Backyard Chickens
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Backyard Chickens
Sept 2007
Hello,
I am a new chicken owner and am puzzled by the non-laying of one of my chickens.
She began laying in April, then brooded in June. We put the ceramic eggs under
her,
and counted the 21 days until she would stop brooding. While she is acting a lot
more
normal, and eating and all, she had not returned to laying. I can not seem to
figure out
why. Any ideas? what I might be able to do to help her start laying again?
thanks for any advice!
wanting some eggs!
Hi -- I have to say that I never thought I would be giving out
''chicken advice'' on the BPN! Anyhow, my husband and I have raised
many chickens over the years, and once in a while, came across a
broody hen. We never found a solution, and after asking at a feed
store in Napa, where we lived at the time, we were told that
there is no solution, that like the hens who learn to peck their
eggs, they must be separated from the rest of the hens or they
the others learn to become broody too. We never did separate them
and the other hens did not become broody, but they never did
really lay well again. We'd get an occasional egg, but did not
find a good solution, I'm sorry to say! Would love to hear about
it if you do!Good luck ~
f
Chickens can be frustrating creatures. It can take a while for a
broody chicken to begin laying again. If she's looking healthy,
then there's usually no reason for worry, just patience.
Also, remember that egg laying slows way down in the Fall. The
dwindling light's to blame; hens need a certain amount per day to
keep up production. With thirteen hens, we're only averaging
about two-five eggs per day-some of this is because of varying
ages of the hens; some from ''hidden'' eggs in the yard, but a lot
of it's because of the lack of daylight hours.
Best,
-The Chicken Lady
It does seem unusual that your hen hasn't returned to laying eggs. Some
breeds
tend toward broodiness more than others. Now that it is fall, hens tend
to lay less
eggs because of the shorter days and cooler weather. I would wait till
spring and at
that point hopefully she's back on track.
I tend to discourage my hens from going broody, by lifting them off the
nest several
times a day and not providing them any eggs to sit on. Although, I have
to confess,
once they are broody they will not lay for a couple of months.
Perhaps this is an old wives tale, but I think that hens with larger
redder combs are
better layers. I've had chickens for 7 years. Lots of different breeds.
Feel free to contact me if you like.
Wilma
One of my hens went broody some time ago, and it took about two
months to get over it. I had to physically remove her from the
coop and lock her out on a daily basis, and did not let her
brood. She eventually got over it and is laying again. I don't
know what your setup is, but she may also be laying in a new
secret location (mine once decided to hide in the garage at one
point, which I didn't discover for a couple weeks).
Anon
June 2007
We are interested in keeping 2 or 3 chickens in our backyard.
Who has tried this and what advice can you give us? Where do
you get supplies, chicken feed, the pen/coop etc.? Do the
chickens stink? What do you do if you go out of town? We have
read a lot about the possibilities online, but would love to
hear from anyone with actual experience.
-Chicken about chickens
Try contacting the 4H Club who specialize in teaching youth
about agriculture and keeping farm animals.
There's an Oakland chapter that meets at the Montclair Rec
Center at 6:30PM on the third Monday of each month.
Contact: Marianne Depetris at 510-339-6236 gannon6@aol.com
Or for an Alameda contact:
Contact Email: cealameda@ucdavis.edu
Phone: 510-567-6812
Official Website http://cealameda.ucdavis.edu/Custom%5FProgram/
Good luck! Also, you should check with your local authorities
about what is considered animal abuse so that you can avoid
that. Ie; size of cage.
FYI: I believe in Oakland, roosters are illegal.
lisa
First, check out the web site www.backyardchickens.com. All
kinds of advice for newbies.
Where to go? Try Lucky Dog Pet Shop on San Pablo in Berkeley,
across from Jack-in-the-Box. Their chicks are pretty big now
(pullets - females under 1 y.o.) and they are kept out back -
ask for them. They claim they are all female, and my experience
confirmed that. They have all needed supplies, including
chicken huts, feed, etc.
Good luck!
Fellow newbie of few months - doing good!
So I saw your post and while I do not have chickens I have a
friend who has had chickens for many years and so I asked him
for his input. Here's his response:
As it happens, in THIS WEEK's East Bay Express, there's a
wonderful article on raising the ''Urban Chicken.'' I read it
yesterday and I was struck by the fact that there was absolutely
nothing in the charming article that I could disagree with (an
unusual state in my readings in the popular press.) Check it
out, as it's a very good, realistic, and concise overview of the
project. And, as they say, it's rare to have a family pet that
pays its own rent (in eggs for the family.)
