Colorado

[ScottLovelandCO]

congrats! do you have far to move?

Unfortunately... yes. The home is in Frederick. Great for me because that cuts half of my drive time. (I work in Denver) But then that puts the kids 30 minutes away when they need us. Kayden lives like 6 houses south of his elementary house and we were just across 287 so it was a perfect situation. There just isn't anything coming up in the Loveland area and I hate to move any farther north. I just despise HOAs and property management companies. I just want to rent a nice house from the owner.

 

[coloradogal]

We could always have a BYC colorado people shooting activity...We have a range across the road. To walk it is exactly 6.5 minutes. To drive it is about 45 seconds from the house. We have it marked out to 400 yards if you are so inclined. Just let me know and we can do a pot luck BBQ!

How many can you host?

 

[mynamesjenelle]

Well that was interesting in an icky sort of way.  Thanks Dennarahl.  Looks like they fall in the normal.  I waited and watched them all this morning and all of them had a "looser" poo.  They are still on crumbles but I had been throwing in some chicken crack and meal worms.  Maybe I should just give them their crumbles for a couple of days and see if it gets better. 

Can grass and weeds cause problems?  When I get home, the kids and I take them out to the yard and let them enjoy the grass for a few hours before going back in to their run/coop area.  They peck and eat at the grass. 

What do you guys feel about getting them vacinated?  Thanks Chick in the Burbs and Ghillie for the reference of Dublin Animal Hospital.  I have written it down along with Dr. Roeder's name.  The girls came from a farm up in Black Forest and they are 8 weeks old.  I think I will buy some de this weekend and spread it in the pen, coop and grass to lessen the flies (which aren't bad but I don't want them to get bad).  I am using hay in the coop (we had a friend who gave us three bales that he didn't need).  Do I need to de-worm or de-mite?  I haven't seen anything but want to make sure everyone is healthy and happy.

THANK YOU again for helping out a newbie. 

Haha, you sound like me when my man calls me a "worried chicken mama"

I think the poo page that was linked is a good resource. I usually give my girls some scrambled eggs every now and then as well. If you make sure they are totally cooked, not runny at all, it gives them some much needed protein and from what I've read won't lead to egg eating since cooked eggs taste different than raw (and they aren't in the shell). The extra protein helps keep down feather pecking too.

Chickens LOVE grass and weeds! Whenever you think they are doing something weird, just imagine how people kept chickens 150 years ago. They walked around the house all day, pecking at any grains, bugs, weeds, or plants that grew. They had humans who stayed near the house all day and dogs to protect them. Anything they would do normally then, should be good for them now.

My personal opinion on vaccination, based solely on what I've read in books and here on the forums, is that it's not worth it unless done while they are chicks. Coccidiosis mostly affects chicks, and Mareks vaccines are a pain to administer and can potentially give your chickens the disease instead of innoculating them against it. If I ever get adult birds (rather than chicks) to add to the flock I might change my tune, but since I don't plan on adding more chickens from untrustworthy sources I don't think it is worth the risk at this point.

DE is the best stuff ever. I just sprinkle it on any nice fresh poops that the flies are congregating around, and they quickly disperse. Some people mix it in with the litter inside the coop as well, but since I'm using SweetPDZ it's too dry for flies in there. If you put some in their favourite dust bathing spots, it will help kill any nasties crawling around on them, and if you mix it in with their food (I forgot the ratio, I usually just kind of toss a handful in every now and then) it will get rid of internal parasites as well. Bonus - if you have ants in your house, you can sprinkle it around the baseboards to keep them out! DE is the real-life Windex

 

[mynamesjenelle]

A day at the range is such amazing fun.

We could always have a BYC colorado people shooting activity...We have a range across the road. To walk it is exactly 6.5 minutes. To drive it is about 45 seconds from the house. We have it marked out to 400 yards if you are so inclined. Just let me know and we can do a pot luck BBQ!

Let's do it! I have a Llama 9mm I haven't shot yet and I can make pie!

 

[wsmith]

We'll need to set a date...

Almost any Saturday!

 

[wsmith]

Let's do it! I have a Llama 9mm I haven't shot yet and I can make pie!

We can host as many as we want and want to come out!. The range we built can easily accomodate up to 10 shooters at a time, and we have a bench for two shooters. We can have the BBQ at the house, (and as Mayah and Sharon can attest,) has a "large" fenced back yard, though it has lots of weeds at the moment. we have 7 acres, but only about 3/4 acres has a 6 ft wood fence.

