Tag Archives: Poultry

by | May 17, 2013

Heritage Breed Chicken Order

Heritage Breed Chicken Order

I just completed placing an order for a batch of heritage breed chickens.  I researched prices and availability from many online hatcheries.  These included Mt Healthy Hatchery, McMurray Hatchery, Ideal Poultry, Cackle Hatchery, Sand Hill Preservation and several others.  I ultimately decided upon McMurray Hatchery, as they had the best prices and availability for the breeds that I was interested in.

Incubator

Incubator (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For those who regularly follow this blog, we raise Delaware chickens as our heritage chicken breed of choice.  We had 30 eggs in the incubator, but the incubator seems to be on the fritz a bit.  The incubator will no longer hold a steady temperature.  The fluctuation of temperature is not good for the eggs to hatch.  The 21 day period ended four days ago without a hatch.  I left the eggs in the incubator for an additional 3 days to simply see if anything would hatch successfully.  Unfortunately none of the eggs hatched.

So with the failure of our own hatch, we sent out to find a source for Delawares.  Unfortunately, Delawares are very difficult to obtain after April.  I was able to find a limited availability, so I looked at other available breeds.  I settle on Orpingtons, as they are dual purpose chickens.  I will feature them in an article that is forthcoming.  One reason that I selected the Orpingtons (both Buff and White) is that they are one of the most likely breeds to go broody.  I have always wanted to see a hen hatch her own chicks to see the difference between chicks that are hatched naturally and those that are incubated.

Our newest flock members are due to ship on June 10th, so we will likely have pictures to show after that date.   On another note, stay on the lookout for the ramping up of gardening posts for the year.  We had a friend till the garden tonight so that plants and seeds can go into the ground tomorrow!

I did go ahead and order a few straight run Delawares in order to potentially keep the flock in tact.

A chicken. I'm not sure what breed.

Buff Orpington (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Delaware hen.

A Delaware hen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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by | February 8, 2013

Candling Chicken Eggs

Candling Chicken Eggs

This is the second article in a series discussing incubating chicken eggs.

The fertility of chicken eggs can be determined prior to hatching.  This is an important step in the process because a rotten egg can spoil the whole bunch.  It can also stink up the whole house if it ruptures (think small explosion!).  The process by which egg fertility can be determined is called candling.  Candling chicken eggs is a simple process, as one egg can be compared to the others.

English: eggs

English: eggs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The equipment for candling chicken eggs is very basic.  The system can be set up using nothing more than a light bulb and a box.  The box can be very fancy or rather simple.  The first time that we candled chicken eggs, we put a broken lamp end inside of a shoe box.  We then cut a 1 1/2 inch hole in one end and placed duct tape around the entire box.  This concentrated the light through the hole, allowing a spot bright enough to candle the eggs.  Candling chicken eggs then involve holding the eggs up to the hole in the box and looking for signs of a developing life inside the egg.
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Above is the picture of our home made candling box

 This current batch of eggs were candled using a simple, homemade box yet again.  We took and empty butter box (the kind containing four sticks of butter) and taped up the outside with black duct tape.  We did line a lot of the inside as well.  We then cut a 1 inch x one inch hole in the bottom of the box (the square end opposite of where we opened the box to remove the butter.)  I then hold the box up over the light in our basement, which has a really bright CFL bulb and a low ceiling.  This works really well to hold the egg up against the hole and visualize the contents.

Candling is much easier with white eggs than with brown eggs.  I candled ours on day 4 and they are either all infertile, or it is too hard to tell at this point.  Early on in the process, there is a pinpoint portion that looks like a spider.  This is the series of blood vessels that are surrounding the developing peep.  As the peep continues to develop within the egg, the spot becomes larger and larger.  Eventually the chick fills the entire shell and the egg appears to be dark.

It is now day 7 since placing the eggs in the incubator.  At this point, it appears that we have 6 fertile ones, 3 infertile and 2 that I can not tell for certain.  Time will tell.  I will include pictures of our equipment below for an idea of the basics:
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This picture demonstrates the air bubble that is present within the egg.  The air bubble is to the left of the egg and appears lighter than the rest of the egg.

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A fertile egg.  The peep is the dark spot at the lower portion of the egg and slightly to the left.

 

 

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This is probably an infertile egg.  There is no dark spot and no spider-like vessels

It is also rather porous, noted by all the light spots.

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 Another view of our box.  This is an end on view

We slip this over the bright light source to candle the eggs.

There are many resources available on the internet on candling chicken eggs..

Here is a link to some pictures of developing eggs.

Here is another link to a story about candling chicken eggs.  It has some pictures to go along with the article.

