How to break into CHICKENS?

[Miss M]

So it turns out that our neighbor is going to be able to keep his chickens, and so we don't have to suddenly take on 9 full-grown birds, knowing absolutely nothing about how to care for them. That's probably a good thing.

But we still want our own chickens, so we can be a little more self-sufficient and learn more, and produce more of our own food.

I thought I'd have to wait until spring to get a few peepers, but apparently they are selling them now at some of the feed stores around here. My neighbor across the street (whose chickens we will be caring for next week while they are gone) said that I could raise four biddies up to feathered and ready to release into the rabbitry, in one of my bunny growout cages. He has some sort of light for keeping them warm.

I know I can do all kinds of google searches and stuff, but I'm looking for frugal housing within the rabbitry, frugal feeding, etc. I could also tap the brain of my neighbor who's been raising chickens for decades, and I will... but I think I will get more frugal ideas here.

I also need recommendations for what kind of chickens to get. I need productive and friendly (or at least non-combative) chickens to learn with! I understand having a rooster makes them more productive, but can I get a good start without one?

This is our new rabbitry. The black plastic is out of there now, and the cages are no longer on sawhorses -- they are hung along the back wall.

 

[Mickey328]

If you're looking for eggs, I heartily recommend sexlink chickens...they're egg laying machines! We have 6 of them and until the days grew shorter, we averaged about 5 large to jumbo eggs a day. Even now with not much more than 11 hours of light a day, we're getting 3 to 4 (chickens need about 16 hrs/day for full production). For your first effort, I'd also recommend finding some that are already grown and already producing or about to start...it's much easier than trying to raise them from chicks and you don't have to feed them for 5 or more months till you see eggs.

Being in LA, you won't need to provide heat for them...we don't heat ours and we're quite a bit cooler They generate a surprising amount of heat and feathers are excellent insulation. They need to have a very well ventilated coop but one where the wind won't blow directly on them. Have a look on backyardchickens.com It's a site with as much info on chickens as this one does about rabbits.

 

[3mina]

My first thought when I saw the title was "With a knife and fork" :twisted:

 

[skysthelimit]

I'm a fan of backyard chickens. I hatched the chickens out for class, that's how I got started. They were in a homemade brooder until they feathered out and the weather got better. I also ordered some chicks for Thanksgiving, I will never do that again. The homemade brooder in the barn was way too much work.
Next year I will hatch with the mind that they will be Thanksgiving Dinner at the end, or since I don't eat eggs, I might raise meat birds in the summer instead.

 

[ZRabbits]

Wish I was in an area to have chickens! Definitely would love to have a few for nice fresh eggs, and also chicken soup, YUM!

Karen

 

[Marinea]

Ooh, something I can actually help with!

The biddies will need some heat until completely feathered out. Then, they should be fine down in Louisiana. You want at least four square feet per hen once they are grown. You will also want a roost for them. We use sumac poles. You will also want some nesting boxes- you can use milk crates with hay.

You don't really need a rooster unless of course you want to hatch babies down the line. The hens will lay anyhow, starting about 6-7 months of age. If you can free range them in your yard during the day, you can cut down on feed, but I would make sure they get chick starter until that point to get them a good headstart.

Oh, I recommend orpingtons- excellent layers, setters and a good dual purpose bird. Have fun!

 

[BlueLove16]

My grandpa shows chickens and my summers were spent cleaning the barns lol...he offered me a couple silky black hens he brougt back from a show..but i want marbled if i go that route! My aunt raises bob whites for population release thing and cortex quail. their fast growth rate and small size makes them sound super tasty and ideal for in town, and they arn't nasty aggressive toward eachother like chickens..BUT...chickens get the ticks. fleas, spiders, other bugs out of your yard! Get a few guinea hens to raise with them if not to close to city and they are the BEST alarm systems you can get. But gotta raise the things with the chickens. Their a bit dumber than birdbrained.

 

[Marinea]

And here is a pic of our setup. We built our coop onto the side of a shed. We added the nesting boxes onto the back to not take room away from the coop. The flock free ranges during the day.

 

[mystang89]

Are you wanting to let your chickens free range or will they be in the chicken run all day? If they free range try to be sure and not let them free range in just one area because you won't have any grass left. If possible partition the grass off into section so they can free range in one section for a while and then when you see that area start getting worn out, have them free range in another area for a while. This will save your grass and save the amount of pellets you feed them, if you feed them pellets. You can also have a chicken tractor that you pull around the yard, restricting them to one section. I don't have much room at my house, .27 acres, but thats including the front yard and the area the house takes up. They just free range in the back yard about once a week and other than that they are in their chicken run.

