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Post by bankedout on Mar 13, 2011 9:59:18 GMT -5
I'm not sure how old the hens are. If they don't start laying regularly soon, it could be age related. This coming week is supposed to be warm, so they should get plenty of sunlight. I'll see if that triggers them to start laying again.
I'm not opposed to eating them when they are done laying regularly. Although I would want to replace them with younger chickens. I have read that when introducing new chickens it disrupts things for a while. A new pecking order has to be established, etc. My guess is that this should be done at either the start or the end of the egg laying season. Unless you plan to go artificial light and get them to lay year round.
I'll let you know what happens.
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Post by bankedout on Mar 13, 2011 10:01:18 GMT -5
Also after this Winter, I have considered eating all of my birds in late Fall or whenever they stop laying regularly. The Winters don't seem enjoyable to them, and they weren't very enjoyable to me either. Those birds are diabolical when they are cooped up. I won't have to decide this for a number of months.
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Post by dg on Mar 13, 2011 12:55:48 GMT -5
Do your hens get much light while in the shed? I suspect that a lack of sufficient lighting would tend to make them stir crazy. I also understand that they like to be played with like pets (not roosters, but just hens -- depending on how much they were handled as chicks).
My thought is that if I have to feed them all year long, they might as well be laying eggs all year long. That requires a little heat and 14 hours of light. I figure that I will move their house and coop into the garage for winter and keep the garage lights on early morning and early evening. With that in mind, I must make my design such that it can be readily disassembled, moved and reassembled as a major design constraint.
As to non producers of age, I'm probably too soft hearted to eat them. I'll probably just keep them as pets. (Step right up to dg's chicken petting zoo! HE HE HE)
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Post by bankedout on Mar 13, 2011 20:00:39 GMT -5
No, they get barely any light in the shed. There is no window. They have some screening near the roof and maybe a little light under the door. I would say it is very dim during the day when it is closed (Winter).
I know there are designs out there for movable coops. Maybe look up 'chicken tractor' for an idea. People use them to mow the grass and/or till their garden beds.
My chickens were raised by farmers, not as pets. So they aren't really interested in hanging out with me, unless I have food. They are almost totally focused on food. If it is really nice out they will sit in the sun and soak in the warmth or even take a dust bath. Which is basically covering themselves with dirt and working it in to every nook and cranny. Then shaking off eventually.
They are very entertaining to watch when they are outdoors.
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Post by sd on Mar 13, 2011 20:48:43 GMT -5
My daughter has 4 varieties- "easter egg" type chicks she hand raised from eggs this year - they lay colored eggs- She can walk into the pen and they will come right to her, because she is the Mama.
They have built a moveable pen , wood frame- but it's large and takes 2 people to move. At a local farmer's market the last year, there were several moveable pens -one made out of pvc pipe that naturally will bend and form a semi-circle, shelter, covered with chicken wire.
The advantage of Pvc is that it is strong and lightweight, and still relatively inexpensive. One can use larger diameter pvc pipe for the base frame, (say 1") with t's and reducers to attach
more flexible 1/2" or 3/4" pipe to make the semicircular hoop frame for the roof.
The frames could be made to any size, but 2 frames could be constructed 10' x 10', and attached together to provide a 10' x 20' structure- or larger if desired.
Chicken wire could be attached to the pvc with plastic zip ties.
None of these birds will ever see the cook pot-
Their only early demise would be because of the local Chicken Hawks when they're not contained in the protected pen.
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Post by dg on Mar 14, 2011 10:26:14 GMT -5
bankedout:
Those birds shouldn't have to live in the dark. You should at least give them a light to see by. JMHO You might consider putting in a sky light in the roof this spring.
And just for the heck of it, go pet and fondle one of your chickens. It won't kill you. HE HE HE
later -
I just talked to our local animal control lady (who has 24 chickens), and I mentioned that I had a friend who was keeping chickens in a shed without windows or skylights. She thinks that friend is being very cruel to the chickens. Just thought you might like to know. She also told me that it is better not to give hens extended light in winter because continuous egg laying wears them out prematurely. She considers hens to be lovable pets and very intelligent. She also said that my plan to winter them in my garage (house & coop) at 20 degrees plus will really pamper them.
