SufficientSelf's Chicken Thread!!!

[Beekissed]

Go easy on the amount you add? Learned the hard way when egg production dropped off from feeding too much BOSS when I couldn't make it to the feed store for a bit.

 

[BarredBuff]

I grew sunflowers and they are too big for the hens so I must buy some BOSS again. I love to make my own scratch its awesome to make it!

 

[Wannabefree]

I have 26 hens/pullets and am getting 2-4 eggs a day. Several girls are molting, a few are older, and some haven't started to lay yet. I have light set up for them, but have only had it about a week. I'm not too worried about it yet, because they still forage all day, but in another month or so, they best be layin some eggs or we'll have alot of chicken dinners

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

I love my chickens! I just started keeping them in April. I was talked into it by a coworker who raises lots of different livestock. Hubby used to have chickens when he lived in England, so he was easy to convince.

I was fortunate to have practical advice, and to have found BYC. Anytime I'd read about coddling the birds too much with heat, I was quickly knocked back to reality by my coworker. Which is good because I was almost turned off the whole idea because we're off the grid. Even using an incandescent bulb to brood chicks would have been too wasteful for us. I found an add for the ecoglow brooder in a poultry magazine, and was thrilled! At 16 watts, brooding chicks was feasible again.

I also found a perfectly timed post on byc by JackE and his Woods open-front coop. I convinced my husband to build one like that, read the online book and then ordered it from Plamandon. We built it on a retired bri-mar trailer and I am thrilled to have a practical and healthy coop for my girls.

I started with 15 hens and a sexing mistake roo. Roo has been sent to camp and a hawk got one of my dominiques. So now I have 14. To be honest- being in the center of 300 undeveloped acres, I'm surprised I haven't had more predator losses. I'd like to think it's because of the secure run and coop we have, but I'm sure luck has a bit to do with it.

I have partridge rocks, rose comb brown leghorns, and dominiques. All hatchery chicks. I'm getting 7 more in the spring. I ordered 2 black copper marans, 3 Easter Eggers, a barnevelder, and a welsummer. I love being able to provide my immediate and extended family with eggs. I've always had a garden, split firewood, canned, etc but never was in charge of my own protein. I am allergic to hairy things and have always loved birds, so chickens it is!

Here's a photo of my girls during their first snow experience.

 

[BarredBuff]

You have really pretty girls!

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

Thanks! Sorry for such a long-winded post, it was much smaller looking in the text field before submitting. :sheepish

Btw for feed- it's nothing fancy just blue seal layer crumbles free choice. a few handfuls of black oil sunflower mixed with scratch grains in the morning. Oyster shell and grit free choice. They forage in the afternoons til they put themselves to bed. A table scrap here and there. I don't think I've had them long enough for this to cause problems, but I think this feed schedule is ok? (Bee? What do you think?)

 

[BarredBuff]

Feed schedule sounds excellent! I was asking about that because mine put it ALL away, and I cant figure out why....

Table scraps, 6 lbs of layer, a bucket of grain, and forage. Why are they never full? They are constantly hungry....

 

[CheerioLounge]

Here are just a few pics of some of my girls and their coops/run. I have 5 production reds and they are egg laying machines!! I love them and their eggs!

Here is a shot of the run and coops

This is (from L - R) Big Mama, L'il Mama, Sweet Thing & Blondie inside the coop. They only use the coop to lay. They all roost out in the run, no matter the weather.

Treats? Treats?

 

[BarredBuff]

You have a set of pretty chickies too. I need to get more pictures of my girls and boy...

 

[FarmerJamie]

Feed schedule sounds excellent! I was asking about that because mine put it ALL away, and I cant figure out why....

Table scraps, 6 lbs of layer, a bucket of grain, and forage. Why are they never full? They are constantly hungry....

6lbs of layer feed per day? 30 birds, less than 1/4 pound per per bird per day. That may be on the light side.

Get some cabbage heads to hang in there to get them something else?