not to brag, but I have a gold mine in my back yard...
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sweet little biddies , I love watching them peck around, it's so relaxing, mine are cooped up now, when its a warmish day I open the barn and even the old girls come flying out so happy! Then they see the snow, and go "wtf", if you listen closely they say it quite often.It sounds like "bawk bawk bawk", but I know their language and can translate.
:D
no snow for my birbs... living in central FL. gonna be cold tonight tho, so the heat lamps will be on.
Yeah it's a little chilly here in south Bama too. 40's here today and low 30's tonight, near freezing. Will be like this for a few days then back up to low 70's during the day & 50-60's night. This is how it's been lately, up & down and can't find any cold/flu meds at the store (not that I take those meds, I take allergy meds when needed & vitamins), the south always has crazy ass weather.
I live in a wooded hilly frozen place, 3 months of summer and 9 months of poor sleddin as they say around here, (not that bad), but up until the end of May we can get freeze warnings, and I keep a woodfire going in the stove from October till May, most times. I've had chickens all this time. 3/4 an acre is what I have fenced off for them, and it could easily handle up to 50 for free range, but the most I have had is around 35. They need about 4 square ft for roosting, you would want them to cuddle and keep each other warm through the cold months, they do fine in the mid to low 30's, in their housing, you dont want drafts but you do want ventilation. On the coldest of the coldest nights, below zero days on end and nights dipping to 20 below, is a challenge. I have a big walk in cellar with cages for that purpose, but you dont want to warm them on normal winter nights, teens-30's, they do fine if they are a winter hardy breed. You can hang heater lamps, and they also make these mats in different sizes for seed starting, to put on under the shavings. When I get new chicks, I get them in May, keep them in a spot indoors with a heat lamp until they have all their feathers and can fly up to roost, and put them in the barn around the beginning of July, and they are good to go. Use a generous amount of straw and shavings on the floor, make sure they have light in the barn, (passive solar), and they will be fine. I get my chicks from two places, Murray Macmurray hatchery, and Meyers, and Hoovers, all ship good healthy chicks, MacMurrays sells good equipment. In the winter I put a kiddy pool in the barn with tube sand and wood ash mixed so they can dust themselves , as they will get lice through winter if they cannot dust themselves off. Sometimes you lose a few, but if you check on the flock once a day in the winter, and notice one or two all huddled and shivery and sleepy, they need to get warmed up, sometimes they are the ones on the end or the one that is unpopular and cannot get cozy enough, Make sure to get chicks that are labelled as winter hardy, and it should be fine.
Winter hardy breeds can survive winters just fine.
We have a 60sqft coop non insulated that houses 10 chickens just fine in USDA Hardiness Zone 5a.
you might find that chickens will refuse to walk on snow but if you clear it away enough to see some kind of ground or make a path of straw/hay, pineneedles, woodchips, etc they'll go out on that.
Winter Chicken
we live in central Florida so the cold is usually not an issue. The problem we have is predators, so we can't "free-range" them. We have 3 separate chicken runs linked together that are about 30x14 each. We let them eat the grass and weeds off 1 while we reseed the other 2. We still have to supplement with grain, but I make fodder with wheat and sunflower seeds. I ferment the seeds as well... really cuts the cost. Also, I buy meal-worms for a treat - about $50 a month. The rest of the grain runs about $55 for a 3 month supply of wheat (Tho that price is going up) and $35 for the sunflower seeds (black oil sunflower) which lasts about 3 months as well. I use cheap fast-growing grass seed to re-seed the runs - it costs maybe $2 for each re-seeding.
we also feed them veggie scraps (from our garden) and I grow a shitton of bananas and papaya. Chickens can eat every part of the banana plants and they go ape over papaya.
Do you know if they eat the papaya seeds? The papaya seed (if chewed) will kill intestinal parasites in humans. I'm wondering if you couldn't grind up the seeds and put them out there for them to eat, thus keeping them parasite free?
Chickens have their own built-in grinders--the gizzard! https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/What-is-the-function-of-the-gizzard-in-poultry
They do eat the papaya seeds... but they probably won't eat them ground up since the seeds taste peppery that way - and that's a flavor chickens don't seem to like (mine anyways).
Makes sense. I hate the taste of them chewed up also, (makes me want to hurl) but you have to do it if you want them to get rid of some of the intestinal invaders.
Maybe they know they taste good with pepper so they don't want you to know.