If you are going to have a chicken run people generally recommend having about 10sq ft per bird and for the coop about 3 - 4 sq/bird. Of course that is completely up to you. I have 9 birds and they have a 6x8 coop and 12 x 20 run. They all seem to get along fine...well, they haven't killed each other yet anyway.

As far as feeding them is concerned you can either go with pellets or all natural. I do pellets myself so I wouldn't be able to help you with all natural. I know they eat just about anything you throw in front of them though. With the pellets you can leave their feeder filled up without ever having to worry about over feeding. About the only thing chickens do is eat, poop and ....eat, poop. I think they sleep sometime in there. For water I would HIGHLY recommend getting some "No poop Water nipples" from somewhere. Really saves time cleaning the waterer, getting poop out of it, getting leaves out of it and just about anything else. I got some and put them on a 5 gal bucket and haven't looked back once.

As far as what type of bird I would get the Leghorn as they are the commercial chicken layers. They lay the typical white large eggs. They are laying machines and there isn't much that stops them from laying. I had a Siberian Husky a while ago that killed 3/5 of my flock which normally would have created a lot of stress on chickens and caused them to stop laying for a bit but the 2 left never stopped laying. They've layed through drought, lack of food and many other things. The only problem is they are very flighty and anti-social. So, if you are looking for friendly birds I would recommend going with Barred Rock Chickens. They are good layers too and supposed to be friendly.

I agree with the previous poster who said they would get chickens who were already laying or who were close to start. It seems like it takes forever for the chicken to start laying when you are looking constantly for that first egg. So to minimize the wait, which sometimes can make you feel like you are wasting your time and want to stop raising chickens I would get some that are established. If you don't though be sure to keep the chicks warm until they feather out. The don't feather out nearly as fast as rabbits, (not that rabbits feather out but I really hope you get what I mean.) If you are getting just hatched chicks they need to be around 90f for the first week and then lowered incrementally until they are acclimated to the whether in your area.

If you go with chicks then I recommend getting grower pellets that are medicated to lesson the chances of cocci. Chicks are susceptible to it when they are young and always on the ground.

I don't know about roosters making chickens more productive as I don't have roosters but I do know that the amount of daylight will make them more or less productive. I always make sure to give them at least 14 hours of daylight. I have a light on a timer in their coop. I haven't had a problem yet.

As far as cleaning their poop I love using the deep litter method which is basically just taking wood shaving, (not saw dust) and making about 4 - 5 inches or more for them to poop in where ever they sleep. This allows you to just turn it under ever so often and keeps the flies down as well since flies are more prone to poop that is wet. This isn't wet so few flies. You will have a big enough problem with them anyway, might as well lesson them as much as possible. I add DE (diatomaceous earth) to the shavings which helps kill mights and other bugs. Don't use that if you have honey bees though as that will kill the bees too. It is all natural, made from the shells of crustaceans I believe and it just dries out the skin of bugs or something like that. I don't know exactly but it helps. Also, if you get DE make sure its food grade. The other kind WILL kill your chickens as it just cuts their esophagus membranes and they die. Dead, not return, good night, you wasted your money.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/ is a very good chicken website. I used that often when I first started with chickens. They are very helpful and friendly so don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Lady]

Chickens are easy as long as you keep things sanitary and spaced apart. Chickens like to catch illnesses from too much stress and slightly being over crowded, a lot like rabbits, really.

First and most important- Rabbits on top, chickens always on bottom.
If you want them to roost in the rafters, you need to completely block off the area above the rabbits.

You have enough ventilation, but how much room do you have for the birds? Are they going to get outdoor time year round? How cold does it get where you are?

This is a great site to figure out what breed would best suit you. That website will also answer all of your questions and more. They 'upgraded' the forum, so don't expect fast responses anymore, but just doing a search you will find everything.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds

Any breed, other than the most flighty, can become great people friendly birds. I have never had a chicken or rooster that attacked people, I honestly believe it's the way others raise them, there's no other way to explain it. It's a chicken, you are top bird, it does something aggressive, give it a good hard poke right back. Don't coddle and treat a rooster like an infant, respect them. Loving on them is fine and carrying them around, but don't go over board.

All chickens can and will get over a 4ft fence, most can get over a 5ft fence. If there is anything to help them get up and over, they will use it. I've found that if there is overhead shelter, then the birds will stick to those areas and wander out into the open far less. But if there is tall grass, weeds or shrubs, they may just wander out to it.

Birds raised on pellets can have a hard time learning to actually forage for themselves, any breed can become good at foraging. They just need time and motivation. I only feed them by tossing food out spread in the grass, it helps the new ones with foraging skills. My birds were on pellets and not much foraging, because I fed them in a trough, for 2yrs and it took me 4 months of tossing feed out in pasture and limiting food before they got the point and learned that bugs are edible, seeds are edible and grasses are edible. Now they get most of their food on their own and I only supplement feed.

