NY chicken lover!!!!

[JLaw]

Finally took a pic of mine. We take hoe's, shovels, brooms, anything to get the snow off. One snowstorm we even set the alarm to get up and shovel during the night. It collapsed too many times on us. Thankfully, our snowstorms are never that much! Wow!

I know your going for inexpensive but have you checked out camo net spreaders. This is the newer style that military uses at least back in 2002. before these they was different.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Military-Ca...pt=US_Radio_Comm_Antennas&hash=item4177c104f1

older ones looked like these http://www.ebay.com/itm/Camouflage-...377?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4613cedf31

I know the older ones was a pain cause you had to spread the three arms out to break up the tension but using a tarp they would probably be better than newer ones. Newer ones is like a 1 ft circle with little nubs on top that may wear out a tarp. That's because of the netting style though older had bigger holes newer camo has small almost hardware cloth holes.

edit after looking at the e-bays the second post there shows new and old style camo pic 4-5 is new 6-8 is old style.

 

[JLaw]

So how much feed layer does everyone go though a month? I had 17 birds and was going though like 100 lbs layer per month. My ladies get out and free range every day so they get all the grass filler they want.

The reason I ask is a guy at work who has had chickens longer and family was in 4h has been having egg problems. He has 35 hens who should be laying but only a few are. he asked me how many I had and what I was doing. It turns out he is feeding his chickens the same amount I am. Problem is he has more chickens and his are coop/run only. The run is all mud now though so they don't get extra grass.

So i'm wondering if there is a magic number you should be aiming for per bird of feed each day weather free range or coop. I figured with chickens at the time I had 17 but only 8 or 9 laying I was breaking even on feed/egg cost if I sell at 2 dollars and layer costing like 16 per 50 lbs.

 

[miquwid]

They are beautiful, OMG I keep seeing all these beautiful frizzies and roos. I can't get another roo though I can only have the one I have because he doesn't annoy my neighbors LOL Though his flying like an eagle may anger a few he doesn't not like squirls near the coop man he gets anger, protects those girls! But a frizzie hen I'm always thinking about how I can work that out! I have another coop but no one to help me move it so it just sits in my driveway. So for now I just sigh!! But I love your pictures.

I cracked open some eggs today to make for lunch, one of which was just layed today and it didn't look fertile. Guess I just assumed they would be, but maybe Gru has been spending too much time hanging out by the rabbit cages rather than with the ladies. ;-) just kidding...maybe he just hasn't been as active with them since him and Stella and are going thru a molt.

That could be that he's molting, sorry about the lack of hatch.

More little banty mama and babies.. all lined up.. She is teaching them discipline! These will be interesting colors I think. Daddy was nugget, who is back living with county boy, and mama was ?!?!?..

What a good mama I'm hoping I will have a good mama next year, we will see how everyone does.

The frizzle is Peppermint. I have 4 chicks from her and my old MF roo Remington. I don't know if you remember Java Girl but that's who has Rem now. Now I have Peppermint I breeding with that roo there- Max. Not sue if I will get to hatch any chicks from them though as Peppermint has stopped laying and isn't acting right. She also has a lump over her right eye that I have no idea what it is. hopefully she pulls through as she is my first frizzle and the only one who produces frizzles in colors I like and keep. I have sold all my other frizzles except a red hen and Peppermints youngest chicks.

I hope she feels better she is really a beautiful girl!

Hi, anybody out there have Columbian Rocks? I think I have two boys I don't need. They are from an old line, Dick Nieuwland in Canada. I was hoping to get a hen to breed to my Silver Penciled Rock roo. Does anyone have Silver Penciled or Columbian Rocks?

Donna
Fossil Rock Farm
New Woodstock, NY

Wow they are a beautiful breed, I love your birds.

Hi tab I hope everything is going well for you! I know everything seems to be getting the sniffles try some eggs with garlic and basil should help boost the immune system.

I have some questions for you Hoop Coop specialists.

#1 how long & wide are the hog panels you use ?
#2 how rigid are they ?


This is what I'd like to do. Please tell what you think
I have a chain link dog kennel.................. it's my chicken condo ! I know it's 12 ft wide and about 45 ft long. I was thinking about attaching the hog panels to the top rail of the chain link. It would have a gentle arch and I could cover it with tarps for the winter. And of course close up the sides somewhat to protect the girls.

Does this sound doable to those who have worked with the wire panels ?? It would total y solve my problem of not having enough winter housing

Do you have a picture of or drawing of what you want to do? I just used pressure treated lumbner that I had left over from my fence and the panels bend easily in an arch. The ones I got were 16ft x 4ft 2inches. Throws your measurements off just slightly LOL.

she's up and eating and drinking so she may be okay.

Glad to hear!

Most everyone has a run or fenced in yard. My marans and the sussex don't. I'm putting up some fencing to keep them in but not good enough to keep our a fox. I'm looking to down size one coops worth so about 10 - 12 birds, so it will be their coop. I'll move them to a coop with a run. Then I will put a run on their coop.

