Selecting, Purchasing and Caring for Domestic Poultry

A Bird of Your Own

There is among other trends, an increased interest today in local sourced food, backyard homesteading, and what could be more local than food produced at home?

Many are newcomers to this exciting enterprise. When deciding to raise a few chickens or a hundred, when choosing between chickens, turkeys, ducks or geese, or all the above, advance planning is necessary for success.

All species need some care and some shelter from both the elements and especially predators.  Fowl have been domesticated for thousands of years. This short article cannot hope to inform all things needed, but will be helpful as a start. First, before you purchase any chicks, where will they live after their brooding period?

The young bird no longer a chick, but yet not mature will need more permanent housing. If you already have adult birds, they may or may not be receptive to juveniles joining the flock—remember all those sayings about the ‘pecking order’?

Try introducing 10-12 week old birds at dusk to an existing flock. Make sure there is ample food and water to forestall fighting. Check closely the next few days for signs of injury to young birds. Remove any if necessary until the birds mature. Avoid removing single birds of any age for any length of time.

Adult hens are very attractive as sources of fresh eggs. The adult hen will lay, if sufficient daylight, from about the age of 5 months and many produce an egg every 26 hours. Hens will produce actively for a period of about 24 months from the time of their first lay. After this time their lay becomes less regular and finally sporadic.

After about the age of three, many hens will lay three or less days a week. Some only rarely. Thus the stewing hen.  If stewing birds is unacceptable, then you must plan to care for the birds for their lifetime, and plan for younger birds to continue to have fresh eggs. Don’t assume others will want your old birds—they like fresh eggs too! Check for local ordinances regarding the number of birds you may keep.

All species of fowl practice a ranking system or a pecking order. You will find chickens to be most stringent, next are the turkeys and then duck and geese who seem to peck by ‘committee.’ I’ll explain more about waterfowl later.

Certain breeds of chickens are notably more aggressive than others; your birds might be injured if casually placed into an established flock, so think ahead and choose carefully.

Also certain hatcheries produce strains of the various breeds which prove more or less aggressive, so the notes here are what is generally thought true for most breeds. Some are more wily, often avoiding predation and therefore more suited to pasturing.

If you will coop your birds continuously, then whatever species you prefer may be quite successful, provided they are not over-crowded. Chickens, including hens will fight with each other for space, nesting, food, water, perches, etc. Don’t forget the pecking order in your plans! Generally most species continuously cooped, require approximately four square feet of floor space per bird. Birds that have outdoor access require less, up to half. Free range or pastured chickens are generally content with a coop of two square feet per bird.

The matter of housing is the utmost importance! The list of predators for chickens of all ages, young turkeys, and waterfowl is extensive. It includes, owls, hawks, rats, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, weasels, skunks, possums, domestic dogs and cats, feral cats, and snakes! Chickens and turkeys are most prone to predation. Waterfowl gain some protection if a pond is available for roosting at night or they have a secure shelter like a barn or tight pen.

Also, in general, fowl have excellent daylight vision and much poorer night time eyesight, making them a favorite of most night time predators. So while with good fencing, it may be fairly safe to pasture your birds in the day time, they must be cooped or protected by night fall. Many predators are effective chewers. They will chew through wood without difficulty. Some, such as weasels while quite small, slip through openings as small as a 25 cent piece, are ferocious killers once inside the coop.

Making a home for your birds

Consider raising your coop off the ground to deter rats or others from making their home underneath. Alternatively, use a solid, chew proof foundation such as concrete or brick.

Provide good interior ventilation year round, but make it inaccessible to climbing predators.

Make a door that is easy for you to enter the coop standing up—it does need cleaning regularly as well as food and water for your birds, but secure when closed to keep out predators. Provide good natural lighting with windows, make them tight fitting so they do not become an access point for predators.

Remember, raccoons for one, are very agile with their paws, like hands, and like many other predators, are excellent climbers. Use good latches and door closings.

Consider lining the walls, doors and floor of your coop with wire mesh hardware cloth. (Do not substitute chicken wire. It’s not strong enough, and the mesh is too large to prevent weasels from entering.) This step will seriously deter most predators, including weasels who are most fearsome.