I hope the article will be helpful.
Cluck Cluck
I got 4 chicks last year, raised them into laying hens and lost
my entire backyard. They eat EVERYTHING except mint. On the plus
side, they also will eat any and all left-overs (including meat.
I do not feed them anything w/ poultry in it, but chickens
naturally will eat insects and small rodents/birds if given the
opportunity, so I do give them some meat leftovers once
infrequently). My once lush yard is now a desert waste land.
They've also eaten the snails and other bugs. Of course, you
don't have to let them free-range, you can have a chicken run and
you must have a coop and nesting/laying box. I live in Berkeley
and buy my scratch from either Lucky Dog or Animal Farm. I buy
bedding straw at Rivertown Feed in Petaluma, though I'm sure
there's someplace closer. Lucky Dog usually has straw, but it's
often damp and/or moldy. They are relatively easy to care for
(yes, the yard does smell like a barnyard, flies are an issue at
times, and there's a lot of chicken poop to clean off the cement
and out of the coop). I leave them in the care of a neighbor when
I leave town. They are a lot of fun, a bit of work, and will
destroy your yard. The eggs are delicious and I know they are
healthy. There are plenty of pros AND cons; If you email me I'll
go into more detail about city chickens and my experience.
We've never kept chickens ourselves but our next door neighbor did for
several
months. When we first moved in and we saw the chickens we were quite
apprehensive. However, they turned out to be very sweet creatures and
surprisingly
clean. We even watched / fed the chickens a few times when the
neighbors went
out of town. We became quite attached to them. You will notice that I
speak in the
past tense. That is because one night the chickens were brutally
slaughtered by a
marauding raccoon. Apparently, this was not the first time this
happened to our
neighbors. They had tried solved the problem by installing a coop with
a time
release latch that would unlock early in the morning. The chickens
would put
themselves in the coop in the early evening every night and the owners
would close
the gate behind them. Then in the early morning, the gate would
automatically
unlatch and the chickens could roam freely. The problem on the night of
the
slaughter was that the owners did not get out to the coop early enough
to close the
gate. It still saddens us. Moral of the story - look out for the
raccoons.
anon
I have kept chickens for many years and recommend it. I bought
my chicks from Lucky Dog and I buy my feed from Animal Farm; both
are on San Pablo in Berkeley. The hardest and most expensive
part is getting set up with a coop and run. There are lots of
designs available, all involving a place to roost, nesting boxes,
food and water, and nighttime protection from predators. I built
my own, but there may be prefab coops you can order over the
internet. Once established, its pretty low maintenance and it
doesn't have to smell; a good supply of sawdust, wood shavings,
etc. does wonders for the odor problem, though it tends to be
worse when the ground is wet. Feel free to contact me for
further info. or if you want to come and take a look.
Chris
We've got 4 chickens in our backyard and it's easy-peasy. Lots of
pet stores around here have chicken supplies and some even have
chicks. Typically, the closer in stores are more expensive & the
stores further from Berkeley are cheaper. Last year, Lucky Dog on
San Pablo sold chicks for around $5-6 bucks, while Mike's Feed in
San Leandro had chicks in the $2-3 range, I think.
I got pretty picky about no animal products in my feed, so I've
been going down to Hayward to Close Feed & Supply to buy Purina's
Layena pellets. I don't have to go often and it's not far from my
work so I haven't looked much into the organic feeds I've seen
sold in the stores around here.
We built our coop ourself - it was a fun project with my parents
during one of their visits. There's loads of simple plans online,
nothing fancy is required - but do heed the advice of making it
easy to get in and out of for cleaning, etc.
When we go out of town our neighbors take turns collecting eggs &
checking food & water. They're usually more than happy to get the
fresh eggs, and it's fun for their kids as well.
Our coop smells a little when you stand right next to it, but
mostly that's because we're going with the ''composting'' (aka
lazy) method of bedding. From what I've read it's acceptable to
either change the bedding on a regular basis, or keep adding to
it to get it to build up into a lovely compost for the yard.
And, of course, you should run out and try to find a copy of this
weeks East Bay Express which has a short (but good) article on
just this topic, including local codes (which we unknowingly
broke in building our coop).
I feel like so many folks around here have chickens, wouldn't it
be great if we had a local email group to exchange tips,
thoughts, ideas, even short-term equipment lending (like chick
feeders) and coop tours. If anyone knows of something like this -
post the website/email address!
got chicks
I thought I posted a response to this, but it didn't show up;
perhaps I did a PM instead. Well, I *don't* think it's so easy-
peasy -- I have had 4 free range hens in what once was a
tropical backyard and now is a desert waste-land. I mean I once
had a lawn, where I now have DUST. Tropical plants, where I now
have NOTHING. Chickens eat EVERYTHING: grass, weeds, all bugs
etc. My 4 hens destroyed 50 tulip bulbs, a healthy 4 foot ginger
plant, several other plants including especially impatients...
