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Barnyard Buddies:  All Things Chickens  |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 30 2011 : 07:16:50 AM
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I saw 7 chicks so far this morning. There was a dead chick in the basket with an egg that might still hatch but probably not. The hen was in a nest box and 2 of the chicks were out of it so I grabbed them and brought them in. I might leave her with 2 chicks like the other hen. They are all so cute and so little bitty.
Megan, can you make something where they can get to the grass to eat it? Maybe even a laundry basket that you could move around.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2011 : 07:23:55 AM
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oh your new chicks are so cute. we have one mama sitting now. the sounds mama makes with her babies is so cute. boy do they listen to her. they go in the hog pen for nibbles and bites of produce. those hogs weigh almost a thousand pounds a piece. they leave the babies alone. now mind you if they were REAL hungry they would eat them i think. but as it is they travel through the wire and in the pen for goodies. they are gentle giants for sure. so happy to hear you all have babies and they are doing well. sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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grace gerber
True Blue Farmgirl
2804 Posts
grace
larkspur
colorado
USA
2804 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2011 : 07:40:39 AM
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Excited to hear about the chicks... Nothing like new life...
I have much reading to catch up on this forum. I have news to share that I finally had it with the roo's and their hurting, pecking and chasing the hens so one by one they were sent on to the next life. My DIL could not believe that I could kill something I raised but I tried to explain that I had tried so many ways to keep them away from the hens and no progress. They hurt the hens so badly that they had trouble eating, drinking and resting. The roo's chases severeal under the coop and would not let them out and so that was the last straw... My son reminded her that over the years I have had to put down many a animal due to illness so it is not something unknown to me.
I hated to do it but my hens deserved peace and security... Thanks for letting me share - not the most positive of posting but Wednesday was the first day without them and the hens where talking their soft talk and enjoying walking around without being chased - I could tell they where back to joyfull living.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2011 : 07:58:31 AM
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oh grace, i can totally relate. it is a hard thing to do. the girls will be calmer and sing more now i bet. i had a red like that. i took him 12 acres away. it took 3 days he walked back from pasture. waited for the electric gate to open. he was back causing trouble. he had long spurs. so he and yours are in the same place. sorry you had to do it BUT as you say sometimes.....sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2011 : 08:15:40 AM
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Grace, I know it's hard but when it comes down to that it's got to be done. I had 8 roos and when one would get on a hen they would all line up for their turn. It was awful. So that's when I knew I had way too many. I have one roo now for about 10 hens each and they are all fine with that. And they are all separated too. Your whole farm will be alot more peaceful and happy. When there is so much stress it's just not fun. I hope everything else is going good for you.
Sherrye, it's a good thing those piggies are full or they would be having a little chicken dinner. At 1000 pounds they probably can't move too awful fast anyway.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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grace gerber
True Blue Farmgirl
2804 Posts
grace
larkspur
colorado
USA
2804 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2011 : 09:17:07 AM
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Sherrye and Kris thanks for the supportive words - I start last Friday killing the meanest hoping that would get the other Roo's to calm down. Sunday, the next in peeking order was even worse then the first so he went. Sunday night the third did the same so you guessed it. By Tuesday the shy guy was just as cruel and horrid as all the rest so that was it! In the 28 years of raising hens I hever had roo's - hatchery screw up but never again.
I have tons of billies and can control their bad boy behavior but the Roo's just would not stop so I sent them back to God. I even had geese who where nicer then the Roo's and that is saying something.