Equipment and management

Poultry require minimal equipment to get started, the housing is the most important. Chicks require “brooding.” This is true from hatch day until about 8-10 weeks of age. During brooding it is essential that warmth is provided to them continuously for a period of about the first 30 days, even in summer. Many will otherwise die due to cold. Their body temperature is about 102 degrees. They need a safe, secure, draft free place to grow.

All chickens need a feeder, a waterer and for adults, perches.

Nest boxes are nice and may be well used by the birds, but they may also be a source of serious fighting due to the pecking order, and they need regular cleaning. Allow one box per 4-5 birds. If you wish, you may use more boxes for small flocks, if space allows.

Perches may be a simple wooden clothes rod purchased from a lumber yard and nailed length wise in the coop. Place about 18 inches off the floor.

All coops require some form of “litter.” Litter is bedding material spread on the floor about 4-6 inches deep. It may include, wood shavings, ground corn cobs, peat moss, straw or other materials locally available. Keep in mind that it should be dry and not excessively dusty. A small garden rake is ideal for the task of regularly turning over the litter. Simply rake the coop one or more times a week, keeping it something like a cat box. This takes a few minutes. Composted chicken manure with litter is excellent garden fertilizer.

Entirely remove the bedding as needed, about 2-4 times a year. In between complete litter changes, add fresh litter if needed to maintain its depth or the health of the birds. Keep the litter dry as possible; remove wet litter promptly.

Birds are highly prone to respiratory illnesses if kept in wet, excessively dusty conditions. Also in warm weather, ammonia forms naturally in the litter, especially if damp or wet. Use pelleted garden lime raked into the litter to neutralize the irritating vapors produced by the ammonia. Lime is also good in the composted material. Check the amount needed by getting down low and sniffing. Add more if you smell ammonia Your birds are smelling a lot more since they live at ground level. Lime works almost instantly, so check after raking to determine the amount needed.

All birds need day light. Chickens need good sunlight to lay their best eggs, so make sure they have as much daylight as possible. Feed a good quality commercial chicken feed. Follow package instructions. Chickens love to supplement their prepared feed with bugs, worms, ants, greens such as grasses and other fruits or garden vegetables. Allowing them to forage will occupy their interest because they are highly sociable with each other, it prevents fighting and enhances their diet. And they’re just fun to watch! But don’t be fooled. Hens, you will find, are as noisy as roosters and sometimes just as loud.

Raising Ducks and Geese

For those who want to raise geese, what could be easier and more fun? The highly sociable, long lived goose is a wonderful addition to your life. As social creatures, geese need a minimum of two others to form the smallest of flocks. While a chicken can be cooped full time with another for company, geese are much larger, weighing 12-20 pounds compared to 4-10 pounds for chickens. The gooses’ wingspan is often three feet, and they like to exercise their wings daily.

Like other poultry, geese and ducks are vulnerable to predators, primarily domestic dogs and coyotes. Goslings and ducklings are preyed upon by most all of the same animals who also attack chickens, including rats*. Keeping this in mind, a suitable, dog proof enclosure will keep your geese safe days and nights, and protection from the wind keeps them comfortable. They need substantial shade in summer, as do chickens and other fowl.

Nature has equipped the goose with the warmest, softest, most abundant of feathers. Your goose can withstand subzero temperatures if you keep them out of the direct wind. Clean, bright straw makes ideal bedding for geese. Allow for 8-12 inches of straw.

These birds eat grass as their primary diet, year round. Also waterfowl require plenty of water for drinking and bathing.

A small quantity of grain to supplement their diet may be beneficial.  Waterfowl enjoy oats, corn, milo, sorghum, wheat or other locally available feed grains.

Don’t make the mistake of regarding their dietary needs to be nearly like chickens! In a pinch waterfowl can do well on chicken feed, but unlike chickens they are not omnivores. Instead the goose, notably, is an herbivore; its feed needs are more like rabbits. Quality rabbit pellets may be successfully and economically fed to geese when good hay or pasture is unavailable.  Choose the lowest protein, usually 12-15 percent. They also happily consume pelleted hay after an introductory period of a few days.  

Timothy hay blends are ideal. Allow all they care to eat daily. However hay in cube form may not be suitable since its large size creates a choking hazard for geese. Always choose moderate to small size pellets for feeding geese.

