Chick Decision Time

We go back and forth on this every year...do we get chicks or wait for next year? I usually end up with a couple if I plan it or not, but I think I might do this differently this year. Every season I try to introduce pullets out of the brooder to the rest of the clutch I'm presented with a lot of drama. I divide the coop so the youngsters are safe and hope they get used to being in close quarters before I combine them. There is always at least one of my hens...usually one of my favorites..that insist on picking on the babies. I've made the mistake of getting rid of some great hens because I couldn't have them being so mean. I still miss my Lacy. I have also gone the other route and have gotten rid of the girl that was being picked on by many. Eastie was a favorite pet and would rather be with me than the other hens. I couldn't build a coop just for her so I rehomed her to a friends where she became the leader of the group. It worked out well for her in the end, but I parted with a few great hens before I took that step.

We had a stretch of time this winter when we didn't get any eggs at all. It was just too cold. I have a few that are slowing down a bit. Mama and Jumpers are 4 years old and Mama (my Black Australorp) gets broody a few times a year. I love the Black Australorps...so soft and friendly..but I won't get any more of them. When they lay, they lay very well. They have been the only ones I've had to go so broody. It's very disruptive to the others and of course it cuts in on the egg supply. I'm not allowed to have any roosters here, or else my thinking would be different with them. They are known to be good mothers. We've run out of eggs a few times and we have really grown to not be able to bring ourselves to eat any grocery store eggs. So, we need more good layers.

I would love to stick to heirloom breeds, but on the other hand I see the benefit of the Red Sexlink hen. We have our pet chickens and we love them. I think I'm going to get a batch of hybrids for the egg production and just start a whole new coop just for them. This way I won't have the headache of integrating them and I won't have to worry about what to do with the roos. I had to give up Mr. Dove last season and we really loved him. This may be the best answer for us. Now to find a local breeder.

Keeping Chickens Warm

http://uticaphoenix.net/keeping-chickens-warm/

This is my article just printed in the The Utica Phoenix.

Chickens are amazingly hardy animals and are easy to care for. Choosing the right breed for your climate is only one way to ensure that you keep your clutch going strong through the winter. There are a few simple things that are needed to keep them warm in the coldest months.

You Don’t Have to Heat the Coop
There is always a danger of fire when you bring electricity into a coop filled with litter. When chickens are used to living in a heated coop they don’t acclimate to the weather in a natural manner. The main school of thought is that if chickens don’t acclimate and something happens to the heat source they will be unable to deal with the change.


The Deep Litter Method
The “deep litter method” is essentially keeping at least a foot of litter on the bottom of the coop and mixing it up regularly. By mixing in some food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) (bought through bulk food sources) there is no moisture and no smell. The natural composting adds heat and of course will help your garden grow at the end of winter.

Keep the Drafts Out but Keep Good Ventilation
Chickens need to have good roosts to sit on that are out of any draft. You do have to make sure there is good ventilation in the coop however the vents should be placed so the wind won’t blow into the coop and not in line with the roosts.

Without enough fresh air the moisture from their breath and temperature difference from body warmth will make it damp leading to not only frost bite on the combs but also respiratory problems. They must have fresh air no matter how cold it is.


Preventing and Treating Frostbite
Frostbite can be a big problem especially with chickens with large pretty combs. Some breeds have “rose combs” and are more cold hardy. Applying petroleum jelly to the larger combs when it’s going to be extremely cold will help protect them. It can also help heal if they do get some blackened areas on the comb.

Feathered feet such as on the Brahma breed are hardier in the snow but most chickens try to stay out of the snow. Keeping an area clear of snow will give them area to scratch and dust themselves. They do need a dust bath even in the coldest months. The easiest thing to do is to keep at least an area of the run covered to keep the snow out. Many chicken keepers will use a covered run for this purpose.

Short Egg Supply in the Winter
Some breeds are better winter layers than others, so keep that in mind when you are starting or adding to your clutch. There are two schools of thought when it comes to providing light during the darker months. Some chicken keepers provide artificial light to keep egg production up. The recommendation for this is to start the light on a time earlier in the morning so they may settle down through dusk naturally. Many chicken keepers don’t supplement light and wait out the shorter days. Hens will start laying more after the start of winter as the decline in laying is more dependent on the length of daylight than on temperature. They do reserve their energy when it is bitter cold.

Feed and Water Requirements in the Winter
The most important thing is that they never run out of food or fresh thawed water. Bring out warm water a couple of times a day. It is highly recommended that the chickens are treated to cracked corn during the day to help with energy needed to keep themselves warm. Many keepers also supplement with treats such as warm oatmeal in the morning or pasta later in the day.

