[Food] Production - Poultry (was Backyard Chickens)

[Tanada]

How destructive are chickens to a garden? Is it reasonable to consider letting them have then run of it for a while in summer to knock down bugs or will they tear the place up and damage the produce? How high of a fence around said garden would you need to keep them from getting out (providing you were planning on rounding them up and putting them back into a fully enclosed coop/run that evening?

Any advice appreciated,

-G

We never had problems with free range and the garden, our problem was road traffic and/or our dogs having a bad day and chasing one down.

If you are going to have an open top fence I recomend 6 foot high and clip the flight feather on ONE WING ONLY. If you clip both wings they can actually do a hop liftoff and flap like mad to make it over a 6 foot fence, as long as you only clip one wing they can not get balanced in the air and cant fly over a few inch up before they tumble back to Earth. In the natural wild Chickens are tree fowl, they don't migrate but they do fly short burst distances and usually get up hopping around tree branches if you have one availible and they aren't clipped.

[SpringCreekFarm]

I lost a hen last night. It hasn't been looking well lately with a patch of feathers off it's back and acting lethargic in general. Last night I saw her in the corner alive but not really responsive so it doesn't surprise me much that she didn't make it.

The rat problem seems to have subsided now that I've been baiting them.

I started making a killing cone for my poultry. We used to just wack their heads off with an ax but now that I'm doing the killing, I'd rather try it this way. I'd like to cull my flock down to about a half dozen hens. I appears that I'm at capacity in the coop now that I've shut them in for the most part.

I may actually let them out today so I can work on the inside of the coop. We had a big storm yesterday and the snow inside the coop has made it evident that I need to do some patching and plugging.

When I complete the killing cone I'll post a plan for one. It's simply a segment of a torus with wings added on each side for the back.

[Tanada]

The closer we get to Christmas day the more I am hankering for a roast Christmas Goose(or Gander).

Is anyone out their raising geese commercially or even in their back yard like we used to do when I was growing up?

I think many of the younger Generation ar so sold on the Turkey hype that they have no idea that Goose was the traditional Christmas bird and how good it tastes and how good it makes the house smell when you roast one.

[SpringCreekFarm]

One of my Barred Rock hens is broody. I've watched her sit in the same nest box for several days now so i'm sure she's trying to hatch out a brood of her own.

Any pointers on what I need to do to make sure they get a good start? I'd like to be ready when the time comes. I have small feeders and waterers from when I brooded this same bunch of chickens last year.

Will they chicks be ok running with the flock?

What are your experiences with regard to hen hatched chicks?

[Quinny]

Our three chickens seem to be thriving and don't cause too much damage when they are let out on the vegetable plot. They've pecked up a few small plants, but seem more interested in the slugs.

They're not consistent layers, but we get a fair few eggs each week.

I'm now thinking of expanding our flock and would like to get a cock, but without losing our eggs.

Is there a way to check whether an egg has been fertilised when you collect them?

[Tanada]

Is there a way to check whether an egg has been fertilised when you collect them?

No. But the fertilized ones will have a small white dot on the yolk. They keep longer without spoiling, too. There's nothing wrong with eating them. If you have a cock around, you can pretty much count on all your eggs being fertilized.

Well to be fair if your good at it you can 'candle' fresh eggs by holding them up to a bright light and look for any spots in the middle by the yolk, if it doesn't have any spot its not fertilized, if it has a big spot it is and if you see a developing embryo then it has already been set upon by a hen for a couple days or more. It only takes 21 days for a fertile chicken egg to fully develop so you want to make sure you get them all away from the hen every day. Three or more days of setting and you will get a bloody spot on the yolk when you open it.

[SpringCreekFarm]

We always let ours run with the flock. Had very few deaths. I don't know how much that varies by breed. Ours were hatched by Cochin, Silkie, and Cornish hens. All of them were great mothers.

We didn't give them any special waterers or feed/feeders. We were surprised that the chicks were able to jump down out of the nest boxes from so high, and somehow get back into them as well. The hens seemed very capable of keeping the chicks warm enough, and the chicks spent a lot of time foraging with their mamas with no ill effects (probably the opposite).

We did give the broody hens food in their nests from time to time. They seemed appreciative, in their primitive chicken way.

