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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jun 19, 2020 18:29:53 GMT -6
How did we go for so many years without a thread about chickens?
I guess I'll start one here, while I'm thinking about it.
I wish my camera program was up and running. I have the cutest thing here that I've seen in a long, long, time.
My daughter who lives in the city, but is a country girl at heart, bought a Banty chick from Atwoods about the time this coronavirus stuff got started and ended up leaving it over at our house for all the many weeks we've been in quarantine. It was so small when she first bought it, that it looked almost as little as a baby quail. It was too cold and rainy to leave it outside by itself, so we ended up raising it in a bird cage. Now, it weighs about 10 or 12 ounces. *About as big as a large pawpaw fruit ... and is spoiled rotten to the core! (That's what happens when you don't eat pawpaws right away; they go bad on you pretty quick). Now, the chick thinks it's a dog.
I've been taking this little chick to the garden with me almost every day to catch bugs and to play in the dirt as I hoe weeds. (It loves that!) It follows me everywhere I go, and cries like a lost baby anytime it gets left behind.
Today, when I got home from working in the garden, I was so tired, I just threw my old knee pads in the floor by the back door and headed to the shower. When I came back that little, half-grown, very cocky, little chicken was making a nest in one of my knee pads.
It fits in there just perfectly, like the knee pad was custom made for it. That was nearly two-hours ago and it's still in there. (I think I might have lost my knee pads to a baby chicken).
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jun 23, 2020 17:48:26 GMT -6
Chickens are a lot easier to take care of than rabbits, but they can wreak havoc on your garden in a hurry if you don't have a good fence. My chickens free-range all around the place. My main garden is about 500' feet South of my house, so it's not much of a problem. The chickens don't wander that far away very often.
My berry patch is another story though. It's just a few yards away from the hen-house and they will find a way to get in there almost every day. Fortunately, I have a stock dog who delights in chasing chickens out of my berry patch and out of my barn. He doesn't 'Freelance' either, which is a real blessing, which means he doesn't chase chickens unless I tell him to. That way, I don't have to worry about him hurting my birds while I'm away.
The chickens know it too. They'll tempt him all day long if I'm not around. They'll sneak in and steal the dog food from his dish or go inside his doghouse to scratch out his straw and he'll let them do it until I come outside.
As soon as I point, Buddy takes off after them! The chickens keep an eye on me and take off running anytime I raise my hand, which is handy when Buddy isn't around, because they make themselves scarce real quick, anytime I point and yell, "Sic-'Em!"
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jun 23, 2020 18:07:32 GMT -6
To me, it seems like chickens are a lot easier to start in the Spring of the year. They like bugs and green grass, so as chicks, their natural curiosity and tendency to play and chase bugs, makes them pretty self-sufficient foragers.
That means, you've got a really light feed bill in the summer months, then, by Autumn, they'll be laying their first eggs. Egg production falls, once the daylight hours start getting shorter in winter and that gives their little bodies some rest until they are fully matured the next Spring. Plus, they'll be fully feathered for cold weather because by then, they're several months old.
If you start them in Autumn, you pretty much have to feed them all winter and take care that they stay fairly warm.
Either way, they lay eggs by the time they're 6-months old, and either way, you have to feed them all winter, but for some reason, it just seems easier to start them in Spring. Even so, it seems I've always got some hen that will go broody in Autumn, rather than in Spring.
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Post by macmex on Jun 24, 2020 8:45:30 GMT -6
There are different strains within any breed. Some can be very unique from the rest. Buckeyes, for instance are known for being gentle and friendly, yet years ago, when folk were trying to locate all of the remaining lines of this breed, they found one which they nicknamed "The mean as snakes strain." All that to say that "Rhode Island Red" is a pretty broad term. Hatchery stock tends to run on the small side, by breed standards. It's alright for egg laying and not so good for meat. Of course, the RIR was bred more for eggs than meat. Any Rock, in my opinion, tends to be a bit better for meat than a RIR. Still, there are different strains.
We raise Buckeyes, which were developed separately, but in parallel with the Rhode Island Red. They were developed with more emphasis on meat than eggs. Once again, there are different strains. We've had three strains. Two were show strains and the other was a production strain from Murray, McMurray Hatchery. The first show strain was very good, though it laid very small eggs for such a large bird. We lost this strain, due to predators and couldn't evaluate very well. I replaced them with the production strain, which was smaller, and lighter colored. The production strain laid better eggs and was inferior to the show strain, for meat. They also didn't go broody much until their second year. Finally, in 2011, we purchased some show stock from a breeder in KY. This strain is noticeably larger, dark colored, and goes broody early on. Still, it lays well. We use it for both meat and eggs.
