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Fred
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Chickens-worth it?
05/03/05 08:01 AM
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I have been looking forward to getting my first ever chickens this year. Been doing the research both by books and online. Been asking questions both here and other forums. The thing is, those questions have been geared towards coops and in general, setting things up and raising the birds.
I have more recently started browsing other topics on chicken forums, mainly predators and "the dark side" of raising chickens.
Normal predators I can deal with; dogs, cats, coons..., but how prevalent IS the rat problem? I never see any or any sign of rats on my property and don't want to attract any. I know they are in the area because they show up occasionally in the grape harvesters. Do chickens=rats?
Also, how common is the lice and mites problem? Are these parasites a normal everyday part of owning chickens?
I was really looking forward to having fresh eggs and my own home grown meat and am hoping that for every post I read of someone having a problem with these vermin... that there are 100 people that never have a problem.
Can any of you "chicken people" here shed a little more light on this topic for me?
Thank you much for replying.
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JoeR
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/03/05 08:17 AM
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I have chickens and the only rat I ever had was in the tack room with the feed. I put a poison bait down and that was it. No more rat. Keep the feed in a good metal can that rats can't chew through.
Chickens will get parasites and need to be wormed just like horses or any other outdoor animal. You can get some powder or drip on chemical to handle mites and parasites.
My chickesn free range, and the only thing that drives me crazy is when they get into my front planters and tear up the landscaping. Doesn't happen often, but they can make a mess of a nice mulch bed.
Joe
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Fred
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: JoeR]
05/03/05 09:41 AM
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Thanks for replying, Joe. The stories I've been reading make it seem like the rats move in on you and it becomes a never ending battle to exterminate them.
Do you take care of parasites preventatively or on a as seen basis? If I need to rip apart the coop and dust everything, replace bedding, disinfect... I really would have no place to keep the chickens. Maybe what I've read makes it sound more involved than what it really is.  Do you burn the bedding and litter then?
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JoeR
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/03/05 11:19 AM
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It depends on how you plan to keep your chickens. My chicken coop is on 2x8 skids, so I can drag it around. If the chicken poop starts to build up, I move the coop to a new spot. This eliminates the need for me to have bedding, but my chickens free range during the day. This means the poop does not build up quickly. The floor is hardware cloth (wire mesh) so the droppings fall through to the dirt. I sprinkle Diatomaceous Earth every two weeks to keep the flies and odor down. Then I move the coop every month to month and a half. Another question is how many chickens do you plan to keep. If you have less than 10, then it is no big deal and maintenance is pretty easy.
I do worming every 4 months. You can do it based on their droppings if you know what to look for. Free Range chickens tend to get strange droppings since they eat more than just crumbles.
Joe
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egon
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/03/05 03:57 PM
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Fred:
With the free range laying chickens Beware of the dark yellow yokes. 
Egon
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Fred
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: egon]
05/03/05 04:39 PM
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Huh? I don't follow you, Egon. I thought all non-commercial chicken eggs had a darker yolk.
If you have any input on whether or not parasites and/or rats are as bad a problem as some people make out, I'd be interested in that. Do you have chickens?
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fish_wisperer
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/03/05 05:00 PM
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get you five just to check it out, you can always get rid of them, they are fun, and eat alot of bugs, like grasshoppers, plus those eggs are great.
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egon
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/03/05 07:34 PM
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Ahh Fred - the free range eggs will taste much better. Your taste for factory eggs will never return!
No I don't have chickens but did grow up on a farm and had the priveledge of cleaning the chicken house. 
Egon
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Bird
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: egon]
05/03/05 08:41 PM
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In reply to:
free range eggs will taste much better
To most of us anyway. I've known people who did not like them because of the much stronger flavor and yolks that are more orange than yellow. 
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Fred
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I don't believe 5 is an option, fish. You know, the 25 minimum thing, which won't be too bad as I want layers and meat birds that will reduce the flock by half before winter. Having 5 would be too much like having pets
Yes, I've heard the eggs are unbeatable (you know what I mean ), Egon. That's my main reason for wanting to get into this venture. I just need to weigh great tasting eggs vs. a constant battle with vermin that some people seem to get. From what I've read no amount of coop cleaning will prevent the birds from attracting mites/lice and the food rats.