 

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by | February 3, 2013

Incubating Eggs

 

Incubating Eggs

We just begun our first round of incubating eggs for the 2013 year.  It is a fun experience, that is rewarding as the peeps hatch.  We will hopefully update the ongoing saga as it continues.  Here are some basics and guidelines. along with some pictures to show you what we are doing.

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Basic Equipment:

There are many commercial incubators available for a reasonable price.  We purchased the hoverbator, incubator for $20 from a friend.  This current batch is going to our third hatch.  Most of our current laying birds are from one of our hatches.  I recently saw a brand new incubator on craigslist for $50.

We purchased a rooster in the Fall, for the purpose of naturally inseminating our females to get fertilized hatching eggs.  One of the key things to hatching eggs is to gather them before they experience an extreme temperature. Being that this is January in the Midwest region of the United States of America, the outdoor temperatures are very cold.  It is a challenge to keep the eggs from freezing in the nest boxes.  Fertilized chicken eggs can also be purchase, either locally or via the internet.  Water is necessary to achieve ideal humidity levels within the incubator.  A pencil is recommended to keep track of egg rotation.   It is necessary to rotate the eggs every 12 hours.  Finally the thermometer can be a simple one.  Most commercial incubators come with an easy to read one.  I purchased a very inexpensive one that is digital and includes humidity levels.

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Once the eggs are gathered, they can be kept at room temperature for several days.  We keep our with the narrow end pointed down in an egg carton.  This allows us to collect enough eggs to fill the incubator.  I am not certain how long the eggs can sit at room temperature, but I know that we have kept them for seven days and still experienced a successful hatch.

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The Three keys to Incubating Eggs

There are three keys to incubating eggs for a successful hatch.  The first of these is time.  It takes 21 days for the eggs to fully incubate and hatch.  Temperature is the second key to successfully incubating eggs.  The ideal temperature is 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit.  The third, and final factor, is humidity.  The eggs should be incubated at a 50% humidity level.  I typically keep the water compartment of the incubator full to achieve an ideal humidity.  The humidity level is determined by the surface area of the water, not the total amount.  Some resources recommend increasing the humidity level to 70% for the final 3 or 4 days.  I have never done this, yet have been successful in incubating eggs for a successful hatch.

There will be more articles to follow as the process unfolds.

 

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by | January 7, 2013

Delaware Chickens

 Delaware Chickens

Delaware chickens are a heritage breed that is listed among the threatened status on the American Livestock Breed Conservancy website.  The Delaware chicken is a dual purpose breed that lays brown eggs.  Being dual purpose, means that they are also good meat producing chickens.  Delaware chickens will grow at a moderate to good rate, yet not quite as fast as the commercial meat breeds of chickens.  The mature males weigh around 8 pounds, while the females reach a mature weight nearing 6 pounds.

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Delaware chickens have mainly white feathers, with black accents.  These black accents are generally referred to as barring.  The barring is mainly located around the neck of the males and females.  The males feature long black and white tail feathers and a predominant red comb and wattle.
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 The skin on their legs are yellow.

Their bodies are long and broad.  The legs of Delaware chickens are very large and muscular.  Perhaps this makes them a hit with children who like to eat drumsticks.
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 As a general rule, Delaware peeps are quick to grow feathers.  The Delaware breed tends to be cold tolerant.  They are somewhat active birds, that seem to stay rather docile.

For more about the Delaware chicken breed, please click on the link below.

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy: Delaware Chicken.

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by | December 8, 2012

Finding a Chicken Coop: Should I build one or buy one?

Finding a Chicken Coop: Should I build one or buy one?

chicken_coop

chicken_coop (Photo credit: airship)

When starting with chickens, it is important to find a chicken coop.  The question is, whether or not to buy a chicken coop or to build a chicken coop yourself.

The first thing to consider is how skilled you are at building things.  If your skill is limited, it is likely worth the extra cost to buy a chicken coop.  Another consideration is what you have on hand.  For instance, if you have a lot of extra shingles and lumber laying around, you will be able to convert them into a functional chicken coop.  Or if you have an old outbuilding, you can renovate that and set it up to accomodate your chickens.

The second thing to consider is your needs.  How many birds do you want to have?  Are you gong to raise layers or broilers (Meat chickens)?  How many eggs per week would you like to get?  Are you going to sell the eggs?  There are many things to take into consideration, but each will affect the type of coop that you need.

Portable chicken coop

Portable chicken coop (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Another consideration is whether or not you plan to have a mobile chicken coop (aka chicken tractor) or a permanent coop.  This may be determined, in part, by whether or not you are converting an old outbuilding.  If you do choose to convert something that is more permanent, you may also elect to build a secondary chicken coop or a chicken tractor.  Do you want free ranging birds?

