Raising Chickens

[RBB]

RBB,I range the chickens,but give them feed when the ground freezes and they cant scratch to find foodstuff.

For feed I,I glean the farmers feilds after the harvest,dry the corn,and have it ground and add vitamins and minerals,just took the first load of corn to be ground 1140 pounds plus the v&m cost just under $18,and have enough feed to feed the chickens,goats and pigs for about 2 months,I will be picking up more corn this week,with the "hurricane" that came through in September there was alot of blow down in the feilds,and the farmers equipment is not picking it all up,2 hours of picking up corn off the ground feeds for awhile and is well worth the time to pick it up.
plus,you control what is in the feed,I don't like the proccessed feeds that you can buy pre bagged,too many additives in them.

Sounds like the way to do it. Lot of work, but you don't spend tons for feed.

As mentioned by others - there's nothing like fresh eggs. I recall breaking an egg into the fry pan and having the yoke stand up like a golf ball. Now that's fresh! The older the egg - the flatter the yoke.

[Sourdough]

RBB,I range the chickens,but give them feed when the ground freezes and they cant scratch to find foodstuff.

For feed I,I glean the farmers feilds after the harvest,dry the corn,and have it ground and add vitamins and minerals,just took the first load of corn to be ground 1140 pounds plus the v&m cost just under $18,and have enough feed to feed the chickens,goats and pigs for about 2 months,I will be picking up more corn this week,with the "hurricane" that came through in September there was alot of blow down in the feilds,and the farmers equipment is not picking it all up,2 hours of picking up corn off the ground feeds for awhile and is well worth the time to pick it up.
plus,you control what is in the feed,I don't like the proccessed feeds that you can buy pre bagged,too many additives in them.

Nell, I pay $33.90 per 100# for cracked corn. And poultry feed runs $44.00 per 100#, Straw $14.95 per 40# bale. No wonder people are begging someone to take there animals. A person could eat well just off craigs list.

[nell67]

Sounds like the way to do it. Lot of work, but you don't spend tons for feed.

As mentioned by others - there's nothing like fresh eggs. I recall breaking an egg into the fry pan and having the yoke stand up like a golf ball. Now that's fresh! The older the egg - the flatter the yoke.

Yep, the fresher eggs,the white don't run either,you crack it into the pan,and it all stays there.

Once I boiled some eggs for deviled eggs,the mother-out-law had gathered the eggs for me that day,when I cracked them to peel,I found out that she gathered the eggs from my sitting hens as well.....nasty, as they were just a few days from hatching

[nell67]

Nell, I pay $33.90 per 100# for cracked corn. And poultry feed runs $44.00 per 100#, Straw $14.95 per 40# bale. No wonder people are begging someone to take there animals. A person could eat well just off craigs list.

Here you can get cracked corn for $6.25- $9.49 a 50# bag,poultry feeds are $11.99 for 50# and straw up to $5.25 a 40 pound bale.

People are taking their horses to auction, if you have a trailer at these auctions,you had better be locking it up,because many people have came back out of those auction with more horses IN their trailers than what they brought to sell and no,they didn't buy them,the owners didn't get bids, so they load them up into any trailer they find that isn't secured...

[Sourdough]

Anybody have any first hand experience with, Pearl-White Leghorns.....??????

[Badawg]

I have 3 laying hens and in my neighboorhood which is unincorporated county, but the edge of city I can keep up to 12. In the city it's 7. I range them in the yard and supplement with Purina laying pellets. a 40LBS bag is 11 bucks and lasts 2 months. I get 3 eggs a day, most days. or 18-21 a week. At 4 bucks a dozen around here, I am way ahead on feeding them. And they are so much better than store bought! Recently Raccoons attacked. Thy ripped the crap out of one of the ladies, but she survived it, and the Weiner dog treed the Raccoons... She stopped laying for a month, but is laying again now that she is healed up. I have been very happy with them eating all the bugs, but get a little pissed when they get in the seed beds... I say go get some, they are great to have. Forget about a rooster though, as they are a royal PITA.

Mine are two Auracanas(green eggs), and a barred rock. Orpingtons are great too, BTW.

[Chris]

I have 3 laying hens and in my neighboorhood which is unincorporated county, but the edge of city I can keep up to 12. In the city it's 7. I range them in the yard and supplement with Purina laying pellets. a 40LBS bag is 11 bucks and lasts 2 months. I get 3 eggs a day, most days. or 18-21 a week. At 4 bucks a dozen around here, I am way ahead on feeding them. And they are so much better than store bought! Recently Raccoons attacked. Thy ripped the crap out of one of the ladies, but she survived it, and the Weiner dog treed the Raccoons... She stopped laying for a month, but is laying again now that she is healed up. I have been very happy with them eating all the bugs, but get a little pissed when they get in the seed beds... I say go get some, they are great to have. Forget about a rooster though, as they are a royal PITA.

Mine are two Auracanas(green eggs), and a barred rock. Orpingtons are great too, BTW.

What about neighborhood cats?

[Sourdough]

What about neighborhood cats?

Chicken is better......... Yep. You knew that was coming. I can't leave a perfect set up line for Rick.......

[crashdive123]

Yeah but that leaves the burning question......do the cats taste just like chicken?

[A190]

Been raising laying chickens now for 5 years. No problems but I did build a very solid coop and run, complete with electric fence and motion activated security lights.

The roos, I just cut their little roo sacs and they dont act like roos no more.

I have some excellent laying breeds, English Sussex, Barred Rock and Dominicer's. I also have some silkies jsut cause they are cute and really stupid.
Plus a few mutts that I let hatch out...................

[nell67]

Silkies are cute,and excellent sitters,they will take over every egg they can get,and will hatch almost every one of them.

Kind of hilarious to watch the chickens get into the electric fence!

[Chris]

if you range your chickens are they smart enought o make it back to their coop at night? I assume so but you never know.

[nell67]

Yes,they go back into the barn at night,I don't have any problems with them roosting anywhere else.

[A190]

if you range your chickens are they smart enough to make it back to their coop at night? I assume so but you never know.

Yes, once they have developed the habit they will go back to the coop at dusk. Basically my internal coop light is on timer and comes on at dusk, they see the light and just kinda moosey on back to the coop. All I have to do then is close the gate and reset the electric fence..........works like a champ

[nell67]

I don't have a light on in the barn,they just wander back to the barn to roost at dusk.

[A190]

I don't have a light on in the barn,they just wander back to the barn to roost at dusk.

You have "Intelligent" chickens,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[nell67]

You have "Intelligent" chickens,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Nah,they are "chicken" chickens,LOL .

But I do need to put a light on a timer in there for them though,as they have stopped laying due to the shorter days,chickens need 14 hours of light to lay eggs.

[Badawg]

My three put themselves away every night too. One night the door got shut somehow before dark and they really had a "fustercluck"!!!. Chickens are much smarter than people give them credit for. And they are quite tough customers. Our cats give 'em a wide birth and the neighbor cats give our Chow an even wider birth...

[RunsWithDeer]

We have a few chickens, just finished a new coop before snow set in. I leave them in during the winter. Spring, summer and fall we leave the coop open during the day and they wander. They always come in at dusk and we close up the coop to keep the possum, fox and coons out.
I leave a light on during the winter, they are still laying now.

[Sourdough]

You'all might find this interesting. It was -19F last night and looks like the high today will be -12F

Well the gooses and turkeys have no house. It has been nippy for four days and looks like it will cool off a'wee-bit over the next ten days.

I guess my point is they are a pretty rugged birds. And they eat the snow for water.