Thanks again ladies for not judging me - I really tried everything and posted for the past 6 months a free lisiting in all the feed stores and online with no takers. The universe gave me no other option.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2011 : 10:54:38 AM
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oh Grace honey thats the way of life on the farm...how can we judge you when we all eat eat & the ones we buy from the grocery store never get a wonderful life like what we all do with ours.....I have found in my older age I just can't do the killing for eating part anymore...it tears me up something awful but I do have chloriform that I use on the sick/injured ones that aren't going to make it....those I can't eat but I do nice flower garden cemetaries for them.....thank goodness I found out one of my hunting friends will do the killing of the chickens if I bring them to him...the 2 newest since they are broiler babies will eventually have to go to him as I can't let them break legs just because I can't butcher them...but I will wait until I know they are near that stage so I can enjoy caring for them til then....I grew up seeing & doing butchering but now its just too much for my heart...as for the Roo's I can relate as Chatty & Cashmire both hand raised by me got super mean by 18 months old & between tearing up the hens backs were tearing my legs up....I cried taking them to a friend knowing they would be butchered but I couldn't handle getting anymore infects from the spur wounds....it was especially hard with Chatty as I had trained him on a lead & lease when he was small so we could walk around the yard until I knew he was trained enough not to go off far if I let him loose....I have 3 roos now but each has their own 4 to 6 hens & that has been so much easier for me...Cashmires son has proved so far to be a very gentle roo but he is big so sometimes he is a bit rough with the hens but no open wounds & few feathers missing from the back area...they have learned to run very fast when he does his happy dance near them...smart girls! the other 2 roos are smaller than the hens they are with so i don't have to worry so much with them except when they are laying down to rest then the boys hit them....but the poor roos slid off their backs when the girls stand up....funny to watch but feel bad for the roos...as they try sooo hard....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2011 : 10:56:29 AM
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oh & Grace I stole your idea..the card you sent me with Bella I just loved so I went out & copied my favorite pics of the chickens & am doing the same thing with my note cards now....thank you for doing that & giving me a way to share my babies with others...xoxox....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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Oggie
True Blue Farmgirl
526 Posts
Ginny
Machias
Maine
USA
526 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2011 : 8:04:29 PM
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Michele, how are those two new babies doing?
Last weekend I was on the phone with my SIL and she heard our neighbors roo and thought we had gotten one. I told her no, we didn't want one or get one.
She said that must be why our girls are such great egg layers because they can hear him. Have any of you heard this being possible? I'm just curious.
On my way to work today our neighbor had all his girls out and they were all on a trailer. I wish I had my camera because it was pretty funny to see all of them standing on a trailer pecking at the wood, lol. The bag balm seems to be working well on my girls. David put it on their bare areas while they are roosting at night. He taught me last night because next Wednesday I take over all chores at our house for five months! It will be a very interesting summer and fall that's for sure!
Ginny
Farmgirl #2343
www.thedewhopinn.com
"I always have a wonderful time, wherever I am, whomever I'm with."
"Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Both by Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart) in the Movie Harvey
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Lynda LL
Farmgirl in Training
10 Posts
Lynda
Frohna
Missouri
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2011 : 11:17:57 AM
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I haven't read all 41 pages of posts, so there might be something out there about this aready, but I have to ask, what kinds of traps do you use to catch predators? We have lost nearly our whole flock to the attack of a racoon. We have never had racoons bother our chickens before, this is the first time, but he hit hard. He took 11 hens and 2 roosters. Now we put the remaining hens in pet carriers until we can find a way to catch or eliminate the pest. We have not been successful yet, so would like to know what methods others are using to successfully catch these chicken killers.
We are at the point where are will be starting over, but with much more antication than a year and a half ago when we got our first flock.
Thanks for your help.
Lynda L.
Enjoy the blessings of your day. |
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walkinwalkoutcattle
True Blue Farmgirl
1675 Posts
Megan
Paint Lick
KY
USA
1675 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2011 : 1:23:30 PM
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Yeah, it's a dog crate with an open bottom so they're still out in the grass, they just can't fly out-there's chicken wire lining the dog crate.
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2011 : 2:02:08 PM
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Lynda besides shooting them or poisoning them I would recommend a live trap that way nothing else gets killed accidently & you can either take the critter far away I let loose or take it somewhere else to shoot it....its a tough call but I am from Missouri so I know once you get one of them coming around they will get others & about the only human way is a live trap with the bait they like...but don't be surprised if you find opossums or skunks in it in the morning.....personally I recommend the live trap then either take it out & shoot it or call animal control to come get it...they will take it out in the hills & release it away from you.....good luck its not fun when they get to your babies....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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walkinwalkoutcattle
True Blue Farmgirl
1675 Posts
Megan
Paint Lick
KY
USA
1675 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2011 : 5:24:36 PM
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I put my chicks in the dog crate double lined with chicken wire, and put it up next to the chicken coop.
