Raising chickens. Advice, comments, do's and don'ts wanted.

[Pullstart 62,840]

I was just making sure the larger chickens were put away well, and reloading the live trap (one of the teenager chicks got into it and set it off) and figured I’d check the little ones once more.  The brand new heat lamp from my local ACE hardware was blown to smitherines all over in the bedding.  Mrs. P and Rylee came to the rescue.  We picked up all we could see, then raked the majority of the top layer of bedding up and removed it, finding more shards of glass as we dug.  A new bale of bedding was laid and I lowered the 600W light closer to them for additional heat.  I am glad I put that out there today for supplemental heat in the snow time!  We saw no injuries to speak of, but just hope that none ingested any glass.

Edited April 18, 2023 by Pullstart

[Pullstart 62,840]

 

[Ed Kennell 38,158]

Chinese bulbs ???          Probably won't find any made in USA at any store.

[Pullstart 62,840]

The Brahma chicks are doing great!

 

 

[Pullstart 62,840]

Got a lot of bloody chicken butts this afternoon!  Argh!  Luckily, the Cousin Eddy Geese don’t mind the company.  If anything, they are scared of the chicks!

 

 

[Pullstart 62,840]

I fed the chickens some worms today on YouTube live.  My first time doing a live video… 

 

 

[Ed Kennell 38,158]

16 hours ago, Pullstart said:

Got a lot of bloody chicken butts this afternoon!

I never had a problem with the fryers, but did debeak thousands of layers.

 

 

 

[Pullstart 62,840]

24 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said:

I never had a problem with the fryers, but did debeak thousands of layers.

 

 

 

Huh..

 

these are (layer breed) roosters, destined for the freezer, so maybe that would be helpful?

[Ed Kennell 38,158]

Automatic Chicken Water Cup Bird Coop - EZDORY              Have you seen these Kev ?

[Pullstart 62,840]

7 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said:

Automatic Chicken Water Cup Bird Coop - EZDORY              Have you seen these Kev ?

I have seen those.  I opted for the flavor you were showing @sjoemie himself a while back, thinking they’ll see the chickens and geese well alike.  

[Pullstart 62,840]

I found the chicken plucker thread!  Video bonus!

 

 

 

[Pullstart 62,840]

@chipwitch are you still out there?  Have you used the plucker more than this time?  Anything you’d change if you were to do it again?  I love the use of the mule drive.  It would be great to see more info, how I the plucker itself was put together 

[953 nut 55,198]

On 4/24/2023 at 11:28 AM, Pullstart said:

I fed the chickens some worms today

         Best be on the lookout for PETW (People for the Ethical Treatment of Worms). Here is some information from their webworm site!     

 

Q: What kind of worms make the best carpenters?
A: Inch Worms.

Q: What happens to worms who dig too much?
A: They get in-DIG-estion

Q: What do worms use to leave messages?
A: Compost-it notes

Q: Why did the earthworm cross the playground?
A: To get to the other mud slide.

Q: Which type of worms do storks like most?
A: Birthworms.

Q: What kind of worms like to sleep by the fireplace?
A: Hearthworms.

Q: What did the maggot do at the baseball game?
A: Wormed the bench.

Q: What is worse than finding a worm in your apple?
A: Finding two worms.

Q: Why don’t worms like getting up in the morning?
A: Because the early bird catches the worm.

Q: What makes a glow worm glow?
A: A light meal.

Q: What is even smarter than a talking worm?
A: A spelling bee

Q: What kind of computer was most loved by worms?
A: The Macintosh.

Q: What is life like for a wood worm?
A: Boring.

Q: How can you tell which end of a worm is which?
A: Tickle it in the middle and see which end laughs.

Q: What was the name of the worm army?
A: The Apple Corps.

Q: What did the woodworm say to the compost pile?
A: It’s been nice gnawing you.                                                         

[ebinmaine 67,455]

@Treepep

[ebinmaine 67,455]

Well,

Our little flock of nine chickens is still doing quite well. Over 4 years now.

Conventional wisdom seems to indicate that our egg production should have slowed down dramatically by now but it hasn't.

On cooler or cloudy days we get as little as one or two eggs. On bright sunny warm days it could be as many as seven or occasionally even nine in a day.

 

At this point Trina has no particular plans one way or the other for the flock's future. If they keep producing and stay healthy she will likely keep them going on unless there's a health issue.  

 

 

So the big question...

Would she raise chickens again?

While we're working outside the home it isn't likely. 

If we retire or go to homesteading then yes. 

 

 

 

[Treepep 564]

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

@Treepep

Gotcha,  Thank you kind sir.  

[ebinmaine 67,455]

 

[Treepep 564]

On 2/24/2021 at 8:22 AM, Pullstart said:

A true fact of life, for every birth there is a death.  We had a raccoon scale the fence into a tree and took a head last night.  Just one.  A Jersey Giant.  Then tracks leading back out.  Another true fact though, as I can play that game too.  Time to start trapping!  As for any other pests hunting or scavenging, I laid her to rest with a good view at a perfect poking distance of a 17 hmr off the back porch.  

That is the reality my bride is not interested in.. I remember as a kid spending the night on the garage with a 22 caliber waiting to engage the murdering raccoon.  The Fox bothered us as well but they took a bird and left.  Darn raccoon would just maim or kill and leave the suffering/deceased bird there.  Pretty frustrating.  It was my job as far back as I can remember to care for and then dispatch/process the chickens.  Grateful now pretending to be an adult.  As I kid I didn't fully appreciate.

I think in the future they would be for eggs and would be dog/foster dog food thereafter. 

I certainly have zero amnesia about farm work.  Thanks @ebinmaine and @Pullstart for pointing me to the chx threads. 

[Pullstart 62,840]

@Treepep I have found that using a live trap, three marshmallows = one coon.  It’s always satisfying to see the size of the coon shrink as the trapping continues.  They don’t stay live very long, they get buried in the whistle pig dens under the barn!  

[ebinmaine 67,455]

We don't have problems with predators here because Trina built the coop to be as rugged as practically possible.

 

Bears around here couldn't care less about the birds but they'd be interested in the food. No issues.... Yet.... 

[Treepep 564]

1 hour ago, Pullstart said:

@Treepep I have found that using a live trap, three marshmallows = one coon.  It’s always satisfying to see the size of the coon shrink as the trapping continues.  They don’t stay live very long, they get buried in the whistle pig dens under the barn!  

 

 My uncle as a kid ate coons and groundhogs(whistle pigs) prairie dogs uh.. Menace, whatever else they are called.   He trapped, fed berries a week, ate.  Uh iffin you had to but No sir I do not like it!  My father always told me the captured critters were "relocated" as a kid.  I didn't understand that one for a minute  Likely the same location you utilize

[Pullstart 62,840]

Funny teenagers!

 

 

[Pullstart 62,840]

We have 15 eggs in the incubator, as of yesterday.  The roosters in the hen house have been mounting the hens for a while now, time to see if they’re baby makin’ or just poking fun!

 

 

[Pullstart 62,840]

Unreal it’s been a week already!  We will candle our eggs tonight in the dark!

[Pullstart 62,840]

Of the 15 eggs, 13 were fertilized.  Tomorrow will mark 21 days, they should start popping shells any day now!