The Wyandotte Thread

[WyandotteTX]

It all depends on what you want to do with your birds. If you are just raising your birds for eggs and your own enjoyment, free range them all you want. BUT, if you are going to show birds you do have to segregate them individually at some point. Cages are not a problem for breaking feathers etc because you build an appropriate size cage for the bird. For the big Wyandottes and Minorcas I built 2ft x 3ft x 30 inches tall cages to keep them in. A very large cage for one bird. I have others that are 3ft x 4 ft when need be. For bantams the cages do not need to be near as big. I say all of this because I have known people who showed birds of all sizes all my life and have seen many variations of cages for different breeds and all of them were kept there in preparation for showing for the sole reason of not damaging feathers. Three of those individuals were Master Breeders and Exhibitors so I kind of trusted their practices.

 

[delisha]

Quote: great advise!
It was nice that someone asked for help and you gave it.

I ferment my feed so they eat the calf manna. I have not seen any hesitation in eating much of anything in my birds. I do feed a heavier meat protein during conditioning, it boosts good fats, adds sheen to feathers. I do not cage my birds until 6 weeks before a show. Feather quality is inherited and if you choose your breeding birds for quality feathering, free ranging does not effect that quality. They get a little tatty on the ends from brush and dirt, but I find the 6 weeks usually repairs them, or if they are bad I pull them out and they have the 6 weeks to grow them back. Of course that will not work for primary's and tails. 90 days for those, so checking early for damaged flight and tail feathers before a show is pretty important.

 

[K Epp]

Her are my two Wyandotte Girls the Silver Mrs Potts is a expert at hiding nest. She is 1.5 yrs old. The gold hasn't been named yet and is 6mths old. She hasn't started laying yet.

 

[sixpugs]

great. dvise!
It was nice that someone asked for help and you gave it.

I ferment my feed so they eat the calf manna. I have not seen any hesitation in eating much of anything in my birds. I do feedosts good fats, adds sheen to feathers. I do not cage my birds until 6 weeks before. show. Feather quality is inherited and if you choose your breeding birds for quality feathering, free ranging does not effect that quality. They get a little tatty on the ends from brush and dirt, but I find the 6 weeks usually repairs them, or if they are bad I pull them out and they have the 6 weeks to grow them back. Of course that will not work for primary's and tails. 90 days for those, so checking early for damaged flight and tail feathers before a show is pretty important.

I have personally never tried fermenting my feed......okay that's a lie I tried once with the game bird feed that I was trying to sprout because my bantams couldn't handle the large size of the seeds & grains. it was awful so I never continue the practice, but I can see where that would work really well with pelleted feeds such as Calf Manna. well it is true feather quality is inherited feather condition is not. Natty feathers & thinner birds are not show winners & will not attain optimum size for shows. I have successfully kept several females in a large chain link dog kennel with heavy shavings.the other problem with free ranging and having Birds out of doors is sunlight & thing's such as dew & dirt. Sunlight destroys color and feather condition.Dew & dirt contribute to feather breakage, stains etc.we're not talking about the lifetime of the bird while you are conditioning it to show.... We are talking about a few months out of its life and most of them respond very well to this type of treatment.they can free range all they want later. Showing is a lot of fun. me part of the challenge is to see just how well I can condition my birds and see them at their optimum Peak. Effectively I am showing against myself because I am my harshest Critic.

 

[K Epp]

Mine are just for eggs and enjoyment. Mrs Potts keeps everyone in line even the roosters. lol My Gold Laced hangs out with a Gold laced Polish so If I every hatch any of their eggs they should look interesting.

 

[sixpugs]

IMO free ranged birds will be healthier in the long run because they're getting a varied diet and lots of exercise...    yes they might be a bit thinner than caged birds, but unless you're conditioning for the table or maybe show, they'll be healthier over all.

as for feather condition, when they're not broody or moulting I see no difference between feather contition between caged or free ranged birds. if anything the caged birds wings and tail aren't quite what they should be because they're hitting the wire when they flap, or backing into it periodically.  hens' feathers do suffer more, because of the roos, so they would get penned just for that reason.

Wyandottetx is correct. if you have the appropriate size cage or pens you will not have the problem with feather breakage. nobody would dispute that free ranging (assuming that you have adequate protection from all manner predators) is the ideal way to raise egg & table birds. we are talking about raising Birds to show at fairs and Association shows. This requires different management. I have no idea how often you show her how many shows you have won but I can certainly tell the difference between Birds that are free ranged at the shows vs.birds that are kept up in condition by people who put in the extra efforts to condition their birds to the best possible shape.

 

[SeattleLeah]

I got these lovely peeps from cjwaldon. They are just shy of 7 weeks. Several roos were obvious by 4 weeks with big red combs and wattles. Im thinking these are all pullets, do you agree?

Chick #1


chick # 2

Chick #3

 

[BantyChickenLuv]

Ok, here are pictures of him with his tail. I'm debating if I should take him to fair or not. I've done nothing different than what I did before. I'm thinking he may be moulting. He has no mites/lice, I checked him and dusted him as a precaution last night. Here he is before:

Re-posting because I think it was missed.

 

[2seth2]

Re-posting because I think it was missed.

This time of year everything is out of condition form breeding season I say go for it!

 

[suebgbr]

I have no clue on pepper spray. I would say it's bad to spray it around them at all. Raccoons can get through just about any enclosure.  We killed a raccoon as it was trying to run off with a chicken in the middle of the night and I haven't had any problems since. All my birds are free ranging 24/7 and even though I worry about them, I have added roosters and that seems to help alert the others when somethings up.

In England if we free range our hens we buy a pair of Emu's to put in with them.
Sounds bizarre right? Emu's hunt foxes which are the worst chicken killer in England. If a fox comes anywhere near the chickens the Emu's hunt it down.
Maybe it would work the same with your predators?