Raising Chickens!

MysticMorris said:

Nice chickens everyone! I aspire to keep some chickens some day. Used to look after loads in a volunteer job, I was able to hypnotize the cockeral (named FogHorn for good reason) by placing him on his back gently, he would just lie there motionless. Can you do this with any chicken?

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It also works on pheasants. I would put it on it's back, rub its chest a little, and it would go to sleep. I could gently put it on the floor on its back and it would take a while for it to realize I wasn't holding it and wake up.

hehe, I always thought I had some chicken-whisperer skills, aww well. Cant wait till I have a garden and can start off with a few hens, and maybe a few indian runner ducks, love those birds - so cheeky and full of character.

MysticMorris said:

hehe, I always thought I had some chicken-whisperer skills, aww well. Cant wait till I have a garden and can start off with a few hens, and maybe a few indian runner ducks, love those birds - so cheeky and full of character.

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we have a couple of indian runner ducks. those guys are real jokesters.

Here is a pic of four of our new young ones. Three hens, one cock. Not quite big enough to be put in with the general population. Outside during the day, in a large cage in the garage at night. They need to get large enough to be able to fight critters.

UncleBuck said:

we have a couple of indian runner ducks. those guys are real jokesters.

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I had runners. Very nice and good egg layers but they were loud and I had to get ride of that breed. I am not exactly allowed to have farm animals in town, EVEN THOUGH IT IS A FARM TOWN!!!, so I have to stick to quiet or mute breeds of ducks and chickens.

Dirty Harry said:

I had runners. Very nice and good egg layers but they were loud and I had to get ride of that breed. I am not exactly allowed to have farm animals in town, EVEN THOUGH IT IS A FARM TOWN!!!, so I have to stick to quiet or mute breeds of ducks and chickens.

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our runners are nice and quiet, it's those chickens that get loud in the mornings when they lay. they just have to announce it to the whole world.

i would too if i took a poop on par with a chicken laying an egg.

If you live in an area with predators, raccoon, foxes and what not, check out Premier One Poultry Net. Cheap and effective. I have Mt lions, bobcats, coyotes and racoons. Nothing gets threw that fence. Doesnt hurt the chickens unless they touch it with their comb or waddle.
Sidd

Our problem is with rats. Living at the edge of town with corn/soybean field bordering the property, we get field rats in the run and the small barn. They eat the feed and small babies. I have to be careful of poisons because of the ducks/chickens/and our dogs.
Sitting in the little barn with a six pack and a .22 with bird shot is enjoyable. Sometimes I drop firecrackers into the burrows and they come popping out of another

RyanTheRhino said:

just put a hydraulic actuator on a timer so the door will open at a set time

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pneumatic would be more practical don't you think?

BillyBobJoe said:

pneumatic would be more practical don't you think?

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If your talking about automatic coop doors, they make them. They are string or cable operated. Some are timer controlled only, some controlled by the amount of light, and some both.

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/auto_door_controller.html

BillyBobJoe said:

pneumatic would be more practical don't you think?

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where are you going to run an airline to?

Is it just me, or has others gotten new post emails for old posts?

RyanTheRhino said:

where are you going to run an airline to?

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I dont know, I was just joking. I'm just gonna a rope through a pulley for mine

BillyBobJoe said:

I dont know, I was just joking. I'm just gonna a rope through a pulley for mine

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You could screw on a manifold to one of those small air compressors and leave it behind the chicken house, coop whatever.



what about those fancy green houses that open windows when it reaches a certain temperature. I know this probably wont be practical cuz the chickens wouldn't know when its gonna drop the door. I was thinking you could set it so once it warms up it would let the chickens out and if it starts to get cold it will lock them in.

Sounds like it would just be easier and cheaper to get your ass out of bed and open the door. LOL

Got 8 chickens and about dozen eggs a day can't eat as many as they pop out

I finally started working on my coop last night after not doing anything on it in along time. I'm really close to finishing it now. It's been a long time coming. It's just a little project I started last spring Kinda how most of my projects are.

I have 8 nests boxes and thought that twelve hens would be a good number?

The first pic is looking from the back which will be covered with a sheet of plywood.

Second pic shows the structure that was already on the property I'm renting. I think someone had intentions of having chickens but never finished. I put wire up so they can't get out of the run area. I might let them out if I'm home and outside, my neighbor has chickens that he lets roam sometimes and I'm not sure if they would try and flock together, what do you guys think?

Third pic shows the front where I'll access the nest boxes.

All I have left to do now is plumb water, electricity, build a ramp and door for the coop, and mount the roost bars. oh and paint the ugly fucker. I'm thinking barn red or something.

Shit. You guys make me almost miss raising chickens. Almost.

method2mymadness said:

Got 8 chickens and about dozen eggs a day can't eat as many as they pop out

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http://preparednesspro.com/safely-preserving-eggs/

Read it and you will be surprised.

Alright you chicken experts. I know most people probably just water their chickens by hand but I'm kinda lazy and I pretty much have water already plumbed to my run. I tried to find a link to what I'm thinking about using but couldn't find one easily (remember I'm lazy). What it is though is basically a rodent watering nipple, think like a hamster or rabbit water bottle with the nozzle with a little ball in the end, only this one has 1/2 npt and is made to hook up to city water. They are cheap at my local farmers co-op, I think like 3.50. They sell them for rabbits. My other idea was one of those auto-fill water bowls for like calfs that operate with a toilet float type valve. I'm totally open to any suggestions you might have.