A mobile chicken coop of a type called a "...

A mobile chicken coop of a type called a “chicken tractor” on a Martha’s Vineyard farm. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fortunately we have not had to deal with predators very much, but this is something else to think about when designing and choosing your chicken coop.  If you are in a wooded area, you are likely to have more predation than a coop that is more out in the open.  Common chicken predators include: coyotes, foxes, raccoons, possums, and hawks.  Each predator presents its own challenge.

Site location, or lack therof, may also determine the type of coop that you build or purchase.  A level site must be selected for a prefabricated unit.  Comparatively, a custom made chicken coop could be built to site on land of any type of contour depending on the skills of the builder and the lay of the land.

Keep in mind that a chicken coop requires space for basic chicken equipment, as well as a certain number of nest boxes.  We recently built out own chicken nest boxes, which can be viewed by clicking on the link here.  As far as nest boxes go, there are several things to consider when building a nest box.  (For more click here)We have other articles dealing with nest boxes and basic chicken equipment that are available by clicking on the links above or by looking at the related articles section below.

Chicken coop plan

Chicken coop plan (Photo credit: Moosicorn)

In the end, the decision on whether to build or buy will come down to skills, time and resources.  Someone with a lot of skill and extra material would be able to build a really nice coop with limited output.  Somebody with a vacant outbuilding, like in our situation, would be able to renovate that outbuilding for use as a chicken coop with less input costs than a pre-built unit.  Somebody with limited time and limited material may find it best to purchase a chicken coop that is either pre-assembled or that comes in kit to put together.

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by | November 10, 2012

More Farm Pictures

More Farm Pictures

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The above is a farm picture of the back of our barn.  You may notice the fence, which is actually 8 strand high tensile fence with three electrified strands.  We elected to go with this set up in order to have a solid perimeter fence that would operate without electric if necessary.  At the moment, we keep two strands “hot” at all times.  The third  ”hot” strand is the second from the bottom.  We have this strand set up to be turned off and on at various times.  We placed “throw” switches in order to set it up as we want.  The reason for such a low strand is that it works well as fencing for pigs, should we decide to raise pastured pork.

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This is another farm picture from my grandparents’ farm.  This is the spring house, which still has a functioning spring running through it.

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This final farm picture is of an Amish chicken tractor.  It is a simple design being basically an A-frame building with a covered pen or chicken run.  This allows for easy movement of the chicken tractor to spread the chicken manure over the area as well as provide new areas for the chicken to graze.

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by | October 25, 2012

Pictures of Chickens

The picture of chickens below is of two of our heritage breeds hens romping through the yard.  We feature the Delaware chicken breed, as they are both fast growing and good layers of large brown eggs.

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Another picture of a chicken below.  This Delaware hen is fairly classic for the breed.  You can note the red comb and wattle.  She also has white feathers with black accents on the neck and tail feathers.

Chicken Picture: A Delaware Hen in the yard

A picture of chickens that features our birds eating some chard and  kale leaves.  In this picture are Black Astralorpes, Delawares, and two Easter Egger chickens

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This was our failed attempt at penning the chickens in.  Here you can note the three Delaware hens on the inside of the fence, with the mixed breed chicken looking in at them

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by | October 2, 2012

Building a Nest Box for Chickens

Chickens

Chickens (Photo credit: Allie’s.Dad)

We are beginning the process of updating our chicken coop, which starts with building a nest box for chickens.  We previously built chicken next box, but would like to make the new ones accessible from outside of the coop.  I am going to take on the project in the following steps:

1)  Research the required and recommended dimensions.

2)  Hand draw some diagrams to help plan the project.

3)  Purchase materials that I do not currently have lying around (we have some shingles from a recent roofing project that are left over.

4)  Take pictures as we build this, so that we can include the project here on the blog.  (Perhaps this can somehow become a You Tube video or something of the sort…)

So bear with us as we begin this project.  I hope to keep you updated and hope that you find this useful.

A permanent backyard chicken coop

A permanent backyard chicken coop (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We will try to keep a series going on building a nest box for chickens.

