Basic Newbie Chicken Questions

[freemotion]

A chicken will drink 3 x's it's body weight in one day....meaning, it drinks A LOT more than it eats in a day.

Is this a typo? This would mean a 4 pound hen would drink a gallon and a half a day? Maybe 3 x what she eats? Now I need to know how much they really drink!

Sorry, Aly, I am not nitpicking here, I really, really am curious now!

 

[greyhorsewoman]

You might find this link useful:

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

Keep in mind that whatever size run you have, they will completely decimate it. You might want to think now of what type material you'd like (sand, stone, etc).

Also, plan on some 'bachelor quarters' as sometimes a roo takes a particular liking to a hen, regardless of how many he has, and will breed it to the point of bareback/blood. I've found removing the hen is not always the best solution, as reintroducing her may put her in a subordinate pecking order from the other hens. Some folks resort to special 'coats' they put on the hens to protect their backs.

is there a chart online that gives an estimated number of eggs per year that can be expected from the major chicken breeds under ideal conditions?

Probably, but I couldn't find one. Generally, breeds are recognized as 'production layers' 'duel purpose' and 'meat.' Production layers lay more eggs the first couple of years, but aren't worth much dressed out for eating. 'Duel purpose' (which I think most of your choices would fall under), lay slightly less, but lay more consistently for a longer period and dress out is more worthwhile. 'Meat birds' (like cornish X's) are specifically for meat, need to be raised as such and processed, as they rarely live long (or well) beyond several months.

Also, some breeds are well known for their 'broodiness' (such as the Cochins) and other breeds for not going broody (such as Rhode Island Reds).

 

[Slinkytoys]

Are you planning on raising chickens? If not, why so many roos? If all you want is eggs, roos are not necessary. I love the Cochins, but they do go broody===no eggs. Now if you are planning on breeding, then they are worth it. I usually have a couple in my flock, they will keep the eggs warm in the winter months so they don't freeze.
Turkens are a neat breed. They are good cold weather birds, even with the naked necks. They'll lay in the winter months as well.
I will be culling my old flock and ordering some new chicks this year, so I too have been mulling it over. Hmmmmm.
Slinky

 

[bibliophile birds]

I think I'd like to build a chicken coop that's divided up into six sections, three on each side, with separate runs connected to each section on the outside. It would be much like a small version of the kennel where I board my dogs. Each has it's own comfortable space inside, a private run on the outside, and the freedom to travel between each as they please.

Would this be too confining for the chickens, not being able to regularly play and directly interact with the other breeds?

that sounds like a wonderful setup. like everyone has said, they are going to DECIMATE the grass in those pens if they are stationary, but if you don't mind that, then a 6 pen system should be good. based on 9 chickens/pen, you could do 6ft x 6ft coops (for your 36sqft), which would make your runs 6ft x 15ft (for your 90sqft). so, if you allow a 4ft walkway through the middle of your building to allow easy access, you're looking at a 16ft x 18ft building with 156sqft of fencing.

sorry, thinking out loud. i love designing animal housing!

 

[MorelCabin]

I would still scratch the BO's...I had them and found that they eat wayyyy too much for egg production, never did well during winter, (but our winters in Canada are cold...
I mean if you really really want to try them, go for it, but they really are the worst ones on your list. Maybe replace them with a patridge chantecler or partridge rock to add some color variations in your flocks. I have to admit, I am partial to buffs as well, but the partridge varieties were so beautiful after I tried them that I sort of changed over:>)
As far as keeping them all seperate, if you're not breeding...it is alot more work. I tried this also for a couple of years and found that my favorate way of doing things was to run them all together in one large pen and have two smaller pens on one side of my coop for breeding/chick raising....that I used only during warmer months when I didn't have to worry about freezing water...ahhhh you are SOOOOO making me want to get my birds back!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

yay more chicken converts!

but - did i miss it somewhere?? whats the plan for all those eggs? we have about 50 hens and even now in the winter i can get 26 eggs a day! will you sell them? if yes you might want to consider that your customers may want an uniform egg - i get all sizes and colors (but for me thats kinda part of the fun!).

and i'm with everyone else - you'll get sucked! you'll become chicken obsessed! your only problem will be spending all that time building more coops! and then you'll need more room for turkeys. then ducks. geese? sure why not! poultry is like crack, friend.
;-)

a couple tips from my experience:

