Chickens (Page 2 of 3)
|
It looks like you live too close to other folks to have a Rooster. A decent rooster will herd all the hens into the coop in the evening, usually before they are ready. He will also do this anytime a hawk flies by, or he sees some other danger. Lots of people hate roosters, I think their crowing sounds great. |
|
Originally Posted By GSPatton: It looks like you live too close to other folks to have a Rooster. A decent rooster will herd all the hens into the coop in the evening, usually before they are ready. He will also do this anytime a hawk flies by, or he sees some other danger. Lots of people hate roosters, I think their crowing sounds great. We can't anyways due to city ordnance. |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
Joined:
Feb 2007
Posts:
53076
EE: 0% (0)
KY, USA
|
Well, a little update and a few more questions. The hens are still not laying but damn they are getting big. I don't know if we will see any eggs before winter, maybe? I have a few questions regarding winter. I bought a coop heater, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJLLY3XB that I plan on mounting to the side door. I am looking to get a temperature-controlled outlet so it wouldn't always be on. Is there a desired temperature at which the coop should be? What about a heated water dish? Any recommendations? |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
|
I bought a water heater that looks like a big upside down pie plate that I set my galvanized waterer on. That was just so that the water would not freeze. I bought it at a place called Rural King but another place we have here called tractor supply also sells them. I'm certain you have similar farm stores there. They can handle cold quite well, but they cannot handle a breeze. It needs to be well ventilated but no way for wind to blow through the reason chickens quit laying eggs in the winter time is not because of the cold, it is because of the amount of light during the day they know when the days get shorter. You can put a lamp in there coop set on a timer to increase the amount of light that they receive and lengthen "daytime". It will increase egg production. |
| When they do start laying be prepared for some oddball eggs. I had one that was barely the size of a dime, and New hens often create gigantic eggs and many of them are double yolk. Definitely feed them kitchen scraps. They will eat, nearly everything except for citrus, my loved hotdogs and any kind of leftover meat as well as whatever pieces of vegetable that you have. Don't feed them onions or garlic as you will have onion and garlic, flavored eggs, which now that I think of it might be kind of cool |
|
Ok, thank you. I will look at tractor supply for something. Our winter temps are normally around 10deg F. We do get down to -30 (ambient) for a while. |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
|
They are probably not old enough, about 8 months is normal for us @ 2750' TN, I collect atleast a dozen nightly now. All the birds finally go up now, it's been a month and a half.....thank God. Might be doing a kill it/grill it, I adjusted a rooster's attitude on friday...  |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
|
Chickens are hardy, they make alot of heat, keep wind off them and water thawed. I have a 120V oil radiator that stays on low when below freezing, it's enough to knock of the chill in the air and they can't destroy it. Too big for you though, a 40watt incandescent light would work on cold nights as long as they can't get to it and get burned |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
| Their coop is pretty dang small. I think any heat source will be plenty for them. I have a thermometer in it so I can see where it's at. |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
|
Things every chicken farmer needs: - Long handle fishing net - Heat cube - your auto on/ off temp switch (amazon link hope it works) Find a source of oats/ rye, with that few chickens 20 pounds is plenty. Sprout it in the house, start a new batch every day or every other day this winter, in a good size cake pan or so (like 12x20 or so). Dump in coop daily when sprouted - they will love it and it will keep them from picking at each other which can get ugly. |
|
Originally Posted By penrod72: Things every chicken farmer needs: - Long handle fishing net - Heat cube - your auto on/ off temp switch (amazon link hope it works) Find a source of oats/ rye, with that few chickens 20 pounds is plenty. Sprout it in the house, start a new batch every day or every other day this winter, in a good size cake pan or so (like 12x20 or so). Dump in coop daily when sprouted - they will love it and it will keep them from picking at each other which can get ugly. Copy. Thanks for the heads up. |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
| Insulation and proper ventilation is what you want for a coop. Heat leads to inevitable coop fires and burnt chicken. Chickens need way more ventilation than you think. They need to be dry, and ventilation will remove all the excess moisture they produce. Chickens, esp heavies, are generally ok down to -40°. You just have to watch for frostbite on get and combs and wattles. But if they're dry, that takes care of most of the issue. |
|
I have company as I grill lunch...they are like dinosaur dogs Attached File |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
|
