chickens!

[Happy Appy's]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#We own 4 chickens. They are great at keeping the flys down around the barn and they eat any grain that the horses loose. My question is how do you convince them to stay inside the barn at night? They are free range and have the run of the property. At night they all go to this stump in a stand of trees and sit on top of the stump, it's 6 feet off the ground. Anyone else have chickens that can help. This is our first year with them.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Eileen]

#ed_op#TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off"#ed_cl##ed_op#P#ed_cl#It's been a long time since I have had chickens but I will try and pick my brain.  #ed_op#/P#ed_cl##ed_op#P#ed_cl#So you have a decent roost for the chicks. ?  like a ladder type of thing or a rung or rail that is hung high off the ground or fllor of the barn.  this will entice the birds to go there.  Also a light turned on before dark in the area of this roost.  The light will coax them as well.  Spread some grain or a little feed under or around the roost area so that they are familiar with tha area and may call that home.  Water as well in that area.  Do all you can to make it homey....hang some pictures of "fog horn leghorn"  ha ha...JK   lol good not resist.  #ed_op#/P#ed_cl##ed_op#P#ed_cl#You may have to sort of herd them to the area that you have picke out for their roost at first, just before sun down so that they get the drift.  Cover the stump if you  have to....It will not take long and a fox or coon will find a little smorgasboard there and that will be the end of you problem.  #ed_op#/P#ed_cl##ed_op#P#ed_cl#Good luck #ed_op#/P#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV id=hotbar_promo#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#/TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#/TABLE#ed_cl#

[Happy Appy's]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#We moved their feed and water to the spot where the roost is. They eat there all day and just before dark and then go outside to the stump. My husband thought they would die in the storm we just had so he came out in the rain and wind to try and catch them and put them in the barn. They stayed there until we left and then escaped back to the stump. I will try covering the stump tonight.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Sodapoppers]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#FONT color=#0060bf#ed_cl#I have chickens too. What I found works is keeping them lockede in the roost for the first couple days, then turning them out and making sure there is a light in the roost. They always come home to that light as soon as it starts getting dark!#ed_op#/FONT#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[tbbrat]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#When I moved mine out to the coop from the horse trailer, I left them in for a few days, then just let them out for a couple of hours before dark.  I've never had a problem since - they're all on their roosts when I go down to feed the goats.  Well, except for the other night, one of the roosters decided he would spend the night sitting on the wall of a goat stall - I just grabbed him and put him into the coop, he was still kind of groggy from the dark.  Now the ducks on the other hand!! have decided that they #ed_op#EM#ed_cl#don't want#ed_op#/EM#ed_cl# to go in their house at night, so that's several minutes of rounding them up, getting half in the house, chasing the other half then finding out the first ones are out again!  I call it duckercise! LOL#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Megan Ball]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I have lots of chickens and I have mine*trained* to come into their coop at night! The trick is to only feed them in their coop! If they are in the roost when it's time to come in, then get a long stick(a broom handle works great) and shoo them off the roost that they are in and herd them with the stick. Use the stick as an extention of your arms. You only have 4 so it should be pretty easy! And as Soda said turn on the lights in the coop before you herd. The first week they will scramble around a bit til they know where to go. I don't have to herd mine anymore they just come in and wait for supper to be served. Also once they are in shut the door behind you -then feed them! It'll probably work better if you have hungry birds. So only feed a little bit for breakfast and the most at night. At least thats what I do. Sometimes when I go out at lunch hour they will follow me around wanting luch so I'l only give them a little bit for lunch or the night time schedule gets screwed up. Also it works better if there are the 2 of you(both with sticks) for the first week. I hope this helps and goodluck!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Happy Appy's]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#What do you do with yours in the winter?#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Horsecetra]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#we have lots of chicken, ducks and turkeys...oh my!!  we let our chickens and ducks go free range after laying their eggs in the morning (not turkeys, they are stupid in a cute way, well maybe naive is more appropriate), we always provide water in thier coop, however we do throw chicken scratch down form, but they get their dinnertime bucket of food in the evening, i know people who do not feed their free range chickens at all and they are quite fine, between the grass and bugs its an all you can eat buffet out there, we now have it to the point they are already waiting there when its feeding time, no chasing after them or anything, they like routine.  In the winter we have a pig barn that has been divided in half, half for shelter for the horses and the other for birds during the winter, pig for summer.  we stock it up with a lot of hay and use heat lamps as well, and it does very well.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Happy Appy's]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Now do I leave the light on all night? Is it a regular light bulb or a heat lamp?#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Horsecetra]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#we leave it on all the time, if its very mild out, we may shut it off, but it would definately go back on for the evening.  You proably only need one.  we use a 250 watt infra red heat bulb in a unit that can safely use this type of bulb, it gets hot and you dont want a fire, so make sure it can use the amount of watts you want safely.  i use a reptile heat lamp, as most can handle up to 250 watts and can handle being left on all the time and only cost about $26, I get the heat bulbs from Canadian Tire and for 250 watts its about $12, and they last a good amount of time.  We use infra red so as not to stress them out by having too much white light and not enough night time, after all I know I wouldnt like to have 24 hrs of daylight!  then in the spring we move them to their summer coop.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Megan Ball]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#For winter time, I use my crap hay(It came with the 100yr old barn the hay is no longer good to eat) and make little hay huts! I put 2 appx 2' apart(against a wall in a "T" form) and then put another 2 on top as the "roof". I also use some loose hay as the floor and they will use these or not depending on your birds. Mine are a winter bird so they are good inthe cold weather. Also I only use the heat lamp(with the red bulb) over top of my water dish. I have watering dishes that have the heater coil on the bottom so the heat lamp is not always nessacary. Also your birds will huddle together for warmth.  The smaller your coop the warmer it will be(esp for only 4 birds!) Good luck! Also remember that if you lose a bird over winter don't get too upset cause I usually lose 1 or 2 over the winter. Good luck.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Eileen]

