***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[muesky]

I need some advice about the coop I am building: I live in a chicken unfriendly neighborhood, so I have to have something either not seen from the front of the house, or easily disguised. (I actually thought about putting a picture of a rabbit on the side to make people think it was a rabbit hutch. :0) ) I want a tractor so they can eat the bugs/grass and not leave a bare spot in the yard. My dh, I am just realizing, does not share my enthusiasm for the upcoming flock, so I only have about 1/4-1/3 of an acre that is secluded behind my house and no fence, and need something low profile (or at least something that looks pretty nice).

If I build a tractor, expecting to move it at least once a day, possibly twice, do I still need the 8-10 sq feet per bird in the run (6 sq feet per bantam)?

If I make a 4' tall run and put a roost halfway up the run in a couple of spots does that give me any additional "credit" for room?

Do I have to have a tall run (4'), or would a 2' high run be OK?

Is there any benefit to having a detachable run?

You could possibly make a decorative portable fences that would go around the tractor as a screen...

Someone was asking about kelp recently. I used to mix a "wet food" regularly that used kelp. Atwoods carries "dehydrated seaweed meals" called "SOURCE" in the horse section. It comes in a 5 lb. white plastic container and is rather pricey, but lasts a long time. This reminds me to add it to my feed, though I don't still use the same formula.

I might have to try some of that...

can you use oats? I think i saw a bag of whole oats at my attwoods the other day.

My chickens prefer whole oats. The last time I bought crimped oats my birds were not happy.. Got a lot of put-out and long suffering looks until that bag was gone...

I need some expert advice please
A week or so ago I noticed some pin feathers on the back of one of my RIRs. I just thought maybe she was getting picked on, and choose to keep an eye on her (that's about all I CAN put on those hatchery RIRs anyway

). What I thought was odd though was that I hadn't noticed a bald spot just the sprouting feathers. Well today I noticed the same thing on several RIRs and JG. They are 9 months old so I wasn't expecting a molt this year.

Here are some pics. Sorry they kinda suck.....




So here's the weird part (at least I thought so!) these spots are only on my JG and RIRs, and they are all in the same spot (above tail) with the exception of the RIR above.

So what could I be dealing with, molt, mites, pecking.......any advice?

Rooster/s being to rough mating!!! Your girls need aprons.. They are easy to make, you don't even need to be able to sew.. There are patterns on-line..

 

[hotcurltr]

@hotcurltr

The moorman showtec is what get.

Thanks. Is it all you feed or do you add it to their ration? That's what hubby got. He liked it because it has 20% protein. He said the others had less.

 

[michaeldaugherty]

The world pigeon show is in Okc this thr fri an sat at. Coxs con.center

 

[Ksane]

Oh thank you

! I was stumped on this one, but that does make perfect sense because I have never noticed it until recently, and my EE roo has started sneak-mating

.......Big Jack puts a stop to it if he can!!!
So covering is about the only prevention then? I can't quite see my girls in aprons, especially those RIR's, boy are those girls testy

!!!

Yea, aprons are about the only thing that works unless you confine the boys elsewhere. Thr hens don't even notice the aprons once you put them on. Check them periodically to make sure the elastic straps arne't cutting into their skin but that's about it. Teenage roosters are roughest on girls. Once they get past about 18 months old they're a lot gentler. It drives me nuts to have my girls feathers messed up but I do love my roosters. At the 1st sign of broken feathers I slap an apron on. That said, most all my boys now are old enough that they're not rough on their girls.

 

[shelbydog]

Thanks. Is it all you feed or do you add it to their ration? That's what hubby got. He liked it because it has 20% protein. He said the others had less.

When a couple expressed respiratory symptoms back in October I fed it to them straight for 2 weeks. Nanakat will make same recommendation. Right now I'm just cutting it into their fermented feed as Im also giving duramycin in the water. I called alot of places looking for the OTC medicated feed including calling a company that made an OTC feed additive to find a distributor (didnt get my call back on that). I need to go down to Shawnee to get the OTC feed that Nanakat recommends or see if I can get the feed additive for future use.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Hey, guys...

What if poultry hatcheries were like puppy mills? Like, illegal? And it was advised that you either purchased from a responsible breeder or adopted from a shelter?

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Hey, guys...

What if poultry hatcheries were like puppy mills? Like, illegal? And it was advised that you either purchased from a responsible breeder or adopted from a shelter?

I think the person suggesting it would get laughed at.... a lot. People in general do not think of chickens as having personality and the ability to feel emotions. In addition chickens are a food source, in two ways. If we lived in china or some other culture where they eat dogs we would be a lot less compassionate towards them. Here they are companion animals.

Plus there is only need and room for so many roosters. Caponizing them is not much of an option yet. I've heard what they do with day old roosters at the hatchery. Not pretty but what else could you do with them cost effectively?

 

[CayuseRanch]

can't find the scrolling banner....

