Raising Chickens: Baby Chicks to ½ Grown

[dlgoff]

bolding mine...

My friend got chickens last year. Now she has none. She caught one of the chickens pecking at one of the other chickens one day.

Watch the http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234538,00.html"...

and keep a shotgun ready.

I won't have to worry about any zombie chickens or about ...

...farmers suffocate them in sealed boxes filled with carbon dioxide, a practice that has drawn the ire of animal rights groups.

If they survive long enough to stop laying eggs (which doesn't stop all at once; may be less productive for the big guys though) all I have to do is let them out. They would be food for some animal around here. I'd just be feeding the poor little bas...ds. Can I say that here?

 

[dlgoff]

I've learned that Roger learns fast. Yesterday she laid her first egg, albeit it was really small. The thing is, she laid it on the coop floor instead of the nesting boxes that are about three feet off the floor. The boxes have fresh straw and I couldn't understand what the problem was. Turns out she hadn't learned to jump up there. So yesterday evening I turned on a small 15watt light and aimed it at the nesting boxes then picked her up and set her up there. She instantly looked them all over and settled in on one. Well this morning, she's in "her" box trying to lay another egg. Now I'll have to teach the other one how to get up there.

Okay I'm on my way to pickup a sack of egg-mix feed, now that she is laying. This should increase the egg size and quantity.

Good girl Roger.

 

[Evo]

I've learned that Roger learns fast. Yesterday she laid her first egg, albeit it was really small. The thing is, she laid it on the coop floor instead of the nesting boxes that are about three feet off the floor. The boxes have fresh straw and I couldn't understand what the problem was. Turns out she hadn't learned to jump up there. So yesterday evening I turned on a small 15watt light and aimed it at the nesting boxes then picked her up and set her up there. She instantly looked them all over and settled in on one. Well this morning, she's in "her" box trying to lay another egg. Now I'll have to teach the other one how to get up there.

Okay I'm on my way to pickup a sack of egg-mix feed, now that she is laying. This should increase the egg size and quantity.

Good girl Roger.

Roger Rawks! Already laying! An overacheiver. <sniff>

 

[OmCheeto]

Was reading about the situation in Libya, when at the end of an article I ran across:

June, who was described on a sign in their cage as "the bravest of chicken that ever lived."

The article implied that this remarkable chicken was at the Iowa State Fair.

I thought about Roger, and how it might be nice to have a ninja-chicken body guard around, but alas, I can find no more information about June.

 

[rhody]

Don,

Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDPF2bQAwBc&feature=relmfu", have you seen anything like it before ?

Rhody...

 

[DoggerDan]

Those are some mighty hungry kittens.

 

[dlgoff]

Don,

Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDPF2bQAwBc&feature=relmfu", have you seen anything like it before ?

Rhody...

OMG. I'm going to have to learn to milk Roger.

 

[Astronuc]

The subject of poultry/fowl/chicken evolution/domestication came up.

FYI - http://urbanext.illinois.edu/eggs/res10-breedhistory.html

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chlinks.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Junglefowl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Junglefowl

 

[dlgoff]

The subject of poultry/fowl/chicken evolution/domestication came up.

FYI - http://urbanext.illinois.edu/eggs/res10-breedhistory.html

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chlinks.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Junglefowl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Junglefowl

Good info. Thanks.

I'm fairly sure that Roger is a Rhode Island Red. Her eggs are nice large brown ones.

I need to get a camera instead of depending on my daughter. A couple of day ago, Roger laid an egg that was so large it had to have hurt laying it. I just measured the circumference around its oval axis.

It's 6 1/8 in. X 7 1/8 inch.

 

[Astronuc]

I thought eggs are layed soft and the shell hardens after being layed.

 

[edward]

lol , i feel so hungry now, cook me some chicken please

This summer I took care of my neighbors five chickens while they went back east for two weeks.

On the second day Mabel, yea the hen is named Mabel, had a prolapsed oviduct. It looked even worse than the one in the picture below.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/2_chicken-prolapse-before.jpg

OK now that you are no longer hungry I will finish the story.

The other hens had been picking at mabel's prolapse before I noticed it and it had become an infected bloody mess. Mabel was sitting on her perch panting and with he behind to the wall and wouldn't move.

I cleaned it up only gagging about twelve times during the process. I isolated Mable from the other hens, as per Internet instructions and cut back on her food. I discovered during the cleaning of Mabel,s behind that chickens don't really want to hold still and cooperate during this procedure.

She still wasn't looking good after a couple of days so I
went down to a local feed store. They first recommended putting Mabel out of her misery.

Not wanting to be the executioner or to allow Mabel to die on my watch I opted for a generic farm animal antibiotic that they had available at the feed store. They instructed me to sprinkle the powdered antibiotic into the water dish until the water turned deep yellow.

Mabel drank the yellow water and then proceeded to have diarrhea for the next 24 hours. At that point I read the fine print on the antibiotic package and noticed it stated: The contents of this package is enough to treat 10,000 pounds of swine.

I couldn't really determine how to convert the dosage from 10,000 pounds of swine to one chicken. Needless to say I did cut way back on the , sprinkle until the water turns yellow instructions.

To wrap this up I can proudly say that Mabel did survive and is a healthy egg layer again.

 

[Evo]

This should be a movie! My emotions were all over the place.

Hurray for Edward! Hero to chickens everwhere!