*one of the biggest dangers are predators, from what i can tell the worst is the neighborhood dog and/or hawks. so be sure to design your coops with that in mind.
* we use the 'coop within then hen house' design, which is great for security
* a motion sensor light is also good defense
* we also have several gates and fences within fences
* i built in 3 brooder coops which are great not only for broody hens, but if someone needs a 'time out' or if you have an injured hen that needs some RnR or who knows what.
* roosters can be mean, but none of our really mean ones stay too long (they go to the freezer). that is, except my mean, old welsumer roo, Fred who is my nemesis. but be advised that all your planning could go out the window if you get a bad rooster - or one that the ladies dont like. our favorite roo, Big Pansy, has exactly 3 hens in his harem.

do you want to keep them separated on purpose?? our theory is to get everyone out there to free range cuz its free....and we like naturally raised critters. and they will completely decimate the yards. we've found the breeds sometimes hang together but its kind of more about flocking with the same aged chickens than breeds.

i think i'm echoing what FC asked about what your goals are for them. we started off wanting some eggs, then we just like them, then we moved into dual purpose... and now we have layers, meaties, turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas......

our goals for the poultry are for food, entertainment, and pest control. so far so good!


ps you're going to be on the property when you get them, right? i think you said you visit your orchard now, but live elsewhere?

 

[me&thegals]

Yay! Another soon-to-be-obsessed chicken farmer We started 3 years ago and cannot resist adding to the flock each year, it is that much fun.

2) What size fenced-in yard space should I be allocating to all 65 chickens to be able to get their proper exercise and not be overly cramped? (I want to establish a permanent area and not use a floatable/movable one)--Ours have somewhere between 1/2-1 acre fenced in. I'm terrible with guessing spaces. When one area is getting worn out, we sprinkle treats and scraps in areas with longer grass, and it gets the girls to take their pecking where it is more needed.

3) Should I be anticipating any problems with having 5 roosters (aside from the noise in the morning)?When we had around 100 hens, we had 5 roos. It actually was still too many, or maybe it was just those roos, but there was a lot of fighting. We're down to only 1 roo for about 80 birds now. I like the roos for keeping an eye out for predators when everyone's outside, but their fighting can get bad at times.

4) What kind of egg production in a given week (I understand this depends a bit on the variety of hens, living conditions, nutrition, etc.) could I expect from 60 hens?Some people get much better egg prodution, but at any given time of the year I can expect eggs from about 60% of the troup. These winter days, I'm getting 4-4 1/2 dozen per day from approximately 80 birds.

5) I read somewhere that feeding your chickens calendula petals as part of their diet will give them beautifully bright orange yolks. Is this true, and is there anyone in this forum who's doing that?I don't know about calendula, but anything with omegas in it will make the yolks darker. We can tell the moment the hens have been foraging outside again after winter, as the yolks turn dark, dark orange again. There's no calendula, but lots of weeds and grass. Our yolks are always darker than storebought even during winter, but that may be all the veggie scraps and pumpkins/squash I feed them through the winter.

6) Should I be concerned here in Maine (Zone 5 with winter temps that could briefly go as low as -20F on a rare occasion) with chickens freezing to death in the chicken coop in the dead of winter? How does one going about heating the coop in the winter to prevent this?Ours are in an insulated but nonheated old pig barn. They have deep-litter bedding, which definitely keeps things warmer. We sprinkle in BOSS, so they root around in the bedding, keeping it composting and keeping them warmer. When it gets bitterly cold, like right now below zero, we put the waterers on warmers to keep them thawed. There's a light on to keep the coop lit 12 hours total per day, but it's a fluorescent and doesn't offer heat. Keeping peacomb hens is a great idea, although I have noticed our floppy-combed Leghorns to get much for frostbite.

7) How much time should I plan on spending in a given week to properly take care of this many chickens?Maybe 4 hours total? It depends. How fastidious will you be in keeping waterers and nesting boxes clean? How efficient is your feeding/watering setup? It all depends. I would say it definitely does not take twice as much time to have twice as many birds.

8) I don't know much yet about the general temperaments of the different varieties of chickens, but I'm particularly intrigued with the five varieties of chickens I've chosen (mostly for egg color.) Am I up against any major nightmares waiting to happen if I've got the following five varieties all living together?Can't really comment here, but you will have beautiful eggs! I love putting egg cartons together with green, white and about 5 varieties of brown eggs. Beautiful!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

A chicken will drink 3 x's it's body weight in one day....meaning, it drinks A LOT more than it eats in a day.

Is this a typo? This would mean a 4 pound hen would drink a gallon and a half a day? Maybe 3 x what she eats? Now I need to know how much they really drink!

