Some Newcomer Advice Please

Pics
Date sort Score sort
IMG_0488.jpeg
 
powerw said:
Hello All, Bill here. New to raising chickens, have 20 2-day old chicks in early stage feeding.

I have a few questions I wanted to posit here:
1) I live in Ft Worth TX. Some extreme cold in the winter, lots of significant hot in the summer. Really only interested in egg production. Any recommendations regarding best breeds to buy? Presently starting out with Production Reds and Barred Rock...mainly because that was all that was available.

2) Any advice on training intelligent dogs about leaving the chickens alone? Success stories? Disasters? Would really like to have chickens roaming in 3 acre backyard with the dogs. And eat all the scorpions they can find... :^)

3) Have been told that having a guinea as a flock companion is a good thing, as they are more alert/wary than chickens, and make a lot of noise. We do have lots barn owls and hawks in the area, and occasional coyotes (night only).

4) Does anyone have a good plans for a home-built coop? Or a list of sites that have some designs? Best height for roost bars, best shape or enclosure for large chicken laying. How many nests per egg laying hen? No intent to hatch chickens presently, but that may change in time.

Any ideas for having a power-washable floor in a coop? Was thinking of using rigid core vinyl flooring on a forkliftable pad so as to be able to reposition coop using my Bobcat.

5.At what age can I transition above described chicks into an outdoor coop/run?

6. Are there any breeds that are better at avoiding predation? More wary? Fight back? What about the value of a Rooster to that end? Really don't want fertile eggs, but might support it if a big nasty Brahma rooster would actually protect his hens. Can a rooster be sterilized?

7. Also a beekeeper. Do chickens like to munch bees? Historical problems of having them around hives? If they are a danger, any idea of level of impact chickens can have on nearby hives?
Click to expand...
I hear that the way to train a dog is to put the dog in it's own pen, and let the chickens walk around it. you will know the dog is trained when it stops barking at the chickens and is no longer trying to escape the pen. you should also teach the dog to sit, stay, and drop it/ leave it. that way, if it does try to eat a chicken, you can give a clear command which will both stop the attack and let the dog know what you want it doing instead.
 
powerw said:
Hello All, Bill here. New to raising chickens, have 20 2-day old chicks in early stage feeding.

I have a few questions I wanted to posit here:
1) I live in Ft Worth TX. Some extreme cold in the winter, lots of significant hot in the summer. Really only interested in egg production. Any recommendations regarding best breeds to buy? Presently starting out with Production Reds and Barred Rock...mainly because that was all that was available.

2) Any advice on training intelligent dogs about leaving the chickens alone? Success stories? Disasters? Would really like to have chickens roaming in 3 acre backyard with the dogs. And eat all the scorpions they can find... :^)

3) Have been told that having a guinea as a flock companion is a good thing, as they are more alert/wary than chickens, and make a lot of noise. We do have lots barn owls and hawks in the area, and occasional coyotes (night only).

4) Does anyone have a good plans for a home-built coop? Or a list of sites that have some designs? Best height for roost bars, best shape or enclosure for large chicken laying. How many nests per egg laying hen? No intent to hatch chickens presently, but that may change in time.

Any ideas for having a power-washable floor in a coop? Was thinking of using rigid core vinyl flooring on a forkliftable pad so as to be able to reposition coop using my Bobcat.

5.At what age can I transition above described chicks into an outdoor coop/run?

6. Are there any breeds that are better at avoiding predation? More wary? Fight back? What about the value of a Rooster to that end? Really don't want fertile eggs, but might support it if a big nasty Brahma rooster would actually protect his hens. Can a rooster be sterilized?

7. Also a beekeeper. Do chickens like to munch bees? Historical problems of having them around hives? If they are a danger, any idea of level of impact chickens can have on nearby hives?
Click to expand...
Production red and barred rock are very high producing breeds that are pretty easy to get along with so good choice for getting eggs. They also do ok in hot or cold. When it's hot just put ice or a frozen pop bottle full of water in their waterer and make sure they have shade available. It should never get cold enough in TX for you to have to worry about them as long as they have a dry shelter to roost in and keep the wind out.
Any breed like production reds that are bred specifically to lay a lot of eggs will usually drastically reduce their egg production around 2 1/2 or 3 years and can be prone to egg binding in later life but that depends on the breeding stock used. It's not a guarantee that will happen.

You can transition them when they have lost all their fuzz and have full feathering as long as it's not super freezing cold. If you live in texas by the time they get their feathers it should be ok to put them out.

If you get any guineas I just hope you don't have any neighbors nearby that mind noise. They are extremely loud and noisy.

Problem with getting a rooster is you can never tell what they will be like until they mature. Honestly the main purpose of a rooster is to make chicks and distract whatever predator is threatening long enough for his hens to get away and take cover. I know there are videos of roosters driving off predators sometimes and it happens but I wouldn't count on that. Often the ones aggressive enough to do that are also human aggressive so you have to manage expectations there.

I've seen my chickens avoid bees so I think they know they're not good to eat.

The most wary breed I've encountered is leghorns. They are extremely flighty and they do lay a lot of eggs. White ones lay the best but white chickens are more easily seen by predators so brown leghorns probably better.

Good luck with your new chickens!
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom