New Chicken/Turkey raiser

[Matt Hendershott]

Hello all.

I am new to raising chickens and turkeys, but my kids really wanted to try it. We live out in the country in an agg/res zoning area so having them is no problem. My youngest son loves animals and fancies himself a bit of a farmer. As an avid hunter/trapper I find it mutually beneficial to me as any potential predators that get drawn in can provide good practice for the season.

We constructed a 4x8 coop on a trailer that is 4ft tall and included two roost beams the entire length and 4 nesting boxes that can be accessed from outside the coop.

Our flock consists of 12 Road Island Red hens
2 Black Australorp Roosters
4 broad breasted turkeys.


Now the turkeys are in their own enclosure made out of an old swing set frame.
There were 4 black australorps but one ended up as a meat bird and the other passed away in the coop randomly one night. We suspect heart problem.

My primary reason for joining is since I have not found a definitive answer to a problem with a rogue hen.

One of our reds ( they are all approx 5 months old) randomly disappeared one night. Coincidently it was the first time we had an egg in a nesting box. So next morning she is strutting around waiting for us to open the run for her to get back in while the others wanted out. We free range them all day and at night they return to the run/coop. This same hen did this two nights in a row and on the 3rd night we found her on the opposite side of the property next to my garage behind an old sheet of plywood. So we gathered her up put her back in and she just groaned at me for a few minutes before going in to roost. We left them penned up yesterday as we planned to be out late and did not want them unsecured and today when we let them out she ran off and I found an egg in her spot after work. I would bet money this will be an ongoing issue. I read it could be a heat issue. I stopped using a red bulb and put a clear 40w LED bulb in its place. They seem to not like going into a dark coop so this actually helped. As far as heat issues go, I have 3 that come back to the security of the run and get locked in but then sleep on a purch outside the coop in the run. Personally I look at these birds as producers. The roosters will eventually be meat birds and the hens Egg layers. I cant see feeding and having this bird running around if its going to be dropping eggs where I have to play easter morning every day. Is there a solution that Im not finding to get her back in the run/coop?

Thanks!
Matt

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That's a common problem especially in new layers. Keep them locked up in the coop and to get her to start laying in the coop. Make sure you have fake eggs in your nestboxes to show them where it's safe to lay.

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[Matt Hendershott]

How long do you think they should get incarcerated for? I also somehow forgot to mention a possibly critical part of the setup. We also have a pair of Mallards, one hen and one drake. They wont go in the coop but they stay in the run and come in and out with the rest every night. They have all been together since they were a couple days old so they seem to get along just fine. Could that potentially cause any issues with the layers in the future?

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC!
This video should help you learn your way around the site:

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

How long do you think they should get incarcerated for? I also somehow forgot to mention a possibly critical part of the setup. We also have a pair of Mallards, one hen and one drake. They wont go in the coop but they stay in the run and come in and out with the rest every night. They have all been together since they were a couple days old so they seem to get along just fine. Could that potentially cause any issues with the layers in the future?

I believe people recommend 1-3 weeks, but I personally haven't done it, I just collect the eggs from the chosen site. You could try blocking her nest site by putting something on or over it to deter her.

The ducks shouldn't cause a problem with your hens laying. They will probably make a mess of your waterers, especially in winter.

Young layers are similar to teenagers who think they know better than you, and they sometimes want to lay in their chosen site, instead of yours, so some are easy to direct to the boxes and some are more stubborn.

 

[Matt Hendershott]

Thank you for the advice. She actually came back to the run on her own last night. But still choses to go next to the garage and lay as ive found an egg there yesterday and today. I picked up some fake eggs and plan to try a lockup. See if that helps. I also took away the cover she was using to nest under. So fingers crossed it'll all be fine if I can get her to have to lay one or two in the boxs. If not, at least I know where she is dropping them as long as a coon or other predator doesn't collect them or her first.