Poultry Lovers Club

[Boneabii]

So, my parents and I did a big ol' cleanup and the results were horrific.

Decomposing and live mice in the hay all over the coop. There were dead micein the nesting boxes. (Probably from when we went on vacation a week ago and the chickens went to my aunt's. The place was crawling with dead and live mice, and I was like, "Mom, we need to have hay or something in the nesting boxes." She said no. I suggested layers of pine needles and mint leaves under hay, but my mom, for some reason, said that was a bad idea. The feeder is mouse-proof, but the chickens keep throwing the food everywhere. Is there any nesting box bedding where mice won't be attracted to it? I've stopped throwing hay and sawdust all over the coop.

[Cardinal]

So, my parents and I did a big ol' cleanup and the results were horrific.

Decomposing and live mice in the hay all over the coop. There were dead micein the nesting boxes. (Probably from when we went on vacation a week ago and the chickens went to my aunt's. The place was crawling with dead and live mice, and I was like, "Mom, we need to have hay or something in the nesting boxes." She said no. I suggested layers of pine needles and mint leaves under hay, but my mom, for some reason, said that was a bad idea. The feeder is mouse-proof, but the chickens keep throwing the food everywhere. Is there any nesting box bedding where mice won't be attracted to it? I've stopped throwing hay and sawdust all over the coop.

Fake grass mats work really well

[pidgiebcooin]

Username: pidgiebcooin
Why are you joining: I love poultry and I own 2 bantam chickens and 2 pigeons
Favorite poultry bird: Chickens and pigeons
Other: My 2 chickens are barred rock bantams named Kiki and Salma, and the 2 pigeons are Uzbek tumblers named Uzbeki and Enid.

[Roleplayer123]

Username: Roadrunner19
Why are you joining: I literally love all types of chickens, pigeons/doves, ducks, turkeys, guinea-hens, and peacocks (can be kept where I live). I think their amazing, maternal creatures whom we all own respect too. My former-chickens, (rehomed to a close family member) were so sweet and loving and I luv em all to bits.
Favorite poultry bird: Read above lol
Other: LoOk At AlL tHoSe ChIcKeNs

[Boneabii]

Did you know that there are more than 20 billion chickens on earth?

[Luzien]

This forum seems to be sleeping^_^

so i have to say something......we may get some chicken.....2fem and one male....miniature/ bantam, but breed i dont know

...not sure if this works alright or if we should get 1-2 more fem so the are more calm and he may not hunt the females to much...i once did read that 1male to 5-6femles one should do when we get them atleast... they are or a more low price from family friend ...maybe

My question is ...how often do you vacinate your birds and deworm? one did say once a year and deworm every 2-3month? is this true? and can you keep such small chicken in an aviary with birds?

and what do you feed your small chicken? more fruit and vegi and greens and some chicken food...or just normal chicken food?
Do you give your chicken toys to play with??


@ Bonebii
did see that some use electric net fence with low power for chicken, in front of the normal fence, to keep dogs or cats and foxes out and birds inside..... when they dont stay at there place and jump on the fence to get to the other side....not sure if this is good or could work

with the eating of mice, some birds do this from what i did read...should not get sick, but ask your vet.
Maybe try target and clicker Training with them to get them more nice and tame?

Just clean up your coop and chicken run real well when possible each day, dont let food lie around, when you ue straw then flufff it up and move it around each day real well, then no mouse makes a nest there^^

put some soft chocolate in the mouse live traps or try around till you find something the mice will go for into the trap, put something around it so chicken cant get to them but mice ...likke some wide wire cage things you could try to build for the traps....and put the trap into the walk of the mice or they will not go inside...from what i did hear atleast

[Cardinal]

This forum seems to be sleeping^_^

so i have to say something......we may get some chicken.....2fem and one male....miniature/ bantam, but breed i dont know

...not sure if this works alright or if we should get 1-2 more fem so the are more calm and he may not hunt the females to much...i once did read that 1male to 5-6femles one should do when we get them atleast... they are or a more low price from family friend ...maybe

My question is ...how often do you vacinate your birds and deworm? one did say once a year and deworm every 2-3month? is this true? and can you keep such small chicken in an aviary with birds?

and what do you feed your small chicken? more fruit and vegi and greens and some chicken food...or just normal chicken food?
Do you give your chicken toys to play with??

