Old Fashioned, Common Sense Chicken Keeping.

[Perris]

@BantyChooks thanks for posting @Beekissed 's advice - wise words indeed

 

[L1sa]

I've been keeping chooks for almost 3 years now (also had a few when I was growing up) Husband is not interested in them at all! So our agreement is, if I want chooks I do everything for them, right down to building the coop and run! Which I'm very proud to say is awesome!!

I started off buying 4 ISA browns from my sons aggricultural school. I made a feeder out of upvc pipes, which I keep stocked up with a poultry blend I buy from my local feed store. I let them free range the garden (not huge, about 1/4 acre) as and when (usually when husbands back is turned!! As he gets annoyed that they wreck the garden!! ) one of the girls went broody so I let her sit on some F eggs and she hatched one little Roo. He lasted about 12 months until my girls were almost bald from his shenanigans, so he ended up in the pot. One of the girls died suddenly so I bought a couple of 3 week old girls from a farmer, they went straight in the run, no heat lamps (but it was summer) but I did seperate them from the other girls for a few weeks. Took a while but they integrated. One of those girls is now 9 months and is broody. Husband told me not to get any F eggs, so I went out the next day and got some from a lady at work!!! (This is so funny! It's a good job he knows me so well!!!) And my lady is currently and sitting on them (day 4). I couldn't be doing with incubating, any of my birds that go broody will be given the chance of hatching some. If we end up with Roos I may keep them for a while, but if they get to aggressive with the girls, they'll go in the pot.

Love my chickens, but they're there to provide a service for me, eggs! I feed them, take care of them, provide for their basic needs and enjoy having them in the garden.

 

[Perris]

well done @L1sa ! Sounds like your chickens have been a lot of fun while causing expansion of your skills!

 

[GratitudeGates]

i free range my birds during the day and they head for the coop at night. I had to put to sleep a very mean chicken and a male duck which were both causing such havoc. I never thought I would do such a thing as I am really removed from where my meat comes from but to be honest our place is so much calmer without the two of them beating the crap out of other chickens and my ducks are so much calmer and I see more play in the pool than when my very aggressive male was around. i feed a high quality organic non gmo food add grit for little ones and oyster shell for grown. Feed anything from the kitchen and garden. I do search for eggs once in a while and they are pretty good at going off and laying in my garden beds but I enjoy them so much and find our entire farm life so much happier with culling the two mean birds. From here on if I get a mean one it is gone I made so many exceptions for these two birds that I did not really see how much they were effecting everyone !

 

[Shadrach]

This morning tore up all the old fashioned common sense stuff....
I've had another goshawk strike. I saw the hawk fly off, but I can't get through the brush on the bank to check the area thoroughly. The bank is dangerous and I'm likely to break my neck if I slip. Tribe 1 is spread over two acres now and I've only found five. I'm most concerned for a hen called Mel who has a week old chick with her.
Free range eh...

 

[21hens-incharge]

This morning tore up all the old fashioned common sense stuff....
I've had another goshawk strike. I saw the hawk fly off, but I can't get through the brush on the bank to check the area thoroughly. The bank is dangerous and I'm likely to break my neck if I slip. Tribe 1 is spread over two acres now and I've only found five. I'm most concerned for a hen called Mel who has a week old chick with her.
Free range eh...

I am sorry.

Hawks are why mine are penned up. We have sharp shinned and red tailed here. They cause quite a bit of terror even to the penned birds.

 

[Cluckerzfamilyfarm]

We are a strictly free ranging,compost feed. Kitchen scraps, restaurant scraps when available. We also have separate compost bins strictly for raising black soldier flies. They loooooovvvvvveeeeee them and are a great replacement for feeds. I have not had any issues with my chickens. I sometimes (maybe 3x a year) buy oats and grow fodder with the oats. So in total maybe......30/40$ a year to feed our chickens. 27 chickens and a duck on our family's farm

 

[Morrigan]

We are a strictly free ranging,compost feed. Kitchen scraps, restaurant scraps when available. We also have separate compost bins strictly for raising black soldier flies. They loooooovvvvvveeeeee them and are a great replacement for feeds. I have not had any issues with my chickens. I sometimes (maybe 3x a year) buy oats and grow fodder with the oats. So in total maybe......30/40$ a year to feed our chickens. 27 chickens and a duck on our family's farm

That is hard-core, old fashioned. You must live in an area with good forage.

 

[Cluckerzfamilyfarm]

We have coyotes,foxes,owls,eagles,hawks,ospreys, we have it all here in Virginia. Now this is my personal opinion and personal experience. With open land like that I recommend getting a guard dog. Teach him that they are his babies. All the predators will A.Smell the dog in the area and stay away(him marking his territory) B.he sees them and runs them off. Now it's not flawless. But I can honestly say I have not lost since the dog. And my rooster sleeps outside in the trees most nights bc he will get to high up for my ladder or water hose.

 

[Cluckerzfamilyfarm]

Yes. We are very blessed with bugs from the crop fields in the front and bugs in the back from the wetlands. Are chickens are 100% Chickens. I have built coops and runs. Only used when weather calls for it. They will forage in the rain and snow. I just prefer they didnt lol.