Consolidated Kansas

[KSChickieMomma]

My first concern if I were you would be if they are in the field do you have protection for them. Like a guard dog or something? There's a couple of options you could do. You could build a larger chicken tractor that you could put them in and move it around. Remember when building these it's essential to keep it sturdy for their safety but as light weight as possible. The other option would be a PVC pen. Most designs have a tarp over one side which provides shade and shelter. I made my own but I had to order several fittings for it. If I were to do it again I would have included a door on the top and the side. I currently just have one on the side. The nice thing about a PVC pen is that they can be moved easily. I designed mine with an opening on one corner that has a removable cap and a drain elsewhere on the bottom so I could weight it down by filling the bottom with water. I've never used the water feature though because for the most part this thing doesn't go anywhere. I wouldn't recommend leaving your birds out in a field without a good sturdy pen or some type of protection from predators. I let as many of my birds free range as I can when I'm not breeding but I also have guard dogs who watch them. One option might be to build a hoop coop and design it so it can be pulled with a tractor if you have one.
I really do like the idea of having a summer coop and winter coop. I would love to have an open air coop for summer. The main thing you would need would be a roof for shade. Heat is much more deadly to chickens than cold is.

Thank you! It will definitely be enclosed with a large run and they would only be let out when I am there to protect them. Working on getting a big dog, but it's taking some convincing for my husband to agree!! This may help!

. I am worried that it will confuse them by moving them around or stress them out? I haven't seen a hoop coop. Looking up as soon as I finish typing! Luckily, we do have a tractor to move one around if we decide to go with the moveable type. Thx again for your advice!
Two days ago I started only getting 2 eggs/day. Today, a friend came out to the coop with me and I was disappointed to find 1 egg! She noticed a nest in a dark corner FULL of EGGS! Lol! This newbie has a lot to learn! I never even thought they might start laying on the floor!?! Now I know to look around b/c my girls are sneaky!

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Both of my GPs had their annual vaccinations/rabies today. He said Sam weighs about 150-160... and said he could potentially get to 180 by the time he is full grown. I love my vet; he makes house calls and came to my place today for the shots and check-ups. I can't pick up Sam to get him in the back seat of my car if my life depended on it. I tried not too long ago to coax him in with a can of tuna; he wanted the tuna, but didn't want to get in the car for it Holly on the other hand, would do just about anything if she knew there was food involved!

Those of you that have such large dogs - how do you get them to the vet if they won't cooperate with you? It's not like I take them from the property on a regular basis to get them accustomed to car rides... they need to be here to do their jobs.

 

[ashncarson]

I have really been wanting a barred rock. I think I am going to wait to see how well my silkie/ d' uccle mix lays, and then decide if I want to re-home her and then get a barred! A friend offered a free one, but she is 5-6 years old and only lays every so often!

 

[sunflowerparrot]

Definitely chicks, my last group were I guess straight run. My wife and I just picked them out of the tub.

Was bummed when my RIR turned out to be such a handsome young rooster so I think I may shoot for another.

I would love to have an EE as well for the different egg colors.

I guess that leaves only 1 opening.......

I love EEs! My friend has several who lays green, blue and pink eggs! She is going to give me a dozen of those mixes for hatching this spring; I'm so excited!

 

[Trish44]

HEChicken, the info you posted isn't the same as what I found. Your info doesn't show the NH rooster over the Silver Laced Wyandotte hens & that's what I found & am going to experiment with. I guess it depends on whose info you can rely on. This was one of the sources where I got my info: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/sex_linked_crosses.html & here is another one: http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/8-1/what-breed-is-it-understanding-sex-link-chickens/. These sources actually do say you can produce a sex link with a NH rooster with a BR hen. I guess after I read your post again I saw that you did say that. Maybe it was the BR rooster over the NH hen you said wouldn't work. Anyway, I'm going to use what I have & see what happens. Hopefully I will have some extra cockerels for your snakes in the spring, but hopefully not too many because people want pullets.

Danz, I'm glad you got that info from the Humane Society clarified because I would hate to think they're just letting people dump cats out to fend for themselves in the wild. I couldn't imagine them being OK with that. You should never just throw a cat out in a strange place anyway without first acclimating it to a new home. That has to be terrifying for them & it's definitely not humane treatment of an animal. The cat I adopted several months ago still is living in my garage because she is too scared as of yet to go outside, she gets very nervous when she's brought outside. She is such a loving cat & she feels the garage is now her "safe place." I don't really mind her staying in there as long as she uses the litter box. It's the other cats that run in there & get trapped that make a mess in there. I have heard from a friend that lives in town that there is a lady that lives by the hospital that has been trapping people's pet cats & turning them over to animal control, what a hateful person to do that & the traps are old & my friend's cat has been injured by it. You really can't keep your cats on your own property, they're not like dogs that can be confined to a yard. I think the Cowley Humane Society has a good idea with the spaying & neutering, but the problem is they don't provide low cost surgery for everyone, you have to meet income guidelines & I know there are a lot of people that may be above that who still can't afford the regular pricing.

 

[sharol]

YES!!! I re-homed my marans/orp cross rooster and he will have a home with free ranging chickens and lots of girls (and a couple other boys, unfortunately, he will just have to share).

 

[Trish44]

Congrats sharol on finding your rooster a new home!

 

[chicken danz]

Thank you! It will definitely be enclosed with a large run and they would only be let out when I am there to protect them. Working on getting a big dog, but it's taking some convincing for my husband to agree!! This may help!