Bantam breeds are usually lovely birds but can be flighty (and very good fliers!) I dont keep a rooster because bad experiences but generally 5-6 hens per roo is a solid ratio to distribute his affections, just make sure he isnt playing favorites to badly and is being gentle; a roosters spurs can tear hens feathers out or worse if hes constantly harrassing the girls. A good rooster is gentle with his hens, feeds them first, watches for predators, checks nests, and more.. A bad rooster isnt worth keeping imo.

Vaccinations are given as soon as chicks hatch and then never again to my knowledge. I chose not to have my chicks vaccinated because the risk of illness was very very low. I also have never had to deworm in 4 years of chicken keeping, although some do once or twice a year to be safe.. Ive never seen evidence of worms. Although, I have had to treat for lice twice. Wild birds, especially doves, are really bad about spreading bird lice. Its always good to occasionally look under the wings and around the tail for lice.

Im not sure what you mean by in an aviary? Chickens need lots of ground space and are usually very territorial and opportunistic, they can and will kill and even eat smaller birds. Standard sized chickens need 10sq feet of enclosure space and 3 sq ft of coop space per bird and bantams need 8sq ft and 2sq ft of space.. but.. The larger the better honestly. My 11 standard birds are in a 20ft by 30ft enclosure and I cant imagine any smaller. I was recently looking into a 15x20 for a group of bantam D’Uucles

Standards and bantams have the same diet. I offer my girls a good quality laying feed, extra calcium (egg shells, oyster shell), free access to my compost pile (lots of worms and other insects, sprouting seed, etc), and veg/fruit every day or do.. I keep a bowl on my counter and stuff goes into while Im cooking.. egg shells, peels, end pieces, cores, and more If my bowl is skimpy I have no shame going outside and gathering them a salad of dandelion greens and such. I really want to set up a greens box for them.. a box that sits on the ground and covered in wire, grass and greens can grow up through the wire for them to eat without them destroying the plants at ground level. Any plants in a chicken enclousure will quickly be mowed down and eaten.

Toys wise I like lots of perches, tires for dust bathing, and things to hide under or behind. I really think, though, that over all space is the most important.

[Jun.]

Opinions on keeping turkeys with chickens?
I'm considering getting a couple of turkeys at some point as protection against hawks (I lost my frizzle this year and my rooster was attacked recently, but he got away with a small scratch and a patch of missing feathers). I know turkeys can get blackhead from chickens, but I'd be sure to deworm everyone regularly and I'd clean the yard before I got the turkeys. Or are there any better options?

[Catsplat18]

Username: Catsplat18
Why are you joining: I’ve ordered chickens online. They will come late September, so I have to wait a long time. I’m getting eight hens for the backyard: buff silkie, golden-laced Wyandotte, salmon faverolles, white-crested black Polish, black copper marans, blue/black/splash Ameraucana (true breed, not an Easter egger), cream legbar, and an “olive egger” which is unique to the hatchery and has a 95% change of laying green/olive eggs, as the name implies. Since I can only have a few chickens and this is probably the only time in my life where I’ll be able to have chickens, I wanted a lot of different breeds and egg colors. I really wanted a black Jersey giant and a Mille fleur d’Uccle, but alas, 10 chickens was too much.
Favorite poultry bird: I love geese so much. I wish I could have a couple. I would get an American buff and a Roman tufted. Maybe a Sebastopol.
Other: Any tips on backyard chickens would be greatly appreciated! I’ve done my research but there’s always more to learn! My coop isn’t built yet (I have several months, so it’s fine), so any things you like (or don’t) about your coop would be very helpful.

[Luzien]

@ Cardinal
thank you very much for this long and good answer, will remember this and look more into it bevor we ever try it with any chicken sadly or luckily we did not end with this chicken, they found an good home somewhere else , and we really had not enough time to get all things needed or so much time for baby chicken....so we wait and see...who knows maybe one day^_^