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I only have 3 acres, so I'll need to do some thinking on this.

I wonder why some split into tribes and some don't? Food availability? Property type? Management styles? You handle your birds very differently than some others on the thread, so maybe that applies?

What did you plant for them? I'm just in the first stages of building their food forest.

Hm...like a milk crate? It has a handle on each side just large enough for the chicks to get through.

How do you handle the free ranging thing with broodies and chicks? I leave out commercial food for the broodies and their babies, but the other birds eat it, which rather negates the point of free range. I give the adults a grain-based feed in the afternoon, but the hatchlings need something...

I guess I'll have to keep an eye on it. My birds use less than half of my 3 acres, so I assumed I have sufficient space. I don't intend to go over 24 (not counting chicks) but currently have only six adults.

That's a lot of space. How many birds, do you think?

These guys are from two different lines. Jersey Giant x Rhode Island Red. His sons are currently being evaluated for behavior. Bielefelder x Jersey Giant

I'd say, if your roo has traits you like use him and keep his chicks. If your girls live two years and die (or live 2 years and stop laying) then you watch the chicks closely and hatch eggs only from those who live productive lives past that boundary.

Right now I'm culling or rehoming any chicken that shows early susceptibility to disease. If a hen shows a propensity for reproductive issues I'll either rehome or cull her progeny. That will be later, of course, but before I let the chickens take over the project.

My birds free range from dawn to dusk on 3 acres of grass. The grass will eventually change, but for right now that's what I have. I am only two years into the project. I do want them to be self sufficient and out-breed the predators. My definition of "thrive" is very similar to yours. The...

@EddieSalita @Perris @U_Stormcrow I'd like to start a discussion about adaptive breeding for chickens. Basically, a landrace is a locally adapted variety which has enough genetic diversity to adapt to changing conditions. Landraces are often different even just a few miles apart, and the...

Current birds are Black Australorp, Bielefelder, and Jersey Giant.

My oldest birds are only two years old, so I can't really say. But at this point none of them are slacking off. I'm keeping pretty close track because laying longevity is one of my goals. As the project advances I'll eventually start letting birds sit only on eggs of hens who are still...

Adaptation comes first. They have to be a good fit for your environment. That's one of the problems I'm running into. A bird perfectly adapted for one area may be a dud in another. One thing I would love to find is a population that truly hunts mice. I mixed in several breeds that were...

Several people here are working on it. There are breeds out there advertised to forage, etc., but they've been bred for appearance and a breed standard for so long that the traits that made them successful as a breed are mostly gone. Once the initial mixes are established I'll be selecting for...

She spent the day inside, alternately eating, sleeping, and staring longingly out the window at her siblings. Since it does not appear to be coccidiosis, I treated her with ivermectin. She wasn't moving much so I left her out when I left for a while, only to return and find her with her beak...

Regardless of what you choose to do, she won't start laying again until her chicks are weaned. If it's important that you get her eggs asap, I'd just break broody. Being only 1-2 days broody she likely wouldn't accept them, but you could try. I had a hen accept chicks after sitting for just...

"Force feeding methionine to excess..." Really? Like anyone is going to force feed a chick straight methionine, other than for research purposes, of course. For heaven's sake, a bird can die from being held under water too, so obviously water is bad for birds...

I find chickens remarkably intelligent about what's not good for them. Mine won't touch dry beans, mushrooms, raw potato or avocado. Other than that it's game on. They will dig onions out of the ground to eat them, and they eat garlic tops.