We had this play out in our house over the last few years. It started with 1 chicken, then 3, and it got out of control. When the city finally got on our case this year we had close to 30 (law only allows 4), with another round of eggs in the brooder. My wife decided if she can't have dozens, why have any, and sold them all. I don't miss them. Fresh eggs look nice, but don't really taste any different from grocery store eggs. The darker yoke might have you thinking they taste better, and if that's how you're wired, more power to you. We ate grocery store eggs and my wife sold the fresh eggs. When you do fresh eggs, the risk of getting a rotten one goes up. I had to crack each egg into a separate container to make sure it wasn't bad begore putting it with others. If you crack directly into your ingredients, it often happens you ruin them when you crack a rotten egg into it. Slaughtering the roosters for meat is another thing I won't miss. It's a lot of work for a trivial amount of meat with laying breeds. Taking the better part of a Saturday to dress out 5 scrawny birds just feels like a waste. We have rabbits that are just pets now. We've skipped the duck phase from the silly video, and the city won't let us have any of the other ridiculous animals. Still rings true, though. |
|
Does anyone have a programmable solar light I can install on the coop for winter? I have a 110v outlet next to the coop but I plan on installing a small coop heater (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DDCBM3KZ) and I don't want to overload that circuit. |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
| Very cool, congrates!!!! honestly the cheap oil filled radiator heaters work good an don't pull much, keep it on lowest setting and add led light bulbs for sight |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
| Air flow is what is cold, instead of straw try older hay, they will eat it and it's cheaper or free...may have thorns but chickens don't care |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
|
Originally Posted By bansil: Air flow is what is cold, instead of straw try older hay, they will eat it and it's cheaper or free...may have thorns but chickens don't care Okay thanks. I will see what we can find. We buy a bale of the bedding at a local farm and ranch. I'm guessing they will have hay there too. |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
|
Free access to feed and water and they're pretty self sufficient. A draft free, yet vented (they exhale a lot of moisture) safe place to roost. One or two laying boxes are all that's needed for a dozen chickens. They all seem to lay in the same "favorite" box anyway. Mine have a couple covered runs. Covered with wire to keep the owls out, and covered with a tarp so it won't be such a muddy mess when it rains. Two runs lets me idle one and plant grass while the other is in use. Hay in the runs. Forked out into the mulch pile every couple months and replaced. The chicken house proper has large chip pine bedding. IMO hay has too much dust etc. for use in a contained building and chickens are susceptible to respiratory ailments. Pine chips don't have as much dust. These too go in the mulch pile too every couple months. Start with standard breeds. RI Reds. Barred Rock. White Leghorns. Fancier breeds are usually more maintenance. Accept that everything will eventually be smeared in chicken shit, not Martha Stewart clean. |
|
Originally Posted By HangfiresGhost: Free access to feed and water and they're pretty self sufficient. A draft free, yet vented (they exhale a lot of moisture) safe place to roost. One or two laying boxes are all that's needed for a dozen chickens. They all seem to lay in the same "favorite" box anyway. Mine have a couple covered runs. Covered with wire to keep the owls out, and covered with a tarp so it won't be such a muddy mess when it rains. Two runs lets me idle one and plant grass while the other is in use. Hay in the runs. Forked out into the mulch pile every couple months and replaced. The chicken house proper has large chip pine bedding. IMO hay has too much dust etc. for use in a contained building and chickens are susceptible to respiratory ailments. Pine chips don't have as much dust. These too go in the mulch pile too every couple months. Start with standard breeds. RI Reds. Barred Rock. White Leghorns. Fancier breeds are usually more maintenance. Accept that everything will eventually be smeared in chicken shit, not Martha Stewart clean. I've had really good experience with production reds, which are a cross of RI Reds and something else. They never stop laying in winter. 8 chickens and I usually get 7 or 8 eggs a day. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
|
Another egg today but it was outside the coop. This spring we will look at getting a larger coop and adding a couple more hens. |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
|
Originally Posted By TOTHEMAX: Another egg today but it was outside the coop. This spring we will look at getting a larger coop and adding a couple more hens. Be careful how you introduce them. If you just throw them in there with the others, the original chickens might just corner them and peck them to death. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
As mentioned above, lots of ventilation is good. You just don't want it blowing directly on them, so I had mine above and below the roost. My best layers were Golden Comets, and second was the Easter Eggers.   The large brown egg on the left is from a Golden Comet, and the green one on the right is from an EE.  |
|
Originally Posted By 67Firebird: As mentioned above, lots of ventilation is good. You just don't want it blowing directly on them, so I had mine above and My best layers were Golden Comets, and second was the Easter Eggers. ]  Poor Ole firebird.....taken over by Dino Birds..... They probed you I guess since they had the wheels and the gun...  
