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

[armorfirelady]

Hi mine always eat the seeds ...then they eat the pumpkin ..coz I make it into a secret dish ..I cut it in half & put their feed / fermented feed in it ..They end up eating it that way ..LOL

Now that is a great idea!!! I think I shall try that for Thanksgiving for them for a special treat. They currently have 4 carved pumpkins in different degrees of break down in the veggie garden to snack on. They seem to prefer them softer as well. Got to love my friends & family who randomly show up to toss some pumpkins in the garden for the hens.

 

[Bobby Basham]

Quote:

whats up bobby,
i worked for motown for years. stage tech. last show smokey robinson world tour 82.

I bet that was a real treat. I can remember way back in the 60's, barely ten years old, and my older teenage siblings would buy those old 45's from the Marvellettes, Supremes, Vandellas, Temptations, Mary Wells, etc. I always connect my roots to Motown and the old farm out in the boonies. I shouldn't just say Motown, there were other record labels and artists out there like Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, Rightous Brothers, Beatles, Shirelles, Chiffons...the music was so abundant in them there days, and QUALITY STUFF, too.

That's why I collect so many records, buy/repair old record players from back in the day (pretty handy with a soldering iron), even giving some away to coworkers and friends, and I think having a few chickens around the place would be the icing on the cake.

I'm not living in the past, just have a greater appreciation and savoring it as I get older and I pity the crap that these kids are exposed to now. I only listen to the 24/7 Classical station, with an occasional Oldies station on the side. Other than that, I've been spanking a mean Hammond B3 in the Gospel realm for the past 40+ years, and can even play a little piano Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven on the side...maybe some jazz and blues if I were backed into a corner.

I think having a huge house filled with thousands of albums, old record players and musical instruments (all paid for..LOL), just makes my day. It would be nice to have a decent coop and run (with 4-6 hens) in my barren back yard to brighten things up and provide some entertainment and therapy after dealing with a bunch of nitwits and slackers at work. I am truly blessed.

I live about 12 miles out, but it is still considered city, so I have to be conservative about my coop and run since my neighborhood has an HOA (Home Owners Assassination), and new homes are constantly popping up around this area.

I did do a quick rough sketch of my run...It's been years since I've drawn, but you get the idea of what's going on. The run size would be at least 12 X 20, enough for 4-6 hens with a small coop inside. I don't know if I'll get a pre-fab or build my own. Right now I'm working from the outside in. Planter boxes on all sides for veggies for me and the chickens. I'm gonna put some big clay pots for small trees/shrubbery in big pots at the corners. Hardware cloth running under the planter boxes and extending inside and up the chainlink fencing, chainlink for the top, and maybe cover that and down the sides with screening to keep the wild birds and other small varmits from eating the feed...and everything must not be seen above the 5-ft brick wall...what a bummer. I don't want it to appear like I'm preparing an ICU ward, but there are a gazillion doves out here in my back yard every day picking in the dirt. Other than weeds, my backyard is a backyard slate, about 50x50 feet.

I apologize, got carried away... that coop info should have been posted in the coop whatever forum.--BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:

I live about 12 miles out, but it is still considered city, so I have to be conservative about my coop and run since my neighborhood has an HOA (Home Owners Assassination), and new homes are constantly popping up around this area.

I did do a quick rough sketch of my run...It's been years since I've drawn, but you get the idea of what's going on. The run size would be at least 12 X 20, enough for 4-6 hens with a small coop inside. I don't know if I'll get a pre-fab or build my own. Right now I'm working from the outside in. Planter boxes on all sides for veggies for me and the chickens. I'm gonna put some big clay pots for small trees/shrubbery in big pots at the corners. Hardware cloth running under the planter boxes and extending inside and up the chainlink fencing, chainlink for the top, and maybe cover that and down the sides with screening to keep the wild birds and other small varmits from eating the feed...and everything must not be seen above the 5-ft brick wall...what a bummer. I don't want it to appear like I'm preparing an ICU ward, but there are a gazillion doves out here in my back yard every day picking in the dirt. Other than weeds, my backyard is a backyard slate, about 50x50 feet.

I apologize, got carried away... that coop info should have been posted in the coop whatever forum.--BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

I really like the idea of the large potted shrubs in the corners. My hen house is on a pretty large pasture but doesn't get enough shade during mid-day. I haven't wanted to plant a tree in the ground and have been contemplating ideas for shade (more than the shade cloth I already use) for next year. I've thought of climbing vines, etc., but this may just work.

Even though I'm pretty much headed toward letting them free-range come spring, Having that extra shade there would be useful for when they have to be kept closer to home.

Nice ideas - and hopefully there will be NO Assassination

 

[Bobby Basham]

Everytime I come to catch up on this thread, I feel like I am among friends!!