Exaclty the type of answer I was looking for, Shanny. Thanks. My nests are about 30 inches off the floor of the coop so maybe I need to lower them sometime this summer. I guess I'll play it by ear. The hen was still in place today when I went to do chores so it looks good. I was really hoping for this to happen because with all the talk about the broodiness of chickens being bred out of them, I was concerned that I wouldn't get an opportunity to increase my flock this way. Barred Rocks are an old breed so maybe that's why. She's the only hen doing it though.

Now is that hen not going to the coop floor to drink or eat while this is going on? If that's the case I'll definitely put a little water and food up for her even though there isn't much room in the nest box.

[wisconsin_cur]

My experiemnt with hatching my own eggs.

First I cut a plastic barrel in half (vertically), also removing the top. Each half is a "Brooding Coop". I put some welded wire rabbit fence on the open end and used an old pole barn nail for a latch. Placing a bit of straw on the ground for a nest I then put ten eggs in each nest when ever a hen goes good and broody.

I am still using this method and having some success with it. I have two hens sitting on eggs at the moment and they are "due" in about 9 days. It is a nervous time for me since the next few days is when mine tend to give up if they are going to give up before the chicks hatch.

[Tanada]

Well to be fair if your good at it you can 'candle' fresh eggs by holding them up to a bright light and look for any spots in the middle by the yolk...

Can you really see that little spot by candling? That seems amazing to me. I know you can candle for embryos to see which eggs are developing vs. not, but that little white spot on the opaque yolk?

My one Aunt was a candeler at an egg processing facility, she could see things I never could. However the trick is pretty simple, as you turn the egg the yolk will stay centered and look smoothly curved, any fertilization development attaches itself to the side of the yolk. By turning the egg while candelling you can often see any protrubences attached to the yolk, if something is there it is fertilized.

I would ask her for details but she passed almost 20 years ago from cancer.

[stonecypher]

We persuaded our future landlord to allow the building of a chicken coop on his two acres, partly by persuading him it would be a property improvement for future sustainability.

"Sustainability? You mean like farming?"

We told him we wanted heritage chickens and planned to brood the eggs, sell the chicks, and market the eggs.

"Heritage chickens? What, do they have papers, or something?"

[patience]

Mom and I candled eggs (required for commercial sale) when I was a kid. We had from 600 to 1,200 chickens on the place at a time, with half of them laying and the rest growing to be replacement layers. Even at maybe 60% production in winter, we saw a lot of eggs every day--something like 15 to 25 dozen. It did not take long to learn to see blood spots, meat spots, etc.. We used a simple rig, consisting of a ventilated metal box with about a 50 watt bulb inside, and a 1" hole in the side, lined with a rubber grommet. The room needed to be dimly lit, You simply spin the egg a third of a turn rather fast and stop it, then look. Any object inside goes past as a slight shadow. I could do a 6 to a dozen a minute with a bit of practice.

We hand sorted them by weight on a simple balance rig made to fit an egg, marked "small", "medium", and "large". These 2 operations took a good bit of my spare time after school.

It has taken me about 50 years to get to where I had any real interest in chickens again.

[SpringCreekFarm]

We hand sorted them by weight on a simple balance rig made to fit an egg, marked "small", "medium", and "large". These 2 operations took a good bit of my spare time after school.

I've been looking for one at the sales but they, along with Dasey churns always go for a fortune. I'd like to be able to grade my eggs. I'm getting an average of 11 a day at this time. I sell my eggs where I work so it turns out to be very convenient.

I'm going to feed my flock a lot of alfalfa this summer to see if I can cut down on the feed bill. I know they love it because I gave them some as a treat last summer. I've got an acre I'm sowing as soon as it's dry enough to be worked. I'm hoping I can get a good start there and keep it in alfalfa for as long as I can without working it up again. I'm hoping to put some corn in that same ground in a year or so in a 3 sisters arrangement. I want to find ways of getting to a not till system but it's hard now and needs the tilling.

My broody hen gave up yesterday. I was hoping she would be back on the nest tonight but this is the second day off the nest. There were three eggs in the nest I'll have for breakfast tommorow.

Last weekend I opened the run up for the day to see what the flock would do. They didn't stray far from their enclosure and some didn't come out at all. I'm hoping to train the flock to step out into the barnyard to forage more but at the same time I need to find a way for them to escape trouble.

[Tanada]

My broody hen gave up yesterday. I was hoping she would be back on the nest tonight but this is the second day off the nest. There were three eggs in the nest I'll have for breakfast tommorow.

