The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

yeah, and then there are people like me who keep the old gals around even after they aren't laying anymore. I figure they did well by me with all those eggs and I am willing to feed them and keep them for eye candy. I'm lucky in that I have the room so I don't have to choose because of lack of space. It would be harder if I could only keep a few hens - then I probably would be willing to have chicken dumplings. But now? My 6 yr old was still laying up until this fall's molt. Will be waiting to see if she starts back up again this year

 

[Leahs Mom]

@lalaland

Just curious. How many eggs was your 6 yo doing on average per week? What breed is she?

And I think it's notable that this girl hasn't been affected by disease even though some of the others were. Sounds like this is the kind of girl you'd want offspring from!

 

[sunflower4you]

That's great - I hope my chickens keep laying that long! I only have room for 4-6 so unfortunately I don't think I will be able to run a chicken retirement home.

We'll see once I get that far. I hope I have a long way to go since it's been less than a week since I got my first egg from my flock!

 

[Leahs Mom]

@hoosiercheetah
Your girls are the age that production is at peak since this is their first year.

"Usually" they will have that fall molt next year and quit laying during that time - or greatly reduced - then pick back up in the spring again late February or Early March.

 

[chicalot]

Cute little Wilma. She must have some powerful cute genetics cause she makes super cute chics in spite of old ugly Fred.

lalaland, I keep my "eye candy" hens also. I have an Easter egg'er that hasn't laid sine last Winter but she doesn't eat much.

Wilma with this summer's chics..because I want to dream of warmer days already....

and some Wilma mama pics from this Summer

 

[hoosiercheetah]

@hoosiercheetah
Your girls are the age that production is at peak since this is their first year.

"Usually" they will have that fall molt next year and quit laying during that time - or greatly reduced - then pick back up in the spring again late February or Early March.

Right, I get that that's part of it. I don't mind feeding a hen through the winter lull, as long as she picks up the pace again in the spring. The Orp I'm harvesting for other reasons... mostly I just don't like her.

I do kind of like the idea of rotating the entire flock every three years or so, and I'm dividing the coop so I could grow the new birds out to laying before I dispatch the old ones. It sounds like maybe less stress on the birds than adding and removing flock members every other year.

 

[ronott1]

Right, I get that that's part of it. I don't mind feeding a hen through the winter lull, as long as she picks up the pace again in the spring. The Orp I'm harvesting for other reasons... mostly I just don't like her.

I do kind of like the idea of rotating the entire flock every three years or so, and I'm dividing the coop so I could grow the new birds out to laying before I dispatch the old ones. It sounds like maybe less stress on the birds than adding and removing flock members every other year.

My Layer flock is used to chickens coming in and out. They have not killed any new comers yet so Good for them?

Yesterday I moved two Partridge Penedesenca pullets in with them--they are getting close to egg laying age. The girls just keep on laying though. They do not seem very stressed by it although it takes a but more than a week for the new pullets to integrate.

I have had problems with adding to some of the Spanish breeds though. I have to integrate carefully with them. I will be trying to get some Pita Pinta pullets in with the two hens this weekend.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I think it probably does have to do with the particular breed personality to some degree.

And, @hoosiercheetah , the owner of this forum has a book out that he co-authored with a vet called, "Chicken Health for Dummies". In his book, he encourages an "all in all out" policy like you're talking about for many reasons.

I really struggle with that for a couple of reasons. One is that I'd like to be "self-sufficient" as much as possible so I'd like to have my flock begin raising their own young and not be as dependent on an outside source for chicks. Another is that I am hoping to see them be a more "natural" flock in which there are chickens of all ages.

The other side of that story is that in nature, eventually there would be sub-flocks that would form and go off into another area to continue to proliferate which would happen over and over with an unlimited natural setting..... Which we don't have in captivity unless we just let them take over all the acreage and live all over the place instead of cooping.

Sigh.

So...all of this is to say that I'm still in process trying to figure out how I want to handle it all myself. I know what my "idealistic" self would like to see. And I definitely appreciate the reasoning behind "all in all out".

I think, in the end, if I continue having chickens I'll end up somewhere in the middle. But we shall see...based on my experiences and the time and the resources I have I'll have to figure out what works here. Either way, I hope to emulate the most natural situation I can in husbandry.

 

[Lacy Blues]

My Layer flock is used to chickens coming in and out. They have not killed any new comers yet so Good for them?

Yesterday I moved two Partridge Penedesenca pullets in with them--they are getting close to egg laying age. The girls just keep on laying though. They do not seem very stressed by it although it takes a but more than a week for the new pullets to integrate.

I have had problems with adding to some of the Spanish breeds though. I have to integrate carefully with them. I will be trying to get some Pita Pinta pullets in with the two hens this weekend.

My layer flock is more laid back too, though I hesitate to add subadult or even adult stock to the mix as they don't get treated very well. I too prefer to let one (or more) of my hens do the hatching... I'll choose which eggs. These birds that grow up in the flock are natural additions and as the extra boys reach butchering weight, that is exactly what happens.

With my Spanish birds (Andalusians) I don't dare add new birds to the mix. The ONLY way I can do it without the new comers getting severely beaten is to move all of the birds to new quarters at the same time... at night. That way everybody wakes up in a new place and are all somewhat confused by the new surroundings and the newcomers are definitely still noticed but the integration goes so much smoother than the other way that its the only way I will do it now.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

@Leahs Mom maybe you could keep the most mothering of hens and get her to raise the chicks. I think Stony had a favorite broody hen for many years. Makes me wonder if the broody hens keep laying years after a production hen might be done since the broodies don't lay as many eggs a year.