EVERYTHING except the mint that springs up on it's own. Their
shit is either tolerable or HORRENDOUS, and it smells like a
barnyard (not bad to me... think of your neighbors, though. And
there are flies. Lots of flies. And we clean up. A lot.) Once a
hen goes broody, you're guaranteed an exercise in tolerance...
or you get eggs for her to hatch (I've been dealing with this
for three weeks now). They will come in the house if you have a
cat door, or you keep your backdoor open. They will scratch up
anything/seed or seedlings you set out... They can fly. They can
fly out of the yard over 7 foot fences (so sometimes you have to
find them in the neighborhood, if your neighbors -- or
dogs/cars -- don't find them first).
The upside is: they eat leftovers -- anything you put out,
except for onions and mint, they'll eat. The eggs are Fantastic!
Amazing! Healthy! and not 5 bucks a dozen. The down side: broody
hens stop laying... and other hens may stop when one hen is
broody so you may end up with no eggs for awhile unless you buy
fertile eggs for broody mcbrooderton to set upon.
There are ups and downs, for sure. They can be picky about
scratch; mine will only eat mealy scratch and ignore all scratch
with pellets. Mine want to commune with humans, which means they
try to get in the house whenever they can. A couple of the hens
are pets in a sense; they allow themselves to be pet and picked
up. The other two run away from humans. I have more wisdom to
impart, but please email me for more. Chickens really
aren't ''easy peasy'' and I don't want you to make the same
mistake I did -- I love my hens, but it takes a lot of work and
attention. You become a farmer when you get laying hens, it's
not an easy task.
hen pecked
I don't have any chickens yet! but I am a member of a yahoo group called
chickenchatcoop. Here's the description:
Welcome to the California Wine Country's Chicken Chat Coop! This is a
place for all
the good chicken lovers of the Wine Country to come together and share
stories,
secrets and chickens. Feel free to share about your favorite breed, or
tell us about
the design of your coop, if you free range on a farm or you are a city
dweller with a
few chicks. Need information? Check out the Files, Links and Database
here. All are
welcomed to share in good chicken fun!
Not all members are from wine country. Perhaps you could get some good
advice
here too..
I wish for chickens!
I have been looking at this website...
http://www.backyardchickens.com/
Looks like they have a lot of good info too!
I want chickens!
Before putting those chickens in your back yard, don't forget to
check with your city's local ordinances. It is illegal to keep
chickens in Oakland. Signed, Cluck Envy in Crocker Highlands
julie
Well, I have chickens too - 4 hens and I am loving it. It is not
easy peesy as mentioned but not difficult either and I do have a
wonderful garden. I clip my chickens wings so they can only fly
up 3 feet - no harm to chickens but you have to know how to do it
right so if you don't know how take your chickens to someone who
does know how. As for my garden - they get a small area and I
have a great 3 foot high dog fence (you can get them 4' hight) to
keep them where I want to so that they will not destroy my
garden. As for brooding hens - I heard from an old timer that
you put the brooder in a box with good ventilation and an ice bag
to keep the box very cool - he said it will stop the brooding
within 24 hours - I haven't tried that yet but might next year.
Mine are not laying yet but will be soon. If you want chickens
that come from a farm email Debbie in Vacaville
(rodahughsfam at sbcglobal.net) - I got a Maran, Americauna, Red
laced Wyandotte and a Faverolle all around 6 months. I bought a
rabbit hutch from craigslist and renovated it into a super coop.
Anyone who is up on chickens and wants to talk chicken sometime?
We should start a support group if there is enough interest.
BIG BIRD
One more thought about backyard chickens. I don't know what
city you live in, but you should probably check with your city
re the rules for backyard chickens. I live in Albany, and when
I called to inquire about this, I was told to submit an
application with a $500 fee! In addition to the fee, I had to
produce a scale drawing of the coop, and there were very strict
requirements about how large, how far from lot lines, etc. Good
luck!
anon
Hi again! I'm the ''easy-peasy'' poster, and I actually want to
second what ''hen pecked'' wrote. If you let your chickens free
range they absolutely WILL tear apart your yard and it will not
be so easy. We did this for a few weeks before I decided that I'd
rather have a yard than ''real'' free range chickens. So, we added
on to their coop: they now have a spacious coop and a spacious
''run'' directly attached. Both are built to be rodent & racoon
proof (so far, so good!). Thus, we still have a lovely yard, we
don't have to remember to put the chickens in or out, and we
don't have to worry about the raccoons getting them. We also just
load up the chicken feed & let them eat as much as they want
whenever they want, so there's no daily feedings. (Like I said,
we're lazy). If we ever get nostalgic for the free range days, we
let them out for a few hours. And then we remember why we built
the run.
