who got chickens
i got 7 hens (1 died this spring ;;) and 1 rooster
they lay about 5 eggs a day
nobody got hens? i'll be doggo
Did you eat the one that died
>>2162166
No i built a cairn for her in my yard and buried her in a small underground chamber filled with wildflowers
>>2162169
Woops, I read your OP as a double winky smiley face
>>2162169
>wasting gains like that
The bird would be disappointed at you.
>>2162182
probably. their favorite thing to do is eat
but in reality there wasnt much point. she had been sick so long that she had become very thin. not much meat on her. i could have used her to make chicken stock, but it would have been horrifying to me
2 hens right now, both Australorps.
Friendly chickens. Only thing they don't like is the water hose for some reason, any time I get it out they run off.
>>2162186
I have one australorp and she's been a real pickle, let me tell you. Two cases of sour crop, one case of impacted crop. Had to do surgery in the latter case. The damn hen will eat anything and everything that comes in front of her. The mass we pulled out of her crop was insane. She's doing well now though. I'm very close to her.
>tfw your phone is full of chickens but its illegal to own chickens in suburbs
>>2162209
i think almost everyone can get away with having a couple
only a real asshole would make an issue out of two hens in your backyard
So we had three chickens but a stray animal came and killed two of them it didn't eat them it just killed them felt really bad but now we have one left, should we buy more chickens so it won't be lonely or will it attack the new chicks? I'm pretty new to owning chickens.
>>2162210
Our property is more front yard than backyard and my mother, who i rent the property from, says i cant have them in the front yard.
I just want a chook to pet and cuddle.
>>2162262
have you asked her about getting a banty? they're really small.
I convinced my parents to pick up some silver and brown laced wyandottes after showing them videos online.
Absolutely gorgeous chickens. The patterns are great. They're probably my new favorite chickens out of the bunch.
>>2162300
Here's the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ogKsoVJ0qI
>>2162289
And really loud.
>>2162300
I have a silver one and she has a bad attitude. And she beats up my ameracauna!
>>2162306
That sucks. I have the opposite problem.
We have two brahmas that are fucking huge and run the place. I'm convinced they killed our easter egger because they got angry we didn't let them out of the pen enough (almost every day).
>>2162314
That sucks
The heat chills mine out because they get tired
Here's my qt buff orpington, gingy
Postin chickens
I managed to get the meanest silkie in the universe, that black rooster will bite to draw blood. Thank god silkies don't have spurs. The other two are pretty mellow though
Guy in the front is a campine (very pretty but flighty, do not recommend for a small pen), black girls are bantam Cochins. I also managed to get the nastiest Cochin in the world; tries to rip the necks out of a select few chickens and doesn't afraid of anything. The others will jump for treats though.
One of next year's show hopefuls.
And Rascal, RIP in peace. Eight pounds of enormous mutt rooster, and trained to jump into your arms for treats. Also loved to cuddle.
One red rooster, 1 red hen, 1 ameraucana hen and 6 chicks right now.
The babies are so cute! Pick related: my rooster and ameraucana.
>>2162300
Are those your silver laced wyans? I want some so bad. And some silkies.
>>2162260
You'll want to keep the new babies separated until they are big enough to fend for themselves against the older chickens.
There will be some squabbling at first as they sort out the "pecking" order, but as long as they are big enough to take it, they should be fine.
So many cute chickens ITT.
When I move somewhere with a yard I want to get chickens and maybe ducks. It's very hot here in Florida. How can I keep them comfortable?
>>2162471
Texas here.
Our chickens have a couple of plastic kiddie pools that we keep filled with water. They were like $5 at Walmart. Their coop is also in a spot that stays shaded all day. They will go there during the hottest part of the day, snacking on mosquitos and splashing water on themselves.
Never seen them actually get in the pools, but the water needs to be changed everyday so I know they at least splash in it.
>>2162182
He literally gave the bird a grave the equivalent of a human being
I think the bird would be satisfied
>>2162443
That's what we ordered from the breeder. If you check out the video below that post you'll see there's a couple different variants but the key to IDing them is the lining on almost every feather.
They are hearty cold weather chickens. Don't really like the heat. Idk how their temperament compares to silkies but our's are pretty low on the pecking order since they arrived last and aren't the biggest. They are nice to us and we almost got them used to be held by now.
