In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Homesteading Chicken Coop Build, Chickens, Pond, Garden & Projects

Discussion in 'Hobbies and Interests' started by Well Seasoned, Mar 25, 2018.

  1. bogieb

    bogieb

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2015
    Messages:
    11,845
    Likes Received:
    71,797
    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Lots of bonuses in the location of his new shop.
     
    Cash Larue, MikeInMa and wildwest like this.
  2. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2014
    Messages:
    29,200
    Likes Received:
    134,844
    Location:
    Wyoming high plains
    Cash Larue , I think I recall you bought pellets at a Big R. Do you have chickens and feed this brand I believe they carry too?
     
    Cash Larue likes this.
  3. Cash Larue

    Cash Larue

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2019
    Messages:
    2,475
    Likes Received:
    20,400
    Location:
    Pine, CO
    Hey, WW! I now only buy wood pellets at Big R. The quality is excellent. They never run out - unlike Ace. And they are the cheapest pellets I can get my hands on. I bought 3 tons of Big R pellets in September. Been burning them almost exclusively for about 2 years.

    We tried to have chickens when we first moved in. We just couldn’t keep the bears out. Even with electroshock therapy. The bears were still tearing everything apart. So we gave up. BUT, Big R does sell chicken feed. That’s where we bought ours. It’s high quality and very affordable.

    Side note: You have a lot of bears up there, like we do?
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2024
    MikeInMa, bogieb and wildwest like this.
  4. Cash Larue

    Cash Larue

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2019
    Messages:
    2,475
    Likes Received:
    20,400
    Location:
    Pine, CO
    Hey, WW. Sorry, I may have misunderstood the original message. I have not seen that country companion brand at Big R. They may sell it, but I’ve not personally seen it.

    Edit: Just checked the Big R site. They do carry that brand. Looks like they have a bunch in stock at my local Conifer location :handshake:
     
    MikeInMa, bogieb and wildwest like this.
  5. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2014
    Messages:
    29,200
    Likes Received:
    134,844
    Location:
    Wyoming high plains
    We had bears in Bellvue (next to Livermore) in the mountains, but I'm on dry plains here, have not seen or heard about a bear here. It was sad, during the multi decade drought a starving bear went by our house during a Labor Day BBQ we had, broad daylight and he didn't look good. My poor neighbor in Bellvue went to crazy lengths for his chickens but bears just tore through the electrical shock and even cattle gates on the cattle panels :eek: Here the preditors are raccons, a couple Martins, eagles and yotes. Oh, and of course skunks for doggie :picard: There was a badger, but a neighbor's dog attacked it (jerk, he told him to) and the next morning husband saw him run over on the road, can't help but wonder if he ran it over too. Anyway husband went to a feed store near his work and found pellets for less, still Rocky Mountain (boo) but so convenient for him. I was asking chicken food because my hens stopped laying in September, and feeding Country Companion. We're trying a new brand (poss Purina?)

    I don't blame you for not tempting the bears with chickens/eggs. I didn't either in Bellvue though I could have had the coolest set up!
     
    MikeInMa, bogieb and Cash Larue like this.
  6. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2014
    Messages:
    29,200
    Likes Received:
    134,844
    Location:
    Wyoming high plains
    No worries :) Just thought I'd ask incase you did feed that chickens and if they stopped laying. Never mind :)
     
    bogieb and Cash Larue like this.
  7. Cash Larue

    Cash Larue

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2019
    Messages:
    2,475
    Likes Received:
    20,400
    Location:
    Pine, CO
    I appreciate that. We always fed the Big R brand chicken feed to our birds. Always got lots of eggs. Well, when the bears didn’t get them first. I’d say we have a bear problem here, but I understand that we actually live in their home. Sort of like being mad at sharks for being in the ocean. But I digress. Good to hear from ya. Stay warm up there!
     
    bogieb and wildwest like this.
  8. Biddleman

    Biddleman

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2019
    Messages:
    2,743
    Likes Received:
    21,104
    Location:
    River Hills of Pennsylvania
    Averaging 2 eggs a day now. Not sure why the major slow down last month.

    Tonight I put up wood panels on the big openings I have at the ends of the coop to help block the wind and make it a little warmer. The coop still has plenty of air circulation but the coop won't be as drafty.
     
  9. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2014
    Messages:
    29,200
    Likes Received:
    134,844
    Location:
    Wyoming high plains
    :yes:
     
    Chvymn99 and Cash Larue like this.
  10. LCBug

    LCBug

    Joined:
    May 1, 2022
    Messages:
    166
    Likes Received:
    954
    Location:
    WI
    Curious, did you switch feed for the ladies? Wondering how it's going now, whether or not you changed their feed.
     
