Montana

[smadamek]

it's a bit touchy to add to your flock unless you can keep them separated until there about the same size. I found this out with my pullets last year ( younger girls) thank god it was warm out and I was able to add a dog house in my pen and separate with fencing the older and younger girls. They had to be separated for 2 months, what a pain. I finally I was able to merge them in the yard and the pullet could run around and get out of the big girls way. But when they went back they had to be separated again for the night. Slowly we got the, integrated but I had to give 2 girls away as they would not for no reason accept them.i have learned more now, got more pullets coming, and plan to do the same again. I tell folks, if you want 10 chickens eventually, get them now. Make it easy on your self lol. At least with all the land you must have the ones you add to your flock will have more room to run and get away from the big girls.

Thats good to know, we were actually wondering how and when to integrate younger birds into a flock. Are most breeds pretty compatible with one another? Or are there ones we should stay away from if we have a mixed flock?

 

[karlamaria]

Its ok to mix most, but mixing smaller birds like Banty that are not put together as chicks are ( I hear hard to mix with big birds) goes for all smaller birds. The birds you have are great birds, they are going to be big girls and good egg producers, when you decide on adding more ( and you will lol) you will want want chickens comparable to the size you have now. Unless you have separate coops and pens, then you can have smaller breeds.
Make sure your pen is safe, hawks and other preditors are very smart and can take your whole flock in a matter of minutes. Raccoons I hear kill and not eat just kill for sport.

 

[herfrds]

Oookkk!
I am sitting here and my DS's cat comes over and sits next to me, I look at her and there is all this stuff over her!
Then out comes our other cat with the same stuff right on top of his head.

These 2 nut cases were playing in a box of those packing peanuts. That stuff is all over the house.

Crazy cats!

 

[ReneB]

Hi there Montana folks. I'm happy to say that our 5 new chicks (2 barred rocks and 3 silver laced wyandottes) adapted to their new home and are doing fine. We still have to keep them inside; they have a nice roomy over-sized storage tote that we converted to their home. We placed a heating pad inside for them to sit on and we keep the tote next to the wood stove in the family room. Since our bathroom is stone-tile floor, we turn them loose in there about twice a day so they can run around and stretch their little wings, plus it is easy to clean afterwards.

I'm still waiting for the weather to warm a little more and the snow to melt so I can finish the fence on the chicken run. My wife and I are trying to be as frugal as possible when it comes to raising these little ones, so I managed to find different methods for building. A friend of mine had a huge scrap wood pile at his place that he let me raid as much as I want, plus I called a bunch of stores in Bozeman and found where to pick up free pallets. Stripping down pallets can result in some very good pieces of wood.

Our 6 year old son loves our chicks, and we have given him much of the responsibilities of taking care of them, thus earning him the title of Chicken Tender.

Hope everyone had a good weekend, and let's hope for a little springtime weather!

Welcome!

 

[ReneB]

Karlamaria- I've been involved with rescue for several years now. I've kind of taken a step back, as I was sort of burning out. We did (and my friend still does) a lot of work on two of the reservations that are close by us- Rocky Boy and Fort Belknap. I used to put around 50,000 miles a year on my vehicle running dogs around the state, and over a period of two years we had somewhere close to 400-500 dogs in and out of our home. Most of them just camped with us until we could find them another rescue or a no-kill shelter where they had a better chance at adoption. I miss it, but only do the occasional transport now as my kids are growing to fast and I was not available for them as much as I wanted to be

Azriel- Congratulations on the new heifer! Rosie is a great name and I can't wait to see pics!

herfrds- I'm giggling... you're going to be picking that stuff up for awhile! LoL!


Still no foal at our house *sigh* I think she just likes to keep me in suspense....

 

[ReptileMom]

Just adding my experience in integrating chickens. I found that it is better to integrate three or more at a time rather than just one. I currently have a mixed flock of bantam and LF chickens that live in the coop together without issue.
I have a large fenced area for chickens to safely play. I also let everyone out on nice days to wander the acre.

