know who has chickens?

[SwampG8r]

...
This dude right here.
2 barred rocks (alice and trixie)and 2 black rocks (Lucy and ethyl)
I bought a used coop and turned it into a 4 bedroom chicken mansion and after I was sure they were homed to it I opened the doors and my beautiful ladies now have the run of the back yard.
They spend the day taking dirt baths eating weeds and hunting bugs.
I got them at 8 weeks and we are around 20 weeks now.
Soon I will have fresh eggs and I have no shortage of people on my egg list.

[adigal]

1. I have 4 chickens right now, I love them!!

This cold winter has been hard on them, but they are hanging in there.

[Autumn]

2. Love the chickens. I had three Silkies, three tiny tons of personality.

There is nothing as good and delicious as the eggs you will be getting.

[shenmue]

3. Yay!

[REP]

4. Me

Just one right now - the other was taken by a hawk - but Buffy is a BAMF who runs deer off the yard.

[RiverLover]

5. Awesome!!!

Great for you & those chickens.

[Doctor_J]

6. how do four chickens named alice, trixie, ethel, and lucy make eggs?

Don't Ricky and Ralph need to be home?

[central scrutinizer]

7. only if you want fertilized eggs

Females of all species ovulate (produce an egg) whether a male is present or not

[Doctor_J]

9. I see. thanks for that bio lesson

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. not to mention Norton and Fred ... but, seriously the eggs will not be fertilized is all.

[UncleYoder]

11. Only if you want little alices, trixies, ethels, lucys, rickys and ralphies.

Otherwise the girls do just fine without a man in their lives.

We have 100+ layers out in the henhouse, a mix of Australorps, Leghorns, Barred Rocks, White Rocks, Marans and Sex Links.
Not a rooster to be found.

If you are counting the fancy breeds we raise; Wyndotte bantams, Rock bantams, Blue and Black Marans, Polish, Green Peafowl, 6 colors of Call Ducks, a flock of Muscoveys and a trio of White China Geese, there's about 350 birds running around our place.

You might say we love our poultry. Momma and I are 4H advisors and we are in charge of the county fair's poultry show.

Everybody should have the chance to taste a truly fresh egg.

[progressoid]

18. I heard a tale that having a rooster around increases production.

You don't actually let him do the deed (not sure how you stop it) but just his presence will make the hens more productive. Or is that just a wives tale?

[UncleYoder]

22. Not even close.

A hen will lay an egg every 24-26 hours. That's provided she is receiving enough daylight.
Those egg-heads (pardon the pun) up at university are trying to shorten the length of time between eggs but haven't figured it out yet.
I suppose they also told you that brown shelled eggs are twice as nutritious as white shelled eggs.

[progressoid]

26. That's what I figured.

I heard it from a lady that has 8 or 10 hens in her little back yard. It sounded a bit eggzagerated to me. So I just nodded in agreement.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

56. I thought the shell colour difference

was simply down to the breed? Ie, certain breeds lay certain shell-coloured eggs?

[UncleYoder]

58. to a degree, yes.

But you can tell what color egg she will lay by the color of her earlobe.

[cwydro]

67. I have three Americauna chickens (that spelling is correct).

They lay turquoise eggs.

My Rhode Island Red chickens lay darkish brown eggs.

My Barred Rocks (who I call Ninjas because of their coloring) lay light brown eggs, as do the Buff Orpingtons, who are also brown.

Chickens are a blast!

[Arugula Latte]

13. Sidenote:

I have an older relative who is a stickler for proper English. If you mention to her that you're going to "make some eggs," she always says: "You cook the eggs. The chicken makes the eggs."

[UncleYoder]

20. Reminds me of the saying.

The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs.
The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.

[JaneyVee]

15. Are you really a doctor?

[mainer]

17. Roosters are mean, and can hurt hens

My son has a ton of chickens, and he only keeps a few roosters to help protect the flock from predators. The roosters are always harassing and mounting and even injuring the hens. If you can keep your hens safe from predators (including birds of prey) then you don't really need or want roosters around.

[cwydro]

68. We have a horrid rooster.

He was supposed to be a hen, but...

He's a Plymouth Barred Rock and absolutely gorgeous. (Only reason he's not in a pot yet).

He attacks me regularly and he has drawn blood. Always attacks from behind (chicken!)

His name is Henry (for his many wives).

[cwydro]

66. Chickens lay eggs regardless.

Roosters are only needed if you want chicks.

