Chick Chat- Week Two - Page 2

[reeseccup]

Originally Posted by Shahbazin

I buy whole oats from the feed store (sometimes called racehorse oats - not rolled or crimped, BTW), rinse them in a screen collander, dump in a small bucket, & just barely cover with water. The next morning, rinse them & dump them back in the bucket - repeat daily until little rootlets appear, then feed to the birds. They love them, & it's great for them to get fresh greens if kept penned or in the winter (you can keep the bucket in a closet or something in the house if it's cold.) You can add a dollop of vinegar to the original soak solution too - it's good for them.

Thank you for short and clear instructions. I've been meaning to do this, but well, life gets in the way.

Sprouts are super healthy for your animals and especially in the winter when it's harder to provide greens for them. This bares repeating, sorry if someone finds it redundant.

Also, if I have a surplus of eggs, I'll hard boil and crush it all up shells and all and feed them that.

The only time I've had egg eaters is my bigoted Spitz didn't like our Comets brown eggs, so they'd eat her eggs, but leave theirs alone. As long as your chickens are well fed with enough protein and such, they won't even be tempted to eat eggs. BUT there is always that slim chance you'll have an egg eater and it's a bad habit, that can be broken in many instances, with effort.

[kayjayjay]

Is there anyone else here with city chickens? We have four 18-week old hens in our suburban backyard and we're just learning this as we go.

The chicks spend the days ranging our backyard, and sleep in a little ark we built at night. I'm concerned about them as the weather is getting colder. Do they need anything special to get them ready for winter?

[MamaMonica]

Does your ark have a wooden part to provide protection from the elements? You'll want a coop to provide protection from the elements in winter. It doesn't have to be fancy- check out the coop pictures on Chick Chat Week 1.

[kayjayjay]

It's an A-frame (we found plans on the internet ) with an "upstairs" and a ramp...it's hard to explain, but yes it does have an enclosed area. I just wonder if they'll really be ok out there with no heat and no insulation.

[lmonter]

Whew, that was a long thread from last week.

Okay, so I don't have chickens (yet), and here's my first hurdle.
What terms am I looking for in the county ordinances to see whether we can have chickens in our backyard or not? (I'm not entirely in the mood to pore over a 128-page pdf file for something I may or may not find useful.) Once I know whether I can use my backyard in addition to my neighbor's (she's awesome and thrilled that we may do chickens - but they say they know their plot is zoned for "livestock"), I can start more planning.

[ChristieB]

These Chick Chats were a great idea. Thanks so much to all of you who are sharing your experience and answering questions!!

We're wanting to raise chickens for eggs and possibly for meat (if we can figure out how to bring ourselves to kill them , or else find someone who can/will do it for us). So, we're wanting to get some large dual purpose birds, that will lay a good amount of eggs and are cold hardy (I've seen a few that fit the bill, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the feed store will carry). We're also interested in a few chickens that lay green eggs (so Ameraucana or Easter Eggers). And we're thinking we want a rooster of the dual purpose breed, so that we can keep the flock growing.

Our reason for wanting to raise our own chickens is to have an abundance of high quality eggs (higher quality than we can reliably get anywhere around here). We use A LOT of eggs here. We figure with as many as we use, they ought to be very high quality. We also have trouble finding good pastured chicken, so that's why we would like to get a dual purpose breed.

We have a few challenges, though, of course. We live in the mountains, and it gets to -20 here in the winter. We also have plenty of predators, so free ranging isn't an option. Also, we have to feed them a gluten-free diet. Not because there would be a problem with the eggs or meat, but because none of us can healthfully handle it on a regular basis. And any little bit of gluten that ds is exposed to causes problems for him, so any gluten on my hands or clothes would be a problem. It's just not negotiable for us.

So, I want to run my plan (such as it is at this point) by you all and get your ideas.