Keeping chickens has gained in popularity in recent years as more people begin to wonder where their food comes from. Gathering fresh eggs from the back yard is becoming one of the small changes people can make to feel more in control of our healthy choices no matter what season it is.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/
http://blog.mypetchicken.com/

Where to get chickens
Craigslist – There are many local farms and people that order extra from the mail order hatcheries.
Tractor Supply – Chick Days in the Spring
Mail Order Hatcheries for Heritage breeds- order early for the best choice
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html
http://www.strombergschickens.com/prod_detail_list/Chickens-Chicks
http://www.purelypoultry.com/chickens-brown-egg-layers-common-c-154_169.html
http://www.cacklehatchery.com/page2.html
http://www.heritagebreedpoultry.com/

Fresh Eggs

Monday, September 10, 2012

Baby Eggs

  

"Hello....are you talking about me again?"

 This is Betty. She's a Dominique and is the softest, friendliest, sweetest, bravest, and all around fun young lady in the coop. I got her when she was a couple weeks old, so I'm not sure of her exact age. I keep forgetting to ask. Her cohorts are Yorkie the Barred Rock and Lemonade and Fifi the Salmon Favorollies.
She's the biggest of the group and she also has started hanging out with my older layers. It's like she's in the "in" crowd now. I wouldn't be shocked if it did turn out to be Yorkie, but we'll see.

 My husband is pretty sure the newest egg belongs to Betty. Ever since he built them the new nest box he has taken to collecting the eggs. I leave them in there until he gets home so I don't take his fun away. I love that he's getting involved with the chickens. He sees now why I love them so much. He's always been so good about it..even letting me let them live in the garage a couple of cold winters...<3

I know my coop isn't fancy, but it's 4x8 with these old windows that I can slide to open or close in front of the hard wire that's over every opening in the coop. It's safe and I have two doors in back I can get right in there if I want to. I do need to pretty it up a bit. I have screen door windows over the fenced run right now to keep the rain off the back of the run. They hang out under it a lot when they aren't running around the yard. It's hardwired all the way around the back. I've had my share of scares..so I have enough fear in me to double check everything every day. Knock on wood..I've never lost a feathered friend..sure have come close though.

Reba - The best layer and dog-chicken

 Reba is now 2 years old and lays about every single day. My 3 1/2 year old Australorp also lays like 4-5 a week when she isn't broody....which drives me and all my hens nuts! My 3 1/2 year old Easter Egger is really not a great layer at all. She was hiding them at one time, so I can't say for sure. I do leave her in the run some days to see if she is laying. I think she holds them in until she can find a hiding spot though. She has such great personality that even if she doesn't lay I can't see letting go to someone else. She's the alarm bell and has saved the clutch in the past.

I wish they all layed like Reba! We run low on eggs with 6 of us and my husband likes to show off my deviled eggs. I haven't had enough to send to work with him. Now that Betty and her cohorts are going to start laying I'll have 7 layers. That will be good for us. It will be a while for Lilly to start and well....I'm thinking Dovie never will:( I'm not letting her/him go until there is absolutely no doubt and Lilly is big enough to cuddle with the bigger girls. They still haven't really accepted the little ones. They do let them hang out with them, but they won't let them on the big roost. They'll be big enough soon. Ahh..they grow up so fast.

The Molt is Over!!! Hallelujah

My beautiful Australorp "Mama" - missing feathers on her neck.

Notice the completely missing butt feathers.....

I have to say that when this started I didn't have a clue what was going on. I started giving her yogurt and oatmeal because I thought she was just sick. When I noticed she no longer had tail feathers I totally freaked out. I went through the coop thinking that there was some nightmare lurking in there somewhere.  I have seen posts about rats getting into the coops and literally chewing on chickens.....ohhhh the thought makes me sick. I LOVE the internet! The information at our fingertips changes my world.

Once I learned that what Mama was doing was natural and she was going to be fine it became more annoying. She was renamed "Mama" because she started going broody one time after another. She has been my best layer for 3 years. Yes, 3 years. I guess there is nothing for her to feel bad about. This past summer has been bad for her. It seemed that she was broody starting the beginning of the summer. I even put her in with the babies thinking that she would snap out of it. It didn't work.