I don't plan on a moveable coop or tractor, but I was going to have two fenced yards to confine them outside of the coop where they can do a little scratching. Maybe even let them wander a bit, but I have a lot of Redtails around and a couple of my neighbors let their dogs wander, so I don't think that is a good idea unless I'm outside and closeby. If I have to gut and clean the coop and delouse the chickens a few times a year or my customers pull up and see rats under the coop, having them won't be worth it to me. That's what I'm trying to find out.
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rfawkes
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/03/05 09:20 PM
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I have both chickens and guineas. Cleaning out the coop takes about an hour twice a year. No big deal. I have minimal rodent problems, my cat takes care of them. They are fun to watch, and even with 20 they are still pets. The eggs are great, and if you sell some you offset the cost of feed. You will never make money on a small poultry operation, but you can eat better, and it makes a great hobby.
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egon
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: rfawkes]
05/04/05 03:43 AM
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I recall once a week for cleaning out the chicken barn.
Egon
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egon
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Bird]
05/04/05 03:48 AM
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Bird:
Some folks just don't appreciate the finer things of life. I can recall taking just the raw yoke, mixing it with brown sugar, beating it well and then eating.
Egon
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fish_wisperer
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/04/05 11:44 AM
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ive never heard of not being able to buy 5 chickens??? i have always bought whatever i want, even just 1. do you need 25 to maintain an ag excemption or something like that. we just put hay in their coop, on the floor and everything, then when it gets dirty we change it. our biggest problem with preditors is dogs. i just make sure i have a good clean close range shot so they dont suffer. alot of people dump unwanted dogs out hear from time to time.
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ALBALD1
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/04/05 12:28 PM
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i've had chickens for a year & no rats except in horse barn. i used pine shavings as bedding in the coop & have no odor probs. You can get smaller quantities of chickens by going to a local feed store. I started out w/ 6 & then got 10 more this year. you pay a few cents more per bird, but you don't have to order as many. at least thats the way it is at my local feed store.
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Fred
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: ALBALD1]
05/04/05 08:13 PM
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OK, I'll give it a go. I pretty much wanted to anyway. The talk of parasites and drawing rats to my property has obviously made me a bit leary, but it's probably a case by case scenario.
I'm going to the show in Hamburg, NY in a couple weeks so maybe I can pick some up there, but from what I've gathered, anywhere you order them (MacMurray, Ideal) has a 25 minimum order. I would like to have them sexed anyway and I don't know if that's an option buying at a show...
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ALBALD1
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/05/05 11:34 AM
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if you can' get what you want at the show, check ideal poultry online. i think their limit to ship is only 15, but they sometimes stick in a few extra roosters for extra warmth. if you want meat, order straight run. generally runs about 50/50 hens&roosters, but you can eat the roosters in 4-5 months.
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JoeR
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: ALBALD1]
05/05/05 01:16 PM
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Most hatcheries have a 25 minimum. They do this so the peeps stay warm when in transit. It can get cold in the cargo hold of an airplane.
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Pat
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: JoeR]
05/09/05 10:10 PM
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'round here you can buy as few or as many as you want for about $1 each.
 Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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Fred
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Pat]
05/10/05 06:23 AM
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In reply to:
'round here you can buy as few or as many as you want for about $1 each.
Mail order or do you live close to a hatchery?
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Pat
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/10/05 09:57 PM
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Fred, Around here many of the local farm stores of the genre of Orcheln's, Atwoods, Tractor Supply, and the like have chicks, ducklings, guineas, bunnies, etc. in stock. You pays your money and takes your choices.
Private party classified ads in free local papers and even the electric co-op "paper" frequently have ads for various livestock from buffalo to emu's (including rabbits, ducks, geese, chicks, and so forth) Typical price in the pravate party ads is $1/chick.
No shipping involved and you can select for the healthy looking alert and active individuals.
If there are no such opportunities in your area then you are pretty much reliant on "mail order."
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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Fred
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Pat]
05/11/05 06:30 AM
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I did see some at TSC a couple weeks ago. They weren't sexed, just all mixed up in a couple tanks. I've read that when they hatch you usually end up with a 50-50 mix of males-females, but I could see picking out 6 (their min quantity) and getting all cockerals.
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Cactus
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Re: Chickens-worth it?
[re: Fred]
05/25/05 09:58 AM
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Murray McMurray will sell sexed chicks.
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