I now have 3 broody hens!!!! I can't believe how quickly that affected the hens! I'm hoping to keep them side by side for a few weeks, letting the older hens out to free range so they can inspect the new chicks, and then hopefully let them all out together a few times under close supervision, and hopefully then we'll have a nice integrated flock!
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
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Lynda LL
Farmgirl in Training
10 Posts
Lynda
Frohna
Missouri
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2011 : 11:25:15 AM
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Thanks, Michelle for your suggestions. Well, we won't have to worry any longer, he or she finished the job with our remaining hens Sunday night. My husband doesn't want to get anymore hens yet until we catch the coon, but without the hens around any longer, I'm afraid there is no reason for the coon to come back around. So we'll see, I sure miss having the girls walking around and hearing the roosters crowing.
Enjoy the blessings of your day. |
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walkinwalkoutcattle
True Blue Farmgirl
1675 Posts
Megan
Paint Lick
KY
USA
1675 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2011 : 11:50:41 AM
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Lynda, I am so sorry. :(
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2011 : 12:12:56 PM
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Oh lynda honey I am so sorry...what a sad thing for you to have to wake up to......you are in my thoughts...Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2011 : 8:56:51 PM
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oh how very sad. sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jul 07 2011 : 1:15:30 PM
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Lynda, that's so sad. Darn coons. Seems like there's just nothing that will stop them when they get their mind's on chicken dinner.
Well, my Buff hen is hatching her chicks right now. I had put 10 eggs under her and one got broken. I have seen 3 chicks so far today. She's in a wire cage in a rabbit nest boc inside the coop up on blocks. Like Fort Knox in there.
And yesterday my 8 game chicks and 8 turkey poults went to their new home.
I am still waiting on garage hen and cat room hen to hatch their chicks. Cat room hen's should hatch next Thursday. Garage hen should be any day. She went not long after her sister did.
I left the other 2 hens with 2 chicks each. They are all still alive and with their moms so far. Yesterday during the downpour, we were in the barn and heard a chick outside. Poor thing was out in the rain all alone and mom and sis were all snug inside. So I ran it around and it had to go through the coop with the big girls in it. She made it through ok and back to her mom.
I hope everyone else's hens are all ok.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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chick-chick
True Blue Farmgirl
322 Posts
Liz
New Britain
CT
USA
322 Posts |
Posted - Jul 07 2011 : 6:39:27 PM
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With all this talk of broody hens, I just had to share. I had a hen go broody a couple of weeks ago, but didn't realize it at first, thought she was ill. (thats what happens when a not so farm girl tries to have chickens lol) She was sitting on the eggs for a couple of days but we have no roo so hubby got some eggs from a his sister who has roos and we slipped them under her.
My queston is should she be separated from the other hens? I think they may hatch in about another week, will the other three hens hurt them? We put a flash loght to them tonite and four are solid looking and the other four just look like they did when we put them under her.
Any advice will help.
