artemis
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Post by artemis on Jul 4, 2018 8:33:26 GMT -5
Belatedly, I've decided to keep a journal of my chickens, and what happens when. That's what this thread will be for, and I'm happy for anyone to post comments here, too.
Thursday, May 3rd, 8 of 9 ordered broiler chickens arrive at Gateway Farm and Pet, Huntington, MA. I'd originally ordered red broilers out of a meat bird choice of red or black broilers, or Cornish cross. They called telling me I'd be getting 5 red and 4 black. I was copasetic with that. I was one of two people who ordered the broilers as opposed to Cornish cross, and the other person got there first... one of the red broilers had died in shipment, so he or she got his or her full lot and I got the remaining 8. Which is fine by me as I'm new to all this, but not so fine for the poor chick that didn't make it. They have been collectively named, "Tasty Morsels" so I don't get attached.
They went home to live in a box once housing a toilet for my new build, red heat lamp, the better quality pine shavings from Tractor Supply.
Tuesday, May 8th, phone call from the Post Office in Pittsfield, asking me to come in and pick up my 11 layer chicks. They'd been sent from My Pet Chicken. All survived, and chirped merrily on my way home, where I video'd them as I gave them their first sips of water and set them inside their large box that once held a chest freezer! (Probably should have housed the broilers, due to their name and that box...) 3 buff Orpingtons, 2 black Australorpes, 3 silver-laced Wyandottes (one a male), 1 golden-laced Wyandotte, 2 Buckeyes.
I'd ordered my chicken coop and tractor setup from a local Mennonite company back in early April, these were supposed to arrive here the week of May 26th. Didn't get here until mid June. The layers were fine inside, but I and the broilers were chomping at the bit to get them outside! (I had gotten a couple more boxes from a local business that had relatively large boxes, to spread the wealth around and not overcrowd them... unfortunately neither box was as large as even the toilet box. At the end, the new boxes held two birds apiece... they are social.)
The broilers all got banded, and packed into another box secured by two bungee cords, and got their second and last car ride, down to the coop. They spend three days there before I decided the tractor was secure enough, and transferred them there. (They were quite peeved with me, and refused to approach me the next day, despite food in hand... fortunately they got over that.) The layers and their future rooster moved into the coop next. (These I walked down...)
Lesson Learned: See the whites of your outdoor housing's eyes BEFORE you get your poultry!
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Jul 4, 2018 8:47:34 GMT -5
I may edit this to post some dated landmarks, later on.
July 3rd, I heard my first really abysmal attempt at a crow from the broiler tractor. Looking at the birds, I am certain that 3 of the black broilers are male, and one is female. The blacks seem to be maturing faster than the reds, so I'm not going to call those just yet. The broilers are 3-4 sizes larger than the layers. Not sure yet which one is trying his best to crow. No sign of spurs.
Had to replace their waterer yesterday (3rd). It appears to have sprung a leak.
The blacks have a truly bluish green awesome sheen to their feathers! They eat like crazy, go into the yard and come back, recognizing that this is where their preferred food lives -- and the broilers also seriously love watermelon in this heat!
I have refused to name them but somehow the most friendly/approachable bird, a red broiler with a pink band, seems to be named Pinky. Daggnabit, I didn't want any of the broilers to get names!
July 3rd, Layers, Last night they all went back into their coop when I shut it down, first time on their ownsome (tho I did have to push one Wyandotte butt in).
July 4th: Someone is still trying to crow, badly, from the chicken tractor. And I banded the rest of the laying birds (many of whom had shaken off their bands a couple weeks ago).
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Post by chickenqueen on Jul 5, 2018 9:08:37 GMT -5
If you have to name the broilers,give them food names like Stewie,Dumpling,Stir Fry or Enchilada....  |
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Jul 5, 2018 15:03:11 GMT -5
If you have to name the broilers,give them food names like Stewie,Dumpling,Stir Fry or Enchilada.... Yep... They're too big to remain named "Tasty Morsels". Thinking: Lunch, Dinner, Marsala, Kiev... Stewie is good too.. Enchalada… yes. |
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Post by Sylie on Jul 5, 2018 22:42:09 GMT -5
NOODLES!! (I love chicken and noodles, my homemade ones from my mother's recipe...omg now I may have to make them tomorrow for dinner...)
