question for chicken owners

[pathwayholding]

Do you dump out your chickens feed everyday, giving them fresh or just keep topping it off?

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[bee_pipes]

Depends on what kind of feeder you're using. Do you have a hanging feeder or a metal trough? The hanging feeders do well to keep mice out and can henerally hold from 5 to 30 lbs of feed. Those you just keep adding to, occasionally letting them run out so you can dump dust and other junk that collects in the bottom of the feeder. I'm guessing you don't have one of those.

If you have a trough, those are an open invitation to mice. We use them for the two turkeys we keep. Every night the feeder gets brought in, every morning it goes back out. Occasionally we'll forget to bring the feeder in and it's full of mouse droppings in the morning. Then we have to dump out the feeder, clean it and refill it.

With the price of chicken feed you can't afford to waste it. When the turkeys eat down the amount in the trough, we top it off again.

Best of luck to you.

Regards,
Pat

[MadTripper]

During the warm months, I only toss two handfuls of food out for 10 or so chickens, (right now 8). They get most of their diet from bugs, worms and weeds. In the winter, I made a hanging feeder out of two 5 gallon buckets so I just add to the top as need be.

Tripper

[walls0stone]

I haven't feed grain all summer. they are getting fat on not so good stuff from the garden, buggs and greens.

[pathwayholding]

They are using a little round feeder that you set on the brooder floor right now. I've been dumping it and washing it out every other day.

We did buy a hanging feeder for when they are ready to go outside to the coop. How often do actually clean that?

Okay, and as long as we're at it, does egg production drop off if you're feeding them less laying ration and allowing them to forage?

Thanks,

path

[MadTripper]

How old are your chickens?

When I cut back on feed, they remained the same in production. I still give them oyster shell and broken egg shells as needed.

Tripper

[pathwayholding]

The babies are just over a week old. I haven't raised chickens since I was a kid and those were eaten before they got to the egg laying stage. I'm afraid I'm going to accidentally kill them instead of "axe"-identally killing them. I've really appreciated everyone's advice here.

path

[Redneck2]

Hello. I'm new here so may be posting at the wrong place.
Please correct me, if that is the case.
I have plenty of room; and I want to get some laying-hens. I have no experience with chickens, etc. and I need to know how to introduce chickens, guineas, etc into a family that has adult dogs who won't find this acceptable at all. My intent is to, at some point, let the hens free-range. How does one teach dogs not to chase/kill them? Dogs never have seen a chicken... ::)

[Northern_bushrat]

Hello. *I'm new here so may be posting at the wrong place.
Please correct me, if that is the case.
I have plenty of room; and I want to get some laying-hens. *I have no experience with chickens, etc. and I need to know how to introduce chickens, guineas, etc into a family that has adult dogs who won't find this acceptable at all. *My intent is to, at some point, let the hens free-range. *How does one teach dogs not to chase/kill them? *Dogs never have seen a chicken... ::)

Hey Redneck,

I guess ideally you would have started a new thread in the livestock section because now your new question is showing up as if it were a response to this post here....

About dogs and chickens: fence in the chickens, is my advice (including the top of the run). If you only had one dog, chances might be depending on its temperament, that you could teach it to leave the fowl alone. With more than one, good luck...as you know, they get each other going.
We have 4 dogs and I used to keep chickens and ducks, now have only ducks. We live out in the boonies and have wildlife of all kind wandering by, from bears over lynx to weasels. The greatest problems I've had with animals bothering the fowl was wth dogs. First my own, then friends' dogs.
It sure seems more idyllic and natural to let chickens free-range, but really, there's lots of critters there wanting to eat them. Once your dogs (or wildlife) gets the hang of it, you'll have a hard time breaking them of it.

[EarthMother]

Please no harrassment by folks who are pet crazy and think they are human.

