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In my experience red chickens usually croak really loudly about mid-day. I've had Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires, and Red Stars and they all shared that characteristic. I don't know why it would only be reds, but they're known for it.
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Nov 20, 2011 00:45
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I just put in an application to a place where one of the duties is to clean their chicken coop, how "bad" is cleaning? Like will I have to wear a mask or something? I'm used to dealing with dog poo, and have only smelled chicken poo in passing, once while driving (which was a sort of sour smell) and once in an actual coop itself (which didn't really smell like anything but chickens and dirt, I guess). Also a buddy of mine has chickens that are supposed to be at the right age to start laying, but they aren't. Is it possibly due to the winter?
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Nov 20, 2011 08:49
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How bad a coop is depends on how many chickens there are! Chickens lay based on the number of daylight hours. They take a break during winter months. If he really wanted to, he could set up a light on a timer in their coop and trick them. I usually just give my hens a break in the winter.
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Nov 20, 2011 15:42
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rangergirl posted:They like dry oatmeal and it's cheap. I actually make my chickens hot oatmeal during the winter once in awhile, they love it. One of my neighbors keeps chickens and I was wondering if they would be interested in the spent grain left over from my home brewing brew days. It is just malted barley hulls left over from the starch being converted to sugar and washed out. From what I can find online it is considered a high protein feed, and is slightly sweet from the residual sugar. Do you think that it would make a decent feed that a chicken keeper would be interested in? I would be carrying over 15 lbs or so, but a bunch of that is water weight.
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Nov 21, 2011 04:27
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I think that chickens would be all about that as a treat. On the subject of treats, watermelon and tomatoes are like crack for my chickens.
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Nov 22, 2011 08:25
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I swap some eggs for spent grain and beer from a friend who brews, and my chickens absolutely love it.
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Nov 22, 2011 16:04
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WrathofKhan posted:I think that chickens would be all about that as a treat.
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Nov 23, 2011 18:10
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Sweet, swapping beer and grain for the mess of eggs I know they must have would be wonderful. They have a "We Still Lay" bumper sticker too.spookygonk posted:Mine would go nuts over cucumber, porridge and grapes. When my parents still had chickens their favorite time was when the garden was starting to peak. The run was within tossing distance from most of the garden so they would get every misshapen tomato, sunburned cucumber, and mushy blueberry. The best was to toss them the big tomato hornworms. You then watch the entire flock go crazy trying to steal them from each other because nobody could get it to themselves long enough to break it into smaller bits to eat. Eventually it would be settled via tug-o'-worm.
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Nov 24, 2011 04:46
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My idiot chicken fell in the pool. Luckily I was there. Can these things drown?
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Nov 28, 2011 00:42
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Maximusi posted:My idiot chicken fell in the pool. Luckily I was there. Can these things drown? Yes, they can.
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Nov 28, 2011 04:10
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Chido posted:Yes, they can. Well of course they can drown by they can also float. Our chickens have fallen into the pool on multiple occasions. Ours tend to float but I suppose your mileage may vary. It's pretty funny, they literally get their feathers ruffled over it.
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Nov 30, 2011 22:47
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kafkasgoldfish posted:Well of course they can drown by they can also float. Our chickens have fallen into the pool on multiple occasions. Ours tend to float but I suppose your mileage may vary. It's pretty funny, they literally get their feathers ruffled over it. I know they can float (we've already tested their swimming skills in the summer when it was really hot and we wanted to help them cool down), but if they fall in a pool from which they can't get out, then they might not float forever 
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Nov 30, 2011 23:20
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Chido posted:I know they can float (we've already tested their swimming skills in the summer when it was really hot and we wanted to help them cool down), but if they fall in a pool from which they can't get out, then they might not float forever I must see this! An indignant floating chicken.
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Nov 30, 2011 23:28
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They float around fine until they realize they're floating, then they freak out and have to be saved. If you have a really really dumb chicken like I tried one time he'll float around happy as a duck for an hour.
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Dec 1, 2011 05:49
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God I fucking love Diablo 3 gold, it even paid for this shitty title
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I lost a chicken when it drowned in this kiddy pool I had out for the dogs (it was a big pool and a little chicken), I didn't think it was deep enough that they couldn't get out if they fell in. So yeah, they can drown.