You know the scrolling pictures on the home page? One has eggs and talks about more calcium...one has chicken coop of the week, chicken pic of the week and one has a beautiful black bird with white bordered feathers and it is titled chicken breeds...that's the chicken I don't know what it is...but I think I want some lol... Pretty soon I will have had just about every breed possible.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Quote: Haha, you changed your avatar on me, and I had no idea who you were lol!

That is a good point you made.

 

[TRUE5]

True, yours are girls also. Cochin boys are really easy to sex by the time they're a few months old-certainly by 3 months old and that Buff one Robin has is definitely older than that from the looks of it. My girls are just now starting to lay again since their molt and all the cold weather. So I would expect yours will, too, once they settle in.
They quite possibly have worms. Get some fenbebdazole (Safeguard horse wormer paste). It's easy to find at any feed store, some Walmarts even carry it. It's hard to overdose any animal on the stuff, it's real safe. Give each bird about an inch long ribbon of it, Bantams gets 1/2 that. Then be *sure* to repeat it 10 days later to kill the worms that have hatched from the eggs in their system. The wormer can't kill the eggs, just worms. So we give the remaining worm eggs 10 days to hatch and re-worm to kill those newly hatched ones inside their intestines. I hope I made that clear, sometimes I over-explain and get confusing.

Phew! I really hate to rehome the ones I get attached to just because of sex. Ended up deciding to keep one of my cockerel Splash Marans kids. So that means two boys in one group. We'll see how it goes when they get older...
As for wormer I just wormed them with some stuff called Wazine. I hope it helps. Should I use another kind? I just didn't know if it would hurt their systems. If I did use another would I need to wait after they are done with the antibiotic?

i don;t mind hen or roo- as i would like eventually to have a pen of large cochins- i am trying to figure out getting some weight on sonny too, need to go through my files to see what i have saved- this is one from nnbreeder

"" This amount feeds one bird""
Feed the birds three times a day for three days a mixture of
This mixture is what you will need for the entire three feeds…. It is not 3 egg yolks and 3 teaspoons of honey etc…. divide the contents into three
½ to 1 x egg yolk….. give the whites to the other hens mixed into their seed or pellets (depends a lot on the size of the egg yolk)
1 teaspoon honey…. .given for energy
2 x tablespoons yoghurt…. Given for calcium and also to make the bowel go back into normal production after this upset
Only use the plain yoghurt never the one with fruit or extra sugar in it, not good for the bird
¼ teaspoon calcium powder (if you can’t get the yoghurt)
3 to 4 tablespoons rolled oats…. To give substance to the feed, or use chicken crumbles or layer pellets but soften them with some boiling water first
Sprinkle of multi vitamin powder (only if you are not already giving it to them in their drinking water, don’t overdose) just a few grains will usually be enough for this size mixture
2 to 4 table spoons of apple sauce or grated apple, it must be grated not chopped up for ease of digestion
Mix to make a crumble mixture not runny

can't find the scrolling banner....

Sounds like something I gave mine once and ended up getting it EVERYWHERE! I only made it with warm oatmeal and yogurt though. Got it on their beak and it was splattered all over outside the coop and even on me! HA! I also had given them greek yogurt (even after hubby complained that the greek yogurt was more expensive and shouldn't be given to the chickens). I like the greek because it's higher in protein. I will get that all together and see how they like it. Thanks for the recipe! The two girls will surly love it!

I need some expert advice please
A week or so ago I noticed some pin feathers on the back of one of my RIRs. I just thought maybe she was getting picked on, and choose to keep an eye on her (that's about all I CAN put on those hatchery RIRs anyway

). What I thought was odd though was that I hadn't noticed a bald spot just the sprouting feathers. Well today I noticed the same thing on several RIRs and JG. They are 9 months old so I wasn't expecting a molt this year.

Here are some pics. Sorry they kinda suck.....




So here's the weird part (at least I thought so!) these spots are only on my JG and RIRs, and they are all in the same spot (above tail) with the exception of the RIR above.

So what could I be dealing with, molt, mites, pecking.......any advice?

Poor girls! I had the same on one of my hens. Someone on here gave me the link to make aprons https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/424354/free-chicken-apron-saddle-pattern
If you arnt very sewing machine savvy just get you some fleece material and cut it to cover the back of their neck to the very spot that the tail and back meet. Then cut it so it can have some material that goes down the sides as you will need this part to go under the wing. Cut a small hole on each side about an inch and half to fit the wing where you know the wing will enter to fit this like a little vest or jacket per say. That pretty quick and easy and I have never tried the fleece. There are a lot of cute fleece patterns available too. You can also find the aprons on ebay if you shop there. Might check their backs under the feathers to see if there are any cuts that arnt rearing their ugly heads. Might treat the cuts so they don't get infected or pecked if any of the flock mates find them and decide to peck at them. Good luck!

Is anyone here on Facebook? If your ever on there look me up! I'm under "Cheryl True". I might have my maiden name listed as well which is "Holliday" so that might make it easier to find me.

I have a few facebook pages I can recommend that have people post with chickens or chicken related things for sale. Some talk about upcoming auctions or swaps. So if you would like the list that I have let me know!