We have 4 dogs and free range chickens. What we do is to keep a pump bb/pellet gun close to the main door..ours is the kitchen patio door used for going in and out. When one of the dogs chased a chicken we pumped the gun just enough for the ammo to reach them and cause a slight sting. If that didn't work then we pumped a little tighter each time until it made them decide that the sting wasn't worth taking to keep chasing the chickens. We had a busy first year and had a few losses. By the second year about all I had to do was step out on the porch, holler "DOG", they'd look ,see the bb gun and slink off or change direction and run up to me for some attention. This year we lost one older hen and we think a young dog we got simply chased her 'til she went to roost, sat there for 1 1/2 days before she just fell of the roost onto the floor dead. I hope this helps.

[walls0stone]

Pal of mine had dogs after he had grown chickens. they never bothered birds or cats. He also had a Rooster with sharp spurs..any cat, dog or postmen that got to close to his girls.. pow.

[Redneck2]

Thank you all for your responses. I'm sure a secure run would be the sensible project; but our goal is to have chickens, etc. free-ranging around our property. We feed cattle...grain, alfalfa-hay, etc...and as you know, this leaves dropped feed. We also have grasshoppers and lucious bugs. Free-range, we believe, adds to the nutrition of the eggs...and saves money on chicken-feed. ;D

Yes; a protective rooster would be great !!!

We do have predators: coyotes, etc. Many of our neighbors have fowl of every kind...free-ranging...and yes, they do lose one occasionally. But their dogs don't bother theirs. They had grown fowl when their dogs were introduced as puppies. I just haven't found anyone who's tried "this" backwards. ;D

Again, thank you for your replies.

[Deberosa]

To bring a puppy along you have to take him leashed with you on chores every day, sharply correcting if he chases a bird. The first time he chases and gets away with it, it's over. Keep him on that leash - people attach it to their belt - until he's gone a couple of weeks without chasing and then let him off the leash in very controlled situations and watch carefully, be ready to stop him.

This may work with an existing dog - nothing helped with the Basset Hound I have and had when I got chickens, she is the one fenced and the birds run loose mostly except in the gardens. I also have a perimeter fence for coyotes and other predators. I fenced in a whole acre of brush for the dark cornish chickens, they love it.

Had a very protective rooster - operative word is had... THe coyote came and bless him he was the first casualty as he protected his girls. The coyote came through a hole the neighbor made doing tractor work near the back fence. Now that area is double fenced and no more problems.

Keep the dog on a leash and closely controlled for a long time - it may work. With our puppy he is now a great protector of the birds, but then again he was brought up with them, still with the leash training. I would show him chickens while holding them - saying "MINE" over and over. He knows that they are part of the family then and gets to sniff them all over. Often times its just curiosity that gets them too.

[Trapperswife]

Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of chicken raising! We call it 'chicken tv'!! We are currently raising a batch of fresh layers and 1 1/2 dozen meat hybrids. Since our last chicken experience, we have a new dog in the family. I have been allowing her to 'help' me with the daily chicken chores, including coming into the coop to feed, clean and open up each morning. As time has passed, she is much less exciteable around the now 1/2 grown chicks, and I am hoping with continued exposure she will allow the chickens to free range next summer without harassment. They have a wonderful run which they use now for safety, but I am eager to let them out to 'spread manure' and eat the bugs. But not at the expense of losing any of them. Hope this helps!

[walls0stone]

To get rid of prediters make friends with sportsmen. I love to spend time w/old timers and retired guys at the sporting goods store in town. They do stuff like shoot ground hogs and some get into coyote shooting ect. Takes care of that stuff and with all the cops who come here to hunt the traffic is slower on my road.

Any how, you talk about chickeen clean up... Grandpa had a chickeen coop built around the grain bin in the barn. As stuff leaked out of the bin, they just cleaned it up. I Also planted some squash that was on sale, didn't need it.. I've been feeding that to the chics as well.

Next year I'll plant tons of it

[akarose]

I have some questions for those experienced with chickens...

I'm less than a year from retirement (at 55) and plan to move out of town, but not in the wilds, just the semi-wilds. ;) My grandma raised white Plymouth Rocks when I was a kid, so I know a little about them, but I've been away from 'the farm' since I was 18. I have a copy of the booklet from Backwoods Home on chickens, but it brought up more questions.

