Adding new chickens to our flock

[waretrop]

Why wouldn't you make a permanent chicken coop out of pallets??? It could be simple or deluxe. Either way it would be cheaper than doing it with regular product...

This is my feeder. It does have a lid on it now.

Waterer has a saucer under it with an overflo in case it leaks. It also has a pond heater in it for winter.

This whole thing was made from all used or discounted product.

 

[waretrop]

I usually buy hens about every 6 months and when they are old enough they get banded. I can tell the age of all my chickens. Some sit in the nest box not to lay eggs but just to be lazy and rest. So I keep them for 3 years and then it's out the door with them. They are constantly being rotated. I also keep a light on a timer during the winter months to extend their day. That keeps them laying. Their egg production stays nearly the same all year. Molting time they may cut back a little but not much. They almost never lay eggs on the floor of the coop or in the outside playground. I think what I am doing is pretty constant and even which makes them produce very well over the year.

I wish that EVERY EGG was extra large. At the moment I get some medium and mostly large to extra large.

 

[Mini Horses]

Private labeling does sell your product. I think many customers would like "added" product if offered. Even specialty items at hoidays only, etc. I've sold pies, cakes, candies, soaps, etc. seasonally thru a friends beauty salon orders in the past. She'd love me to do fresh eggs once a week and I am considering it.

 

[Mini Horses]

It often "takes a village" to make our little at home jobs work. The specialty items are often seasonal & since they are generally "ordered" it helps to limit losses. Just sayin.......

My friend gets some product for her offering to "handle" the sales at her shop. She has a list of orders, I fill & drop there on designated schedule. She collects $$ from them. What a deal!! But her customers are thrilled and it works well for her & me. Not huge amounts but, a little extra. Kinda fun, too.

I like the "keep the older ones busy" idea of the hen house as it would sure help. Generally it takes a couple days, then settled.
Gingerbread houses could be sold, like special cake decorating.

Nice display, Moon. Looks like you would WANT to buy.

 

[MoonShadows]

Well, I've had the 8 new hens for a week now, and so far I have picked up 56 eggs from them....7 eggs from each of them in a week! My older gals have produced 5 between the 3 of them in the same 7 days.

These hens are so much more active than my previous heritage chickens ever were. When I collect eggs, they all run into the nests, pop their heads up, and I have all I can do to collect the eggs without them trying to jump up to me. When I go in and out the human door, I have to crouch low trying to keep them from running out. And, they have learned who "mamma" is; the second they see me, they all come running over to the fence line...hoping for some goodies. I have been giving them all a lot of food and treats this first week thinking if they are all well fed, there might be less picking on them from the older hens. The older hens are still giving the teenagers reminder pecks here and there. Once this snow we are getting to day melts (first time they are ever seeing snow!)...maybe by Monday, I am going to give them their first taste of free ranging. I know my older hens have been dying to go out, but I wanted them all to stay in the coop and run for the first week, so the younger ones get imprinted on them that this is their home base. Let's see what happens when I let them all out. Since getting them, I have read that Red Sex Links are not all that predator savvy.

 

[MoonShadows]

When our Rosie was still alive she used to bark at the chickens and run after them, but I don't think she wanted to attack, just play.

I would think these Red Sex Links would be good with predators. They can move like lightening and fly much better than my heritage chickens. I'm hoping what I read was just someone's opinion and not a trait "in general".

 

[baymule]

Hope ya'll come through the storm ok.

 

[MoonShadows]

Now I wish I had gotten a tarp over part of the run. A couple of the young hens started out of the coop despite 10-12 inches of snow already on the ground. To their surprise, they could not walk in it and had to flap their wings like crazy to get back inside. I shoveled part of the run so if they insist on coming out they can walk around a bit. They enjoyed their egg shells, left over scrambled eggs, bread and sunflower seeds. We're making a giant pot of sauce (gravy for you Italians) with meatballs and sausages. House smells great!

BEFORE

AFTER

ONE INSISTENT GAL

 

[MoonShadows]

It is really picking up here.
1st arrow: an apple tree about 300 feet from our house
2nd arrow: huge pine trees (shadows) about 900 feet from our house at the back of our property

 

[MoonShadows]

Good to hear from you; I was starting to get worried. Sorry to hear about the tarp covering. I hope none of you chickens were under it when it collapsed. I've been out to the coop 3x today. I gave up shoveling a path and the run; this snow is heavy. Even walking to the coop was difficult. The last time I cleared more snow away from the coop door; I wanted to close it, but there are a bunch of small birds in there...stealing food. If I close it, they can't fly out. We have 5 feet of snow on our back deck from the snow sliding off the roof. We definitely don't think we'll get cleared out to go anywhere for 2 days. Tonight and tomorrow we're supposed to have wind gusts up to 35mph, so we're not going to start cleaning until tomorrow morning even if it stops early tonight. I would say we'll hit two feet of snow!