As waterfowl, maintaining their feathers is extremely important. The goose will spend a fair amount of time cleaning and preening each day.

Geese produce delicious, jumbo sized eggs in the early spring, and provide down and meat. For meat, geese and ducks may be fattened with larger quantities of grain.

Before planning to produce birds for meat, make sure there is a State and/or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified processor in your area or in driving distance. Inspect it in advance for cleanliness and humane procedures. The USDA can provide guidance for this. Check if any licenses or inspectio0ns will be required

Feathers and down

Goose and duck down must be plucked at a specific time of the year to avoid pain and bleeding which will otherwise occur. The breast feathers are used. It’s best done when the bird normally sheds its feathers, a process called molting. It then grows new feathers.

While geese and ducks like and prefer access to lakes or ponds, it is not necessary. Both species can be well kept with just a low sided, 15 to 20+ gallon or larger waterer, often available at farm stores in which they can bathe and drink. For larger units, check for a drain plug. Check it often, to keep the water fresh. Fill or refill as needed. Don’t be surprised to find more than one in it at a time!

 Bathing is a social time for most. But wait until the chicks are  four to six weeks of age, or until they venture into a larger bath by climbing into it on their own. Younger birds will drown if left alone to bathe because brooded birds do not have their mother to oil their feathers which makes the bird buoyant. Without oiled feathers they will be unable to float and will surely drown. Birds will produce oil as they mature and instinctively oil themselves as a normal part of preening.

Long life

Domestic geese enjoy long lives, about 20 years, compared to about 10 years for chickens. Because of this, you will find them more intelligent than some other fowl, and actually trainable with patience and time. They thrive on any routine, if performed daily, such as leaving and re-entering their barn for grazing in an enclosed pasture. and while geese observe a defined pecking order, they are much less likely to resort to open combat as chickens sometimes do. Instead they prefer more social, community methods for daily interactions with members of their flock. Most breeds of geese, in fact, choose lifelong mates with the gander doing the active choosing and the goose vying with other females to become the favorite. This trait underpins their stable social order.

Ducks and Turkeys

Raising ducks is more like raising geese than chickens, and raising turkeys is more like raising chickens because turkeys are land birds like chickens. Many favor ducks because of their plentiful egg production as well as meat and feathers.

Young turkeys, called poults, are appealing for many newcomers to the simple, homesteading life. However they are most susceptible to cold and to certain illnesses to which other fowl are otherwise unexposed. If you decide to try your hand at turkeys, plan to keep them separated by a significant distance from other poultry, especially chickens since turkey often carry disease which chickens are known to succumb. In fact many hatcheries will not guarantee the health of their chicks if brooded or kept with turkeys.

For more information about geese,  ducks and turkey many excellent books are available, and many more are available for chickens. Check on-line, at a book seller or your public library.

*About rats—Many will presume they don’t have rats around, and the rats like it that way. However as wild animals, rats are often present. Most active at night until dawn, rats have a varied diet like dogs. Young chicks are definitely on their menu. Effective, routine  control of rodents is a must! Rodents carry disease such as salmonella in their feces and they attract larger predators like coyotes and weasels. Use one or more methods: live trap, rodenticide baits, or the old standby, baited rat and mice traps for control.

Sheep and Goats & the Small Farm

Interested in trying your hand at raising sheep and goats? For the small, self-sustaining farmer they make excellent choices. Pound for pound, they are among nature's most efficient grazers. However, take care they don't become your pets! Both sheep and goats have similar needs and are ideal for the small homestead of three to five acres, for example.

Choosing Your Stock

The choice of which species is largely determined by your own goals. Do you want milk, meat, wool, sale of surplus animals? How about considering the difficulty of caring for them. If you want milk and meat, goats alone may be ideal for your needs. If however you have plans to obtain fiber, possibly sheep are on your horizon. Know that there are also breeds of goats which produce lustrous, highly valued fiber.
In terms of meat, some sheep breeds have been bred especially for high quality meats and also there is a breed of goat which notably produces good quality meat as well. But what about the taste? Some people who have tasted these meats consider them "gamey." However the food livestock eat directly contributes to the quality of their meat. Young sheep and goats are mild tasting meats, tender and moist. They are easily broiled or roasted with excellent results.
And when managed well, both species enjoy good health naturally. So providing your animals with appropriate food, water and shelter, as well as fencing to give protection from predators, namely domestic dogs, are the primary aspects of their care and management. Still interested? Well then, let's get started!