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Dec 1, 2011 15:23
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Tim the Enchanter posted:They float around fine until they realize they're floating, then they freak out and have to be saved. This sums up chickens so well for just about anything. When I was still at home and my parents had chickens this sort of thing happened all the time (freaking out, not floating). They had a very large run (~3k sqft) that had a bunch of trees in it and between two of the trees there was a 4' wire left over from an ancient fence, all grown into the trees and everything. One day, after years of ignoring it, the entire flock decided it wanted to sit on that wire, right now. One would manage to perch on it for a second or two before either getting knocked down by the next one or simply freaking out and losing balance. We had to cut the wire down because they would not leave it alone. Also there was an old water barrel on its end in the run. The end of it had rusted so it looked like a tree trunk with a hole in the base. Man did the chickens love that thing. Despite having a choice of nice nesting boxes about eight of the hens decided that the barrel was their spot dammit and they were going to lay eggs there and also just hang out from time to time. It was not uncommon to be collecting eggs and come around to see a giant mass of white feathers with four heads looking at you. They were not broody at all and would not care if you moved them. They were just... hanging out in their barrel. Over thanksgiving my mom expressed an interested in getting some hens again. I showed her Roostroyer. She also wondered what he was being fed.
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Dec 2, 2011 05:44
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CaptBubba posted:
Roo eats lay feed pellets, scratch with extra corn 1-2 times a day, some leftover food every other day, and whatever he finds in the backyard, plus grass. He eats the same stuff the other chickens do but oh god, he's so tall and fluffy  .
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Dec 2, 2011 08:56
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I'm thinking about getting some chickens next spring and will build them a nice coop with a big run in the yard. The winters here are fairly cold (northern Ohio), will the chickens need to be locked up in their coop for the winter, or can they go out in the run? I was going to make a 10x12 coop, but if they're going to be locked up all winter, I might make it a little bigger to give them some more room.
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Dec 2, 2011 12:21
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Chido posted:Roo eats lay feed pellets, scratch with extra corn 1-2 times a day, some leftover food every other day, and whatever he finds in the backyard, plus grass. He eats the same stuff the other chickens do but oh god, he's so tall and fluffy So no spent nuclear fuel pellets or anything? Seriously he is gi-gundus.
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Dec 2, 2011 14:59
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LordOfThePants posted:I'm thinking about getting some chickens next spring and will build them a nice coop with a big run in the yard. They can go out in the run, but you'll want to make sure the coop stays dry and draft-free at night. You'll also probably want to look for breeds with smaller combs to help avoid frostbite.
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Dec 3, 2011 12:04
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RabbitMage posted:They can go out in the run, but you'll want to make sure the coop stays dry and draft-free at night. You'll also probably want to look for breeds with smaller combs to help avoid frostbite. Basically you should get a monster cock like mine with some fluffy hens to go with:      
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Dec 3, 2011 19:56
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RhondaPiper fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Sep 7, 2017 |
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Dec 4, 2011 00:21
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How much space do they have for a run? If the chickens seem happy and unstressed, they probably have enough space.
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Dec 4, 2011 08:44
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RhondaPiper fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Sep 7, 2017 |
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Dec 4, 2011 14:12
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Finally got around to taking pic of my big, fluffy roos - Duke & Albert. They are english Blue Orpingtons. Pretty mellow guys. 
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Dec 6, 2011 03:14
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I haven't read the entire thread, sorry, but wanted to let you guys know that building an automatic chicken coop door is EASY. I like to free range my chickens but don't want to get up at dawn and tramp the 600 feet back to my coop at dusk, so I built an automated door. Parts: 1. This motor http://www.asihome.com/ASIshop/product_info.php?products_id=4367 2. This timer: http://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-Appliance-Security-TN111C70-Settings/dp/B00002N5FI/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1323476712&sr=8-9 And then whatever design you want. All you do is hook a string up to the motor and door, plug it into the timer so it runs twice a day, and set the timer for around the time your chickens want to go out in the morning and a little while after they come in at night. Obviously you'll have to change the timer a few times a year, but that's easy. Anyone else out there with an automated door?
