Country Living at its Best
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Chickens & Eggs
Chickens looking for a place to lay an egg they usually perfer one that is already occupied
Hello
Welcome to my Chicken & Egg Page. On the left hand side of here you
will see other different areas of interest on our homestead. I have been
raising chickens for as long as I can remember but I still do not consider
myself a chicken expert especially since I joined a yahoogroup years ago
called "Pasture Poultry" I swear I learn something new everytday. Down
below you will see basic stuff. Please do NOT go on my word alone research
research research! Do whats best for you chickens.
I have updated this because of the large number of hits I get for this page: July/2008
We raise Pastured
chickens & eggs, or others call it "The chicken mobile" Which
means our Chickens just like our broilers and turkeys are raised out on
the pasture and their coop is constantly moved about the field and the
chickens get new ground about every week for bugs and new plants plus it
keeps the coop clean and keeps them from getting diseases and fertilizes
the field which brings in better grass. This also keeps the predators from
finding them. Our chicken mobile is sort of on skits (kind of like the
sled shaped skids) to help it move better, infact everything is also on
skits The water, the feeder are also on these to help it move
better.
People asked me what is the difference between Pastured raised and Organic & even Free range? Here is my answer:
Organic fed chickens Most likely these birds are given organic feed instead, the feed is chemical free so they say however being certified organic by the government means they can still spray up to a certain point. There are farms out there that feed organic feed and free range/pasture raise their chickens but it is rare. Try to look for the label that says hormone free too caues otherwise your organic eggs come from injected chickens. Organic feed for chickens right now is harder to find and is going to be costly to most farmers so expect to pay a lot to get these eggs. I personally do not think its worth it because chickens are better off eating what God intended them to eat, bugs and young grass.
"Free Range" is a tricky word they try to get you on, There are a lot of free range chickens out there with small farmers infact mother earth news just did a report on it, but if you buy it from a store beware.you may think they are pastured raised but most likely it really means they are no longer in crowded cages but in an open large indoor enclosed coop to free range in that. Sometimes there is a small opening to the outside to a dirt patch that maybe a few chickens can get some fresh air, they still have the same conditions as the manufacturing chickens they are just not in cages anymore and are most likily still injected so they wont get diseases because they are so many in cramp conditions. Your best bet here is to find out the conditions of these so called free range chickens may be.
Pastured raised: means just that they are raised out on pasture the way they are suppose to be with the sun and shade and water and bugs and grass, and yes they eat grass and other plants, and yes they do eat bugs!By eating the grasses this gives them the omega 3 that is found in most grass fed animals so its better for you and which most store bought eggs are missing today. Click Here to find out about Health benefits of grass fed animals As for feed ours are giving vitamin supplements along with local grown corn and alfalfa hay when low on grass. In just a few years are field will be certified as organic which means no sprays have been sparyed on it for a few years. So everything on it is chemical free. Mother earth news came out with a great issue on the egg difference if you can get a passed copy it would be great I think it was Nov but you can also check on their website Mother Earth News Link
Your best bet is to find out where your eggs are coming from, how they are kept and what they feed them to determine what type of egg you want. The Freshness and the conditions under which the laying hens are raised are what affects the quality and determines the health benefit of the egg.
It used to be where you could look at an egg and see the difference with the coloring but now they give chickens a coloring to their food to make the eggs yolk look darker. I would recommend supporting of course local small farmers like myself. Try Local Harvest Click Here to find one in your area.
Our chicks are bought from a local chicken producer they come in the mail. We buy different breeds to off set the different times they may lay and diffferent colors. Chicks after born don't need to eat or drink for at least 3 days. I am thinking its that way cause when a chicken is naturally hatching eggs she will have eggs different ages so they have to have time to hatch before she goes out and looks for food so the chicks born earlier need to wait a bit. We may usually get one or two chicks dead upon arrival cause they got squished or just too weak to survive, the chicken place usually gives us extra just in case this happens.
Each of our chicks are
Picture Daughter inspecting and showing each chick their food and water.
When the chicks are ready to go out we put them in a small movable chicken coop this is the same place we put the broilers and the turkeys. They need protection still since they are so small and we have migrating hawks that would pick them up and fly away with them. When we do move them they are moved at night into the chicken coop. In time we plan to put them under the new rabbit room where they can go underneith and scratch moving the hay and the manure from the rabbits around eliminating the smell more.
