[Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)

[Ludi]

Really? I'll have to look into those. I'll need something loud to wake me up in the morning when I won't be able to get batteries for my alarm clocks anymore!

Problem is they gripe and complain loudly all day.....

[Heineken]

Given the cost of commercial feed, I'd think foraging ability was the single most important factor in chicken breed selection. That, plus an efficient ratio of feed conversion to animal protein.

Previously I've free-ranged Barred Rocks and White Rocks and few individuals of oddball breeds like Speckled Sussex and Black Australorp. The rocks were huge eaters but had a gentle temperament. I butchered and dressed a few but found the meat to be tough. I'm not hard-hearted enough to keep chickens confined to a small space all their brief lives to ensure the meat is tender.

If I keep chickens again it will be leghorns for egg production. Some sort of leghorn that is tough (as in disease resistant) and that has exceptional foraging ability (any suggestions?). I'd guess that egg production is achieved more efficiently than meat production (and, obviously, on a more ongoing basis). At present, egg prices still aren't high enough to make this worth the trouble to me, though.

I would use the tractor method and use my chicken coop just for getting them through our relatively mild winters.

Leghorns and breeds with large combs are not appropriate for northerners unless they have heated coops (and are willing to pay for that heat!).

[Heineken]

No, my chicken-butchering days are over, so the particularities of processing the corpses are irrelevant to me now. I find the whole process too emotionally unpleasant. This is not to criticize others who do it; it just relates to what feels right for me. As I said, if I keep chickens again it will be for eggs only.

[JJ]

No, my chicken-butchering days are over, so the particularities of processing the corpses are irrelevant to me now. I find the whole process too emotionally unpleasant. This is not to criticize others who do it; it just relates to what feels right for me. As I said, if I keep chickens again it will be for eggs only.

when we had chickens, we had a particularly mean fighting cock someone abandoned on us. It always attacked Bing when she went to get the eggs. One day I decided to kill it. I had the bolo (machete) and a chopping block. Bing said "no, let me". Instead of chopping off its head right away, she sawed it off. It took a long time, and cars were slowing down to watch. I was thinking here come the cops, but no. We pressure cooked it for eight hours. It was awful.

she's going to do just fine post-peak.

[Ludi]

A real problem with McMurray (and perhaps other mail-order sources) is that you have to buy a minimum of 25 birds, which in my case is about 10 or 15 beyond what I'd want for egg production for our needs.

I usually get "straight run" and eat the roosters, which leaves about a dozen hens.

But it might be good to find a local source anyway.

I was afraid mail order chicken sales would stop completely due to avian flu fears. So far we seem to be safe from that (for the moment).

I'm still not sure which kind to get next Spring, whether to get ones that have done well in the past, or try another breed such as those Rose Comb Brown Leghorns.

[Ludi]

anyone have any suggestions on how to keep them quiet?

As far as I know, there is no way to keep a rooster from crowing.

Hens also can be noisy, depending on the breed.

[iamron]

I was thinking of maybe keeping the roosters in a smaller area that although ventilated would have some sound proofing so the noise not carry too far, or how about a dog collar tha is used to stop barking, everytime the dog barks it sends a small electrical shock so discourages barking , may discourage crowing also, hahaha

[wisconsin_cur]

anyone have any suggestions on how to keep them quiet?

I only know one way to keep them quiet.

Eat them.

[mystiek]

Are the chickens on strike? We've been looking for fresh eggs, our friends who run a CSA farm said the chickens are hardly laying any eggs and apparently other farms have seen a decline in production. Is anyone else experiencing this-possibly due to the heat.

[CarlinsDarlin]

mystie,
My chickens usually go on strike during the hottest part of summer - or at least a slowdown if not a strike - so it wouldn't surprise me. If I were a chicken I wouldn't be working too hard in this heat either
Kathy

[Ludi]

We still get a few eggs every day, but I mean a few, like 3, from over a dozen hens. Very high temps do seem to stop laying for most hens.