I've not had to much trouble since having chickens and usually don't.

I have a few youngster if anyone will take them. Some roosters and pullets. About 5 or six.

If I could only get that coop out my driveway and into my backyard I could def take a few pullets. Need some strong bodies out my way.

So how much feed layer does everyone go though a month? I had 17 birds and was going though like 100 lbs layer per month. My ladies get out and free range every day so they get all the grass filler they want.

The reason I ask is a guy at work who has had chickens longer and family was in 4h has been having egg problems. He has 35 hens who should be laying but only a few are. he asked me how many I had and what I was doing. It turns out he is feeding his chickens the same amount I am. Problem is he has more chickens and his are coop/run only. The run is all mud now though so they don't get extra grass.

So i'm wondering if there is a magic number you should be aiming for per bird of feed each day weather free range or coop. I figured with chickens at the time I had 17 but only 8 or 9 laying I was breaking even on feed/egg cost if I sell at 2 dollars and layer costing like 16 per 50 lbs.

I think I'm close to you but I also suppliment a lot of veggies and table scraps everyday so they don't need quite as much plus the weeds and bugs from foraging. I have 17 too.

Finally took a pic of mine. We take hoe's, shovels, brooms, anything to get the snow off. One snowstorm we even set the alarm to get up and shovel during the night. It collapsed too many times on us. Thankfully, our snowstorms are never that much! Wow!

Yeah I can see why it would collapse. I used those plastic corrigated panels as cover for the run my hoop coop is rediculously big so if they don't like the weather they can run back in there.

So every one seems to be doing great getting into everything in my yard. I still have no eggs, but I did some research and found out that since the stopped laying before I put the light in they will take some time before they start laying again. In addition I did find that they were sitting in the nest boxes so hoping any day now and I bought different light bulbs to try if need be.

I looks like my leghorn pullets are ready to be moved out the silkie coop and into the big coop soon. They are getting big one more than the other but their comb and wattles have yet to start forming I believe they are about 16 weeks I have to check my notes to be sure. But if they are big enough that should be fine to start the introduction process right?

Does anyone else have a jersey giant? I bought her for my son he was born in jesery and his father is buried in jersey, so he really wanted her and of course he named her Jersey LOL. She is so slow growing I swear it looks like I have a raven or a large crow in my flock right now LOL. I put her in the big coop at a very young age but she was so big already I couldn't do that to my silkies. She is very timid she smelled one of my other pullets which smell from the farm they came from and she would try and hide under her it was funny as hell. My roo has been really good her and my wellie who is young as well they jump on him and pull at his tail feathers is very tolerant with the ladies. My older girls he mates with but it doesn't seem like a lot because no missing feathers, but I'm trying to keep him supplied with enough ladies so that doesn't happen.

well I hope everyone has a great day

 

[Framac]

So how much feed layer does everyone go though a month? I had 17 birds and was going though like 100 lbs layer per month. My ladies get out and free range every day so they get all the grass filler they want.

The reason I ask is a guy at work who has had chickens longer and family was in 4h has been having egg problems. He has 35 hens who should be laying but only a few are. he asked me how many I had and what I was doing. It turns out he is feeding his chickens the same amount I am. Problem is he has more chickens and his are coop/run only. The run is all mud now though so they don't get extra grass.

So i'm wondering if there is a magic number you should be aiming for per bird of feed each day weather free range or coop. I figured with chickens at the time I had 17 but only 8 or 9 laying I was breaking even on feed/egg cost if I sell at 2 dollars and layer costing like 16 per 50 lbs.

Right now, with 20 birds on layer, I am going through over 200 pounds a month of feed. My birds are cooped, with a earthen run (Dirt Mud) with grass, vegtables, etc daily. A lot of my birds are all large. Jersey Giants, Dorkings, Marans.

Currently I am at 500 pounds of feed a month. I have a no feeder is empty policy. My neighbor, with 30 birds who free range all day get about 150 pounds a month, They are healthy, but he does not get the number of eggs I do. I light my coop where he does not. He stops getting eggs in the winter, and feeds more than in summer. But he also has 10 year old layers, which I don't know if mine that are more productive will live as long. Different strokes.

About 3 months ago I sold some of my birds to someone. I was at their place and seen the birds I sold. Mine were 20% larger, from the same stock, same first 2 months. Mine were cooped with 28% feed. Theirs were free range with limited feed. Just a different way to raise them.

Framac

 

[Framac]

My Giants are also calm and large. My 4 month old roos, are larger than my year old Marans. I hatch Ameracunas with them, and the Amers look so small in comparison.

I love the Giants.

 

[rancher hicks]

Lots of things can affect a chicken laying. Right now my orps and CR's are not, but I think they are molting. Their side of the coop doesn't get the light the Dels do either. I've been letting them out which is new and they need to adjust to the change I think.