Care of Animals

While there are many resources for those just starting out, this article serves as an introduction to the topic. Whether you choose sheep, goats or both, you must first prepare the place that they will live, and learn a few things about their natural, instinctive behaviors. First both require some form of shelter. Goats may appreciate a bit more shelter than sheep; while both can be housed in a traditional barn in pens, sheep, especially due to their wool coats, require only shelter from the wind and do well in even the most challenging climates when provided with ample food and drinkable water. This simpler form of three sided shelter gives shade when a roof  or sturdy tarp is included in the warm, summer months, and protection from the wind in cold, winter months. It should be located so that it gives protection from the north and west winds in winter and shade from the hot south and west summer sun. Placing it near a stand of trees when available is excellent for this purpose. But watch out if you plan to plant a few trees in your pasture. While they provide excellent shade when they grow large enough, your sheep and especially goats may try to eat them! They enjoy the bark of saplings in particular. Place sturdy fencing around any young trees to keep the animals away from the tree trunks. Make it tall enough they cannot stand on their hind legs to reach them, usually about four feet.

Some raisers may choose to allow their animals to remain outside day and night, especially in mild weather. Whatever shelter you provide for your animals, they must have protection from predators. This is accomplished in two ways. Primarily you must provide good, study fencing made for sheep and goats. This is usually the same type of woven wire. Do not use strands of barbed wire alone as predators easily pass through it. Secondly nature has a system in place that better enables these species by alerting them to danger for quick response, which is running as fast as they can! How does it work? Research in animal behavior shows that when a flock or herd is a minimum of three animals they are more vigilant, better able to engage their natural protective behaviors.
When cornered both species will use their heads protectively to butt. A well aimed butt from a large ram or billy goat (a buck) can kill a man. So watch out. Animals with and without horns do this. One more thing, don't skimp on the gates. They should be well constructed, hung with sturdy hinges and have good latches. Take care to design gates with spacing that prevents an animal from becoming trapped in it accidentally. And also remember that sheep and goats are pretty decent crawlers and climbers!
Easy enough-- get three animals or more, good fencing with good gates and that part is covered.

Feeding your Animals

Both species are herbivores. That means they eat primarily grasses and grains. However both species love other things as well such as leaves, twigs, garden flowers, certain fruits and many garden vegetables, starting with lettuce, potatoes, cucumbers etc. First provide your stock with ample, cool water. Place their water out of the direct sun in summer to keep it cool. Providing clean water regularly will naturally benefit their health. The primary feed for both species, sheep and goats is good quality pasture or hay supplemented with small amounts of grain, or a commercially prepared feed.
If you choose commercial feed, USE CAUTION! Goats tolerate the nutrient copper in their diets. Indeed most mammal species include trace amounts of copper in the diet; sheep are extremely sensitive to this element. In fact it is poison for sheep. Check for copper in any supplemental salt licks or commercial feeds intended for use with sheep. Most sheep feeds clearly state they are manufactured without added copper.