[FLPanhandle]

10. We will be getting chicks soon ourselves.

Coop is all ready to go.

Hope to have fresh eggs in the fall.

[valerief]

12. Mmm, eggs. I love eggs. nt

[cilla4progress]

14. We started in chickens about 10 years ago.

Have loved it. We get to free range them on our small acreage. They are doing their roto-tilling work around the place now - great for preparing Spring garden beds (I live in the Pacific NW where we've had a no-/low-snow year).

We finally had to off our last rooster. He had become more and more aggressive and we couldn't even walk to the coop without him attacking! He was a beauty, and it hurt. First kill I've ever ordered .... But the hens are so much more friendly now!

No eggs compare to home-grown.

Post-script: the rest of my family just went to Canada for a little ski trip, and the border guards took our eggs I'd packed them for the week, due to Avian flu risk! Honestly - I don't think there's a risk of spread of Avian flu from eggs?

[mountain grammy]

25. I'll bet the border guards enjoyed those eggs!

[Arugula Latte]

28. The border guards saw a risk, all right --

the risk of them missing out on snagging some home-grown eggs!

[mr blur]

16. We have seven chickens and three ducks,

Always lots of fresh, creamy eggs.

[Arugula Latte]

29. Question:

Is there much of a taste difference between chicken and duck eggs?

[UncleYoder]

33. To me, yes.

Duck eggs contain less water than chicken eggs. If cooked too long they will taste rubbery.
But then so will chicken eggs. Duck eggs are richer (also twice the cholesterol) and very good in baking. Only reason we don't eat more of them is a chicken will give you an egg a day, a duck will lay 20-30 then take a break for a month or two. So we hatch most of the duck eggs and eat most of the chicken eggs.
I should add we have eaten quail, goose and turkey eggs too. Each one has it's own favor notes and all are delicious.

[Arugula Latte]

34. Interesting.

Thanks for the info.

[WheelWalker]

46. Duck eggs make excellent custard

[mr blur]

63. I think there is, yes.

The ducks are more particular about laying than the chickens, though.

[zeemike]

19. Good for you.

I buy all my eggs from a guy that has been selling the eggs for over 10 years...and he takes exeunt care of his birds.
He started that project to provide an education fund for his son, and I am sure now it has plenty of money in it for his collage.
And it makes me feel good that I am n ot supporting factory farms where chickens are crammed into little cages for life.

[Ineeda]

21. Congrats.

There's a stray rooster in my neighborhood who escaped his captivity several years ago. No one ever sees him but the hens that were being kept are long gone. I enjoy his 5:30 AM wake-up call, but others here don't like it one bit.

[fasttense]

23. Could you post this on the rural/farm life forum too?

That forum is usually forgotten when farming topics come up.

[SwampG8r]

72. i apologize for such a late reply

yes i will do that
i sign in infrequently as i tend to draw the attention of an undesireable clicque.
i will cross post this today

[Lochloosa]

24. Be sure and feed them some crushed oyster shells. It will harden the egg shells

[Hekate]

64. You can also feed them their own egg shells after toasting them a bit...

A friend of mine from rural Oklahoma (then rural California) taught me that. She said it's important that the shells not taste the way they would if the hen crushed and ate the raw egg herself, as they have been known to do.

[missingthebigdog]

27. Welcome to the club!

We have a flock on our 'stead, and absolutely love them. Most of them free range during the day, and watching them peck and scratch in the yard is good for our blood pressure.

They are quite certain that any human who wanders outside is there to feed them, so they follow us around clucking encouragement. Always makes me smile.

[mountain grammy]

30. I'd love to get on your egg list...

my last egg lady moved, been looking for a new one.

[randome]

31. Not me. I was vaccinated.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[nahant]

32. We DO!!

We got four chicks a week old in late August and they have just started laying eggs.. Two of them lay brown eggs and the other two give us green/blue eggs, we get 3-4 eggs per day.. All of them love to be petted and held. When I pick up one of them the others come trotting over for their turn at some affection.. Boy are they are a lot smarter that I thought they would be, but we did have a Cockatiel for 30 years and he was a very smart little guy...

[V0ltairesGh0st]

35. Childhood memories

My grandfather raised 100's of them all in their own well kept and spacious pens that he built himself. They were his pets as much as they were his business. WE had a dozen varieties at anyone time. My favorite which were my pets were my Rosecomb Blacks. We had Game roosters, 'turkey Necked'(yes a chicken), Long Legged, Dominickers, silkies, and Araucana's like the ones who lay your bluish to green eggs AKA EasterEggLayers.