Leave scratch for hand taming the birds, don't make scratch their actual diet, they will become picky and it's annoying.

Chickens can and do starve themselves, don't believe they won't. I lost 3 birds due to self starvation when I switched from crumbles to pellets. Make the switch as soon as pellets can fit into their beaks! Far less waste and easier to deal with!

 

[Honorine]

Roosters do not make the hens more productive, they just fertilize the eggs, tear your girls up and cause problems. I'm still peeved about the rooster who pulled all of the feathers off my Polish Girls head, she's still got a bald spot. My flock is so much more peaceful when there is no rooster, less arguments and less noise, less running around and sqwuacking( I think that a word) A good rooster will protect his flock and warn them of danger, find goodies for the hens but good roosters are few and far between. Bad roosters can put a hurting on you, even small ones. There's always a head hen, she often will take over the responsibilities of a rooster and stop fights and warn of danger. So I'd forgo the rooster, you'll be much happier. I have a mixed flock, mostly bantams, silkies, polish, cochins. Their eggs are small but tasty, and many of them are 5-6 years old and still laying. I also have true aracaunas, their good layers too, and I like the blu-green eggs. For a larger all purpose bird with a nice temperament I like Wyandottes, and Orphingtons, the Orphs can get quite large. I don't like some of the more aggressive breeds, like Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks and Sussex, their too hard on the softer birds. For sheer production go with Sexlinks, for eye candy get one of these and one of those. I normally don't like to mix bantams and standards unless its a fairly soft standard, right now I have two Wyandottes in with 16 smaller birds. There's two dominant hens, one a silkie and the other an aracauna that keep the big girls in line. Mine have a shed of their own with a chain link run because pf predators. With your rabbit set up I think I'd build a chicken run that used one or more walls of the rabbit building, perhaps an L shaped run? Then I'd build a small chicken coop, enough for 5-6 hens and put it in the fenced in area, and create a chicken door into the rabbit house. Then you could let the chickens in the rabbit barn to clean up spilled feed but they wouldn't be living in there full time, and would be sleeping in their own coop. Chickens create a lot of dust and condensation, I wouldn't want them in with my rabbits 24/7.

 

[MaggieJ]

Chickens are pretty easy, really. It is more economical to buy pullets ready to lay than to brood chicks. If you start with day-old chicks at this time of year, you won't have eggs until well into the spring. A lot of people who brooded chicks last spring should be selling off their extras right about now.

Red sex links are good starter chickens if your main interest is simply fresh eggs. The heritage breeds are interesting and will give great eggs too, but they are not quite as productive. We've had Speckled Sussex and Dominiques in the past. At present we have three Cuckoo Marans, four Welsumers, one red sex-link, and one White Leghorn. I don't usually prefer white chickens, but she is a character and a great layer as well.

I like free-ranging my hens. They sure do help keep the insects down. If you free range, you will need to fence your vegetable garden. It's pretty easy to fence chickens out of an area (they don't bother going over a four foot fence unless there is a good reason) but harder to contain them with a simple fence. You can expect to lose the odd one to predators if they are free ranging, although we have had good luck these past few years.

Regarding feeding, the fodder sprouting will work as well for chickens as it does for rabbits. Once you have your system in place, it should help cut feed costs and your eggs will have lovely bright yolks.

I suggest you start with just pullets, no rooster. Roosters are gorgeous and amusing, but can also be unpredictable, sneaky and mean. My first rooster was great, but since then we have not had one that we kept longer than a year. I gave away our Welsumer rooster (with full disclosure about his behaviour) because I got tired of being attacked and having to fend him off with my cane.

 

[RebelCowboySnB]

Winter is not the best time to raise babies but it can be done in the south. I use a old chest freezer from the scrap yard to raise babies in, or did for the last few years anyway. One bale of wood chips makes a great bed in one. Prop one corner of the lid open about 2 inches for ventilation an hang a heat lamp or other heat source in there. I build heaters from Christmas lights though. The heat light is the biggest danger to you. That is why I use a freezer. It is insulate an easy to get but it is also something outside any of my buildings so if anything happens, the loss is contained to it.

Sexlinks are good for mutts. So are leghorns(flighty/jumpy) but stick to brown if you plan to free range. White is hawk bait. Doms or barred rocks are good birds to start with. Nice, good production, Camouflaged, smart an good foragers. Also big enough to eat.

I usually tell people to start with game chickens to learn with but they are pretty worthless for eggs.

