Chickens

[MuddyINGOGirl]

Hi Fellow INGOers-

I'm planning to raise a small flock of chickens in the spring. Does anyone out there have any good advice or things they tried that did NOT go as planned? I'm planning to order 8 chicks (4 meat birds such as Jumbo Cornish X and 4 Australorp). The current plan is to start them in plastic totes as chicks and go from there. We'll be building the coop next spring...

Thanks in advance

 

[indyjohn]

BTW, to

Maybe if you pm'd Aszerigan he'd give you some pointers.

 

[dusty88]

There are a load of variables.

I do some consultations on poultry setup: specifically focused on what to consider when making your decisions for setup (ie housing, purchase, etc) as well as integration with your current property for sustainability and lower expense. The first thing that jumps out at me is the Jumbo Cornish. Having just 4 meat birds (which you have to process early because their bones aren't structured to hold more weight) is good as a learning process. For long term meat birds, I suggest choosing some dual-purpose breeds so that you don't have to keep raising chicks yourself (ie let the hens do that).

 

[subtlesixer03]

Muddy is my long time lurker wife who I FINALLY got to make her own name...... I am however looking forward to having chickens next spring. We have about a .25 acre to work with. We are not set yet on the exact birds but we wanted to get a few meat birds and a few all around birds. By next spring we should have our property totally fenced in with a 6 privacy fence. We are just planning on keeping it small and simple.

 

[Vigilant]

You should buy all your chicken at the store, where they don't harm any animals to get your meat!

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090331194350AA8aLwe

and for Jello's sake, DO NOT name any of them Snow!

 

[Ericpwp]

[video=youtube_share;2E4MAqttvgM]http://youtu.be/2E4MAqttvgM[/video]

 

[dirtfarmerz]

Australorps are our favorite, but we do have some Rhode Island Reds. The meat birds are eating and pooping machines, but they won't be around long. My family has raised a lot of Cornish Cross. I'd do like dusty88 mentioned; get some dual-purpose birds. Australorp roosters would do it. They shouldn't be making noise or chasing the females before you process them. A small portable pen is better. Pathogens multiply easier in a stationary coop. Most people make the mistake of feeding cracked corn. Meat birds and layers require more protein. Chickens will eat up to 30% legumes. The yokes will be dark orange if you provide greens in their diet.

We put raw apple cider vinegar in the chickens water. You can look it up. You should put it in your water also.

Plastic totes and heat lamps provide too many opportunities for a fire. We have used metal watering tubs with a good lamp hanger across the top. A lamp can still fall into the sawdust.

TSC and Rural King sell their chicks for less than you can order them. It's even better after a couple of weeks, they drop the price.

Owls, hawks, coyote, fox, skunks, and mink visit my farm way too often. The skunks just eat the eggs. You may want to close the pen door every night.

 

[Leadeye]

Shibumi is the most successful chicken rancher I know around here, it's tough to keep them alive with all the predators in the forest.

 

[SkullDaddy.45]

Hi Fellow INGOers-

I'm planning to raise a small flock of chickens in the spring. Does anyone out there have any good advice or things they tried that did NOT go as planned? I'm planning to order 8 chicks (4 meat birds such as Jumbo Cornish X and 4 Australorp). The current plan is to start them in plastic totes as chicks and go from there. We'll be building the coop next spring...

Thanks in advance

Welcome to INGO!! I know nothing about the care or raising of chickens. But once you get them nekkid and cooking on a rotisserie let me know, , , BBQ Chicken eating party at Mudgirls and sixer03's house!!

 

[MuddyINGOGirl]

My biggest concern with predators is raccoons, possums, cats, squirrels, gardener snakes, and possibly coyotes. Oh, and my own dogs. I was thinking of doing a stationary coop so I can better protect the birds. Any suggestions about good feed to use for meat birds and Australorps?

 

[Leadeye]

Shib's answer to this was to build a chicken fort rather than coop.

 

[dirtfarmerz]

My biggest concern with predators is raccoons, possums, cats, squirrels, gardener snakes, and possibly coyotes. Oh, and my own dogs. I was thinking of doing a stationary coop so I can better protect the birds. Any suggestions about good feed to use for meat birds and Australorps?

A small coop with wheels on one end is easy to move and can be as secure as a stationary coop. If you don't care about organic feed use Purina chick starter, they have medicated and non-medicated. After the chicks are a month old change their feed to "grower feed"; switch to "layer feed" at 5 months or when you see a few eggs. Layers normally get 17% protein feed. Legumes are high in protein, up to 29%. My son mows the clover with a regular lawn mower and then feeds it to the layers. Almost all non-organic feed will use GMO corn and soybeans; pick your poison or go for organic feed.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

My biggest concern with predators is raccoons, possums, cats, squirrels, gardener snakes, and possibly coyotes. Oh, and my own dogs. I was thinking of doing a stationary coop so I can better protect the birds. Any suggestions about good feed to use for meat birds and Australorps?

The thing that most learn by experience is that, if there's a way into your pen, a predator will find it. In my area, dogs and cats are the biggest threats.

btw: Garter snakes won't bother the chickens, though a black rat snake might get a chick or two.

 

[MuddyINGOGirl]

Just ordered my waterers today I bought the auto refill cups kind....$10.85 on EBay for 4. For the coop on wheels, how often are you moving it? As subtlesixer03 said we only have .25 acre to work with and most of that is a steep hill. I was thinking of building more of a chicken fort to stop any losses and let them free range when we're home to watch them.