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Dec 10, 2011 01:28
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Peas and Rice posted:Plus grab a couple of these and you never have to worry about running out of water provided your tanks are big enough. Best chicken-related investment ever. http://www.avianaquamiser.com/ Socratic Moron fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Dec 10, 2011 |
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Dec 10, 2011 01:42
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HEY Chido! You promised me a chicken megapost in WoW and I don't see no chickens  Roostroyer and the ladies need some publicity shots.
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Dec 10, 2011 07:01
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Tendai posted:HEY Chido! You promised me a chicken megapost in WoW and I don't see no chickens I can't find my camera D:!!!! I've been looking for it everywhere D:
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Dec 10, 2011 07:05
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I suppose that is a worthy excuse. But we still need Roo in a santa hat
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Dec 10, 2011 08:19
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Tendai posted:I suppose that is a worthy excuse. But we still need Roo in a santa hat Hahaha! Also requesting humiliating/awesome shots of Roostroyer and his ladies dressed up for Xmas!  Chido! Ask Santa for a new camera!
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Dec 11, 2011 01:00
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Found my camera! No pictures of xmas chickens, but got a video of Roo running and doing his little mating dance! (please ignore the high pitched voice in the video).  And some pics of the gang! Everybody but Flake, our yougner leghorn pullet. We keep Roo and Dust separated because Spaghetti (the barred rock) is still underweight and hasn't put up enough weight to be able to deal with roo, and Flake is still too small.  Speaking of Flake, here she is!  Roo looking cool with a hat.  Roo's leg next to a quarter. Look at that leg!  His foot on my hand.  His wing. He hasn't replaced all his feathers from the last time I clipped them, but seeing how he can't jump that high, I won't clip them again 
Chido fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Dec 12, 2011 |
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Dec 11, 2011 01:42
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What up!
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Dec 12, 2011 04:38
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Chido posted:Found my camera! Ahahahaaaa! Roostroyer is quite the pimp! quote:His foot on my hand. OMG! His foot!!!! It's nearly as large as your hand...which means he should be about three feet tall by now!! Can you take a photo of Roo standing next to a yard stick? I'm really curious how tall he really is!
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Dec 12, 2011 04:45
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Roo is 20 to 24 inches tall I think. We use a 2x4 welded wire as fence, so I assume the openings are about 2 by 4 inches, and Roo is a bit over 5 openings tall, so that puts him at about 2 feet tall .
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Dec 12, 2011 04:52
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Chido posted:Roo looking cool with a hat.
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Dec 12, 2011 05:55
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hahahahaHAHAHAHAHA I can't even form a coherent response to those I don't think. The hat, and the "I am a sexy boy" mating dance, and...just all of it. You have one magnificent cock, Chido.
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Dec 13, 2011 05:14
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Why build-a-bear when you can dress-a-cock? 
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Dec 16, 2011 22:17
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Chido posted:Best rooster photo EVER! He's so beautiful (and his dress is lovely too). I laughed so hard at this. I was NOT expecting that when I came her to see what Chido posted! Poor Roostroyer looks a bit confused though. I hope you weren't giggling at him too much. He must be an extraordinarily patient chicken, to put up with you silly girls. 
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Dec 16, 2011 22:58
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We're going to be rehoming some more ex-battery hens on the 29th. Normally egg producing hens are kept for 12 months or so then sent off to the slaughter for pet food, even though they are capable of laying eggs for another year. Now thanks to groups like BHWT (in the UK) people can adopt them as pets or as an alternative to buying POL birds. Being confined in small cages with other chickens for months, they don't come out looking well. This was Sandy, the worse looking of the original three, on the day we bought them home:  She'd never seen grass before, nor the sky or a even nice nest to sleep / lay eggs in. With good food, some TLC and three months later she looked a lot better...  ... apart from her tail and bum feathers, obviously, which took much longer to come through. Here she is, after a full second moult 18 months on. Sadly, a week later we found out she had tumours all over her liver and had her put to sleep.  Anyway, there's new legislation coming into force on January 1st for battery hens to be kept in 'enriched cages' (just slightly less poo poo than the old cages) so farms are having a clear out just before the cut off. This is where we come in again, with four hens to rehome this time.
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Dec 17, 2011 00:18
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