 

[rhody]

Way to go Edward,

Persistence, innovation, and a promise not to lose poor Mabel on your watch are admirable. I wish I had you for a neighbor.

Rhody...

 

[dlgoff]

OK now that you are no longer hungry I will finish the story.

It appears it was 98774jacksons first and only post before they deleted it.

 

[rhody]

It appears it was 98774jacksons first and only post before they deleted it.

Too late Don, I saw it before they did. Edward has captured it for posterity's sake.

Rhody...

 

[edward]

Too late Don, I saw it before they did. Edward has captured it for posterity's sake.

Rhody...

EDIT

The funny thing is that when I read 98774jackson's post i was inspired to share the story to convince him that perhaps he was not hungry. I saw that it was gone after I posted and was too lazy to go back and edit. Long live Mabel.

 

[Ouabache]

Here's just the ticket to get fresh eggs, prepare the garden soil,
and free-range your hens with some great exercise, all at the same time..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlyV8fA6R_Q
(Hmmmm... there ought to be some way to simulpost this
to the 'How's Your Garden Grow?' thread )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlyV8fA6R_Q"

 

[dlgoff]

Here's just the ticket to get fresh eggs, prepare the garden soil,
and free-range your hens with some great exercise, all at the same time..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlyV8fA6R_Q
(Hmmmm... there ought to be some way to simulpost this
to the 'How's Your Garden Grow?' thread )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlyV8fA6R_Q"

Wow. That is a good idea. Make your chickens work for a living. Thanks for sharing.

 

[dlgoff]

I had an issue with my free DirectTV reciever so reluctantly called their tech team. From the call, they decided it would be best to send a tech and when scheduling, they asked if I had any pets; knowing they were concerned about dog bites. I told them, "Well I have an old cat and a chicken".

The tech did a great job; giving me a new receiver and relocating the dish to receive for a higher dB signal. But best of all, on my copy of the report, they actually put down that there was a chicken at my location as info for the tech. I guess Roger is now consider an dangerous chicken.

 

[Evo]

I had an issue with my free DirectTV reciever so reluctantly called their tech team. From the call, they decided it would be best to send a tech and when scheduling, they asked if I had any pets; knowing they were concerned about dog bites. I told them, "Well I have an old cat and a chicken".

The tech did a great job; giving me a new receiver and relocating the dish to receive for a higher dB signal. But best of all, on my copy of the report, they actually put down that there was a chicken at my location as info for the tech. I guess Roger is now consider an dangerous chicken.

Ahahaha, FEAR Roger! Chicken Overlord!

 

[Borek]

El pollo diablo.

 

[Evo]

El pollo diablo.

 

[Borek]

For the record: http://www.miwiki.net/El_Pollo_Diablo

 

[dlgoff]

For the record: http://www.miwiki.net/El_Pollo_Diablo

 

[dlgoff]

Good Roger.

 

[Evo]

Oh, she's a beauty! ROGER!

Thanks for the pics DL.

 

[dlgoff]

I've been so busy building/repairing fence, building a tomato trellis, and getting the garden ready for a early spring, I'm just now giving an update.

Roger has three red pullet friends. Last Sunday I bought six (even Evo and I together couldn't consume that many eggs) but the neighbor man was willing to buy three.

Roger was a little jealous for the first couple of days when I would go into the chicks chicken-wire, walk-in side of the coup. She would pace in front of the wire door until I came out. After I picked her up and showed affection, she was okay though.

 

[Evo]

I've been so busy building/repairing fence, building a tomato trellis, and getting the garden ready for a early spring, I'm just now giving an update.

Roger has three red pullet friends. Last Sunday I bought six (even Evo and I together couldn't consume that many eggs) but the neighbor man was willing to buy three.

Roger was a little jealous for the first couple of days when I would go into the chicks chicken-wire, walk-in side of the coup. She would pace in front of the wire door until I came out. After I picked her up and showed affection, she was okay though.

Aww, pictures!

 

[Byrons]

Hi Dlgoff,
Nice chicken threat and great chicks pictures. Do share more pictures with their feed and safety tips to make this threat more useful for those who have started raising chicken.

 

[rhody]

Aww, pictures!

Yeah, what Evo said... cheep cheep cheep...

Rhody...

 

[dlgoff]

Yeah, what Evo said... cheep cheep cheep...

Rhody...

Since my daughter moved, I don't have access to a camera. But I'm in the market for a simple point-and-shoot when I can get some time (and money) to get one.

The chicks are getting all feathered out in dark red.

Would you like some of Rogers eggs?

 

[dlgoff]

Hi Dlgoff,
... and safety tips to make this threat more useful for those who have started raising chicken.

Chick starter feed should contain some antibiotics and when they're around 6 months old give them some higher protein (15%) feed for egg production.

 

[lisab]

Since my daughter moved, I don't have access to a camera. But I'm in the market for a simple point-and-shoot when I can get some time (and money) to get one.

The chicks are getting all feathered out in dark red.

Would you like some of Rogers eggs?

Eating eggs from a Roger...that seems wrong to me.

 

[dlgoff]

Eating eggs from a Roger...that seems wrong to me.

Being loved by a Roger Chicken seems wrong to me.

 

[lisab]

Being loved by a Roger Chicken seems wrong to me.

Aaawwww...is she a sweet hen? Most of the ones I had were kind of stand-off-ish, but once in a while there would be one would was very affectionate. Usually that meant pecking at my shoe but that's how they show love :!).

Chickens are great!