INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[racinchickins]

Question about roosting. My chickens are now about 11 weeks old, and they are still huddling together in one corner of the coop for bedtime. Is this okay for them? It seems like they would get too hot on a warm night. Should I start picking them up at night and putting them on their roost, so they know where to go? The roosting pole/board is about 4 feet tall...do I need start by making it lower to the ground?

For reference, this is what the coop's interior looks like (picture is from a few weeks back, so different feeder/waterer, and much bigger chicks):



We have added some slip-grip on the walkway to the right, so they don't slip. They will walk halfway up the ramp and lay down in a row on the edge in the afternoon, but they won't go further up. Like here:



Any help is appreciated!

I would definitely try to give them a lower roost, at least temporarily. My birds use to scrum on the floor in a corner when they were younger too. Then they gradually started using the roost. Now, at almost 18 weeks, I am down to three who don't roost, two buff cochins, and a polish pullet. They are my largest birds, and I don't think they like to get up high on the roost, and the polish has such an extensive top knot, that she can't see well enough to jump up there.

 

[bradselig]

How do you like your Rhodebar?  Are the chicks really easy to sex?

I like them. Seem pretty friendly and are pretty to look at. They have value as chicks if I choose to hatch and sell, and will be easy to replace my laying flock since I can sex them easily at hatch. Don't have to waste money raising up a bunch of Roos only to give away. The one that hatched here was easy to tell at hatch and I could see it was a roo before it even dried out. I have about 2 dozen eggs in the bator and will get picks when they hatch to show you.

Amazing how often the pecking order changes.

yes it is! I'm half tempted to lock them both up in a small cage so they get close to each other again, but also don't want a blood bath. That is if the rhodebar shows back up. Anyone in southern Huntington county, free rhodebar roo if you can find and catch him lol.

 

[HouseKat]

I would definitely try to give them a lower roost, at least temporarily. My birds use to scrum on the floor in a corner when they were younger too. Then they gradually started using the roost. Now, at almost 18 weeks, I am down to three who don't roost, two buff cochins, and a polish pullet. They are my largest birds, and I don't think they like to get up high on the roost, and the polish has such an extensive top knot, that she can't see well enough to jump up there.

Wow, I guess my EE chicks are precocious - they'll be two weeks old tomorrow and started trying to roost over the weekend! We noticed that they were wanting to sit on the top of the thermometer in their brooder, so my husband and I cut some wood pieces to give them a place to perch. I'll have to take some pictures when I get home.

 

[MrTattoohead]

Hi all! Two quick things!

If using gravel and sand to cover your run, how deep should each layer be? 2 inches of gravel and 2-3 of sand?

The other is an observation is that has anyone else noticed the sound that young hens make at night was used as the Tribble sound in Star Trek?

 

[Old Salt 1945]

My wife is sleeping and she does the grocery shopping ever since she sent me to the store for a loaf of bread and I came back with 4 sacks of groceries that didn't fit what she wanted to cook. Best move I ever made 46 years ago.

That's my way of saying that I don't know what a whole chicken sells for at the grocery store, but I'm guessing somewhere in the 5 buck range.

A butcher would charge considerably more than that if you hand him/her a live chicken and want a ready to cook chicken in return.

You gotta do it yourself. There are lots of youtube videos showing how.

John

 

[Mother2Hens]

I know firmly believe when it rains, it pours. I am dealing with NY first case of sour crop...
poor chicken looks miserable! I emptied the crop, gave some olive oil, put her in the kennel in the coop, fresh plain water. What else can I do? I have 3nieces here for the day so can't leave at the moment..

This is from my "Chicken Health for Dummies" book co-written by the guy who owns this site:

 

[animallover2202]

Well it looks like 2 of the 3 chicks that I hatched are roos and there going through there ugly stage at 1 month I dont know if that's early for cochins but there getting ugly cute lol ill take picks some time this week but tomorrow I have to take my dad to the hospital he has a rash or something going down his head to his eye brow I think it might be a bout fly or something in that line and if anyone wants kittens let me know ....is it possible for a black Cochin to have a white tip on its wing if it carrys a white gene????

