Do we interfere/worry too much these days?

[KentuckyRooster]

Lol not quite

 

[chickengeorgeto]

... my family have had chickens since well before my time... My uncle took over when they passed away and then my parents took over his chickens when he lost... interest... my question... is do I actually make a difference in terms of the health and wellbeing of the flock?... but my grandfather never once did any of the above... The coops were smothered in creosote, nesting boxes were stuffed with old hay. I don't remember ever seeing a sick or injured hen, they were all beautifully feathered and seemed healthy, cockerels were never separated or had bits trimmed...

Like it or not chickens are not natural organisms. They depend somewhat on humans for food, safety and reproductive success.

In a broiler/fryer operation one of the most important tools or peices of equipment is a piece of wood known as a "Killing Stick" The large scale farmers who raises chickens raise them for Tyson, Conagra, and other meat chicken production companies. These companies are known as Integrators. The Integrators provide the feed, and the baby chickens while the chicken farmers provides the land, the housing, the equipment, the water, the litter, and of course the labor needed to raise these chickens.

The integrators and the farmers are both under contract. As part of that contract the farmer receives a bonus for raising an above average number of friars and he also receives a bonus if he manages to raise these chickens on a lower average amount of the integrators chick food. But the farmer always walks around with a kill stick in his overalls' pocket. Remember this is a flock of chickens that usually have been vaccinated against almost every danger this side of ALIEN ABDUCTION.

Do with your chickens in whatever method that you like but remember that at the end of the day that each individual chickens' life is unimportant, only the continued existence of the flock matters. That can not be planned for or legislated against. Like it or not it is a fact of life (or death)

As a good example of how hopeless I feel about some of the posts I read here, creosote is a great way to prevent Red Mites from colonizing your coop or other housing facilities. But I highly doubt that you can even purchase creosote these days, especially in Western Societies. Just don't paint your nest with creosote or other oily substances, and that means that you should never use pine shavings (especially fresh pine shavings) in a hen nest that you plan to use to incubate in using a mother hen as your heat source. The turpentine in fresh pine shavings will block the pores in the eggshell and suffocate the developing chick.

 

[lovingmyhens]

It was dealt with. The 3 dog's are dead.

 

[Shadrach]

It was dealt with. The 3 dog's are dead.

What happened then? Did you miss the dog owners?

 

[BlueBaby]

What happened then? Did you miss the dog owners?

No, not at all! The dog owner's moved to someplace in California. We have new neighbor's now and they put up a fence for their yard. They seem like nice people, and they don't keep a pile of trash in the yard. No starving dog's there!

 

[HollyWoozle]

As a good example of how hopeless I feel about some of the posts I read here, creosote is a great way to prevent Red Mites from colonizing your coop or other housing facilities. But I highly doubt that you can even purchase creosote these days, especially in Western Societies. Just don't paint your nest with creosote or other oily substances, and that means that you should never use pine shavings (especially fresh pine shavings) in a hen nest that you plan to use to incubate in using a mother hen as your heat source. The turpentine in fresh pine shavings will block the pores in the eggshell and suffocate the developing chick.

My uncle and my boyfriend both suggested creosote as I have been battling an ongoing red mite problem, perpetuated by the hot summer we have had here, but I read several posts saying how long the chickens have to be kept out of the coop, how it can be dangerous etc. that it put me off! I don't think it's that difficult to buy here in the UK and my grandad certainly used it with great success.

On the bright side I do think I am now on top of the mite problem anyhow, plus the weather has turned which will also help.

I don't think the thread has gone off topic and I'm really interested by all the different responses. Regarding the posts about incubators, my mum bred some chicks here this last summer (needlessly I might add) and everything went very well the natural way. A hen disappeared and we found her a fair while later on 16 eggs in the hedge and my mum couldn't bring herself to take the eggs away, so she was moved to a small coop/run set-up and 12 hatched and all grew up fine. Mother hen dealt entirely with their needs (obviously we provided shelter, water and food) and also with their integration into the flock.

I am trying my best to stick with simple care for our flock whilst also taking into account modern improvements to methods, equipment and so on. It's a fine line! We definitely screwed up with our cockerel as he wounded hens, but they are recovering well and he has been trimmed up which I hope will fix the problem. Otherwise he will have to go. It has been a valuable lesson and I feel for the poor hens but they are bright in spirit and I think will be OK (rooster in question has a nice temperament but I guess bad technique and needed a pedicure).