[TeeYiYi]

36. Some questions for DU chicken experts...

1. Will my cats kill the chickens if I get some?

2. Do you have to feed them every day or do they survive on what they scratch? (I'm not always home.)

3. My neighbor's chickens hang out in my fields. If I get chickens, will they get mixed up with the neighbor's chickens?

4. Which breed has the best eggs?

5. Will I get overrun with eggs?

I've considered getting a few chickens, (I have 2 acres in a small farming community,) but I don't know if I should since I'm not always here...

All opinions are welcome.

TYY

[elleng]

38. I'm NOT an expert, my daughter is,

she has some and more coming.

They're 'enclosed,' have a coop in an enclosed yard, do have to be fed and watered each day, approximately, I THINK, but I may be incorrect about that.

[TeeYiYi]

45. I have fences...

...but the neighboring chickens don't respect boundaries and I'm just fine with that. I enjoy having them around.

I guess I would have to provide a coop, which would be no problem, but I'm not ready for the responsibility if it's going to interfere with my ability to travel.

Also, I wouldn't want to keep them penned up; just provide a coop for a home but allow them free reign.

I guess I'll just have to enjoy watching the neighbor's chickens and get fresh eggs from my friends.

TYY

[dixiegrrrrl]

70. You get chickens and predators will follow.

Esp. raccoons, foxes and snakes.
You let them roam around unsupervised and the neighborhood dogs will find them.
That is why we keep ours locked in the henhouse night.
Even so, Mr. D. had to pull a huge rat snake out of the house one morning, it had its head in the nesting box, trying to suck down an egg.
We live in town, but there are lots of woods all around.

If you can't be available to give them fresh water and food, best not to have them.

[MissB]

41. A few answers

My cats don't bother them. They've each taken a look at the chickens, but the chickens work as a group to deal with the kitties, so the cats only go for them once. Coyotes, raccoons and Hawks have been a greater danger.

We give them food every day but they don't eat it all. Sometimes they go three days without touching most of it. There are some simple pvc pipe setups you can throw together to feed them for a number of days.

My chickens know where their home is. They don't mix with others. It's a challenge to introduce new members to the flock. They know where they are supposed to go at night (we have a coop door that needs to be closed each night) without us herding them in.

People will have different opinions on best egg layers. Some folks prefer friendly chickens over good producers. We keep a mix.

We have five relatively young chickens. We get three or four a day. We give away a dozen every other week. We mostly only eat eggs on weekends and use in baking.

They are a blast, but do require maintenance.

[TeeYiYi]

48. My cats...

...haven't killed any neighbor chickens that I'm aware of but it sounds like I would definitely need to provide a secure coop for nights and to protect the eggs from scavengers.

Thanks for your reply.

TYY

[UncleYoder]

42. I would suggest you get Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens.

It really depends on your individual setup and why you want to raise chickens.

But here goes.

1. When they are little (less than 12 weeks old) yes. Once they are full grown, no. But they will steal eggs.

2. They will eat every day, about 4-6 ozs. of feed and 10-12 oz. of water. Weither that comes from you or the ground, they need to eat.
I would not let them free range but keep them inside a pen and get some big feeders and waterers.

3. Yes, they will mix. It's not like they form gangs and fight over turf.

4. I want a bird that gives me an egg a day, only breeds that will do that year round are Leghorns or SexLinked. Australorps lay pretty good but it depends on where they came from. All other breeds don't come close. If you chose not to put a light in the hen house, you will not have any eggs over winter. They need 14 hours of light for maximum production.

5. Only if you don't eat or bake with them. Angel food and sponge cake use up a lot of eggs.

I would recomend you have a predator proof building to lock them in at night. Dogs and raccoons are our worst enemies.
A fenced in outside pen helps to keep them safe. If you let them run free, dogs and hawks will find them. Let those predators go after your neighbor's birds. Keep yours secure.

[TeeYiYi]

49. My goal...

...was to have a few chickens as pets and benefit from eating a few fresh eggs.

I'm definitely not ready for the commitment now but I'm bookmarking this thread for the future.

Thanks for the great response. And, I don't bake.

TYY

[V0ltairesGh0st]

47. what I learned from long ago.

1. cats can and will kill a chicken especially young ones, you need pens that cats/foxes/small dogs/opossums cannot penetrate.

