brendaanddaveriley
In the Brooder
- May 11, 2020
- 38
- 91
- 43
Hi, everybody! I'm Brenda from southern Indiana. We're about 3 miles from the Ohio River in rural Harrison County, Indiana. I've decided to start raising chicken on our 4 acres. We retired 5 years ago and last year decided to start a U-Pick It Fruit & Berry Operation. We put in 14 peach, apple, cherry, and plum trees. We propagated our existing 20 blackberry bushes and added some new ones. We planted 10 raspberry and 5 cabot strawberry plants which I propagated into 225 by the end of the season. This spring we added 300 more strawberry plants of 8 different varieties to try and extend the harvest season. I decided to add a small flock of chickens in chicken tractors as my soil is not the great and hoping their byproducts will help me amend it. Also for eggs to eat and sell, and perhaps next year baby chicks to sell. I was raised on a small diary farm and my mom had a good sized flock but I'm going back 50 years in my memory as to what I know about chickens! Not exactly 100 % sure of myself so when I found this site I was happy. When I was 2 1/2 years old we moved to the farm from the Portland Area of Louisville KY. Both of my parents were raised on farms and they were excited to get out of the city. The first 9 hens my Mom got promptly decided to attack my bare feet as I was sitting on the rope swing my Dad had put in the Maple tree for me. Let me tell you those hens had some sharp beaks! I put my arms around the swing's rope, covered my eyes, kicked my feet and screamed MAMA MAMA like bloody murder! So Mom let me help with incubating and caring for the baby chicks to help me get over my fear of them. It worked as one of the first chicks she hatched out turned out to be my favorite pet ever. He grew into a hugh white leghorn rooster, who must of imprinted on me as he followed me every where I went. He would be waiting for me by the back door every morning and would never get more than 3 feet away form me. He was my protector as whenever those nasty hens even came closed to me he would flog them! I named him Giant The Rooster and my older brother had me in tears every Saturday because Mama would butcher two chickens every Sunday morning before church for our fried chicken Sunday supper. My brother took delight in teasing me that Mama was going to have Giant for Sunday supper, and I would promptly have a crying fit of "No, no, no you can't kill my pet rooster!" until Mama would assure me Giant was a forever pet and never to be butchered! LOL Right now we have 10 - 4 1/2 week old Black Jersey Giants, and 4 - 4 week old Black Copper Marans. On Aug 3 I have 7 more chicks ordered from My Pet Chicken: 1 New Hampshire Red Rooster and 2 New Hampshire Red Hens, 1 Black Austrolorf Hen, 1 Easter Egger Hen, 1 Green Queen Hen, and 1 Blue Splash Maran Hen. My first question is this: As I've put my 10 Jersey Giants in their new coop outside as of 3 days ago I haven't be able to get them to go back in the coop at night so I can close them up. I've had to catch them and put them in at night! They will come out in the morning and go in and out during the day but won't go up at night. Can anyone tell me why? And does anyone have any ideas to correct this? THANKS BUNCHES. Bee from Bee's Fruit Farm and Egg Factory in southern Indiana
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