Raising Chickens!

BillyBobJoe said:

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.

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"chicken nipples" as they are called are a great way to keep your chicken's water supply crystal clean.

Be careful with them thar chicken nipples. They chafe so easily.

I've seen stuff every bit as unnatural in SoCal on a warm day ... cn

Is it any wonder at all that i prefer the dark meat? cn

cannabineer said:

I've seen stuff every bit as unnatural in SoCal on a warm day ... cn

Is it any wonder at all that i prefer the dark meat? cn

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when you go to the store can you pick me up some chicken breasts lol

Nipple.......oh yes

Dirty Harry said:

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

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Sounds like you need a good barn cat, just train it to stay away from birds.

BillyBobJoe said:

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...

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Get a large metal or rubber water pan from shoppers supply. The large ones about 3 foot round, 1 foot high. Grab one of those plastic (cheaper) or metal cattle water trough float valves. Use some scrap wood to put between the rubber pan and tighten the finger screws to secure on the inside of the pan. Connect a garden hose and let it fill and adjust the height of the valve so it shuts off about two inches below the top. It will auto top up and shut off when needed. You don't even need to hose on full pressure.
I like the rubber pan because when it is time to clean it, wearing rubber boots, step on the side caving it inward so the water spills out. Dump out the rest and while the valve is releasing water you can slosh it clean then leave it set level. It will refill and shut off.

EDIT: You can use a smaller water pan. I used the big one because before I had water ran, I had a large plastic barrel with the float valve connected on the bottom side. I set it in the pan and fill the barrel by hand and it was good for weeks before I had to refill.

Bump.

I have been raising chickens since spring for the first time since I was a kid.

Everything has gone fine up to now. I have 7 hens, all Rhode Island Reds and one or possibly two of them are just pecking the hell out of the other 5.

Any ideas on what to do without culling a bully hen? I know that I can separate them but I have no place to currently do so.

I thought Rooster stopped the hen on hen attack?

If they don't have enough space, they can start picking on each other.

http://articles.extension.org/pages/66088/feather-pecking-and-cannibalism-in-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks

Corso312 said:

I thought Rooster stopped the hen on hen attack?

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I guess it might. Kinda makes sense since I know that they protect their flock. Gonna have to look into this and see what a rooster is running locally.

Dirty Harry said:

If they don't have enough space, they can start picking on each other.

http://articles.extension.org/pages/66088/feather-pecking-and-cannibalism-in-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks

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They should have enough space. They have 256 cu ft in the coop (4x8x8 )plus 5 external laying boxes and 2016 cu ft in the run (12x28x6).

The coop could be a little bit larger but is still above the standard 4 Sq ft per bird.

How many birds have ya lost to predation?

Corso312 said:

How many birds have ya lost to predation?

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None. Yet.

We have coyotes, skunks, possum, and hawks. We also have a great German shepherd and a black lab. Plus 3 chihuahuas (Motion sensors ) lol.

I used chicken wire for the run and have been putting concrete stepping stones around the perimeter as I can afford to.

I know that I am going to be building another, larger and improved coop in the near future. Do you know if a flock would split and use two smaller coops? I know that they are very social creatures.

Gonna have to try the hypnotizing thing lol.

Edit: I will shoot any coyote I see that will come close enough and has a safe background in case I miss.

I don't know anything about chickens, been wanting some for a while though.. Just not sure I can keep em safe @ night.. I hear weasels and mink can dig under the chicken wire or fencing.. I also hear you can add one rooster per 5 hens..so I'd think one rooster would take one coop and half the hens n other Roister do same in the other coop.

The predator issue can be handled in a couple ways. Probably the most common is burying hardware cloth. People also use it for the runs quite often, but damn, that shit is expensive.

Our Shepherd does a great job of keeping the property free from coyotes. He's torn up a couple that I know of. And he's smart enough to not get packed up.

I feed my chicken a mother plant a fortnight, keeps them healthy.

cannabineer said:

I've seen stuff every bit as unnatural in SoCal on a warm day ... cn

Is it any wonder at all that i prefer the dark meat? cn

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Nice nuggets.

I used to raise chickens and it was fun but I've moved on to rabbits. They don't require as much space and give more meat. I do miss the eggs tho. Moving to a much bigger yard in a couple weeks i may build a coop this winter.

I have 6 Barred rocks / Plymouth rocks in a converted tree house 12 feet off the ground that was on my property. Built the split level ramp out of scrap wood from removing my old windows n cupboards. With a little ingenuity you can stretch the dollar big time!

Just got 13 eggs out of the coop an hour ago. Free range all day, and tge mail lady brings tgem cracked corn. They run to her car when they see her.

Best part about chickens is your trash will Never smell again. Chickens will eat every scrap including veggie peels. Saves on their food costs and varies their diet. I slaughtered all of my meat birds this past summer. A dozen XX Cornish. Still have 3 in my freezer. Disgusting big white birds with the biggest Shits of any bird I've ever seen. I'll never get those XX CORNISH again! They were nasty!!

A lot of people around me have Rhode island reds. New Hampshire reds. And black sex links. No better way to reduce nuisance bugs on your property! Just make sure u fence in your garden!