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Chickens

Thinking back on my days working at Weeki Wachee Springs, of all the chickens there, it was the White Crested Black Polish that always impressed me with personality and looks.
 
I never had issues with predators other than raccoons. We just laid some wire on the ground so the coyotes and foxes couldn't get under.. and we have ALOT of them. Had one dog get in the coop while we were there and kill one.
 
Nanci said:
My chickens never had problems with lice. Don't you use Sevin to get rid of them?
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We always have used Sevins dust to rid them of mites, but our house chickens never got them. I used to show a lot so that's probably where they picked them up. Sevins works really well.
 
kathylove said:
Yes, I was happy with our McMurray order, too. Sounds like everybody buys from them!

I would not try to keep the chickens off the ground. Not only is wire mesh uncomfortable to walk on, but chickens like to scratch up the ground underneath them and eat any insects they find. They LOVE maggots! Really keeps the fly population in check - and provides free protein! Also, I believe I read someplace that they eat some of their droppings, which still contain valuable nutrients. I think I remember something about vitamin B deficiencies in chickens not allowed to live on dirt and to scratch and feed from it at will. You would have to look that up as it has been MANY years since I have been involved with them.

Great discussion - brings back lots of old memories!
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Kathy, I wouldn't dream of keeping them off the ground. I was just wanting the nighttime coop up high, with a ramp for them to come down in the morning. It would save space and make it more difficult for predators.

gsdbecca said:
I keep coming back to read this thread. It's brought back so many memories of my sweet little chicken! You're gonna have to keep us jealous city dwellers updated!
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I am a suburbanite! I only live on a quarter acre, and have neighbors on all sides. But....the whole town is like that and allows "homesteading", and we already have a hooge garden.

Nanci said:
My chickens never had problems with lice. Don't you use Sevin to get rid of them?
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I had not researched that far yet, thank you!

AliCat37 said:
I never had issues with predators other than raccoons. We just laid some wire on the ground so the coyotes and foxes couldn't get under.. and we have ALOT of them. Had one dog get in the coop while we were there and kill one.
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Thank you for that! That has me worried. We do have alot of raccoons. Very very few stray dogs, but I am worried about leaving them during the day in a movable playpen type thing that does not extend into the ground. Afraid a dog will dig it up. Plus, what happens if I don't come home from work til after dark? Maybe I will make sure they have a nice big roomy secure pen, that is reenforced and only put them in a playpen when I am home.

I want a set up for 6-8 birds, but only want to start with 3 or so. Something like this but bigger.
 

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Beth that is a perfect coop I've been looking at similar ones. The only thing I will do is put a cover over the whole thing during rainy season. In the past we have put a bale of hay in during rainy season gives them something to peck at.
 
I think that as long as you have a fenced yard you won't even need to bother with the play pen. They'll fly out of it any way unless it's really tall! I would just make sure that at night, or when you are not home, there is a secure coop. Laying the wire on the ground (We fastened it to the fence) worked really well for us. The raccoons are by far the trickiest to deal with, so you just have to make sure that every thing is tight. Not to worry you!
 
"Kathy, I wouldn't dream of keeping them off the ground. I was just wanting the nighttime coop up high, with a ramp for them to come down in the morning. It would save space and make it more difficult for predators."

That sounds perfect! They usually lay in the morning, so it is good if the nest boxes are in the back, with direct access from the outside to get the eggs. We always had a home made coop that you could walk into to without bending over, so it was easy to work inside of it. I always wanted to build a coop with a ramp like you are describing, to avoid predators. I figured I would leave the ramp until they are big enough to fly to the opening, then I would remove the ramp. That would make it more difficult for a raccoon or dog to get into it.

How high is your property fence? If it is high enough to keep dogs out, then chickens should be ok during the day to roam the yard - unless you have hawks.

You could also consider putting an inexpensive chicken wire fence around the coop, enclosing a big enough area to let them wander when you are not home. You can use some electric wire around it to discourage dogs or other predators if that will be a problem. We used electric wire around our turtle pens for many years and it was a great help.
 
