I have had chickens for about 3 years now. The first 6 are gone now that I got from Tractor Supply, , mostly eaten by hungry foxes or coyotes, but 2 were killed by a dog that had gotten loose. It sure has been a learning experience. I am 77, soon to be 78 and am enjoying, mostly, the learning and the pleasure of owning chickens. I feel I should say, I am not raising chickens for the hungry wildlife that I have around me but having them eaten doesn't bother me half as much as having them killed by dogs. At least, the wildlife takes the bodies and I never see them. Also, I feel I should say I have dozen of raccoons that come in the morning and evening and they have never bothered any of my chickens. I am sure if my chickens were left out at night it would probably be a different matter. And yes, I do feed the raccoons, cheap dry dog food.
One thing I do do is not let my chickens out til noon or after and they bring themselves in just at dusk. I do this because the am and pm is generally the feeding time for predators but not always. My chickens have learned pretty quickly not to go into the backyard, that backs into a forested area, as much.
When I had only one chicken left, me and the grandkids went to get chicks from a farm, we thought, turned out to be some rich guy trying his hand at crossbreeding, I guess. We were so disappointed it wasn't a farm but I couldn't just leave those chicks in this guys basement so we bought 7 of them and one died right off and 3 were rooster turns out. He had said if any were rooster I could bring them back. Turns out he did have a farm his son and daughter lived at and they just let the roosters loose with the rest of the chickens. They were nice people.
So, then I let one hen hatch her eggs out and I now have 3 roosters again !! Tractor Supply here I come next spring.
Gosh, I can't imagine anyone being interested in all this but it is what I have been learning.
I now have 3 from the "farmer" and three from the Mom but the Mom had an accident and had one toe almost completely cut off and the other smashed. Took her to a vet, I had a horrible time finding one that took chickens, they amputated the 2 toes so she is isolated in my den in a bottomless cage I had bought to take the baby chicks outside in. Sure has come in handy but the hen, Laguna, is still not walking on it. I will say, 2 different vet saw her, turns out the second visit, because she wasn't doing well, was actually the vet that does the chickens he told me. So I think the first vet did not do as good of a job as she should have but they had gotten me in on a Sat. so I guess he wasn't there. I showed him a picture of the hen's foot after the surgery and he didn't look to happy about what he saw but he didn't say anything. But she is a great hen, very friendly and let me redress the wound everyday with no problem. She is a golden laced Wyandotte , the receptionist told me. And a great Mom. Thank goodness the chicks were big enough to left with the rooster and other hen, but they are just tolerated.
Oh, in case any of you that are still reading this and live near Jackson County, Missouri, the vets name is Dr. Patterson at the Pleasant Hill Vet Clinic in Pleasant Hill, Missouri. I was only charged $94 and 0 for the follow up.
One of the babies that is a rooster is just beautifully colored. I'd love to know if he is actually a certain type of chicken. Maybe I can post some pictures.
Okay, found BYC when I googled about my chickens loving millet today, Jan, 2024. I already knew it was very nutritious, but that they prefer it to the feed was a little worrisome but they are really healthy and will be happy again when we get past this artic weather and can get outside again. I should mention I have been raising my chickens in my garage because the $500 coup I bought turned out to not be secure enough and I couldn't figure out how I could fix it because I was out of money by then. So, they are in the garage but the dust from the straw is terrible, gets into the house. The garage is attached to the house by the den and the dust is everywhere. Come spring, I am going to secure that coup come hell or high water :-}
To wrap this up, It will be interesting to see if anyone actually reads all this rambling on of mine.
My chickens love blueberries, dry and wet cat food, cilantro, grated cheese (parmesan preferred), scrambled eggs, oh, and the elderberries growing in the yard. Also, tomatoes if I cut them in half.
Going to let them out, it 34 degrees. See what they think of that.
494
One thing I do do is not let my chickens out til noon or after and they bring themselves in just at dusk. I do this because the am and pm is generally the feeding time for predators but not always. My chickens have learned pretty quickly not to go into the backyard, that backs into a forested area, as much.
When I had only one chicken left, me and the grandkids went to get chicks from a farm, we thought, turned out to be some rich guy trying his hand at crossbreeding, I guess. We were so disappointed it wasn't a farm but I couldn't just leave those chicks in this guys basement so we bought 7 of them and one died right off and 3 were rooster turns out. He had said if any were rooster I could bring them back. Turns out he did have a farm his son and daughter lived at and they just let the roosters loose with the rest of the chickens. They were nice people.
So, then I let one hen hatch her eggs out and I now have 3 roosters again !! Tractor Supply here I come next spring.
Gosh, I can't imagine anyone being interested in all this but it is what I have been learning.
I now have 3 from the "farmer" and three from the Mom but the Mom had an accident and had one toe almost completely cut off and the other smashed. Took her to a vet, I had a horrible time finding one that took chickens, they amputated the 2 toes so she is isolated in my den in a bottomless cage I had bought to take the baby chicks outside in. Sure has come in handy but the hen, Laguna, is still not walking on it. I will say, 2 different vet saw her, turns out the second visit, because she wasn't doing well, was actually the vet that does the chickens he told me. So I think the first vet did not do as good of a job as she should have but they had gotten me in on a Sat. so I guess he wasn't there. I showed him a picture of the hen's foot after the surgery and he didn't look to happy about what he saw but he didn't say anything. But she is a great hen, very friendly and let me redress the wound everyday with no problem. She is a golden laced Wyandotte , the receptionist told me. And a great Mom. Thank goodness the chicks were big enough to left with the rooster and other hen, but they are just tolerated.
Oh, in case any of you that are still reading this and live near Jackson County, Missouri, the vets name is Dr. Patterson at the Pleasant Hill Vet Clinic in Pleasant Hill, Missouri. I was only charged $94 and 0 for the follow up.
One of the babies that is a rooster is just beautifully colored. I'd love to know if he is actually a certain type of chicken. Maybe I can post some pictures.
Okay, found BYC when I googled about my chickens loving millet today, Jan, 2024. I already knew it was very nutritious, but that they prefer it to the feed was a little worrisome but they are really healthy and will be happy again when we get past this artic weather and can get outside again. I should mention I have been raising my chickens in my garage because the $500 coup I bought turned out to not be secure enough and I couldn't figure out how I could fix it because I was out of money by then. So, they are in the garage but the dust from the straw is terrible, gets into the house. The garage is attached to the house by the den and the dust is everywhere. Come spring, I am going to secure that coup come hell or high water :-}
To wrap this up, It will be interesting to see if anyone actually reads all this rambling on of mine.
My chickens love blueberries, dry and wet cat food, cilantro, grated cheese (parmesan preferred), scrambled eggs, oh, and the elderberries growing in the yard. Also, tomatoes if I cut them in half.
Going to let them out, it 34 degrees. See what they think of that.
494
Sounds a bit drastic to me. Hopefully she recovers enough to walk soon. ❤
