prejudicial, speculative reasonings.

if you delve into true science of raising fowl, you would be amazed by what you learn. but you have to dismiss alot of what you think, and most of what you read. these birds are very adaptive. they are capable of holding onto moisture that would kill humans or mammals. even so, they are able to find moisture from places other than a waterer. IF they are TRULY free ranged. if they arent than yes you must supply them with what they need. but for goodness sake people. if you ship fowl.....they will go for 3 days at times with nothing more than an apple or sometimes nothing at all in their shipping box...........................and they live!!!!!

with all this written. i must say i dont practice this now. all i have is some layers and bantams running around. i have a 3 gallon self waterer available at all times. and when i did raise biddies or bought them they had waters. i no longer have unexpected yard hatches show up. outa the weeds/woods. i dont breed or hatch no longer. but that does not mean the above mentioned methods dont work. b/c it does. tried and true. besides, before anyone gets all upset, how many days do you think it takes before a biddie can jump up to a 3 inch lip to drink water??? a couple?? its there, they just have to find it . or get it from somewhere else. if they cant accomplish this then they are too weak physically and/or mentally to be worth saving anyway....

 

[Cass]

This is a "Take it or leave it" thread.....I while ago I chose to leave DeadRabbits post alone. Seems that there is no convincing some people that their choices border on abuse,,,,and I also learned a long time ago to not believe everything I read online....I am just glad that some people are not my neighbors, so I don't have to actually do anything about their choices except ignore them.

 

[stonykill]

deadrabbit. I have one true free range flock. When I say free range. I mean it. No fences period. They find their own water.As in, they don't have their own waterer. They drink from the duck pond, mud puddles, etc. I feed them in the morning, and the rest of the day they forage. The hens go broody often, and the chicks survive just fine with mama. I don't coddle them in any way. They are stronger and smarter because of it.
By comparison, my penned birds are simply stupid. No other way to put it.

I lose few free range birds. Very few. It probably helps that 99% of the free range flock are Sumatra's.

 

[Knittycat]

Seems like this is turning into "I'm free-rangier than you are"

 

[Cass]

deadrabbit. I have one true free range flock. When I say free range. I mean it. No fences period. They find their own water.As in, they don't have their own waterer. They drink from the duck pond, mud puddles, etc. I feed them in the morning, and the rest of the day they forage. The hens go broody often, and the chicks survive just fine with mama. I don't coddle them in any way. They are stronger and smarter because of it.
By comparison, my penned birds are simply stupid. No other way to put it.

I lose few free range birds. Very few. It probably helps that 99% of the free range flock are Sumatra's.

Laffin'....Yup, they do find their own water....and that's how I find the house, by the chickens out in the ditch scratching for bugs and having a drink.