AliCat37 said:
I think that as long as you have a fenced yard you won't even need to bother with the play pen. They'll fly out of it any way unless it's really tall! I would just make sure that at night, or when you are not home, there is a secure coop. Laying the wire on the ground (We fastened it to the fence) worked really well for us. The raccoons are by far the trickiest to deal with, so you just have to make sure that every thing is tight. Not to worry you!
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We are not fenced in on all sides, and I would be really worried about hawks anyway. I was thinking about something like the picture I uploaded on the bottom of this post. It has a top.

kathylove said:
"Kathy, I wouldn't dream of keeping them off the ground. I was just wanting the nighttime coop up high, with a ramp for them to come down in the morning. It would save space and make it more difficult for predators."

That sounds perfect! They usually lay in the morning, so it is good if the nest boxes are in the back, with direct access from the outside to get the eggs. We always had a home made coop that you could walk into to without bending over, so it was easy to work inside of it. I always wanted to build a coop with a ramp like you are describing, to avoid predators. I figured I would leave the ramp until they are big enough to fly to the opening, then I would remove the ramp. That would make it more difficult for a raccoon or dog to get into it.

How high is your property fence? If it is high enough to keep dogs out, then chickens should be ok during the day to roam the yard - unless you have hawks.

You could also consider putting an inexpensive chicken wire fence around the coop, enclosing a big enough area to let them wander when you are not home. You can use some electric wire around it to discourage dogs or other predators if that will be a problem. We used electric wire around our turtle pens for many years and it was a great help.
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I wish we were fenced in on all sides....
 

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ooh that's really neat! I haven't seen those before! I guess hawks are a concern. The ones that were down where all the coyotes are were fenced in, and that's also where I see all the hawks. We never had any bantys snatched from the yard by hawks, but I suppose it could happen!
 
AliCat37 said:
ooh that's really neat! I haven't seen those before! I guess hawks are a concern. The ones that were down where all the coyotes are were fenced in, and that's also where I see all the hawks. We never had any bantys snatched from the yard by hawks, but I suppose it could happen!
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Thank you! It is supposed to be big enough for 8 LF, So that and a good coop and I just might be in business! I would just worry about something digging underneath.
 
starsevol said:
We are not fenced in on all sides, and I would be really worried about hawks anyway. I was thinking about something like the picture I uploaded on the bottom of this post. It has a top.



I wish we were fenced in on all sides....
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That's a neat pen! I would just make sure if you got one of those, to put a black mesh over part of it to give them shade on hot days. Some chickens can overheat really easily and appreciate a nice shady spot. Sometimes mine lay under the coop and bury their bottom half of their bodies in the cold dirt, then lay a little on their side with one wing up. It's a funny sight, especially when they keep their beaks open like they are panting.
 
morgan.mac814 said:
That's a neat pen! I would just make sure if you got one of those, to put a black mesh over part of it to give them shade on hot days. Some chickens can overheat really easily and appreciate a nice shady spot. Sometimes mine lay under the coop and bury their bottom half of their bodies in the cold dirt, then lay a little on their side with one wing up. It's a funny sight, especially when they keep their beaks open like they are panting.
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Oh yes, part would definately be covered!
Probably with a tarp unless I can find something both waterproof and prettier.
 