>>2162260
When the new ones are hardy enough to be kept outside, put them in a wire pen where your original hen can see them but not peck them. Do that for at least a week before you try to integrate them. If you have a coop that your hen sleeps in at night, try putting the new chickens in the coop with her at night, when her bird brain is shut off. Then they will wake up together in the morning and it will feel much more natural to them. Dunno why this works but it often does. What can I say - chickens don't have the most sophisticated of brains.
>>2162186
Birds in general seem naturally freaked out by long, thin things. Be it broom sticks, or hoses or what have you. Maybe it's an instinctual fear of snakes.
>>2162422
Mean roosters make delicious dinners.
>>2162169
Jesus why didn't you at least eat her?
>>2162191
>Surgery on an at-most $6 chicken
>Finding a vet who will bother with chickens in the first place, much less surgery.
You must be loaded anon.
>>2162209
Damn, it's perfectly legal here as long as it's no more than 3, and they're more than 100 ft. from any adjacent home.
Do chickens need a big pasture?
>>2163757
Nope, they do well enough in a relatively small cage when it comes down to it. Reason why they're running around everywhere in certains and especially 3rd world nations.
3 main things you gotta worry about with chickens:
1. Can you keep them safe from predators (your own dogs count no matter how well trained unless they grew up with them, chickens are huge triggers for dogs' bite instincts)?
2. Prepared for disease? The thing about birds is they ALL share the same diseases, and you really can't keep flying animals out of your area unless you make an actual coop.
3. Spacing to keep chickens from killing each other? Chickens can go cannibalistic and you need to get rid of really aggressive ones (or any that tasted chicken blood) asap. This is why cages with egg chickens are a thing, albeit alot of those cages were very old and designed very tightly for cost reasons.
Otherwise chickens take care of themselves really well as long as you provide them food, water, and a place to roost. They don't need food ration management, they take care of themselves.
P.S. if you're one of those organic faggots, keep in mind most organic feeds for chickens have a severe lack of methionine, since it either has to be sythensized (i.e. not organic) or it comes from meat, which most organic feeds aren't. And yes, chickens are omnivores. "Vegan-fed, free-range chickens" is a complete and utter lie. You can watch them all day chase after insects and worms in the yard.
>>2163761
What's the best feed?
My dad said his grandma's chickens would catch small lizards and eat them.
>>2163766
Depends, if all hens and laying (5-36 months of age), any layer should do. If younger, starter and grower feeds as needed. General will work if mixing in Roosters (layer will fuck up roosters though) or older hens.
And yes chickens will eat lizards and mice/rats too.
4 road island reds and some black hen, the black hen just trys to hatch eggs all the time and is essentially useless.
She sits on a golf ball since I take all eggs after I found them being eaten.
RIR are great though, super friendly and lays eggs every day.
>>2163761
>Nope, they do well enough in a relatively small cage when it comes down to it.
What about the quality of eggs? Free range eggs are the best.
My neighbors got 6 chickens from Tractor Supply on A whim. They don't know breed or sexes. Is tractor supply like pets stores where they sell one sex only? Also what can they do about outdoor cats? On of the neighbors is a real scumbag and let's their outdoor cats breed, gave the area a feral cat problem in 5 years that I've never seen my 25 years living here, and I'm surprised the cats haven't picked one off yet. Is it legal to trap other people's cats on your property? And if so, then what do you do with them? Also what should happen if they end up having a rooster? They don't want more birds (they didn't even want the 6 but Tractor Supply wouldn't give them just one) but I don't know how easy it is to rehome a rooster.
They plan on killing them all before winter because they don't have a chicken coop for them or any plan for them when it gets cold out.
>>2163706
Some people just have their priorities straight.
>>2162260
""a stray animal""
Gee I wonder
>>2163877
Normal not to recieve just one, especially as chicks. They use each other for warmth.
Tractor and Supply and most feed stores sell hens only, but every once in awhile get straight run/random mix.
Look up laws if you can, really depends on the area. Call animal control for advice on what you can and can't do before you do anything extreme, usually happy to help.
When the more experience chicken people get unwanted roosters, they usually grow them out a little then eat them, of course raised separately. Otherwise good luck finding anyone who will take a rooster.
Also I'm just really, really surprised you found a vet that would still deal with a chicken. It's becoming more common place where people, especially in urban metros, will take chickens to vets and get turned away regardless of money. This also includes avian vets (usually parrots and similar pet birds) that won''t go near chickens.
>>2162427
That's a big cock