Years ago we raised a little teacup bantam hen. She was an Old English Game bantam and bonded with us in the extreme. She'd let us walk up to any time and pick her up. She was so small, that she could only cover 3 regular chicken eggs, to hatch, and then, I had to turn them for her.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 6, 2020 10:05:59 GMT -6
I like the smaller breeds of laying hens, such as Barred Rock, or Silver Wyandotte, as chicken meat gets cheap enough around here at times that I can buy 10 pounds of leg quarters for $3.50
For that price, butchering my own would be counter-productive. Plus the smaller breeds don't eat as much as larger birds. All I raise chickens for are their eggs and the litter I get to spread on my compost piles for dressing my plants each season. So, the feed bill is what I'm looking at in the long run.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 8, 2020 21:07:03 GMT -6
The good thing about bacon, is that the leftover grease lends really well to help provide many more good meals, be it fried eggs, fried okra, or fried chicken. It's pretty good in biscuit dough too and don't even get me started on gravy.
I have a homemade biscuit recipe to share here that came out of my head and many years of baking. I worked out a ratio, so that it doesn't matter if you fix two biscuits or two-hundred, as long as you follow the same ratio, they'll turn out tender and flaky every time.
2 cups of self-rising flour 1 cup of milk 1/2 cup of bacon grease, shortening, butter, or lard ... doesn't matter, but the colder the better.
Pre-heat the oven to 450-degrees.
Choke off enough biscuits to fill a 10" inch, round cake pan, bake for 8 to 12 minutes.
I like using a black, cast-iron skillet better than a cake pan. The black iron makes the biscuits get brown on the bottom, faster than they get brown on the top, so just as soon as the peaks start turning brown, you know the bottoms are getting crispy. Pull them out at that point, if using a black skillet, the heat of it will continue to crisp the bottoms as they sit to cool on the table. If using a cake pan, they'll need to bake just a little bit longer.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Apr 28, 2021 21:22:15 GMT -6
I found a good 'tip' while reading an 1885 cookbook today. in it was a caption that read: "The easiest way to dress a chicken is to get someone else do it."
I thought that was sage advice.
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Post by macmex on Apr 29, 2021 6:06:16 GMT -6
Ha! That's a good one!
I've actually gotten really fast, dressing out chickens. There's a lot of technique to it. Ducks, well, I''m "faster" than when I started. They're a lot more laborious.
That link with the PDFs is great!
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Post by rdback on Jan 31, 2022 14:38:44 GMT -6
...just in case someone might be thinking about venturing into chickens. Things to consider.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 31, 2022 16:37:34 GMT -6
rdback, that was a very good article. Thanks, for posting that.
I've found the two or three most important things to consider when building a coop are to make sure the nest boxes are lower than the roosting poles or else the chickens will roost in the nest boxes and fill them with poop.
Make sure you can easily get a square nose shovel under all roosting poles, because you will be shoveling out a lot of poop over the years, so don't build any inaccessible nooks or crannies.
Also, consider the fact that you might be retrieving dead birds from those same places, so make them all easy to reach without crawling inside.
Keep in mind that snakes love eating eggs, so try not to build any blind spots where you might not see one of those rascals hiding when you put your hand in there to retrieve eggs.
Also, nail good cleats to any walk boards leading to the front door, as they might save you a hard fall on an icy day, or even just a rainy day when the boards are slick and wet. Chickens have wings, they don't need cleats in order to walk up the boards, but people are sort of lacking in that department. The cleats are for us, not the chickens.
My roosting poles are hinged on one end, so I can raise them up to shovel under them. I just hook them by a piece of bailing twine to a nail driven in the rafter, until I'm done shoveling under them.
I also have one handicapped roost in the very back that consists of a 1 x 10 board nailed flat, like a tabletop, with a little ramp leading up. I had a one-legged rooster once that the kids were very fond of, so we built him a place to lay down at night, rather than trying to stand on one leg.
He was hatched with only one leg, so the kids naturally just fell in love with him and coddled him as a chick. When he grew up; he weighed so much that he would just roost on the floor, rather than trying to fly up with the lighter hens. The hens would poop on him at night, so we built him a wheelchair ramp leading to a flat roost in the very back, so he wouldn't have to suffer the indignity of being one-legged in his old age. Over the decades, that has become a valuable asset for a few of our favorite old brood hens to take their baby chicks to roost, all snuggled up under their wings. I thought I'd like this old nest box in summer, so I wouldn't have to go inside the henhouse to gather eggs, but so far it has proven to be an all you can eat buffet for neighborhood dogs. So I took the nesting material out of it and just use the nest boxes inside now.