And even with the broodiness, cracked eggs, and other
miscellaneous issues that come up, I still think they're easy.
good luck!
easy-peasy, but not free range
Jan 2007
Our family has ended up with a beautiful red hen! My 4 yr old
loves the hen. And although, we have a nice backyard, we don't
have a coop. Does anyone have a usuable chicken coop they don't
use or need? Or, does anyone have suggestions for where I could
get an inexpensive one? I have a car and am willing to drive 50
miles outside of Oakland. I was going to build a coop, but I
seem to need one now. The chicken is spending nights perched on
my bike, parked in our garage and laying eggs in corners of the
yard, poor thing!
Thanks!
Lourdes
Chicken coops seem to be hot items. I looked for one for weeks
prior to just building my own (not too difficult but the
lumber, roofing, fencing, etc. ended up being more expensive
than I had thought). Also, you need a quick solution or some
hungry raccoon is going to have a delicious dinner. My
suggestion is to look on Craigslist for an extra large wooden
doghouse - for four chickens you need at least 8 square feet of
floor space so a 2x4 structure would be enough (especially once
you add a perch, and only if they are free range during the
day). Obviously, you would need to add a locking door (a
simple latch won't deter a raccoon), and a perch (1 1/2 inch
dowel). I think 'Sierra' makes one (which you can buy as well -
but I have seen them on CL for close to free) called the 'XL
economy dog house'. There are sometimes actual chicken coops
on craigslist, but they go fast, if they are reasonably
priced. I have directions to build a 4x4 chicken coop from a
Purina chicken care pamphlet (from the feed store) which I
could copy and send to you.
berkomax
Jan 2006
We are thinking about getting backyard chickens, and we're
wondering whether or not we should be concerned about bird flu,
particularly with a young child at home. Any chicken-owners out
there have any thoughts on how much of a concern this is for Bay
Area chickens? And what (if anything) have you done to protect
your hens?
chicken for chickens
We have backyard chickens and aren't concerned at all about the bird
flu. There have been no cases -- either among birds or people -- in the
United States or anywhere close, with Turkey the closest location. Even
if there were cases down the road, our birds don't come into contact
with other chickens, ducks, etc.
For more info, visit
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/bfletter.html
anonymous
There is no avian (bird) flu in the US at this time. The short answer is
that you are safe right now. If avian flu does make it here, any
poultry, especially those outside, may be at risk. The risk for illness
is greater for birds than humans at this point. But as you know, humans
with close contact with birds (ie those with backyard poultry) have been
infected in other countries. The human disease seems to be more fatal in
children. Since one of the theories is that the virus spreads from wild
birds coming from other areas, keeping birds housed indoors (in
henhouses, not your house) may be protective, but not necessarily (the
2004 Canadian outbreak occurred in indoor poultry). You should observe
very good hygiene (keeping anything that contacts birds out of the house
or clean them thoroughly, hand hygiene, food hygiene-- CDC and the
California Department of Health Services have websites with relevant
information on avian flu and hygiene practices). In the event of avian
flu in the US and specially in California, you will need to get rid of
your birds right away. Taking medications to prevent flu is not
advised.
public health doc
April 2003
Re Janet's message: I wonder if I'm the only person
wondering where you found real baby chicks to be delivered in
the mail! I've been very vaguely thinking of starting to keep
chickens - would be interested in information about how to start.
Janice
We ordered our chickens from McMurrayhatchery.com. HOWEVER, the
minimum number of chicks sent is 25--apparently they need that
many in order to stay warm. We currently have 23 (they threw in
a few extra and four died on the way.) No way can we keep that
many. Our plan, when they get slighly larger, is to give all
but six or seven away--at the flea market? If you want some call
me up!
March 2003
Re: where to see real baby chicks
My husband just decided to raise chickens. He built a coop and
ordered a batch--they came in the US Mail if you can believe it.
As of March 26 they were a little over a week old--still very
cute. We live in North Berkeley. If you want to call right
away they will still be chicks and your son is welcome to pet
them--but they are growing rapidly.
Janet
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