I plan on a largish coop, so that they can hang out there on cold snowy days if need be. We will build two runs, both accessible from the coop. We will allow them into only one run at a time. The other run will be planted with seed, so that there will be green plants for them. We'll switch them to that run when there are plants for them, and then plant the other run. And I figure the bugs will come back to the run with the plants (we live in the woods, and it's really hard to imagine that we will have a shortage of bugs). How does that sound? We have plenty of land, so the runs will be fairly large.

For feed (other than what will be in the run), we're thinking to make our own mix based on this recipe, only gluten free (I haven't yet looked at the available grains and which we'd use - I imagine buckwheat will be one, and probably up the legumes to ensure enough protein). **Disclaimer: I am not putting the link in here for the political ad on that page, just for the chicken feed info.** We will also give veggie scraps and some table scraps (we don't really have many of those, as dh eats most of that sort of thing, or the dogs do). In the winter, when nothing will grow in the runs, I guess we'll be sprouting grains and/or lentils for them.

We also want to plant a garden eventually, and that will have to be caged in, too. So I'm thinking that when I can I will plant cover crops and let the chickens in there to eat those and any bugs. Multi-tasking!

For the chicks, I think we would use the chick starter recipe #3 on the same website (again, gluten-free).

So, please pick the plan apart as much as you want. I want an honest assessment of it. Any ideas for how to improve it are welcome, as are comments that something just won't work.

Please tell me about the shavings in the coop. Do you need them in the run, too?? And someone mentioned that if they're thick, and you don't remove them, they serve to help heat the coop in the winter? And it's less work? (I like the sounds of that) Do you just keep adding more and more? For how long (at what point would we take them out and start over)? Do they go into the compost after that, or do they go straight into garden?

Do you need to clean out the run? How? How often?

OK, I think that's all my questions for now.

Thanks!

[MamaMonica]

kayjayjay- your coop sounds like it will be fine. They don't need heat or insulation, just good protection from drafts and to be kept dry. With four hens, they'll provide body heat.

lmonter- the quickest way is a phone call to the county to check Only read the ordinance if they give you grief.

ChristieB- that plan sounds awesome. It's a great way to control what's in your eggs and have an abundance of high quality eggs at a low cost.

You can pile shavings all winter in the coop. It's called deep bedding- the chickens will turn it if you put some scratch on it and it helps keep them warm as it composts. You clean it out in spring.

If you're rotating your runs, you shouldn't need shavings or to clean them out. I'll let the more experience chicken mamas say more.

[tree_hugger]

Belated Intro

Hi everyone!

I'm Kath, mother hen. I'm sorry for not posting much last week, my children and I have all been sick, and today is the first day we're really get back into the swing of things.

I live in Sydney, Australia, in the suburbs. I have three chookies who are all most definitely pets - there is Pretty, the Leghorn, Cute, the Rhode Island Red and Sharp Toe, the Australorp. (Australorps are an Australian breed - I'm not sure if they are prolific in other countries, so here is a wiki article in case anyone is interested http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australorp )

We got the girls when they were three weeks old. They are all seven months old now and have been laying steadily for about a month. Oh, the joy when we found those first eggs! :

We have a pretty mild climate, so I don't really worry about the chooks getting too cold in winter. Their coop is a wooden dog kennel in our backyard, which I keep filled with a heap of lucerne. They have a run which is fenced off with a gate.

I used to let them free-range all day, but I am about to plant our vegie garden, and I know from experience that they will destroy any garden within a few hours, so for now they are stuck in their run.

We are lucky that foxes aren't an issue here, nor are birds of prey. Our yard is dog proof, and I clip the chooks' flight feathers so they aren't able to jump over any fences. I used to worry about cats coming in, but an experienced chookie friend assured me my girls are too big for a cat to take on - plus, I've never actually seen a cat in my backyard, lol.

We also have three three week old chicks who are cohabiting with our guinea pigs right now. I think they are two Australorps and an Isa Brown. We sell our eggs, and have a sign out the front - I thought some cute, fluffy chickies would entice the buyers in, lol. If they are hens they will stay with us, if they are roosters they will go to live with my ex-husband who lives in a rural area.

Anyways, I'm loving the Chick Chat! What a great idea. I hope to post more frequently from now on.