2. Grain Fed, or free range or both. I say its best with a little of both.

3. If you have time to get to know your own birds you can easily pick them out, but they (the hens) will simply see other chickens as friends. Roosters on the on the hand are territorial and protective of their own brood, and will kill each other. Though there is always an Alpha who will not always kill/fight underling males who submit and stay out of his way. Always seperate Alpha Roosters from each other.

4. Google that. Too many opinions, though i love the Aruacana's , Dominikers, and Game hen eggs.

5. If you have an abundance of hens...yes they can lay a lot of eggs you may have to sort through and find some bad ones. use a light box with a hole in top to determine if eggs are fertile if your roosters range with your hens.

6. Also, to avoid inbreeding it is wise to have a chicken raising partner to trade your strong roosters with. This ensures good genetics and strong egg layers and chicks.

[TeeYiYi]

51. I was wondering...

...if people but bands on their chickens' legs to keep misunderstandings with the neighbors at a minimum.

I think banding them would be kind of creepy and I would prefer not to have to do that.

I'm really not ready to take on the responsibility of owning chickens for now, but I'm bookmarking this thread for when I change my mind.

Thanks for the great response.

TYY

[UncleYoder]

57. That's basically how some of the breeds came about.

You raise wyndottes and your neighbor raises barred rocks so you know who belongs to who.

Just a FYI, anybody know what breed the chickens are in The Wizard of Oz?







Rock, White

[V0ltairesGh0st]

60. not sure....

when dorothy is seeing images out the window ?... Plymouth Rock Whites perhaps ?

[UncleYoder]

54. Just a quick point.

You cannot determine if a newly layed egg is fertilized by candling it. The blastoderm is much too small to see.
Only by incubating the egg for 4-5 days to allow it to develop can you then see that it is fertilized.

If you have a rooster on premise with access to your hens, then assume all eggs are fertile. Those guys usually don't pass up an opportunity. And they will try to "please" all the girls. Also, a hen can carry the sperm inside her oviduct for up to 30 days. So, just cause you seperated the boy from her, she can still lay hatchable eggs for some time.

[V0ltairesGh0st]

59. cool thanks for elaborating

Just what i remember as a kid, you know it like my grandpa did, you guys would probably have been traders. I knew roosters would hit all the hens up, didn't know about the other stuff though.

[elleng]

37. My daughter has chickens,

about 10 last year, and 20 new chicks last week. I've had some of the eggs, and expect more!

[Worried senior]

39. Our neighbor

has three chickens, did have 2 roosters but when we came home after Christmas the roosters were gone. I didn't ask.

The chicks come over to our place several times a day, they eat the birdseed that the squirrels knock out of the bird feeders, think we should get some eggs since we are feeding them part of the time but so far we haven't. They also hit our compost pile in the garden so we hope they fertilizing it too.

They are fun to watch and as someone else said they are very affectionate and smart. When their folks come home they run to greet them much like a dog would.

If we were younger I would love to have some too and they'd all live till old age as we'd never be able to kill one.

[MissB]

44. I have one particularly friendly chicken.

She joyfully skips and hops her way over to me when I'm out in the yard.

We let ours age out, but we've had to cull several out of sheer kindness to them. Hard to do but we don't let them suffer.

[Worried senior]

52. I can understand

having to do that for a good reason. I just meant barring unforeseen circumstances ours would live a full life.

Your chick sounds wonderful I have seen that they love to be held and petted too so they are very special.

[WheelWalker]

40. ...and this dude too. Eleven hens and six new pullet peepers here at Dharma Gardens...

Back up to 5 eggs a day after the winter slack time, and it's not even spring yet !!

Hens include 3 Rhode Island Red, 2 Cuckoo Maran, 2 Speckled Sussex, 2 Welsummer, 1 Blue Lace Wyandott, 1 Light Brahma.

Peepers are 3 Golden Comet and 3 Red Star.

[madokie]

43. Enjoy

Chickens are neat to have in your yard. They will let you know if a snake wanders in and in some cases kill the snake, they eat all kinds of bugs, sorry but good ones with the bad ones I know but still they cut down on the insect problem in the evening when you're out trying to enjoy the night air. They do their work during the day so you can better enjoy the evening. They have personalities too, some will be friendly while others will be stand offish and yet some timid and some will jump right up in your lap too. I've had all kinds.
Need to get 'm a rooster as they like to bump uglies, some say it makes the eggs better too, I don't know about that though

[Spitfire of ATJ]

50. I had the classic Rhode Island Reds out at the horse ranch....

A dozen including the rooster. We had one vanish and figured a coyote or bobcat or rattler got it but then it turned up all proud with a mess of little chicks.