I live in the Rocky Mountains at about 10k feet. LOTS of snow. Long winters. I built my own insulated coop and ran power out to it for a couple heat lamps that i turn on when it is really cold. Even when it is around zero outside the coop stays about 45 degrees. I put up a large loafing shed attached to the coop that is open on one side so the chickens have somewhere without snow to walk around in the winter. Also the coop is elevated about a foot and a half off the ground. Giving them somewhere to hide from hawks and the elements. The bigest challenge is keeping their water from freezing. I recommend using rubber bowls so when it freezes you can stomp the ice out and refill. You would be suprised how hardy chickens are but i try to keep them as comfortable as reasonably possible. I know someone who keeps a flock up in Alaska. They can thrive anywhere with a little acomodation.
Northern IN here. I have a coop and fenced run, and they did great with just some extra hay on the floor during the week of -30 windchill a few weeks ago. We did keep them locked in the coop with fresh water and food, but they do great
Rhode island reds and Isa browns. I'm getting meat chickens (freedom rangers) and some more dual.purpose hens in about 4-6 weeks then plan to let a few hens go broody and raise their own chick's with a Jersey giant rooster so in the future I won't need to purchase meat birds
We should have a chicken space here. I’ve learned so much in the past year. They get their feed plus veggie, fruits, meat, tuna, salmon and mackerel. The meat is good for them.
They lose their marbles over blueberries.
How big is your Jersey?
I haven't purchased yet, but the roosters are supposed to reach 13 pounds. They are good dual purpose breed, so males are often raised for meat, however they take much longer to reach max weight. That's why I want him to protect the flock and start breeding my own cross breed chick's with my Rhode island and Isa brown hens.
I love Chickens...they taste like Chicken 🐰
Bunch of hot chicks
Lucky man for sure. 😊
Lovely, love chickies.
and some chicken soup when you catch a cold!! a medicine cabinet!
Niiiiiiiice...
I really like chickens, they are beautiful hopeful bossy little creatures.
the rooster is a real jerk, but the hens a very docile.
Watch the rooster. He is the essential element to the flock. Had over 20 chickens for a few years and learned so much from watching them. The pecking order process can get so intense the hens will kill each other at times. Basically two hens fight, and if one has visible wound the others will continue pecking that wound eventually killing the wounded chicken if you don't isolate it from flock for time to heal. The rooster will prevent that for you. When I finally added a rooster he breaks up the fights and keeps order. Also protects them from predators by warning them of danger. Amazing creatures. Hours of entertainment. The kids used to throw cherry tomatoes into the pen and watch them play "chicken football". Hilarious watching them run with it then stop to eat it ony to have another one snatch it and run.
Disclaimer: at least this was what I observed. Not sure if this is the usual behavior considering I only had the one rooster. Could have just been lucky to have the little guy.
A good rooster will give his life for his hens. A good rooster, will sleep next to the door inside the coop and be the first in line in case an intruder enters. A bad rooster will hide up in the back and let the hens be taken first.
Good roosters won't go into the coop until all the hens are inside and accounted for. A bad rooster will just go in, oblivious to anyone but himself.
I usually keep 2 roosters, that are brothers, from the same batch of chicks. Otherwise, introducing 2 roosters into the same flock can cause a fight-to-the-death fight between the roosters as they fight for dominance. I like having 2 so one can be a spare, in case one is injured or dies. If they grew up together, they are less likely to fight.
My hens are broody and often have chicks, so I have plenty of roosters to choose for my flock. I choose the best roosters by observing their behavior. I look for those that cock-a-doodle-doo when they find a food source, telling the hens there is food available. A bad rooster will just try to take all the food for himself. I see how they react when there's danger nearby (cat nearing the fence, hawk in the air) do they even notice, and do they warn the others? Do they get along with the hens or are they preventing some from getting food, thus alienating/shunning them?
A rooster will have one hen that is his favorite. She will hang around him, but that may make her unlikable by the other hens. If the rooster dies, she will be left out, will probably spend the rest of her days pecking alone, may even be afraid to roost with the others in the coop.
A flock will have the matron hen, the bossy, loud one. If there's no rooster in the flock, she will act rooster-ish and may even attempt to cock-a-doodle-doo in the morning or when there's danger. She runs the roost, top of the pecking order, for sure. So a flock doesn't absolutely need a rooster, but for safety of the flock, and growth of the flock (incubated eggs), they are a treasure. Just important to have a good rooster. A mean one, well, they become dog food at our place.
