Raising Chickens for Dummies

[Scooby074]

Anybody have any info on raising chickens?

My daughter brought 3 home from school to raise. They are about 2 weeks old now. I dont know that much about them. Dad raised them as a kid and my GF had them as a kid too.. but they seem to differ in their opinion of what is required.

Im feeding them chick feed. They got a water bottle. Wood chips for bedding. I have them in a 2x3 cardboard box inside right now.

How long till I move them off chick feed?

How long till they can go outside (ill build them a coop). We're averaging about 20*C in the daytime here.

What about a heat lamp?

Anything else I should know?

 

[johnnyvol]

Way more info here than you could ever need.

 

[Scooby074]

Way more info here than you could ever need.

Wow... yup. lots there, thanks

 

[jeffinsgf]

6 to 8 weeks is about all you can expect the cardboard box to last. After that, you'll need a coop. Also about that point in time, you'll want to switch from chick starter to grower ration. They'll start laying somewhere around 20 weeks -- give or take. No rooster needed for eggs. I'm assuming you have hens, which is a 50-50 proposition at best. Watch their comb and wattles. Roosters' will develop faster, larger and deeper red. You can usually tell by 8 or 10 weeks. When they start laying, switch to layer ration (calcium supplement for stronger shells and a little less protein than grower).

There's a lot to learn at BYC (johnny's link), but there's a lot to wade through, too. Check out the coop designs...there's everything from outrageously fancy to basic to built from pallet scraps.

Got chickens last spring. I've had some attrition and some replacements, but it's been a lot of fun. Love the fresh eggs and love watching them in the yard. Best of all, I have far fewer bugs in my garden this year, and I bought half the fertilizer I normally do.

 

[JazzDad]

I'm waiting for the day the last of mine die of old age. They produced a lot of eggs, but now the last 2 are living out their retirement.

 

[gwdixon]

When we had chickens we also bought a 50 lb. bag of calcium (oyster shells) and a 50 lb. bag of sand for their gizzards. Laying mix is supposed to have it included but I figured the chickens could determine on their own what they needed. Those bags lasted about 5 years and were cheap.

Ours were free range, which I don't advise if you have ANYTHING on the farm that doesn't look good with chicken poop all over it. Tractors in a barn are prime roosting areas.

Free range will also cause them to squirrel away eggs to produce chicks (not a problem if no rooster is around). This can be an advantage or not depending on your intentions. No roosters will also cause them to want to roam if your neighbors have roosters.

An actual heat lamp is not required at 3 weeks or so. A 60W bulb should be enough especially if they are indoors. Be careful of the cardboard - I set a refrigerator box that was being used on fire with a heat lamp one year.

 

[Scooby074]

Great info so far guys. I pecked around (get it :laughing BYC and its almost overwhelming!

Do you leave the heat lamp on 24 hrs? One thing I read was <12 hr/day

One of the little chicks was noticeably shivering and chirping continuous until she was picked up and held... worse than a baby My daughter has named her Pancake, because of her small size (shes the smallest of the 3 by far) I guess lol. Once I got the heat light up, she seems to have calmed noticeably and is sleeping now.

Im not sure what I have re: roosters or hens.. I was told they are too young to determine. I kinda want at least one rooster for an alarm clock.. not sure what the neighbours will think? Well we ARE in the country after all!

Im going to go free range I think. I have to figure out some sort of coop and where im going to put it.

This might sound dumb, but can a full grown chicken defend itself against a cat? Neighbours cat sometimes roams thru my yard. I hate the thing, caught it sitting on the hood of my truck one day.. it may disappear some day because they have no interest in keeping it inside or under control.

Good point on the heat lamp and cardboard. Right now the 150W light is about 30" off the top of the cardboard, that should be safe?. Chicks seem happy, veryy quiet now. Just sort of sleeping with their necks stretched out.. kinda weird lol

 

[davehowell]

Our small place has a eight chicken posse that own the place (free ranging) and follow us around. They came to us after a preschool incubator project hatched them out. If you get a good coop, they will return to it each night. An auto chicken door, opening at dawn closing at dusk, and a self refilling chicken waterer cut down maintenance. I refill their feeder once a week. No smells, or bare soil but the risk of a predator attack.

Oddly, ours never roost outside their coop, and are always on the ground. They are very curious. You leave a door open, they will walk in and check it out. My wife was surprised to find them all in the kitchen.

Chicken poop sweeps off sidewalks if allowed to dry.

No ticks, no snakes, no stinkbugs, fresh eggs, and lots of laughs.

Worth it for us. The problem is roosters, and what to do with older hens that no longer lay eggs. You may need to replace (process, then eat) your flock after a second year, which is really hard when they have become part of the family. We haven't come to that time. Our will probably die of old age, as we get replacements.

Maybe useful

 

[sd455dan]

We let ours free range at times.

Our cats and chickens walk right by each other- never had a problem..

Now my wifes blue chow is an entirely different matter... the roosters will eventually develop a spur on each leg the girls won't- had to pull one out of my arm once- didn't think a rooster could launch itself like that!!:laughing:

 

[Scooby074]

Ticks are one reason I really wanted them. We're almost overflowing here with them, not as bad as some, but worse than it used to be. Then their is Lyme Disease. Were actually in one of the Lyme hotspots in my province.

Dad just got bit by a tick, and is showing the characteristic bullseye markings. Dr. put him on antibiotics as a precaution. So anything that will make my yard safer for my kids is a good thing.

Will chickens roam far from their coop? If I let them out in the morning, will they be waiting for me to let them in in the evening? Like 2 legged cows?