We Have Chickens!

[Bigum1969]

The killing them part must suck. At least a little.

Especially for a candy :moon: like me.

 

[Pamcake]

Pamcake, ...
Do you move their pens around much or put them in chicken tractors by chance? How big of an area do you give them?

Well, I measured yesterday. The grassy area is 25' x 55', not including the area under the eave on the side of the barn. there is nothing movable/tractor. There are 27 chickens, and hopefully 13 guineas (saw only 11 just now). The guineas fly in & out to free-range all over, but the chickens haven't figured that out yet.

I will see if the grass in this trial "pen" lives or not with that much traffic and poo. ..."This is only a test..."

 

[shibumiseeker]

Well, I measured yesterday. The grassy area is 25' x 55', not including the area under the eave on the side of the barn. there is nothing movable/tractor. There are 27 chickens, and hopefully 13 guineas (saw only 11 just now). The guineas fly in & out to free-range all over, but the chickens haven't figured that out yet.

I will see if the grass in this trial "pen" lives or not with that much traffic and poo. ..."This is only a test..."

I give it about 3 weeks...

 

[techres]

The killing them part must suck. At least a little.

Especially for a candy :moon: like me.

My friends were the same way, for about a month. Now it is no big deal. I will take care of it myself and my wife will NOT be involved.

 

[RandyN2075]

Interesting...two weeks ago my wife and I became first time rabbit ranchers. Bought 7 (3 does and 4 bucks). Two bucks have met their maker and come to find out one of the does is a buck too....he's next on the chopping block. We think we have successfully mated one of the does so we are waiting for the pitter, patter of little bunny feet. So far it has been interesting.

 

[Keith_Indy]

Chickens may be done, but they are awesome little food producers.

They eat just about anything, so what scraps we don't put into compost, we put into them (which later becomes compost.)

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...aredness/36448-the_2009_chicken_massacre.html

We have 5 hens now. We choose the Buff Orpington for the breed. It is a dual-purpose, large breed. They can withstand the cold better then smaller breeds. We had a little bit of frost bite starting during the coldest, windiest days of the winter, but all of them did fine.

They produce on average 3.5 eggs per day. We're seeing 3-6 eggs a day now that the days are getting longer and brighter. We do have ours in a 8x8 shed. It has a light on a timer, a heated water bowl, and a heater. Normally only turned the heater on if it was going to be below 20 degrees for an extended period of time.

Backyard Chickens is a great resource.

We're considering getting more to increase their egg production. We're selling surplus to co-workers, and friends.

 

[Clay]

Ive been talking to the wife about the possibility of raising chickens when ever we get around to building a house on some ground I have. She grew up on a farm with goats, pigs, sheep, cows, chickens, quail, etc.

She is fine with everything but chickens and pigs..... she says they stink way to much!

 

[Keith_Indy]

Our chickens don't stink at all...

 

[66chevelle]

I have a question for the chicken people here. We have had 3 hens and 1 rooster for about 1.5 years now. I am going to add 3 more RIR hens next month. My question is do I really need my rooster? I am not planning on hatching any baby chicks. I was told if I had a rooster it would up the amount of eggs I get. The 3 hens usually produce 15-21 eggs a week so almost 1 egg per bird a day. Do I really need to keep him?

 

[Pamcake]

I have a question for the chicken people here. We have had 3 hens and 1 rooster for about 1.5 years now. I am going to add 3 more RIR hens next month. My question is do I really need my rooster? I am not planning on hatching any baby chicks. I was told if I had a rooster it would up the amount of eggs I get. The 3 hens usually produce 15-21 eggs a week so almost 1 egg per bird a day. Do I really need to keep him?

There is no need for the rooster.
Your hens will like life better!

No relationship between (presence of rooster) and (egg laying).
Just like humans that ovulate regularly ("monthly"), hens ovulate "daily" or so, on their own internal cycles.

Think about the commercial egg factories... all those hens in a cage their entire lifetime and no rooster... the most egg production there is!

 

[66chevelle]

Thats a great point thank you for the advice. I guess now I have a rooster to get rid of.

There is no need for the rooster.
Your hens will like life better!