[kayjayjay]

OK, so I've thought of a few more questions, after reading through the last two threads. Our chicks roam free in our backyard during the day, and I haven't worried about predators at all (other than our neighbors' dogs, but they're fixing the hole in their fence ). Being in the city we don't see many wild animals, but we do have the occasional hawk or other bird of prey...should I look out for this? The chicks seem awfully big to be prey for a hawk.

I also never thought about clipping their wings, we have a 6' cedar fence and they aren't inclined to scale it (yet) but will they?

The other question, will they really destroy my garden? They were small enough this summer that they pecked around and hung out in the basil and tomatoes, and other than eating a few tomatoes they didn't do any damage. I'm wondering if I'll have to keep them penned next spring (or build a fence around the garden).

[tree_hugger]

Originally Posted by kayjayjay

I also never thought about clipping their wings, we have a 6' cedar fence and they aren't inclined to scale it (yet) but will they?

They could. The few times mine have jumped the fence, it was when they were being chased for a cuddle from an over enthusiastic child.

Its funny, but until I actually got my own chickens, I thought of them as being flightless birds, which they definitely are not.

Clipping their wing feathers is easy and quick, and doesn't hurt them at all. I guess it comes down to personal choice as to whether you do it or not.

Here is the article and diagram that I used to guide me when I first started:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-wingclipping.html

[tree_hugger]

Originally Posted by kayjayjay

The other question, will they really destroy my garden? They were small enough this summer that they pecked around and hung out in the basil and tomatoes, and other than eating a few tomatoes they didn't do any damage. I'm wondering if I'll have to keep them penned next spring (or build a fence around the garden).

Mine have destroyed a garden. They scratched around in the mulch until it was all dumped out of the raised bed, ate all the seedlings and rolled around in the dirt.

And because I didn't learn my lesson the first time, I recently tried to start a no-dig garden in a raised bed. I put down the first two layers of newspaper and grass clippings then went inside for a cuppa. By the time I came back out the three of them were in there, scratching and rolling around and basically had ruined it.

Now they have their own fenced run to live in, and I have a fence around the garden. I am also sick of them pooping on my deck, so they are going to be spending most of the time in their run, with a few hours of free ranging each afternoon.

[greenmagick]

I cant believe I almost missed this We have 8 hens in our suburban yard and love our chickens dearly. They are so much fun and provide a lot of entertainment. We got 6 a year and a half ago, and ended up being down to 3 after one died young, one was killed in a bad storm, and one was injured when accidently stepped on by my mom and we could never get her to heal. We added 6 more babies this spring, and they all made it. One, our light brahma, ended up being a rooster, so we found him a home in the country. He was starting to crow around 4 in the morning

I have various pictures on my blog (link in siggie) and talk a bit about them. I need to update pretty badly We are actually working on building a new coop right now, and they free range our front and back yards throughout the day. I will try to check in again....what a great thread!!!!

[BedHead]

Still waiting to hear back from our City Manager about the bylaw. I heard on the news that someone had a half dozen chickens removed from their back yard here last week. I don't hold out much hope, but you never know!!

Great info in these threads - thanks so much to our mother hens!

[mrsalf97]

ChristieB, I'm so glad you brought up gluten free feed. I have celiac and I never even considered there may be gluten in the feed. When we get chickens, I'll have to be careful of that.

BedHead, a friend of mine lived in a subdivision and was only allowed to have two chickens in her yard.

[WeasleyMum]

I just wanted to announce that I've kept my chicks alive for one whole week, today, and that they are a lot less scared of me than they were at first. I think we're making progress!

At what point do I need to start supplementing w/ oyster shell or other calcium source? Right now they're 8 weeks and still on chick feed. Gritty stuff-- same question-- do they need gravel already? I thought since they'd be out in the yard they could get it naturally, but they won't leave the coop yet. (I'm planning on kicking them out today because it's cleaning day... let's see how they like the yard!

BTW, what should I be using to clean the coop? There's droppings all over the perch...

