Keeping Chickens Free Range

[MrsFitzDarcy]

I need a guide to chicken abbreviations. What is CX?

 

[duluthralphie]

CX is a Cornish Cross, they are very fast growing and ready to eat in 6 weeks if you push them... I am purposely slowing mine down and plan to process them in 12 weeks or so.

I want to keep a couple over winter and see if I can get eggs and chicks.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

CX is a Cornish Cross, they are very fast growing and ready to eat in 6 weeks if you push them... I am purposely slowing mine down and plan to process them in 12 weeks or so.

I want to keep a couple over winter and see if I can get eggs and chicks.

thank you!

 

[Sylviaanne]

CX is a Cornish Cross, they are very fast growing and ready to eat in 6 weeks if you push them... I am purposely slowing mine down and plan to process them in 12 weeks or so.

I want to keep a couple over winter and see if I can get eggs and chicks.

I bought 4 CX hens last year. I didn't know they were meat birds. I have gotten eggs and chicks from the one remaining. Predators got the others earlier this year.

 

[K Epp]

Yes. He is doing his job, so i'd just as soon give him the chance to do it somewhere else. The neighbors aren't really happy with his crowing either and city says no roos.... we will likely have to re-home him anyway.

That says it all then. Good luck on finding him a new home quickly.

 

[Sylviaanne]

Chickens *do not* need supplemental heat. Really. They do just fine without it. The key is making sure they have a draft-free coop with wide roosts so they can tuck their whole foot under the body and avoid frostbite. Deep litter works well. Supplemental heat can interfere with their ability to acclimate to the cold. Heat lamps are very dangerous-numerous coops burn down every year due to heat lamps.

Chickens will start to eat more in the fall. They pack on a fat layer for insulation. They seriously can raise coop temp by a good 10-20 degrees- make sure they have the right space so they can heat it sufficiently. If you have a huge coop and just a few birds, find a way to cover their roosts and make a cubby to help trap their heat in.

I am afraid I might lose some to the cold. Right now the coop is draft free, if anything it keeps too much heat in the building. We don't have enough room for all the chickens we have. Next month we are going to build an addition onto the coop. A bigger area for roosting and the area we have now for nesting and transition cages for the chicks I still have in the house.

 

[duluthralphie]

I am afraid I might lose some to the cold. Right now the coop is draft free, if anything it keeps too much heat in the building. We don't have enough room for all the chickens we have. Next month we are going to build an addition onto the coop. A bigger area for roosting and the area we have now for nesting and transition cages for the chicks I still have in the house.

I live about a thousand miles north of you, you can not fathom our temperatures compared to yours. They will not freeze to death. I made a coop this year and I purposely put vents in the roof and under the eaves. I will block the vents under the eaves on the north side come winter. I have vents on both gable ends, I will leave those open all winter. I would much rather risk a cold chicken than a flock with pneumonia. Many years ago, I had cattle and sheep on a small hobby farm, They would drop their young in mid Jan -Feb. I found those outside did well, there might be a few frost bitten ears, but they were healthy. If I brought them inside the moisture the expelled would kill them.

Their is a reason beds were made out of feathers for those old cold winters nights....IMHO.

I lived in Southern Mo for a little over a year 40+ years ago, I know the winters there, they are not all that cold. ( us Minnesotans like to brag about how cold it gets here)

Good luck.



PS I lived in Houston Mo, if you know where that is.

 

[Sylviaanne]

I live about a thousand miles north of you, you can not fathom our temperatures compared to yours. They will not freeze to death. I made a coop this year and I purposely put vents in the roof and under the eaves. I will block the vents under the eaves on the north side come winter. I have vents on both gable ends, I will leave those open all winter. I would much rather risk a cold chicken than a flock with pneumonia. Many years ago, I had cattle and sheep on a small hobby farm, They would drop their young in mid Jan -Feb. I found those outside did well, there might be a few frost bitten ears, but they were healthy. If I brought them inside the moisture the expelled would kill them.

Their is a reason beds were made out of feathers for those old cold winters nights....IMHO.

I lived in Southern Mo for a little over a year 40+ years ago, I know the winters there, they are not all that cold. ( us Minnesotans like to brag about how cold it gets here)

Good luck.



PS I lived in Houston Mo, if you know where that is.

No, I may have a very general idea of where it is.
LOL I am from southern AZ and wherever you are, I don't think I could stand those winters, it's cold enough here for me. Last year, when what they had was mostly a lean-to, they had a heat lamp hanging low above where they laid their eggs and they would all try to crowd under the lamps. That made me think they were cold.

 

[duluthralphie]

No, I may have a very general idea of where it is.
LOL I am from southern AZ and wherever you are, I don't think I could stand those winters, it's cold enough here for me. Last year, when what they had was mostly a lean-to, they had a heat lamp hanging low above where they laid their eggs and they would all try to crowd under the lamps. That made me think they were cold.

How many 40 below nights did you have last year? hehehehehhee


I want my birds to snuggle....

 

[heiditam]

Loss to predators-

Can I get your all's input? I can handle and occassional loss. To me, that is manageable, expected, and a trade off between having fenced/cooped up birds and happy free rangers. But, what is a 'usual' loss to predators? What is the norm, during the day hours? What has that meant to you? One hen every 6 months? That sort of thing...I can handle an rare loss every so often, but I certainly don't want to come outside to find my flock of 8 missing in one day. I would love to hear about your experience regarding loss--frequency, amount lost.