 

[PistolBob]

I love chicken we get most of ours at Kroger, already peeled and ready to cook. I would like to have some live chickens out walking around though. My bro in law has had chickens for at least 20 years...I help him out from time to time. We bought a cheap mini barn kit from Lowes...used it for the parts and built up a really nice coop and laying area for them....in the winter he has a couple of heat bulbs in there to keep the coop a little bit warmer, and I think he has a electric watering bowl that has a heat element in it so the water doesn't freeze. They get eggs year around. He's got close to 50 chickens I guess, three or four different kinds...finally gave up on guinea hens though, the local predators seemed to like them way too much. They make good coyote bait.

 

[88GT]

Just ordered my waterers today I bought the auto refill cups kind....$10.85 on EBay for 4. For the coop on wheels, how often are you moving it? As subtlesixer03 said we only have .25 acre to work with and most of that is a steep hill. I was thinking of building more of a chicken fort to stop any losses and let them free range when we're home to watch them.

Don't over-think it. That's easy to do.

I have had layers since 2011 in a suburban backyard.

There are a few basics to consider.

Shelter: I favor a fixed coop/run. Chickens will DESTROY the grass. I prefer to keep the destruction to a single location. I let mine into the garden and backyard on occasion. Ventilation is a must. Not drafty. Ventilated. It need not be insulated or heated, but shelter from prevailing winds is a must. I wrap the run in plastic in the fall. It not only blocks the wind, but helps keep the run warmer via the greenhouse effect. A roof is also a good idea in the winter to keep out the snow. It's not necessarily outside of winter, so a tarp is a good temporary solution.

Food: I use a commercial feed from Tractor Supply. I keep it and the drinker filled. Easy-peasy.

Predator-proofing: Use hardware cloth, not poultry netting. Burying the hardware cloth out from the base of the run framing 18-24" will keep the diggers at bay. A "roof" of hardware cloth or poultry netting will keep the hawks out. This is the one place where I feel comfortable using poultry netting.

 

[dirtfarmerz]

Just ordered my waterers today I bought the auto refill cups kind....$10.85 on EBay for 4. For the coop on wheels, how often are you moving it? As subtlesixer03 said we only have .25 acre to work with and most of that is a steep hill. I was thinking of building more of a chicken fort to stop any losses and let them free range when we're home to watch them.

We moved the pen(s) every couple of days, but there are normally 25-50 chickens in a pen; depending on how old they are. We have kept them in pens and in a barn. We've tried a portable shelter type thing in a 4 acre fenced orchard, but we lost too many birds; check out the video. That was before we switched to heritage breeds. For the winter we have two rooms in a big barn. We are going to build a long pole barn with six areas to rotate them through. The six areas will probably have ladino clover because it is durable and good for the chickens. The birds will stay in one pen for about 5 days. That will give the clover time to recover and the pathogens die off by 30 days. Like 88GT mentioned, TSC layer feed is okay, I think it is 17% protein. If you keep their winter area above freezing you will get eggs through the winter. Comets/hybrids don't like the cold. Rhode Island Reds, Astralorps, or Buff Orpingtons do better in the cold. Keep the chickens healthy and they will not be so susceptible to respiratory problems and mites. Don't forget the raw apple cider vinegar in their water.

I would not grow meat birds, even just four of them, on .25 acres. Again, like 88GT mentioned, chickens will destroy the grass. Meat birds aren't the same as layers and your neighbors won't like the smell after a rain. If you have enough property a portable pen is very good for the grass, especially if you really enjoy mowing.

On localharvest.com you can find a local source of chickens, or just about anything else you are looking for.

[video]http://vid1333.photobucket.com/albums/w629/dirtfarmerzdad/Orchard_zpsbcb0b4a7.mp4[/video] -- Chickens in the orchard

[video]http://vid1333.photobucket.com/albums/w629/dirtfarmerzdad/Turkey_zps28a5ecb3.mp4[/video] -- Really free-range turkeys

 

[MuddyINGOGirl]

the turkeys...

Your turkeys crack me up when they gobble at a good morning greeting...that's just awesome...

but I think one may be telling you off about thanksgiving...

 

[bradmedic04]

The title of this thread made me think it was "Cowards!"part 2.

 

[dusty88]

What are your goals for the chickens?
To save money? To get better quality food? Are you willing to invest time and money in the first batch or 2 as a learning process ?
Are you going to have any problem treating them as livestock vs pets? (it's one thing to slaughter the meat birds as planned. It's another thing to be faced with the decision of what to do with a sick/injured hen, or a spent laying hen you've gotten attached to.

You also have to decide just how good you want your predator protection to be. A well-built coop can protect against any nighttime predator. Leave out a few details, and you still protect against most but it depends what shows up. If you let your chickens forage in the daytime, they produce higher quality food at a lower cost, but you have the risk of hawks or the neighborhood dogs.

The mobile coop someone mentioned is a "chicken tractor". They don't destroy your grass if you move them regularly. To the contrary, you don't get the dirty, muddy area. You get the chickens eating some weeds and bugs and leaving behind a little fertilizer.

There is a lot to think about, but it depends what your priorities are for the chickens. If you get meat birds and buy commercial feed, your meat will cost you more than buying chicken at the store and won't be much better in quality. If you build separate grazing pens (cheap ones you can move daily) you can feed your chickens largely from your lawn and have better quality meat. But starting with a few first, and buying their food, will at least give you some idea of what you want and how much time you are willing to spend.