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by | September 27, 2012

Containing chickens

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The Challenge of Containing Chickens

Containing chickens is perhaps one of the biggest challenges to raising free range chickens.  Our farm is a testimony to the wonderfully destructive nature of chickens.  Chickens have a natural tendency to scratch as they forage.  This behavior seems to give them a natural homing beacon for flower beds and the vegetable garden.  The best time of the year for our ladies appears to be immediately following the distribution of mulch in our flowerbeds.  It seems the the nice mulched look quickly gives way to the “mulch-all-over-the-yard” look.  Or perhaps it is better known as “mulch-on-the-walkways” look.
There are many opinions on containing chickens.  One opinion (which we have not tried partly due to cost) is that a six foot high fence system will keep the birds in their pens.  I do think this will work well, however the cost of this fence structure is very prohibitive.  The installation would likely need to be done by a professional.  A downfall of this system would be removal once the metal finally degrades.  I would suspect a 30 to 40 year lifespan, which would help to offset the cost or at least spread it out over the many years.

Another option for containing chickens is to put up woven wire fencing.  This typically comes in 48 inch high rolls that are in 100 or 300 foot lengths.  8 foot wooden posts are usually placed very 10 feet adding to the cost of this system.  I also believe that this system requires some poultry netting in addition to the woven wire, as the holes near the bottom are large enough for a hen to climb through.  (I have witnessed this firsthand).  Some people add a hot wire toward the bottom for both predator control and to encourage the chickens to stay contained within the fence.

Alternatively, people have used snow fencing.  Snow fencing should have close enough slat to contain chickens and to keep predators out.  Snow fencing would perhaps be a little unsightly.  There are two types of fencing that I refer to as snow fence.  The first is a combination of wire intertwined around one inch vertical slats.  The second is an orange, grid-shaped/ diamond patterned roll of flexible plastic.  Both would work well for chickens.

I suppose that some sort of high tensile could be used as well.  The wires would have to be numerous and spaced every inch or so toward the bottom, gradually increasing the distance in between the wires as the fence is built higher.  If electrified, this fencing system would perhaps keep chickens in and predators out.  The big downfall to this system would be the need for frequent weed control to keep the grass and weeds from contacting the lowest electrified wire….resulting in a short.

A traditional approach is to mount hexagonal chicken wire onto posts.  The posts can be either metal T-posts, or more permanent wooden posts.  This chicken wire has very small, hexagonal-shaped holes.  The holes are small enough to keep even the smallest peeps inside the pen.  The problem with this fencing system is the weakness of the wire itself.  If the posts are places close enough (6 to 8 feet apart) and the fencing is stretched fairly tight, the weakness may be overcome.
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As seen in the picture above, we have elected to try a system called electric poultry netting.  We purchased two, 110 foot long rolls can a charger to electrify the fence.  We do have an occasional chicken that performs its own fly over, but the system has held up well so far.  One nice feature is that the fence is easy to move.  This allows us to change the range area that the chickens can access.  This allows the grass to recover from being eaten and trampled.  It also helps to spread the chicken manure around, thereby spreading out potential parasites and keeping the burden down in any one area. We have yet to attach the electric fence charger, due to lack of time (well actually simple laziness).  Even without the charger, the chickens stay in for the most part thanks to wing clipping.

On a side note:  We have likely had some coccidia, as we so not utilize coccidiostats.  We feel that this allows for a natural immunity once the birds have been infected.  By moving the pasture access. the coccidia does not concentrate in any one area.

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by | July 4, 2012

Heritage Breeds : Araucana Chickens (The Easter Eggers)

Ameraucana chickens (AKA Araucanas or Easter Egger Chickens) are a heritage breed of chicken that are unique in many ways.  First of all to clear the air a bit, “easter egger chickens” are not a true breed, but rather a combination of breeds that tend to lay eggs of various colors.  This is important to note because Araucana and Ameraucana chickens are breeds, which are recognized by the American Poultry Association(APA).

An immature Easter Egger pullet.

 

Araucanas are recognized as a dual purpose breed.  They grow at a moderate rate as far as meat production.  They tend to lay blue and green eggs, which is what is their most distinctive trait.  Another unique trait that the Araucanas possess is the tufts behind their ears.  This makes them easy to recognize from a distance.  Furthermore, the breed is rumpless.  This means that they have no tail and lack a tailbone altogether.

Araucanas are one of the only breeds to lay bl...

Araucanas are one of the only breeds to lay blue or green eggs, and can be recognized by their lack of tail and distinctive ear tufts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Due to several factors, Araucana chickens are difficult to reproduce.  This is often due to traits associated with the rumpless genes.  Oftentimes the chicks can die in their eggs at 18-21 days of incubation.  The breeding of a rumpless rooster to a rumpless hen can result in severe shortening of the backbone.  This leads to either culling from the gene pool or the inability to breed back altogether.

The Aruacana breed does remain a popular one, due to the special tinting of their eggs.  They tend to lay green eggs, but colors can vary from green to blue to even a pink color.  A lot of chicken fanciers like to raise them simply for the fun of walking out to discover a rainbow array of eggs.

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