Chickens and all things fowl..........

[hsehntr98]

Joyce, with the size of your flock, how much do you feed them? With my 4 hens & 2 roosters I feed about 1 1/4 c cracked corn & 1 cup of 5 grain scratch in the morning with fresh water in a heated bowl and at night I feed 1 1/2 c cracked corn & 2 c of hen layer feed with 16% crumbles (its kind of a fine granular feed) and fresh water. I have been doing this since I got them, so they are getting the same routine. What kind of fruit and veggies do you feed them. I also have those mealworm cakes that fit in a little cage hanging on the fence so they have something else to snack on and entertain themselves.

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

No, I don't use sand but I have friends who do. I tried it but I found it made cleaning the coop harder. The poop tended to mix with the sand and make a concrete-like substance that was very difficult to get off the floor. Something I did to make cleaning the coop a bit easier was to install over the 1/2 inch plywood floor sheet vinyl flooring. It's worked out really well. After I sweep the shavings up all I have to do is hose the flooring and let it dry before putting new shavings down.

I give them the lion's share of their feed in the morning, some scratch later on and treats (fresh fruit & veggies, meal worms) whenever I can. They are "ranging" throughout the day so they have that too. In the early evening once they're all in the coop for the night I give them a little more feed as it keeps them busy while I get them settled in for the night - fresh water, check for eggs, make sure everything is secure.

The most important thing I find is to be consistent with whatever I do. Chickens can be very skittish if they don't have a routine.

Speaking of lights, if you don't want anything too elaborate you can just hang a shop light from a drop cord, you know, the kind of light that has a kinda cage around the bulb with a hook on the end. That way you can move it around if you like.

[hsehntr98]

I just use the pine shavings at this time. Occasionally I will through in some straw. Why do you put sand under your bedding? Another question: do you feed your flock their full portion of food in the morning and a little at night, or a little in the morning and full portions at night? Maybe when the new coop gets here I can install a light so if they need it, it will be ready.

[southernmom]

Do, HUH?
Southernmom, I have always trusted your word on things when we would visit about things around the ranch, but that sounds like one of those old cracker wive's tales. LOL.

You can bet the I will dang sure be giving it a try when we butcher chickens again.


Tex

It's totally a cracker wive's tale thing. Let me know if it works for ya. I'm curious if Florida hoodoo weirdness carries that far out west!

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

Joyce, I am talking about the older chickens that I have right now. I won't be ordering the chicks until next week an they won't be here until April. Also, I think you mentioned that you have Guinea hens. What kind do you have? Can they be put in with the chickens or do they need separate housing. Any information you can give me would be helpful. I am thinking of ordering some when I order the chickens, but have no clue what kind to order, Thanks

First, I agree you might have a problem if you have a light only 6-8 inch's off the ground. I use a 50 watt incandescent bulb that I have hanging about 3 1/2 - 4 feet off the floor. I have it off to one side so that if they get too warm they can move over to the other side of the coop to cool off. I only leave it on on the very coldest days, 10 degrees or colder. Tex is right, they really don't need the light, it just makes me feel better and having extra light does help ensure better egg production in the winter. I've had that argument with a couple people in the past but it works for me so I'm not gonna change. My chicks I always brood in the house for the first two weeks. Once I move them to the pen I keep them separated by a chicken wire fence from the adults for another 2-3 weeks. I've heard different stories of whether or not you should mix them from the start but I don't cause I know my girls don't take well to newcomers, they would just kill them. I have found that just having them in the same area but separated by the "fence" they get acclimated to each other well enough that when I do put them together it usually goes more smoothly. You can't always be certain. Sometimes the older birds will still kill off one or two of the chicks; but usually by the time they are a month old they're getting big enough and aren't so defenseless.

I have never mixed my chicks with guinea keets. To be honest, I'm not totally sure why except my Grandma always said the guineas would kill the chicks. She said they were like oil & water, one was a wild bird and one was domesticated. I can't really tell you. As adults mine have always gone their separate ways and I've never had any problems. Maybe someoneelse here has more experience and can advise you on that. It's just one of those things Gram was adamant about and I just followed her lead.

I have a question for you. Do you use only the shavings on the floor of your coop or do you also put down some sand under them? That's another one of those things me and my other chicken friends and I "argue" about.

