Seeking advice on chickens

[lowpolyjoe]

Wow - ducks never crossed my mind  :D

[Roxie]

Just for your consideration, let me say that there is something very relaxing and rewarding about having chickens, eggs or not. The sound of content chickens is one of the most calming sounds.  To watch them scratch is joyful and hilarious.  I frequently travel to a neighboring farm that has their hens in a penned, wooded acre.  They permit me to, at any time, pull my van under the trees and watch and listen to the chickens.  It's my mental balm. 

[Chuck White]

If you want something that lays eggs and doesn't scratch like chickens do, get some guinea hens.

[thecfarm]

Chuck,you're gonna tell him him them things are LOUD. But they only are loud when there is something wrong. They make very good watch dogs. We use to have a greenhouse business and I had more than one customer tell me they would not have them things.  :  As I would tell them,they are doing thier job,they don't know you and they are sending the alarm out as they would if there was a hawk nearby or a fox,or a racoon.

[Ox]

I've heard it said that 3 birds will keep your property clean and safe.  Chickens for bugs, trash, turning mulch, etc.  Geese for eating grass and being watchdogs.  Guinea hens for tick and flea and mite control because apparently they turn their heads sideways and strip each blade of grass for little critters.  Eggs from all 3.

I don't know about this.  I get annoyed a bit when the girls do their stupid squawking for a minute or two after they laid.  Of course everything annoys me right now.  Trying to quit smoking after 22 years, 3 packs a day.  Been almost 6 days, no cheats.  Grrrrrr.  Toughest darn thing I've ever had to do I think.  Problem is, I didn't want to quit, just that I knew I should.  I wrestle with this crap every minute it seems.  Will the crotchety ol' hillbilly persevere?  Perhaps.  But others around me might not.  smiley_beady_eyes  smiley_fused_bomb                               

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

Ox,

Hang in there! Yes, it's difficult but you can do it.

I quit cold turkey September 17, 2007. Before that I smoked at least three pack a day of Viceroy.

The first couple of months were really hard but it does (slowly) get better.

Herb

[Chuck White]

Oh yea, Guinea's are very loud when they are alarmed.

Things that will set them off, a stranger, an unexpected move, a hawk, a fox or coon, basically anything that isn't normal or a surprise.

[sandhills]

Chuck, we have a bunch of turkeys around that come to dad's place to winter and 3 or 4 years ago they brought a guinea home with them, it was funny watching them walk (basically single file) across the pasture with it right in the middle  :D.  Something got it though, I found the remains in the tree line deer hunting.

[Kbeitz]

A funny little chicken story...

While I was in Dominican Republic I was giving some time to the poor dogs
that never get any attention. The poor dogs dont trust anyone.
Some was hard to get them to trust me. After about 1 hour of trying
to let this one dog let me pet it I finally won it over. As I was petting it
a large roster snuck in to the dogs food dish and was stealing the dogs
food. When the dog seen what was happening it charged the roster that
was about twice the size of the little dog. There was a stand off for about
one minute before the roster turned to run. The dog made a lunge for the
roster and caught it by the tail feathers. The dogs feet was sliding in the
dirt and the rosters feet was spinning like crazy. Feathers was flying...
Funny to watch... Picture of the dog.
Sorry... No picture of the roster. You can see just a tip of red to the
left of the picture. Thats the roster head reaching into the dish.



  

[Chuck White]

I've found that the best and safest way to friendly up to a dog is to let the dog friendly up to me!   ;)

[Kbeitz]

Check this out...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1297651/Japanese-students-hatch-egg-outside-shell.html

[tree-farmer]

Never tired a dust bath, but here are some of the girls having a spa day at the tractor shed...



They love the dust.

[DDW_OR]

i have heard of some people adding diatomaceous earth to their chickens dust baths.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

[Raider Bill]

I throw D-earth into the coop regularly to help keep chicken mites or fleas away.

[Greyhound]

All good advice so far.  FWIW, we have had anywhere from 2 to 4 dozen chickens for the last 8 years.  We eat the eggs but not the meat.  We have tried a whole bunch of breeds and we've also let them interbreed.  Our favorites have been Australorps and Sussex.  These are very health and hearty breeds with calm gentle personalities.  As far as sexes go, if you order on line (we use Meyer's Hatchery) you can order "pullets" which will be >90% females (mistakes happen).  The chicks you get at TSC, etc. around Easter are mostly "straight run" which is 50/50 boys and girls.  I would say "go for it" if you are interested.  It really is tremendously rewarding.