Raising chickens. Advice, comments, do's and don'ts wanted.

[Pullstart 70,316]

4 have survived the first day so far.  More to come?

 

 

 

[Pullstart 70,316]

Young chick life all over the place!  The teenagers are figuring things out solo, the chicks are learning near mom.

 

 

[Pullstart 70,316]

It’s been a while since I talked about my chickens.  The little chicks that hatched in the fall will not roost at night.  They were born in these nesting boxes and seem to want to live there forever!

 

 

[PWL216 1,230]

@PullstartAre all of them not roosting? In my last batch of 8, 1 would not roost. I just figured the others threw him out of the club

[Pullstart 70,316]

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

two chicks so far have hatched today.

 

 

[ebinmaine 79,379]

Hard to believe it's been over 5 years since we started this thread and got the chickens. 

We currently have 8 hens. 

They've been giving half a dozen eggs every day lately. Sometimes a little less. 

 

Trina has been letting the flock out to graze freely for a few weeks. 

 

They certainly seem to enjoy the freedom. 

 

[ebinmaine 79,379]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pullstart 70,316]

We had some broody hens this summer, but they would not stay in the same box long enough to hatch chicks.  The white one was destined to be the momma for quite some time, until she decided to move.  The black one moved in.  Almost daily at about week 2 of 3, they would swap.  Now, they both claim to be momma.  The white one is so defensive, I can hardly get in there to change their water!

 

 

[ebinmaine 79,379]

Our hens are five and a half years old now.

They are still giving some eggs. We are down to six birds.

[Pullstart 70,316]

We have been letting some broody hens take over the nesting box lately.  So far, two chicks hatched!  Tomorrow I’ll clean out the coop and dispose of any un-hatched eggs.  

 

  

[Pullstart 70,316]

 

[Pullstart 70,316]

 

[ebinmaine 79,379]

As of this month we're down to one chicken. 

One - SEVEN year old chicken.  

 

This morning Trina decided to retake the coop section for our own firewood storage. 

 

Here's a reminder of the look 7 years ago. 

 

 

And today...

 

 

[adsm08 4,724]

12 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

One - SEVEN year old chicken

 

No good for sammich. Too old.

[ebinmaine 79,379]

16 minutes ago, adsm08 said:

 

No good for sammich. Too old.

 

Definitely. Tough as nails. Rugged nails.  

[Handy Don 16,834]

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

 

Definitely. Tough as nails. Rugged nails.  

Fricassee is the way Mom dealt with the old ones.  

[SylvanLakeWH 31,635]

20 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Fricassee is the way Mom dealt with the old ones.  

Cherky... jerky that tastes like chicken (cuz it is)... 

Edited 13 hours ago by SylvanLakeWH

[Handy Don 16,834]

4 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

Cherky... jerky that tastes like chicken (cuz it is)... 

And the poet delivers another Portmanteau. 

Edited 13 hours ago by Handy Don

[SylvanLakeWH 31,635]

2 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

And the poet delivers another Portmanteau. 

I got a chortle out of that...! 

[Wayne0 1,570]

15 hours ago, adsm08 said:

 

No good for sammich. Too old.

Good soup!