Thanks
Liz
In God We Trust |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Jul 07 2011 : 7:20:48 PM
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Liz as long as the mother is with the chicks they will be safe so you really don't have to separate them or the momma from the rest...actually if you do that what happens is they have to be re-introduced to the group later on & that sometimes is harder than just letting them all be.....the only thing to worry about is if the nest she has is too high off the ground...if the babies gt pushed out of the nest by the momma they could break legs or neck so make sure you have a nest closer or on the ground for her & the eggs before they hatch....just take 1 egg at a time, let her see the egg but don't let her peck at it, put it where you want her to be, do the next egg this way & so on until you have all the eggs moved, then gently move her to the new area....letting her see the eggs as you put her down next to them.....its also a good idea to block off the old nesting area from her until the eggs have hatched....now that she is close to hatching up her feed & water ....mix some calcium in the feed daily...about a 1/4 of a teaspoon once daily......also if you can get her to eat a bit more protein....1 table spoon per day this will help her greatly for when the chicks hatch....it can be canned tuna in water, dried grasshoppers or dried mealyworms...or if don't have any of that go get a couple of jars of all meat baby food...if you can find baby liver meat that would be perfect but beef or pork is also good.....make sure she has a water dish & food dish very close to her since now is the time she will be less leaving the eggs....I promise either she will be a great momma or a very poor one & you will see that as soon as the babies start to hatch...if she leaves them alone & takes off that means you will need to bring them in & raise them until they are big enough to be with the others...if she gets all upset when you get near her or the babies & makes clucking noises to call her kids then you know the babies will be alright that she will protect them.....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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plantcarazy
True Blue Farmgirl
116 Posts
Jenn
Montana
USA
116 Posts |
Posted - Jul 11 2011 : 12:57:36 PM
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I have sand in my chicken run and have been looking for a way to clean it out and wanted to share the tool I made to make it easy.....hopefully it helps a few others out there too!
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I bought a poly shovel and drilled holes in a grid pattern, and essentially use it like you would a giant kitty litter scooper. It works fantastic!
......Born again Farmgirl |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jul 11 2011 : 7:58:38 PM
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How smart Jenn! That is an idea I will tuck away in my memory for a time I may need it!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Jul 11 2011 : 10:17:02 PM
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i love this idea. yipee thank you so much. we have a little hen sitting now. i have no idea how long or if her eggs are even viable? poor girl she is in a goat house. so we blocked it and gave it to her. she is a rhode island red. hopefully some will hatch. so we HAD 6 little chicks. well it went in and the pig bit him dead. so now there is 5. such is life here. i am hoping to move around 20 hens over to pasture. we have not lost a single hen over there. so now the real flock gets moved there till the snow flys. i will ask my friend crash who helps me to take some pics. papa made it and it is a wonderful portable house. so how are all the boys doing that were cut? i have one guy with a little swelling above the band toward his body on the body part???? is that normal sometimes? sorry i forgot i was on chicken? we all have such a bit of this and that anyway. well i will hop over to cow and goat and ask too. thanks jenni for such a great idea. happy days here sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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Oggie
True Blue Farmgirl
526 Posts
Ginny
Machias
Maine
USA
526 Posts |
Posted - Jul 12 2011 : 11:50:26 AM
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Lynda - I am so sorry to hear about your girls. Raccoons can be horrible! When we built our coop we built it with the hopes that nothing can get in. We put 12 by 12 fenced in area's on each side of the coop for the girls to hang out in. Until I planted my raised beds we would let them out early evening while we were out there with them but I don't want them eating my garden now so they are back in the pens. The chicken wire we put about 6" into the dirt, then out towards "us" and cement blocks over it. We have bird netting on top but now that you mention raccoons I'm thinking I should put up wire there too. Here's a couple of pics to help you.
Jean - I LOVE the shovel idea! Thanks for the tip! I can think of so many ways to use that.
Michele - Our girls are doing better. I now hang a cabbage in the yard for them to peck at, and at night I've been going into the coop and putting bag balm on thier skin. It's slowly helping I think. It's hard to get to their butts because they are roosting so close together now, all on the top roost or on the rail by the nests.
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Ginny
Farmgirl #2343
www.thedewhopinn.com
"I always have a wonderful time, wherever I am, whomever I'm with."
"Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Both by Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart) in the Movie Harvey
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meggy2
True Blue Farmgirl
111 Posts
barb
Flemington
Missouri
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2011 : 9:27:46 PM
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| I need help. We built a coop for our girls and my husband says we need to put straw down on the wood floor, but I find it lots easier to clean and sweep without all the straw too. Which is best? Also, I cleaned with vinegar and water last week, but with the heat, the girls have been spending lots of time inside and the poop is bad again and the FLIES are awful. I hung flypaper, but one of the poor girls ended up trailing it behind her butt. No flies were on it. What can I use to cut down the fly population? |
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Barnyard Buddies: All Things Chickens |
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All Things Chickens