This is very interesting. I especially like your observance of the good rooster and bad rooster. It's quite like watching people.
My rooster gives the hens the blueberries and food before he eats. He shows them the good food and keep everything in line. I have his son, who is out of a EE and they do not fight at all. He watches his subunits and the newer flock. The main rooster had his fave but he loves them all.
The loudest is Freya but Queenie is the boss. Freya is my starlight green egger and she’s nosey af lol. Plus she willl pull a Houdini from time to time but nowadays they all stay in their run which is a 50 x 80. That’s Hooked up to to a 10x10 fully covered pen that they roost at night.
I have one Rudy hen right now and she’s an Orpington. I took two eggs from each hen and she hatched them all so it’s very unique to see the different colors.
I have Easter Eggers, Orpington‘s, Rhode Island red, olive Eggers and a australorp. The rooster is a barred rock. The two sets that hatched are all mixed with the bard rocks with the exception of all of Eggers and the Rhode Island because they’re not ready to lay eggs yet.
His son is ad of Queenie and he looks like a Moran. He’s got beautiful green tail feathers, but his crest is like flames. I’ll post a picture.
Love the names you gave them. We had one that would run up to my son to get her petting everyday. He named her lovey dovey.
There is Misty (now Momma Chi), Lilly, tulip, Thor, Conrad, Nepthis, Queenie, Daisy, Ruby, Saphira, Jade, Boot, and Bonnet.
I have to name the three white crosses and the hen who looks like her daddy.
The 16 chicks I haven’t even started to name.
👍🙂 😂Thor, love it.
A wealth of knowledge...thank you!
Looks like I had a good rooster. Thanks for the great information!
yep. Our Buff Orp. rooster is a huge and horny fella. the smaller chickens are loosing back feathers.
We're looking to set up a separate coup for the smaller ones and leave the Buff's to themselves. Those hens are real chonks.
Try these....https://www.google.com/search?q=red+chicken+blindres&rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS875US875&oq=red+chicken+blindres&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i10i160l2.8176j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1
Questions for the chicken owners - how many eggs do they lay each per week?
Do you sell the excess?
Does the cost for them and their upkeep exceed the egg profit?
The amount of eggs per week depends on the breed. I have 25 hens of about 10 different types (and 3 roosters and 2 ducks) and i am getting roughly a dozen a day. They go through a 20 dollar bag of feed in a little over a week. The initial investment can be pretty high with a coop and fencing etc. I built a really nice coop and fenced in about an acre for them. Necessary in my area as there are lots of predators. I will probably never recoup the investment but i am at ease knowing that in the worst case scenario me and my family will always have something to eat.
have you looked at growing fodder?
It's definitely a bit of work but the money saved gets me through...
Well, if you could sell the eggs at $7.00 per dozen - you'd come out ahead. But good job on being prepared. I wish I had that kind of land available...
I have 15 chickens in the northeast. They produce roughly 1 egg per chicken per day. The colder months slow production down slightly.(you can use a light in the coop to increase egg laying)
It costs me about 10 cents to produce 1 egg. I sell any excess to neighbors for $3/dozen.
The eggs that they lay taste incredible and depending on the breed will produce huge eggs.
For me, it's been well worth it.
we have 11 hens and average 7-8 eggs a day, but we've had 10-11 egg days.
we average 7-8 per day but have had 10-11 eggs days.
keeping feed prices down takes some work, but the quality of the eggs is superior. I figure we're spending about $2.50 a day on food this time of year... due to slower growth of grass,etc. Also, our winter garden is almost ended so there is less for them coming out of there as well. During the summer I was around $1.00 per day.
no kidding. I wouldn't have posted muh birbs on GA except for all the egg-price talk here.
extra updoot for that post fren.
So if you're in the market for some fertilizer to spread that beautiful green around....
we do also.
excellent!
Me too!
$1 eggs shoot that’s a diamond mine fren!
They are the easiest crowd to please and deliver the eggs daily.
My friend has a clever chicken who knocks on the door to be let into the house. She escapes well too, She has a flock of chickens but this one stands out for her intelligence.
