Question on chicken death expectancy?

[Mellowmalt]

I've had to put down 2 cockerels this year. Have lost plenty to predators in the past. Took me a while to learn from not securing the garden well enough. Yeah I could have prevented my past losses but that would have involved money I didn't want to spend on it at the time.
To me losing 3 out of 10 seems fine considering they are only productive for 3-4 years and need to be replaced every so often anyhow.
Don't get as attached to them as you would a dog... they are more on the scale of a pet hamster. I am still getting used to having to deal with excessive cockerels, it's not nice and it does make you question whether it is fair to breed them and have to get rid of the cockerels but I am not doing anything others wouldn't have to do so yeah losing them/having to kill them is part of it unfortunately, at least long-term it has to be to keep the flock going.
It helps to breed them, at least that is how I look at it. If one dies, you can replace it yourself.

 

[MallardBay]

Your set up looks pretty good, not secure against everything on the planet but certainly looks to be secure against most predators.

DE is a hot button topic on here. A lot of us don't use it due to the fact that it's a respiratory irritant. As far as the roaches, the chickens aren't eating them?

As far as broodies, IF you are not planning to hatch (which sounds like you aren't) it's best to invest in some wire cages to break them (the same cages can be used to isolate sick birds). Taking away eggs or shooing them from the nest doesn't work on many birds. I'll post this here in case you're interested in setting up a breaker cage.

Broody jail: Put her in an isolation cage with some food and water, in sight of the others (in the coop if it's not too hot or in/near the run is ideal). A wire cage elevated to air flow under her would be the best option, however I've used everything from a brooder to a dog exercise pen.

Keep her in the cage around the clock for about 2 days. At that time, if she's shows fewer signs of broodiness (puffing up, flattening down and growling, tik tik tik noise) you can let her out to test her. If she runs back to the nest at any point (usually they don't do it immediately, but maybe after 15 minutes, maybe an hour) then she's not yet sufficiently broken and needs to go back to the cage for another 24 hours. Then let her out and test her again. Repeat until she's no longer going to the nest box.

IF the isolation cage is not safe for overnight stay (i.e. sits outside the run) then put her on the roost at night, and retrieve her from the nest box the next morning and put her back in the cage. It may take a little longer this way but better than letting a predator get to her.

Interesting—we do have a couple wire dog crates we’ve used for other things, so I’m thinking those would work. We would have to let them roost at night because of the coop set up (the wire crate I don’t think would fit.). Good suggestion!

 

[MallardBay]

I've had to put down 2 cockerels this year. Have lost plenty to predators in the past. Took me a while to learn from not securing the garden well enough. Yeah I could have prevented my past losses but that would have involved money I didn't want to spend on it at the time.
To me losing 3 out of 10 seems fine considering they are only productive for 3-4 years and need to be replaced every so often anyhow.
Don't get as attached to them as you would a dog... they are more on the scale of a pet hamster. I am still getting used to having to deal with excessive cockerels, it's not nice and it does make you question whether it is fair to breed them and have to get rid of the cockerels but I am not doing anything others wouldn't have to do so yeah losing them/having to kill them is part of it unfortunately, at least long-term it has to be to keep the flock going.
It helps to breed them, at least that is how I look at it. If one dies, you can replace it yourself.

I’ve thought about what happens when you breed yourself and end up with too many roosters. The rooster we have we ended up with because of a mistake in sexing (thankfully a Silkie so generally tolerable even when aggressive), and I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of him. I understand the necessity and respect those who have acclimated to culling their flocks!

 

[Lemon-Drop]

I’ve thought about what happens when you breed yourself and end up with too many roosters. The rooster we have we ended up with because of a mistake in sexing (thankfully a Silkie so generally tolerable even when aggressive), and I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of him. I understand the necessity and respect those who have acclimated to culling their flocks!

Is your silkie rooster nice enough? I mean, does he flog you or anything? (I'm thinking about keeping one of my silkies who may be a rooster, and I want to know if they are ok as adults)

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Is your silkie rooster nice enough? I mean, does he flog you or anything? (I'm thinking about keeping one of my silkies who may be a rooster, and I want to know if they are ok as adults)

I know you didn't ask me but I have 2 Silkie Roosters. My Blue one is the sweetest rooster ever. He is actually one of those that wants to be held and loved on. He is the tiny but mighty boss! Zane, my big white Silkie Rooster was a nice chick, not overly outgoing or aggressive at all. Then out of the blue one day Zane flogged me. He doesn't have spurs, but he is still able to scratch me up with his nails and bruise me by beating me with his wings. It's a pain in the rear, but he doesn't flog often and rarely hurts. I just keep telling the sweet boys to let Zane "be brave" if a predator shows up So it's a 50/50 chance. Blue is absolutely amazing and has a calming and enjoyable personality

 

[MickWithChicks]

I agree with all of this, except about chickens being dumb.

Chickens can recognize a hundred faces or more, they have a pecking order, unique personalities, and can count.

Plenty of people can do all those things but are pretty dumb too!

I'd love to see a chicken count though! Can silkies count 2 numbers higher because they have an extra toe on each foot?

 

[aart]

Interesting—we do have a couple wire dog crates we’ve used for other things, so I’m thinking those would work. We would have to let them roost at night because of the coop set up (the wire crate I don’t think would fit.). Good suggestion!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/foldable-wire-dog-crates-a-good-tool-for-every-chickeneer.72619/

 

[MallardBay]

Is your silkie rooster nice enough? I mean, does he flog you or anything? (I'm thinking about keeping one of my silkies who may be a rooster, and I want to know if they are ok as adults)

Ha, nice enough is a good phrase! He’s pretty predictable when he’s going to try and attack—mostly in the morning when I’d assume his testosterone is high? He also seems to sense when someone is nervous and will take advantage of that. But if you stand your ground and tell him no like a puppy he usually backs off and struts away. I try not to wear sandals around him being I’m normally fending him off with my feet, but other than that inconvenience in the warmer months it’s not a big deal. When he attacks, he flies a little bit up in the air and thrusts his feet towards your legs—he’s not that big though so it isn’t that “scary.” I’d call him more annoying or endearingly pitiful because he tries so hard to be intimidating at worst. (I’ve also heard silkies aren’t as loud as other breeds? I’m not sure my neighbors would agree!)

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Ha, nice enough is a good phrase! He’s pretty predictable when he’s going to try and attack—mostly in the morning when I’d assume his testosterone is high? He also seems to sense when someone is nervous and will take advantage of that. But if you stand your ground and tell him no like a puppy he usually backs off and struts away. I try not to wear sandals around him being I’m normally fending him off with my feet, but other than that inconvenience in the warmer months it’s not a big deal. When he attacks, he flies a little bit up in the air and thrusts his feet towards your legs—he’s not that big though so it isn’t that “scary.” I’d call him more annoying or endearingly pitiful because he tries so hard to be intimidating at worst. (I’ve also heard silkies aren’t as loud as other breeds? I’m not sure my neighbors would agree!)

Thank you!

(I’ve also read that silkies aren’t as loud as other breed roosters but I think maybe it’s that they crow less often but it’s still the same volume?)