No relationship between (presence of rooster) and (egg laying).
Just like humans that ovulate regularly ("monthly"), hens ovulate "daily" or so, on their own internal cycles.

Think about the commercial egg factories... all those hens in a cage their entire lifetime and no rooster... the most egg production there is!

 

[csaws]

We are on year two of our chicken experiment.

As a recap we started last year with 15

-1 to a German Shepard
-4 to us for picking Roosters... man id they taste good
-3 to a red fox this winter, can't fault it trying to survive this harsh winter

This year we bought 13 on Feb 26th, they can outside(meaning out of the garage and into the coop) as soon as they are fully feathered, somewhere between 8 and 16 weeks.

Our coop is gonne need a few mods to keep 20 chickens happy and us happy too but we should be fine. Ours free range completely and our neighbors have never complained about it.

We have never candled the eggs before we eat them and we give away lots, although we may buy the license to sell them (for 2011) now that we will have a good sized flock.

Techres there are lots of free coop plans on the county extension websites (especially in other states), if you have to off any build a killing cone it is easy and it prevents them from flopping around and bruising the meat. Here are pics of the coop I "borrowed" plans for.

Need anything else just ask, if I don't know I will try to point you to someone that does or find out for ya.

Clay our chickens do not stink either and we quit calling Orkin out becuase of them.

 

[Dr Falken]

Our small flock started laying eggs the last few days, earlier than I expected. I still need to get the laying boxes made, but I think right now we are getting at least two a day!

Techres, there are coop plans out there, but if you are looking for free wood to build stuff, wooden pallets can get you there and are good enough for chickens, just a thought if you're about DIY.

 

[Buckhunter]

I'm on year #1 of chickens myself. I will be building my coop this weekend as they are getting too big for the cage I built for the chicks. I've got 20 I got for meat birds and 4 for layers. As soon as I get the coop built I'll go down and pick up 20-30 more chicks. Luckily I've had some help though the process. I'll get some pics of mine up soon.

 

[Pamcake]

First Guinea eggs

Today I collected 12 chicken eggs (inside the chicken pen & stall) and found 2 guinea eggs on the ground near the barn, outside of the chicken area. I was wondering if they would ever lay any where I could find them (they free-range over about 6 acres & there's no way I can patrol that, crossing 2 creeks in the woods).
I'm just happy that 2 of them decided to give me a break!
Now I know I at least have 2 female pearl guineas... they all look alike

The 2 gray-white, more pointy ones in the middle are the guinea eggs. The rest are today's harvest.

 

[Dr Falken]

The other day our 6 chickens layed 7 eggs. They are doing good!

 

[DHolder]

We need to come up with some BACON! Our hens are at peak production now that the days are getting longer, and with plenty of bugs and grass they are doing well. They aren't the smartest critters around, but they are interesting to watch.

 

[indysafe317]

I am interested in a small setup, just 2-3 chicks to start. More a project for my daughter. What do we do in the winter time. I'm looking at making a small portable setup for the backyard but at a loss on what to do when it gets cold out. Thanks

 

[shibumiseeker]

I am interested in a small setup, just 2-3 chicks to start. More a project for my daughter. What do we do in the winter time. I'm looking at making a small portable setup for the backyard but at a loss on what to do when it gets cold out. Thanks

All you need to do is keep their water thawed and feed them more.

Most cold tolerant varieties around here do just fine if you provide them with a place out of the direct wind (but NOT airtight! Lots of ventilation).
The biggest problems for chickens is to go from a warmer, humid coop to outside. Their feet and combs cold adapt nicely but they can get frostbite if the transition is too sudden.

Our Plymouths, Orpingtons, and Americaunas did just fine this winter ina roost 4' off the ground in a coop that was wire mesh all the way around and a tarp on top and one side and straw on the floor.

 

[hornadylnl]

To free range chickens, do you just build an open coup? Will they always go back to the coup to lay their eggs? Do they help keep down the Mosquitos? I've got 17 acres of woods that I'm thinking about getting chickens for next year. How far away will they roam? I'm afraid that if I free range them, the neighbors dogs will get to them. There are about 5 dogs a half mile up the road and they roam the countryside.