This maybe a mistake but I made a deal with an Amish guy up the road a bit and bought 10 ISA-Brown hens from him. The big chicken guys around here sell off their hens when they reach a year old because they say they stop producing as many eggs and they don't want to feed them all Winter. This means I can pick up some laying hens without having to worry about raising chicks myself, seeing if they are hens or roosters and all that jazz.
What's funny is I have three black sex-link hens that someone gave to me because they said they were only laying maybe once a week and I know they are laying at least every other day because I have finally gotten familiar enough with them to tell them apart. The 18 hens we have now of various breeds are leaving us an average of about 10 eggs a day and we are consistently getting 1 blue one each day now as well. Haven't lost a hen in months and the dog that did kill said hen now just watches the chickens walk by with a rather bored look on his face. I also have more than enough roost and coop-stall space so I thought why not?
I couldn't beat the price either. Got em for less than new chicks go for in the Spring around here.
We been keeping the feeder full and haven't even used 10 pounds of feed in the last two months. I am sure that will go up once it get's colder but for now adding the chickens onto the place has been a huge boon around here. Mouse damage to feed bags is now gone and I rarely see one running along the wall of the barn either. The bug population was also showing a marked decline even before Fall set in and the chickens seem happy just cleaning up after the sheep too.
Most of the hens we got initially were all kept up in poultry barns and once they finally got used to going outside and being free range hens they almost turned into completely different birds.
Anyway I can't really quarantine these new hens but I did up the antibiotics in the water and left the new girls locked in the coop-stall for the day. Most of the old hens and Rocky the rooster have already come by and been checking them out through the slats in the door. I gave them some corn and oats along with the regular chicken feed and I am hoping one day will be enough for them to realize this where they are suppose to roost. I will run the old flock in there tonight and then make sure I let em out early so there is no time for much fighting.
As I said more chicken drama is certainly incoming I imagine.
Rocky's little head has already exploded. Twenty eight hens and one over sized attentive rooster? What could possibly go wrong? I am betting I am going to find him laying feet up in the barn yard within the next day or two.
So now we will see how this thing shakes out and hope we don't pick up some illness with the new birds. If they act like the other hens I got from the large poultry barn life it will take them some time before get brave enough to leave the barn. Guess we will see.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!!
That is a good deal as they probably didn't start laying until close to 6 months and now they might be a year or a little more so they are still fairly young birds. I got 4 hens in late summer because the guy said they were eating their eggs. They have been normal hens after I killed the free rooster that came with them, I caught him pulling feathers out of hens and acting like he was some gangstr. A lot of it is the environment.
ReplyDeleteSf - Well I hafta admit Rocky does seem to be kinda gentleman these days more or less. He still seems to be over rough with some of the hens but I never see any pulled feathers and the ones that submit to him never seem to be damaged or hurt at all. The few that don't want his attention he kinda tries to over power them a bit after a sneak attack but when they get away he doesn't chase them very far. He also is very good about calling to any hens near him when he finds some food.
DeleteI noticed today when the new hens arrived he called all the old hens in to him and they all came dutifully running to where he was so I don't think most of the hens hate him or anything.
Poor Rocky....but what a way to go, lol
ReplyDeleteTewshooz - I know Rocky thinks he is up to any challenge when dealing with his hens but I am betting this new 10 will just run him ragged. He did do a good job of keeping the peace at roosting time tonight.
DeleteNeighbours of ours commented years ago about our barns and stables being mouse and rat free. They were having terrible trouble with mice in their stables. I advised them to get some chickens. Are mice scared of chickens then, Mrs D asked me. Kind of I replied whilst watching two of our hens squabbling over the carcass of a still moving frog.......
ReplyDeleteRo - I get a mouse or mole carcass in the yard almost daily from the cats and I just take em down to the barn now and let the chickens tear em apart. I saw Rocky chase a mouse across the barn once and catch it in midair then take it over to the hens to tear apart. The Mice are running scared now.
DeleteWhat a great deal. I hope they do well for you.
ReplyDeleteLisa - So far night one seems to have gone well. Got five eggs from them even with the move and there was no fighting when the entire flock came together at dusk.
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