    Chvymn99, T.Jeff Veal and wildwest like this.
  11. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2014
    Messages:
    29,200
    Likes Received:
    134,844
    Location:
    Wyoming high plains
    Hi LC :) Still not one egg for 4 months now. Turns out there are zero wild game bird nor high protein chicken feed in this town. Husaband finally picked up some crumbles for me, 20% protein. I ordered game bird food from Chewy, should be delivered any time now. He also bought a bag of mash that I'll try as scratch soon. Even the pullets hatched last March arent' laying.
     
    Chvymn99 and T.Jeff Veal like this.
  12. T.Jeff Veal

    T.Jeff Veal

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2015
    Messages:
    24,463
    Likes Received:
    150,003
    Location:
    Country life, Ga
    How old are your chickens? We're they laying before?
    When we had chickens, in the late fall/winter, as days get shorter, we would put lights with timers in the pen...kept light on until about 10-11PM, turn on about 5-5:30AM. Amount of light affects egg laying more than anything else. Another thing, try feeding them nothing but scratch feeding for a week. It seems to heat them up, then go back to layer pellets/crumbles.
     
    Chvymn99, wildwest and MikeInMa like this.
  13. billb3

    billb3

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2013
    Messages:
    10,109
    Likes Received:
    52,023
    Location:
    SE Mass
    When we had chickens the white ones just didn't lay eggs in the Winter. (The white ones were bred as meat birds, they weren't good egg layers and they didn't live long).
    The bantams didn't lay eggs in Winter either.
    The orange ones just slowed down quite a bit. Fairly certain they were orpingtons. Long time ago.
     
    T.Jeff Veal and wildwest like this.
  14. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2014
    Messages:
    29,200
    Likes Received:
    134,844
    Location:
    Wyoming high plains
    Thanks guys :) 4 hens will be 3 y/o this spring. the other 4 will be 1 y/o this spring. The older ones layed through the last two winters, though less than summer. Unfortunately I don't have a plug open for a light, nor able to go out there to turn it on/off. I'll ask the chicken caretaker (kiddo) to add mostly cracked corn to their feeder.
     
    T.Jeff Veal and MikeInMa like this.
  15. billb3

    billb3

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2013
    Messages:
    10,109
    Likes Received:
    52,023
    Location:
    SE Mass
    If you're feeding them a good laying food, it should already have a small amount of cracked corn in it. A little bit extra cracked corn in the Winter may help them with the colder weather but it won't, AFAIK, help them lay eggs.
    We never gave the broilers cracked corn because it just fattened them up, with fat. They were supposed to be meat birds.

    Every time the price of eggs goes back up to $4 and beyond I think about getting a few chickens, so I go price out supplies and consider the effort required . While it might still be worth it, it's not big bucks worth it.
     
    T.Jeff Veal, wildwest and MikeInMa like this.
  16. T.Jeff Veal

    T.Jeff Veal

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2015
    Messages:
    24,463
    Likes Received:
    150,003
    Location:
    Country life, Ga
    Do you have a plug out there in the pen? If so, just get a cross splitter.
    A plug-in timer works the light.
     
    wildwest likes this.
  17. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2014
    Messages:
    29,200
    Likes Received:
    134,844
    Location:
    Wyoming high plains
    I have a heavy duty extension cord with 3 plugs on the end, heated water pail, infrared heater and panel heater. But moreso all the dust that flies around in the coop with electricity makes me uneasy. No worries, I'm going to up the protein and carbs (cracked corn) and cross my fingers and wait for longer days. BTW, the Chewey order I put in last week is still "prepping for shipping". Weird.

    I bought all the fixings for the coop after WWW bought it 2 summers ago, automatic door and electrical kit with wiring and 2 outlets, and light fixture for the ceiling for a ceramic heat lamp. All still in boxes in the garage :picard:
     
    T.Jeff Veal and MikeInMa like this.
  18. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2014
    Messages:
    29,200
    Likes Received:
    134,844
    Location:
    Wyoming high plains
    Just collected some eggs!! It's been awhile since kiddo looked, so many or all were frozen, but they're laying again, atleast a few of them.

    The Chewy food is still in the box on the stoop :rolleyes: , so must be a mixture of longer days, the mash, and another treat I bought (seeds, fruit, worms mix). My rooster and 2 older hens kick/scratch out all the bedding in the nesting boxes.

    Tonight the low is single digits, 10 day forecast says 20'/30's for low, :yes: Hopefully our buying eggs days are over.
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2025 at 2:11 PM
    T.Jeff Veal and MikeInMa like this.
  19. billb3

    billb3

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2013
    Messages:
    10,109
    Likes Received:
    52,023
    Location:
    SE Mass
    Eggs were $4.50 (and up) this week at Market Basket.
     
    T.Jeff Veal and wildwest like this.
  20. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2014
    Messages:
    29,200
    Likes Received:
    134,844
    Location:
    Wyoming high plains
    I asked for organic eggs last week and he said they were $9/dz :eek: at Safeway.
     
    T.Jeff Veal and billb3 like this.