Don't be too impatient a normal broody hen will lay a lot more than three eggs in her nest before setting on them to hatch them. Chicken eggs will last about 18 days in the nest before starting if they are left at 'room' temperature. In my experience way back when a brooder will lay at least six and as many as a dozen eggs before she comits to setting for 21 days to hatch them out. Anyone have more recent experience to confirm that?

[wisconsin_cur]

Two hens have hatched out eggs: the first four chicks and I don't know how many the second hatched out yet (she is being more reclusive).

The good news is that two more hens seem to be going broody just in time for me to clean out the brooding boxes and set them up for their three weeks of setting. I am really happy because one of the broody hens is a Cochin bantam (one of four) that I bought only because I was hoping they would go broody and live up to their reputation of being good mothers.

[Old_Fart]

Question... my 15 chickies are now 12 weeks old. Fully feathered. I am wondering if I got retarded chicks or something. I built them a chicken Hilton... inside and outside covered areas, roosts made from real branches, solid cedar nest boxes... the chickens wont get on the roosts. They stand on the lip of the feeders, but not the roosts. Also, I removed the heat lamps (put in a fluorescent light on a timer from 7 AM to 8 PM... they have windows too)... when they were on they all slept (on the ground) away from the lamps. Now with the lamps gone, they all go outside where it is colder and breezier, and make a big dog-pile as if they are cold? They could go inside, but no...

Anyone know why they might be behaving so weirdly? Roosts, maybe they just have not figured them out yet, maybe... but why would they choose a cold spot to sleep in a pile? I considered putting the lights back, but really dont think they need them. Any thoughts?

[wisconsin_cur]

Every once in a while I have to chase my chickens into the coop at night. After I do it two or three times they get the idea and go in the coop as it gets dark.

They are just being adolescents. I often notice that young hens tend to lay their eggs on the ground until they reach a certain age. Give them some time and they will figure out the roosts... they just have to learn in their own time.

[dinopello]

Chickens catching on...

The Conrads are at the vanguard of a resurgent interest in backyard chicken keeping, especially in distinctly nonrural settings. In cities across the United States, raising backyard poultry has suddenly become as chic as growing your own vegetables. It's all part of the back-to-the-land movement whose proponents want to save on grocery bills, take control of their food supply and reduce the carbon footprint of industrial agriculture.

The urban homesteading movement got a huge symbolic boost this spring when the first family installed a 1,100-square-foot vegetable garden at the White House. Poultry is the natural next step in the sustainable back yard; chickens produce eggs, devour kitchen scraps and add manure to the compost pile.

I don't believe keeping chickens is allowed in my county, but I'm checking on it.

[SpringCreekFarm]

I've been letting my chickens out of their run lately. Today would be the second day in a row and all seems fine so far. They don't stray too far and I haven't seen any predators in the area. I butchered the excess roosters a while back and kept only the biggest, strongest one to take on the job of protecting the flock. I'm sure I'll save money of feed this way.

The 2 guinea fowl are now free as well. They've been doing their own thing in the barnyard and have access to the barn still. Today I looked back and saw the guineas mingling freely among the chickens so that part is taken care of now too. I'll be looking for another bunch of guineas next bird sale at the local auction.

At the end of the day the chickens literally chase me as I take the bucket of veggie and supper scraps back to feed them and gather the eggs. They readily file into the run and go for their daily treat. I just close up behind them and that's that.

[vtsnowedin]

This weekend we put the meat birds in the freezer. From thirty one birds that survived the predatation of the Rhode Island Reds, (fifty chicks to strart) We netted 250 pounds of dressed roasters with the average bird weighing 8.6 pounds ready for the oven without neck or gibblets. Too big we see now. Hard to package whole and the pieces are too large to fry. I boned out well over half into boneless chicken breasts with each side weighing about a pound. Saved the racks for stock later. Rear leg quaters look like a small turkey leg. Lessons learned: 1. Seven weeks is more then enough. more is a waste of feed. 2. Don't raise two different breeds together, one picks on the other and you have to divide and conquer. 3. A golden Lab puppy is born to retrieve birds and he thinks a RR poulet is the best squeeky toy ever. 4. Rented chicken plucker works great and is well worth the money.

[SpringCreekFarm]

Good tips Vtsnowedin. Did you have any losses from them dying spontaneously?

I've been considering raising a few dozen for meat birds.