[mystiek]

Thanks for the info-I'll pass it on. At least I was able to meet the chickens that lay green eggs (when they ever get around to it!!!)

[LittleBoPeak]

My chickens are laying fine in the South Carolina heat and humidity. I collected 11 from my 15 hens yesterday. They consistently lay 8 - 12 a day.

[CarlinsDarlin]

burton,
sounds like a fun weekend! You're off to a good start with the chickens - unless of course you captured someone's pet and they come looking for it!

Yes, about six months old is when hens start laying. Could be a month either way, though, so don't be disappointed if it takes a couple more weeks. And also, because the days are getting shorter, don't expect her to be in full production mode until spring. They usually slack off some during the fall and winter.

Good luck!
Kathy

[burtonridr]

burton, sounds like a fun weekend! You're off to a good start with the chickens - unless of course you captured someone's pet and they come looking for it!
Yes, about six months old is when hens start laying. Could be a month either way, though, so don't be disappointed if it takes a couple more weeks. And also, because the days are getting shorter, don't expect her to be in full production mode until spring. They usually slack off some during the fall and winter.
Good luck!
Kathy

Yea that is what I have been hearing.... I will be moving the rabbits into the shed during the cold parts of the year, which the chickens have access to. I want to put a heat lamp in the shed during the winter.

When should I have the light turned on? my big reason for the heat lamp in the shed was to keep the rabbit water bottles from freezing at night and give them a little extra heat, though I doubt they really need it. If I keep the light on all night will it negatively affect the chickens laying?

[careinke]

If you keep the light on all night, it will probably increase your egg yield. Hours of light is a big factor in egg production.

Cliff (Start a rEVOLution, grow a garden)

[CarlinsDarlin]

burton,
What I do for my rabbits in the winter is to take out their water bottles and replace them with bowls of water. They still freeze, but not as fast, and are easier to switch out everyday. The heat lamp will help, I'm sure. And the rabbits will love you for it. Just be careful you don't burn the place down with chickens being able to get in there. They love to roost on stretched out power cords and such.

I have my lights for the henhouse on a timer. Generally, I wait till a bit later in the fall before the lights start coming on. I have them timed to come on about 7:00 pm for a couple hours, and again at about 5:00 am for a couple hours. That effectively stretches the day out to help keep production up. And yes, keeping the lights on all night will help keep them laying, but it will also run up your power bill and increase your food bill. If they're up, they're eating. A timer does the work for you without running up either bill.
Kathy

[Heineken]

I have kept several flocks of chickens and am modestly knowledgeable about it. However, my chicken coop and fenced chicken yard have stood empty for several years now.

I enjoyed the fun of having chickens around, but gradually the fun wore off and I got tired of those daily chores, on top of all my other work. I'm sensitive to things that intrude on my freedom, and livestock do that big-time.

When I add up the cost of building the coop, fencing the yard, and buying the equipment, the feed, the litter, the crushed oyster shells, and the chicks, those were the most expensive eggs I ever ate. Plus my labor---time is money.

And cleaning out a chicken coop is one of the nastiest jobs there is. That awful dust! There is no end to it.

Perhaps I'll have chickens again someday, but with certain clear misgivings.

[Lumpy]

Here are the facts:
1. Have about 30 full grown hens in our flock
2. Have 2 full grown roosters
3. Have about 20 hatchlings ... about 3 weeks old now ... in brooder coop.
4. Want to round up all the hens & lock them in the bigger coop for 10-14 days ... too many of them have been laying here and there around the place this summer. (Obviously free range). Want to get them back into the habit of being in the coop, and laying there.

Here are the questions:
1. Is it safe to put the youngsters in with the hens, or will they get pecked to death?
2. Perhaps we could put them in there, but in a cage of their own? (We have one, but they would be crowded after any more than 10 days, I think.)
3. Will our roosters go crazy (crazier) without the hens out for that long?

Thoughts, please ..

Thanks

Lumpy

[Ludi]

No, it is NOT safe to put the babies with the larger birds.


The roosters will be fine without the hens.