Sorry, Aly, I am not nitpicking here, I really, really am curious now!

Unless I'm remembering the info wrong, nope, not a typo.

Chickens do not drink a lot at once, but they drink small amounts quite frequently.

I know I read this in one of my chicken books that I have. I'll dig them back out and start looking again.

 

[bibliophile birds]

A chicken will drink 3 x's it's body weight in one day....meaning, it drinks A LOT more than it eats in a day.

Is this a typo? This would mean a 4 pound hen would drink a gallon and a half a day? Maybe 3 x what she eats? Now I need to know how much they really drink!

yeah, that sounds insane to me too. i have a single 3 gallon waterer in the yard for all 22 chickens to share. only once have they emptied it in a single day. there have been several times where it was almost empty towards the end of the day and i filled it halfway again, only to later have to dump the water cause they didn't drink it. (dumping water every night is about the only way i can keep the waterer from freezing right now since my chickies are in an EggMobile in the middle of a cow field.) the only time there is a line for the waterer is first thing in the morning when they get let out. after about 5 mins of jostling for position, everyone goes back to ignoring it.

 

[maf8009]

Here are tips that work for me....I have a lot of hens! ((roosters are in far back area (as they will frump the hens feathers off TOTALLY) seperated by heavy black plastic to prevent fighting- I let them out only at breeding time for about 1 week in the pens below:

1) One large pen/ roost covered area "middle pen" for the meat breeds hens,Cornish, White Rock, Red and Black Broilers and Americanas, (largest) Marins.......

2) One large pen/ roost covered area "front area" for egg layer hens Leghorns, Barred Rock, Rhode Island, Production Red, Americanas (small)

All pens have a covered tin roof/ a roost and laying buckets are washable 40 gallon "feed tubs" for cattle feed at the feed store

Hoses run to the pen areas every day with a "water timer" that comes on 2 times a day and water runs to a shallow pan in each pen....

Feed? I sprinkle some food on the ground to give them something to do... but I use the "bucket" feed system automatically

Get a 50 (or 33 gallon) trash can with tight fitting lid.... cut or drill holes about 1/4 to 1/2 inch every few inches on the side about 2 inches from bottom of can....fill with feed and place in a covered area. check on the feeder and water hoses to make sure neither is clogged... now enjoy your hens. All you will have to do is clean the pen areas (or add sand to make this easy) and collect the eggs. ENJOY YOUR HENS!

Note: white leghorns in my pen outlay all brown egg layers 5 to 1 you will have more white eggs than brown... You may want to get leghorns or "sex linked" or red/black/gold stars for light brown eggs and lots more of them.

I've never had chickens before and have begun the process of educating myself about the basics by picking up a couple books on the subject. I wanted to ask a few of you chicken experts some basic questions, if you'd be willing to take a couple of minutes to respond.

I'm looking at getting 5 kinds of chickens, 13 of each kind (12 hens and 1 rooster) for a total of 65 chickens.

1) What size chicken coop would I need to accommodate this many chickens?

2) What size fenced-in yard space should I be allocating to all 65 chickens to be able to get their proper exercise and not be overly cramped? (I want to establish a permanent area and not use a floatable/movable one)

3) Should I be anticipating any problems with having 5 roosters (aside from the noise in the morning) ?

4) What kind of egg production in a given week (I understand this depends a bit on the variety of hens, living conditions, nutrition, etc.) could I expect from 60 hens?

5) I read somewhere that feeding your chickens calendula petals as part of their diet will give them beautifully bright orange yolks. Is this true, and is there anyone in this forum who's doing that?

6) Should I be concerned here in Maine (Zone 5 with winter temps that could briefly go as low as -20F on a rare occasion) with chickens freezing to death in the chicken coop in the dead of winter? How does one going about heating the coop in the winter to prevent this?

7) How much time should I plan on spending in a given week to properly take care of this many chickens?

8) I don't know much yet about the general temperaments of the different varieties of chickens, but I'm particularly intrigued with the five varieties of chickens I've chosen (mostly for egg color.) Am I up against any major nightmares waiting to happen if I've got the following five varieties all living together?


* Buff Ameraucana
* Buff Cochin
* Buff Orpington
* Cuckoo Maran
* Welsummer

(All Stardards; No Bantams)


Thanks so much for helping me lessen my chicken learning curve. I really appreciate it!

Buk-Buk-Buk . . . . Buh-GAWWWWWWWWWK!


John