How to Locate and Buy Hay

In some parts of the country, at present due to drought conditions, hay is a necessity year round and expensive. There is also a lot of product out there that is not suitable for consumption by these species. Hay, you will quickly learn, is vastly different from straw, and while research shows sheep can successfully digest good oat straw when fed from weaning time onward, most raisers would avoid a steady diet of straw for concern of nutritional deficiency. If this feeding method interests you, contact your state agricultural university or extension agent for more information. For the majority of raisers, good hay follows a six to nine month season of grazing on fresh pasture. When using hay, you will want to locate feedstuffs that are well cut, cured and stored. There may be a number of outlets in your area offering a good quality product.
How to tell quality? First observe the place in which it is stored. It should be clean, not dusty, well ventilated and dry without excess lighting. Clean hay has that lovely fresh mowed smell. Stick your nose into a bale you are considering for purchase and inhale deeply. It should smell clean, free of weed smells or dust. When you break open the bale there will be a variety of grasses and minimal or no weeds. Clovers or alfalfas, by the way, are not weeds in hay. Better hays also have a low count of tough grass stems and a majority of leafy grasses. Avoid overly dried hay or hay that has been exposed to water after baling. Overly dry hay crumbles in storage. The driest hays of this type will actually become powdery. Your stock will not eat 'hay dust', and all dusty feeds are undesirable. Avoid also hay that has been rained on after baling.
Wet hay is a prime source of illness in farm animals. It allows molds and fungus, some toxic, to grow within the bale. Do not feed this spoiled hay. Additionally in cold weather it is very important that hay be stored without soil contact. In winter months several disease causing microbes become active in soils. If your stock then consume contaminated feeds, they risk illness or death. It is best to store all your feeds on concrete, wood pallets or other means off the ground.
Can't find good hay? Check with your county extension agent. The help is free and valuable. Alternatively hay is available in pelleted form from feed dealers, but it is expensive.

Feeding Grains

Both sheep and goats love grains. They will at times, if allowed, eat until they are sick on their favorite foods. Typically they are fed oats and some corn but the choice depends upon locally available feeds. Limit their grain consumption. Feed according to the animals' age and weight. Ask your feed dealer about amounts to feed when purchasing feeds or consult with the county extension agent. Pregnant or milking animals have specific requirements. Again check with your state agriculture university or extension agent about feeding these animals.

Ensuring Health

State laws vary as to health requirements. However you can safely assume that your animals have been tested for Scrapies, a potentially deadly disease which is highly transmittable. Insist on a health certificate which indicates the animal has been tested for Scrapies and found negative. Also expect that your animals have been vaccinated for distemper and rabies, and if over the age of six months been given a worming. If the seller cannot produce a state health certificate or a veterinarian certificate, ask for more information as to why. Do not accept any promises for a future time to see the certificates. The law requires certain certificates at the time of sale. Check with your veterinarian prior to purchasing your stock about which certificates are required in your state and what is required to bring an animal in from another state. If the seller claims to vaccinate animals himself, then ask for proof or indication that this has been done. For example a sales receipt from a farm store indicating the vaccines were purchased. If still in doubt about vaccines, plan on arranging for vaccination when you return home. Do not accept any animal without a valid Scrapies test result. It should say 'Negative.' You may infect your soil for many years to come with this pathogen if you bring an infected animal onto your property. It's not worth it.

The feet of sheep and goats is a horny substance very much like your own finger nails. It requires regular trimming. Failing to trim their hooves may render your animals crippled. Trimming is not difficult to learn. A tool with a long handle is made for this purpose. It looks something like a large garden pruning shear. Plan to trim hooves about every two months. At first your animal may not stand still for this procedure. Try feeding grain when you clip. If you find it quite difficult still, using a stanchion or a sheep cradle will make the process quick and easy. An experienced person can clip a goat or sheeps' feet in about 10 minutes. It is best to first clip the feet when the animals are young, starting by simply handling their feet and then clipping when they will allow you to pick them up and hold each leg in turn. Adults are most easily clipped with the animal standing calmly in an upright position, presuming they have been taught to do this and are accustomed to it.

Both sheep and goats need to be wormed for parasites, usually two times a year. You may be able to do this procedure yourself. Consult with a veterinarian or your extension agent for details.

Bringing Betty Home

By now you have a secure, clean shelter, you have located and installed good fencing and have a supply of food, and plenty of water. Bringing your stock home may be as easy as walking them into your barn or you may need to hire transportation. Many persons will agree to transport your animals a short distance for a fee. Often the seller may have access to transport if you do not. Determine how they will arrive before your purchase stock.
Fortunately both sheep and goats may be transported short distances in the back of a pick up truck out-fitted with high side walls to form a secure pen. Remember these guys can be accomplished jumpers, especially when under stress. Transporting them in pairs or groups is calming to the animals. Another option for immature or smaller animals may be a large dog crate. Since many of the species are about the size of a mature Saint Bernard dog, using a dog carrying crate just might be ideal. I have seen lambs and kids transported in the back seat of cars this way. These crates are available at pet supply stores.