I bought a large insulated home-built dog house that was on craig's list and put it in the corner of the fenced area. When my bantams were about 5-12 weeks old, I put them in the dog house and left it open during the day in the large fenced area. The little ones could run into their own place if frightened, and there is a lot of room in the pen to get away from the large chickens.

They integrated very well in this setting. I would say it took about a month of slowing intermingling on their own to become comfortable with everyone in the pen. They all get along fine now despite size.

Now I am integrating them into the coop a few at a time. Never less than 3. It takes time for the bigger girls and boys to accept the new ones into the coop. If they start to pick on just one of them, I take it out and put it back in the dog house and put a different one in it's place in the coop with the other two that I am integrating. So far this has worked. I hope it keeps working because I have another 2 batches that will have to integrate the same way.

As long as I don't crowd them, there appears to be no problem.

 

[RoyalT]

Welcome smadamek! Sounds like you guys are having some good fun with those chicks!

I'm in 'freak out and go feel up that ewe' mode because my Shetland ewe is imminently due and has a VERY active lamb(or two?) in there! And I'm not sure of her due date, so I just go check on her about 5 times/day now heh. Still no udder at all, so I think it will be a while- never had a ewe lamb before, just goats. Anyone with sheep exp? Do they bag up before lambing?

I'm trying to trick Ducky into setting on both her own and the other duck's eggs... so far, she just goes back to the pile every day and adds a new one. Though she is sleeping on the nest... hmf.

How's everyone's week going? It was WARM here today and we're supposed to hit the 60*s this week! So excited

 

[DuginMT]

I'm a new member who lives on the outskirts of Billings (a few hundred feet from the city limits). Have 13 chicks now, ranging in age from 10 to 14 days - a mixed flock of good layers I hope, except a few might turn out to be roosters! I started on a small 6' X 8' coop this weekend. Completed the elevated floor, 2' off the ground. Glued vinyl down to the floor, but still waiting for the glue to set up since it didn't get above freezing until today!

The chicks are doing great, starting to sprout tails and tiny combs, and starting to fly already. I have:

2 Rhode Island Reds
4 Black Australorps
3 Buff Orpingtons
2 Americaunas (Easter Eggers)
2 Grey Barred Rocks

Got them from Big R West. They seem to be very healthy birds and my two young boys are enjoying them a lot. The americaunas are their favorites so far because of their chipmunk colorings and puffy cheeks! Also, they are the youngest of the flock and seem to be the friendliest so far (easiest to catch and don't make a fuss when you hold them). The rocks seem to be the next most friendliest/easiest to tame. We love them all, though. The Australorps remind us of little penguins!

Its good so see the number of posts on this site from Billings. I have really enjoyed this site and have learned a lot so far.

Doug

 

[herfrds]

Tell me about it Rene!
That stuff is EVERYWHERE! Including our bed!

So funny though watching them jump into the box and attack the peanuts.

 

[karlamaria]

Karlamaria- I've been involved with rescue for several years now.  I've kind of taken a step back, as I was sort of burning out.  We did (and my friend still does) a lot of work on two of the reservations that are close by us- Rocky Boy and Fort Belknap.  I used to put around 50,000 miles a year on my vehicle running dogs around the state, and over a period of two years we had somewhere close to 400-500 dogs in and out of our home.  Most of them just camped with us until we could find them another rescue or a no-kill shelter where they had a better chance at adoption.   I miss it, but only do the occasional transport now as my kids are growing to fast and I was not available for them as much as I wanted to be

Azriel- Congratulations on the new heifer!  Rosie is a great name and I can't wait to see pics!

herfrds- I'm giggling... you're going to be picking that stuff up for awhile! LoL! 


Still no foal at our house *sigh*  I think she just likes to keep me in suspense....

that's awesome" your good folk. I wanted to be a rescue person also, do transport etc, but several years. Back I started to fall asleep when driving. I no longer drive far, and am proud to say my daughter drives me every where lol. Can not wait to hear about the foal soon. Take pics!


Herefords, that's a riot, my cats have done that also, but it drives me nuts trying to get them off them. The latest thing is playing in the toilets, the,charm cats lol. RoyalT I have no clue as of lambing, but how cool to get babies soon. Congrats, can not wait to see them babies!