[hsehntr98]

Tex I would love to come help you, but husband is not as healthy as he used to be, so leaving him alone for extended periods of time is not doable at this time. I am waiting for my barn/coop to get here. It should be here next week, then I can get it ready for them and then move them in. Tex how big is your ranch? In the summertime have you been in a drought situation or have you been getting enough snowfall to have water in the summer?

[Tex]

You can start guinea chicks with the chicks, but they will eventually want to run loose. Ours will roost in the barn rafters when it is cold and they will sometimes want to feed out of the chicken feeders, but they spend most of their time running loose. It is not unusual to see the guineas way out in the pastures hunting up bugs. They know where the barn is and where we feed, so they will make a swing through usually about dark, but come daylight, they are gone.

http://angeryamerican.net/showthread.php/1905-Around-the-Ranch?p=68563#post68563

Tex

[Tex]

Joyce, when the weather turns really cold, 15 degrees or less, do you put any kind of heat source in your chicken coop? I have a 13 w CFL red bulb in the coop to help with keeping them warm, but also to try to keep their water thawed. It doesn't seem to help with the water much so I was thinking of changing to a red heat lamp bulb used for brooder lamps. My concern is that it will get them to hot and possible hazard with the pine shavings on the floor of the coop. The bulb setup is near the top of one of the lids for access, so it is about 6-8 inches from the floor. Is that to close to the floor? Just worrying about my birds freezing.

I've seen it get down to -35 around here and we have never worried about putting a heat lamp in with the hens. The chicks will always have a heat lamp or two, because they haven't grown their feathers yet. The grown stuff has all their feathers though and they seem to get along just fine. I've seen them sort of huddle together on the roosts, but as long as they don't get left out overnight by themselves, they seem to get along just fine.

As far as their water goes, we try to give them fresh water everyday. Most times, their little water dishes will freeze over, so they just get watered when we fill up the trough for the milk cows and the goats. I will usually let a little run out on the ground and make puddles and that seems to do them just fine. I also see them eating snow pretty regular too.

The biggest problem we have now is making more room. We have somewhere between 80 and 100 hens and they take up alot of room. The little building we used to use as a coop is going to be made into a new blind for antelope hunters and the new coop is going to be the back of the top barn. I did a little finagling and got some good heavy bird netting that will be stretched floor to ceiling across the south end of our top barn and I'm going to make one whole side of the netted off section into the roost.

Now I just need more help.



Tex

[hsehntr98]

Joyce, I am talking about the older chickens that I have right now. I won't be ordering the chicks until next week an they won't be here until April. Also, I think you mentioned that you have Guinea hens. What kind do you have? Can they be put in with the chickens or do they need separate housing. Any information you can give me would be helpful. I am thinking of ordering some when I order the chickens, but have no clue what kind to order, Thanks

[Tex]

Ya gotta draw a circle in the dirt with a cross in it-when you take their heads off throw them in the circle. They won't flop, then.
Of course your mileage may vary...

Do, HUH?
Southernmom, I have always trusted your word on things when we would visit about things around the ranch, but that sounds like one of those old cracker wive's tales. LOL.

You can bet the I will dang sure be giving it a try when we butcher chickens again.



Tex

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

Mickey, before I answer just let me know are you talking about your new chicks or the older chickens. It does make a difference.

[southernmom]

My neighbor across the street had chickens when I was much younger and I can remember when he would kill them he would just grab em by the neck and twist until it came off and the body would run around until it fell over.

Ya gotta draw a circle in the dirt with a cross in it-when you take their heads off throw them in the circle. They won't flop, then.
Of course your mileage may vary...

[hsehntr98]

Joyce, when the weather turns really cold, 15 degrees or less, do you put any kind of heat source in your chicken coop? I have a 13 w CFL red bulb in the coop to help with keeping them warm, but also to try to keep their water thawed. It doesn't seem to help with the water much so I was thinking of changing to a red heat lamp bulb used for brooder lamps. My concern is that it will get them to hot and possible hazard with the pine shavings on the floor of the coop. The bulb setup is near the top of one of the lids for access, so it is about 6-8 inches from the floor. Is that to close to the floor? Just worrying about my birds freezing.

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

She sounds like a tough old bird herself, reminds me somewhat of my Grandma. Contrary to what some people think, hard work will keep you young and spry longer than most might expect. I idolized that woman until the day she died - she sat down to to clean some beans for dinner and just never got up -she was 93 and even though she was always outside in the sun & weather she didn't look a day over 70! I know that may still sound old to some of you. The older you get, the better it looks.

[tk]

It doubled and wont let me get rid of it?