I'd like to know too since I have been a little nervous about letting mine forage since the hawks seem more numerous right now. Well they won't do much foraging today with snow on the ground.
The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl
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Here in arkansas the hawks are out and active till end of December.
Thedragonlady is right - take care of those crows
Thedragonlady is right - take care of those crows
Last week I went out the back door, looked up and saw a hawk flying northwest very fast (they say they can fly 70 mph)...it was pretty high up. Then, a few seconds later, I see a HERD (
It was comical and very comforting!
OK, Bee, I got the message…… I’m finally checking in! As you have probably noticed in "currently viewing", I’ve spent many hours reading this and the OT thread. I’ve enjoyed getting acquainted with you and the OT’s and look forward to my evenings listening to friends “talking on the porch”. (No TV for me.) Your advice is always so practical and much appreciated.
A little about me: My age makes me an oldtimer and I’ve spent my entire life in the country and have raised many animals and other types of fowl but have only had chickens for 6 years. I’m raising them as a hobby after getting interested when my granddaughter was in 4-H. I’m in the process of building my third small coop (chicken math!). Constructing my little chicken village of mostly recycled materials is a great source of pleasure for me. I call it “Lucky Cluckers Resort”. I do enjoy making the coops cute with paint and signs, something most oldtimers wouldn’t understand but that’s part of the enjoyment for me.
My chickens’ foraging area is in my vegetable garden so I have to be creative with little chicken wire cages around young plants. Our mild northern California climate is very different than yours but I’m able to use your advice with some adjustments. Our ground doesn’t freeze here, and our coldest temps. are seldom below 30 degrees. When you speak of pumpkins freezing and thawing, that doesn’t happen here. I raise pumpkins for my chickens but feed them before they mold because I believe the kind of mold that grows on them is the kind that grows on bread which is harmful. I have never wormed my flock and have never lost a chicken to disease. We have many frightening chicken diseases in our area which may be partly due to the mild weather. I made the decision to keep a closed flock a couple of years ago. My broodies raise my replacement layers and we eat the cockerels.
I have designed my coops up off the ground with metal grates under the roosting areas. This allows the poop to drop through to the ground below. The chickens have access to this area to scratch around, so in a way it is the deep litter method. (?) The metal grates also help with ventilation. The coop I am building now will be three sided so I’m taking the advice of the link that was posted about hen houses in the 1920’s. I figure if they can have one side open with snow on the ground I can certainly do that here in CA. The open side will be to the east to allow the morning sun to shine in and the wind will be blocked which is from the south when a storm is approaching and from the north as it leaves.
I started giving my girls ACV in their water occasionally a couple of years ago. (Probably after reading one of your posts.) I began fermenting the feed this summer after reading your FF thread. I noticed the feathers quickly grew in on the bare backs caused by my over zealous rooster and a big reduction in feed costs. The seven pullets are now 20 weeks and have a beautiful sheen to their feathers and are beginning to check out the nest boxes.
I’m waiting for my seven one and two year old layers to get back to laying now that they’re at the end of their molt. I’ve wondered if I haven’t found the right “recipe” for my FF. When I started it a couple of months ago I was mixing layer pellets and rooster mix and continued to give them some BOSS as a treat and a few mealworms occasionally. They were also helping themselves to lots of veggies in the garden and may have depleted the bug population so it’s difficult to assess their protein consumption. I realize the days are getting shorter but in past years I’ve had eggs right through molt and all winter. Since I’m getting so few eggs (one a day) I’ve adjusted the mix by adding some Calf Manna to increase the protein and vitamins. (still no eggs) My girls don’t seem to like the taste of Calf Manna, so there isn’t a frenzy when I put it in the pan but they eventually finish it all. I mix my FF in a two gallon bucket using less than half in a feeding and replenish it each time. I sit the bucket out in the sun on warm afternoons to be sure it warms enough to “work”, otherwise it is in my shed/coop. My FF is the consistency of oatmeal so I use a large spoon to serve it, add water to the bucket and replenish the pellets & grain stirring well.
Also, from your advice I’ve put ashes in the garden area for dustbathing. My girls stayed away from them all summer. I’ve been keeping the chickens in the run the last week because I seeded the garden area with a covercrop so I put some ashes mixed with dirt in a box for them. They still prefer the dirt in their run. Maybe they will discover the benefits of ashes eventually. I also put some ashes in the corners of the nestboxes under the bedding where I used to put DE. Thanks for that tip. I always wondered how DE could just kill the bad bugs?? It couldn’t. I’m glad I never put it in the deep litter.
Well, I think this is getting too long so I’ll say “Thank you” one more time and hope you realize how you have provided a great service to many, many people whether we post or not. Please don’t stop, many of us are counting on you for good down to earth advice.