1. I live in the Interior of Alaska - Fairbanks. There are some people here who keep chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys, but I do not know any of them personally. So my first question is, which breed is best suited for cold climates? From what I've read, the Rocks and Rhode Island Reds are both fairly good cold weather chickens. I want primarily eggs, but also meat.

2. I've read here on the site that people let the chickens out in the winter, but 'winter' has a little different meaning here. Is there a breed that does better when they can't go outside? (Our winters have cold snaps of -40F and colder for a period of time.) I plan to keep them in a section of a garage (the coop and small pen), with a door to the outside (another pen) for summer. I plan on at least an 8x10 area for the coop, plus feeding area, etc. In the winter, they'd have to be inside through the really cold part of winter (November - February). And, how do they do with snow? We have snow cover from October through April. Should I consider putting down straw or something for them to scratch in during the winter? I wouldn't think a concrete floor would be attractive for a chicken.

3. We do have foxes - Arctic variety. We have a lot of predatory birds, from eagles to goshawks. I know I will have to cover the outside pen to keep them safe from birds of prey, and I understand the fence has to keep out fox and dogs, but we have other predators too. For instance, a wolf problem last winter (killing dogs), and 2 species of bears - black and grizzly. My grandson's outdoor treasure hunt (birthday party) last year had to be moved inside "on account of bears". Two juvenile grizzlies were in the area, which is also the area I intend to put my homestead. I have been thinking the best fencing I can get is probably chain link. Does anybody know if bears find chickens a good meal? I honestly don't know. Haven't seen anything published locally about bears and chickens.

4. Finally, what about inside winter conditions? I read that a window is a good idea, and that can be designed into the garage plans. But what about light? I read its related to egg production. Should I consider overhead lights? By December 21, we have a total of 4 hours of daylight, including dawn and dusk (and of course 24 hours of daylight by June 21). I would prefer florescent fixtures, but would they need full-spectrum lighting?

Any suggestions, advice, comments, would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Rose

[Trapperswife]

Thought I'd post an update on my up and coming 'chickendog'. Zoey, our chocolate labX, continued to 'help' me with chicken chores and now seems to think of the fully grown chickens as hers. She enjoys hanging out with them in the run, and will join in the excitement when I throw the kitchen scraps to them each day. She is right in there, in the middle of the flock, nosing around for the bits she likes. The chickens accept her as one of their own, and are not the least afraid of her. They even walk right under her belly. It is hilarious to watch or chicken dog in action! She is also an excellent guard dog and warns us of coyotes and bears and keeps them away from the coop.

[mom]

Do you dump out your chickens feed everyday, giving them fresh or just keep topping it off?

path






we have got it down so that there is never any left over although our chicken yard is about 1/4 of an acre and they get all the bugs, grass, weeds they want so we don't have to feed them as much.

[mom]

To get rid of prediters make friends with sportsmen. *I love to spend time w/old timers and retired guys at the sporting goods store in town. *They do stuff like shoot ground hogs and some get into coyote shooting ect. *Takes care of that stuff and with all the cops who come here to hunt the traffic is slower on my road.

Any how, you talk about chickeen clean up... Grandpa had a chickeen coop built around the grain bin in the barn. As stuff leaked out of the bin, they just cleaned it up. *I Also planted some squash that was on sale, didn't need it.. I've been feeding that to the chics as well.

Next year I'll plant tons of it
My neighbor had a watermellon patch - every time the chickens and ducks saw him in the patch they ran to the fence and pitched a fit waiting for him to throw them a watermelon - they loved it and I swear it made them lay better.

[walls0stone]

My neighbor had a watermellon patch - every time the chickens and ducks saw him in the patch they ran to the fence and pitched a fit waiting for him to throw them a watermelon - they loved it and I swear it made them lay better.

Just back from the hen house, I tossed them the trimmings from some garden work I did yesterday. They have not touched the scratch grain I gave them. I took all my pumpkins into the hay mow where the hen house is also...Father told me that they used to do this for hen feed back in his youth. if I keep them from getting to frosted or damp, they will keep long enough to break and feed to my birds this winter.