. I am worried that it will confuse them by moving them around or stress them out? I haven't seen a hoop coop. Looking up as soon as I finish typing! Luckily, we do have a tractor to move one around if we decide to go with the moveable type. Thx again for your advice!
Two days ago I started only getting 2 eggs/day. Today, a friend came out to the coop with me and I was disappointed to find 1 egg! She noticed a nest in a dark corner FULL of EGGS! Lol! This newbie has a lot to learn! I never even thought they might start laying on the floor!?! Now I know to look around b/c my girls are sneaky!

If the chickens are sleeping in the same place each night they will be fine. If you moved them to ; say a chicken tractor or hoop coop during the summer months that you could move, it might take them a couple weeks to feel that was their home. But if you moved their home to new ground every week or so it would still be their home.
Same thing would happen when you moved them back to the other coop for winter. Ideally they would have a safe fenced area to range and then return to their coop at night.
I have a lot of chickens that free range all day and go to their individual coops at night. Some of them venture quite a ways. I would never do that without my dogs around though. One of the most ideal set ups I have ever seen was a central coop with a number of large pens fanning out from it in a circle. Once the grass and such was worn down, they would move the birds to the next connecting pen and so on. It gave the previously grazed pens a chance to recover and green back up. It would be even more effective if it were planted and watered. Rather than having a bunch of pop doors, a tunnel could be constructed with openings to each section of pen. So you could confine them to the pen you wanted them in.
Originally Posted by ashncarson

YES!!! I re-homed my marans/orp cross rooster and he will have a home with free ranging chickens and lots of girls (and a couple other boys, unfortunately, he will just have to share).

Congrats Sharol. I'm so happy for you. He was such a beautiful boy!
I am totally stumped! I was out feeding and found two pullet eggs in a grow out pen. I had moved all the larger birds from this pen to another pen a while back. Everything in there had come from my brooder even though some could have gone out long before. My DH built a little shelter thing off the house a while back and that is where the eggs were. That was put in place after I moved the older birds out weeks ago. So there is nothing in there but smaller younger birds. So where on earth did these eggs come from?? This is an enclosed covered pen and the birds are not let out or any other birds let in. The largest birds in there are a couple of maybe 3 month old orpington roosters. Nothing female even begins to be big enough to lay. These eggs are typical small pullet eggs. And they weren't there day before yesterday. I can't say for sure they weren't there yesterday cause I just dumped the feed in the bowl and didn't check the entire pen. I even checked back to see when I had purchased some eggs for some new blood lines and the very oldest of those wouldn't have hatched until late August.
The only explanation would be that some how I have a dwarfed bird that didn't grow and started laying. I don't raise bantams. But there isn't a rooster old enough in there to fertilize an egg either. I'm really confused!!!

 

[HEChicken]

HEChicken, the info you posted isn't the same as what I found. Your info doesn't show the NH rooster over the Silver Laced Wyandotte hens & that's what I found & am going to experiment with. I guess it depends on whose info you can rely on. This was one of the sources where I got my info: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/sex_linked_crosses.html & here is another one: http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/8-1/what-breed-is-it-understanding-sex-link-chickens/. These sources actually do say you can produce a sex link with a NH rooster with a BR hen. I guess after I read your post again I saw that you did say that. Maybe it was the BR rooster over the NH hen you said wouldn't work. Anyway, I'm going to use what I have & see what happens. Hopefully I will have some extra cockerels for your snakes in the spring, but hopefully not too many because people want pullets.

Danz, I'm glad you got that info from the Humane Society clarified because I would hate to think they're just letting people dump cats out to fend for themselves in the wild. I couldn't imagine them being OK with that. You should never just throw a cat out in a strange place anyway without first acclimating it to a new home. That has to be terrifying for them & it's definitely not humane treatment of an animal. The cat I adopted several months ago still is living in my garage because she is too scared as of yet to go outside, she gets very nervous when she's brought outside. She is such a loving cat & she feels the garage is now her "safe place." I don't really mind her staying in there as long as she uses the litter box. It's the other cats that run in there & get trapped that make a mess in there. I have heard from a friend that lives in town that there is a lady that lives by the hospital that has been trapping people's pet cats & turning them over to animal control, what a hateful person to do that & the traps are old & my friend's cat has been injured by it. You really can't keep your cats on your own property, they're not like dogs that can be confined to a yard. I think the Cowley Humane Society has a good idea with the spaying & neutering, but the problem is they don't provide low cost surgery for everyone, you have to meet income guidelines & I know there are a lot of people that may be above that who still can't afford the regular pricing.

Look again! The chart does cover that here:

YES!!! I re-homed my marans/orp cross rooster and he will have a home with free ranging chickens and lots of girls (and a couple other boys, unfortunately, he will just have to share).

Congratulations!

 

[Frizzled Pink]

Well, I posted my 2 extra roosters on Craigslist this morning. (the orp/marans cross and the BC Marans). The cross is causing problems in the run, but he isn't human aggressive (just other rooster aggressive and he is picking on my beta EE rooster). Hum, just got a call on the mixed roo. Yeah!!!

One of the problems with hatching is the extra roos. sigh. I'm hoping Butch's boys can get along together so I don't have to get rid of one. When they hatch into your hand, it is hard to let go.

Wish me luck on the Craigslist call.

LUCK LUCK LUCK

OOPS-saw the later post YIPPPEE!