The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[monnie662]

What my thoughts are: If I have say six of them then I could put a couple of groups of young in each one as grow out pens. I even thought of making a few 3 x 6 for cock bird pens when breeding season is done. I have a few boys that stay together well without fighting and a 3 x 6 would be plenty big enough for 2 adult boys. Oh my, it seems we never get done with these birds. I would never advise anyone to get more then one line of reds at a time. lol It sure is a lot of work. I wouldn't mind if we didn't go below freezing during winter time. I just hate breaking all that ice every day. Geez, it seems like I do an awful lot of complaining. ha,ha.

I'm already snowed under trying to keep different Nelson lines separate and if I added another line I'd be really scrambling, I have to build this stuff for them myself and some of it is not much to look at but it works.

 

[monnie662]

Yes, they are not good at free ranging. That's why we have ours in portable pens in the pasture with a livestock guardian.

I had to quit free ranging because of the coyote and I think a fox so mine are locked up right now but plan to build them a nice pen to ramble around in, another project. Never ends

 

[bluebirdnanny]

Ok say prayers the Nelson eggs that are expected to begin hatch on Thursday! I really want the Nelsons. Fred has my pullet hen right now mating her with mines brother so I won't have more eggs from her this year to hatch.

He also has some of her eggs I collected for him to hatch for me. Ones in my incubator were earlier eggs. Would have been too old when we met up. So now I wait to see if she was viable. The first two eggs I gave him with these Kittle ones didn't make it. One non-fertile and one quitter. So if what I gave him make it and mine don't I will know the incubator needs work someplace or the operator of such.

Just got to get the Nelson flock built up for next years breeding. The Kittles will become breakfast eggs then.

 

[Fentress]

I know it doesn't look like much now but this is what I'm making for broody hens. This I started for grow out pen fur chicks then thought it would be super for broody girls. They will be 2' x 6' x 2' high. Where the piece is fastened on the front end, that will be solid on sides, top and bottom. That will be the nest part. the rest will be wire and if it is cold I'll just screw plywood over the wire till it warms up. I'm planning on making 5 - 6 of these hooking two together. I will either put them on legs or fasten them to my coops that I now have. Put the hens in when they start going broody and don't have to worry about the other hens bothering them.



Please share with us the finished product. I am going to be working on two versions. One will be about 2' by 3' that I will mount off the ground, hooked to the side wall studs in the main coop. The other one, will be a chicken tractor type, 2' by 6' on skids, that I can move by hand. The nest would be on top of the skids and with the rest of the area covered by wire with no floor. The chicken tractor can also serve as a pasture shelter, for broods hatched elsewhere that I want to relocate to.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

my broody hen hatched 6 of the 7 eggs we gave her the other egg appeared to be a few days behind. Seeing as it was a EE cross and delayed, I'm not crying about it. But the first chick I saw of the bunch was a cute black one. But it escaped the brooder pen and our barn cat got it. Dh and I have now secured the lower few inches of chicken wire so no more escapes.
My recommendation is for any new brooder pens to use hardware cloth.

 

[Matt1616]

Thoughts are the same on this.

These are pictures of two different hens that have been laying since February. The only thing they get besides layer pellets is a little whole corn each day. The Cock Birds are the same. First pic is taken from the back but you can see her toe on the left foot and it is dark all the way to the toe nails. Again, I honestly think it is a genetic thing. I'm no expert and this is just my opinion.

There are those who swear by things like corn, marigold, or dandelions for more yellow legs but from what I can tell is totally genetic. Best time to cull for leg color in a pullet is just before pol.

I can assure you that yellow legs is not totally genetic. Genetics has some part in it but their diet is equally important. If they do not have the proper stuff to eat a chicken that has the genetics to have bright yellow legs will have legs as white as a sheet of paper.

Matt

 

[RedRidge]

Totally agree Matt. But i believe the reverse to also be true. You can't create yellow legs that aren't genetically there with nutrition only.

 

[immyjay54]

I can assure you that yellow legs is not totally genetic. Genetics has some part in it but their diet is equally important. If they do not have the proper stuff to eat a chicken that has the genetics to have bright yellow legs will have legs as white as a sheet of paper.

Matt

Hi my old southern friend,

The reason I said I figured it to be genetics of the line is because as you know I have 3 different lines. They are all fed exactly the same food and some of each line have the more yellow legs and dark horn and some don't have it. All the birds I got from you have it so I just figured that it is something that runs more in the Reese birds. ???????

None of my reds have white legs but a lot of them have a lighter yellow especially since they started laying.

 

[immyjay54]

my broody hen hatched 6 of the 7 eggs we gave her the other egg appeared to be a few days behind. Seeing as it was a EE cross and delayed, I'm not crying about it. But the first chick I saw of the bunch was a cute black one. But it escaped the brooder pen and our barn cat got it. Dh and I have now secured the lower few inches of chicken wire so no more escapes.
My recommendation is for any new brooder pens to use hardware cloth.

Good news on the hatch but awwww on the one that got away.

 

[cmom]

Oh my gosh. It has been 50+ years since I've had any of these. Like most I went with incubators to hatch more eggs but there is noting like letting nature take care of it's own. Saturday I checked this little girls eggs and no pips or anything. I didn't think she was going to do anything at all. Last night when I went in to feed the girls, I heard a peep from a chick. This morning, this is what I found. I still haven't really bothered her. I have her pen all fixed up to move her and her biddies to. I am so overly excited. Momma is an Olive egger and the chicks are from my Reese birds eggs. What a wonderful surprise this was. I saw 3 or 4 sticking their heads out so far. lol I just have to say Oh Thank You Jesus for such a wonderful gift. Another miracle of life.
And now there are 8 from 12 eggs hatched. lol

Quote:
Originally Posted by immyjay54

I know it doesn't look like much now but this is what I'm making for broody hens. This I started for grow out pen fur chicks then thought it would be super for broody girls. They will be 2' x 6' x 2' high. Where the piece is fastened on the front end, that will be solid on sides, top and bottom. That will be the nest part. the rest will be wire and if it is cold I'll just screw plywood over the wire till it warms up. I'm planning on making 5 - 6 of these hooking two together. I will either put them on legs or fasten them to my coops that I now have. Put the hens in when they start going broody and don't have to worry about the other hens bothering them.


Please share with us the finished product. I am going to be working on two versions. One will be about 2' by 3' that I will mount off the ground, hooked to the side wall studs in the main coop. The other one, will be a chicken tractor type, 2' by 6' on skids, that I can move by hand. The nest would be on top of the skids and with the rest of the area covered by wire with no floor. The chicken tractor can also serve as a pasture shelter, for broods hatched elsewhere that I want to relocate to.

I got my first chickens around 50 years ago. Didn't know much back then. Had White Leghorns. I guess we live and learn. I had one of my RC RIW's hatch some of my Reese eggs and some RC RIW eggs. The chicks are now about 3 months old. They are loosing their peeps and getting their adult voices. I just love to watch them. Their legs are very yellow. Will get some pics tomorrow.

Please post pics of your when you build your tractor coops. We made 2 coops several years ago that we could move around with one of our tractors. We put them on skids. one was 8' by 8' and the other 6' by 8'. Now they are both in a permanent place. The chain on the back is what we towed it with. They aren't in this location anymore and the coops have been renovated since.


This coop is on wheels and moveable. Again we move it with a tractor.