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

[galanie]

Hi Everybody!  Brie here!  Boy have WE been busy!  The contract on my mother-in-law's (Therapydoglady's) house and land fizzled, so Bryan and I have decided to buy it!  We have moved to Kermit, and kids have  started school.  

When I finally caught up with "my reading" I thought is was kinda funny.  We are in the process of refurbishing some of the chicken coops/houses/runs, building new nest boxes etc.  And we are building new coops under the scrutiny of my 9 year old son who knows everything since he helped his grandmother make one this past summer.  LOL.  Anyway, the cattle panel and welded wire runs (thank  you, Fuzzybuttsfarms, for the pictures) is very timely advice.  We will be making some of those to keep the kids breeds separate.  At least temporarily until we can get proper runs/coops made.  I hope to have coops and runs completed before we buy chickens, but we are going to our first show in Abilene this coming weekend.  I hope to make contacts there, but not necessarily buy chickens.  Husband and children are champing at the bit.  I usually am outvoted on ventures such as this.

Glad this thread is still up and going.  I have enjoyed it all.

Brie

I'm so happy you have decided to do this! And I know your mother in law would love it too. Welcome back, Brie!

 

[Beekissed]

Dear Brie,
I am not a chicken OT, but I do have several Livestock Guardian Dogs protecting my sheep, who are also poultry-friendly. (Actually, the sheep and dogs are both poultry-friendly. The lambs love to sneak up behind a chicken then snort/blow a puff of their breath into the fluff under the chicken's tail feathers and watch the chicken jump, squawk and carry on. They find it endlessly entertaining and I still laugh my head off watching them despite several years of seeing each lamb crop do exactly the same thing.) I love my Great Pyrenees, but their coats do require a LOT more work than my Anatolian Shepherd. I bought my Anatolian specifically because he was poultry-friendly (all LGDs are not! )and I had a Pyr puppy who played too hard with (i.e. killed) the chickens until she finally grew up and got her head together. My adult Great Pyrs were not known to be poultry-friendly when I got them, they just happily turned out that way. I can recommend the Anatolian's low-maintenance coat without reservation, but each individual dog may or may not feel poultry are worthy of their guardian efforts. I would recommend starting with an LGD known to be safe with poultry then let the adult dog train any puppy you may acquire later.

I also strongly recommend getting the best fence you can afford around all your livestock ASAP.

Just my two cents worth,
Angela

I'd have to agree, though I have no experience with Anatolians, when next I get a LGD, it will be one. I loved my GP/lab mix girl and because of the mix, didn't have to deal with that long coat issues or heat intolerance. She was also ready made good with all animals/livestock..but I think I was very blessed with that and it may not always be the norm. I've known folks who have GPs that couldn't be broke from killing chickens but did wonderful with the sheep. Everything I've read about AS seems favorable and I wouldn't hesitate to get one, but I'd want to see the parents at work and how well they adapt to family social life before buying a pup.

Angela, my lamb did the same thing!!! It was so funny to watch him sneak up on the chickens and pounce.

 

[armorfirelady]

I went to the NYS fair yesterday & of course I visited the poultry barn TWICE I found what I thought was a grown up version of my hens. (Partridge Rock) & found the owner to ask him. My fears were confirmed......wow was she BIG !!! Now I know why Bee, Fred & Al have been telling me right along that my doll house coop is to small for 4 hens.

Tomorrow is dedicated to enclosing the doll house coop to enlarge the space for the 4 hens who still have A LOT of growing to do. I think an addition is in store.

Their days of 4 across on a 2x4x2 are short lived if they get as big as the one I saw at the fair.

I am so glad i made a giant run for them they are going to need it.

Off to the coop forum to see if I can find some suggestions or ways to enlarge what I have simply enough for a person with limited carpentry skills. Fingers crossed

 

[Beekissed]

They do get big and I always keep in mind that they do a lot of their preening and grooming on the roosts at night before settling down and this takes a little extra room as well. I always calculate a good 18 in. per standard bird on the roosts.

 

[Folly's place]

Hello everyone, I just finished reading this entire thread. Loved it! I wanted to finish it before saying anything. My first chiockens were Belgian d'Uccles from a neighbor 20 years ago; stil have their descendents on the farm, but also Sussex, and a mixed flock of layers. The last 15 meat birds leave Wednesday. We've got a small farm near Lansing, Mich, horses and a few steers. I'm a small animal veterinarian in Novi, where food grows in styrofoam at the superstore, and occasionals at a farmers market. Very few people have any connection to rural life, farming, or land management any more. My one hoop house needs some repairs this fall, so I loved Bea"s pictures Thanks, Mary

 

[Beekissed]

So glad to have you, Mary!

 

[Dahlisgrams]

At the risk of clogging up an already packed thread, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who contributed to it. I'm not quite finished reading through it but I plan to read every page. I'm a few hundred pages in now and wow, I'm loving the straight talk!

It makes me wish my great grandma was still around to talk to, and now we'd have something else in common!

 

[Beekissed]

You can't make this thread any more packed than it is!

A few of the OTs predicted that it would get too large and clunky for real use and it has...but that's just the nature of the thing and cannot be helped. Most find it's still pretty useful if a bit unwieldy. Glad to have you!

 

[Dahlisgrams]

You can't make this thread any more packed than it is!

A few of the OTs predicted that it would get too large and clunky for real use and it has...but that's just the nature of the thing and cannot be helped. Most find it's still pretty useful if a bit unwieldy. Glad to have you!

LOL! Thanks Bee, it's great to be here!

 

[Nomibear]

Hi Everybody!  Brie here!  Boy have WE been busy!  The contract on my mother-in-law's (Therapydoglady's) house and land fizzled, so Bryan and I have decided to buy it!  We have moved to Kermit, and kids have  started school.  

When I finally caught up with "my reading" I thought is was kinda funny.  We are in the process of refurbishing some of the chicken coops/houses/runs, building new nest boxes etc.  And we are building new coops under the scrutiny of my 9 year old son who knows everything since he helped his grandmother make one this past summer.  LOL.  Anyway, the cattle panel and welded wire runs (thank  you, Fuzzybuttsfarms, for the pictures) is very timely advice.  We will be making some of those to keep the kids breeds separate.  At least temporarily until we can get proper runs/coops made.  I hope to have coops and runs completed before we buy chickens, but we are going to our first show in Abilene this coming weekend.  I hope to make contacts there, but not necessarily buy chickens.  Husband and children are champing at the bit.  I usually am outvoted on ventures such as this.

Glad this thread is still up and going.  I have enjoyed it all.

Brie

Brie! Welcome back
You have been busy! I'm glad it worked out for you guys to be able to buy your Mother-in-laws place. Since she had chickens before, is there still alot for you do build/alter before you bring yours In?