Old Fashioned, Common Sense Chicken Keeping.

[lena_]

That's cheating!

Lol, I got them from a breeder who had nothing more then a huge, smelly shed, silkies crammed everywhere, coughing from the ammonia. It was horrendous.
It had been a three hour dive to get them(my Grandad drove me and my sister) so declining to buy any wasn't an option.

So my two new friends entered my life. And almost $100 worth of vet visits later, they are still in it. They had coccidiosis when I got them, as well as worms and also a bad respiratory infection.

To me it wasn't fair to have them pay for the mistakes of an irresponsible breeder, who cares more about the money then the birds. It was stressful, but for my silkies it was worth it.(To clarify, I don't have $100 extra dollars lying around for every time a bird sneezes)

@Shadrach this wasn't to get at you or anything, just to clarify why I felt I had no choice.

 

[lcwmt]

How many people still keep their flocks the old fashioned way? Keeping them outside in coops, (with or without runs), free ranging, feeding them kitchen scraps, etc? My chickens are housed outside from the day I get them if bought or shipped, and within a week if I hatch them here. I have progressed from a heat lamp to MHP, but don't have monitors or video cameras in my coop. I did put electric fence around my run after a mink attack this summer.

How about when you have a sick or "special needs" chicken? I usually cull. I want to keep my flock strong and healthy.

So, how do you all raise your chickens?

The chickens here are not pets although they have names. The naming helps me keep track of laying patterns and behaviors, if it matters. (I also track the weather and the relative humidity/temps inside the coop, in addition to all sorts of other naturally occurring events. )

The flock free ranges from the time I get up in the morning until they go to roost. We are not in town nor in a neighborhood. The chickens stay within the area that is electric fenced for the dogs - about 3.5 acres around the house, in total, although the birds use less.
There is a covered hoop pen that began life as a mobile run. It is now attached to the coop.
The coop is not insulated, has a dirt floor, DLM and reasonable ventilation.
There is always fresh water, Oyster Shell and All Flock feed available to them in multiple places. During the warmer months their feed consumption is minimal.
Table scraps: Vegetable peelings, leftover cooked grains from time to time... Most of our scrap goes to the worm bins or the compost heaps.
Chicken Scratch or BOSS from time to time, to reinforce their coming when called. HAH. In Winter they get meal worms.
Sometimes the "treats " are welcome, sometimes there is no interest at all.
In the early Spring, ACV is added to the water - it keeps the honey bees away but doesn't limit the chicken's consumption. We have other water available for the bees...

This year we added a cockerel; the flock dynamics are shifting somewhat.

Our dogs are more than reliable, we have no neighbor or stray dogs to deal with. Local predators, including aerial, are kept away by the dogs.

As for butchering - that might be where we are not "old fashioned". Culling happens if needed, butchering for our dinner does not. If, going forward, we end up with unwanted males, a friend will gladly take them, butcher humanely, and enjoy the meat.

 

[centrarchid]

Old fashioned is a relative term, even within this thread.

 

[Blooie]

When it comes to raising chicks, I'm a two legged broody hen. I do what she does.
Chicks are raised outside in a wire brooder pen in the run, where adults can walk around them on three sides. Integration issues are nil, and they are totally integrated with the flock by 4 weeks old and the brooder comes out.

No heat lamps, ever. I use Mama Heating Pad. So no adjustments to natural day/night cycles when they finally go out. No angst on my part because the poor dears are crying and want Mommy to bring them in the house.

They learn to be chickens by watching the best - other chickens. I'm not trying to force a square peg into a round hole. I figure if a two pound broody hen can successfully raise chicks without books, the internet, experts and advice, why do we do it so differently and arrogantly think we're doing it better?

When I go out to do morning chores, the run door is opened and left open. They can come and go as they please, regardless of weather. Even the Silkies got no special treatment - underneath the "cute" they are chickens.

I don't chop, peel, de-seed, and core any scraps they get. They either eat it or they don't. If they don't, it becomes part of the Deep Litter. I don't bake eggshells out of some misguided belief that I'm killing bacteria before giving them to the chickens. Nobody is out there disinfecting the bugs in the yard or filtering the mud puddles they like to drink from, so I ain't gonna worry about it.

I don't break the bank or my hiney trying to save chickens that are doing poorly. By the time they finally allow themselves to show injury or sickness, it's no longer a matter of just correcting a problem, because whatever it is is too far along. I give them a few days, but if they aren't improving I'm not putting on a cape and becoming some masked hero. I did that once, with a chick named Scout. I spent months on him, just to end up processing him anyway for attacking me. The surprising result of being what some would call ruthless was that my flock became healthier.

@Beekissed was also my mentor, @BantyChooks. How in the world she put up with my endless whining and fussing I don't know, but she did. She cleared the fog and taught me that I needed to decide if I was raising chickens or Divas. I will love and respect her forever.

