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

[mississippifarmboy]

Maven, I gotta agree with Bee and Loanwizard. I'd let then out at least a little.

I raise mine different than most people, but here's what I do myself; When they hatch I leave them in the incubator for 24 hours to dry and get their legs, then they go into a small brooder with closed sides and a wire front for one week. At a week old they go into our big brooder with wire front, floor and sides. They stay there until the are five weeks old. At five weeks I open the brooder door and on the ground they go. Our brooders sit out behind our house under some big oaks and my grow out pen fence is about 50 0r 60 feet from the brooders all around. so basically the brooders sit in the center of the grow out pen.

You can see pictures of our brooders here. (The info is out of date, but it'll give you an idea.) I really need to update that darn page... maybe soon. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mississippifarmboys-chcken-blog

Anyway, at 9 weeks mine would already have been running loose on the ground for a month.

 

[armorfirelady]

Thank you for sharing. I am planning to add trellis -- and maybe grow hops? -- on the sides of my run. I do need to consider how to put a snow-proof roof on it; I don't have inexpensive metal roofing readily available to me, but I'll keep my eyes peeled.

The trellis was my original run for the hens but I learned it was to small. So they have a bigger run now & this is an airy extension of their coop. The roof was added to keep out the snow & make a shady spot for them on hot days. Its not metal its actually a composite material that is light weight & easy to cut. It was a little pricey but I wanted something thats going to last a long time & not crack yet light enough to put on the trellis

 

[donrae]

Two questions for you all.
My only laying hen, who has laid 27 eggs since July 30 (my other 17 hens are slacker hens, almost at point-of-lay and still freeloading) decided to go broody on yesterday's egg. I'd like to put a couple more fertile eggs under her so that if she succeeds, there isn't just one lonely chick. (The local egg seller's eggs are fertile, and I can ask for some before they get refrigerated.) So the question is, is it too late to add more eggs? And the second question is, is this a reasonable thing to do, or no?
The two eggs prior to this one, she sat on for a few hours, then left the nest. This one she left only momentarily during a hawk alarm but has been firmly sitting since.
There are three roosters : one is not yet mature and one is her best buddy, protective, and has mounted her enough that most of her eggs have been fertile. The third rooster is down the pecking order some and the hens have rejected his few advances.
The broody hen is #1 in the flock and her rooster buddy is #2. Probably irrelevant, but she's a great hen.
Thanks for your recommendations.

I don't consider a hen truely broody until she's spent two nights in a row on the eggs. My girls seem to like to practice setting most of the day for a few days, but they're still kind of iffy on staying or not. Once they're on for two nights, they're usually on for the duration. That's when I put the eggs I want them to hatch under them and pull out whatever they've been setting on. I do this cause my broodies are bantams but I want them to hatch large fowl eggs, thus the swap. So, feel free to add more eggs. Do you have other fertile eggs to put under her? With roosters, seems like you'd have some ready to go under her. Or you can purchase some.

Just please have a plan in place for the birds you do hatch out, and plan on 50% being cockerels. What would you do with those boys?

 

[armorfirelady]

I had a very busy evening yesterday & morning today. The doll house coop has been enclosed, enlarged & more roosts added. OTC's I would like your feedback on the completed results. Is the coop big enough for 4 hens now? Enough ventilation ? Any other suggestions?


Coop before


Coop after....new roof put on, enclosed & siding over it. I measured it today. Its 5' 5" long & 4 ft high at tallest point. (not including when roof is opened) And that does not include the nesting boxes which are separate (you can see them all the way to the right. They are wood outside not siding covered)


I used extra lumber I had laying around to enclose the openings, strapping that is used to hang pipes to secure pieces in & then siding over that to protect it from weather. And I found that a staple gun will hang siding


Inside look. I left a 2 inch space at the bottom for circulation.(i made it so its this way around the entire doll house coop) At the top where roof hangs over is another 2 inch space.(you can just see it above the hardware cloth framing) To the left is the pvc feeder with layer pellets & one for oyster shells. Also the roost is new. The end with pvc feeders I plan on covering with heavy duty plastic during winter months & leave open otherwise. The roosts are all in the back except the one you can see. I figure the daylight will be good for winter and its added ventilation on hot months. This side faces east.


