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Fred's Hens said:
@FOGELLY
   Just giving a shout to Ron Fogle, if you happen to check in.  Praying all is well with you Ron.

Some of the offspring from your birds are looking absolutely wonderful.    
Click to expand...


Fred,
Thanks for the shout out. I am doing well after a health issue last winter.
During that time it occurred to me that I had become just a little too obsessed with my chickens and had let some more important things in life slip.
I still have my Red's although not near as many.

Thanks again for the well wishes.
Ron
 
Hmmmm... one of the things I love about my Reds. I haven't begun sorting for the year yet so everyone under 6 months old is still in one big pen. Had knee surgery and haven't had the ability to do anything but combine. Due to knee surgery I Jane combined more frequently to fewer but larger groups. It's pretty cool... As batches came out of the brooders they got added to the older group, so in that huge grow out pen I have reds as young as 5 weeks old and as old as 5 months old. They always seem to welcome the new weekly batch of youngsters with open wings. Pretty cool as I have more than 100 in that pen and they are all doing well and thriving. They are all very sweet to each other.
Now of course I have no adults in there. But i could never just add 4-6 week old chicks each week to the larger grow out group and have them thrive well if it was one of my other breeds. I tried it this year due to the circumstances and it just didn't work. The younger ones get picked on. But not in the rir pen.
Over the next 2 years these hrir will be one of the only 2 remaining breeds here at Red Ridge. I simply can't understand or justify working with or keeping any others. I just love them and don't understand why everyone doesn't raise standard bred Reds.
 
RedRidge said:
Hmmmm... one of the things I love about my Reds. I haven't begun sorting for the year yet so everyone under 6 months old is still in one big pen. Had knee surgery and haven't had the ability to do anything but combine. Due to knee surgery I Jane combined more frequently to fewer but larger groups. It's pretty cool... As batches came out of the brooders they got added to the older group, so in that huge grow out pen I have reds as young as 5 weeks old and as old as 5 months old. They always seem to welcome the new weekly batch of youngsters with open wings. Pretty cool as I have more than 100 in that pen and they are all doing well and thriving. They are all very sweet to each other.
Now of course I have no adults in there. But i could never just add 4-6 week old chicks each week to the larger grow out group and have them thrive well if it was one of my other breeds. I tried it this year due to the circumstances and it just didn't work. The younger ones get picked on. But not in the rir pen.
Over the next 2 years these hrir will be one of the only 2 remaining breeds here at Red Ridge. I simply can't understand or justify working with or keeping any others. I just love them and don't understand why everyone doesn't raise standard bred Reds.
Click to expand...

Excellent post. This is one of the issues I have been thinking about, because I free range my flock and use an all mobile set up (coops & fencing). I just don't have a lot of facilities and never will. Plus, I hatch with broody's which will spread out my hatches over a longer period of time. I won't have a grow out pasture this year, because I will only have a hand full of cockerels and they are too valuable to place in their own pasture by themselves, due to an increased risk of hawk attack. Next year I can start breeding, put more feet on the ground and will also have cocks frm this years group as insurance against potential losses. I hope my line of Barred Rocks will behave as you described above. When you make your selections from the grow out pen, where do the cockerels go? Do you ever place one with an existing flock that has a cock? Set up a new flock just for the cockerels that can continue to get along with each or put them in pens and keep them completely separate from each other and other hens, until it's time to go to the breeding pen? Or maybe all of the above, depending on the circumstances. As you can probably tell I don't like keeping chickens in pens.

Thanks
 
Fentress said:
RedRidge said:
Hmmmm... one of the things I love about my Reds. I haven't begun sorting for the year yet so everyone under 6 months old is still in one big pen. Had knee surgery and haven't had the ability to do anything but combine. Due to knee surgery I Jane combined more frequently to fewer but larger groups. It's pretty cool... As batches came out of the brooders they got added to the older group, so in that huge grow out pen I have reds as young as 5 weeks old and as old as 5 months old. They always seem to welcome the new weekly batch of youngsters with open wings. Pretty cool as I have more than 100 in that pen and they are all doing well and thriving. They are all very sweet to each other.

Now of course I have no adults in there. But i could never just add 4-6 week old chicks each week to the larger grow out group and have them thrive well if it was one of my other breeds. I tried it this year due to the circumstances and it just didn't work. The younger ones get picked on. But not in the rir pen.

Over the next 2 years these hrir will be one of the only 2 remaining breeds here at Red Ridge. I simply can't understand or justify working with or keeping any others. I just love them and don't understand why everyone doesn't raise standard bred Reds.
Click to expand...


Excellent post. This is one of the issues I have been thinking about, because I free range my flock and use an all mobile set up (coops & fencing). I just don't have a lot of facilities and never will. Plus, I hatch with broody's which will spread out my hatches over a longer period of time. I won't have a grow out pasture this year, because I will only have a hand full of cockerels and they are too valuable to place in their own pasture by themselves, due to an increased risk of hawk attack. Next year I can start breeding, put more feet on the ground and will also have cocks frm this years group as insurance against potential losses. I hope my line of Barred Rocks will behave as you described above. When you make your selections from the grow out pen, where do the cockerels go? Do you ever place one with an existing flock that has a cock? Set up a new flock just for the cockerels that can continue to get along with each or put them in pens and keep them completely separate from each other and other hens, until it's time to go to the breeding pen? Or maybe all of the above, depending on the circumstances. As you can probably tell I don't like keeping chickens in pens.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I use a LOT of Kencove poultry netting. I have plenty of acreage so can divide into different management groups very easily. I hesitate to say this because some folks may criticize but... Here goes...
The cockerels, as I begin weeding them out, go into a separate grow out pasture. I simply add to them as I eliminate over the course of the summer. They have never fought as I add a new cockerel here and there - i think partly because they are just easy to deal with like that and partly because there are no girls around which reduces macho posturing.
The reason I am able to do this safely is because I raise Italian Maremma also. So yes, I use the cockerel pasture as a training ground for any rowdy teenagers who need to learn that chasing chickens isn't allowed. This helps is several ways... The cockerels are not easily intimidated, consequently not as reactive as pullets. All the poultry are actually pretty trusting of the Maremma because they were born and raised with a mature, dependable dog. But as the cockerels hit maturity they don't put up with much crap either. So... I get a guardian for the cockerels and I have a poultry training aid for teenage lgds. The pups love the poultry, as well as other livestock, because they were born with them. But they do tend to get a little rowdy from about 6-12 months. This sets the pup up for success as an adult. It works the same with the teenage dogs who are with sheep. They live exclusively with rams as teenagers.
Disclaimer: no poultry were harmed in the making of this post. ;-)
 
Well Fred I scored a canteloupe melon box at Meijers! So With a hardware cloth top and some wood inserted in the hole slits the top of my dining room table is the support (up away from cats) they have eaten a little, drank, dust bathed in the pine shavings and now three are stretched out and one smart thing (pretty sure one of the roos) is actually roosting on the wood bar I inserted through the box holes!! :yiipchick

But I expected more chirping! I guess they just have no complaints! :lol:
 

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