I kind of like the Frizzle ones. What does Mister Cannonballs have to say about all this plucky plucky activity? First it was little house pets, then chickens. I imagine in a few more years he'll be constructing hippopotamus ponds for you. Bet there's not an ordinance about those yet. & you'd be grandfathered in... Poor fellow. Give your enabler a hug for me.
 
dave partington said:
I kind of like the Frizzle ones. What does Mister Cannonballs have to say about all this plucky plucky activity? First it was little house pets, then chickens. I imagine in a few more years he'll be constructing hippopotamus ponds for you. Bet there's not an ordinance about those yet. & you'd be grandfathered in... Poor fellow. Give your enabler a hug for me.
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LOL he doesn't seem to hate the idea a whole lot!
He is a tiny bit gruff about it, but has always liked birds in general.
When I asked him if he thought we should get bantams (because they are smaller, take up less space and eat less feed) or large fowl, he said large fowl since "the eggs are what it's all about". Then he corrected himself and got grumbly. :)
 
Funny little follow-up. Last night I went to Tractor Supply to buy a book. Found one called "The Joy of Raising Chickens" and went to pay for it. The cashier commented on it, telling me it was a great book, and I told her that hens are now allowed in West Warwick. Then she said that I really should consider Americaunas, since they are the ones that lay the easter eggs. Well, Americaunas and Black Australorps are the 2 breeds I am most interested in, and I told her so.
Then she says "And if your yard is not really big, you can get phantoms! Phantoms are the smallest breed of chicken!!".

I laughed all the way to the car!
 
I have over 100+ chickens. My favorite right now are my polish Tolbunts 250$ at the time I bought them. I like polish because they are fancy birds always getting the attention of the neigbhors, but the egg size is also good even if they are not good meat birds.
 
Carpe Serpentis said:
I have over 100+ chickens. My favorite right now are my polish Tolbunts 250$ at the time I bought them. I like polish because they are fancy birds always getting the attention of the neigbhors, but the egg size is also good even if they are not good meat birds.
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I don't need birds that look like hybrids between chickens and chrysanthemums!!
I am mostly looking for something docile and hardy that would fit into the neighborhood the best.
 
Easter eggers are great chickens. Alot of them aren't pure(oh no, similar to hybrids discussions here lol) so I think it's more correct to call them easter egg layers rather than pure Americaunas. Prior to having to get rid of my flock due to regulations and neighbors complaining, I kept Easter egg layers, Silkies, Showgirls, and Naked Necks. I also really wanna try to rebuild once my neighbors move with Frizzles or Polish, the polish always have caught my attention..and I wish there was a "phantom" chicken that sounds awesome :D
 
At one point when I was in high school, I had over 350 chickens. Most of the roosters (the ones not for showing) went to the pot, and all of the hens were used for shows and eggs. By the time I graduated we were down to about 150. I really miss raising chickens and rabbits for shows and food. I have to say that the best layers that we had were our black sex links. Crosses between Rhode Island Reds and Barred rocks. They also worked alright for dumpling birds.
Though, my favorite chickens that I ever had were my La fletche(#2 on my list) (a little history on the breed http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/lafleche.html) (pictures http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/poultry/chickens/lafleche/), and Cochins (#1 on my list). My brother was the Rhode Island Red kid, he also had the Silkies.

At one point we decided to hatch out a bunch of mix breeds, and some of the babies were Rhode Island Red/La fletche cross, 5 out of 10 of the babies had a straight comb that went about half way and then split into a butter cup style comb (http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644855/comb-contest-buttercups-winner-announced).
My Cochin hens, that I had when living in Oklahoma, hatched 12 out of 13 wild mallard eggs from a nest that we rescued from some kids that wouldn't leave the mother alone. Once we got home she refused to sit on the eggs any more, so we decided to test our hens out. They were a wonderful trio of girls that loved to sit on eggs and always took turns...

If you can't tell, Chickens were my life up until I joined the military, and hopefully as soon as I can, I will be getting some more chickens.
 
MindsEyeExotics,
Funny you should mention frizzles and polish. My Tolbunts are polish frizzles so you can have the best of both worlds if you want it and are willing to look at something other than a hatchery to get your eggs/chicks from. Your spot on as well with the discussions between easter eggers, americauna, araucana, etc. I do love my colored eggs though. I keep them in colors ranging from blue, light green, dark green, light brown, pink, dark red brown, etc. Frizzled and top hats are an obvious bonus as are silkie feathers.
 
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