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

[flagirl]

I just put 2 new 1 yr old br's in with my flock of 10- 3 yr olds last nite while they were all roosting. this morning i watched and excet for a little pecking everyone seems fine. I have rr's, bo's, sex links and 1 other barred rock. 1 of the new br's is pretty fiesty and when pecked by the adult br, she pecked back and they did a little chest butting. I also let my older hens out to free range in the afternoon. should i keep the 2 new ones in the coop for a couple days, or longer while the others are out? I am hoping they will follow the others after a few days. today they were happy to be in the coop by themselves to eat and drink in peace. the fiesty one has no problem, but the other is scared to come off her roost when the others are there. I am afraid if rains start up i will need to keep the coop open so the others can run back in during a downpour, which is what they do.

 

[math ace]

How the Heck did I miss this thread?
I am on page 3 and will need a couple of days to get caught up.

In the meantime, carry on folks....

 

[Lollipop]

I just put 2 new 1 yr old br's in with my flock of 10- 3 yr olds last nite while they were all roosting. this morning i watched and excet for a little pecking everyone seems fine. I have rr's, bo's, sex links and 1 other barred rock. 1 of the new br's is pretty fiesty and when pecked by the adult br, she pecked back and they did a little chest butting. I also let my older hens out to free range in the afternoon. should i keep the 2 new ones in the coop for a couple days, or longer while the others are out? I am hoping they will follow the others after a few days. today they were happy to be in the coop by themselves to eat and drink in peace. the fiesty one has no problem, but the other is scared to come off her roost when the others are there. I am afraid if rains start up i will need to keep the coop open so the others can run back in during a downpour, which is what they do.

You are fortunate that all went so smoothly. Usually after 2 nights on a new roost, that is home to a chicken, so they should be fine to free range with the others. Now, whether they come in out of the rain? That may be a different story. Good luck.........Pop

 

[flagirl]

thank you, i looked other places and know i can get the real scoop here. i know i was lucky, but did not have any way to slowly introduce these new ones(will in future). got my hens last nov from friend and know that many are not laying-averaging 4 eggs a day from 11 hens. so i will be culling as soon as i figure who really is not laying and adding new blood. thank you for being here.

 

[Lollipop]

To determine if a chicken is laying or not pick them off the roost at night one at a time and tuck them under your arm facing rearward. Then feel of the pelvic bones UNDER the vent. If you can lay 3 fingertips between the bones, the hen is laying. Less than 3, she is not. Consider the size of the hen. Bantams lay smaller eggs, thus maybe space for 2 fingertips. You'll get the hang of it in short order. Don't be too quick to cull. Sometimes it takes a while for hens to readjust to new digs and the stress involved. Have fun.........Pop

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote Ridgerunner:
Hot air rises. If you have a hole high up like that roof vent and under that overhang, the hot air has a place to go out. But you need a hole down low for cooler air to come in. Windows are great for that, plus you can close them off in winter. I put a panel down at ground level where air can come in as low as possible, probably 6” wide for about 8 feet. I can block that off in winter.

*****
One more question on this... On what side would you put the ground level panel? FYI, the double doors and window side of the henhouse face north; pop door faces east.

[For some reason the "quote" feature wasn't working right so I just cut and pasted]

 

[Beekissed]

To determine if a chicken is laying or not pick them off the roost at night one at a time and tuck them under your arm facing rearward. Then feel of the pelvic bones UNDER the vent. If you can lay 3 fingertips between the bones, the hen is laying. Less than 3, she is not. Consider the size of the hen. Bantams lay smaller eggs, thus maybe space for 2 fingertips. You'll get the hang of it in short order. Don't be too quick to cull. Sometimes it takes a while for hens to readjust to new digs and the stress involved. Have fun.........Pop

That depends on what size yer fingers are!

I've found this method to be faulty many times and have developed a different method because I got tired of killing perfectly good layers by going by this gauge.

 

[wsmith]

That depends on what size yer fingers are!

I've found this method to be faulty many times and have developed a different method because I got tired of killing perfectly good layers by going by this gauge.

Drum roll please.........

And your method is: ??????????

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

yes what is your method?

 

[Beekissed]

You have to read the thread to find out!