For the adult pen, no chicken wire. If you can reach in an grab a chicken threw the wire, so can a raccoon especially at night. If you can cut the wire with a knife, a raccoon can rip it. If you can climb in or dig under so can they

Having a rooster has no effect on egg production. You only need one if you want to hatch. A good rooster will protect his girls though. It can also hurt them if he does not have enough.

Any natural foods a rabbit would eat, so would a chicken. They also want bugs an worms too. If you do not feed commercial or give them dirt to play in, you will need to give them grit to eat an grind there food with. Feeding the old egg shells back to them helps too.

Keep golf balls in the nests. It shows them where to lay and it stops egg eating from them or anything else(snakes) that might try.

Backyardchickes is a great site an I have been on it sense around 2001. Lots of info but after the last update it was over done an kills even my newest computer so allot of people with older PCs jumped ship. There are several years of old posts to read threw though.

Marlon
Confederate Money Farm.

 

[Miss M]

WOW! Thank you all!!!

A while back, I had looked so much online and read so much that I thought my head was going to explode... there's so much information that I couldn't distill it down to what was really necessary for starting out.

This time, I figured I'd try asking y'all, to try to avoid the confusion.

I've read it all, and I'll read it again at lunch and reply.

Holy cow, more replies!! :razz: I'll read them as soon as I can!!!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

With your rabbit set up I think I'd build a chicken run that used one or more walls of the rabbit building, perhaps an L shaped run?

Oooh! I like this idea! I think I would build the coop on the short end of the bunnybarn and have the run the length of the long side.

Personally, I would buy chicks, mostly because they are cute and the kids will love to play with them, which will make for tamer chickens... but also because around here they ask about $15-$20 per pullet, and it is easier for me to swallow paying a couple dollars a chick and then feed them myself. It might work out to about the same, but it isn't such a big chunk of cash at the outset. Buying chicks now would mean they would start laying around the beginning of May which is perfect.

If you buy pullets on the verge of laying you may need to provide extra light during the winter unless you get a breed known for laying year round. Orpingtons and Black Australorps are sweet dual purpose (meat and eggs) breeds that will lay during the winter months. Do not buy older birds. Chickens produce the most eggs in their first laying season, less the second, and still less the third. Beyond that they are not worth keeping if you are concerned about the feed cost per egg. A lot of people cull their flock at the end of the second laying season.

I always have a couple Americaunas or "Easter Eggers" so we will have blue and green eggs as well as the brown eggs I get from my other hens. I have never raised a breed that lays white eggs. The Orpingtons and Australorps are my favorites- they are very laid back birds. Americaunas are more flighty. I also have Danish Brown Leghorns and they are really wild! Never again!

Chickens are great "pre-composters". We have both a "chicken bucket" and a "compost bucket" in the kitchen. My poor compost gets mainly coffee grounds, egg shells, avocado peel, and onion skins now. The chickens get just about everything else except chicken meat.

Some people feed the egg shells back to their flock, but I give mine oyster shell for calcium. I also feed weeds and grass, lay crumble and scratch. When the garden is not producing I will let them free range, but they do have the habit of scratching dust wallows in the most inconvenient places- like your flowerbeds!

We always have a rooster or two. I just like them. They are very pretty, I enjoy hearing them crow, and we usually get a few chicks out of a broody hen every year.

Good luck on your chicken hunt, Miss M! I think you will have a great time as a family selecting a breed or breeds to start with. Depending on how many eggs you eat, I would suggest one or two hens per person.

 

[MaggieJ]

A good site about feeding economically:
http://www.lionsgrip.com/chickens.html

 

[Mickey328]

Haven't got my rabbits yet, but just from research, imo, chickens are way easier! LOL. Of course, it depends on whether you're breeding and showing and such...we just have 'em for the gorgeous eggs!

 

[skysthelimit]

Haven't got my rabbits yet, but just from research, imo, chickens are way easier! LOL. Of course, it depends on whether you're breeding and showing and such...we just have 'em for the gorgeous eggs!

I would have to respectfully disagree . Rabbits are quieter, cleaner, require less space,don't need to be incubated then put in a brooder for weeks, grow out to meat eating size faster, have usable pelts. And the best thing is the manure is immediately usable.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

:yeahthat:

The only things rabbits can't do better than chickens is crow and lay eggs! inkbunny: inkbunny: inkbunny:

Disclaimer: This is a rabbit forum, after all. We are a bit biased.

 

[MaggieJ]

:yeahthat:

No reason not to have both... but rabbits are easier than chickens. They taste better too. I keep chickens because we love the fresh eggs... and really they are very little work once they are grown and well worth keeping... but I hate brooding day-old chicks artificially. The way to go is under a broody hen. Then the chicks are a joy!