Lets talk chickens.

[Orfy]

Mine took MUCH longer than expected. I was hoping for a start at around 20 weeks. It probably turned out to be more like 40!

They started with really thick shell but are starting to get thinner. I do feed oyster shell but I'll have to make it available all the time for them. There's no problem but I don't want it getting to that stage.

I lock mine up at night and open up when I get up. Foxes are a big problem around here but being in an urban environment I think they may not know mine are here. They are full fenced in the small garden.

 

[Damonic]

I totally forgot about this thread! The wife got chicks about 8 weeks ago. We have 3 light brahmas, three buff orphingtons, a royal palm turkey, and a bronze turkey. I just converted 1/3 of the goat shed into a coop and they're all doing well. Not old enough to lay yet but we can't wait!

 

[Orfy]

How's it going?

I'v just built a run.

By orfy, shot with K800i at 2009-05-26

 

[EdWort]

Our chickens are growing.

Here's their first venture out of the hen house. They had to be cooped up for 3 days when we brought them home so they now now that is the safe haven.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuZrq5F1fn8]YouTube - Chickens New Home[/ame]

 

[riderkb]

We keep 8 to 10 hens and two roosters in a bottomless house on wheels. I don't want to spend any time cleaning out the henhouse, so I just move it around to distribute the manure.

We use a electromesh fence and solar powered charger to keep out the predators, but we always loose some to hawks. The charger broke this spring and I had two 'posum attacks. I had to take care of the first one without a .22, which wasn't fun. (Picture an out of shape white man wearing an LED headlamp. He is wearing nothing but undershorts and rubber boots while beating a 'posum to death with a shovel.)

 

[springer]

We never had chickens but we did have a few white ducks... Now we have wild turkeys in the yard every evening. Sooo tempted to get the bird gun out around Thanksgiving. Sit in my recliner with a beer and bag a few.

 

[Loweface]

Hey Ed, I'm looking at the video and thinking you're cat looks hungry for chicken...

 

[EdWort]

Hey Ed, I'm looking at the video and thinking you're cat looks hungry for chicken...

Yeah, I thought that was pretty funny. The barn cat hangs around the chicken coop now.

We have them pretty secure from predators as their run is fully enclosed on all sides and at ground level we have hardware cloth to prevent the paws of racoons, possums, & foxes from grabbing one. We also have a corner with boards on the outside creating a safe zone.

 

[EdWort]

Whoo Hoo, got the first egg today.

One of the four chickens was 3 weeks older, the Brown Leghorn, and it is the only one that lays white eggs. The younger chickens lay brown eggs.

 

[jgln]

Cool, we are still waiting. Got ours in the spring as chicks and they are huge now.

 

[Orfy]

Well done.

Did you eat it?