 

[Mother2Hens]

Originally Posted by herebynightfall
Question about roosting. My chickens are now about 11 weeks old, and they are still huddling together in one corner of the coop for bedtime. Is this okay for them? It seems like they would get too hot on a warm night. Should I start picking them up at night and putting them on their roost, so they know where to go? The roosting pole/board is about 4 feet tall...do I need start by making it lower to the ground?


Maybe you should post some tips on their pegboard. See example below.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Hi all! Two quick things!

If using gravel and sand to cover your run, how deep should each layer be? 2 inches of gravel and 2-3 of sand?

The other is an observation is that has anyone else noticed the sound that young hens make at night was used as the Tribble sound in Star Trek?

That should be fine. I posted an informative link about sand the other day: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/09/chicken-coop-bedding-sand-litter.html
Here's an excerpt: The best type of sand to use is natural sand: washed, construction grade sand or river sand fits this bill. The alternative is sand manufactured by crushing quartz rocks, which can present a respiratory hazard to humans and animals over time. We buy our sand at a local quarry for $15.00 per yard and use one to two yards per year for two coops (12 x 14 total) and two runs (approx 260 square feet total). And I know there are quarries in the Btown area.
Any water spills can be ‘cleaned up’ easily by raking the wet sand into the dry sand. The moisture dissipates very quickly.
I spread 3-6 inches of sand on the floors of my coops.
Daily scooping is recommended, it takes all of 2 minutes with a handy mulch/compost rake and a small piece of hardware cloth zip-tied to it.
About the Tribble sounds~ My new orpington pullets make those soft bird sounds, but my other breeds never did. They've been noisier-- and just wait until yours get a little older and have a nightly squawking battle about who is perching where. ha Hope you secured that lock on your egg box so raccoons can't get in. That's been worrying me. : - )

 

[Mother2Hens]

haha I basically run a chicken nursing home. I have chickens over 5-years that still lay fairly well. I just can't put them down, but I understand the reasoning.

julie ~ Welcome to the Indiana Thread! I am also named Julie and I share your philosophy. I have a Jersey Giant who is "supposed to be" two years old, but she doesn't lay. She fakes it by sitting in the nesting box and singing the egg song-- probably to keep her position as head chicken. I'm surprised that yours still lay at that age . . . they must be happy hens!
Originally Posted by jchny2000 Red is over a year old, about 15 months, he can crow all he wants, I don't mind it a bit. His aggressive attacks on visitors and even immediate family, well that's a problem. This started about 2 months ago. I want a rooster that will protect the hens, but attacking people is not acceptable. Rebel, my australorp Roo, is never people aggressive, but if a turkey pecks at his hens look out! Rebel may wind up getting Reds girls yet. I have 2 of Reds sons that I am planning to take his place if he doesn't cool his jets! His chest must hurt from all the toe bumps

Cant count how many times I have turned him upside down or even grabbed him up and pinned him

HaHa Janet, you have a species pecking order: You've said that your Gander keeps your Roos in line and the Roos keep the turkeys in line! Who keeps the goats in line?
Originally Posted by Old Salt: You don't need crates to transport chickens. Tie their ankles together.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The following post by [/FONT]Old Salt: Good news about my Jersey Black Giant pullet. She is now walking without a limp.
Hmmmmmm~ sounds suspicious to me!
House Kat posted: Wow, I guess my EE chicks are precocious - they'll be two weeks old tomorrow and started trying to roost over the weekend! We noticed that they were wanting to sit on the top of the thermometer in their brooder, so my husband and I cut some wood pieces to give them a place to perch. I'll have to take some pictures when I get home.
They are! My 2 month olds haven't seemed interested in the perch I have for them in the dog crate where they stay at night. They can obviously get up if they wanted. This weekend, I am hoping to introduce them to staying in the coop at night. Luckily there is a section with a perch that I can block off from the hens for a few nights until I see how it goes. I bet you and your DH are enjoying your chicks!