I hope you are not having any problems from Sandy and the sun will soon be shining down on you.
A little about me: My age makes me an oldtimer and I’ve spent my entire life in the country and have raised many animals and other types of fowl but have only had chickens for 6 years. I’m raising them as a hobby after getting interested when my granddaughter was in 4-H. I’m in the process of building my third small coop (chicken math!). Constructing my little chicken village of mostly recycled materials is a great source of pleasure for me. I call it “Lucky Cluckers Resort”. I do enjoy making the coops cute with paint and signs, something most oldtimers wouldn’t understand but that’s part of the enjoyment for me.
My chickens’ foraging area is in my vegetable garden so I have to be creative with little chicken wire cages around young plants. Our mild northern California climate is very different than yours but I’m able to use your advice with some adjustments. Our ground doesn’t freeze here, and our coldest temps. are seldom below 30 degrees. When you speak of pumpkins freezing and thawing, that doesn’t happen here. I raise pumpkins for my chickens but feed them before they mold because I believe the kind of mold that grows on them is the kind that grows on bread which is harmful. I have never wormed my flock and have never lost a chicken to disease. We have many frightening chicken diseases in our area which may be partly due to the mild weather. I made the decision to keep a closed flock a couple of years ago. My broodies raise my replacement layers and we eat the cockerels.
I have designed my coops up off the ground with metal grates under the roosting areas. This allows the poop to drop through to the ground below. The chickens have access to this area to scratch around, so in a way it is the deep litter method. (?) The metal grates also help with ventilation. The coop I am building now will be three sided so I’m taking the advice of the link that was posted about hen houses in the 1920’s. I figure if they can have one side open with snow on the ground I can certainly do that here in CA. The open side will be to the east to allow the morning sun to shine in and the wind will be blocked which is from the south when a storm is approaching and from the north as it leaves.
I started giving my girls ACV in their water occasionally a couple of years ago. (Probably after reading one of your posts.) I began fermenting the feed this summer after reading your FF thread. I noticed the feathers quickly grew in on the bare backs caused by my over zealous rooster and a big reduction in feed costs. The seven pullets are now 20 weeks and have a beautiful sheen to their feathers and are beginning to check out the nest boxes.
I’m waiting for my seven one and two year old layers to get back to laying now that they’re at the end of their molt. I’ve wondered if I haven’t found the right “recipe” for my FF. When I started it a couple of months ago I was mixing layer pellets and rooster mix and continued to give them some BOSS as a treat and a few mealworms occasionally. They were also helping themselves to lots of veggies in the garden and may have depleted the bug population so it’s difficult to assess their protein consumption. I realize the days are getting shorter but in past years I’ve had eggs right through molt and all winter. Since I’m getting so few eggs (one a day) I’ve adjusted the mix by adding some Calf Manna to increase the protein and vitamins. (still no eggs) My girls don’t seem to like the taste of Calf Manna, so there isn’t a frenzy when I put it in the pan but they eventually finish it all. I mix my FF in a two gallon bucket using less than half in a feeding and replenish it each time. I sit the bucket out in the sun on warm afternoons to be sure it warms enough to “work”, otherwise it is in my shed/coop. My FF is the consistency of oatmeal so I use a large spoon to serve it, add water to the bucket and replenish the pellets & grain stirring well.
Also, from your advice I’ve put ashes in the garden area for dustbathing. My girls stayed away from them all summer. I’ve been keeping the chickens in the run the last week because I seeded the garden area with a covercrop so I put some ashes mixed with dirt in a box for them. They still prefer the dirt in their run. Maybe they will discover the benefits of ashes eventually. I also put some ashes in the corners of the nestboxes under the bedding where I used to put DE. Thanks for that tip. I always wondered how DE could just kill the bad bugs?? It couldn’t. I’m glad I never put it in the deep litter.
Well, I think this is getting too long so I’ll say “Thank you” one more time and hope you realize how you have provided a great service to many, many people whether we post or not. Please don’t stop, many of us are counting on you for good down to earth advice.
I hope you are not having any problems from Sandy and the sun will soon be shining down on you.
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- #1,825
Quote:
You will find, in an open air setting like yours, that air comes in from all sides, top and bottom, no matter how secure you think you have it....and this is a good thing. The plastic will work as a windbreak and to keep rain and snow from blowing in, but I don't think it will hold in moist air with the goodly space you have left at the top. It will also come from the coop side into that space.
When jimmy rigging spaces like you have and like mine, all you can do is watch and learn what happens when you do these things....then adjust along the way until you know your coop/run space and it's capabilities and it's flaws. This is your year of learning. I am learning this new cooping system also and will see how it all goes down.