This past Saturday, my aunt and I made the first "old timey' stew since my mom passed. We've made stews in the "wash pot" together before, but this time, we did it the "real' way (using wood instead propane). MAN, I had forgotten how much better a stew tastes with that smokey flaver. That experience really made me miss how things used to be, and also made me realize how much my kids missed out on because we tried to make things "better" for them growing up.

And now here comes Bobby Basham, making me miss the old days even more!!

Thanks for the post, Bobby!!

Bless Yo' Bones, just me. I haven't been back in the farm life since about 1965, but I just can't shake it off. Everytime I call the family back East, I get to bawling, snivelling...It just made such an impression on me. I was just a little kid, but with barns, woods, lakes, berry patches, crops...it was just amazing. It was so much fun playing in the barn with all the new hay and bales. I didn't have to do chores like the older siblings, but there was more than enough to keep me busy. Taking some fish line and a home-made hook made out of a bent bobby pin (you youngun's know what that is?) and catch fish, going through the woods with the dogs collecting raspberries, cherries etc. And, believe it or not, the spot of land where we had our septic tank dumped produced the biggest strawberries. I didn't even know we had a septic tank. That must have happened after we finally got a "real" bathroom in the house.

We had an Outhouse that could seat at least three butts, not too far from the corn crib (handy wipes? LOL), and if you had to go during the night, my mom kept a big white porcelain pot with lid at the top of the stairs...the "pee pot."

I still remember as a small child being bathed in the kitchen sink, and when I got bigger, took my bath in a big steel canning tub on the kitchen floor. Can't remember what I posted where, but we were country folks and I was happy. The older folks may have had some issues because this was in the 50's and 60's and alot of racial stuff was going on, but I was shielded from that. My older brothers and sisters were teenagers and knew about that.

I don't know what it is about the country, but it chokes me up everytime I mention it. I'm not rich, just an office worker and first time home buyer four years ago. If I could afford it, would buy a home with some acreage, maybe 5 at most, and go back to my roots. There's no way to do any farming here, but with alittle bit of enginuity, could probably create some type of "mini" farming ecosystem in my own back yard. Right now, it's just a dirt, blank slate waiting to be utilized.

Sorry for the long post. I tend to write essays...Don't have much of a life here, a hermit because of all the idiots out there, and I find that folks on line, especially the BYC and old audio folks, more interesting.

Just a pic of my house and where I live. On a penninsula with a culdesac in front and back, a nice sized back yard (about 50X50) with 5-ft brick walls. Can't afford to move but can make an oasis/sanctuary with my planning skills. I feel like the Beverly Hill Billies!!! --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

 

[galefrances]

Sure can. You can continue as is, natural, or you can light 'em up and get 'em goin'. It is entirely up to you.

Thanks. I'll have to let nature take it's course as I don't have electric in the coop. We've got one extension cord, but that's for the water.

 

[galefrances]

Quote: Oh goodness, 26 wks. As you know, I have 2 Partridgge Rocks as well, but they are only 19 wks. Maybe they won't lay until Spring? And I'm not looking forward to Winter....sorry I put the coop so far from the house

 

[galefrances]

Quote:
Wow, that's a trip down memory lane. I have all of my Dad's records that I grew up listening to. I haven't seen equipment like that since I was a kid. Beautiful piano! I never had a home big enough for that, but my oldest daughter does play. Edited because I forgot about the coop! Really nice design. It's nice to see a blueprint first. I should have done that, then I wouldn't have to make so many changes.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Hi mine always eat the seeds ...then they eat the pumpkin ..coz I make it into a secret dish ..I cut it in half & put their feed / fermented feed in it ..They end up eating it that way ..LOL

Quote:
When I got my load of free pumpkins, there were some green and "red" pumpkins there. The guy at the farm told me that the green ones (and red also) are sweeter and that when he chops up the pumpkin to give to his goats, they will dig through the pile and pick out the green ones to eat first. He also said that they are used in one of the Asian cultures to make a candy (?)

I took quite a few of the green pumpkins (which I had not had any experience with before). One of them needed to be used right away so i cut one open yesterday. The flesh in it is totally different from the field pumpkins – very smooth and sweet smelling rather than "stringy". I tried a chunk raw and it wasn't really "sweet", but it was "sweeter" than the field pumpkin and a whole different texture.

I tried putting a piece of it out for the chickens (raw) and they started eating it right away. I'll have to see if they finish it up today.

 

[galefrances]

Just read your last post Bobby B. I envy your childhood. No wonder it chokes you up. I enjoyed your story, could listen to those all day. (I'm a city girl, brought to the country by the DH about 6yrs. ago and just started raising chickens - with the OT's help)

 

[Gargoyle]

My 4 pullets are 26 weeks old & still no eggs

But being Partridge Rocks I was told heritage breeds lay later.

I have two Columbian Wyandottes that are also about 25 to 26 weeks old, and haven't started yet. They're bigger than our two 20 month olds, so I hope they get started soon...