Chickens

 
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johnjoseph
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Post by johnjoseph » Wed. Jun. 22, 2016 8:21 am

No roosters here...all egg layers...Breeds: Golden Comets and Barred rocks...Im the only rooster on the premise and they mind me well...my mom and teen boys are not as lucky...lol.

 
coalfan
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Post by coalfan » Wed. Jun. 22, 2016 8:38 am

good one !! lol :D

 
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Post by top top » Fri. Aug. 19, 2016 4:38 pm

cabinover wrote:................................. but almost impossible to hard boil and peel when fresh. Give them a couple weeks before trying or you'll be frustrated..............................
A tip that makes them very easy to peel. Be sure the water is boiling when you drop in the eggs. Drop them in one at a time. If it quits boiling before all the eggs are in--STOP. Cook those and bring the water to a boil for the second batch. The thermal shock of cold eggs into boiling water breaks the bond of the shell and makes them peel very easy.

Second tip that works after cooking as above, place your hard boiled eggs in a plastic container with a lid and shake for a few seconds. Open it up and remove your already peeled eggs.

We used the layer mash pellets from Tractor Supply, didn't like them. There is a local feed mill about a half hour away from me. The feed is ground fresh every week. They sell crumble, not pellets. It costs less per bag, the birds like it better, and they actually eat less because it is more nutritious. Not as convenient, but worth it IMO. I would encourage others to look for something similar nearby.

I store the feed in a stainless steel drum. I built a feed and water dispenser using a five gallon food grade plastic bucket and 15 inch galvanized hog pan from Tractor Supply. For the water I drilled a 3/4 inch hole in the bucket lid for filling, and a 1/4 inch hole in the side of the bucket about three inches from the top. Fill the hog pan and bucket with water, set the bucket in the hog pan upside down. That leaves a ring of water all the way around they can drink from, but they can not bath in it. A piece of plywood about two feet diameter or two feet square set on top of the bucket and weighted down with half a cinder block keeps them from defecating into the water when they sit on top. For winter, set it on a cinder block with a light bulb inside the hole in the cinder block to prevent freezing.

The feeder is similar. A plastic bucket with several 1 1/2 inch holes drilled in the side near the bottom. A hog pan with a wood block inside and secured with screws through the bottom. Set the bucket upright on top of the wood block and secure it with screws through the bottom of the bucket into the wood block. Remove the lid to fill it with feed, then close it back up. The feed will gravity out the holes into the pan as needed. Again, this leaves a ring of feed they can access but not be able to soil. And the plywood/cinder block on top keeps them from messing up the feed in the pan.

I bought the galvanized pans at Tractor Supply for less than $3.00 each, but now I cant find them on the web site. Here is a link to Amazon that is similar to what I used, but the price with shipping is a little excessive.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000BOB7RU/ref=sr_1_ ... dition=new

 
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johnjoseph
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Post by johnjoseph » Wed. Mar. 01, 2017 11:52 am

Update on Our Chickens: We have lost five total and they seemed to be the smallest one of the 58 we have. Our 53 chickens produce an average of 4 dozen daily. We sell what we don't use as a family and the profit pays for the feed and bedding, so it does not cost out of pocket. I must say that home grown eggs are so much better to cook with than what one can purchase at any store.


 
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Post by coaledsweat » Wed. Mar. 01, 2017 12:26 pm

When you say lost, illness or predator? And how long does the avearge chicken live?

 
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Post by johnjoseph » Wed. Mar. 01, 2017 3:49 pm

coaledsweat wrote:When you say lost, illness or predator? And how long does the avearge chicken live?
I narrowed it down to the smallest weakest chickens got picked on so much that they could not get enough food and died naturally. Laying hen production is at it's peak for up to 2 years after they start laying mature eggs at the 4 to 6 month mark. So, essentially at the 3 year mark they are not producing at their peak. In order to keep production at status quo replacing older hens with new stock is imperative. From my standpoint, when they are costing more for feed than they are producing they will be utilized by the local Amish as a meal.
Definitely a learning experience for my son who is in the FFA, myself and my mom.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Mar. 01, 2017 8:30 pm

We get 10-12 eggs per day from our 13 hens.

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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Apr. 07, 2017 5:16 pm

Starting to get some monster eggs.

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Qtown1835
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Post by Qtown1835 » Fri. Apr. 07, 2017 5:36 pm

I just set my coop back up. I had to relocate it from my old property. We haven't had chickens for about 3 years. Kids have fun with it and my wife wanted chickens again so I just picked up 10 last week. They are brown layers about 17-18weeks old should be ready to lay by the end of the month. I buy my layers mash from local farmer $20/100. In case anyone is wondering there is no ROI for hobby chickens. LOL.

 
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Post by Qtown1835 » Fri. Apr. 07, 2017 5:36 pm

I just set my coop back up. I had to relocate it from my old property. We haven't had chickens for about 3 years. Kids have fun with it and my wife wanted chickens again so I just picked up 10 last week. They are brown layers about 17-18weeks old should be ready to lay by the end of the month. I buy my layers mash from local farmer $20/100. In case anyone is wondering there is no ROI for hobby chickens. LOL.

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Fri. Apr. 07, 2017 5:40 pm

coaledsweat wrote:When you say lost, illness or predator? And how long does the avearge chicken live?
About 7 - 8 years is probably a good average. By then they are not laying very many eggs. And they are as inedible as shoe leather.

I believe the big egg farms turn egg layers into roasters at between 12 and 18 months old. After that they begin to progressively decline in their laying, and eventually you are feeding them but not benefiting from it. And sometime after about 18 months they are not likely going to be marketable as premium roasters. (This being better than broilers, who don't get past about 8 to 12 weeks old)

We are only getting an average of right close to 5 eggs per day from 11 hens, but we just let them get old and die, and we have them spanning from 1 year old to perhaps 7 years old at present.

 
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Post by Homesteader » Sat. Apr. 08, 2017 10:38 am

Now that the snow is gone I can get out back to clean the coop out. Had the last few layers from last year get taken out by a Bobcat. He scaled the kennel fence that I had set up for their run. Didn't get a chance to take a shot at him. Anyway I need to get out there and pressure wash the inside of the coop along with the nesting boxes and the roost. I also spray everything down with bleach and pressure wash again. I have my order in at Blue Seal for 12 day old black sex links that are going to be in the first week of May. Time to set up the brooder. Looking forward to it and spring.

J.L.

 
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Post by johnjoseph » Wed. Jul. 19, 2017 9:09 am

We've lost about 12 chickens since spring to our local scoundrel fox and family. SO, my coworker saved me a dozen fertilized eggs from his flock Saturday and we placed the eggs with our brooding Wyandotte;

◦She will stay in her nest all day- and we mean all day, she won’t even go back to roost with the rest of the chickens at night.
◦She will normally become very territorial over her nest- this includes puffing her feathers out and squawking at anything that tries to get near her.
◦She will peck and try to bite you if you try to move here so make sure to wear gloves if you do need to move her.
◦She may also pick out her breast feathers so the heat from her body is passed through to the eggs

August 6th should be the hatch date. Kind of excited to see if they actually hatch. Updates to follow.

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