Eggs: Eggs are collected
once a day in the winter and cooler months, in the summer they are
collected twice a day especially to prevent my brooder hens from
ruining them. I sell them when I go into city biweekly mainly to coops my
price right now is $3.00 a doz or $4.50 for an 18 pack. Legally here
in Texas I can sell them in used cartons but I have to cover up where it
says the grade A. I have a friend who just brings a large basket and
people will bring their own cartons or box to put them in, recently I
have been putting the names of my customers on the egg cartons and having
them bring it back. I perfer they bring me my egg cartons and not others
because I do not know where the other egg cartons have been. I collect from 40-70 eggs a day and clean them in my egg washer if they are really dirty. I use just plain old water and touch of vinigar. Eggs have a natural coating on them so as long as they stay on it they will stay fresher so if not dirty I dont wash them. I try to get them into the fridge right away but sometimes it dosent happen so they are ok in a cool climate for awhile. After I wash them I have to get them into the fridge or they will ruin the coating is gone. Eggs used to stay in old root cellars in the old days to keep.
Pic: Egg Washer I fill with water and hook to my air machine Pic: Eggs overflowing of different colors
Predators
We lose at least 20 a year to migrating hawks. We are
still in the process of trying to scare them away. Once scared they will
keep away till at least next year. We have lost more to neighbors dogs and
our own then any predators around here, with fencing it helps though and
you should always patrol the fending at least once a month I try to do it
daily. I am looking to do a scarecrow but one that sits on a chair
since we have such high winds out here it would knock any down. I also use
wind sockets and that seems to help. I bought these at Dollar tree
store during the spring and stocked up. I have heard of using old
disk to make them swing and shine to keep away so keep those old AOL disk
handy hahaha.
Dogs that kill chickens: If your dog has
killed a chicken look for a few things. First contact a dog trainer if
possible. I am no dog trainer but here is what we did: Did he eat it or is
just playing with it? If he ate it the dog is lost unless you can get some
real training advice. If he was just playing with it you may have hope yet
for him. If he ate it he now has a taste for them and boy was that yummy!
You may have to find him another good home because he wont stop. I
even caught one in action and scolded him right then and there for it, the
next day he killed another. Try NOT to get a bird dog they will
try to retrieve them for you, its what they do!. We even tried raising it
with them as a pup near the chickens but that didnt work. Once a bird dog
always a bird dog. We have done that with a golden retriever Cataholua
hound and even a Border collie.
Tieing a dead chicken around the neck does not
work! Its an old wise tale and pretty cruel anyways. Gosh
and I bet the stink of a dirty rotten chicken is going to make your yard
smell pretty! The one thing that did work with us was we tied her with the
chickens for about a month. We put her dog house and made sure she had
plenty of water and shade, with daily walks of course. The only
company she had was those chickens by the end of her ordeal with
the chickens she hates them so much she wont go near them anymore and has
never killed another chicken to play with and perfers to be near the house
with us now the way a good family dog should be. This may sound also cruel
to some people that love your dog more then anything in that case I
suggest you take them to get properly trained, keep it in the house and
watch it at all times otherwise get rid of your chickens, even in a
enclosed cage the dog will dig and bite through wire to get after them, my
neighbors dogs try every night to get their chickens. If one accidently
gets out they are dinner.
I have had the question asked what if my neighbors
dogs kill my chickens?: Well if your chickens are going into
their yard you need to either enclose them or put them on the far upset
side of that neighbor. The dog has every right to protect their property.
If the dog is coming to your property, and your on good terms with your
neighbor you need to ask them to control their dog. Don't feel bad for
asking, First its a chicken then what if it attacks your kids next?
Dont feel bad about having to reporting it to the local sheriff but do try
to work it out with them first. We had to shoot a pack of dogs once coming
to our property because they attacked our chained up dogs (we had to chain
them at night because the coyotes would try to lure them to the field)
then they attacked my daughters rabbits knocking them done from cage and
tearing them up. It was like rapid dogs attacking these were neighbors pet
dogs that were not fenced in or fixed, that got with other dogs once in a
pack they go wild. I dread to think what would have happened if my
children were out there. I see these attacks all the time in our local
paper.
I found a dead chicken what killed it? *If the head was was chewed or gone off complety, it could be a few things, A stunk or a coon mostly they like chewing the head, if the head is completly off an owl is the predator. I have come up to an owl doing this once. *If you find nothing but the feathers around or its torn
up like a horror picture most likely a coyotoe, fox, bobcat or dog
got it and are gone now.
*If you find a hole pecked at the bottom of the chicken it
could be two things. Its a bird like animal that did that so its either a
hawk (hawks dont always carry off prey) or it could have been a other
chickens. Yes chickens do eat other chickens especially if they see blood
on one they will gang up on it and peck it, and peck at it till it kills
the poor thing. Best thing for a wound is "Rooster Booster" pick no-more
lotion-1888-628-1382 to find a dealer around you.