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Jul 6, 2018 13:50:52 GMT -5
Here we go: Eight birds, eight names!
Buffalo
Fried
Marsala
Tandoori
Kiev
Enchilada
Cordon Bleu
Dumplings!!!!
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Jul 12, 2018 7:27:52 GMT -5
The layers: Finally, two nights in a row where all the birds went up into their coop for bedtime. No hassles or having to snag anyone. They get less morning grain, and so are hungry at night. I'm expecting that by next Monday (I won't be here much of the weekend) I will let them out into the electro-net.
The broilers: I let them out in the yard in the morning, and they follow me around worse than cats. I mean, I have to watch where I step or I will trip over one or more! They love the grasses and "forbs", and they enjoy the morning dew on the grasses, but to them I am Bringer of Grain and Mealworms, which they love best of all. I feed them very little of this during the day (other than kitchen scraps and garden weeds and occasional watermelon which I bought especially for the birds - I've only had a taste or two myself). I put them to bed with non-GMO grain. (Talking about GMO should be a separate conversation...)
The broilers stay out while I am out in the back. I am confident no fox will approach while I am there, and I doubt (but not as confident) a hawk will swoop down while I am there. This afternoon I'm taking a lawn chair and a travel mug of tea, and a book down and reading with my chickens!
Oh, to edit: on any given day, all the broilers have their names changed. All the same, collectively. Today they are Chicken Tandoori. Yesterday they were Chicken Marsala. Best this way.
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Jul 12, 2018 8:02:48 GMT -5
Layer bird friendliest to least-friendly (all are docile):
Australorpe > Orpington > Wyandotte > Buckeye.
I still don't know which Wyandotte is supposed to be the cockerel. (All layers born second week in May.)
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Jul 15, 2018 15:54:55 GMT -5
Today was the first time I got pecked by a chicken and it made a blood welt. Didn't quite break the skin, but.
It was the largest of the broilers, and I'd gotten home from an overnight out of state, and of course they'd eaten all their food. I was working on fixing their water (like giving them more) when the bird came and pecked at me, hoping my hand was food...
They've checked out my fingers and hands before, but it was just minor bumps from them.
Okay, I now have my priorities straight... FOOD before WATER!
(The 11 layers had gotten less food than the 8 broilers, and they'd not finished either their food or their water... of course the broilers are bigger, and broilers are designed to be eating machines... to the point I have been told not to give them unlimited food when they are the age they are now, as they will eat themselves to death...)
At any rate, all is now right in the chicken world...
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Jul 16, 2018 8:47:36 GMT -5
Coop cleanout this morning, and new bedding. I am learning what I shall do at the next coop cleanout, to make the process run better. The cleanup pan that comes with the coop is mighty awkward to carry to dispose where I want to dispose their litter (for compost). Wheelbarrow next time!
Broilers had fun running wild while I took care of the layer coop.
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Jul 16, 2018 10:05:30 GMT -5
Tiny Dancer, the runt of the litter, is now bigger than his fellow Wyandottes. (And bigger than the buckeyes.) I'm calling him as male, a cockerel. He's also rather bold, and he has the biggest comb of the whole lot.
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Post by seminolewind on Aug 12, 2018 11:26:08 GMT -5
Wheelbarrow is an excellent idea!
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Oct 31, 2018 9:59:15 GMT -5
I haven't been keeping up after the journal of events, but:
The seven broilers were dispatched on Sept 30. One female, six males. I refrigerated overnight and froze the next day. Two were left whole but the rest were separated. A friend wanted a couple of breast halves, and another wanted the feet, and those have been given on.
The hen broiler of that batch had laid an egg (not discovered until the following Thursday, at which point it became compost), but she had an unlaid egg, shell and all, when we gutted her.