My coop and run was simple (although it looks fancy in photos) because that was easier for me to keep clean and work in. It was solid, substantial, and withstood everything Mother Nature could throw at it without a single repair or adjustment. I switched from "deep bedding" to "deep litter", again under Bee's tutelage. I have been chickenless for over a year now - that coop and run are still in perfect shape. (Good thing, because it looks like we once again taking the chicken plunge next spring when we stop traveling so much)

And chicken math......what can I say about chicken math? I fell victim to it. They were so cute, right? We needed the eggs, right? Yeah, what I got was a flock that I couldn't manage well. 50 adorable little chicks soon become 50 adult chickens who need tending by a person who has some health issues and who travels extensively. That's 50 birds eating, more eggs than two people can sensibly use, 50 birds to dust, a ruined lawn, and oh, the noise level at times!! I learned to cull, either by processing or by rehoming, got down to manageable numbers, and the new flock will only be 8 birds. Period, I don't care how fluffy the chicks are. No roosters - don't need 'em, don't want 'em, and don't want more chicks.

And I think most important, I had to learn my own limitations and be proactive instead of reactive. When I rehomed my flock over a year ago, I was proud of the condition they were in. The irony is that they were responsible for that, not me. I just kept them fed, watered, and as safe from predators as humanly possible. The rest was up to them.

 

[BantyChooks]

Herbs and spices are reserved for when they get cooked to eat.

 

[Shadrach]

They learn to be chickens by watching the best - other chickens. I'm not trying to force a square peg into a round hole. I figure if a two pound broody hen can successfully raise chicks without books, the internet, experts and advice, why do we do it so differently and arrogantly think we're doing it better?

I really like this bit.

 

[aart]

When did common sense become old fashioned?

Excellent question!
Common sense has never seemed less common.

When it comes to raising chicks, I'm a two legged broody hen. I do what she does.

You sit on the eggs for 21 days?!?!

 

[Mrs. K]

At Featherhearts - no, I don't remember her name, she did not post long, I think she thought we were nuts. But I thought she was quite practical.

MK

 

[bobbi-j]

When it comes to raising chicks, I'm a two legged broody hen. I do what she does.
Chicks are raised outside in a wire brooder pen in the run, where adults can walk around them on three sides. Integration issues are nil, and they are totally integrated with the flock by 4 weeks old and the brooder comes out.

No heat lamps, ever. I use Mama Heating Pad. So no adjustments to natural day/night cycles when they finally go out. No angst on my part because the poor dears are crying and want Mommy to bring them in the house.

They learn to be chickens by watching the best - other chickens. I'm not trying to force a square peg into a round hole. I figure if a two pound broody hen can successfully raise chicks without books, the internet, experts and advice, why do we do it so differently and arrogantly think we're doing it better?

When I go out to do morning chores, the run door is opened and left open. They can come and go as they please, regardless of weather. Even the Silkies got no special treatment - underneath the "cute" they are chickens.

I don't chop, peel, de-seed, and core any scraps they get. They either eat it or they don't. If they don't, it becomes part of the Deep Litter. I don't bake eggshells out of some misguided belief that I'm killing bacteria before giving them to the chickens. Nobody is out there disinfecting the bugs in the yard or filtering the mud puddles they like to drink from, so I ain't gonna worry about it.

I don't break the bank or my hiney trying to save chickens that are doing poorly. By the time they finally allow themselves to show injury or sickness, it's no longer a matter of just correcting a problem, because whatever it is is too far along. I give them a few days, but if they aren't improving I'm not putting on a cape and becoming some masked hero. I did that once, with a chick named Scout. I spent months on him, just to end up processing him anyway for attacking me. The surprising result of being what some would call ruthless was that my flock became healthier.

@Beekissed was also my mentor, @BantyChooks. How in the world she put up with my endless whining and fussing I don't know, but she did. She cleared the fog and taught me that I needed to decide if I was raising chickens or Divas. I will love and respect her forever.

My coop and run was simple (although it looks fancy in photos) because that was easier for me to keep clean and work in. It was solid, substantial, and withstood everything Mother Nature could throw at it without a single repair or adjustment. I switched from "deep bedding" to "deep litter", again under Bee's tutelage. I have been chickenless for over a year now - that coop and run are still in perfect shape. (Good thing, because it looks like we once again taking the chicken plunge next spring when we stop traveling so much)

And chicken math......what can I say about chicken math? I fell victim to it. They were so cute, right? We needed the eggs, right? Yeah, what I got was a flock that I couldn't manage well. 50 adorable little chicks soon become 50 adult chickens who need tending by a person who has some health issues and who travels extensively. That's 50 birds eating, more eggs than two people can sensibly use, 50 birds to dust, a ruined lawn, and oh, the noise level at times!! I learned to cull, either by processing or by rehoming, got down to manageable numbers, and the new flock will only be 8 birds. Period, I don't care how fluffy the chicks are. No roosters - don't need 'em, don't want 'em, and don't want more chicks.

And I think most important, I had to learn my own limitations and be proactive instead of reactive. When I rehomed my flock over a year ago, I was proud of the condition they were in. The irony is that they were responsible for that, not me. I just kept them fed, watered, and as safe from predators as humanly possible. The rest was up to them.

Thanks for chiming in, Blooie!

 

[Blooie]

Of course I do, @aart ! Only the best for my chicks!