*A good way to find out what is attacking your chickens at night is to put flour down around the coop to idenitfy the predator as it comes in most likely it will leave tracks. Chicken
Questions:
I can't keep the chickens from my garden &
home? The best thing to do in this case is put chicken wire and
I mean high around your garden if you read my story below about the
teenage chickens you will understand why. Do not raise your chickens
around your house or they will think its their home and will always come
back to it. Clip the wings is another option, clip only one to uneven
it. Watch out dont clip to short you will hit bone and bleed
them.
Can I add baby chicks to my older chickens? Goodnessno unless you want them to be dinner for them. Yes you heard me right those chickens will eat those baby chicks. Leave them in the brooder then later in another cage/hen house separate till they can either defend themselfs or run away if they can. Even a mother hen won't be able to protect them if they are locked up in a small hen house. Can I clip the chickens wings? This is a treaky one. If you don't know what your doing don't do it especially at a young age its not needed. If you clip to close you will make them bleed. Prevent them from jumping up anything by not letting them be used to the place. I raised chickens in my front yard then later moved them, they were so heart broken leaving their paridise that they tried to fly over my fence each night. In the end I did clip one of their wings on one side to make it lopsided so they wouldnt be straight and it worked for some but not the determined ones they became dinner. Keep them far away from your home is another option when raising them.. I can't keep the chickens from roosting in the
trees? Chickens like high places they feel safe make sure your coop is
secure and nothing is getting them, then take them down each night or
chase them to coop after about 3-5 times they will finally get the hint.
If there is something scaring them they wont go back! They are not that
dumb.
Can I have more then one rooster? If the roosters
are raised with each other they will figure out who is boss eventually and
will try to sneak a chicken in once in awhile but the king will be king.
If you bring in another rooster more then likely he will fight and they
will fight till one of them kills each other. Keep them separated. I think
but don't quote me 8-1 is the ratio.
Can I bring in another hen? Yes you can the other
hens might peck at her at first but eventually she will settle in but best
keep watch if its in a enclosed area and she can't run away from assults
they could kill her.
Can I raise another baby chick with a hen that has
chicks? If they are in the same age most likely you can if there is a
huge age difference this could be dangerious for the chick as well as the
other chicks he might bully over the rest and eat more of the food and the
others might miss out, or she will know the difference in her children and
kill it. Best to put in at night when all is asleep. It also greatly
depends on the hen some were born to be mothers others well.....
Can I add my own eggs to a brooding hen? Yes you
can make sure you don't put it in her nest when she has been laying on
others for long or they might not get hatched she will leave the nest to
go feed the chicks she already has hatched.
What can I use for the nest boxes? What do you use?
We made little boxes you can see a picture of it at the very top. Anything
that is closed in the chickens will like, they like to hide. A used pet
cage works great, An old mail box too.
What can I used in the nest box besides hay? Well hay is really expensive around here so I had tried wood chips but found out if its a small area it smells powerful and I found out I was alergic to cedar chips. In the end I used old dry grass clippings. If you put it green the chickens will eat it, if its dried they will leave it alone. My chickens have stopped laying? It could be a few
things that I know of, chickens wont start laying till a certain age they
will start out with tiny little eggs at first, chickens dont lay year
around they usually take a break that could be another reason, they are
too old now and laying is slowing down could be another. This year I
recently learned that they needed some greens in their feed our grass was
gone cause of draught and I was feeding them the corn and mix food I
usually give them but they were laying 5 eggs a day from 120 chickens! So
finally I gave them some alfalfa hay and Whoa that did it they were
missing certain vitamins I guess that comes from greens cause the next day
they gave me 20 eggs then 30 etc...Check the feed!
Why won't my chickens lay? Chickens will lay mostly every other day. Usually in the winter they will try to use most of their energy to try to stay warm instead of developing an egg so egg production will either stop or just slow down. You can do a few things or wait till it gets warmers. Keep chickens warm, maybe provide them with a light, give them warm water especially if your in a snow state/country/give them some alfalfa for some reason when my chickens get a flake of it they start to lay. If you don't have a rooster get one sometimes they inspire the hens to lay more -really no kidding- my neighbor had old hens theyd didnt lay at all then I gavce her a rooster and they started to lay. Can I feed my chickens scrapes from the house? Well you know the old saying "You are what you eat" Chickens will eat just about anything but do you really want them to eat the left over enchiladas you had that night? yuk. I usually give my chickens scrapes from carrots I just peeled or anything from the vegetable garden is a good choice. My eggs are coming out really soft with no hard shell forming? If you wait a few mintues the egg shell will harden. The egg is soft at first the chicken will be able to pass it easy. However if its still soft it might be that they are sick or its their diet. Try oyster shells, the chickens love it and its so good for them. The chickens could be just getting old too. Designs for eggwashers, scalders, chicken pluckers. You can do a search for these things but it will be hard. I recommend paying a bit and either borrowing a book from a library on chickens I will try to find the books I have on it and list it later. I would recommend for a few dollars to buy the design plans at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/whizbangchickenpluckers/ Frugal Ideas for Chickens:
Buying them as chicks can be a cheap way to get them, a
even cheaper way would be to get some fertile eggs and place them in a
incubator or chicken that is wanting to brood, let her do all the work
including feeding them for you if you have a place for her to roam.