Some breeds do not do well in confinement. Dels seem good but are crowded right now. This is why I'm getting rid of some. Plus I need to get the out earlier but it's dark until 7am.

I don't add light anymore cuz I want them to have a natural rest.

Also I have plenty of eggs, too many in fact.

I figure on parting with the orps or CR's. I also have some young ones, CM/frizzle/Del crosses. A couple are roos but the younger ones look to be pullets.

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
Even with lights on right now my egg production is down. Some are still molting, others are almost over. They won't lay much during a molt.

I have maybe 75-80 adult birds right now. I go through about 700 lbs of feed a month. Half of my birds have access to grass, the others don't. I don't see any significant difference in the amount of feed each group eats. I feed in the am, and usually by 5 or 6pm, when I close up, I like to see just a little feed left in their dishes. When I go out to feed around 8am some dishes are empty & some still have a little feed left. I like to see a little still in late afternoon, but all gone in the morning.

In the winter months they eat more, and I sometimes buy whole corn to help with body heat on the coldest days. All of my chickens are LF except for maybe 8 adult silkies, who hardly eat anything, thank goodness, cause the large fowl, especially the Marans eat a lot!

They say a LF chicken should eat about 1/2 cup of feed a day. That varies with the type of feed you have. I prefer to go by weight. A cup of mash weighs more than a cup of pellets.

Old farmers said they didn't feed their chickens one day a week to clear them out....dunno

I'll repeat.....without lights starting in September, chickens will not lay well, some stop completely. 15 hours of light is what they need in the winter. And be sure that you don't turn the lights off in the spring until natural daylight reaches 15 hours, or you will force chickens into an artificial molt.

Do I always sound like I'm preaching? Hope not....

 

[Lynzi777]

Morning Everyone,
Moved the poultry netting to another spot in the yard yesterday. I'm really going to like having that stuff! so easy to move around, take down, set up, etc. Now I have both coops in there, the silkies and the orps, the orps will be let out to free range and while they are out I'll slide the run over to the silkie coop so can get out a bit. I placed the run back with the orp coop figuring I could keep the orps in the coop at night and the ducks in the run, well I didn't get out there in time to keep them separated so the ducks went in with the chickens! I left the coop door open so they could get out and into the run if the chickens didn't want them in their coop. I planned on bathing the silkies today but its about to rain again so I don't see the point in that. Maybe I'll do just one and see how that goes.

As for feed, I just picked up 2 50lb bags a couple of weeks ago but really just started them since my birds are just finishing up that 40lb bag of feather fixer. I'll have to see how long the 100lbs lasts from here on out. I have 50lbs in the can up by their coops now, completely full and another bag in my car still. My bigger chickens free range though. If anything the silkies go thru more of it than the larger birds and ducks. In the spring I was feeding them less because I noticed they weren't wandering around the yard as much if they had food close by. Someone had suggested feeding them less to sort of "force" them to scavenge for food. So instead of feeding them in the morning, I would only give them access to it in the evening to get them into their coop/run and to have it there in morning before I let them out. Maybe this why my egg production went down over the summer

LOL Either way, they are back to having full access of their feed all day every day thru winter. Especially since last summer my two orps did not leave the coop if there was snow on the ground. I'm hoping that changes this year with two newbies in with them that probably did venture out into the snow in the past.

 

[JLaw]

Ok thanks for all the input on feed guys. Seems most do about same as me. The birds the guy at work has I know of is 30 reds from tsc this year. So not too big of birds. We just cant figure out why his aint laying as good as mine. The feed was only thing we could come up with. His coop is never locked up from the run where mine get let out when I wake up or deside they should be out of the coop. To day they look like drowned rats. I have to close up some of my windows and move my top roost bar down since my coop is a wind tunnel. Wish I would have did my windows different or had a basketball vent on the roof maybe. Oh well live and learn I guess.

 

[armorfirelady]

50 pounds of grower lasted me about 3 months with 8 birds. But I ferment my feed and they got 1/2 c food per bird once a day at dinner time. They have grit and oyster shell free choice. My egg shells are hard to crack.

They have 200ft of electric netting to roam in and get whatever veggies I tossed them throughout the summer plus meat protein about 3x a week, out of six laying birds I average 19 eggs a week. 4 birds have been taking turns molting since July. 3 were not at laying age.

My big girls are partridge rocks. They started laying last December and laid throughout the winter. I had enough eggs during the winter to keep my egg customers happy. I don't use supplemental light. Nature says they need a break so I let them. I am up to 7 laying hens this week. They should lay all winter just fine. I did add a window to the hoop coop to allow the southern sun in all day to help warm it naturally and give them more natural light. It might help with laying as well, who knows.

Within a week or 2 I am switching to whole grains for feed. I am going to see if its cheaper but I know it will be healthier. My PR have messy butts & 2 with prolapse on layer feed. On grower it's better. I am hoping on grains it will be gone. Fermenting cuts down on amount needed but increases available nutrients. And the coop doesn't smell. That's the BEST part