Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[gjensen]

Hello

When planning an area for a self-perpetuating flock, how many separate spaces are needed? Can I ask this question here or am I better to post in the coop section? I ask here as it seems relevant to the thread title, but is also a thread with familiar "voices".
(I'm imagining 3 spaces~ one for my hens/pullets, one as a cock/cockerel grow out pen and one as a breeding/brooding/flex space)

Thanks for any input or direction,
M

It is a hard one to answer because not all broody strains are the same. Some seam to tolerate the company of others where others will not. I have noticed some with many settings hens in a single enclosure and have no problems. I would have war if I set mine up that way. They are to protective of their chicks, which also is what makes them good mothers.

I am moving towards individual temporary houses and pens for single females and her chicks. That will be no small effort, but it will give me more control.

I intend to move them into these little fenced areas one by one. When the youngest chicks are feathered out, I am expecting to move all of the hens back into their enclosure simultaneously. The birds I intend to use do not take to newcomers well.

Do not take this as advice. This is a process that I am trying to get a feel for. I have raised a few birds here and there, but my interest in setting hens is new. I have seen that I cannot manage mine as some do, and I am scheming how to accomplish this with my own. For whatever reason it appeals to me, and I want to get good at this process with my birds. Also keeping control of the breeding (single mating) and keeping track of the chicks in the process.

I suspect that I will complicate it more than some would want.

I will say that it is a lot simpler to set a batch in the incubator. All in and all out in your own time. Not theirs.

Concerning the housing, that varies as much as the people that keep them. More is better than not enough. I would start scheming a breeding plan, and that will largely dictate how you set up. How many Families? How many cock birds? Do you intend to flock mate or line breed?

 

[LindaB220]

I've read, somewhere online, that people will take a teaspoon and mix it into a glass of water to drink it.

Ditto. I've not tried it yet. Maybe like adding to water and let set a few minutes to settle in bottom

 

[Arielle]

From wikapedia--
Azomite (pronounced ā-zō-mite, officially all-caps AZOMITE) is the registered trademark for a complex silica ore (hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate) with an elevated ratio of trace minerals unique to the Utah mineral deposit from which it is mined. When the ash from a volcanic eruption filled a nearby seabedan estimated 30 million years ago, the combination of seawater, fed by hundreds of mineral-rich rivers and the rare earth minerals present in the volcanic ash, created the deposit’s distinctive composition. Mineralogically described asrhyolitic tuff breccia, the geologic characteristic of its surface is referred to as anoutcrop known as a hogback.[1]

 

[Lacy Blues]

Ditto. I've not tried it yet. Maybe like adding to water and let set a few minutes to settle in bottom

If I was to do this, I'd mix it up and drink it while its swirling... thereby getting the full effect.

 

[Arielle]

Instead of azomite, perhaps sea salts are as beneficial.

 

[LindaB220]

Instead of azomite, perhaps sea salts are as beneficial.

I paid $9 a pound for this. It's good stuff and a never use iodine salt anymore.


http://www.atthemeadow.com/shop/resources/minerals-in-pink-himalayan-salt

 

[southernmomma]

@gjensen
You do make me think.
I'm curious, are you using gamefowl for your broodies? Personally I think using broody hens will help me stay the course and not get ahead of myself or what nature intended.....it lends a seasonality to the process which is something I enjoy in other aspects of my life I will enjoy hearing how your setup plays out, it sounds......intricate Honestly though, from the stories I've read, incubators sound like endless heart palpitations and sweaty palms!

I think I know how I want to start and I have a breeding program in mind; perhaps I need to dig around to see if it's practical and then offer up my ideas and have folks poke holes in it, lol. For my purposes it seems more sensible to have separate, 2 sectioned coops/yards, that can have temp quarters rather than one large building divided into multiple sections, shuffling birds around or trying to herd them around other flocks.

Cheers,
M

 

[Beekissed]

@gjensen
You do make me think.
I'm curious, are you using gamefowl for your broodies? Personally I think using broody hens will help me stay the course and not get ahead of myself or what nature intended.....it lends a seasonality to the process which is something I enjoy in other aspects of my life I will enjoy hearing how your setup plays out, it sounds......intricate Honestly though, from the stories I've read, incubators sound like endless heart palpitations and sweaty palms!

I think I know how I want to start and I have a breeding program in mind; perhaps I need to dig around to see if it's practical and then offer up my ideas and have folks poke holes in it, lol. For my purposes it seems more sensible to have separate, 2 sectioned coops/yards, that can have temp quarters rather than one large building divided into multiple sections, shuffling birds around or trying to herd them around other flocks.

Cheers,
M

I love breeding and flock keeping by the seasons as well...it just seems to fit the birds, the natural food abundance and it fits me. I'm more prepared to deal with chicks in the early spring than in approaching cold weathers or during the heat of summer.

And I'm none too fond of incubators...even this more simple one I'm doing is so much more fiddly than letting the expertise of the broody do all the work and do it better than I.

 

[southernmomma]

I love breeding and flock keeping by the seasons as well...it just seems to fit the birds, the natural food abundance and it fits me. I'm more prepared to deal with chicks in the early spring than in approaching cold weathers or during the heat of summer.

And I'm none too fond of incubators...even this more simple one I'm doing is so much more fiddly than letting the expertise of the broody do all the work and do it better than I.

 

[gjensen]

@gjensen
You do make me think.
I'm curious, are you using gamefowl for your broodies? Personally I think using broody hens will help me stay the course and not get ahead of myself or what nature intended.....it lends a seasonality to the process which is something I enjoy in other aspects of my life I will enjoy hearing how your setup plays out, it sounds......intricate Honestly though, from the stories I've read, incubators sound like endless heart palpitations and sweaty palms!

I think I know how I want to start and I have a breeding program in mind; perhaps I need to dig around to see if it's practical and then offer up my ideas and have folks poke holes in it, lol. For my purposes it seems more sensible to have separate, 2 sectioned coops/yards, that can have temp quarters rather than one large building divided into multiple sections, shuffling birds around or trying to herd them around other flocks.

Cheers,
M

That is the idea. I have nothing but thoughts and opinions. I rarely have any facts to offer, LOL.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that a percentage of my Catalanas were broody and made good mothers. I intend to let them work. They are quite delightful keeping up with their chicks. These birds are serious about everything they do. Really good birds.

Incubators are easy, and easier to manage the process. That is why everyone uses them. I still will, but have become fascinated by letting the birds do it. Kind of like going back in time. Heck, you do not have to worry about the power going out.

In the south, you have to be wary of fire ants etc. they do not bother the chicks once they are moving around, but wet and weak, the ants could be a problem. A little seven dust has kept me out of trouble so far.

If I could go back in time, I would have no fixed housing. Everything would be mobile. I am moving toward using my fixed housing for growers, and building mobile enclosures for my keepers. I am wrapping up some large walk in type chicken tractors. I wish that I had done this long ago. They will always be on grass.
I am intending to use small versions for the broody hens. Cleaning is as simple as sliding the pen over.

A lot of possibilities. Everyone develops their own style.

Concerning a breeding plan, I would recommend starting with simple flock mating. You can still improve a population this way. I do not flock mate, but that is how I started. I learned a lot, and it was fun. Or just have two families. There is so much to learn along the way. No one becomes a "master breeder" in a year or two. It is a lifetime of accumulated knowledge and experience. Simple is the best way to start.