Australorps are known to be good mothers, so I wasn't surprised the first time she started puffing up and screaming at me when I went near the nest. I have to say that we got a lot of entertainment out of her. I wanted to make sure she got some foraging time in every day so I would pick her up and put her outside and close up the coop. She would puff up to 3 times her size and run around like a football player. My kids thought this was the silliest thing they had ever seen. It became popular around my house to run around looking puffed up and squawking. I have 4 kids....that's a lot of squawking going on through my hallways:)

Ok, so going broody was one thing. I knew the signs. I knew the behavior. I knew how funny she looked with a featherless belly...(sooooo soft but creepy at the same time)....but I had never seen this before! I thought I had another pecking problem and began chaperoning like an old school marm. I'm going on 4 years with my hens and Mama was one of my original clutch. I've read where molts take place after 18 months, but I either missed it because she has been so broody or she just didn't do it until now. My Easter Egger Jumpers went through it too, but I thought she was just getting older and not laying. She never lost her tail feathers and I also thought she was being pecked on. Boy, I may have gotten rid of a hen a few years ago that I shouldn't kept....I thought she was being beat up so I gave her to a friend. Hmmm...I won't think about that now...

So, a long story short..it's over! I know my hens..I can look at a dozen eggs and tell you who laid which egg. It's official...the 4 month long molt is over. I have in my refrigerator a pretty dark brown egg with little dark specks on that for the first time in a very long time. That's the one I'm having for breakfast tomorrow:) Jumpers should be done also...so I'm looking for the light brown egg...yes, she is an Easter Egger...but she's a bit defective..hey, we all have our faults..don't judge...her eggs should be green/blue, but I love her anyway. It's very interesting that her white beard feathers are now black...if I had more than one Easter Egger I might wonder who she was because she looks so different. We'll be up to a full egg basket soon. My kids wouldn't eat the store bought eggs I had to buy.....ick...I used them for baking...we couldn't actually eat them. Yes, fresh eggs are that different. I love my Hens:) I'm so glad the long molt is over! Hallelujah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDJgxE-0PZI
(this is one of the best renditions I've heard..sooooo pretty. - it's in English..don't let the comments fool you.)

I was going to enter her into the ugly chicken contest...but I felt bad about it.

I would love to hear about other molting stories...this was actually my first time...so I must have a few more coming up soon... I LOVE comments:)

Some Safety Measures for the Coop

It's not pretty yet...but you can see it's protected by high tech weapons.....

I’ve got my stories of predator attacks and reasons for my neurosis’s…well, the chicken one anyone..the rest I’m still trying to figure out:) I’ve had racoons, coyotes, and a few foxes visiting my ladies. I worry by nature, I got that curse from my Grandmother. I worry so much about the ladies sometimes that I have actually thought about getting rid of them. My husband has talked me out of it because he knows that I would just find something else to worry myself sick about. I open the coop in the morning and lock it down at dusk. I don’t know what I’d do if I ever got to go on vacation. They may actually be OK in the run, but then what would I worry about?
When I got my ladies I just had my third child and I really had a hard time getting out to do much work..especially since I went right ahead and got pregnant with my fourth daughter shortly after that. I say that because it’s my excuse for taking the easier way out on some of my coop work. We don’t like to admit laziness without a good excuse. I read that I was supposed to dig down around the coop to bury the wire. I was in no mood to dig. Here are some measures I took to save me a bit of work but keep my ladies safe.

• I used paving blocks I had from a failed project that I placed all the way around the outside of the run. They are 12″ and make it impossible to dig into the coop unless they start digging that far away. I guess a tenacious animal could dig through a foot in, but no problems in 3 years.
• I use a nice wooden pallet for the entrance to the run (also so I don’t get muddy).
• I use key chain hooks on my back doors..the kind you have to pinch in to open. I also have two places that they hook so a racoons would have a very hard time prying the door from the bottom.
• I have the run surrounded by garden solar lights. This only works for a while after it gets dark, but that’s when I have mostly seen the racoons and foxes. (not always..as I will tell you when I upload my video)
• Unfortunately I don’t let my ladies run the yard all day any more.I only let them run the yard when I’m with them or at least have the deck door open. Otherwise I let them stay in the tractor I built for a few hours every day.

After wrestling Jumpers out of the jaws of a coyotes at 4 in the after noon I stopped letting them run totally free. OK, maybe “wrestling” is too strong of a word. I’d better say chasing and screaming like a crazy woman on fire is more like it. It worked..Jumpers literally got out of it’s mouth and ran to me and jumped into my arms. She is named Jumpers for a good reason. I have since promised my husband I will never chase coyotes again.
I hope any of this can help someone. I would love to hear your ideas on what you do to help keep your hens safe.