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Post by bankedout on Mar 14, 2011 19:31:14 GMT -5
I'm not going to put in a skylight. If I found a free window, I would consider putting that in. If I'm going to keep chickens in Winter. Otherwise I will have to either eat them or give them away.
I can pet my chickens if I catch them or if they are trying to sleep. They don't seem to care one way or the other. All they really want from me is food. Sometimes they follow me around the yard if I am carrying something, hoping it is food for them.
I don't think they dislike me. Although I do have some neighbor kids that chase them around the yard sometimes. However they seem to recover quickly from those episodes.
Honestly, now that it is warm out and they spend their days outdoors walking around the yard, they seem very happy. They go in and out of the coop as they please. I open the door for them in the morning and close it for them at night.
Everyone that visits loves to watch them run around the yard. I think it is therapeutic for people who don't have farm animals. It stirs up deep memories or something.
I'm sure if you raise them from young, they will like you and enjoy interaction. I got mine 1/2 in adolescent and 1/2 as adults.
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Post by dg on Mar 14, 2011 22:35:58 GMT -5
From what I understand, baby chicks imprint on those they first meet. Several people advised me to handle them a lot when they are babies. That way. I become their mother. HE HE HE
If it were me, I would put a stop to your neighbor kids chasing the chickens. Chickens stress rather easily. That can't be good for either their health or for egg production.
And yes, I agree. There is something therapeutic about seeing chickens in the yard; although I will have to keep them inside a coop per Derry zoning ordinances.
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Post by bankedout on Mar 15, 2011 18:22:44 GMT -5
I have noticed egg production takes a temporary drop after stress.
Too bad you can't let them run around the yard. You should make the chicken tractor so at least they can dig in the ground to find bugs and stuff.
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Post by dg on Mar 15, 2011 20:11:10 GMT -5
My current plan is a 4 by 8 footprint that has a 4 by 4 house on legs with an attached roofed 4 by 4 fenced area. Counting the space under the house, they get a full 4 by 8 yard.
And something tells me that they will get to play in my 40 by 50 fenced garden area when I can be out with them. My airsoft guns will be handy should a fox, cat or hawk wander into the area while I have them out of their coop.
As to the neighbor kids, I suggest a talk with their parents. Stress can kill your birds; and it might turn them aggressive against you.
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Post by dg on Mar 23, 2011 14:56:41 GMT -5
Here's my first 3 chicks (banded rocks):  |
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Post by bankedout on Mar 23, 2011 16:51:27 GMT -5
Awesome! I hope you enjoy them. It looks like you have a nice environment for them.
One of my chickens is molting. I wonder if it will survive this cold spell? It is one of the older ones that is no longer laying eggs.
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Post by dg on Mar 23, 2011 17:41:07 GMT -5
Should be fun. Right now they are in my bedroom. And I have three rhode island reds coming in two weeks. (It's really hard to resist buying more).
BTW, I bet your older hens lay some more once things start warming up for real. It just snowed here on monday. And to think last week we hit 67 degrees F. It will be a few weeks before any of my critters get outside. They need the heat lamp for up to six weeks.
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Post by dg on Apr 6, 2011 18:55:41 GMT -5
Now I have seven. Photos tomorrow. (they are soooooooooo cute!)
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Post by bankedout on Apr 7, 2011 8:25:28 GMT -5
That is great dg!
I'll be getting at least one new one on Easter from my cousin. It lays blue/green eggs. She is also trying to hatch some chicks before then, if that works out I will get some of those too.
My molting hen has started growing back feathers.
I also came up with a solution for the lack of light in the coop. Currently it is sided with corrugated metal, but they sell clear panels made out of fiberglass or polycarbonate. I'm going to replace a south side panel so they get light in there.
When doing gardening I dig up worms and bugs and feed them to the chickens. They love them so much. I also gave them a bunch of my rib bones and they happily pecked off all the extra meat and fat. When no meat is available they eat any greens coming out of the ground.
Also I bought a nice small non-stick pan for cooking eggs. It has thick metal so I can cook them on low heat which is the safest way to use non-stick. If you are going to be cooking a lot of eggs, this is something you should have. Otherwise hard boiling is a good use for them too.
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