Inside look after I enclosed the coop. The opening on left was the original pop door opening. I moved the ramp to the back & it goes to the nesting boxes. I added 3 new roosts for a total of 6 roosts for 4 hens (good thing I am short & thin since I had to crawl in here to put the roosts in lol)


This is the tunnel that connects the doll coop to enclosed wooden run. On either side its open. I do not plan on covering it. It faces south and with the plastic on the outer wooden run I dont think its necessay & is great for ventilation (?)


Ventilation holes at the highest point of doll house coop. This is the girls favorite roost spot also. One vent faces south (metal one & wooden run on that side also) the other north (but is protected by house)


And I had enough time to hang my new pvc nipple waterer & move the FF into the coop for easy access at feeding time. The rain barrel is going to be my water source for the waterer (if it ever rains to fill it) I wonder how long before the girls figure out how to knock the bucket cover off or decide that its a good place to lay? lol



And these are my 4 hens enjoying the dirt I put in there today. I learned that they roll over in the dirt like puppies lol During the high heat of the day they like to come back in here in the shade after ranging in their giant run or raiding the veggie garden.

Phew....sorry for all the pics but I wanted to show the completed project and make sure the OTC's had a visual of the improvements I made. Any suggestion? Do I need more ventilation? Anything I missed? Thank You

 

[armorfirelady]

Oh I forgot to add......As I was sitting inside the coop putting in the roosts with the temps in the mid-80 with full sun on the coop and a mild breeze........I could feel the breeze enter from the botton and it didnt seem overly warm in there. Warm yes but not sweat running down me I feel like I am baking in there warm.....guessing the ventilation at top & bottom is working correctly?

 

[normanack]

I don't consider a hen truely broody until she's spent two nights in a row on the eggs. . . .

. . . . Just please have a plan in place for the birds you do hatch out, and plan on 50% being cockerels. What would you do with those boys?

Excellent advice, and thanks! I will be keeping a close eye on her the next few days.

I will absolutely be responsible -- seems to me like "I want chicks because they're exciting and cute" is on a par with "let the dog have puppies so the kids can see animals being born." We have way, way too many unplanned/uncared for/abandoned animals locally and in this world and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I allowed for more.

Pullets I'll keep, cockerels will go to the local small animal auction where I have been informed they'll most likely be made into soup -- and not used for sport. (And some people apparently just need a rooster. Go figure.)

 

[donrae]

Excellent advice, and thanks! I will be keeping a close eye on her the next few days.

I will absolutely be responsible -- seems to me like "I want chicks because they're exciting and cute" is on a par with "let the dog have puppies so the kids can see animals being born." We have way, way too many unplanned/uncared for/abandoned animals locally and in this world and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I allowed for more.

Pullets I'll keep, cockerels will go to the local small animal auction where I have been informed they'll most likely be made into soup -- and not used for sport. (And some people apparently just need a rooster. Go figure.)

Kudos to you.

I understand, I get all excited whenI see a hen sitting on a nest for a prolonged time, but I've got my hopes up too much so I now have the two nights rule. It's held pretty true for me.

 

[Beekissed]

I always go one step further on determining if broodies are serious or just feeling a little motherly. I evict them off the nest each time I see them, toss them out of the coop, etc. If, after a week of this treatment and she still wants to haunt that nest, even when I gather the eggs each day from under her, then I give her a clutch of her own and then move her to a broody pen.

 

[bruceh]

got a question ? would you eat a bird that has been hen pecked with a sore? i am doing my slaughter in the am like 4 in the morning. i just did another once over for health check.
i came across this pullet with a sore under her wing. not a small one. the skin is pink with some scabing.. i seperated her in a pen. know the question is do i slaughter her for my consumption or dog food. i am not willing to hold this one over good weight 71/2 lbs.

never had this problem so close to slaughter.

my guess is dog food.

 

[Kassaundra]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/705952/help-i-have-a-shrink-wrapped-chick-in-my-bra

Don't think I am being mean or picking on BYC other type of chicken tenders, but I had to share this.... Yes I trie to help her out, but had a little fun with her first.

People must have a lot more room in thier bra's then I do.