We have a very wet, heavy snowfall happening right now...and the Gnarly Bunch are all out in it doing their thing. Funny birds! For all those worried about the weather and your chickens, let the chickens decide what they will do and how they will handle it all. Locking them down in the coop to protect them is our human instinct to want everything to stay inside like we do...but it just doesn't work on animals.
You will find, in an open air setting like yours, that air comes in from all sides, top and bottom, no matter how secure you think you have it....and this is a good thing. The plastic will work as a windbreak and to keep rain and snow from blowing in, but I don't think it will hold in moist air with the goodly space you have left at the top. It will also come from the coop side into that space.
When jimmy rigging spaces like you have and like mine, all you can do is watch and learn what happens when you do these things....then adjust along the way until you know your coop/run space and it's capabilities and it's flaws. This is your year of learning. I am learning this new cooping system also and will see how it all goes down.
We have a very wet, heavy snowfall happening right now...and the Gnarly Bunch are all out in it doing their thing. Funny birds! For all those worried about the weather and your chickens, let the chickens decide what they will do and how they will handle it all. Locking them down in the coop to protect them is our human instinct to want everything to stay inside like we do...but it just doesn't work on animals.
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- #1,826
Nice to meet you, cpchicks! Glad you phone into the thread.
I wouldn't worry too much about not getting eggs right now...sometimes it varies when flocks get back to full lay. My own all look fully feathered with only a few showing any signs of molt recovery, combs are getting more red...but no eggs yet. I'm only getting 2-3 eggs out of 11 layers and this may continue all winter long, but sometimes that just happens. My flock are older than yours and have been through some trauma but I expect they will pick up on laying before the winter is out.
With chickens it's all about patience and sometimes that's hard to find and have. This newer generation have it even worse than us because they are so used to having things at their fingertips..and FAST. If it doesn't happen fast, they get impatient. I guess they are used to faster internet, faster cell service, fast TV, fast foods and fast banking...it's no wonder they get irritated when they first get into chickens, isn't it? They want those eggs and they want them NOW and why aren't these birds laying NOW?????
I just let my birds work in their own rhythms and when those rhythms seem off I might tweak it a little but I soon learn that I'm on a learning curve once again and the chickens are teaching me a whole new rhythm...just when I thought I had the other, old rhythm down pat. They always keep me on my toes and there is no certainty with trying to predict what will happen and when, just that it WILL happen...just living on faith seems to be the key. As with all things.
With chickens it's all about patience and sometimes that's hard to find and have. This newer generation have it even worse than us because they are so used to having things at their fingertips..and FAST. If it doesn't happen fast, they get impatient. I guess they are used to faster internet, faster cell service, fast TV, fast foods and fast banking...it's no wonder they get irritated when they first get into chickens, isn't it? They want those eggs and they want them NOW and why aren't these birds laying NOW?????
I just let my birds work in their own rhythms and when those rhythms seem off I might tweak it a little but I soon learn that I'm on a learning curve once again and the chickens are teaching me a whole new rhythm...just when I thought I had the other, old rhythm down pat. They always keep me on my toes and there is no certainty with trying to predict what will happen and when, just that it WILL happen...just living on faith seems to be the key. As with all things.
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We have heavy wet snow too, it's like a winter wonderland outside, the flock is outside doing flock stuff, roosters are crowing. 33* They know they can go into their coop now and find their ff,I checked and they ate a good bit of it since last eve.
Working on being not so worrisome over the girls. 32 degrees this morning in Alabama---much colder than normal for this time of year. All my my girls are running crazy all over the yard! Is it just my birds, or does it seem like the cold charges their batteies a little more? Maybe they are just having to move more to keep warm? At any rate, they seem happy! Coldest night we've had so far! And, no heat last night---I fought the urge! Though, I admit that I almost brought the babies in a dozen times last night.............
Bee would you freerange or keep your chickens penned up during "hawk season" if you didn't have a guard/farm dog?
I struggle because I want to let them freerange, but I don't want to lose my whole flock to migratory hawks. Any idea how much a hawk eat at one attack? The one I chased off my dead 10 week old silkie chick tried to carry the chick away but dropped it. That hawk was a good foot or foot & half tall.
I struggle because I want to let them freerange, but I don't want to lose my whole flock to migratory hawks. Any idea how much a hawk eat at one attack? The one I chased off my dead 10 week old silkie chick tried to carry the chick away but dropped it. That hawk was a good foot or foot & half tall.
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- #1,830
I always advise folks who want to heat their coops to first go and buy down coats and overalls, put them on, then sit inside by the fire for a bit and see how comfy it is. If you get too hot sitting by the heat in your down clothing, so will your birds. God gave them an excellent way to stay warm and we can't get any better than that.
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