For short distances, with transport times of about two hours or less, you may successfully bring your animals back without concern for feeding or watering them prior to arrival. In extreme weather conditions all animals need a lot of water. Use caution when deciding. Also it is normal for sheep and goats to pant when they are hot or over-heated. Watch for signs of stress in hot weather. Have water available if needed. 
Traditionally goats wear collars, similar to dog collars. They may be then taught to lead which makes handling easier. Sheep may also use collars, but their wool makes using one more difficult. If you try one, choose a loose fitting chain that can be slipped over the head. For both, invest in a six foot lead line, often used for horses. 
Sheep herding may also require the use of a staff. Modern staffs look like a walking canes and are available at farm supply stores or on-line internet supply outlets. To use, you position yourself close to the animal and quickly catch it about the neck with the crook of the staff. 
WARNING: avoid play butting or encouraging your animals to butt. It can be deadly, especially to children who may be most easily injured. Avoid handling your animal about the top of the head as this triggers the butting instinct.

Once you arrive at home, unload your animals into a place where they can rest and drink if they wish. If these are your first animals, allow them out into their fenced area when they have had some time to adjust, an hour or more. Before allowing them to graze on fresh grass, know what they have been eating the past 10 to 14 days. Animals that have subsisted on a dry diet will often develop diarrhea initially when allowed free access to grass. If your animals ate a strict hay or pelleted diet, or you do not know, allow them on grass for a limited period starting with one hour and extending daily until they can eat grass full time, a period of several weeks. Feed hay, as much as they like, when they are not grazing on pasture each day. Watch for illness during the adjustment period.

How many is too many? There are several ways of estimating the proper number of animals to an acre of land. However the method you choose must take into account the amount of time you will spend tending your pasture and things as varied as how much rainfall you receive in any given year. Too many animals, the land can't support their growth or health needs, not to mention an excess of manure which leads to excess flies and other unwanted insects.
So to figure this important number, also known as the 'stocking' number, consider the species of animal, the condition of your pasture, the quality of the grasses available for forage, anticipated rainfall in a typical year and check with published charts indicating the number of each species when stocked on optimum or average pasture to determine the ideal number for your pasture.

A very important behavior of sheep and goats to keep in mind is that they will graze a pasture very, very low, often killing the grasses if you don't move them regularly, every few days or a week at most. And like your lawn, in cooler, wetter weather grass regrows in about a week at which time the animals may return to re-graze until they are moved again. So dividing your pasture into smaller sections to preserve it also may have an effect on the number of animals you pasture. An acre of intensively managed pasture with the highest quality forage for sheep and goats may allow for stocking rates of 25 animals or more; a more typical pasture of one acre is likely to support 10 to 12 animals maximum, or even less in areas of insufficient rainfall. Remember the minimum number of animals is three because of their natural, instinctive behaviors as previously mentioned.

If you are unable to stock  a number the same species, please do not allow a single animal of any species to live alone! It is quite cruel to the animal mentally. All domesticated farm animals are herd or group based. Alone many will fail to thrive; so let the animals be the creatures they are, choose three or more of similar or related species. For example, two sheep and a goat, or vice versa; a pony and several sheep, etc. If you plan to have a pony or horse, remember this has a direct effect on the safe stocking rate for your pasture so as to provide adequate food for all species. Horses and ponies are covered in a separate article.

 For more about milk goats: http://oncollinspond.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-goat-for-milking.html

A Note About Predators

For the most part all domesticated farm animals are preyed upon. The predator species varies with the stock; for sheep and goats, domestic dogs are their prime predator. If you have a dog, restrain it, at least initially until you can better assess its interest in your new animals. Instinctively sheep and goats regard your dog as a serious threat to their safety and will take appropriate measures against the dog without hesitation. Your dog may be playing, but your sheep or goat sees it as a serious threat. It is their instinct to do so. 
If you have a sheep-herding breed, it has been bred to chase your animals but not attack or bite them. While the stock may activate the dog's herding instinct, unless you have a real need for its services, leave your dog out of the pasture. It will only worry and exhaust your animals.
Other frequent predators are dependent upon the region in which you live. This may include wolves, coyotes, bears, and foxes among others. For young animals the list is longer.