#ed_op#TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off"#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV id=hotbar_promo#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#/TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#/TABLE#ed_cl##ed_op#BLOCKQUOTE id=5fad4709#ed_cl##ed_op#TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off"#ed_cl#In the winter time....our chickens stayed in the freezer...isn't that why you have chickens???? they only live so long and lay eggs so long...the next step is the freezer...sorry, I thought everyone did that. #ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV id=hotbar_promo#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#/TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#/TABLE#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/BLOCKQUOTE#ed_cl#

[zooka]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#hehe I knew out of anyone Eileen would come out with something like that when all the other chickens sound more like pets!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Eileen]

#ed_op#TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off"#ed_cl#Thanks for your support Z...I knew you would understand where I am coming from...hey nothing wrong with haveing a chicken for a pet, if it works for you....then do it...lol#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV id=hotbar_promo#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#/TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#/TABLE#ed_cl#

[Happy Appy's]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Well one got eaten last night. They have lived here since July and been out  all day and night and no one ever bothered them. Lucky bit the big one last night. The kids were a little upset over it but they moved on.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Horsecetra]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#we eat most of our birds, we keep some layers around and rotate them so that we always have eggs, with the numbe of birds we have at the moment it would not be reasonable to keep them all winter long, we usually keep 6 - 10 all winter long, and we have over 40 birds!!  but thats chickens ducks and turkeys, but we do have one that is a pet, and thats Junior our Peking duck, my son raised him, and that duck has character.  last year we had the freshest possible turkey for thanksgiving, as we did that morning, it melted in your mouth!!  mmmmmmm......cant wait!!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[tbbrat]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Horsecetera, how do you find the turkeys to raise?  I've heard that they can be difficult.  I was talking to an Amish/Mennonite? gentleman on Tuesday and he only had one left out of about 17 - and if they don't know how to raise animals . . . .   I have Muscovy ducks and a couple of geese, either Toulouse or Buff, not sure, as well as the chickens.  The ducks and chickens are 16 weeks old now, so some of them will be going to freezer camp real soon LOL. I really don't need 13 roosters!  I'm hoping the geese will breed in the spring and we can have roast goose for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Mmmmm.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Horsecetra]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#We had been told they can be difficult as well, but we have been pretty lucky, the chicks are very sensitive to any draft, we usually keep them in the house for the first bit in front of a heater, they loved it.  we almost lost a chick from getting too wet, i had to blow dry and toewl dry him to warm him up, and it survived!!  however we did lose one about a month ago for reasons unknown.  buit they are very naive, they really would not know the difference between anything that wanted to do harm or not, they are just so curious.  i was told about someone who had turkeys and they were all killed by a raccoon because the turkeys put their heads thru the fence and the raccoon beheaded them.  this is second year raising them, and plan to do it again next year.  in fact the only thing we had weird was 3 chickens went missing last year without a trace, our rooster and 2 hens.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I had muscovys, i hated them so much, we had a pair, and they killed a lot of our rock meat hens, i watched them do it.  so we got into rouens, and its been going very well, second year raising them as well, our peking duck mated with one of the females and we had some darn cute babies!!  we also have rhode island reds and buff sex link.  i want to get barred for next year, just so that i can tell who the new birds are and thin down the old ones.  I want a a pair of geese so bad!!  but i could never find any close by!!  would also like to try pheasents.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Happy Appy's]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Well I have 4, no make that 3 egg laying chickens but I want to get a green egg laying one yet. My kids don't believe me that there is such a chicken. Anyone know what they are called?#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Eileen]

#ed_op#TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off"#ed_cl#Nope I know the ones that you mean, have seen them and the green eggs, but cant remember what they are called.  maybe the Easter Bunny hens....lol  JK....could not resist that one....lol#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"#ed_cl##ed_op#TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV id=hotbar_promo#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/TD#ed_cl##ed_op#/TR#ed_cl##ed_op#/TBODY#ed_cl##ed_op#/TABLE#ed_cl#