[MamaMonica]

Congrats on keeping the chicks alive and well! At eight weeks they just need chick starter and also grit if you're feeding them lawn clippings, weeds or anything else. Don't feed oyster shell until they're laying. If they're outside, they'll pick up small rocks. Our soil is very fine silt, so I give mine grit even though they're out.

For cleaning the perch, I scrape it with a plastic catbox scooper. I use that for scooping out small areas, too.

[Shahbazin]

One note about keeping stuff clean - a dropping board under the roost (instead of droppings going directly into the litter) really helps keep the litter cleaner longer, & increases floor space in the coop (Birds can walk around under the roost area, under the board, assuming you allow sufficient head room (allow for litter build up, too)). It can be just a section of plywood under the roost, or you can have some wire mesh between the roost & the board, if you want to make sure your birds won't sit/walk on it. I prefer wire over mine, & leave enough room to get a hoe in that space to scape things off - either into a bucket or a wheelbarrow, depending on the volume (wheelbarrow height is also something to consider when building).

Weasleymum, congrats that your chicks are doing well! Don't worry about supplying oyster shell until they start laying; with grit, you can lightly "salt" their feed with it occasionally if kept penned indoors, or they'll pick up little pebbles outdoors on their own. I like MamaMonica's idea about using a catbox scraper for cleaning; I always just used a hoe (or in tighter spaces, a child's hoe).

[Shahbazin]

BTW, here's a paragraph I wrote about egg eating, since a question was asked about this, & it's easier to prevent than cure - or to cure if immediate steps are taken.

I have had egg eating crop up every so often over the years; usually as a result of pullets who haven't been given nests yet & lay in the open (or just lay in the middle of the pen anyway because they're clueless), too few nests (they fight & break eggs), nests insufficiently hidden, lack of something in their food, or boredom. First fix your nests: have the nests face the wall, so that unless they're going in, they can't walk past & see what's inside, or use fly-up nests several feet off the ground w/a perch to step in, strips of burlap or coarse fabric tacked over the openings, or bits of plywood leaned over the front to make things more hidden, etc. Then, put a fake egg in each nest (plaster is best, but glass, wood, plastic or golf balls are OK), maybe a few out on the floor. Finally, put some grain in straw litter on the floor, throw in some apples, cut open squash, a flake of alfalfa hay, a bucket of sprouted oats, or the like. Make sure the oyster shell containers are topped up. Pick up eggs at least daily, preferable 2x/day (at least for the 1st week). After a month, I take out all the extra fake eggs, before someone gets the notion to go broody. By then, everyone is fine, no more egg eating. Never had one that this didn't cure.

And here's what I usually keep in my medicine cabinet for fowls:
Nolvasan salve, Betadine, gauze pads & rolls, Vetrap, Qwik-Stop powder, surgical scissors, spur saw, Gallimycin powder, electrolite/vitamin powder, liquid Sulmet (or other coccidiostat), liquid Piperazine, Wormazole wormer, & Sevin powder. Quite frankly, while I do keep a coccidiostat & a powdered antibiotic around just in case, the only things I really use regularly are the anti-parasite things (keep away worms, fleas, mites), vitamin supplements, & the injury dressings. If it isn't a parasite or an injury, I usually just cull. As a breeder, this lends itself to selecting for genetic resistance. Any bloodline I've had more than 10 years is unlikely to get sick. Most of this stuff should be avail. at the local feed store - see Feathersite.com for catalogs of mail order suppliers.
Also, keeping them clean, keeping away germy free-loaders (rats, mice, sparrows), providing fresh, clean water, not crowding, & feeding them well ( I feed a 20% pheasant breeder crumble, a gamefowl grain/pellet mix, sprouted oats/wheat, fruits, veggies, alfalfa hay, & have oyster shell in free choice containers) go a long ways towards keeping chickens in good health.

[MamaMonica]

Thank you Shahbazin! Great information : I'm learning so much.

[tree_hugger]

Originally Posted by MamaMonica

Thank you Shahbazin! Great information : I'm learning so much.

Me too!