Keep updated with the http://www.freecycle.org or craigs
list. I have in the past offered roosters for anyone that would come pick
them up and a few renagade chickens I didnt want. I am sure others do the
same.
Keep the coop clean or move them about the, "Chicken
mobile" this prevents them from getting diseases as well as getting other
nasty critters on them from staying on one place too long.
Build your own coop out of free lumber from Freecycle.org
or stuff laying about your place. There are tons of websites out there on
designs. For the warmer climate try using free pallets with chicken wire.
Becareful where they come from some may have been treated really
heavily.
Do a google or yahoo under "Chicken House Designs"
Sell your eggs-Make sure to check out the rules in your
state for doing this.
Eat your chickens especially the older ones they make good
soup, if you hate to pluck them find a chicken operation like ours that
might go in half and half with you during their process time.
How to profit with your chickens:
Sell your eggs-Make sure to check out the rules in your
state for doing this. Sell the eggs for hatching sell to restaurants and
places where they have coops. A farmers market is a good bet too. A friend
of mine puts all her eggs in a large container and then takes them to a
place to sell them she makes the people bring their own carton or carrying
case. This saves on cartons, but hopefully they are careful with the eggs.
You might want to put up a sign. "Careful with eggs" Sell baby chicks especially during Easter offer to take
the chick back after it gets big, this way they are rid of a crowing
rooster in the city and you profit from it by not having to feed it
through its chick stage plus now you have a free chicken.
Sell Specialize breeds of chickens
Raise baby chicks up to pullet size. This way the people know they are young chicks. Sell the meat -.Check the rules in your state.
Sell chicken coop designs if yours is easy and looks
great. I see this guy do it on the craigs listing all the time.
Sell chicken manure to nurserys
Find a creative way to use the chicken feathers.
Basic Chick Care: Just a few things to remember Keep them warm out of drafts in a brooder box or at least
a box if you have a small amount
A heat source usually from a heat lamp. themometer to
regulate heat Start 99'-100 then lower it to 90's as they grow older and
lower then so on. Most the times if in a brooder box they will leave the
lamp if too hot, keep watch over this cause they can overheat.
Waterer
Feed
Bedding
Chick Starter feed usually bought at most feed stores,
they also sometimes will have water supplement to use
Check each chick as they come in to make sure nothing is
broken
Make sure they do not develope poop build up in their rear
it will harden and they can die. Remove with warm water and a cloth
Storys:
For Storys on my chickens check out my Diary
Links
Teenage chicks: http://ranchermom.diaryland.com/021219_9.html
Chicken roundup: http://ranchermom.diaryland.com/chickenroun.html
Links:
4-H Virtual Farm-Learn about the egg and chicken great for
homeschool stuff Has incubation and natural incubation facts http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/virtualfarm/poultry/poultry_incubation.html Real Pastured Poultry Egroups message boards
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RealPasturedPoultry/ Ideal Poultry
http://www.ideal-poultry.com/ Standard Breeds look at
Bantams Breeds
Chicken Breeds Robo coop -Has designs and other info American Pastured Poultry Association Pastured Poultry-One of my favorites Chicken processing-http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/resource-room/meats/homeprocessingpoultry/ Another Chicken processing pdf file-http://gallus.tamu.edu/Extension%20publications/b-1383.pdf Chicken Coop Designs Rosecomb Stay Coops-http://www.rosecomb.com/random/coops/coops1.html UK designs like the automatic door opener-http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/ Back Yard Chickens
Small coops for the garden- http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/houses.htm Range Poultry Housing-http://www.plamondon.com/chicken-coops.html#Pens Links of chicken houses from the University of Minnesota-http://www.ansci.umn.edu/poultry/resources/housing_small-scale.htm Large Dome-http://www.utm.edu/departments/cece/idea/mopens.shtml Mother Earth Designs& Articles on coops-http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs/links-coops-cages
Pictures Below: Feeder Below: is also on skits and can be moved around with coop.
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 Last updated
May/22/06 |
Clip Art by Lisa Photos done by moi!
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inspected upon arrival then they are shown water and feed and set
on their way which most times they go towards the warmth of the lamps. We
know when to take them out when they start to jump up out of the brooder.
Below is picture of brooder enclosed in a closed in wood box so they wont
get overheated
Our moveable water system that can be moved its on
skits. Holds water for my 120 chickens 3 days in hot temperatures then I
need to refill, A week in winter, water stays cool, tank will be hot
but not the water. 