That reminds me, I did have one that was super intelligent and figured out a way to get out of the chicken yard and up to our door. We had to set up a video cam to see how she did it and it involved hopping here and jumping here over several obstacles. And while we were watching the results on the video cam on our computer inside, she walked right in (we had the door open), like she knew we were talking about her. I forgot about her, I think some breeds are much more intelligent than the farmyard variety I usually have, ha.
I love in the winter days when there is only a band of sun coming thru (we're up North, so don't get full overhead sun coverage). They find that small band of sunshine and line up in a row to catch the warmth. They look like they're lining up at the airport trying to get the next flight out after a snowstorm. Or trying to get concert tickets or the next iPhone, whatever, they look so goofy all lined up.
I call them pea-brains. That's about the size of it, ha. I've seen them fight over a plastic wrapper. Fight over one piece of food when there's plenty for all, everyone going for that one piece. Fly over the fence then can't get back into the chicken yard by flying back the way the came out, over the fence. They go back and forth down the fence line trying to find a way in, or try to force themselves the tiniest little gap. Hide in the corner of the yard at dusk thinking that will protect them from Mr. & Mrs. Coon but run like a roadrunner away from me when I try to catch them and put them into the coop so they will be actually safe.
They are very, very social. They have their own language and on one hand, care about each other (calling out if one of theirs is missing), but on the other hand can push others out of the flock. Maybe there's a reason, survival of the strongest, perhaps.
I joke that we don't need cable tv or netflix. We pull up a chair and watch the chickens.
Chickens are a great gateway to farm animals. I hesitated at first, because I thought it would require a lot of work and I was busy with young kids at home. But they are very easy. The hard part is predators, that has always been a battle for me (hawks, racoons, dogs). Some areas have snakes that will sneak in the coop and grab chicks.
they learn, but the pejorative "chicken" is apt.
I'm in a neighborhood and we aren't supposed to have livestock (in the rules 🙄), but we are in the county limits, not city. So a few of the folks here have maybe one or two. One day one chicken got loose in another part of the neighborhood from me (big neighborhood) and was found walking down the road and most of us found it funny and didn't care that people had chickens here, but you know there is always that one person who has to be an ass and say "can't have them in the neighborhood, against the rules" 🙄 Everyone was like "who cares we are in the county limits, what's the big deal?"
every neighborhood has to have a Karen.
I was all set for you to ask the question, "Why did the chicken cross the road?"
😂🤣😂
yep. among others. Buff's lay bigger eggs, so when we get room for more that's what i'll be getting (or hatching).
u/rooftoptendies
Didn't want you to miss this, I know you love chicken threads lol.
The chickens that laid the golden eggs. Who knew fairy tales were predictive programming?
:D
That's better than crypto, a big tank of gas for your stove and you'll be the envy of the neighborhood.
Congrats
;)
beautiful!
Lucky you!🐔
yes, we have 4 Buff Orps, 4 Gold laced Wyandottes and 4 partridge chantecler
one of the Buffs is the Rooster.
My wife and sister in law picked them out... but I would get only Buffs from now on - much bigger eggs.
I only had Rhode Island Reds growing up.
interesting combo. I look forward to seeing the results posted on .win
Wow, I thought it would be a Biden classified document. You know their common currency: Blackmail.
How lucky you are and they are super pretty. I can imagine organic eggs? Nice. I wish I can have a farm house.
100% organic. once you have eggs like this you can never eat store bought eggs again.
So true!
That’s correct. I wish I can have a neighbor like you
Soon!
Beautiful birds!
HOA say no! Wife wants them to control ticks. Of course, there are foxes running around here we have to get rid of. Don't want to do that.
Sqeeeeee. I love my chickens. They are therapy.
Started with four last year and now up to 38.
O.O
38!
Wow
With the price of eggs….you won’t be far off before too long.
Love it!
Yeah, my husband and I don't eat eggs but our next-door neighbors have had backyard chickens for years. I've even fed them bolted lettuce stalks, LOL. The chickens go crazy for that stuff.
Another tip, grow kale in your garden, whether your family will eat it or not. My chickens LOVE kale. I make a summer and a winter batch, just for them.
Ha! Yeah, mine are spoiled too. They get all kinds of scraps. The only thing I don't feed them is leftover chicken, but our dog gets that.
I didn't know that about those items, I'll look into that. Glad for the heads up. They seem to ignore pineapple, onions, and celery so I put those directly in the compost.
Exactly. Eggxactly. I do the same.
we grow a lot of broccoli and feed them the leaves and stems (but steamed as raw is not really good for them).