Hey everyone! I let out my chickens out at 7:00am (any later and they freak out) and lock them away when they go to bed when the sun sets, they don't really like being cooped up. (unintentional pun)
GREAT PIX! Love the Sebright & huge white Ameraucana pair and your Tom Turkey is fantastic! I wouldn't want to fight him to go in at night, either - and probably the predators feel the same!! All your kritters are delightful and must keep you so entertained. Your farm sounds so lovely, too!Okay I made it through all the previous post. I have 60+ chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats and a goose. All free range most of the time together in happy harmony. The LF chickens, ducks, turkeys and goats sleep in the barn. I have 4 coops of varying sizes that bantam sleep in. I also use these coops as breeding pens. In that time they do not free range. I have a few exceptions. I have a LF EE hen who thinks she is a Seabright and freaked out when I tried to move her to the barn. I have 2 bantam roos who chose to live in the barn. I have 3 acres fenced in with two creeks running through it and a small wooded area.. Everyone gets locked in at night except for my tom turkey and at 30+ lbs I got tired of herding him in at night so he sleeps in the woods. I fed a mix of crack corn and 22% laying pellet. I throw the food out on a large grass less spot. Open all the coops and the the barn. I noticed that they were picking all the corn out and leaving the laying pellets. I then switched to 3 grain scratch only. I expected a drop in egg production, but they are still laying like gang busters. Now I'm only feeding a gallon of food a day. everyone's crops are full at bed time so they are getting most of it own their own. of course in the winter I feed more feed. "Most" of the hens return to the barn to lay. I've had 3 LF broodies hatch and raise their chicks in the barn with all the other animals with no problems. I have another on a nest of 11 EE eggs now. The bantam I move to dog kennels in my garage simply because I couldn't keep the other hens from laying in their nest. I have found covered cat litter boxes are great for this. I can just pick them up and move nest, eggs, hen and all with out disturbing her. I move them at night. I did have a big drop in eggs and knew hey were laying in the woods. I kept the barn closed up for a few days. They hated it, but it got them to laying back were I wanted them to. I still have a couple who go out of the fenced in area and lay in the woods. When I first got chickens some one suggested I keep them fastened up for a week or so and then start letting them out a hour or so before dark so they didn't go far. I did that and increased the time they were out. Now I open before I leave for work and lock up at dark or shortly after. When integrating new chickens I quarantine them for a couple of weeks and make sure everyone is healthy. I then move them into the barn or coop at night. I've never had a problem doing this. When its chicks, ducklings or poults I've raised in a brooder I start out by taking them to the main bantam coop. I let them spend a few hours there and the return them to the kennel inside the garage. When they are big enough to spend the night out side they go in that bantam coop until they out grow the bantam and then they get moved into the barn at night. Sometimes that takes a few nights to get them used to going in there. I came to this thread by invitation on another. I thinks a great place for us to talk about our yard birds.
Just a few pics. Yes that is my 10lb livestock guardian. lol
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Great looking place you have there ..........
Sylvia, because it takes roughly 25 hours to lay an egg, chickens will lay progressively later each day until they reach a time to lay that is also the time of dark. they will hold off, skip that day and lay their egg first thing the next morning. a young pullet might drop an egg while on the roost before they get their "plumbing" in order, so to speak... and can't hold it. you shouldn't expect all your hens to lay by noonish...I've gotten an egg as late as 8:45 PM in Summer. it's best to encourage them to return to their nesting area to lay, all it takes is being there and shooing them out of the flower fronds or wherever they like to hide... now, even I find eggs from time to time in the day lilies, but it's only 2-3 eggs, which out of 34 isn't bad, and it isn't everyday...
we had an awesome afternoon, it's supposed to rain tomorrow and I do not let them out in the rain. no free meals here!
I know only a small bit of those woods show in this photo, but they are deep and dark, and go on for acres all around the property. I have seen all manner of wildlife coming from all of it, some benign and sweet, like rabbits and deer, but I have also seen bobcat, fox, coyote... I don't like it when they range even that close to the edge, but I shoo them out if they step inside!
