Raising chickens anyone?

[trishannbo]

My DH and I decided to start raising chickens,both for pets and eggs. We started building a chicken tractor type coop that is about 5 ft long and 6 ft. tall, enough for about six chickens. Does anyone have any experience or know-how about raising chickens? Like how to keep them healthy, do they need supplements and vitamins, do they like snacks, do they get diseases or fleas (sorry I have a cat), how to clip their wings so they don't fly away, what is the best kind of chickens to get (we live in the panhandle of Florida). This is all new to us and I have researched till I can't stand to read anymore so I thought asking for hands on experience would be best. Thanks as anything can help!

[sylvia]

I have no idea, but I do wish you the best of luck!

[shannon1717]

I don't know either..my dh wanted some, but we can't have them here...

[trishannbo]

We live in the city and can't have farm animals but we are only getting three and no rooster. My friend has a huge coop and said we can use her rooster at her place when we need to. Anyways, they are going to be our pets too. May get a rabbit to throw them off!

[jezebel]

Ys I do, I have had chickens for 10 years + but last year I got 6 chicken from tractor Supply I didn't know what I had got into,

You get chickens from feed stores or you can order off the internet when I got mine it was still cold out and I had them inside, You need to get medicated chick starter this is so they don'tg et anything (SICK) they will be on that till there feather come in then they go to then they go to layer food.

What kind are you to get I started out with 6 but then 2 died the next day I thought I did something wrong you need something to keep them in I used a plastic container you store things in it was small then I went to a larger one because they were jumping out once they had feathers and it was at least 50 out I put them outside but I had to build a coop and a fenced in area for them to be in. We did in cheaply and it cost $400. to build



It is not finished in this picture but you can get the idea it is 6 ft wide and 8 ft long I thing and then the coop













we had this stuff it was platic wiring?? I had said abiout anything gtting in not long after we put it up I had a dog attack and then we put Hog waire all the way around it so now nothing can get it UNLESS it digs under.



this is Chookster he was a cornish Rock this is a standar cornish and another breed bred this type is for the table nothing more I didn't know that when I got them but I don't think it would matter he was the favorite I had he loved attention and would sit we me for ever and be pet. but one day he had a limp and it got bad I was over the net to see what I could do for him but they said he is not to live pass 8 weeks and is to be killed at 6 to 8 weeks he was 5 months he was not good and they said if he was to get better it would happen again because they are to gain weight so fast their legs can't hold them and their ligaments give for the weight. so we cull him I had a female cornish and she came up linping so we did the same.

I have isa browns aka red coments AKA red stars they lay eggs a lot and over winter I was geting them still they are not to lay during the winter.



this is half and half she is half brown and half white she is a ISA BROWN with her is Lady Hawk she is a Easter egger she lays bluish eggs she was said to be a ameracuana but she is not Easter eggers are sold as Ameracaunas but they are not, I can't tell the difference either on how to tell what you have.



some of her eggs they look green here huh but they are bluish

I dont feed her anything to make her do this. Just to let you know what they look like the link might help you

www.feathersite.com/

this may help with questions

members3.boardhost.com/shilala/index.html?1271381982

www.backyardchickens.com

happyhenhouse.proboards.com/index.cgi?

happy hen house if the link don't work

I think this will help you a lot I ask these people for help when I have a problem.

Rhayden

[dawn]

Thank you Rhayden for those links. Chickens is our next "project". We hope to build a coop next year. :-)

[marianne]

I love having chicken especially with young children. Chickens are pretty easy to keep and will eat all your scraps such as vegetables scraps and non-meat food. The only pest to really worry about are worms, so worm by adding the chemical in their water, and mites that can be treated with normal flea treatments such as dusting under the wings or a bit of liquid type for that weight. If they have a dust bath available mites are much less of a problem. The mites do bite us, but cant live off our blood. You'll notice the iche and bite marks if you pick up a chook with mite.
They are pretty tolerant of houseing, and here is Oz we have our 4 in a cage with a roof. Water is the most important thing here, and i found a dog waterer you can connect to a tank so that they always have water. Bedding etc is up to you, though with reasearch you'll see they prefer a roost etc they can live without it. I dont let mine out as our yard is small and they destroy the vegies, but we do move them sometimes. I am hoping to get a better coop when we re-do the back yard.

[jezebel]

some mites you can see they look to me as little red spiders I picked up a dead black bird that was near a cage I had my 3 in and all these little red bugs came whizzing down on me my hand was covered with them I now know what they were and after putting the bird on the burn pile I washed my hands.

Bedding is pine shavings NOT CEDAR I think the same reason it is for rats the cedar has spers (can't spell it) and this gets into the lungs and it kills the rat in time so it maybe why I am told not to put it with rats I don't do this with any animals.

They also may tell you not to use hay but I have used hay for as long as I have had chickens (7 years many many more) and I never had any problems. the only problem I have is eggs my first 2 hens didn't lay any after I had them and I had them as Pets so their life it didn't matter this time around I just chicks a year ago and they are laying much more then we can eat. I get 4 to 6 eggs ever 2 or 3 days but now that they are older and winter is coming they are slowing down I was told they will stop laying in winter well.........this is not so my hens laid all thought winter it could be the warm winter or it could be they were just getting the egg machine working but this year I think they will not lay as much or not at all I get 4 eggs in 3 days so it is hard to tell.
I give them to neighbors and co workers where my husband works family member and anyone else I can think of to give them to I don't want to sell eggs I rather give them away. MY hens are Isa Browns and they lay brown eggs I have what the guy said is a orlfin not sure what this is I thinks it is a mix very pretty I had one I had to dispatch she had t eggs in her and her bum was not looking right (PROLAPSE) so I had to do the deed I replace her with a bigger hen. I have not yet got a egg out of her she is young yet and still has baby feathers.
Now you may wonder how long a chickens life is well.......they say about 10 years REALLY 10 years I thought that to but I have a rooster he is from the original 3 and he has to be 11 or 12 years old and get this eve at this age he can reproduce no I am not kidding, I use to leave a egg in with them this is to make the hen think she has to lay more eggs to hatch (I don't know why she would think this with one egg) so I left one in thinking my rooster is to old to have a knowledge well he had knowledge not once but twice the first time I thought it was a fluke the second time I saw something peeking under the hens wing. So don't think a old rooster can't he can.
if I can help with anything else let me know I can flood you with many things and the other nice person on here I am sure can help you out to and if I can't help I can get you to a site that can help you out.

Rhayden

[Kayt]

When I was little we raised chickens. I don't have any clue on how to actually raise them, but I do remember walking around with them roosting on my arms lol. I thought they were great (we just had laying hens). Sorry I can't be of help. But when I was a child I had a lot of fun collecting the eggs and giving the chickens attention so I know first hand that they really are great pets.