The mated pair of geese were our doorbell.

[Hekate]

53. They will eat every tender plant they can reach, so if you have anything you value...

...make sure they can't reach it! When my backyard was a weedy mess I let my 4 hens have the run of it, but as I cleaned up I gave them the gated side yard, which they stripped bare of everything but a big bush. They still get a selection of choice weeds when I work on the garden (they let me know which ones they prefer) and all the fruit and vegetable scraps they can eat from my kitchen.

I gave away eggs like mad -- made my hens very popular with the neighbors I can tell you.

Mrs Brown was broody. Every spring she'd go mad with broodiness and collect all the other girls' eggs and sit on them, singing. She wouldn't even move when they wanted to sit on the nest themselves -- I mean, there's plenty of room in there, but that was The Egg Spot -- just move enough so they could deposit another egg all for her, which she would then roll into place with her beak.

They're 6 years old now and still laying, just not nearly as much. Mrs Brown hasn't gone into one of her broody fits this spring, which is kind of sad. I don't have any idea what breeds they are; my daughter got a tray of miscellaneous chicks for her preschool and gave me 4 hens when they were grown. Ms Goldie lays beautiful pale teal green eggs; Little Red lays pale brown eggs, sometimes almost pink; Big Red lays pale green eggs, and Mrs Brown lays enormous brown eggs with speckles.

I have learned that they stop laying in the Fall, and start again in the Spring. I used to get really impatient in mid-January and threaten them with the crockpot (a hollow threat if there ever was one) but now I have realized they will start laying again around the ancient holiday of Imbolc in February. Well, of course, why didn't I think of that in the first place?

Sometimes I have seen them huddling under a bush, beaks in; now I know to look into the sky for the silhouette of a hawk. I think a hawk could land in the side yard, but probably doesn't have enough clearance to take off again, what with the roofline, the big bush, and the overhanging trees.

Enjoy your girls! Welcome to the world of backyard chickens!

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

55. Not me, sadly.

Housemate won't hear of it, and I don't think they're allowed to be kept in residential areas in our town anyway.

[hootinholler]

61. A fowl problem indeed n/t

[trackfan]

62. I wish I still had some. The eggs are so much better than store

eggs.

[cwydro]

65. I have eight chickens,

one rooster, and one goose.

Beware!

This made me laugh out loud.

[Oilwellian]

69. A member of my family has chickens

She always brings me a dozen fresh ones. Love, love, love.

[OnionPatch]

71. Me too.

Amazing how many people here have and love chickens! I'm enjoying this thread.

You're going to really like having chickens. I've had a small flock for about ten years and have a lot of people on my egg list too. I've benefitted by the awesome goodies many of them offer me in return.

My only advice is watch out for bobcats and coyotes if you live in the west. Most of the chickens I've lost met their end at the jaws of one or the other of them. Each time I've vamped up the fences and my "chicken defense system" and I think I have it working well now. No losses for almost three years. Knock on wood.

Enjoy your chicken adventure. Hope you post some pics.

[Sunlei]

73. you will have eggs soon, heres a link to the hatchery where I buy my chicks

They mail them to you and you pick the box up at your local post office. I recommend to have your chicks vaccinated by the hatchery. link to hatchery- https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html

My last batch of chicks. These are all hens of large egg layer breeds. They start laying at about 5-6 months and lay about 300 eggs a year each.

[Sunlei]

74. warning about many chicken feeds, chick starter and medicated feeds- very toxic to other animals.

I've known of people who let their horses get into the chicken feed, their dogs get ahold of chick 'starter'. It has poisoned and killed some animals.

For my hens I use non-medicated chick starter, adults I feed one of the several purina brands of chicken feed.

PURINA® Layena® Plus Omega-3. PURINA® Flock Raiser®. PURINA® Flock Raiser® MP .0125. PURINA® Start & Grow®. PURINA® Start & Grow® AMP

when my hens have access to pasture and grass (they love to eat grass and weeds like chickweed) they eat very little to no bagged feed at all.

With only a few 3-4 hens, one may not even need to buy store feed at all. They will eat your kitchen scraps and graze off your backyard.

Can make a large pan of cornbread, add veggies and whole eggs shell and all, oatmeal, bake till crispie. cut into pieces and freeze to feed later. dump a bag of crushed oyster shell or crushed limestone in corner of yard and your chickens will eat some if they want.