|
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Attached File
|
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
.jpg)
|
I just went out to the run to check on them, and another egg was in the coop. I think only one of the birds is laying, and its one of the young hens. Hopefully the other 3 start. They sure do like the black sunflower seeds. They eat the piss out of them. |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
|
Does anyone have a recommendation for a heated water bucket? We bought one like this and the ring around the outside keeps freezing. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DL2Q17Z3?tag=arfcom00-20 |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
|
Originally Posted By TOTHEMAX: Does anyone have a recommendation for a heated water bucket? We bought one like this and the ring around the outside keeps freezing. I used a rubber dog bowl, https://www.amazon.com/Fortex-Feeder-Dogs-Horses-4-Quart/dp/B000A6XM5O and a couple different stock tank heaters. https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-H-419-Aluminum-Submergible/dp/B000HHO9LC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CF29W52Q?tag=arfcom00-20 I had to build a little 2x4 structure over it, or they'd stand in the water and poop in it. (...or on the edge, and flip it over). I made it where they could get their heads in to drink, but couldn't poop in it, even from on top of the 2x4s. Overhang was needed. |
|
Thanks. I was going to get a heated dog dish, but I also thought about the poop issue. Luckily, we only have a few more days of super cold before it warms up again. These negative temperatures freeze water quite quickly. |
3-7-77
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
Proud Member of the Leather Head Mafia
“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised” - George S. Patton
|
Originally Posted By 67Firebird: That's why I eventually bought the rubber bowl, because you can flex it and get the block of ice out. That's what we've gone to for rabbits, and some of the horses. Let the rubber bowl freeze overnight, bust it out and refill in the morning. For the rabbits, we use the 2 qt size, I think, and if you don't want to refill it constantly, you can use one of those welding chipping hammer things to bust a hole, and pull the ice out. 
|
Brunch... Attached File Stale chips,grapes,pineapple, chicken fries, potato corn chowder, old bread, gravy, meat loaf, mashed tators and corn etc...fridge clean out .Attached File |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
|
Originally Posted By 67Firebird: I had a special container for all kitchen/food scraps, so I could save them for the chickens. They liked it, and I got to enjoy watching them eat.  Yours leave that very thin shell from watermelons? That was pretty much the one thing (well one part of one thing) they never seemed to eat. Other than that we'd scrape plates into a take home box and they'd eat everything. They really are little dinosaurs. |
|
What do you guys like for watering? Looking at the hanging ones that are galvanized, but the comments all say they rust quickly. Having an 8x12’ coop built now, been putting it off for too long. |
"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."
L.P. Hartley
L.P. Hartley
|
Originally Posted By FZJ80: What do you guys like for watering? Either the rubber dog bowls, or this type of waterer. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/harris-farms-poultry-drinker-5-qt |