Got to get to those weeds. Too many chicken projects taking precedence.

 

[ducks_rcool329]

Sorry to interject

But I have a few birdies up on CL that I'm trying to find a new home for, if any fellow BYCr's are looking
http://cosprings.craigslist.org/grd/3149499642.html

 

[ScottLovelandCO]

We can host as many as we want and want to come out!. The range we built can easily accomodate up to 10 shooters at a time, and we have a bench for two shooters. We can have the BBQ at the house, (and as Mayah and Sharon can attest,) has a "large" fenced back yard, though it has lots of weeds at the moment. we have 7 acres, but only about 3/4 acres has a 6 ft wood fence.

Got to get to those weeds. Too many chicken projects taking precedence.

I have a Lease Agreement, HOA Rules and Regulations, and HOA CC&R's manual that we can use as targets. Plus I MAY OR MAY NOT have collected a few property management yard signs that we can shoot. I have a .308, XD .45, and several .22s that we can plink with. )

 

[mynamesjenelle]

I love it!

 

[coloradogal]

Haha, you sound like me when my man calls me a "worried chicken mama"

I think the poo page that was linked is a good resource. I usually give my girls some scrambled eggs every now and then as well. If you make sure they are totally cooked, not runny at all, it gives them some much needed protein and from what I've read won't lead to egg eating since cooked eggs taste different than raw (and they aren't in the shell). The extra protein helps keep down feather pecking too.
Chickens LOVE grass and weeds! Whenever you think they are doing something weird, just imagine how people kept chickens 150 years ago. They walked around the house all day, pecking at any grains, bugs, weeds, or plants that grew. They had humans who stayed near the house all day and dogs to protect them. Anything they would do normally then, should be good for them now.
My personal opinion on vaccination, based solely on what I've read in books and here on the forums, is that it's not worth it unless done while they are chicks. Coccidiosis mostly affects chicks, and Mareks vaccines are a pain to administer and can potentially give your chickens the disease instead of innoculating them against it. If I ever get adult birds (rather than chicks) to add to the flock I might change my tune, but since I don't plan on adding more chickens from untrustworthy sources I don't think it is worth the risk at this point.
DE is the best stuff ever. I just sprinkle it on any nice fresh poops that the flies are congregating around, and they quickly disperse. Some people mix it in with the litter inside the coop as well, but since I'm using SweetPDZ it's too dry for flies in there. If you put some in their favourite dust bathing spots, it will help kill any nasties crawling around on them, and if you mix it in with their food (I forgot the ratio, I usually just kind of toss a handful in every now and then) it will get rid of internal parasites as well. Bonus - if you have ants in your house, you can sprinkle it around the baseboards to keep them out! DE is the real-life Windex

I agree with janelle. I always have my chicks vaccinated when they come from the hatchery because it is always cheap but the chicks not from a hatchery are never vaccinated. Most chickens are naturally resistant to many diseases. You have a small flock and what you will do for your hens will be very different than what someone with a large, commercial flock will do. I suspect these will be more your pets and like all pets, pampered.

I wish I could tell you that your hens will be perfectly healthy but there will always be issues. They will likely pick up crud from the wild birds flying overhead... they will eventually get a mite or two but just watch them and try to be proactive rather than reactive. I do a mite check everytime I pick up a bird. The only time I have seen a mite is when they wear their saddles and can't do a dust bath. That's why I try to wash the saddles once a week and check underneath for anything.

The will most likely get a respiratory issue, don't fret too much unless they get listless and they seem out of sorts. I have some Oxine that works great in a humidifier to clear up most things. The best preventative is always more ventilation as long as it isn't drafty, even in cold weather. Remember, if you have to choose between ventilation (not drafts) and a nice, warm sealed up coop....always, always go with ventilation. They must have ventilation to be healthy. Make sure the food isn't moldy and the water is somewhat fresh. Everyone has a different take on how to keep water clean...some use apple cider vinegar some like me use Oxine and ACD. i also give mine vitamins when it's too hot or too cold. Keep their coops clean and there is a difference between a filthy coop and a well lived in coop. Once again, most of us are small flock tenders so we have the time to do things big commercial people can't do.

Just enjoy them and let them do what they do best, eat bugs, roll in the dirt and lay eggs.