Killing frost overnight on Oct 17th.
Oct 18th I discovered signs of nether-end abuse on one of the Wyandottes. She went back outside after about 5 days, but they're still after her. Getting goop that will taste bad to protect her.
Otherwise they are all eating well, and keeping warm at night in their coop.
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Nov 24, 2018 9:42:58 GMT -5
Egg laying, or at least egg discovery, started on Tuesday. I suspect one of those eggs had been laid on Monday, but I wasn't looking carefully as nothing seemed to be happening, and as it seemed I had 11 freeloaders.
As of this morning, five eggs so far. From shape of eggs, I'm guessing I have two laying hens. Or, something like that. In which one hen laid one of those eggs and the other has laid four... then again, who knows?
Today I went down to the hen house and fed the chickens in the run. Finally warm enough that I didn't want to keep them enclosed! One however kept hovering around the coop laying boxes as I dealt with their water in the coop (rather than digging into the chow). Idril, one of the three buff Orpingtons. (Yes, she's named after an Elf in Tolkien's Silmarillion.) Idril is a dominant chicken. (She was the last to give Celeste some peace when I moved the latter from the meat tractor to the hen house.)
Will return in a couple of hours to see if she, or anyone, has laid another "butt berry", as I saw someone else online call it! (Then I am off to my second Thanksgiving supper.)
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Dec 19, 2018 11:27:40 GMT -5
I have a food blog, and I've started posting things about chicken keeping (and other homesteading things) on it, in addition to the regular food recipes. Sort of the first year learning curve thing, it will be a series with some asides. The Intro/Overview is up, now. Raising Chickens Part I: Intro/OverviewDrop on by! Comment here, or comment there. I'm still learning which means I may remember the earliest stuff... |
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Post by boskelli1571 on Dec 20, 2018 6:40:14 GMT -5
I have a food blog, and I've started posting things about chicken keeping (and other homesteading things) on it, in addition to the regular food recipes. Sort of the first year learning curve thing, it will be a series with some asides. The Intro/Overview is up, now. Raising Chickens Part I: Intro/OverviewDrop on by! Comment here, or comment there. I'm still learning which means I may remember the earliest stuff... I tried the link and got redirected here?? |
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Dec 23, 2018 8:28:15 GMT -5
Hang on, giving this a try again.... (That was weird...) goatsandgreens.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/raising-chickens-part-i/ - Raising Chickens Part I: Intro/Overview. Edit: this works now. Feedback pro or con of course appreciated. Next part of the series will be prepping for/ordering day old chicks, although I may put in an interim post on how to best take care of adult birds that are in a hen house 300 feet away... in winter. Since it is of course, winter. |
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Post by boskelli1571 on Dec 24, 2018 7:16:55 GMT -5
Hang on, giving this a try again.... (That was weird...) goatsandgreens.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/raising-chickens-part-i/ - Raising Chickens Part I: Intro/Overview. Edit: this works now. Feedback pro or con of course appreciated. Next part of the series will be prepping for/ordering day old chicks, although I may put in an interim post on how to best take care of adult birds that are in a hen house 300 feet away... in winter. Since it is of course, winter. I enjoyed reading your blog! Great idea to put down your early learning experiences - you are right we forget them so quickly and the basic stuff is rarely included in books and websites. I would have liked more info on the breeds you chose for egg laying and I couldn't agree more with Wyandottes - they have a superiority complex - they think they are above everyone and everything!  Good work! |
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Post by maryellen on Dec 24, 2018 8:31:29 GMT -5
Great article Artimas!!
I too would like to read more about why you chose what you did , plus more on food too
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artemis
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Post by artemis on Dec 25, 2018 8:10:43 GMT -5
Boskelli and Maryellen... yes, the next post (the one on getting chicks and setting up for them) will discuss why I chose the breeds I chose. That part is already written.
I should indeed discuss food, I do have a spot in that next post for baby chick feed, not completely written yet.
Thanks!
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Good work!