 

[townchicks]

What happened then? Did you miss the dog owners?

LOL, I got it, anyways.

 

[Shadrach]

LOL, I got it, anyways.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

My uncle and my boyfriend both suggested creosote as I have been battling an ongoing red mite problem, perpetuated by the hot summer we have had here, but I read several posts saying how long the chickens have to be kept out of the coop, how it can be dangerous etc. that it put me off! I don't think it's that difficult to buy here in the UK and my grandad certainly used it with great success.

On the bright side I do think I am now on top of the mite problem anyhow, plus the weather has turned which will also help.

I don't think the thread has gone off topic and I'm really interested by all the different responses. Regarding the posts about incubators, my mum bred some chicks here this last summer (needlessly I might add) and everything went very well the natural way. A hen disappeared and we found her a fair while later on 16 eggs in the hedge and my mum couldn't bring herself to take the eggs away, so she was moved to a small coop/run set-up and 12 hatched and all grew up fine. Mother hen dealt entirely with their needs (obviously we provided shelter, water and food) and also with their integration into the flock.

I am trying my best to stick with simple care for our flock whilst also taking into account modern improvements to methods, equipment and so on. It's a fine line! We definitely screwed up with our cockerel as he wounded hens, but they are recovering well and he has been trimmed up which I hope will fix the problem. Otherwise he will have to go. It has been a valuable lesson and I feel for the poor hens but they are bright in spirit and I think will be OK (rooster in question has a nice temperament but I guess bad technique and needed a pedicure).

If your goal is to raise a lot of chickens then by all means buy a good mechanical hen. If your goal is to enjoy raising chickens than the old fashion method (setting hen) is the way to go.

Always be sure to make and have plenty of coops, pens, runs, or walks on hand because it is no fun trying to stuff chickens under water buckets, in golf bags, etc to create emergency "housing"

 

[janiedoe]

Just pondering really... my family have had chickens since well before my time. My grandparents kept chickens primarily for eggs but also for the pot and usually had between 20 - 30 at a time as far as I recall. My uncle took over when they passed away and then my parents took over his chickens when he lost a bit of interest (they are neighbours).

Whilst I have always played a part in taking care of the family chickens, I didn't have a particularly active role until I got some some ex-battery hens in June this year. They are kept separate to my parents' chickens at the moment, as they are still quite bald, but in the same coop (it has a dividing wall) and with a fenced run within the main run. Since being responsible for these chickens I have been heavily involved in caring for the main flock as well and find myself increasingly busy with taking care of them. I sometimes lie awake at night wondering how better to control mites, whether or not the chickens are cold/hot, how to prevent/heal wounds, what to feed, whether the coop is acceptable and so on. In this time I have attempted to treat sour crop, trimmed our cockerel's spurs and claws, treated the chickens/coops with various mite treatments, installed new perches, changed the bedding we use, added more feeders/waterers, purchased cleaning solutions, filled dust baths, hand-fed sick hens and so on. I have basically spent a lot of time worrying and fiddling, although I think most on here would consider that sort of thing to be standard management/maintenance.

My question really is do I actually make a difference in terms of the health and wellbeing of the flock? Of course I like to think so (which is why I do it!) but my grandfather never once did any of the above as far as I know. The coops were smothered in creosote, nesting boxes were stuffed with old hay. I don't remember ever seeing a sick or injured hen, they were all beautifully feathered and seemed healthy, cockerels were never separated or had bits trimmed, they never had vitamins added to their water and I highly doubt they were wormed. The eggs were always excellent. Perhaps he just culled/ate any chickens which weren't up to it anymore?

I often wonder whether he would be proud and happy that I keep chickens too but to be honest he'd probably think I was totally bonkers doing half of what I do!

OMG! Your so me! I was just sitting here at 3:30 A.M. thinking the same EXACT thing. My grandparents and my parents had chicken, ducks, turkeys. They didn't have coops, just barns. They didn't have runs. They didn't treat for anything as far as I can remember. On the other hand, I don't believe that they found the pleasure in chicken keeping that I do. My are pets and their's were farm animals and I think that's okay.
Enjoy your chickens!