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Post by macmex on Apr 13, 2022 6:06:11 GMT -6
I suspect that avian flu circulates around the world just like human flu. I'm a little suspicious of the hype over it, same as some of the measures. It spreads through wild birds yet authorities aren't out there culling wild bird populations... just domestic... food birds.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Apr 15, 2022 12:42:23 GMT -6
It seems nearly every year there is an outbreak of salmonella in egg production, or tomato production, or lettuce production. There are coliform infections, avian flu, fowl-typhoid, pork-typhoid, round worms, tape worms, cecal worms, grape worms, and other maladies in goats and rabbits, chicken mites, poultry lice, cattle lice, mastitis, bangs, tick-borne-anaplasmosis, or some other thing that hampers farm production and the overall health of the birds and animals or the plants that we love to raise.
Although these things exist, does not mean that every farmer will experience them. It's kind of like Russian Roulette, someone, some day, will end up with a bullet in the chamber, but not every person who participates.
It's my personal opinion that many of these things are proliferated by poor farming practices and poor henhouse hygiene, though empirically, some of us will be affected no matter how clean the operation. It's good to aware of these things and to be prepared for them in case of an emergency, but not necessarily be paralyzed with constant fear. Things happen. Anyone who has ever had a pet, a plant, or a farm, will at sometime experience the demise of a prized animal, fish, bird, or vegetation. Nothing on this earth is guaranteed or permanent. We all pass on no matter what the circumstance or the precaution we employ.
To better understand what we are facing with this latest outbreak of avian flu, the USDA has sent me the following link that lists the symptoms to be on the lookout for and what to do if you encounter them.
mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGpFWLJPRmnGVbpjbLHDbLTJVSH
It's a well written document worth reading in its entirety.
Always keep in mind that there are those of us who spread rumors and discontent if only to perpetuate the public expectation of higher food prices. Not all, but many see a potential profit in the hype. Fear drives many markets. That's why it's wise to continue to be as self-reliant as possible by continuing to raise our own livestock, maintain wood stoves, and to keep as large a garden as possible.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Apr 18, 2022 10:33:13 GMT -6
You'll enjoy those. Barred Rocks have a good disposition. They love their people.
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Post by macmex on Apr 18, 2022 13:26:26 GMT -6
Tractor Supply has to be getting their birds from a hatchery but gives a better price because they are a big chain and can order A LOT of chicks, thus getting a lower price. Bet their account is highly appreciated by the hatchery!
I've never met a barred rock I didn't like. Hatchery rocks are almost always lighter bodied than show or any non-hatchery strains. Here's a link to a group which should have the very best info on the breed.
Plymouth Rock Fanciers' Club of America
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Apr 20, 2022 10:37:12 GMT -6
I used to have a barred rock hen who would follow me everywhere I went. If I went fishing at the cow pond; she'd follow along behind me. If I sat in a lawn chair in the yard; she'd fly up on top of a fencepost to be near me. When I'd come inside the house; she'd run in behind me and hide from my wife, behind the couch. I'd have to move the couch and take her back outside. She didn't like my wife, she just liked me.
We had a flock of chickens at the time, but she wouldn't run with them if she saw me outside. If I wasn't home when it got dark; she'd roost in the chicken house with the other chickens, but if she saw me before dark, that was where she would stay and I'd have to carry her to the henhouse to put her on the roost. I never knew why she liked me so much, but she was a barred rock, and I've never had any other breed do that.
Some animals are just like that though. I had a full-grown red squirrel take up with me during the drought of 2011. One day, because there was no water in the woods, I saw him come running up to the house to get a drink out of the dog's water bowl. I thought that was pretty brazen, so I started taking notice whenever I saw him and would leave a nut or two on a woodpile for him. (I knew he was up in a tree watching me). As soon as I'd come inside; he'd run down and grab the nuts.
Each day, I'd gradually move the nuts closer to the house, until one day, he'd come all the way to the door to get them. Eventually, he'd eat out of my hand. By the end of winter; he'd come to me from anywhere if I clacked two nuts together and called him.
One time, I was out in the woods, deer hunting. I didn't know he had followed me. I spooked up a deer as I was walking along and shot at it on the run. (of course, I missed it) but I stooped down where I last saw the deer, to look for hair or blood anyway. There were tall weeds there, so I laid my .30-.30 down in the weeds so I could better crawl around looking for sign. When I was sure I'd missed the deer, I reached behind me to pick up the rifle. Wouldn't you know it, that dumb little red squirrel was sitting right on top of it and I grabbed him instead!
I screamed like a little girl!
I was sure not expecting to grab a handful of squirrel when I reached back there! That gun was still smoking from when I had fired it and the barrel was still hot. He must have been there watching me the whole time. I don't think the sound of the shot even phased that little squirrel. Sometimes animals are just geared toward humans and nothing we do seems to affect their loyalty.
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