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O.T. Chickens

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Pajamafied John

05-24-2005 07:06:06




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The wife and kids wanted some chickens...so they got 'em. Question is, are they smart enough to get out of the rain and go in the coup by themselves or do they need to be hearded in and locked down 'til good weather ? Don't know much about chickens 'cept they need a dry airy coup and good warm temps. I also heard that the last thing you want to do is get them wet. They sure do love to eat bugs though!

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DRL

05-24-2005 19:08:29




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 07:06:06  
Wife's out right now waiting for the possum that killed all but four of her chickens. Gonna feed him some lead. We got lax in shutting the coop at night, and this is the result. Last night he got the rooster that refused to roost in the coop with the others. When they get old enough to keep warm on their own, they will come in out of the weather and pretty much take care of themselves, but you still need to shut them up at night. They are very vulnerable when roosting.

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KIP in MX

05-24-2005 18:08:13




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 07:06:06  
Clean out all the loose/stray dogs in the area or keep the chickens cooped up ALL the time.



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Dave H (MI)

05-24-2005 08:15:38




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 07:06:06  
John, Around here I am the local chicken expert. I hatch them in the schools. My wife and kids raise them for eggs and amusement. You'll like parking yourself in the shade with a can of scratch on a nice summer day and just watching the chickens. Don't worry about adult chickens getting wet. They will if they want to, they won't if they don't want to. Everything kills chickens so it helps to have no running dogs in the neighborhood, places where they can hide and shelter from sun and rain if they need it. The number one rule with chickens is to have a strong building that you lock them up in at night and to do it religiously. Don't just put them behind wire that a coon can tear thru because eventually, he will.

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dbwillia

05-24-2005 08:13:12




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 07:06:06  
Don't drop your gum in the chicken yard. It is almost impossible to find.



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Rauville

05-24-2005 08:07:17




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 07:06:06  
Chickens seem to have an amazing sense of self-preservation. They will pretty well take care of themselves as far as getting out of the weather.
I shut the coop at night after they go in, to keep the varmints out, otherwise our chickens have the run of the farmyard during the day. I have never seen them get close to the highway, so they know their boundaries.
The one thing that will happen is that you will become known as a haven for wayward chickens. Last Sunday, a family came out from town with a box of "Easter Chicks" that had overgrown their welcome. The father said that they had set them out in the yard in town..."But, they didn't fly away, so we don't know what we are going to do with them."☺☺☺

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Pajamafied John

05-24-2005 08:16:47




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Rauville, 05-24-2005 08:07:17  
Weekend before last the whole family was working on chicken run prep. They were cleaning out the old hunting dog kennel, stringing chicken wire along the fence etc. Even the 3 year old had her work gloves on. It was a good day. The kids love the chickens.



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Mike (WA)

05-24-2005 08:21:30




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 08:16:47  
We had chickens about 20 years ago, and I had an idea that never came to fruition. I was going to site the chicken coop next to the garden area, and have two different runs- each the size of our garden. Let the chickens use one, have the garden in the other. Next year, switch sides. Easy to throw the excess stuff over the fence for the chickens; fenced garden to keep out the varmints; and best of all, "auto-fertilization" of the soil. Before I got it worked out, we moved, and haven't had chickens since. Maybe a retirement project. . .

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Weirsdale George

05-24-2005 11:29:19




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Mike (WA), 05-24-2005 08:21:30  
Many years ago my father had around 1,500 chickens. The coops sat on log rollers and every so often, he would take the tractor, a chain and some spare logs and move the coops. He made a little extra money by letting city folk come out and shovel up the droppings for their gardens, sorta like you do with U-Pick Strawberrys!



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Pajamafied John

05-24-2005 08:45:01




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Mike (WA), 05-24-2005 08:21:30  
I've read where people do much the same thing with portable coops and runs. They let the chickens fertilize a section for a while then relocate the coop. My wife has a compost pile started and has plans for the droppings. I like your idea though. Much easier.



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Pajamafied John

05-24-2005 08:16:14




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Rauville, 05-24-2005 08:07:17  
Weekend before last the whole family was working on chicken run prep. They were cleaning out the old hunting dog kennel, stringing chicken wire along the fence etc. Even the 3 year old had her work gloves on. It was a good day. The kids love the chickens.



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thurlow

05-24-2005 07:42:14




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 07:06:06  
Something you need to learn if you're gonna have chickens..... ....Do you know what that white stuff is on the top of a pile of chicken sh*t????? ??



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farmermatt

05-24-2005 10:15:27




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to thurlow, 05-24-2005 07:42:14  
Its still chicken sh*t!!!



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Mike M

05-24-2005 07:33:41




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 07:06:06  
Chickens should be fine. I think it is turkeys that you have to worry about ? Something about looking up at or trying to catch rain drops they drown ?



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Keith-OR

05-24-2005 17:11:47




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Mike M, 05-24-2005 07:33:41  
Mike, ol' wives tale. I grew up with large turkey farms all around us. Never seen a turkey drown when it was raining....Keith



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RustyFarmall

05-24-2005 07:18:38




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 07:06:06  
Been quite awhile since I raised any chickens but I do remember them being smart enough to come in out of the rain. Usually.



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buickanddeere

05-24-2005 07:10:01




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 07:06:06  
I've found chickens to be much like people in their behavior and sometimes smarter. What size/age/breed?



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Pajamafied John

05-24-2005 08:10:16




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to buickanddeere, 05-24-2005 07:10:01  
We got 4 Barred Rock and 2 Rhode Island Red. Right now they are about 5 weeks old. We got them at the Farmers co-op a little older so they wouldn't be too temp sensitive.



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Rockin' Farmer

05-26-2005 07:50:40




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 08:10:16  
Pajamafied John,

The Barred Rocks are great. Good layers, and usually pretty friendly. We've got one that will jump up on my shoulder like a pirates parrot! Keep an eye on the RIR. We've had a few that got pretty agressive. They're in the freezer now!

Have fun,

Rockin' Farmer



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buickanddeere

05-24-2005 08:28:54




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 Re: O.T. Chickens in reply to Pajamafied John, 05-24-2005 08:10:16  
They are young and not wise to the ways of the world. Any easy meal for predators from land or air. I have three huge barred rock hens running loose and a tiny Banty rooster. It's an example of being hen pecked. The post hole digger I have will not auger into Bruce County clay so the fence is delayed. They are quiet enough to usually be able to walk up to one and pick it up. They will on occassion try to remove one of your fingers while reaching for them. Trick is to find where they put the eggs today? If they would just grow thier feathers back in between the wings where they been picked out. The feathers on the back of the head, the previous rooster removed have grown back in. I've checked for lice but no sign? I doubt the little Banty is the culprit now? I bought Bronze and White turkey chicks three weeks ago from Rochester Hatchery. They are outside in a steel post supported fenced pen. They like warm shelter at night in the coup with the heat lamp. When sorting the chickens and turkeys from the shipping box into thier own pen. Much to my shock two minutes later after putting the chickens in thier pen. Every turkey was up eating and drinking on his/her own. Two nights ago a head count found 2/3 missing !!!. About the time panic was setting in, the little tourists showed up to the sound of my voice from the creek/stream. I lifted the fence and they walked right in. They seem to think I'm thier Mom or something. Found a place where the plastic snow fence had split. Two minutes after repairs were done the tourists were over at that far corner looking for thier way out again.

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